What To Do When The Boss Takes A Liking To You chapter 45

Could I Like Men?

Cao Xinyi agreed, “Yes, President Lan is very distant, only suitable for admiration from afar. Anyone who gets too close might get frozen into an ice sculpture.”

Xu Le made a sound, nervously saying, “So, does President Lan like or praise employees who perform well, invite them to meals, or anything like that? Maybe people think he’s unapproachable because they haven’t interacted with him privately. Perhaps he’s quite approachable in private?”

Jianxin and Cao Xinyi’s expressions changed, and they looked at him in disbelief.

“W-what’s wrong? Isn’t that the case?” Seeing their strange expressions, Xu Le gulped nervously, his voice dry.

“President Lan only communicates with subordinates via email. Even the department heads at MissOK only have his secretary’s contact info. Xinyi and I were transferred from headquarters, but our positions and job scopes don’t warrant direct contact with President Lan, so we don’t even have his email.” Jianxin’s pretty phoenix eyes widened slightly, and she stirred her soup, making a crisp sound.

Cao Xinyi continued, “As for inviting people to meals, that’s even more impossible. The dinners President Lan attends are usually organized by other company heads, and he doesn’t attend many of those. For non-essential ones, it’s mostly the managers who go.”

“So, some company heads might not even be able to invite President Lan, let alone him inviting employees to meals. The odds of that happening are about as likely as Mars colliding with Earth.”

“In other words, the chances are less than Mount Fuji erupting.” Jianxin said lazily, drinking her now-cold soup.

“Uh-huh, uh-huh…” Xu Le kept coughing, his face flushed.

Cao Xinyi, sitting close by, patted his back comfortingly, “Did you choke? Be careful. I’ll get you a glass of water.”

Xu Le quickly waved his hand, his face still red, tears welling up from choking, “No need, cough cough… I still have corn juice here, thank you,  Xinyi jie.”

“You’ve been off all day, Xiao Lele. Did you have a fight with your girlfriend?” Jianxin teased.

“No, no, really, I’m single!” Xu Le anxiously explained, his mind even more tangled.

Only now did he realize that President Lan… actually only added his WeChat? Xinyi jie and the others didn’t even have President Lan’s email, and even the department heads only had the secretary’s contact information.

Combined with what President Lan had said to him and all the help he had given him.

Xu Le even began to suspect that even Junhua’s demotion and transfer were due to President Lan’s secret intervention. After all, the timing was too coincidental, right when he was being tormented with overtime by Manager Zeng.

But why was President Lan helping him so much?

Returning home after work, he opened the door and saw Fa Cai squatting at the entrance, holding a small fish toy in its mouth.

“Meow~”

Xu Le’s heart melted at the sound. He squatted down and picked up Fa Cai’s increasingly round body, kissing its furry head several times.

Fa Cai had become much more affectionate with Xu Le recently, but it was the first time it had waited for him at the entrance like today.

Xu Le was moved.

He lay on the sofa with Fa Cai in his arms. Fa Cai stayed quietly in his embrace, letting him pet its furry back and starting to doze off.

Xu Le stared blankly at the ceiling, thinking about his conversation with Jianxin and the Xinyi earlier.

Firstly, he was sure that as a man who had been straight for 21 years, he had never had any feelings for the same sex beyond brotherhood.

Otherwise, when faced with a sudden confession from a junior last year, besides feeling awkward, Xu Le was clearly certain that he even had a certain degree of resistance.

Because he couldn’t imagine himself being with a man.

He knew he was good-looking, enjoying a certain level of attractiveness, but he thought that compared to the refined and pretty looks of his junior, he wasn’t the type that would attract men.

“Fa Cai, daddy is so troubled. What do you think President Lan is thinking? Tell me, please?”

He idly grabbed Fa Cai’s two little front paws, shaking them gently. Fa Cai got impatient and with a “meow,” jumped off him.

Feeling overwhelmed, Xu Le opened WeChat and began randomly browsing through Moments, liking and commenting on his friends’ posts one by one.

Jiaxin posted a nine-grid selfie showing off her new manicure, and Xu Le liked it.

Cao Xinyi shared a picture of her dog, and he liked it.

Li Dongming posted a One Piece meme with the caption: “I wasn’t born a king, but why does royal blood run through my veins?”

Xu Le first liked Li Dongming’s post and was about to ask him what was wrong when his finger suddenly stopped upon seeing the next profile picture in his Moments feed.

It was President Lan’s post.

There was no caption, just a picture of a red diamond. Xu Le couldn’t determine its grade, but from its brilliant, radiant appearance, he knew it must be an extraordinarily valuable diamond.

His heart skipped a beat.

President Lan never posted on Moments. Xu Le had checked his profile before, and it was always blank. Today, seeing this sudden post, he wondered if the red diamond held some special significance.

However, he couldn’t fathom President Lan’s thoughts. Seeing the red diamond gave him a strange feeling in his chest. It wasn’t painful, just peculiar, like an invisible magnetic field or a destined connection.

He attributed this feeling to one reason: the red diamond must be incredibly expensive. Since he loved money too, it must be the power of wealth making his heart race!

After hesitating for a while, Xu Le still didn’t dare to like the post.

Maybe President Lan didn’t want his Moments to be disturbed?

Seeing President Lan’s post, Xu Le felt troubled again. He had no one to confide in. His colleagues were kind, but he didn’t dare to tell them.

After thinking it over, he called Li Dongming.

Li Dongming answered almost immediately, “Lele, missing your big brother?”

Li Dongming’s deep, slightly rough voice reassured Xu Le. He sighed silently, feeling that brothers were reliable after all!

He calmly replied to Li Dongming’s teasing, “Li, did you just get off work?”

“No, I’m working overtime. It’s all trivial stuff, but they insist I verify a bunch of useless documents. I’m about to head back,” Li Dongming said irritably.

“That’s tough. Have you eaten? Should I order you some supper?” Xu Le smiled slightly. Every time he chatted with Li Dongming, he felt relaxed.

Li Dongming had a free-spirited personality, like he carried a cheerful magnetic field buff. He was tall, ruggedly handsome, and popular everywhere.

“Sure, order anything you want. I’ll eat anything you pick.”

“Okay.” Xu Le started browsing takeout options while chatting with Li Dongming.

“Lele, how are things at your company lately?”

“Everything’s good. My colleagues are easy to get along with. It’s just… well, how should I say this? I want to discuss something with you.” Xu Le stammered, struggling to get the words out.

“Tell me. What’s there to be afraid of? Whether it’s money or people, I’ve got it. If you have a problem, I’ll definitely help you.” Li Dongming’s tone was firm and unhesitating.

Xu Le knew Li Dongming would come through, but his problem wasn’t about needing material help.

“It’s not about money…”

“Then what is it?”

Xu Le coughed, unconsciously rubbing his neck, trying to stay calm as he asked, “Do you think I might like men?”

There was a ten-second silence before Li Dongming responded, puzzled, “Huh? Lele, what did you just say?”

Author’s Note:

Li Dongming and Lele are just pure friends, haha. Li Dongming just sees Lele as a little brother to protect.