What To Do When The Boss Takes A Liking To You chapter 46
Be My Bride
Li Dongming, doubting what he heard, asked for confirmation, “Say that again?”
“Ahem, I’m definitely straight, uh—” Xu Le, frustrated, clicked his tongue.
“Damn, is it that junior from your fine Arts club?”
“Of course not! I, I’m just suspicious about my boss…” Almost letting it slip, Xu Le quickly changed his wording, “Uh, it’s a guy who might have feelings for me, but he’s helped me a lot. It’s not something simple that can be repaid. What should I do?”
Li Dongming, a straightforward guy from the Northeast, used the simplest and most direct approach, “No matter how much he helps you, you can’t sell yourself. At most, treat him to a few meals. If he ever needs help, return the favor as best as you can.”
“Lele, listen to me. If he ever makes a move on you, just hit him. There are so many news stories about men getting assaulted these days. You don’t look safe at all. I’ll send you some self-defense videos later. You need to learn!”
Xu Le was speechless.
Kidding, right? Given the vast difference between him and President Lan, no amount of training would help.
Moreover, there was no way a few meals could repay President Lan’s favors, let alone any other help.
But he didn’t want Li Dongming to worry, so he just said, “Got it.”
“Good. Next week is our thesis defense. After the graduation ceremony, I’ll come to Hai City with you.”
Xu Le was surprised, “You work at such a good central enterprise in Jingshi. Are you planning to leave?”
“Hehe, I want to resign. I hate being constrained. It’s like prison here, always being ordered around. I’ve already submitted my resignation and will leave in three days.”
Xu Le recalled Li Dongming’s Moments post, “So, your post was about your job?”
“Yeah. Oh, Lele, after I come to Hai City, let’s rent a place together. It’ll be great to have company. I’ll cook for you, haha!”
Li Dongming was good at cooking and often enjoyed making his own dishes.
“Alright, but…” Xu Le hesitated, “I’m still living in my boss’s house, so I’ll have to talk to him about it first.”
“You’re still living there? Wow, does the rent come out of your salary?”
Xu Le was taken aback. He hadn’t thought about it that way. It’s not that he wanted to take advantage of the situation; he just hadn’t connected the fact that the landlord was also President Lan.
Indeed, even if President Lan didn’t lack money, Xu Le couldn’t just live in his house for free.
After chatting with Li Dongming for a bit longer, the call ended. Xu Le picked up Fa Cai from the floor.
He grabbed the cat fur brush and started brushing Fa Cai.
He began to seriously consider how he should bring up the topic of rent with President Lan. Unable to think of a suitable opportunity, he picked up his tablet and started browsing videos on A Station.
His messages were overflowing again. He opened the message tab and saw a reward notification. He clicked on it and soon saw that the account with the nickname “Ivan” had rewarded him with another 888 yuan “Nebula Train.”
Xu Le’s heart skipped a beat. Although he had previously checked the IP and confirmed that “Ivan” wasn’t President Lan, he still felt nervous.
Driven by a sudden impulse, he clicked on the other party’s profile again.
However, upon seeing “Ivan’s” IP, Xu Le’s face almost cracked.
What the heck!
How did the IP change? Wasn’t it still Hai City last time?
After repeatedly confirming, Xu Le made sure he wasn’t mistaken.
This time, “Ivan’s” IP address showed Y Country, exactly where President Lan was on a business trip.
Xu Le: “…”
Even though he told himself that the coincidence of the nickname and WeChat name both being “Ivan” was nothing, and the IP showing Y Country didn’t mean much, and spending so much money without blinking didn’t necessarily mean it was the wealthy President Lan.
However, no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, the answer seemed obvious.
He felt a headache and a rush of panic.
What should he do?
He couldn’t just go ask President Lan if he liked him and say, “But I’m not gay, so we can’t be together.”
That would be suicidal.
Moreover, even if President Lan had a different motive, Xu Le couldn’t be so blunt. President Lan was his superior’s superior, the big boss of the company!
But then he thought, if he were to find a partner like President Lan, it would be quite a catch. After all, President Lan was good-looking, cultured, capable, and had such an impressive status. If he were a girl, he might agree without hesitation.
Unfortunately, he was a man, and a very straight one…
Xu Le frowned as he continued to brush Fa Cai, his distracted thoughts causing him to use too much force. Fa Cai yelped in pain and scratched his arm.
“Ow!”
Xu Le looked down at the scratch on his arm, a small cut. The offending cat, Fa Cai, had already jumped off the sofa and was hiding in a corner, meowing at him angrily.
He frowned, such was the life of a cat owner. Oh well.
He decided to wash up and go to sleep, leaving any issues for tomorrow.
That night, Xu Le didn’t sleep well.
He dreamt that he was in a grand, magnificent church, surrounded by guests in formal attire, with sacred wedding music playing. It looked like a wedding ceremony.
Opposite him was a bride whose face was obscured by a veil, making her features unclear. Xu Le himself was dressed in a black suit with a bright red rose pinned to his chest.
The bride seemed very tall, almost taller than him. Perhaps she was wearing high heels, he thought.
In the dream, Xu Le found nothing strange about getting married; instead, he felt joyful and expectant.
“Do you take Mr. Xu Le to be your lawfully wedded partner, to cherish and hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?” the priest asked slowly.
Wait, why was he being taken instead of taking someone else? Was he marrying into the family?
“Wait, did you get the vows wrong? I’m supposed to take my bride, not be taken by someone,” Xu Le corrected.
As soon as he spoke, the room fell silent. The guests stared at him with strange, intense looks, as if he had spoken forbidden words, triggering a curse.
Even the priest looked at him with the same eerie calm.
Xu Le felt a chill down his spine. He turned his gaze to the bride, knowing even without seeing her face that she was also staring at him.
Then, the priest spoke again.
“Do you take Mr. Xu Le… to be your lawfully wedded partner, to stand by their side and never part for the rest of your life?”
Xu Le sensed something was wrong, even the background music was changing from sacred and gentle to eerie.
The rose on his chest suddenly started to grow vines, wrapping around his limbs and binding him in place.
Xu Le was paralyzed with fear, unable to struggle.
A cold wind swept through the church, lifting the bride’s veil.
He saw a perfectly defined, yet unmistakably male, pale jawline and delicate pink lips.
A sharp pain shot through his wrist, and he looked down to see the rose vines piercing his skin. The once vibrant rose on his chest wilted, its petals falling to the ground and turning to ashes upon contact.
When he looked up again, the guests and the priest were gone. The once opulent church had become a desolate wasteland.
“Who… are you?” he asked, trembling.
Despite the obscured face, Xu Le felt a sense of familiarity with the bride.
Then, he watched as the bride’s hand loosened, the bouquet falling onto the white wedding dress and transforming into a horrifying blood-red color. Starting from the hem, the outfit began to change bit by bit.
Xu Le’s gaze followed the changing direction, until the veil gradually disappeared and the other party’s face became clearly imprinted in his eyes.
His expression was not just one of fear, but of horror.
“President Lan?”
At this moment, Lan Qing, dressed in a dark, vintage gown, with a cold, pale, and handsome face, and cold blue eyes, looked at Xu Le like a medieval vampire aristocrat.
Xu Le was terrified, wanting to escape, but his body was tightly bound by vines, and the pierced skin was very painful. Trembling, he said, “President Lan, please let me go, I beg you…”
However, he noticed something unusual about his body. Looking down, he saw that his black suit had disappeared, replaced by a pure white wedding dress.
He had become a bride!
“Xu Le, be my bride,” said a low, cold voice, with a hint of enchantment.
Lan Qing raised his hand towards him, holding a red diamond ring between his white fingertips, the only shimmering light in the desolation.
Author’s note:
Hahaha, writing about Lele’s dream is so interesting! Vampire President Lan is back on stage～