What To Do When The Boss Takes A Liking To You chapter 54
Irresistible Attraction
“Huh?”
Xu Le was dumbfounded, mouth agape, not knowing what to say for a moment.
He couldn’t understand why explaining his relationship with Li Dongming to Lan Qing would lead to such a blush-inducing misunderstanding. Moreover, from the way Lan Qing spoke, it made him feel like he was being portrayed as a fickle-hearted person who would run off at the slightest chance…
Xu Le felt incredibly embarrassed and quickly explained, “My relationship with my roommate is purely platonic. There’s absolutely no romantic feelings beyond friendship! Besides, he— he had a girlfriend before, so he couldn’t possibly like men!”
Wait, why did he explain that last part? After saying it, he felt his face heating up even more.
“Oh, is that so?” Lan Qing’s deep blue eyes remained calm, but there was a hint of amusement in them. “Hmm, okay, I’ll temporarily believe you.”
Xu Le wanted to ask why “temporarily,” but he didn’t dare. He suppressed the doubt and continued, albeit with a forced smile, “President Lan, since I joined the company, you’ve helped me a lot. I thought maybe you valued my work ability and saw me as a promising employee, but I didn’t expect you to—”
“Did you never consider the possibility of me pursuing you?”
“Huh?” Xu Le’s dark eyes widened.
“Adding someone on WeChat is usually the first step in pursuing someone, isn’t it?” Lan Qing said matter-of-factly.
Xu Le was shocked. He remembered receiving a friend request from President Lan not long after joining the company.
At that time, he was puzzled. Wasn’t he just a probationary employee? Did the CEO really need to add him personally?
But he was inexperienced in the workplace. His understanding of office dynamics mostly came from TV dramas, which tended to be exaggerated and unrealistic nowadays, more misleading than informative.
So, although he found it strange, since the CEO had taken the initiative to add him, maybe it was a sign of appreciation for his work!
Now, it was almost terrifying to think about it. Did President Lan already have such thoughts about him shortly after he joined the company?
In just half a minute, Xu Le’s mind raced through memories, back to the day he first met Lan Qing.
The elevator was about to close, and Xu Le, in a hurry for an interview, hastily pried open the doors to meet a pair of deep blue eyes.
“Aren’t you coming in?” The deep and powerful voice easily subdued him.
“Oh, thank you…”
At that time, Xu Le thought Lan Qing was wearing colored contact lenses, but later he noticed his uncommonly attractive features. He was mixed-race.
Then, as soon as he took out his phone in the elevator, he was coldly warned by Lan Qing. That was when his first impression of Lan Qing wasn’t good.
Xu Le thought he was a man with a bad temper and a sour face. Even if they became colleagues, he definitely didn’t want to have anything to do with such a person.
Despite the fact that this cold-faced mixed-race man was undeniably good-looking.
However, when he pushed open the office door and saw the interviewer, Xu Le’s mind went blank. He would never have imagined that the man who had just coldly warned him in the elevator would be the CEO of the company.
At that moment, Lan Qing looked up at him coldly, his words cruel and merciless.
“I’m giving you one chance. Either come in, or leave now.”
…
The recollection ended there, snapping back to reality, but Xu Le’s mind had just added a question mark.
Wait a minute, from President Lan’s expression and attitude, did it look like he was interested in him? Let alone pursuing him! This was simply too absurd.
“President Lan, I don’t understand. Why would you… uh, me?” Xu Le couldn’t bring himself to say the word “like,” so he awkwardly asked.
“Why?” Lan Qing took off his glasses, his slender fingers resting on his chin. After thinking for a while, he answered seriously, “Honestly, I don’t know, but I feel a strong, irresistible attraction towards you that makes me want to get closer.”
What? That’s basically not an answer at all! Xu Le thought to himself, but his heart started racing.
“You must be thinking that what I said didn’t make any sense.”
“Huh?” Xu Le was taken aback, his expression showing, “How did you know? I thought I hid it well.”
“Do you want to hear one of my reasons?” Without the glasses, the emotions in Lan Qing’s eyes were more evident, no longer veiled like before.
Xu Le hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
Lan Qing’s elegant lips curved slightly, with a hint of teasing that was quite different from his usual cold restraint, making him seem much more lively.
For someone like Xu Le, who was young and inexperienced both emotionally and socially, Lan Qing, being five years older, easily took the dominant position. This also made Lan Qing less inhibited in his words, plus his half-foreign heritage made his thoughts and actions seem straightforward at times.
For instance, when Xu Le texted him, “I miss you,” Lan Qing, despite being tired from just getting off the plane, would decisively tell the driver to turn back.
Or, like in the lounge bar, Lan Qing had considered that Xu Le’s message might have been a misunderstanding. But when Xu Le, with slightly drunken eyes, looked at him with such an enticing expression in that ambiguous setting, with love songs playing softly, he felt it was the perfect moment for a kiss.
So, he kissed without hesitation and chose to immediately express his feelings clearly afterwards.
None of his actions were regrettable.
“One of the reasons is—” Lan Qing paused, seeing Xu Le looking at him eagerly, finding him interesting and adorable, the smile on his lips deepening, “You have a beautiful physique. Your waist-to-hip ratio is the most aesthetically pleasing I’ve ever seen.”
Xu Le was stunned, his mouth opening and closing without words for a while before his face turned bright red, “What kind of reason is that… that’s so weird.”
How good could a man’s figure be, especially when he didn’t have the sculpted muscles of someone like Li Dongming or the smooth, powerful build of Lan Qing? He wasn’t pale and frail, but there was nothing particularly outstanding about his figure, let alone any special proportions!
“So, it’s just one of the reasons.”
Xu Le was left speechless, not daring to continue this topic, so he evasively returned to the original subject, “Um, President Lan, about the house…”
“Think it over first. I’ll be at the company tomorrow. Let me know your decision then. That’s all for today. Good night.”
“Good… night.”
Before Xu Le could finish, Lan Qing had already hung up the video call.
Xu Le sat there in a daze. Without Fa Cai’s company, the empty house felt much colder.
He sighed deeply, starting to worry again.
From President Lan’s words, he had to bring up the house issue again at the company tomorrow. How should he approach it? Besides, he didn’t think there was much to say. They had almost finished discussing it just now. Why did they need to talk face-to-face again tomorrow? He didn’t quite understand what Lan Qing wanted.
……
Just back at the company after a few days off, Xu Le was quite busy, immediately diving into editing photos and writing copy. He was working non-stop all morning.
While busy with layout, someone suddenly knocked on his desk. Looking up, he saw it was Cao Xinyi.
“Jie, what’s up?”
“Your Fa Cai is still at my place. Do you want to pick it up today?” Cao Xinyi said with a smile, placing two egg yolk pastries in front of him, “These egg yolk pastries are pretty good. Try them.”
“Thanks, jie!” Xu Le’s eyes lit up at the sight of the pastries. He quickly put one in his mouth, “It’s really good, just the right sweetness. I’ll pick Fa Cai up after work today. Thanks for taking care of it these past few days.”
“No problem. I have pets anyway!”
Before Xu Le could finish eating, Lucy came over, “President Lan emailed me. He wants you to go to his office.”
“Cough, cough, cough…” Xu Le nearly choked. He quickly got up, “Okay.”
Cao Xinyi was puzzled, “Hey, President Lan seems to really value Lele, calling him to the office again.”
“Yeah, hurry up and go. Wipe your mouth.” Lucy laughed.
Xu Le nodded awkwardly, carefully wiping his mouth before heading to Lan Qing’s office with a determined attitude.
As soon as he knocked, he heard a calm “Come in.”
He cautiously opened the door and then gently closed it behind him.
Lan Qing wasn’t sitting at his desk but standing by the bookshelf, reading a book. When Xu Le entered, he put the book back.
Tall and handsome, standing by the ornate, vintage bookshelf, he looked like a piece of fine art.
“President Lan.” Xu Le hesitated but spoke first.
Lan Qing didn’t say anything, just stepped closer to him, his beautiful blue eyes fixed on him, making Xu Le nervous and forcing him to step back.
Until his back hit the door, leaving him no retreat, like a helpless herbivore cornered by a predatory white lion.
At 180 cm tall, Xu Le wasn’t short, but in front of nearly 190 cm Lan Qing, he seemed somewhat weak.
Especially given their unequal status, the height difference only intensified the sense of pressure.
“Uh, President Lan?”
Xu Le looked up at him, puzzled, feeling a nervous sweat despite the comfortable air conditioning.
Author’s Note:
President Lan: Just missing the little intern, wanted to see him in person.