What To Do When The Boss Takes A Liking To You chapter 67
Partner? Male?!
It was exactly 7 a.m. Still quite early, and there was time for more than half an hour of lazy sleep.
“You can continue sleeping. I’ll wake you up later.” Saying this, Lan Qing released Xu Le and tucked him in.
“Okay,” Xu Le responded lazily with a sleepy tone, since Lan Qing had allowed him to continue sleeping, he might as well lie down for a while.
So, he slept peacefully.
Until Lan Qing woke him up, it was exactly 8 a.m.
Lan Qing was already refreshed, dressed in a neatly tailored shirt and trousers, a dark green tie tied in a half-Windsor knot, looking refined and restrained.
If it weren’t for them having been in the same bed last night, fooling around wildly together, Xu Le might have actually thought Lan Qing was “restrained.”
But not only was Lan Qing not “restrained,” in some aspects, he was downright formidable!
Thinking of last night’s events, Xu Le, who was semi-naive about such matters, felt a bit embarrassed facing Lan Qing.
Lan Qing had a regular routine, waking up promptly at 7 a.m., but he didn’t insist Xu Le get up early. Seeing Xu Le looking bewildered, he gently patted his head, “It’s time to get up, or else breakfast will get cold.”
Xu Le’s sense of smell was sensitive, like a little dog’s. He sniffed and indeed caught the scent of fried food, his eyes brightened, “I’ll get up right away!”
In the bathroom with separate wet and dry areas, above the washbasin not belonging to Xu Le were the grooming products of another man: a razor, toothbrush, facial cleanser…
All new items. Xu Le didn’t know where Lan Qing had conjured them from.
Seeing this, just as his heart had finally calmed down, it began to itch again.
After finishing his morning routine, Xu Le came to the dining table where Lan Qing was already seated.
There was a dazzling array of food in front of him, laid out in abundance—rice noodle rolls, pan-fried buns, crystal dumplings, soup dumplings, fried dough sticks, and even several types of drinks.
Xu Le: “?”
“Did you make all this?” he asked, astonished.
“I had Anthony bring it from the dim sum restaurant. Since he didn’t know exactly what breakfast you liked, he brought a bit of everything,” Lan Qing explained.
Xu Le was amazed; this scale was too extravagant. The breakfast spread before him could easily feed seven or eight people!
“I’m not picky, as long as it tastes good. But it didn’t need to be this elaborate; the company has a staff canteen, after all.”
The food before him looked expensive judging by the packaging, with good presentation. Even the rice noodle rolls looked high-class; it was the kind of upscale restaurant Xu Le rarely treated himself to.
At these words, Lan Qing’s long lashes lowered slightly. “I just wanted to have breakfast with you.”
Xu Le exclaimed softly, looking at Lan Qing before him. For some reason, he vaguely sensed a bit of attachment from him?
Hmm, he wanted to have breakfast with him, so he specially had Anthony deliver it home…
Thinking this, Xu Le’s heart fluttered, like a little bird fluttering in his chest.
“I also like having breakfast with you, really! As long as I’m with you, I’m happy doing anything!” His smile was bright, revealing a set of white teeth.
Xu Le remembered what his junior in fine arts had once said to him.
As long as two people liked each other, no matter what they did together, they would feel very happy. Even if they couldn’t see each other, they could feel happy through messages on their phones, hearing each other’s voices, knowing that the other person was there.
Xu Le had only a vague understanding of these words before, but now he could truly grasp their meaning.
…….
After enjoying a pleasant team-building holiday, everyone was still in a good mood upon returning to work.
During lunch, Jianxin, with her sharp eyes, noticed marks on Xu Le’s skin beneath his collar. They were red and irregular in shape, not resembling mosquito bites, but more like they were man-made.
Not only that, but there were also small marks behind his ears.
“Oh, did you have a fun night last night, Xiao Lele?” Jianxin’s beautiful, upturned eyes narrowed slightly, her smile full of ambiguity.
Xu Le was confused and felt a bit guilty because he had indeed fooled around with Lan Qing for half the night.
He awkwardly tugged at his collar. “What fun night? I just didn’t sleep well and got bitten by mosquitoes…”
Xu Le’s words were unconvincing, and his lie was flimsy. To Cao Xinyi and Jianxin, it was as transparent as paper and easily seen through.
“Really? But it looks like—” Jianxin wanted to continue teasing but was interrupted by Cao Xinyi.
“Jiaxin, don’t tease Lele,” Cao Xinyi subtly signaled to Jianxin with her eyes.
Receiving the signal, Jianxin changed her tone. “Indeed, the weather has been hot lately, and there are a lot of mosquitoes.” However, her ambiguous tone suggested she meant more than she said.
“Yes, hahaha!” Xu Le awkwardly laughed, scratching the back of his neck, thinking he had covered it up.
When the men’s restroom was empty, Xu Le quickly checked the mirror for marks on his neck and indeed found several noticeable red marks.
There was even one behind his ear!
No wonder Jiaxin and the others teased him… Thinking of this, he was so embarrassed that he wanted to find a hole to hide in.
He originally thought that raising his shirt collar would perfectly cover them, but he had been completely exposed.
The worst part was that he even found a bite mark on the left side of his neck. It wasn’t severe, but it was obvious that it was a bite.
He recalled Lan Qing calling him a “biting puppy” in the morning and felt a bit indignant.
Calling him a biting puppy—wasn’t Lan Qing the same?
Suppressing his embarrassment, Xu Le stuck a sticky note over the bite mark on the left side of his neck.
After all, the red marks could be blamed on mosquitoes, but the bite mark was undeniable.
“There’s a new set of jewelry that needs to be photographed today. I’ve already arranged a model for 2:30 PM. Make sure to check the equipment and the set,” said his colleague.
Xu Le nodded, “Got it.”
He had become increasingly proficient at his job. From asking questions about everything at first, he could now handle tasks independently. In just two or three months, he had made rapid progress.
When the scheduled shooting time arrived, Xu Le entered the studio.
The model was a very young woman, and from her back, Xu Le felt a sense of familiarity, but he couldn’t immediately recall who she was.
When she turned around and he saw her face, Xu Le was slightly surprised, “Feng Zhuyi?”
Feng Zhuyi was also momentarily stunned upon seeing Xu Le, “Xu Le?”
Though they hadn’t seen each other for more than a year, their appearances hadn’t changed much, still vibrant and attractive, though a bit less youthful.
To Xu Le, Feng Zhuyi was the key figure in his dormitory’s discord.
When Zhao Zhiang pursued her, it was widely known in their department. During a grand confession, Feng Zhuyi not only rejected Zhao Zhiang but also confessed to Xu Le, who was quietly playing his guitar nearby. This incident became a hot topic on campus.
“Are you a photographer now?” Feng Zhuyi looked at him, her eyes glistening.
Xu Le coughed lightly, adjusted the equipment, and said succinctly, “Kind of. Let’s get to work.”
Feng Zhuyi nodded and soon immersed herself in the job.
She was very professional and beautiful, making it easy for Xu Le to take good shots without much waste. They cooperated well, and the shoot was completed quickly.
After the shoot, Feng Zhuyi approached the camera with a smile, “Can I see the photos we just took?”
Xu Le nodded, “Sure, go ahead.”
“These are really nice.” Feng Zhuyi browsed through the photos, noticing Xu Le’s skill in capturing dynamic and beautiful images that also highlighted the jewelry’s features.
“It’s been a while since we last met. Since we’re both alumni from the same department, do you have time to grab a meal together?” she asked.
Xu Le hesitated briefly. It felt impolite to refuse, and it was just a meal. He could explain it to Lan Qing later, so he nodded, “Okay, I’ll ask Li Dongming to join us. He’s also in Hai City, and we can all catch up.”
Feng Zhuyi’s expression flickered briefly, but she still smiled and agreed, “Sure, let’s do that.”
In a restaurant, Xu Le, Li Dongming, and Feng Zhuyi sat around a table by the window.
Xu Le messaged Lan Qing.
[I’m out for dinner with friends. I’ll eat outside tonight!]He added a cute dog sticker for good measure.
Lan Qing replied almost instantly.
[Okay, stay safe.]Xu Le smiled at his phone for a while, not hearing Li Dongming calling him.
“Lele, what are you looking at so intently?”
“Huh? Oh, I was just scrolling through Weibo comments. They were interesting,” Xu Le said, scratching his neck.
“Here’s the menu. Choose what you want. You two order; I’m fine with anything,” Li Dongming said, too lazy to scan the code to order.
“Alright,” Feng Zhuyi replied with a smile.
The restaurant was Feng Zhuyi’s choice, a good Cantonese restaurant. The only downside was the slow service to ensure the quality of the dishes.
While waiting, they could only chat to pass the time.
Feng Zhuyi leaned her hand on the table, propping up her chin. She was very beautiful and knew how to dress well. Her makeup and hairstyle were exquisite, and as a professional model, she had great poise, which often drew admiring glances.
She looked at Xu Le and smiled lightly, “I’ve been following your A-station account. I think your videos are really interesting.”
“Oh, they’re just random shots and edits, just for fun,” Xu Le replied, laughing.
“Do you still play the guitar? I saw your live stream singing last time; it was really good,” Feng Zhuyi continued.
Li Dongming picked up on something and chimed in, “Lele has a great singing voice, of course. Wasn’t he one of the top ten singers on campus? Hahaha!”
Xu Le didn’t want to bring up those past stories and waved his hand, “Stop praising me. I did all that for credits and scholarships.”
“But it sounded really good,” Feng Zhuyi said, looking at Xu Le’s handsome face, her thoughts stirring slightly. “Xu Le, are you still… single?”
Her question was direct. Li Dongming, hearing this, kept winking at Xu Le.
Xu Le, although a bit slow in matters of the heart, wasn’t stupid and could understand Feng Zhuyi’s implication. But how should he respond?
Maybe this was the perfect chance to be honest with Li Dongming about his relationship with Lan Qing?
After thinking it over for a while, he decided to tell the truth.
“Well, I already have a partner.”
“What?”
This exclamation came from Li Dongming. He looked at Xu Le incredulously, “Lele, are you serious?”
Feng Zhuyi’s expression froze too. Seeing that even Li Dongming, who was Xu Le’s best friend, didn’t seem to know, she silently deduced that Xu Le was likely making an excuse to brush her off.
So, she softened her tone, “I understand you might not like me now and are finding an excuse, but that’s okay. Maybe if we spend some time together, we’ll find we’re a good match?”
Xu Le shook his head and glanced nervously at Li Dongming, “I’m telling the truth. I do have a partner.”
“Damn, why didn’t you tell me you’re dating? Lele, do you still consider me your brother?” Li Dongming felt hurt that Xu Le had kept such a big secret from him.
Feng Zhuyi pursed her lips and stared at Xu Le, trying to find any sign of deceit.
“I didn’t mean to hide it from you because……” Xu Le was flustered, his body tensing up.
Should he really tell Li Dongming about this? What if he couldn’t accept that he liked men?
Xu Le cherished his friendship with Li Dongming and didn’t want to lose him.
Seeing Xu Le turn pale, Li Dongming became anxious and poured him a cup of tea, gently comforting him, “Lele, don’t panic. I’m not blaming you for not telling me. I was just surprised. If you don’t want to say it, it’s fine. Have some water first.”
Li Dongming even considered that Xu Le’s secrecy might be due to an unspeakable reason, like dating a much older wealthy woman. He would still support Xu Le no matter what.
After taking a sip of tea, Xu Le felt a bit calmer. He looked solemnly at Li Dongming and said slowly, “Li, I have something to tell you. Prepare yourself.”
Li Dongming, rarely seeing Xu Le so serious, got nervous too, stuttering, “You, uh, you say it. As long as it’s not an underage girl or someone over fifty, I can accept it.”
“It’s neither,” Xu Le shook his head.
Li Dongming breathed a sigh of relief, patting his chest. As long as the age was normal, he could accept it. He lowered the acceptable age range in his mind to between 18 and 50.
“My partner is five years older than me.”
Li Dongming nodded, “Okay, age is fine. Five years older is no big deal.”
“And much wealthier than me.”
Li Dongming nodded repeatedly, “That’s good. Wealth is a plus.”
“Personality is great, especially towards me.”
Li Dongming smiled with satisfaction, “Good, good, as long as she’s good to you. Being older means she can take care of you.”
“Also very good-looking.”
Li Dongming felt completely at ease and even poured himself a cup of tea, taking a sip. “Good-looking is a bonus.”
He thought Xu Le was lucky to find a wealthy, beautiful, and kind older woman.
“It’s a man.”
“Oh, good, good… What?!”
Li Dongming spat out the tea he had just sipped, his expression twisted in shock.
“Damn, you have a boyfriend?!”