What To Do When The Boss Takes A Liking To You chapter 68
If You Were Forced…
Opposite them, Feng Zhuyi was caught off guard and got a face full of Li Dongming’s tea. Her meticulously made-up face twisted for three seconds before she sighed and grabbed some tissues to wipe her face.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to,” Li Dongming hurriedly handed her some tissues.
Feng Zhuyi smiled, tucking her wet hair behind her ear, “No need.”
After cleaning her face, she looked at Xu Le, her gaze probing, “Are you telling the truth?”
Xu Le’s expression and tone were solemn, as if a priest making a vow, his eyes firm, “Yes, it’s true.”
Feng Zhuyi’s composed expression finally cracked a bit. After a moment of silence, she sighed again, “Alright, since you already have a partner, I guess I have no chance. I wish you both happiness.”
Though she still liked Xu Le, she didn’t want to interfere in someone else’s relationship, especially given the insurmountable barrier of sexual orientation. She wasn’t so desperate for love to fight to the death for it.
Feng Zhuyi had always been straightforward, which was why she directly rejected Zhao Zhiang’s confession back then and instead confessed to Xu Le.
Xu Le, while feeling relieved, admired Feng Zhuyi’s forthrightness, “Thank you… for your blessings.”
Li Dongming wanted to ask more questions but decided not to, considering Feng Zhuyi was present. Instead, he shifted the conversation to some funny stories from their university days.
For a moment, everyone avoided the previous topic, creating a pleasant atmosphere.
Feng Zhuyi had a tight schedule and didn’t stay long before saying goodbye.
“I have an appointment this evening, my manager just reminded me, so I’ll leave first,” she said with a smile.
Li Dongming felt a bit guilty, as it was his rudeness earlier that had sprayed tea on her face. “I’m really sorry about earlier. Let’s meet again someday, my treat.”
“Bye!” Feng Zhuyi waved, grabbed her Hermes bag, and left gracefully, leaving Xu Le and Li Dongming staring at each other.
Li Dongming couldn’t hold back any longer and asked, “You said you have a boyfriend,” his Adam’s apple moved uncomfortably as he said those words, “Is it true?”
“Yes, and you’ve met him,” Xu Le replied honestly.
“I’ve met him?” Li Dongming furrowed his thick eyebrows, searching his memory until he pinpointed the person. “Is it that junior who studies art? But isn’t he a year younger than us?”
“No, it’s someone you met recently,” Xu Le said, feeling a bit nervous. He picked up an empty teacup to hide his anxiety, pretending to drink from it while observing Li Dongming’s expression.
“Someone I’ve met recently?” Li Dongming frowned. Recently, he had mostly been at the gym, meeting a lot of men, but none seemed like a match for his best friend.
“Here’s a hint,” Xu Le coughed lightly and put down the teacup. “He and I went to your house a few days ago.”
Li Dongming remembered.
That imposing man with blue eyes who looked like a model, Xu Le’s boss.
His eyes widened in disbelief, “No way, you guys are having an office romance?”
Xu Le blushed, “Kind of, yeah.”
Li Dongming didn’t speak, scrutinizing Xu Le with a probing gaze.
Xu Le felt uncomfortable under his gaze, “Why are you looking at me like that…”
“Lele, you weren’t forced into this, were you? Otherwise, why would you suddenly turn gay?”
Xu Le: “?”
Forced? Such a dramatic scenario seemed straight out of a novel. Xu Le couldn’t fathom Li Dongming’s thought process.
Thanks to his fujoshi cousin’s influence, Li Dongming’s mind had already concocted a whole drama.
Poor office worker Xu Le, handsome and likable, targeted by the company’s domineering CEO. The CEO used his power to coerce Xu Le into a relationship, threatening to fire him if he didn’t comply.
Because Xu Le refused to submit, the CEO resorted to force, making his work difficult and even monitoring his social interactions.
The last time that CEO, Mr. Lan, visited Li Dongming’s home with Xu Le was probably to warn Xu Le!
Out of desperation, Xu Le had no choice but to submit to the CEO’s power. Otherwise, how could a perfectly straight man suddenly turn gay?
The more Li Dongming thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, prompting him to tell Xu Le indignantly, “It’s just a job, there are plenty of good jobs out there. If he really threatened you into this relationship, I don’t care if he’s Mr. Lan, Mr. Red, or Mr. Green, I’d beat him until he can’t take care of himself!”
Xu Le: “?”
What was Li Dongming talking about? Threats and coercion? Separately, he could understand the words, but together they made no sense.
“Li, what kind of nonsense have you been reading lately?” Xu Le frowned.
Li Dongming took out his phone, pulled up his cousin’s WeChat, and read out the title of a novel, “‘Forced Love by the Domineering CEO.’ My cousin accidentally sent me this. It’s about a good-looking male employee who catches the eye of the company CEO. First, there’s sexual harassment, then the CEO gets him drunk and rapes him. The employee resists, so the CEO locks him in a villa, doesn’t give him clothes, and rapes him every day…”
Xu Le, never having encountered such stories, was shocked, “That’s illegal, isn’t it?”
“That’s why it’s a novel. I skimmed the ending, and it was mind-blowing,” Li Dongming said, taking a deep breath.
Xu Le was intrigued, “What was the ending? Did the employee call the police and get the CEO arrested?”
“No, they end up together, and the employee actually forgives the CEO. Is that even logical? If I were the employee, I’d punch the CEO until he cried for his mom!” Li Dongming said, fuming.
Xu Le: “?”
“It’s indeed mind-blowing,” Xu Le said, puzzled as to why girls would enjoy such extreme and bizarre stories.
“My cousin says they call it ‘Scumbag Top and pitiful Bottom.’ It’s absolutely crazy.”
Xu Le nodded in agreement.
“Wait, how did we get here? The main point is, you weren’t forced by your CEO, right?” Li Dongming asked seriously.
“What are you thinking? I just like him. Why would he need to force me? Besides, I’m a grown man; I can resist, can’t I?” Xu Le’s face was flushed.
Li Dongming opened his mouth as if to say something but stopped. He sighed, “Alright, if you like him, then what can I do as your friend? Just hope you two… get along well.”
Xu Le’s eyes lit up, feeling touched, “You’re not against it?”
“Against? No way. You’re my best friend; how could I ever reject you? But—” Li Dongming changed the subject, eyeing Xu Le’s slightly slim figure, “You need to work out more. You’re no match for him.”
Xu Le flexed his arm muscles and said, “i’m not bad though, right? I work out every day.”
“Of course, that’s not enough. You can’t be worse than him when you two are together,” Li Dongming smacked his forehead. “Perfect timing. I’ll take you to our gym later and teach you some fitness techniques.”
“Sure!” Xu Le had never been to the gym that Li Dongming co-owned with someone else. He’d only seen photos and videos, knowing it was quite large.
Before leaving, Xu Le, worried that Lan Qing might be concerned, sent Lan Qing the address of the gym along with a message informing him.
“Stay safe. If you need me to pick you up, just send me a message anytime.”
Seeing that message, Xu Le felt a sweet sensation in his heart and replied with a cute puppy emoji.
Li Dongming’s gym was vast, not only uniformly decorated in a professional lead-gray color but also covering more than a thousand square meters, divided into various zones like cardio, strength, Pilates, and even a boxing area with a ring. It was well-equipped and had a lot of gear.
Both men and women were working out vigorously inside.
Li Dongming gave Xu Le a tour before they ended up in the strength area.
“Plant your feet firmly, use your glutes and legs to exert force, feel the muscle pull, and take it slow.”
Li Dongming was particularly patient while teaching Xu Le.
At first, Xu Le found it interesting, but soon he couldn’t keep up and was so exhausted that even holding the barbell became a struggle.
Just then, Li Dongming received a call and had to handle something. Xu Le said, “You go ahead. I can work out on my own.”
“Alright, I’ll be back soon.” Li Dongming hurried off to deal with his matters.
Xu Le worked out a bit more before stopping. His legs were sore, so he found a stationary bike to rest on and started scrolling through his phone.
“Hello, mind if we chat?”
A pleasant male voice sounded behind him. Xu Le turned around to see a stranger, a man in his thirties, with a refined demeanor and a rather handsome face. He was dressed in typical gym attire: a sports T-shirt and stretchy pants with shorts over them, looking tall and well-built.
Thinking he was a salesman, Xu Le declined, “Sorry, I don’t have time.”
He then leaned forward on the stationary bike. Since he had been sweating, his T-shirt clung to his body, revealing his slim, flexible waistline as he stretched.
The man stared at Xu Le’s back, his gaze darkening slightly.
The stranger had been watching Xu Le while working out, but with the taller and more muscular Li Dongming around, he hadn’t dared to approach. Now that Li Dongming was gone, he seized the chance to get close to Xu Le.
Up close, Xu Le’s face was as attractive as his body. He had none of the effeminate softness; he was purely a fresh and handsome young man, which made him even more appealing.
Having frequented gyms for a long time, the stranger had seen and hooked up with all kinds of handsome men, but it was his first time encountering someone like Xu Le, who stirred his heart. Driven by a desire to seduce, he couldn’t help but strike up a conversation.
Despite being rejected, he wasn’t embarrassed and casually sat on the stationary bike next to Xu Le.
“Was that man your friend?” the stranger asked. His sharp eyes had noticed the band-aid on the back of Xu Le’s neck and the faint marks on his long neck.
It seemed Xu Le wasn’t as pure as he looked; being young, he must have fooled around.
Confident, the stranger thought as he scrutinized Xu Le with a gaze that became more brazen and offensive.
Xu Le glanced at him, feeling an intense dislike for the man.
It was the first time he had felt such aversion to a stranger.
“He’s my friend, and he’ll be back soon.”
Xu Le didn’t want to engage with the man, focusing instead on messaging Lan Qing.
Lan Qing: “Are you still at the gym?”
Xu Le: “Yeah, do you miss me? Hehehe!”
Lan Qing: “Yes, I just finished my work. I’ll come to pick you up.”
Xu Le thought it was a good idea for Lan Qing to come and happily sent back a cute puppy emoji.
Xu Le: “Great! I’ll wait for you!”
“Are you new here? I haven’t seen you before. I have a lot of fitness experience. Need any help?” the man persisted.
Xu Le looked up at him warily and said, “No.”
The man smiled, “It’s free of charge. Sure you don’t want it?”