What To Do When The Boss Takes A Liking To You chapter 73
Wife, hug me!
Lan Qing leaned his body slightly forward, blocking most of Xu Le’s figure.
“Let’s go inside first, you guys do as you please.”
As he spoke, he put his arm around Xu Le’s shoulder and was about to lead him inside. Xu Le instinctively sensed that something was off with his mood and curiously glanced at Chen Wang and Huai Jing.
“Hey, what’s going on, do you know them?” he asked quietly.
Before Lan Qing could answer, Chen Wang lazily spoke up from behind, “Since we’re all acquaintances, why avoid each other? Since we’re here, why not have a meal together? The dishes here are excellent. I’ve tried a few great ones and can recommend them to you.”
Upon hearing about food, Xu Le’s eyes lit up.
“No need,” Lan Qing said icily.
“Wang ge!” Huai Jing said with some frustration.
“Why so guarded? Aren’t you two acquaintances? What’s your relationship with this blue-eyed guy? Is he a foreigner?” Chen Wang pushed aside Huai Jing’s hand and curiously looked at Lan Qing’s stern face.
He knew Huai Jing’s temperament—cold and usually too lazy to greet people. But just now, Huai Jing had actively made eye contact with this blue-eyed guy, clearly showing they had some connection.
Yet, he didn’t recognize the other person at all, which made him even more curious.
Xu Le finally understood that the key wasn’t the man with the peach-blossom eyes, but the one beside him.
He eagerly looked at Lan Qing, his dark eyes full of curiosity.
Huai Jing sighed inwardly. He couldn’t control Chen Wang and was always overpowered by him, so he simply explained, “He was my classmate when I studied abroad. He’s the son of Starlight’s head, he’s Lan Qing, a Chinese-Russian mix.”
Chen Wang smiled playfully, “He was your classmate? Seems like another brat, a half-Russian mixed kid from Starlight… the jewelry seller.”
Lan Qing: “…”
Huai Jing: “…”
Xu Le: “!!?”
Xu Le found the guy across from him very interesting. He had never heard anyone dare to call Lan Qing a “brat” right to his face. Xu Le almost burst out laughing.
However, he couldn’t help but look at the man with the peach-blossom eyes. This man didn’t show his age; he could be in his twenties or thirties. But since he dared to call Lan Qing a “brat,” he must be at least in his thirties.
“My name is Chen Wang. You can call me Wang ge. This here is the current chairman of Hengda Biotech, Huai Jing. You can call him Xiao Huai, Xiao Jing, or just Huai Jing—up to you.”
Chen Wang introduced himself very proactively, but his gaze lingered on Xu Le. He liked the kid, who was young, lively, smart, and pure-hearted, making a good impression on him.
“Get a bigger private room,” he said, turning to Huai Jing.
The private room was separated by carved screens with soft Chinese-style hanging lamps. The dining table and chairs were made of carved rosewood, decorated with various porcelain and paintings. The inner door had bamboo shadows cast on the nearby tea table.
The four of them sat around the dining table, but the seating order was mixed, with each having different thoughts—two smiling faces and two cold ones.
“This dried scallop and fish maw soup is very sweet. Try it,” Chen Wang said, serving Xu Le a bowl of soup.
Xu Le accepted it, “Thank you, Wang ge.” After tasting it, he exclaimed, “Wow, this soup is really good—both fresh and sweet!”
“One of the head chefs is a master who has been making Cantonese cuisine for over twenty years. His best skill is making soup. If I could hire him, I would love to have him at home. Such good soup every day would never get boring.”
Chen Wang picked a piece of golden roast pigeon, found it delicious, and specifically tore off a pigeon leg with a large piece of meat for Xu Le, keeping another for himself.
“Thanks, ge!” Xu Le was always excited about good food.
In no time, the roast pigeon was split up. Chen Wang glanced at the dark-faced Huai Jing, “You two can have the butt and head. Those parts are tastier anyway.”
Huai Jing: “…”
Lan Qing: “?”
At the dining table, Lan Qing and Huai Jing were almost like beautiful sculptures for decoration, while Xu Le happily chatted with Chen Wang.
Chen Wang was twelve or thirteen years older than Xu Le, with rich life experiences and a love for fun. Xu Le enjoyed everything he said, making Chen Wang feel that rare sense of complete admiration, especially when talking about extreme sports like racing and bungee jumping. Xu Le’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Wow, ge, you can do everything! Lan Qing used to be an amateur racer too. You two should race sometime!” Xu Le said excitedly.
“No time.”
“No chance.”
The first sentence was from Lan Qing, the second from Huai Jing, both with cold expressions.
Chen Wang sneered, “Such cold attitudes!”
Xu Le didn’t understand and blinked at Lan Qing, who pressed his lips together in silence. Xu Le could only sigh and shake his head.
“Okay.”
Forget it, Lan Qing was indeed very busy. He couldn’t affect his work.
“No big deal. I’ll be in Hai City for the next few days. If you want some thrills, I’ll take you out,” Chen Wang said, unable to resist pinching Xu Le’s smooth, tender cheek, sighing at how nice it was to be young with such good skin.
Crack. Crack.
Huai Jing calmly placed the broken bamboo chopsticks aside, “The quality of these chopsticks isn’t good.”
Lan Qing discarded the bent spoon, speaking calmly, “The quality of the spoon isn’t great either.”
Xu Le looked at the spoon in his left hand and the chopsticks in his right, bewildered, “Huh, the quality of the spoon and chopsticks seems fine to me?”
Chen Wang chuckled and didn’t say anything.
As they talked, they found they got along well, from food and drink to leisure activities, and even discussing games. Midway through their conversation, Chen Wang ordered a few bottles of alcohol. He and Xu Le drank and chatted, both of their faces turning red.
Chen Wang could hold his liquor, but Xu Le was average; he could barely stay sober.
“Wang Ge, let’s exchange WeChat IDs, hic!” Xu Le’s eyes were slightly blurry as he took out his phone and hiccupped.
Chen Wang took out his phone and opened the QR code scanner. “Sure, let me scan yours. We can play games together later, or if you need to ask me anything else, that’s fine too.”
Xu Le focused his eyes several times before managing to aim his phone correctly. After exchanging WeChat IDs, he giggled foolishly, “Great, let’s play games together sometime, hahaha!”
Though his gaze was somewhat unfocused, Xu Le suddenly noticed a ring on Chen Wang’s ring finger.
Surprised, he asked, “Wang Ge, you’re married?”
Chen Wang glanced at the man beside him, Huai Jing, who was looking back at him with a cold expression on his handsome face.
Turning back casually, Chen Wang absentmindedly replied while lightly playing with the ring on his right hand, “Yeah, I’m married.”
“Your wife must be very compatible with you. Does she support the things you like? It feels a bit risky, doesn’t it?” Xu Le asked curiously.
“I married him because he’s very capable. Not only does he handle all the household chores, he also earns enough to support the family.” Chen Wang joked.
Xu Le was surprised, his mouth slightly agape. It was a personal emotional matter, so he didn’t press further.
Seeing Xu Le getting a bit tipsy, Lan Qing stood up directly. “You’re drunk; we should head back.”
Chen Wang’s mouth curled with interest. He had long noticed the relationship between the two. “Why go back so early? I heard there’s a newly opened spa in Hai City. I wanted to chat more with this little guy.”
“Wang Ge, you’re drunk. We should really go back,” Huai Jing said with a harsh tone.
“Nonsense, how could I get drunk with my alcohol tolerance?” Chen Wang dismissed it.
As Xu Le stood up, feeling a bit dizzy, he stumbled, and Chen Wang reached out to help him. But Lan Qing was quicker, steadying Xu Le’s arm.
To make things easier, Lan Qing simply bent down and lifted him horizontally in his arms.
“Hey, why are you carrying me? I can walk by myself!” Xu Le weakly struggled, his limbs feeling weak and powerless.
Chen Wang watched with interest from the side.
Xu Le was indeed a bit drunk and couldn’t resist, so he resigned himself to being held by Lan Qing, tugging his arm and slurring a tipsy farewell to Chen Wang, “Wang… Wang Ge, goodbye!”
“Goodbye, Xiao Xu.” Chen Wang smiled faintly and waved to Xu Le.
Hearing this, Lan Qing’s expression darkened, and he quickly walked away with Xu Le in his arms.
Just as they were about to turn behind a screen and completely disappear from view, Xu Le saw something surprising.
The young man named Huai Jing actually stood up and walked towards Chen Wang, reaching out to touch Chen Wang’s face, as if checking if he was drunk. Chen Wang quickly pushed him away impatiently.
There was also a shining ring on his ring finger, sparkling brightly.
“Huh?” Xu Le was puzzled, thinking he might be seeing things.
Both of them were married? But Huai Jing looked very young, could he have married so early?
Moreover, based on his experience with Lan Qing, Xu Le felt that the relationship between Chen Wang and Huai Jing was not simple at all.
It definitely didn’t seem like a purely platonic friendship; the atmosphere between them was more intimate than between friends, closer to that of a couple…
Lan Qing placed Xu Le in the passenger seat and was about to fasten his seatbelt when Xu Le suddenly seemed to have a revelation, grabbing Lan Qing’s hand and looking at him with astonishment.
His expression was incredibly incredulous, as if he had discovered some incredible secret.
“What’s wrong?” Lan Qing raised his eyebrows.
As if afraid of being overheard, Xu Le whispered, “That classmate of yours, Huai Jing, I saw him wearing a ring. Is he married?”
“Yeah, he got married last year. I happened to be on a business trip abroad at the time, so I missed their wedding, but my parents attended.”
“Well… I feel like the relationship between him and Wang Ge isn’t just that of ordinary friends. It seems like… something more?” Xu Le hesitated.
“What kind of relationship?”
With a soft “click,” Lan Qing helped him fasten his seatbelt and gently patted his cheek, not hot but flushed.
“Not like friends, more like… lovers’ relationship? But they’re both married, aren’t they—”
Xu Le covered his mouth in shock, cautiously glanced behind Lan Qing to make sure no one was listening, then whispered, “Could they be secretly having an affair?”
Thanks to his university major’s requirement to watch a wide range of movies, having seen hundreds of films, Xu Le’s mind conjured up a melodramatic scenario.
Lan Qing was momentarily stunned, rare laughter brought out by Xu Le’s bold speculation. “Have you considered that they might be openly together?”
“Huh? Openly together?” Xu Le frowned, looking conflicted, then exclaimed in astonishment, “Are you saying… they’re married to each other?”
Lan Qing tapped his forehead lightly. “Sit properly and stop overthinking.”
As the alcohol’s effects evaporated during the ride home, Xu Le half-slept until they arrived. Lan Qing woke him up and he was still a bit groggy, rubbing his slightly bleary eyes.
“Are we home?”
“Yeah, I’ll make you a sobering soup when we get in. Next time, don’t drink so much.” Lan Qing turned off the engine, got out of the car first, then circled around the front of the car to Xu Le’s side.
Yawning, with teary eyes, Xu Le looked reluctant to move. “So tired, I just want to sleep…”
“Get out of the car first, then go upstairs to sleep.”
“Oh.”
Xu Le remained motionless. His face flushed even redder, the alcohol now thoroughly affecting him, pushing him towards the stage of drunken silliness.
With misty eyes that sparkled like stars, he gazed straight at Lan Qing and chuckled foolishly, “Hehe!”
Lan Qing furrowed his brow helplessly and asked, “What are you laughing at?”
Then, Xu Le opened his arms wide towards Lan Qing, making a gesture as if asking for a hug, his face looking completely silly.
“Wife, hug me!”
Lan Qing: “?”
There was no third person in the underground parking lot, making the atmosphere particularly silent. After a while, this cold silence was still broken by Xu Le.
Seeing no reaction from Lan Qing, Xu Le felt a bit displeased. He struggled to extend his arms a bit more within the limited space and repeated his request, “Wife, hug me, mm?”
Under the dim lighting of the garage, Lan Qing’s blue eyes emitted a wolf-like quality, seemingly flashing with a cold light.
Looking at Xu Le who still maintained a silly expression with his arms spread out, Lan Qing’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he slowly spoke, “Lele, you’re drunk.”