CH 15

When Xia Shu’an woke up the next day, there was no one around him.

His whole body was sore, and it took him ten minutes just to get out of bed. As soon as he went downstairs, the auntie shouted with joy:

“Mr. Xia, you’re up. It’s just in time to eat. Have some homemade porridge.”

Xia Shu’an raised his eyebrows, inexplicably feeling like his status had changed due to a certain someone.

No matter how experienced the soul inside is, this body is still young and rusty. Xia Shu’an felt uncomfortable all over. After breakfast, he went back to the room, lying on the soft sofa bed and reading the Encyclopedia of Agriculture and Forestry. Gradually, his eyelids slowly sank down.

…

Monday morning is the concentrated time for meetings, and all meetings are proceeding in an orderly manner according to last week’s plan. In the huge general manager’s office, only two people stayed behind, while others were assigned to different departments to participate in and supervise important meetings.

The tedious and detailed schedule continued until 11:00 a.m. When the automatic doors at the bottom of the building opened on both sides as the visitors approached, the receptionist, with a smile on her face, was about to speak in a formulaic manner when suddenly there was a bit of genuine joy on her face:

“President Sheng, you’re back!”

The visitor was a handsome man in his mid-thirties, carrying a suitcase in his hand. He looked travel-worn, and it appeared he had just returned from a trip. With a faint smile on his face, he said, “Is everything okay at the company?”

“Okay, okay. President Shen has been talking about you again and again. Finally, you’re back.”

“What can he say about me? He just thinks about how to exploit me to work for him. No more talking; I’ll go up first.”

“Ok.”

After the figure of the man disappeared in the elevator room, the front desk quickly opened the QQ group in the small right corner and typed at the speed of light:

[Melon Skin No. 1: President Sheng is back! ! ! ]

[Melon Skin No. 2:! ! ! My spiritual pillar is back! ]

[Melon Skin No. 3: You guys are really ugh. Our President Shen is also very handsome, okay? ]

[Melon Skin No. 2: What does it have to do with us if President Shen is handsome or not? Do you still dare to look at his face? ]

[Melon Skin No. 3: Don’t dare /(ㄒoㄒ)/]

[Melon Skin No. 2: That’s right, President Shen’s handsomeness can only be appreciated by certain people, but President Sheng’s handsomeness is our company’s precious asset!]

[Melon Skin No. 3: Speaking of President Sheng, he was the first batch of veterans when President Shen was still struggling back then, right? Only President Sheng dares to make fun of President Shen. The picture of the two of them together is so eye-catching, and it can even comfort my shattered soul after being scolded by President Shen TAT]

[Melon Skin No. 2: To tell you the truth, I’m also a little addicted to this cp…]

[Melon Skin No. 3: Me too…]

[Melon Skin No. 1: I only eat the pretty little brother from last time. ]

[Melon Skin No. 2: Uh…]

[Melon Skin No. 2: Ah…]

…

After the third meeting, Shen Boyan returned to the office. The end of the meeting does not mean that the matter is over. At most, he can only say that he is tired of seeing a group of people arguing. He was lowering his head and explaining to his assistant a few remaining matters from the meeting while pushing the door open.

“Hello~”

The cold look on Shen Boyan’s face quickly turned into a smile. He opened his arms and hugged the man in the room vigorously, patting his back.

“Finally, you’re back.”

“If I don’t come back, you won’t be able to find someone to exploit, right?”

“I didn’t exploit you; it’s clear that you are a workaholic.”

The two walked to the sofa, talking and laughing, and the assistant went down to prepare tea with great insight.

After sitting down, the smile on Shen Boyan’s face has been restrained a lot.

“How’s the situation over there?”

“I’ve reconnected with the people from the government, and this Shi Laoliu is not reliable at all. Fortunately, he didn’t go whoring himself.”

Entering South Africa is a major project that the company decided on two years ago. At the beginning of this year, Shen Boyan sent people to contact agents in South Africa. Through these agents, they established relationships with political figures there and watched various matters progress smoothly and orderly. Unexpectedly, two months ago, the r*pe incident involving the executives they contacted suddenly broke out, followed by power changes and strife.

For this reason, all the formalities they were about to go through were urgently suspended. Fortunately, the official’s schedule was very private, and none of their people participated in it, so they would not be implicated. However, in order to advance the process, Shen Boyan sent Sheng Songbai, one of the company’s veterans, to supervise and manage the South African expansion project throughout the process.

After two months, he overcame the most difficult hurdle and returned.

Shen Boyan looked relieved and said, “Thank you for your hard work.”

“Hey, it’s all work.”

The two discussed specific matters for a while longer, and seeing that it was noon, Shen Boyan got up and said, “Let’s go. I’ll invite you, the great hero, to eat in the company cafeteria.”

Sheng Songbai smiled and said, “You don’t say. I haven’t eaten it for two months, and I miss it a little bit.”

The two walked upstairs, talking and laughing. There are two restaurants in the company. One is for ordinary employees, and the other is for supervisors or above, or to bring clients to eat. Relatively, the meals are also richer.

Shen Boyan is not a pampered person. To him, there is no difference between a five-star restaurant and a company cafeteria. It was lunch time, and the two of them went up, which attracted a lot of attention.

“President Shen, President Sheng.”

Shen Boyan nodded slightly. The food in the restaurant can be ordered through a QR code. He sat at a window seat and ordered a set meal.

Sheng Songbai glanced at him and said, “Still so fond of fish.”

Shen Boyan smiled and tapped lightly on the phone.

He didn’t know what Xia Shu’an had for lunch.

He is such a delicate person and has a poor appetite. In order to make him feel better, he specially asked the auntie to cook porridge when he left in the morning…

Sheng Songbai raised his eyes after ordering the meal, just in time to see Shen Boyan’s absent-minded appearance. His eyes flickered, and he took the initiative to open up the topic:

“I heard from Lu Cai that our sister-in-law is very beautiful?”

Shen Boyan’s expression softened significantly when he heard the word “sister-in-law”. Sheng Songbai is very perceptive. A cold light flashed in his eyes, and he continued to smile and said, “When will you let me meet him?”

“Next time, let’s find a chance to all have dinner together, and we’ll meet.”

“Okay, I’m also looking forward to it. After seeing Lu Cai bragging every day, I thought he was the one who found a wife.”

Shen Boyan didn’t feel that there was anything wrong with this sentence. Lu Cai was just a child in his heart. What wife can a child look for? It was obviously his wife.

After chatting about private matters, the two of them returned to their business affairs. The food gradually bottomed out. Shen Boyan was about to get up when the phone on the table vibrated.

He frowned slightly when he saw the caller ID.

“Hello–”

Shen Boyan picked up his mobile phone and walked to the balcony of the restaurant. Sheng Songbai looked at his figure and watched his face gradually become serious.

“Fever?”

Auntie’s anxious voice came through the receiver: “Yes. I asked him to come down for lunch at noon, but there was no response, so I went in to check and found that he had a fever.”

“Did you call the doctor?”

“Yes, I did. The doctor said he’d come right away.”

Shen Boyan pondered for a while and said, “I still have another meeting to attend. I’ll go back afterward. If there’s any change in Xia Shu’an’s body, call me.”

“Yes Yes.”

Shen Boyan hung up the phone and didn’t go back immediately. Instead, he stood on the balcony for a while and took a few deep breaths before returning inside.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, some minor issues.”

The afternoon passed particularly slowly, and when he stepped out of the conference room, the clock on the wall had reached three o’clock.

Shen Boyan greeted his assistant in advance, and he left shortly after returning to the office. Sheng Songbai didn’t see Shen Boyan when he passed by, so he asked Assistant Lin, “Where’s President Shen?”

“He has something to do, so he left first.”

“So early?”

Don’t blame Sheng Songbai for being surprised. Shen Boyan has always been a workaholic. He can even stay in the company for a week for work. It’s unprecedented for him to go back so early. He couldn’t help saying: “What happened at home?”

Assistant Lin smiled and said, “I’m not sure about that.”

Shen Boyan’s two assistants manage almost all of Shen Boyan’s affairs. Except for extremely personal matters, Shen Boyan will usually talk to one of the two assistants. Sheng Songbai doesn’t believe that he doesn’t know, but he can only smile when he says so.

After he returned to his office, he sat on the chair for a while, and suddenly he opened the drawer and took out a document lying inside.

“Assistant Jin, come in. I have a document to deliver to President Shen. If someone looks for me, just say I’m not here.”

…

…

The familiar heat continued to burn Xia Shu’an’s brain. In a trance, he seemed to have returned to the past.

For a while, he and Shen Boyan had a very serious fight. Shen Boyan came back very late every night. At that time, Xia Shu’an was basically asleep, but Shen Boyan, that beast, loved to make trouble for him. During the day, the two of them were fighting off the bed, and at night, they were fighting on the bed. Exhausted, Xia Shu’an had a very high fever, and Shen Boyan calmed down a little after that.

Damn, you shouldn’t be softhearted toward him. He doesn’t care how hard you’ve tried.

There was a vague figure in front of him. The familiar smell mixed with the long-lost smell of smoke made Xia Shu’an’s depressed mood due to the heat even more irritated, and he threw a slap over.

“It stinks; get out!”

Shen Boyan held his limp hand. The young man’s voice was dry and coarse, but he was still flaunting his bravado. It’s not good for Shen Boyan to punish him, but it’s also not good for him not to be punished.

“What kind of attitude is this? Don’t think that you can be proud of being pampered just because you’ve slept on my bed…”

Xia Shu’an “forcefully” pushed his head away.

“Stinky, it stinks to death!”

“…”

Shen Boyan stood up straight, dumbfounded. He only smoked one cigarette today, so where did the smell come from?

“Forget it, don’t bother with the patient.”

Xia Shu’an turned over on the bed and kicked off the blanket covering his body. Shen Boyan subconsciously wanted to pick it up, but he remembered the doctor’s explanation that people with a fever don’t need to be covered. Since he’s uncomfortable, just let him be.

Xia Shu’an curled up his legs. He was wearing a set of solid-colored pajamas. The parts that were not covered by the cloth still had traces from last night. Those intertwined red marks were like ghostly vines, dragging the young man to the abyss of pain. Shen Boyan should feel sorry for him, but from the bottom of his heart, he emits pride that comes from male instincts.

This is his private possession.

Shen Boyan stood by the bed and watched quietly for a while, then walked lightly to the sofa beside him and picked up a book that Xia Shu’an hadn’t finished.

A popular science book about new agriculture.

“Sir, sir…”

The door of the room was knocked twice, and Aunt Qiao peeked out from the door:

She whispered, “President Sheng is coming over.”

Shen Boyan raised his eyebrows and got up from the sofa. Sure enough, Sheng Songbai was sitting downstairs, and the auntie had made him a cup of hot tea. He was holding the cup and drinking it slowly. When he saw Shen Boyan coming down, he waved with a smile.

Shen Boyan put on a smiling face.

“Why did you come over?”

Sheng Songbai picked up the document on the table and said, “To deliver it to you.”

“Have I troubled President Sheng to personally deliver the documents?”

“Aren’t I just trying to slack off a little? I had so many things to do when I just returned to the company. It’s quite annoying, so why not come to see the carefree and leisurely President Shen?”

“I can pretend that I didn’t hear what you just said.”

“Hahahahaha.”

The two chatted and laughed, and Shen Boyan took the document. It was for the transfer of a manager-level post in the South African business unit, which was indeed very urgent.

Shen Boyan sat down and flipped through them one by one, quickly confirming the signature.

Sheng Song smiled and said, “You’re just skimming through it. Are you not afraid that I will smuggle private goods?”

“As long as President Sheng is not afraid that the year-end bonus will be cut by more than half, feel free to change whatever you want.”

The two have worked together for many years, and this tacit understanding still exists. Shen Boyan quickly finished signing. After handing the document back to Sheng Songbai, Sheng Songbai did not get up immediately.

“Aren’t you going to let me see my sister-in-law?”

Sure enough, that was the plan. If it were any other time, Shen Boyan wouldn’t mind letting the two meet, but now that Xia Shu’an was asleep in his room, it wasn’t a good time.

Shen Boyan’s mind flashed with the image of the young man curled up, his loose pajamas revealing his mottled lower back with love marks, and he subconsciously rejected this idea.

Sheng Songbai saw that Shen Boyan was silent and was about to bring it up again when Shen Boyan said, “Next time, today is inconvenient.”

The smile on Sheng Songbai’s face faded a bit, but he was a sharp-minded person, so he quickly gave up on this matter and said with a smile: “Okay, let’s make an appointment another day…”

“Shen Boyan…” Then a figure wobbled down the stairs with one hand still holding his forehead.