CH 18

Bonus chapter! Thank you @Cocole for the kofi !

As the boss’s personal assistant, Assistant Qi naturally attends to all matters. Even if the problem has already involved his private life, he still chooses a good plan for the boss’s happiness and his own bonus.

The boss asked, “How do you usually celebrate your friend’s first day at work?”

Assistant Qi pondered and said, “I was sick and hospitalized for a while before. On the first day back to work, my girlfriend came to pick me up from work and prepared an exquisite dinner for me. I was very touched at the time.”

Shen Boyan: “You actually have a girlfriend?”

Assistant Qi said with a straight face, “I’ve always had a girlfriend.”

You can have a boyfriend; why can’t I have a girlfriend?

Shen Boyan thought about it and said, “Understood, you can go back.”

Assistant Qi turned around and left without any attachment.

…

…

On the first day Xia Shu’an returned to work after his leave, he was still familiar with various processes. He got off work on time and slowly walked out of the building. When he arrived at the school gate, he saw a familiar car parked on the side of the road.

Shen Boyan’s car is at least a Maybach, but in order to respect the school’s academic atmosphere, he drives an ordinary Mercedes-Benz, which is not too high-profile. Xia Shu’an crossed the pedestrian crossing, walked to the side of the car, and knocked on the car window.

The window with a layer of film rolled down slowly, revealing the man’s face wearing sunglasses.

“Get on.”

Xia Shuan got into the car according to his words, and he sat still. Shen Boyan conjured a bouquet of roses like magic. With a smile on his face, he looked at Xia Shu’an “affectionately” and said, “Congratulations on returning to work.”

Xia Shu’an was slightly taken aback and took the flowers with complicated emotions.

“Thanks.”

He lowered his head and sniffed the flowers; his eyes flashed with a trace of bewilderment.

The car started slowly, and about ten minutes later, Xia Shu’an saw that it wasn’t the direction to go home, so he asked, “What’s the matter? We’re not going back?”

Shen Boyan said slowly, “To celebrate your return to school, the first meal will of course be eaten outside.”

Is this a date? Xia Shu’an did not raise any objections.

Today’s dinner was probably chosen by Assistant Qi. It’s a French restaurant with a very romantic atmosphere. They’re sitting alone by the window. The lighting is dimly adjusted, and the white aromatherapy candle is flickering with tiny flames, truly reflecting the words of a candlelight dinner.

Xia Shu’an was holding a menu in his hand, and his eyes quickly scanned the Chinese, English, and French fonts on it. His preferences are very fixed, and he orders the same kinds of food every time. He occasionally tries new dishes, but not many.

After proficiently ordering a few of his favorite dishes, Xia Shu’an suddenly thought of something and said to the waiter at the side: “I would like some white wine escargot1French snail dish. as well.”

Shen Boyan looked up from the menu.

“I thought you couldn’t eat shellfish?”

“I want to give it a try; maybe now I can.”

Shen Boyan looked disapproving: “It’s too dangerous. Next time, I’ll take you to eat other seafood.”

After finishing speaking, he looked at the waiter and said, “Cancel the dish just now.”

“yes.”

The waiter finished tidying up the menu and quickly left. Shen Boyan’s behavior can be called □□, yet Xia Shu’an didn’t feel unhappy and was even a little inwardly pleased.

Today’s flower delivery is also the same. Although it’s the back door of the school, it’s still at school, and there are many people. Shen Boyan can walk through the crowd outside with him hand in hand, attracting public attention, but in order to protect Xia Shu’an’s reputation, he didn’t carelessly send him flowers at the school gate. Xia Shu’an was deeply moved by just “respect.”

Although Shen Boyan is perverted (have people investigate him), he already knows how to restrain himself and transform “possessive desire” into “protective desire”.

As expected, as long as he works hard enough, even a psychopath can become a normal person.

Xia Shu’an harbored joy in his heart. The initial conditioning of the beast inside Shen Boyan had achieved results, and for a moment, a smile filled his eyes.

Shen Boyan looked up at him and said, “So happy that you got to work again?”

Xia Shu’an showed him a smile without hesitation: “Yes, it was fun to go to work and see many old friends.”

The man’s voice on the phone flashed in Shen Boyan’s mind, and he was about to ask when Xia Shu’an’s warm pupils flashed with a bright and sincere light, and he said cheerfully: “Thank you, Shen Boyan.”

“…”

He swallowed the words back again.

Xia Shu’an maintained a good mood all night, and when he walked out of the restaurant, he even said, “The food here was delicious. We’ll come back again next time.”

Shen Boyan looked down at him.

Xia Shu’an drank some wine this evening. He’s not good at drinking, and a faint blush appeared on his face. His originally cold face seemed frivolous under the influence of alcohol. His long, snow-white neck was covered by red glows, making the skin on both sides of his shirt collar look like a handful of snow falling into a deep well.

Shen Boyan stretched out his hands to straighten his neckline and said softly, “Ok.”

It was still early when the two of them went out. On an autumn night, the hustle and bustle of the day was no longer there. The maple leaves on both sides gradually turned red, creating a unique tranquility. The two didn’t get in the car immediately but took a leisurely stroll along the sidewalk.

A woman’s ethereal singing wafted from the commercial plaza not far away. The neon lights on the outer wall of the mall were constantly changing images, and a big logo was displayed on the big screen.

Xia Shu’an stopped beside a locust tree. He turned his head and hooked Shen Boyan’s palm with his fingers.

“Do you want to go to the movies?”

…

Today is a weekday, and coupled with the recent absence of new movies, the movie theater is not crowded. There are only a handful of people waiting outside the theater, mostly young people and occasionally white-collar workers wearing work clothes.

Shen Boyan has not been to the movie theater since he started his business. For the first seventeen years of his life, he never thought of paying money to go see a movie. For the next eight years, he never imagined that one day he would line up in the crowd with cheap popcorn and drinks, searching for his seat in the dark.

The movie started very quickly. This is a fast-paced police movie, which suits the tastes of the two of them very well. It belongs to the kind that allows the audience to quickly integrate into the plot.

Neither of them knew the plot of the movie in advance, so in a sense, they were the best moviegoers.

In the theater, apart from the gunshots and roars being played, there was only the occasional slight noise of chewing popcorn. It was quiet all around, and black heads could be seen shaking with the intense gunfight scenes. Shen Boyan has a sense of confusion, as if he weren’t a boss holding billions of assets but just an ordinary man who’s in love and watching a movie with his lover.

“…”

“What’s wrong?” Xia Shu’an suddenly turned to him, and Shen Boyan only saw a pair of bright eyes in the darkness.

Xia Shu’an approached him and said softly, “You don’t like watching this movie?”

“…No, I like it very much.”

As he said, for the rest of the time, Shen Boyan watched the film quietly.

After the movie ended, the two walked out of the theater with the crowd.

Xia Shu’an: “The movie is not bad.”

Shen Boyan: “Yes.”

“Then, are we going back?”

“It’s getting late; let’s go back.”

By the time they got home, the warmth flowing between the two hadn’t completely faded away. In the past two days, for the sake of each other’s health, the two still slept in separate rooms.

After going upstairs, the two said good night. Xia Shu’an put his fingers on the doorknob and hesitated at the door for two seconds. After a while, he made a decision and was about to speak when Shen Boyan said, “Do you want to come over and sleep together tonight?”

Xia Shu’an turned his head in surprise and met Shen Boyan’s eyes. There was a kind of light in the man’s eyes. Oddly enough, he said, “I have to go to work tomorrow.”

Shen Boyan respectably made an adult’s concession: “We can, but we won’t make it to the end.”

“……All right.”