Part 2
Gu Lin placed one hand on the book resting on his crossed legs and rested the other on the side of the armchair. He placed a few fingers near his temple, saying with a hint of distress, “I’ll approve your resignation tomorrow. You won’t have to go back to work.”
He had completely missed the point.
Lin Zheng suddenly wondered if it was because he’d been away from the job for so long that Gu Lin felt he was no longer needed, or maybe his performance before hadn’t been that good after all, and Gu Lin had only held onto his resignation out of emotion. But now that time had passed, Gu Lin had thought it over and realized he had no more use for him, so he didn’t want him back?
Lin Zheng felt that even though he had never been an assistant before, he had at least been an assistant to someone, and he believed he had done all the work Gu Lin had given him carefully and well.
Was Gu Lin’s current attitude a subtle critique of his work ability?!
…It felt like a bolt from the blue.
Lin Zheng felt completely crushed.
In a sense, his professional abilities were being politely looked down on by Gu Lin.
Lin Zheng froze for two seconds.
Gu Lin intentionally tried to change the subject of Lin Zheng returning to work. He picked up his phone and attempted to switch topics. “The other day, I saw…”
He was only halfway through his sentence when Lin Zheng, with his quilt in hand, flopped down and completely covered himself with it. This was a clear signal to Gu Lin: “I don’t want to talk to you.”
Gu Lin paused.
A few seconds later, he sighed softly, picked up the bowl from the bedside table, and left the room.
Hearing the door close, Lin Zheng poked his flushed face out from under the quilt. Seeing that Gu Lin was no longer in the room, he proceeded to punch and kick the air in the direction of the door.
That night, Gu Lin called Yan Yang and asked him if he had told Lin Zheng that his resignation had been rejected. Yan Yang was honest and admitted it straight away.
However, he didn’t tell Gu Lin that he had also revealed Gu Lin’s birthday to Lin Zheng.
Yan Yang said over the phone, “He told you he wants to come back to work? Just let him go back to the company! His work ability is quite good. Besides, do you really think I don’t know what you’re thinking? When you’re in a relationship, everyone wants to see each other all the time. Don’t you just want him to stay by your side twenty-four-seven?”
Part of what Yan Yang said was true. At first, Gu Lin had wanted Lin Zheng to stay with him out of curiosity, just to observe him. But later, when he discovered his unusual feelings for Lin Zheng, his reason for keeping him close changed. It was still to observe and understand Lin Zheng better, and as Yan Yang had said, so he could see the person he wanted to see at any time.
Gu Lin leaned against the windowsill, opened a can with one hand, and took a sip of beer. “But now, I don’t want him to go back to the company.”
Yan Yang was confused. “Huh? Why not?”
Yan Yang didn’t understand this at all.
The breeze from the open window blew against the bathrobe Gu Lin was wearing. He said in a low voice, “He’s sick right now. It’s not a good time for him to work.”
Yan Yang laughed. “He’s just sick with a cold! It’s not like he’s going to be sick forever. He’ll be better in a few days, and you can just let him go back to work then, can’t you?”
Gu Lin remained silent.
Yan Yang guessed that there was something more behind Gu Lin’s words—or rather, some unsaid reason. He said, “Just tell me. What’s the real reason? Why don’t you want little chicken nest head to go back to work?”
Gu Lin would never use such an untenable excuse.
It was just a cold. What’s the big deal? Who would stop going to work forever because of a cold?
Little chicken nest head had even brought it up himself, so he must have felt he was fine and could return to his post.
Honestly, little chicken nest head’s work ability was something everyone noticed; it was quite good. But his reinstatement had been blocked midway through.
Now that there was nothing wrong with little chicken nest head, the problem must be on Gu Lin’s end.
Gu Lin sighed into the phone, though it was barely noticeable.
Yan Yang said bluntly, “See? I knew you were the problem.”
Gu Lin held the can with his fingers, the beer inside swirling as he tilted it.
Gu Lin knew it was indeed his problem.
But he didn’t know how to voice it.
Another call came in.
Gu Lin said to Yan Yang, “You’ll understand when you have a live-in partner. Alright, I need to take this call.”
With that, Gu Lin cut the call without waiting for Yan Yang’s rebuttal. Facing a business matter, a different expression came over his face. “Hello, go ahead.”
Lin Zheng walked into the bathroom with another set of clean pajamas.
Although his body still felt a little tired and weak, the fever had already subsided, so he no longer felt like he might pass out just by walking.
He stepped into the bathtub, and as he crouched down, the water overflowed.
The relaxing sensation of being enveloped by the hot water made Lin Zheng let out a sigh of contentment.
So comfortable.
Besides, taking a bath when you have a cold is good for you, right?
The bathtub in this room was huge, big enough for two adults. Lin Zheng submerged himself from the foot of the tub to the top, then flipped over to lean against the side of the tub.
Lin Zheng rested one hand on the edge, curling his fingers to support his head as he began to self-reflect.
Was my work ability really that bad?
But Gu Lin never criticized me.
Maybe I did something wrong before, but Gu Lin didn’t say anything to save my feelings?
So, in the end, it was my incompetence?
Lin Zheng started to doubt himself.
He suddenly remembered that when he was working, he had joined a company gossip group chat. It was an unofficial group organized by the employees, and he had joined it just for fun.
But after he had submitted his resignation, he had left the group.
They talked about everything in that group, especially company gossip.
Even Gu Lin didn’t know he had been a member. Since most of the members were anonymous, they dared to say anything.
Honestly, he wanted to know what his work looked like through other people’s eyes.
This was a good way to find out.
Lin Zheng tried to join the group with a burner account, using the username “Yan Yang.”
The group had a strict rule: no one outside the company could join.
As far as Lin Zheng knew, Yan Yang wasn’t in this group.
He had originally wanted to use “Gu Lin,” but then he thought about Gu Lin’s position… As a primary subject of the group’s discussions, it didn’t seem appropriate for him to join.
Yan Yang, on the other hand, was well-liked by the employees, so joining under his name shouldn’t cause any suspicion.
Even with the username, Lin Zheng wasn’t sure if the admin would approve his account, which was clearly a burner.
Lin Zheng sat in the bathtub, biting his finger and waiting.
Two minutes later, his phone chimed. He had received a notification that his request to join had been approved.
Lin Zheng was overjoyed.
As soon as he joined, he wasn’t met with a welcome but with a long series of serious questions, presumably to verify his identity. Luckily, the questions were all about the company, so he was able to answer them easily.
After confirming that he was “Yan Yang,” the people who had been grilling him immediately switched to a more cheerful tone, spamming him with emoji stickers and warmly welcoming him.
To play the part perfectly and embody Yan Yang’s personality, Lin Zheng specifically found a few arrogant-looking emoji stickers online and chatted with his anonymous colleagues in a boastful, narcissistic tone.
If the real Yan Yang saw this, he would have to admit he was impressed with Lin Zheng’s imitation skills.
Lin Zheng had the art of imitation mastered perfectly.
Slowly, Lin Zheng became quiet in the group, and his anonymous colleagues began to chat about other topics.
Anonymous A: “I saw President Gu at a pharmacy today. I wonder if he’s sick.”
Lin Zheng, holding his phone: “…”
Sure enough, Gu Lin had become the center of attention again.
Anonymous B: “I’ve been with the company for two years, and I always thought President Gu was invincible. I’ve never seen him sick before. I don’t think he is this time either. He was probably just buying medicine for someone.”
Leaning against the side of the tub, Lin Zheng leisurely thought, You’re actually right.
Because that medicine was for me.
Anonymous C: “But honestly, I saw President Gu pick up a woman at a nearby coffee shop after a meeting two days ago, and they left together. It’s a reasonable suspicion that she might be his girlfriend.”
Anonymous B: “Yes, yes! I saw it too! Didn’t that woman have a mole near the corner of her eye?”
Anonymous C: “I didn’t notice that much detail, but she was really, really beautiful.”
Yan Yang: [suddenly appearing.jpg]
Yan Yang: “What? What woman? What did she look like?!”
Author’s Note:
(Real) Yan Yang: “Hiss… what’s up with my ears feeling a little hot?”
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