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Chapter 51: The All-Nighter Battle is Imminent
The next morning, Liang Bo came to wake Shou Jiaxun holding a roll of homemade bandages. His expression was calm and his gaze clear; he had basically achieved what President Shou demanded: “just pretend nothing happened.”
However, the usually chatty and glib young man suddenly stopped speaking nonsense today.
Shou Jiaxun looked down as Liang Bo methodically wrapped the inch-wide cloth strips around his “pig trotter.” “Tsk, this bandage of yours is very high-end, huh? It’s even a name brand.”
President Shou was a bit worried the atmosphere would remain frosty, so he took the initiative to say something nonsensical to his little assistant.
Liang Bo pressed his lips together to hold back a smile: “I cut up an old T-shirt.”
“Then do you still have enough clothes to wear?”
“If not, I’ll just buy some on the road.”
“Alright, when you buy clothes, tell me. I’ll reimburse you.”
As a boss, occasionally one must generously offer perks to win over employees.
Assistant Liang’s mood indeed improved. He asked playfully, “How many can I buy? Can I only buy T-shirts? Will sweaters, pants, and sneakers be reimbursed?”
Shou Jiaxun was dumbfounded: “You’re buying a sweater in the middle of summer? …Fine, if you buy it and wear it immediately, I’ll reimburse you.”
Liang Bo mimicked his wide-eyed look: “You mean it? If I wear a sweater, you’ll hug (抱 – bao, sounds like 報 – bao for reimburse) me?”
“Yeah! I, President Shou, keep my word. If I say I’ll reimburse, I’ll reimburse. Go buy it. Remember to wear it when you get it.”
Liang Bo’s eyes widened further, his expression even more amazed. He quickly finished wrapping the bandage tightly, freeing both hands to pull out his phone, and tapped on the voice recording app: “Boss, say that again. I’m recording it as proof. I’ll buy a sweater as soon as we get to the airport later.”
Shou Jiaxun curled his lip and rolled his eyes: “Tch, it’s just a sweater. I said, if you actually buy a sweater in the middle of summer, and wear it immediately, I’ll reimburse (報銷 – bao xiao)… you!”
He finally managed to recover his wits at the last second.
Liang Bo also curled his lip and rolled his eyes, pocketed his phone, stood up, and dragged the luggage out.
The first stop of their business trip was a famous commercial and tourist town in East China. Although the title of this place was a “Town,” it was actually a gigantic folk-custom park.
Inside the park, there were not only pavilions, terraces, and towers, but also large hotels, conference halls, and commercial streets.
Transportation was also very convenient. It was only a two-hour flight from Beijing. After landing, they chartered a commercial van, and the entire journey, including the flight, took less than four hours. The group of five from the company was deposited neatly at the park entrance.
After checking into the designated hotel at noon, they still had an hour to rest before the conference officially began.
Originally, everything was going smoothly, except for a minor hiccup during check-in.
And the root of this wave was Shou Jiaxun himself.
Because he got a last-minute bout of pretentiousness and wanted to change to a single king-size bedroom for himself.
Normally, in this kind of situation, you just go to the hotel front desk, pay the difference, or at worst book an extra room, and it’s easily solved.
Of course, even if it couldn’t be solved, it was no big deal. They could change hotels, or simply not stay there.
Today’s awkwardness lay in the fact that the hotel couldn’t solve it, yet refused to say so directly to President Shou.
Because all the rooms were booked by the event organizers and were fully assigned; and Shou Jiaxun was among the “VIPs.” When a VIP makes a request, ignoring it or refusing it outright seems very impolite.
So after receiving the room change request, the front desk immediately sought the conference organizers to help coordinate. After a long chain of communication back and forth, they unexpectedly still couldn’t resolve it.
During this communication process, two or three different groups of people ran over to explain and apologize to President Shou, leading to all his colleagues nearby finding out that their boss wanted a “separation” from his new assistant.
Everyone couldn’t help but guess privately: Wow, this is too fast, right? The honeymoon phase isn’t even over, and he’s about to be ‘fired’?
Liang Bo sat dejectedly on the sofa in the hotel lobby. As a workplace “endangered” employee, he ignored everyone, and no one dared to approach him. From a distance, he looked like a lone star of misfortune.
After receiving his room key, Shou Jiaxun quickly urged the others to take their luggage back to their rooms. He remained in the lobby, sheepishly trying to coax his assistant: “Sigh… I really just asked on a whim. I didn’t expect the front desk to react so strongly.”
Liang Bo rested his elbows on his knees, hunched over with his head down, and didn’t speak for a long time.
Shou Jiaxun rubbed his forehead in frustration: “Can we go back to the room first?”
Liang Bo nodded blankly: “Call a bellboy to help with your luggage. I’ll go outside and find a guesthouse to stay in.”
“Hey, no! …Really no need. Don’t overthink it. Didn’t we agree to turn the page on last night’s matter?”
President Shou tried hard to persuade him, but Assistant Liang’s face lowered even more: “You’re the one who said to turn the page, and you’re the one who wants a separate room. Am I really… the worst assistant you’ve ever had?”
“Not bad, not bad at all…” Shou Jiaxun rubbed his forehead, speaking the truth: “You are the hardest one to coax.”
Assistant Liang asked with a nasal voice: “Did your previous assistants also require you to coax them personally?”
Shou Jiaxun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Of course not… Where would I find the energy for that? It really was my fault today. I’m apologizing to you, is that enough?”
“Then ‘apologize’,” Assistant Liang said dissatisfiedly.
President Shou readily lowered his head: “I’m sorry, it’s my pretentiousness. I’ll change, I’ll change without delay.”
Liang Bo slowly lifted his head, his eyes red: “Can I get a hug?”
“No,” President Shou immediately pulled his body back.
Liang Bo looked even more hurt, murmuring an explanation: “I mean, like that day we reunited in San Francisco… I’m really feeling awful right now.”
That day was the shock of an unexpected encounter between old friends, and the joy of “meeting an old friend in a foreign land.” It was a very pure embrace of friendship.
To Shou Jiaxun, a partner was valuable, but friendship was even more priceless. A comrade like Liang Bo was rare to come by.
Sighing, President Shou hesitantly opened his arms, leaned forward, and hugged Assistant Liang’s shoulders.
“Sigh…” Liang Bo let out a long, quiet sigh next to his ear: “I haven’t even put the sweater on yet.”
President Shou’s body jerked back, and he swung a slap at him: “Are you crazy!?”
Assistant Liang stood up laughing, grabbed his suitcase, and jogged straight toward the elevator lobby.
Caught between laughter and tears, Shou Jiaxun chased after him, scolding as he ran: “Do you want to lose your job? You even dare to play your boss! You don’t want to pass your probation period, do you?”
Liang Bo ignored him and shouted toward the closing elevator doors: “Sorry, hold on! Wait for us.”
The elevator doors slid open again, but Liang Bo’s “Thanks” caught in his throat, instantly switching to an exclamation: “Whoa, what a coincidence?”
In the elevator, Yong Ming, the marketing director of “Dengshi Advertising,” tilted his head, his gaze shifting past Liang Bo to look at Shou Jiaxun: “When did you get back? Weren’t you going to New York?”
Shou Jiaxun raised an eyebrow and smiled, pushing Liang Bo’s back to squeeze into the elevator, teasing Yong Ming: “Are you the ‘Elevator God of War’? Why do I run into you in elevators every time?”
Yong Ming clicked his tongue, glancing at Liang Bo: “He’s the real Elevator God of War. I’m terrified of him.” Then he asked, “What floor are you guys on?”
Shou Jiaxun squeezed past to press the floor button himself, turning back to continue questioning Director Yong: “That new proposal you mentioned to me before, how’s it coming along?”
“Uh…” Yong Ming stammered, sounding hesitant: “I didn’t expect you back in the country so soon.”
President Shou curled his lip, expressing slight disdain: “With that efficiency… tsk tsk.”
Yong Ming frowned, seeming to have his fighting spirit provoked. He raised a hand holding a slim laptop bag and pointed it at Shou Jiaxun to issue a challenge: “Writing tonight! Finishing it tonight. I’ll come find you tonight, we’ll write it together!”
“You think I’m scared?” Shou Jiaxun scoffed with a chuckle: “I’ll definitely be faster than you.”
The all-nighter battle between the “Brainstorming Twin Heroes” of Beijing’s marketing circle was imminent.
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