Chapter 31: Today is Truly Busy with Business!
Before Fu Yue could enjoy the free air of being “broken up with,” he saw Shen Junnian standing before his office with a serious face. Shen Junnian was wearing a dark, waist-cinching suit today, which made his already fair skin appear even colder. Those beautiful peach blossom eyes were currently like frozen ice.
“Letâs talk about that cooperation project.” Shen Junnian tossed out the reason concisely and sat in the chair across from Fu Yue on his own accord, legs crossed, putting on a business-like posture.
Fu Yue was slightly startled and also sat down, calling for the secretary to bring tea. He himself began drinking ice water wildly to suppress his body temperature. He had thought Shen Junnian was going to use an excuse to pester him again. To his surprise, during the following hour, the other party clarified the project details with clear logic, his professionalism being noteworthy.
Once the business was settled, Fu Yue wanted to see the guest out. Shen Junnian, however, spoke slowly in a very magnetic voice.
“In the early morning, I want to crawl into your arms before you wake up, and use… to wake… you… up.”
Pfftâ
The ice shards Fu Yue was chewing were all spat out. The ice bits splashed onto the documents on the desk and also onto his own pants, leaving him in a wretched state. He looked at Shen Junnian in surprise and blurted out, “How do you know that?!”
The moment the words left his mouth, he wanted to bite off his own tongue. Finished! Alarm bells rang wildly in his heart. Crap, the ghostwriting matter has been exposed?! Theoretically, shouldn’t this be something only we two know?
But as Shen Junnian heard this question from Fu Yue, it was undoubtedly the most direct admissionâthat letter was indeed written by him. The ice in the depths of Shen Junnianâs eyes seemed to crack.
“Who was the letter written to?”
Fu Yueâs mind thought rapidly. From his tone, he only knows I wrote the letter, but not that I was a ghostwriter. That makes it easy! He took a deep breath and shook his head mysteriously. “A secret, I decline to disclose.” He definitely couldn’t betray his client, Chen Bai; that was professional ethics!
Shen Junnian stared at him intently, like a leopard inspecting its prey. He suddenly lowered his voice and asked word by word, “It was written to Ji Linyue, right?”
This question hit Fu Yueâs guiltiest spot. How does he even know this?! Fu Yue recalled being seen by him when leaving the Presidentâs Office at noon today. Afterward, Shen Junnian must have entered Ji Linyueâs office. That must be how he knew. Fu Yue straightened out the clues. However, he absolutely couldn’t admit it, or he would be betraying Chen Bai.
Fu Yue thought it through and shook his head. But his moment of hesitation, in Shen Junnianâs eyes, became an admission. Shen Junnianâs already gloomy expression instantly darkened by eight degrees.
“Do you like him?” Shen Junnianâs voice carried a tremor and a lack of confidence that he hadn’t noticed himself.
“I don’t!” Fu Yue answered decisively.
“Really?”
“Nonsense, didn’t we talk about this before?” Fu Yue was a bit impatient. “The time he sent me toys.”
Hearing this crisp and neat denial, the storm in Shen Junnianâs eyes actually subsided. “Then are you playing him?” Shen Junnian asked with a curl of his lips. Regarding this kind of thing, Fu Yueâs original body had a long list of achievements.
“Think whatever you want; anyway, I don’t like him,” Fu Yue said.
Shen Junnianâs expression had turned from gloomy to sunny. He leaned forward, getting close to Fu Yue, and his peach blossom eyes gleamed with a rippling light. He spoke with a tone of enticement and expectation: “Then, could you also write me one like that?”
Fu Yue was stunned by Shen Junnianâs 180-degree emotional shift, and then he refused without hesitation. “No.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m getting off work.” Fu Yue stood up and began to pack his things, making a gesture to see the guest out. “President Shen, letâs talk about the project next time.”
Fu Yue thought that what would follow was another expected pestering. But in those beautiful peach blossom eyes of Shen Junnianâs was a kind of self-reflection Fu Yue hadn’t seen before.
“Fu Yue, I used to think that liking someone meant tying them to my side and letting everyone know they were mine. But it seems… I was wrong.”
Fu Yueâs action of packing his things paused. What’s the situation? Has the crazy one suddenly awakened? A trace of joy flashed in Fu Yueâs heart. Did he figure it out and stop loving me? First Ji Hanmo wants to draw a line with me today, and now Shen Junnian has suddenly realized his mistakesâwhat kind of great day is today? It’s practically my Independence Day!
Fu Yue was about to say “Itâs great that you could figure it out,” but Shen Junnian beat him to it. “Fu Yue, teach me, how can I make you not hate me? I can change anything.”
“…”
Fu Yue opened his mouth. In the end, Shen Junnian was still heartlessly “kicked out” of the office by him. Before leaving, he even said with full grace, “I won’t disturb you after work; don’t be too tired,” and then left in a great mood.
Fu Yue, however, couldn’t feel relaxed at all. Since Shen Junnian could see the letter, it meant Ji Linyue had already seen it. He still couldn’t contact Chen Bai, so Fu Yueâs heart was in his throat. He had the system locate Chen Bai several times, and it showed he was inside the Ji Group building.
Two hours ago, the result was [Target is on the 97th floor, President’s Office area, moving rapidly]. After a while, Fu Yue located him again, and the system showed [Target is on the B2 floor, parking lot area, stationary for over 15 minutes]. After a while, it showed [Target is on the 56th floor, pantry, moving slowly]. The last time was [Target is on the 97th floor, storage room] where he stayed for over an hour. Based on the location and duration, it had the signs of a forced storage-room play. Generally speaking, from the trajectory, Chen Bai should be safe. However, with the phone off, Fu Yue couldn’t figure out the situation.
While Fu Yue was grumbling in his heart, his phone rang. The caller ID wasâPei Luomian. He picked up the phone, and Pei Luomianâs usual restrained voice came from the other end. “Fu Yue, itâs me.”
“Dean Pei, hello.”
“I want to talk to you about the smart medical project you’re in charge of. Itâs hard to say clearly over the phone. If it’s convenient, let’s have dinner tonight and talk in person.” Pei Luomian paused. “Your voice sounds a bit raspy; do you have a fever again?”
Shen Junnian just finished talking business, and now Pei Luomian was here for business too. Today is truly busy with business! That caring remark reminded Fu Yue. He cleared his throat and realized he was indeed a bit parched from the fever, so he gulped down another large mouthful of ice water.
“No, I’m great,” he replied.
It gets dark early in early winter. Just as he walked out of the company building, the lights outside were already brilliant. Fu Yue came to a restaurant hidden deep within an office building according to the address. He had thought Pei Luomianâs invitation would be for a high-end Chinese restaurant or a high-end Western restaurant with a live classical orchestra and the sound of cutlery.
To his surprise, the destination was an exquisitely decorated high-end Southeast Asian restaurant. Pushing open the door, a rich aroma of lemongrass and coconut milk hit him in the face. Pei Luomian had already arrived and was waiting for him in a private room. He wore a brown checkered cashmere sweater today, the soft texture adding a touch of gentleness to him.
The menu was pushed over. Fu Yue felt his appetite stir just by looking at the pictures. Lately, he had been eating with Ji Hanmo. That manâs taste was light, mostly Cantonese or French cuisine. Eating it for a long time inevitably led to aesthetic fatigue.
“I thought a person like Dean Pei only needed to drink ice water to survive.” Fu Yue finished ordering and didn’t hide his surprise. “I didn’t expect you to like this kind of… heavy flavor.”
“A person cannot live by work alone; sometimes one needs a bit of stimulation.” Pei Luomian gave a faint smile. “Sensory stimulation.”
During the meal, the two efficiently discussed several key points of the project, the atmosphere being professional. Then, the topic began to drift. Mary Hospital was building a “Super Internet Hospital,” a smarter system than an ordinary internet hospital. Pei Luomian and Fu Yue exchanged some thoughts, jokingly saying this meal was an exceptional value.
Fu Yue drank the Tom Yum Goong soup, the richness of the coconut milk and the heat of the chili coating his throat. A layer of light sweat broke out on the back of his neck, and heat steamed within his body. “This soup is even better than I imagined,” Fu Yue praised.
Lowering his guard with the delicious food, the conversation gradually left the project. “There’s a movie recently called ‘Code Prisoner’; have you seen it?” Pei Luomian asked.
Fu Yue was stunned. “Doctors watch movies too?”
Pei Luomianâs expression cracked slightly. “Doctors don’t only watch surgery recordings.”
“Code Prisoner” was a recent blockbuster. The protagonist was a super genius who, by his own efforts, broke the doomsday script preset by the “Hand of God” system and saved the world. This movie was widely loved by programmers, and Fu Yue himself had watched it twice.
“The protagonist is truly amazing. If I were even half as cool as him, would I still be working here?” Fu Yue joked. Then, he grumbled again, “But his personal life is truly a mess; his basic needs are in disarray, his girlfriend ran away, his friend betrayed him. In the end, he saved the world but didn’t save his own quality of life.”
Pei Luomian looked at the salad on his plate. “The protagonist possessed the power to change the world, yet he didn’t seem to know what he wanted, other than completing that ultimate goal.” He looked up at Fu Yue. “From a psychological perspective, this is a typical goal substitution. When a person cannot perceive their own true emotional needs, they invest all their energy into an external goal. For example, saving the world.”
Fu Yue was startled, then laughed. “As expected of Dean Pei; your analysis is more professional than a film critic’s. If I didn’t know better, Iâd think you were a psychologist.”
“My childhood dream was indeed to be a psychologist; Iâve read many professional books,” Pei Luomian said. “But later, because of my family’s opinion, I chose surgery.”
As they discussed the details and Easter eggs in the movie, Fu Yue grew interested. He took a bite of a satay skewer and said, “The romance plot in the movie was a stroke of genius.”
The end of the movie had an open ending. The protagonist and the female special agent who had been chasing him finally became a pair of weirdos who redeemed each other.
“Indeed,” Pei Luomian agreed. “Many people think this relationship is very strange and doesn’t follow convention. But I feel that it strips away social labels and forms, inspiring the audience to think about the core of emotions.” He put down his cutlery and looked at Fu Yue. “What do you think is the core of emotions?”
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