Chapter 16: Why Are You Unhappy Today?
The sky grew dark.
Pei Zhouye didn’t stay at the old mansion for long. He drove to a large flat overlooking the river in the Nanyu District of Jiang City.
He had been sleeping here every night recently. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the winding river view. Standing in front of the window, one could take in the lights of the entire city.
Pei Zhouye came out of the shower. He pressed his thumb on the fingerprint scanner of the study. With a soft beep, the lock opened.
He didn’t turn on the light. The study only had some light filtering in from the corridor, dim and misty.
The moment the door closed, the lights in the study instantly lit up.
Whole walls, entire walls, were filled with the figure of one person.
Wen Yan.
Most of the photos were candid shots—hidden angles, distant views. Some were cropped from yellowing old group photos, some were screenshots from videos, the quality blurry, yet one could still clearly see that person’s cold, aloof silhouette.
The few front-facing photos were framed in glass and placed in the most prominent positions. Wen Yan in the photos never looked at his camera lens; he was looking at exam papers, at speech drafts, at the other end of the award podium.
Pei Zhouye sat in the shadows, looking at the appearance of the person in the photos for a long time.
Wen Yan stared at the changing floor numbers on the elevator.
It had been a week since he joined Pei Corp. Aside from being frequently called to the office to see Pei Zhouye for various matters, Pei Zhouye hadn’t done anything that made him feel offended.
But his vigilance remained tight, like the instinct of an animal. Wen Yan was still afraid of Pei Zhouye, and increasingly felt that the gaze from behind came from him.
Pei Zhouye gave him the elevator card exclusive to the President and opened system permissions that shouldn’t belong to an intern. He hadn’t used them a single time. This unreasonable preferential treatment was more unsettling than direct threats.
His phone vibrated. Duan Mingtao posted a lab video in the work group; the robotic arm was undergoing grasp testing.
Wen Yan pursed his lips. All four of them participated in the lab work, while his daily work mostly consisted of staring at the computer screen and Pei Zhouye’s expressionless cold face.
Initially, he had proposed optimization suggestions, but every time he spoke, the project team would hold meetings overnight to modify the plan, making the atmosphere even stiffer. Now he learned to pass his opinions to Duan Mingtao, and he was only responsible for execution.
Most of the people responsible for the Morning Star project team were on the 10th floor. As Wen Yan walked down the hall after getting off the elevator, he could feel many people stopping their work to look up at him. When he looked back, they hurriedly lowered their heads.
There were also some whispers.
Wen Yan pretended not to hear and walked straight to the person in charge’s office, knocking to enter.
Seeing him, the person hurried to stand up.
“No need.” Wen Yan interrupted. “Manager Li, you…”
He followed with some polite remarks.
He had met several project managers during the interview. They had high attainments in their professional fields. Wen Yan wanted to learn from them, but they all treated him with this overly respectful attitude.
He had mentioned to Pei Zhouye many times that he should be the same as Duan Mingtao and the others, but Pei Zhouye rejected it time and again, emphasizing that this was what he agreed to during the interview.
Wen Yan went from initial anger and desire to explain, to his current numbness.
When he returned after coordinating everything, Duan Mingtao sent him a message asking him to come over and look at a piece of code.
Wen Yan’s mood finally improved a bit. He walked to where Duan Mingtao was.
“…The work for this period is basically like this.” Duan Mingtao didn’t talk much, briefly summarizing the upcoming tasks.
He continued, “You should be better at this than I am, so I need to trouble you to take a look. Thanks.”
“No trouble.” Wen Yan stared at the strings of code on the screen. “I’m not busy usually, you can find me for help anytime.”
“Of course you’re not busy. Every day just serving tea and water near the President’s office. Unlike us, running around and scared to death about the progress.”
Wen Yan looked up sharply, meeting the face of a man wearing rimless glasses.
Someone next to the man tugged at his clothes, signaling him to stop talking. He shook them off, looking Wen Yan up and down with a disgusted tone.
“We have to work overtime and stay up late just because of one sentence from him. He has it easy, yet comes here to show off.”
He was referring to the time Wen Yan spoke up before.
“I didn’t mean that.” Wen Yan’s explanation was weak. He rarely argued with people, mostly ignoring open provocation. “I meant if there’s anywhere in everyone’s work that needs help, you can find me.”
The man sneered. “No need. I wouldn’t dare hand my work to someone like you who came in through the backdoor. This is our blood and sweat. If it gets ruined by you, we might even get counter-accused by you.”
Wen Yan opened his mouth to say something, but seeing the contemptuous and suggestive look in the other’s eyes, he suddenly realized the meaning behind the words. His face instantly turned pale.
Suppressing his anger, he spoke with a steady voice, “If you have any dissatisfaction with me or question my ability, I accept it. But if you engage in personal attacks and malicious slander like this, I will submit the surveillance and recording to Legal and HR.”
The other party seemed not to take this counterattack to heart at all, shrugging. “Whether it’s slander or flying into a rage out of shame, you know clearly in your own heart.”
On the way back, Duan Mingtao walked with him.
Duan Mingtao: “He came back from studying for a master’s in the UK. He doesn’t like anyone in our group. He probably won’t be able to become a regular employee after the internship period. Don’t take his words to heart.”
Wen Yan shook his head. “Thank you, I know.”
Duan Mingtao watched Wen Yan’s back as he got on the elevator. He could tell that Wen Yan’s mood hadn’t improved at all because of his words just now.
He was a bit annoyed that he didn’t know how to help argue or comfort people.
In the office, Wen Yan organized the materials he had just brought back. In a while, he had to go to the President’s office to find Pei Zhouye.
He had always known about the rumors regarding him in the company, saying he was a lover kept by Pei Zhouye, and that getting into Pei Corp was entirely due to Pei Zhouye.
Entering the office door, Wen Yan kept a cold face as he reported. Pei Zhouye stopped what he was doing to ask questions.
Wen Yan explained them one by one.
Pei Zhouye: “Next question…”
There was no follow-up. Wen Yan raised his eyes to look over.
Pei Zhouye stared at his face, as if trying to see something from it.
Wen Yan frowned. “President Pei, if there are no other questions, I’ll go back to work first.”
“Are you not very happy?”
“No…” Wen Yan was just about to answer when he realized, the anger on his face growing heavier. “It’s working hours. If President Pei has no questions related to ‘Morning Star,’ I’m sorry, I cannot answer.”
Pei Zhouye didn’t speak.
Those black eyes kept looking at him. After staring for a while, Wen Yan had no choice but to look away first.
Pei Zhouye didn’t speak, so he couldn’t even leave.
Wen Yan didn’t know how many minutes he stood there. Pei Zhouye knocked on the table twice with his knuckles.
“Wen Yan.”
“It’s off-duty time now.”
“Can you tell me why you are unhappy today?”
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