Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Indeed, the task progress had been going without a hitch lately.

Unbelievably smooth, honestly.

Shen Ju had been wondering how to work on his image in front of Pei Yan, and now the opportunity for some alone time had arrived.

Now it was just him and Pei Yan in the study.

This really was a great chance.

After finishing another problem, Shen Ju sneaked a glance over at Pei Yan.

Lately, he couldn’t help but want to observe Pei Yan more closely.

Maybe it was because the way he saw Pei Yan had changed.

So Pei Yan’s image in his eyes seemed to have become more defined.

Shen Ju realized he was paying more attention to details than before.

For example, his eyes kept drifting to Pei Yan—what he was wearing today, what his hairstyle was like, and occasionally, when he got close enough, even his scent seemed different.

Like tonight, since they were at home, Pei Yan was wearing a dark gray set of loungewear, made of a soft, fuzzy material that looked warm and comfortable.

Shen Ju couldn’t help but scratch his chin.

Why did it feel like Brother Pei had been wearing a lot of these soft, fuzzy clothes lately?

It made him want to give them a touch.

"Host, why don’t you try talking to Brother Pei?" 996 couldn’t help speaking up.

Just sitting here like this won’t get anything done!

"But Brother Pei is busy with work right now."

Wouldn't want to bother him.

Shen Ju had been watching Pei Yan for a while, and Pei Yan had been completely focused on his documents, probably working on something important.

996 cleared its throat quietly and whispered, "It’s exactly in situations like this that you should interrupt him. You need to be a little pushy..."

Heck, even 996 was keeping quiet now.

Shen Ju responded with an "Okay," cleared his throat, and spoke out.

"Um..."

Shen Ju sat up straight from the desk: "Brother Pei, what are you doing?"

Pei Yan turned a page of the document in his hand.

Then he looked up: "Impatient?"

"Not really, I’m just curious about what you’re working on."

Just making small talk, really.

If Pei Yan was handling something important, he’d probably find it annoying right now.

Even Little Stone knew not to bother Pei Yan at times like this.

Shen Ju fidgeted with his pants, his gaze drifting again.

"If you’re curious, you can come over and take a look yourself."

Something about how he said that.

Shen Ju automatically translated it in his mind: If you've got a death wish, come take a look.

Well.

Shen Ju looked down and locked eyes with Little Stone at his feet.

Little Stone had one ear drooping and the other perked up, a chew toy in his mouth. After locking eyes with Shen Ju, he plopped back down in his dog bed, covering his eyes with both paws.

"............"

Shen Ju really felt like kicking Little Stone in the butt. Some friend.

And after all the toys he’d bought for him!

With an inward sigh, Shen Ju stood up and walked over to Pei Yan.

He stood beside Pei Yan like a schoolboy, with his hands behind his back, peeking at the document in Pei Yan’s hand. In the top right corner, it read: "Annual Gala Program Selection."

Wait, what?

Annual gala program selection?

That’s all?

Shen Ju hesitated slightly, looking at Pei Yan.

And if he'd seen correctly earlier, this document seemed to be on the first page. Did Brother Pei turn back to the first page just to show him?

"You thought the company would still have KPIs to push right before the New Year?"

Pei Yan chuckled, spreading the document out on the table: "Gao Chuanbai dumped this on me, saying since I’m ‘free’ enough to tutor you all, I might as well help go through the annual gala programs. But going through these is giving me a headache."

"Why?"

If it were any other kind of document, Shen Ju would've tuned out immediately, but the annual gala program list actually piqued his curiosity.

So Shen Ju automatically leaned closer for a look—

"Have a seat while you look."

"Sit?"

Although the study was large and their tutoring table was spacious, Pei Yan’s side was meant for one person. Even though the table was about 3 feet long and 31 inches wide, there was only one chair here, and Pei Yan was already sitting in it.

So where was he supposed to sit, then?

Should he go get another chair?

Shen Ju thought this and was about to obediently go get a chair.

But the next second, a pair of hands reached over, picked him up, and set him on the table.

Shen Ju: "!!!" [Shocked!]

He hadn’t even reacted!

"Just sit on the table to read it."

Pei Yan spoke calmly and sat back in his chair. "After all, I can’t exactly have you sit on my lap."

"............"

Shen Ju opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.

What was going on?

Shouldn’t he be the one doing the seducing?

Why did he always have this feeling...

Scratching his cheek, Shen Ju inexplicably didn’t dare to look at Pei Yan anymore. He mumbled "uh-huh" a couple times and lowered his head to look at the annual party program list.

There were song medleys, dance medleys, comedy skits and stand-up, magic shows, and even a fashion show and interactive games. Finally, there were prize raffles and award ceremonies. Adding them up, there were over twenty programs, and each program had a content description, almost all incorporating the current popular trends. Not only that, some departments had even tailored their programs to reflect their own characteristics.

For example, the Technology R&D Department had an electronic light show, the Marketing Department had a skit titled "The Promises We Made This Year," the Technical Department had "The 'Firefighting' Heroes," the Sales Department had "Clients and Vendors," and the Finance Department had "The Final Defense," etc. Shen Ju found it all quite amusing and thought to himself, what kind of company is this, with so many "talented" people?

"Interested?"

A voice asked from beside him.

Shen Ju didn’t look away and mumbled, "Uh-huh."

"Want to go watch it?"

"What?"

Shen Ju finally reacted and looked up, pointing at himself. "I can go see it?"

"The company annual party isn’t just for employees."

Pei Yan sat opposite Shen Ju, his elbows resting on the armrests, fingers interlaced.

Even though he was slightly lower than Shen Ju, he didn’t seem at a disadvantage at all—it was as if Shen Ju were an assistant and Pei Yan were the boss giving orders.

"Besides, I do have the right to bring a few people along."

Shen Ju blinked, feeling inexplicably awkward at that moment.

It suddenly occurred to him that, after knowing Pei Yan for so long, he had never actually seen Pei Yan at work.

Not working from his study, but working at the company.

Even though he’d called Pei Yan "uncle" when they first met, Pei Yan was actually only four years older than him. But Pei Yan had already finished his studies and started his own tech company, which was now growing rapidly. Even before Shen Ju was recognized by the Guan family, he’d heard students at Yude School discussing it—back when Galaxy Technology was quickly making a name for itself, its founder had been a hot topic for quite a while.

A rising business star, young and successful.

Shen Ju had overheard it but hadn’t paid much attention, feeling it was all too far removed from his own life and social circle.

But now...

The young, successful rising business star was sitting right in front of him.

A boss.

Shen Ju once again clearly recognized this "identity" of Pei Yan’s.

He couldn’t help but press his knees together, wondering why he was feeling more and more awkward around Pei Yan... How strange.

Just as he was thinking this, a shadow suddenly fell over him.

Pei Yan had stood up at some point and was leaning in toward him—

"Want to go?"

Uh.

Shen Ju watched as Pei Yan slowly moved closer.

"But if I take you, how should I introduce you?"

Pei Yan spoke softly, as if asking: "Should I say you’re my—"

"Tutoring student?"

Shen Ju, considering the situation, couldn’t help but chime in.

Pei Yan: "............"

996 grumbled in frustration: *I say, host, listen to what you’re saying! You’re supposed to be flirting on purpose and creating ambiguity! Don’t you humans have a word for ‘flirting’? Come on, flirt with him—*

Maybe it was just an illusion.

996 always felt like the one doing the flirting was someone else.

But how could that be?

So it must just be an illusion.

Shen Ju muttered, "Oh, oh," and felt that Pei Yan seemed about to stand up. Without thinking, he instinctively grabbed Pei Yan’s collar and yanked him forward urgently.

Pei Yan’s hands slammed on the table, his tall, lean frame leaning down and looming over Shen Ju completely.

At the same time, the distance between them closed drastically—

So close that their noses were almost touching.

Their eyes met, their breaths mingled.

Shen Ju noticed that Pei Yan’s eyes seemed to get darker, and his face grew tense.

He thought, This is it.

Is Pei Yan finally going to hate him?!

Author’s Note: There’s a second chapter coming~ [hug]

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