Chapter 48

Chapter 48

There was no way Linda had come to Shen Yue's office to see anyone else.

She’d briefly wondered why she hadn’t seen Wei Jinchuan despite having spotted him entering earlier, but she soon brushed it aside as it wasn't the main point.

She arrived carrying a large stack of documents; they were too heavy to hold, so she dumped them all on the desk and began flipping through them one by one. "But honestly, why do you suddenly want to open a subsidiary when our company is doing just fine? And why does it have to be in another city? Is Haicheng no longer big enough for you?"

A sudden warmth spread across his leg. Shen Yue lazily glanced down—Wei Jinchuan was no longer looking confused. The half-kneeling position was uncomfortable on his knees, so he simply rested his hands on Shen Yue's thighs.

Having wronged the man, Shen Yue was now happy to indulge him a little. He drew up his knee, trying to minimize the space between himself and the desk to avoid being noticed by Linda, even if it meant getting closer to Wei Jinchuan.

Shen Yue said with a dismissive chuckle, "Wanting to make money requires some daring, doesn't it?"

After reviewing the documents she was holding and handing them to him, Linda started searching for the next set: "But this isn’t the way to make money. Shenghua has just stabilized, and we haven’t even fully developed Haicheng’s market. Expanding to another place now—isn’t that just reckless?"

"What’s there to worry about? Even if we lose money, you'll still get your full salary. Why are you more anxious than me, the boss?" Shen Yue looked at the documents in his hand, quite satisfied. "Worst case, I’ll pawn this mess off on my brother. I won’t let you starve."

"..." Linda couldn’t relate to these young masters with family backing. But then again, Shen Yue had someone to back him up, so of course he was fearless. Why was she worrying unnecessarily for these silver-spoon types?

She had already carefully reviewed these documents before coming to see Shen Yue. Hearing his response, she immediately lost interest in going through them again and pushed the stack—measuring at least four inches thick—toward him: "So, who do you plan to send to manage the subsidiary? Are we transferring someone from here or hiring new people? Let me make this clear—I’ll live and die in Haicheng, period. No amount of money will make me leave!"

"Don’t worry, I'm keeping you right here with me. Even if you volunteered to go, I wouldn’t have the heart to send you away."

Shen Yue’s voice was gentle, but as he spoke the last word, his tone abruptly changed. His normally even tone suddenly tightened, as if choked off at the source, and his volume dropped, almost as if he’d been silenced.

A pair of slender, well-defined hands crept up his thighs, starting with a lightly tormenting touch before abruptly moving higher, building into a tingling pleasure.

The shoulder that had been stepped on earlier had also freed itself while he was talking to Linda. A faint dust mark remained on Wei Jinchuan’s right shoulder. He glanced up, meeting Shen Yue’s eyes, then silently took off his jacket, which was hindering his movements, and laid it across Shen Yue’s spread thighs.

—Then, his hands slipped under the jacket, out of Shen Yue’s sight. Wei Jinchuan mimicked Shen Yue’s earlier gesture and reciprocated with a silent word:

"Don’t watch."

...He’s insane.

After just a few repetitions, Shen Yue’s eyes were tinged with red at the corners, and a fine sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Boss? Sir? Mr. Shen?"

Meanwhile, Linda's view was completely blocked, and she looked at him curiously. "Why are you so hot? The air conditioner is on."

As she spoke, she touched her own forehead, completely baffled by Shen Yue’s sweating.

Being teased under the desk, Shen Yue struggled to suppress the restless heat surging to his lower abdomen. He shifted his legs restlessly, trying to escape the awkward situation, while pretending to be natural: "It’s nothing."

But he clearly didn’t look fine. Linda eyed him suspiciously. Since Shen Yue wasn’t willing to explain, she didn’t press further: "So, have you decided? Are we hiring new people or transferring someone? Should I go coordinate with HR now?"

"Not... yet."

The hands had somehow found their way to the center. Shen Yue’s breath caught, and tears pricked at his eyes from the sensation. Speaking became difficult. For a moment, he forgot about Linda. He dug his teeth into his tongue and simultaneously struck the figure beneath him in the chest with his foot: "...Wei Jinchuan!"

His voice rose sharply this time, both scolding and laughing. Linda looked over, puzzled. Her silent scrutiny was more torturous than words, making his lashes quiver with a guilty feeling, like a child caught misbehaving.

The person below also paused at the sound of his name. Seizing the moment, Shen Yue caught his breath. Part of him was still riding the earlier pleasure, yet he felt somewhat relieved. Afraid that Wei Jinchuan might misbehave again, he braced his foot against the other's collarbone, asking Linda: "What do you think of Wei Jinchuan?"

Linda finally understood and frowned: "You mean, send him to the subsidiary?"

Shen Yue nodded lightly, then felt a hand encircle his ankle, as if dissatisfied with his resistance.

His grip was gentler this time, and the sensation was bearable. Shen Yue decided it was within his tolerance and didn’t move again: "The subsidiary manager needs to be capable and effective, and most importantly, trustworthy. I think he’s a good fit."

"You think he’s good?"

Linda raised her voice exaggeratedly, wondering what had gotten into Shen Yue today: "Where is he capable? Where is he effective? And how is he trustworthy?"

Although Wei Jinchuan had been with the company for several months, he’d spent that time enjoying the perks of being a "connection hire." Any task requiring even a moderate level of difficulty was kept away from him. Wei Jinchuan’s academic record was impressive, but he was still young and lacked experience. He was impulsive and not steady enough—so where was the trustworthiness?

Crossing her arms, Linda looked at Shen Yue skeptically: "But just yesterday you said—"

"I only said he’s a bit young. I didn't say anything beyond that."

Shen Yue cut off Linda’s potentially dangerous remark in time, casually tucking back an overlong strand of hair. A smile touched his eyes: "But just think—even if we wanted to send him, his family might not go for it."

That was true.

Linda’s expression shifted to one of sudden understanding. She discussed the subsidiary matter with Shen Yue for a few more moments before quickly leaving.

Finally alone, the man beneath the desk grew more daring. Having just endured a round of frustratingly light caresses—and in front of someone, no less—Shen Yue was completely drained. He leaned back limply in his chair, his long, pale neck arched like a swan’s, his prominent Adam’s apple bobbing occasionally. He looked both beautiful and fragile.

Wei Jinchuan crouched under the desk, looking up at him against the light. Though he couldn’t see clearly, the shadows from the floor-to-ceiling window fell across Shen Yue’s porcelain-like face, highlighting even the fine white hairs. He looked like a pearl adorned with morning dew, ripe for the picking.

Like an exquisite painting.

Wei Jinchuan’s throat moved slightly, mesmerized. He even forgot to stand up.

"Get up."

Finally, Shen Yue couldn’t bear the intensity of that gaze anymore. He lifted his leg and gave a light, harmless kick, his voice hoarse and barely audible, snapping Wei Jinchuan out of his daze.

Wei Jinchuan looked at Shen Yue as if he were a deity, not even bothering to brush off the dust on his clothes. As he stood, he tried to justify his earlier actions: "I—"

"You what?" Shen Yue glanced at him lazily. Too exhausted to move, he retorted, "You’ve already done it. Now you’re feeling shy?"

"..." Remembering what he’d just done and the soft sensation in his palm, Wei Jinchuan flushed with embarrassment: "No, I admit it. I’ll take responsibility."

Shen Yue stared at him. Sometimes he really wanted to crack open Wei Jinchuan’s head to see what was inside—why was he always so eager to "take responsibility"?

He let out a soft, dismissive laugh, ignoring Wei Jinchuan’s remark: "Where did you learn all that just now?"

He seemed so innocent, even clumsy when it came to intimacy, not knowing where to go. How did he suddenly become so mischievous?

Having an affair?

Shen Yue had never done anything so scandalous in his life. Despite having many past lovers, he adhered to the core values of a "socialist youth," insisting on phased one-on-one relationships and never maintaining ambiguous ties with multiple people at once.

Though, admittedly, his mere existence was already ambiguous to some.

Wei Jinchuan pulled out his phone and showed Shen Yue his search history: "I looked it up just now. The internet says affairs are like this... I’m a fast learner, right?"

A hint of pride tinged his voice.

"..."

Shen Yue’s eyes stiffly scanned search terms like "what to do when office romance is almost exposed," "is my lover hiding me under the desk for excitement," and "how to make an affair enjoyable." After a long pause, he let out an exasperated laugh.

He didn’t know whether to be angry or amused first.

He finally sat up straight in his chair, at a loss for words for a long moment. "You're really studious, aren't you?"

Wei Jinchuan, oblivious to the sarcasm in his tone, genuinely thought Shen Yue was praising him and gave an embarrassed smile. "Should we continue then?"

Hearing Wei's cheerful tone, Shen Yue’s expression turned serious, his forced smile disappearing completely. "Continue what?"

Wei Jinchuan fell silent, his gaze fixed intently on the soft flesh below Shen Yue’s abdomen that he had just been kneading not long ago.

Seeing that he was all bark and no bite, Shen Yue grabbed a half-used pack of tissues from the desk and threw it at him.

The tissues were light and weightless, and even when hit, Wei Jinchuan didn’t feel any pain. He even took the time to pick them up and put them back in their original spot. To Shen Yue, it felt less like obedience and more like a provocation.

Yet Wei Jinchuan’s expression was so innocent that you couldn't find fault if you tried.

From Shen Yue’s actions, he guessed the other’s meaning. His previously bright eyes drooped dejectedly, looking just like an abandoned puppy—utterly pitiful.

Shen Yue had always been one to yield to soft tactics rather than force, and this look made his heart soften. Recalling that he had indeed been aroused and that it felt uncomfortably sticky down there, he beckoned to him. "Come here."

Wei Jinchuan, not understanding, walked over.

"Hold me."

Shen Yue wrapped his arms around Wei Jinchuan’s neck, pulling him down. With his eyes closed, he breathed warm air softly against him. "There’s a washroom and the bed I use for naps on the right. Go and… clean me up."

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Author's note: Just a little fake fling.