Chapter 15: Anything Except Deducting My Salary?

Chapter 15: Anything But a Pay Cut?

Fu Zhichen let out a cold laugh, the wine glass in his hand tracing an arc through the air.

It was clearly deliberate, meant to hit him, but so what.

It was so fast Fan Jian didn't even have time to dodge.

Fu Zhichen copied Fan Jian's tone, "Cousin isn't mad at me, is he? My hand just slipped."

"You... you..."

Fan Jian clenched his fists and cursed.

"Damn it!"

Fu Zhichen was young and accomplished, and coupled with his connection to Fan Jian, some people with ulterior motives started gossiping.

They said that a man in a wheelchair like Fu Zhichen didn’t deserve to be CEO of the Fu Group, and that Fan Jian, a fully able-bodied man, was the true heir.

Of course, they only dared to gossip and sneer behind his back—the Fu Group wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

Red wine dripped down Fan Jian’s white suit, the dark crimson standing out starkly against the fabric, making him look utterly disheveled.

Fan Jian had never been one to hide his temper, and just as he was about to lash out, Chu Yan spoke up.

"My suite is on the top floor. There are clothes in there, bro—just change into them."

"As for this..." Chu Yan smiled faintly, a flicker of malice in his eyes, "I'll handle it."

Without a word, Song Jiang wheeled the CEO into the elevator.

As he left, he caught bits of what Chu Yan was saying.

"Starting trouble on my turf, messing with my bro."

"Fan Jian."

"Having fun?"

No question—these were true brothers.

Song Jiang inwardly lamented; if he hadn't been dozing off, he might have blocked that for Fu Zhichen. Luckily, Fu Zhichen usually wore dark suits anyway.

And despite what happened, the CEO hadn't chewed him out today...

Song Jiang snuck a glance at the reflection in the elevator doors. The man, who hadn't spoken at all, had remained stone-faced the whole time, impossible to tell what he was feeling.

Still, Song Jiang had no doubt that if Fu Zhichen could stand, Fan Jian wouldn’t be scurrying around—he'd be beaten black and blue, teeth knocked out.

So why exactly did the CEO have to be in a wheelchair?

"I'm sorry, President Fu. If I'd reacted faster, Fan Jian wouldn't have gotten the chance to do that to you."

Fu Zhichen frowned, a little surprised by what Song Jiang said.

"President Fu, just as long as you don’t dock my pay..."

Fu Zhichen looked at him, eyes dark and playful: "So, anything but a pay cut?"

Not catching the danger, Song Jiang steeled himself and nodded. "Yeah—anything, like not letting me eat for a day or making me work nonstop for a full shift—I can handle that."

Song Jiang locked eyes with Fu Zhichen, then pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket.

He figured he’d just wipe it off for the CEO himself.

What could he do? After running out of TP a few times, he’d developed a habit of always carrying a pack.

This pack was brand new—hopefully the CEO wouldn't mind.

"President Fu, I have some tissues here. Let me wipe it for you first."

Up close like this, looking at Fu Zhichen...

"..."

Song Jiang swallowed hard. He squeezed his eyes shut and started ripping open the pack all clumsily.

"Stop that."

Fu Zhichen’s voice was raspy, almost unrecognizable.

The next second, Fu Zhichen grabbed Song Jiang’s wrist and repeated himself.

"Stop that. Take me to the room—I need to change."

The grip on his wrist wasn’t forceful, but his skin was alarmingly hot.

Song Jiang dared not delay.

It must be that the CEO was fuming from Fan Jian's provocation.

"Ding."

The elevator finally dinged.

Song Jiang scrambled up in a fluster and opened the door to Chu Yan’s suite.

"President Fu, I'll be waiting outside."

Until several minutes after Fu Zhichen had gone inside, the blush on Song Jiang's face hadn't faded—if anything, it burned hotter.

His roommate always said he was cold-natured.

So why was he like this today?

Song Jiang didn't get it, and it pissed him off even more.

He ran his fingers through his hair a few times, loosened his tie, unbuttoned his shirt, and took off his suit jacket.

He just hoped this would cool him down.

Then it hit him: they were both grown men.

Why the hell was he even blushing?!

Song Jiang slapped himself. What a loser!

"BANG—"

A crashing sound came from inside the room, startling Song Jiang.

Wait, is the CEO throwing stuff while changing?

Or did he knock something over? That makes sense—the CEO's leg isn't great, so accidentally bumping into something is normal.

Song Jiang's legs were getting tired, so he crouched down to scroll on his phone.

In the three-person group chat.

Mei Moyu: [Xiao Song, where did you and the CEO go? I was stuck talking to people from other companies earlier. Did that piece of trash Fan Jian actually splash red wine on the CEO?]

Xu Can: [Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! The party got that wild?!]

Xu Can: [Who gave that bastard the balls to splash my CEO!]

Xu Can: [I'm gonna draw a circle and put a curse on him—hope he gets bitten by a dog, hit by a car, gets no seasoning packet with his instant noodles, and runs out of toilet paper when he shits!]

Mei Moyu: [Did the CEO go off on you? @Song Jiang]

Xu Can: [You good, Xiao Song? Poor thing. @Song Jiang]

Song Jiang: [No, the CEO didn’t get mad at me. He’s changing clothes in the room now.]

Song Jiang: [Just that the CEO’s running a bit hot.]

Xu Can: [Guys always get hot when they drink. High temperature is normal.]

Mei Moyu: [My face is sore from fake-smiling with them. I wanna escape~ but can’t...]

Mei Moyu: [When the CEO’s done, Xiao Song, ask him when we can bounce.]

Song Jiang turned off his phone screen. Right... why’s the CEO taking so long?

Takes longer to change than a girl.

“Knock knock”

“Knock knock knock”

“Mr. Fu, you need help?”

“Mr. Fu...?”

Song Jiang knocked for a while, but Fu Zhichen didn’t answer.

Instead, there was the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.

Is the CEO losing it in there?

Song Jiang tried the door. Huh, not locked.

“Mr. Fu, I’m coming in... You done changing?”

“Fu...”

Song Jiang couldn’t finish the sentence.

The scene before him left him speechless.

No... wait, what the hell.

Why is there someone else in the room?

No, that’s not the point.

The point is, the CEO was on the bed, and next to him was a woman in next to nothing, her face buried in the covers, her skinny arms clinging to Fu Zhichen for dear life.

Fu Zhichen shoved her off with his strong arm.

The woman hit the floor, and her face was exposed.

Ye Qingqing.

*

There might be some typos or mixed-up characters later—that’s normal. I got slapped with a shadowban and there’s nothing I can do about it. Sorry, guys, if something’s unclear just @ me.

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