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    Chapter 72: Don’t You Know Why I Am Like This

    No way, no how—his sneaky money-grab was never gonna get found out.

    Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice? Not happening.

    Song Jiang scrambled for an excuse, letting out a forced, awkward chuckle. “Mr. Fu, I was just seeing if you were asleep. You’ve been looking kinda pale lately.”

    The car windows were up, just a few cool little lights casting a glow on the guy in the back seat.

    They wrapped the already striking man in what looked like a classy, delicate veil.

    Fu Zhichen’s narrow eyes were naturally cold, his thin eyelids drooping lower than usual. Now half-lidded, he looked like he was pushing everyone miles away.

    The temperature in the car dropped right along with his mood.

    Song Jiang figured the CEO was just overworked and exhausted—so bad he couldn’t even control the cold vibes coming off him.

    Working this hard—must be because the CEO’s scared someone else’s bank account might beat his. After all, the word “second” ain’t in his dictionary!

    The sheer drive to rake in cash was terrifying. Regular people couldn’t even compete. He had to learn from the CEO!

    As the CEO’s steward, he had to look after him!

    After Song Jiang’s mind went wild for a bit, Fu Zhichen slowly opened his eyes to look at him, exhaustion written all over his face.

    “Steward Song, don’t you know why I’m like this?”

    He didn’t know jack.

    He wasn’t a tapeworm in the CEO’s gut—how was he supposed to know everything? Just being able to tell the CEO looked off was already pushing his observation skills to the max.

    “Mr. Fu, then get some sleep. I’ll drive slower.”

    Look how considerate he was.

    Fu Zhichen said impatiently, “Steward Song, the car’s always moving. You think I can fall asleep?”

    Almost forgot—the CEO was a light sleeper, hard to please.

    Song Jiang parroted in a robotic tone, “Mr. Fu, then I’ll drive faster so you can get home and rest early.”

    That oughta work, right?

    The car went quiet again. When Song Jiang next glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes met Fu Zhichen’s.

    “Steward Song, you’ve had that look on your face for days, like you’re dying to say something but can’t.” Fu Zhichen frowned, puzzled. “I’m giving you a chance now. I’ve been waiting for days. Didn’t think you’d be this gutless—still haven’t said a thing.”

    Hell, he wasn’t gutless!

    He just didn’t know how to say it!

    Ever since that night he wrapped himself in a blanket to sleep, he’d been doing the same thing for days.

    Fu Zhichen had mentioned it, but he didn’t want to change. At night, he curled up as tiny as possible.

    He didn’t dare get too close to the CEO.

    Every day, his mantra was: Please don’t see me, don’t see me.

    The image of Fu Zhichen pulling him onto his lap to mess with him was still fresh in his mind.

    Even after a few days, thinking about it still made his face red.

    This really wasn’t right. The best he could come up with was to keep his distance from the CEO.

    He had to admit he kinda liked the CEO’s warmth, but at the same time, it scared him. The CEO played with him like an ant—one stomp and he’d be squashed.

    He couldn’t afford to piss off the CEO. Staying by his side at least gave him a shot at going home.

    If he switched jobs, who knows how long it’d take to scrape together a hundred million.

    While driving, Song Jiang tried to organize his thoughts, but maybe he took too long—Fu Zhichen’s face got more and more annoyed.

    The words were on the tip of his tongue, but Song Jiang swallowed them.

    Because it suddenly hit him: those days he hadn’t been driving, the CEO not paying him was only fair.

    The big issue now was how to ask the CEO for time off.

    Usually, if someone was in a good mood, they’d be more likely to say yes.

    So he needed to do something to get the CEO in a good mood.

    Tomorrow was the weekend, and he’d already made plans to go out with Xu Can and Mei Moyu.

    Tonight was his last shot to speak up.

    Song Jiang was about to crack a lame joke to lighten the mood.

    But right then, Fu Zhichen suddenly turned his head away, his voice ice-cold. “Steward Song, your chance is up. If you don’t wanna say it, don’t. I’m not that interested anyway.”

    “…”

    When it came to cheering up a regular person, Song Jiang had his ways.

    Bubble tea, a movie, some crawfish—stuff that costs a little cash would make most people feel way better.

    But this was the richest CEO in the book. Song Jiang figured the CEO wouldn’t even look at such cheap junk.

    This problem bugged him all the way back to the villa, even after he showered—still no clue.

    While blow-drying his hair, a wild thought suddenly popped into his head.

    What if he sat on the CEO’s lap again…

    Song Jiang didn’t dare think further. He pinched himself hard.

    He must be crazy!

    No, waiting around wouldn’t solve anything.

    He had to find Aunt Wang. She’d been with the CEO for so long—she must know something.

    With that plan, Song Jiang quickly acted, heading downstairs to knock on Aunt Wang’s door.

    "Knock, knock"

    "Aunt Wang, are you asleep?"

    After a few seconds, the door opened. Aunt Wang, dressed in floral pajamas, asked, "Xiao Song, what's the matter so late at night?"

    Song Jiang asked cautiously, "Aunt Wang, are you going to sleep?"

    "Come in, Xiao Song." Aunt Wang smiled kindly and stepped aside. "Whenever you come to me, I'm always free."

    Song Jiang smiled genuinely, feeling a warmth inside—Aunt Wang sounded just like his grandmother.

    Aunt Wang sat on the bed, while Song Jiang sat on a chair in the room.

    "Aunt Wang, I wanted to ask, when President Fu is in a bad mood, how do you usually help cheer him up?"

    Aunt Wang said, "What's wrong? Is the young master in a bad mood today?"

    "Well... a bit. I feel like he's been in a bad mood lately." Ever since the last time he sat on the tycoon's lap.

    Fu Zhichen hadn't forced him to do anything since then, whether in bed at night or at work.

    Although in Song Jiang's mind, this is what a good boss should be, he was still used to being pushed around, so it felt a bit strange.

    Aunt Wang paused for a few seconds, gathered her thoughts, and said, "You know, the young master is a neat freak. Over the years, you are the first person who has been able to get so close to him."

    That made him feel very honored.

    "The young master's parents are abroad and rarely accompany him. I've been taking care of him for nearly twenty years. I remember when I first arrived, he was so small and short. In the blink of an eye, he's all grown up."

    A classic childhood backstory from those domineering CEO novels.

    Hearing Aunt Wang's story, Song Jiang quickly connected the dots, "So President Fu is lonely?"

    "He needs someone to keep him company?"

    Aunt Wang clapped her hands after hearing this, "Yes, that's what I mean. When the young master was a child, he often sat alone in his room, staring blankly at the other kids playing outside."

    "I asked him why he didn't go play with the other kids. Guess what he said?"

    "What did he say?"

    Could it be that those kids were too dumb, their games too childish, and the tycoon thought it beneath him to play with them?

    Aunt Wang said slowly, "The young master said, 'They all make lots of friends, not just me.'"

    "He said, 'I want a friend who plays only with me, a friend who belongs to me alone.'"

    "Sounds strange, right..."

    Aunt Wang continued talking, but Song Jiang wasn't listening too carefully. His mind was full of the thought that the tycoon had been this possessive even as a child.

    *

    Work was a bit busy today, ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ I'm late, babe. I don't know if I can finish the next chapter. I'll try my best!!!

    Good news! Today's score is 7.1! It's 0.1 higher than yesterday!!! Thank you for your support, buddies!!! (Heart)

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