Shi Chengxuan’s movement of signing the documents paused as he lifted his head and looked at Secretary Wu.
Secretary Wu felt a bit chilled by the gaze, but kept smiling.
A moment later, Shi Chengxuan put down the pen in his hand and reached out to take the box. Upon opening it, a pair of small and delicate cufflinks appeared in front of him. "Good job, I’ll give you an extra ten days of annual leave."
"Thank you, boss." Secretary Wu immediately felt happy. During the one-month holiday, he must run to the other side of the earth and be far away from the boss, and not come back until the last day.
While he was about to leave happily, he suddenly heard Shi Chengxuan say, "Wait, where's yours?"
"Huh?" Secretary Wu suddenly froze. In previous years, his boss had hated his birthday the most. He had to be the one ordering birthday cakes while his boss never cared about birthday gifts. So after each birthday, these birthday gifts would be sealed and put away in the storage room. How had this year become different?
“So, you didn’t prepare one?” Shi Chengxuan hooked his lips, his smile looking very dangerous.
Cold sweat formed on Secretary Wu’s forehead. Was ordering his cake not considered a gift? Or should he write a greeting card on the spot to make up for it?
“I- I bought the cake.”
“Oh. The birthday present that’s been eaten by everyone.” Shi Chengxuan faked a smile.
“...”
“Forgetting your boss’s birthday present, I’ll take a month off your annual leave.”
Secretary Wu couldn’t let out a single teardrop. It was as the saying went: “accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger, and there is the chance of being killed at any time.”
If he failed to understand what his boss meant, he would be punished. And even if he did understand him, he would still be punished. That feeling of being wronged but not being able to voice grievances was pure misery.
After leaving the CEO’s office, Secretary Wu felt as if his entire body was being emptied out. He couldn’t help but slow down his steps when he passed by Tang Susu’s desk.
He turned his head and glanced at Tang Susu, who was staring at the document on her computer. The few strands of loose hair in front of her forehead were held to the back of her head by a few droplets of sweat, revealing her delicate face. Her light-coloured lips pressed lightly together, and her long eyelashes quivered slightly.
She seemed to feel someone staring at her, so she turned her head and saw that it was Secretary Wu. The coldness in her eyes gradually disappeared as she smiled at him.
Secretary Wu nodded and continued to walk forward.
From an employee's point of view, Tang Susu was a serious and responsible employee, and she was also obedient. Apart from her lack of initiative in some things, he couldn’t fault her for anything else. However, if he were to simply look at her as a person, he wouldn’t be able to make any judgments.
To say that she was weak? The actual young lady of the Tang family who had been driven away by her stepmother was indeed weak. But for a weak person like her to catch her boss’s attention and even make a man like his boss make so many exceptions… why would that be so?
To say that she was simple? Her life experience could barely fill up a piece of paper -- it could be glanced over quickly. There was nothing special about her. Even her rebellious phase during her growth was nothing extraordinary. She was simply Bai Mian’s good friend.
He was really curious about what was so special about Tang Susu that his boss had to treat her differently from others.
Secretary Wu’s doubts would never be resolved. He was afraid that even Tang Susu herself probably wouldn’t know either.
...
Finishing up the documents in hand, Tang Susu clicked the send button and watched the email being sent out. She leaned against the chair and rubbed her sore eyes.
The time shown at the bottom right corner of her screen was 6:30. There weren’t many people left in the office, and she also packed her bag as she planned to leave work.
Tang Susu took the lift down to the parking lot. She held her car keys as she walked towards her sports car when she suddenly saw someone standing next to it. That person was leaning against the car, with a cigarette in between his fingers as the smoke created a red glow.
She was startled for a moment but walked forward, closer, to have a clearer look at that person’s face. Then she couldn’t help but be surprised. “President?”
Shi Chengxuan threw his half-smoked cigarette on the ground and causally grinded it. He then raised his head to look at her and said, “Treat me to a meal?”
It was clearly a question yet it sounded like an order from his mouth -- it was hard for someone to reject the request.
“Sure. What do you want to eat?”
“Norman restaurant sounds good.”
Tang Susu paused her movements as she opened the door. The name sounded oddly familiar but she didn’t give it a second thought before nodding. “Sure, no problem.”
Reaching the restaurant, Tang Susu then felt that something wasn’t right. The atmosphere felt very ambiguous -- with dim candlelight, melodious violin music, and the couples’ seating around their tables.
She glanced at Shi Chengxuan, who seemed to appear indifferent.
Very soon, she didn’t bother putting much thought into this strange atmosphere. The food indeed tasted good, especially the fried goose liver -- it suited her palate.
With the delicacy filling her empty stomach, Tang Susu's mood became better. Before she had time to eat the last dessert, she saw Shi Chengxuan, who was sitting opposite her, looking at something behind her. She raised her eyebrows slightly.
Before Tang Susu turned her head, she heard a soft female voice. "Shengxing, thank you for your invitation today. I am very happy."
This voice...
Tang Susu turned her head and looked at Jian Dan’s face, unsurprised. What had caught her surprised was that the person with Jian Dan was Shen Shengxing, whom she had met only once.
The two of them had actually gotten together. That was really… an unexpected turn of events.
Tang Susu turned her head, her expression a little odd.
Should she praise the woman whom the vixen had feelings for? She had won the favour of the young master from the Shen family only within a few days upon waking up. She was really climbing to the top indeed.
“Are you very shocked?” Shi Chengxuan didn’t overlook the shock in her eyes as he smiled lightly and asked.
"Young Master Shen’s social circle is really broad." Tang Susu deliberately avoided mentioning Jian Dan.
Shen Shengxing didn’t appear to have any flaws. But it was because he was so good that she was shocked. According to Bai Mian, the Shen family had something to do with her incident. How could she easily let go of Shen Shengxing?
"Knowing too many people will bring trouble." Shi Chengxuan raised the corner of his lips and smiled.
Realizing that his words had a hidden meaning, Tang Susu couldn’t help but to turn her head to look at that pair of lovers again. Then she realised that right after the couple headed out, another couple stood up from a corner.
Compared to the ambiguous atmosphere between the two, their faces didn’t look really good. The aggressive look made her feel that there might be a good show in a while.
She turned her head and finished her dessert in three bites, then looked at Shi Chengxuan in full anticipation.
Shi Chengxuan put down the spoon in his hand, and looked at her in amusement. “Are you in such a hurry?”
“A little.” Tang Susu gave him a playful smile.
Shi Chengxuan shook his head helplessly and raised his hand to call the waiter for the bill.
Although she said she’d treat him, the other party ended up footing the bill. Tang Susu, who was treated to a meal, felt that she had somehow taken advantage of him.
At this moment, outside the restaurant, the “Greatest Year-End Show” that Tang Susu was looking forward to had begun. Right when she stepped out of the restaurant, Tang Susu heard angrily shouting voices.
“Bitch! How dare you seduce someone else’s boyfriend!”