Chapter 40 - How Can He Be Such A--

At first, Yang Fengcheng thought that everything would be fine if he asked Qiu Yanzhi to deliver the documents on his behalf.

But then he suddenly thought about how President He might get angry if he found out Yang Fengcheng was deliberately avoiding him and start playing hardball.

Yang Fengcheng shuddered and immediately went to President He's office with a trembling and shivering heart, ready to show him that he was not deliberately avoiding him and to personally report on the documents he had been asked to translate.

When he got to the door, he was about to knock when he caught a glimpse inside through the crack of the door...

President He gave Qiu Yanzhi a handful of sweets.

The way Qiu Yanzhi tilted his head and spoke to He Zhou, no matter how you looked at it, didn't seem like a subordinate meeting their boss for the first time. Plus the sweet look of affection in President He's eyes was absolutely terrifying.

Yang Fengcheng froze in place. He was unable to move a muscle, much less push the door open.

As he listened to the conversation between the two, he finally understood what was going on.

It turned out that the person his boss actually liked was Qiu Yanzhi.

It turned out that the ‘best person for the job’ his boss mentioned was also Qiu Yanzhi.

It turned out that the reason his boss had hired him was also because of Qiu Yanzhi.

It turned out that Yang Fengcheng was just a magpie bridge that was meant to bring his boss and his roommate together (1).

And now that he had served his purpose, the boss was getting ready to dismantle the bridge and get rid of him, the donkey.

......Why is the world so cruel? Why do people's hearts have to be so vicious?? Why does the world have to be so malicious towards me??!

Yang Fengcheng felt his heart was dripping blood.

He Zhou was quiet for a while. Then he looked up at Yang Fengcheng. "Since you’ve heard everything, what do you think?”

What do I think? Why are you asking me that now? Why not when you were using me?? Did you consider me for even a moment when you used me as a magpie bridge?! Did you consider me for a moment when you were getting ready to sack me?! How dare you ask me what I think now?!

Yang Fengcheng slowly walked up to He Zhou and took back those documents. He hugged them close to his chest.

His expression was very sad and frustrated, but his voice was very resolute.

"Boss, I will work on this document some more before submitting them to you. I will definitely work hard to improve my translation skills and become a good donkey with more value!"

Qiu Yanzhi: "......?"

He Zhou nodded slightly. "Get me the document by tomorrow."

"Okay, I will definitely give you a satisfactory product!"

Yang Fengcheng turned to leave with a straight back and renewed passion. He seemed full of fighting spirit even from the back.

As he was about to walk out of the door, he paused again.

Yang Fengcheng turned to look at He Zhou and Qiu Yanzhi, giving them a sincere thumbs up. "Don't worry, I will definitely help you guys keep this secret!"

After saying that, he thoughtfully closed the door behind him.

Qiu Yanzhi: "......"

He Zhou turned to look at Qiu Yanzhi, his black pupils dyed with a gentle smile reminiscent of a warm breeze. "Qiu Yanzhi, what secret do you think he's going to help us keep?"

How could this guy ask a question he already knew the answer to?

But how could Qiu Yanzhi let He Zhou have his way? He looked at He Zhou with an innocent expression. "Yang Fengcheng has such a strange mind. He thought you were secretly in love with him and planning to take him by force. How would I know what he’s thinking?”

He Zhou's smile froze. "...What did you just say?"

Qiu Yanzhi's face was full of helplessness. "I say, President He, how could you scare a little straight guy senseless. You made him think you had other intentions towards him.”

The expression on He Zhou's face became very strange.

Qiu Yanzhi sighed deeply, "Please try your best to maintain your murderous, cold-blooded and ruthless persona as the boss, okay?"

He Zhou's eyebrows furrowed tightly as he pondered over what he did to cause Yang Fengcheng to come to such a strange conclusion.

"Oh, by the way, just as a reminder: never, ever smile at people so casually."

Qiu Yanzhi winked with a smile on his face. "Remember that fans can eventually become stalkers.”

Then he turned and left.

He Zhou looked up and stared blankly at Qiu Yanzhi's departing figure.

It wasn't until the door to his office was closed that he turned back to his desk, only to catch sight of his reflection on the computer screen. The corners of his mouth had crept up at some point.

...Ahem, Qiu Yanzhi said that I can't keep smiling.

He Zhou used his index fingers to pull down the corners of his lips.

He couldn’t help but hold his temples and shake his head in disbelief after doing that.

When Qiu Yanzhi came out of He Zhou's office and returned to his workstation, he found Yang Fengcheng hard at work across from him.

Qiu Yanzhi felt sorry for him for some reason, so he silently made him a cup of coffee and put it on his desk.

Yang Fengcheng was really working hard this time. It was only when he saw Qiu Yanzhi's outstretched arm that he noticed the extra cup of coffee on his desk. He paused before looking up and thanking Qiu Yanzhi with a smile. “Thanks Yanyan.”

Qiu Yanzhi rubbed his nose, "You're not angry with me, are you?"

Yang Fengcheng picked up his coffee and blew on it carefully. "You didn't do anything wrong, so why should I be angry? Besides, I have you to thank for my job at this company. I doubt I could make it in with my own skills. It’s true that I still need to work hard to improve myself."

Yang Fengcheng suddenly thought of something. His expression became a little embarrassed as he scratched his head. "Actually, I’m relieved to know that President He doesn't like me. But when I think about how I told the person President He likes that President He seems to like me…”

“Ahem…what’s all this talk about liking people??” Qiu Yanzhi felt his face flush a little.

He looked down at Yang Fengcheng's document. "How's your translation work going? Are you doing okay?"

Yang Fengcheng hesitated. “I’m kind of stuck on one part. I used to go ask our team leader, but as you know he seems to have a thing for me. Now I’m afraid to approach him…”

Qiu Yanzhi took the document. "Then I’ll look it over for you. What don’t you understand?”

In the blink of an eye, it was lunchtime. Zhao Rui stretched at his workstation before walking over to Qiu Yanzhi. He invited him and Yang Fengcheng to go eat together at the restaurant downstairs.

Yang Fengcheng rubbed his stomach and said, "Let’s go, let’s go. Our company canteen’s food is great. I’ll lead you guys there so you can taste it  for yourselves.”

Yang Fengcheng and Zhao Rui both walked a few meters before they suddenly noticed that the third member of their group was missing.

They both turned their heads and found Qiu Yanzhi standing where they had left him, apparently lost in thought.

Zhao Rui shouted, "Qiu Yanzhi, what are you doing? Hurry up and come with us!"

Qiu Yanzhi glanced in the direction of He Zhou's office. "...You guys go ahead. I still have something to do."

Zhao Rui was puzzled. "You don’t have to work during lunch, so what do you have to do?”

Yang Fengcheng looked at the tightly closed door to the president's office and understood. He pulled Zhao Rui away. “...Qiu Yanzhi must be busy with something else. Let’s go first. If we don’t get there in time, the good dishes will sell out.”

When pretty much everyone had left, Qiu Yanzhi pushed open the door of He Zhou's office like a sneaky thief.

As expected, He Zhou was still sitting in his office, hard at work.

Qiu Yanzhi blinked at him. "He Zhou, aren't you going to have lunch?"

He Zhou glanced down at his watch. He was a little surprised. "It's that time already?"

Qiu Yanzhi walked up to him. "Are you really busy right now? Why are you working so hard?"

"I'm not that busy." He Zhou said with a smile, "I’m just planning out the next step for the company."

"What's the next step?" Qiu Yanzhi asked casually.

"A full dive online game." He Zhou said.

Qiu Yanzhi froze for a moment, "...What?"

He Zhou smiled: "Actually, people thought of the concept of full dive online games many years ago, but the technology then couldn’t keep up. With recent advances, those ideas on paper can be made a reality. We have to seize this opportunity and dominate the market before our competitors. If another company develops this technology before us, we will work with them as an investor. However, I believe the best case scenario would be for us to develop this new type of game ourselves.”

Qiu Yanzhi asked again, "What type of full dive game...?"

"One in the same vein as our current dating simulators. Nowadays, people are becoming more and more reticent and introverted due to not knowing how to interact with others. They still crave interaction and affection on the inside. If a full dive online dating simulator is realistic enough, it can satisfy those desires.”

Qiu Yanzhi didn't say another word.

It was He Zhou who turned to him and asked, "Qiu Yanzhi, what do you think of my idea?"

Qiu Yanzhi opened his mouth and said, "...It's very good."

...Actually, Qiu Yanzhi didn't think it was good at all.

He was a little creeped out by the thought that the NPCs in a full dive relationship simulator game were about to develop a full dive relationship simulator game.

And he had a very bad premonition about this for some reason.

What if, after making this full dive game, He Zhou found out that he was actually an NPC in a full dive game too?

What if the full dive game that He Zhou was going to make in the future also had an accident and trapped an NPC inside?

Seeing Qiu Yanzhi's dazed state, He Zhou called out his name.

Only then did Qiu Yanzhi respond, "Huh?"

"What have you been thinking about?" He Zhou smiled at him and then smoothly took Qiu Yanzhi's hand.

"Let's go eat."

He Zhou walked forward and Qiu Yanzhi scrambled to follow.

He looked down at their intertwined hands.

He Zhou's hand was dry and warm, with long fingers and a wide palm that almost completely enveloped Qiu Yanzhi's hand. The warmth spread through his veins to his internal organs, making his entire body slightly hot.

Qiu Yanzhi shook off the icky thoughts in his head.

Forget it. This wasn’t something someone like me should be worried about.

This was a full dive game world after all, and a buggy one at that where none of the doctors knew what they were doing and you could restart from an earlier point. This brand new game He Zhou envisioned might not even be possible.

He looked up at He Zhou. "What are you going to eat?"

He Zhou looked at him. "What do you want to eat?"

Qiu Yanzhi rubbed his stomach and frowned. "I have so many things I want to eat that I can't choose. You pick.”

"There's a new grilled fish restaurant nearby. I heard it’s good. Why don't we go there?"

"Sure, as long as it's not a canteen." Qiu Yanzhi shrugged, "I don't want people to see me, a new junior employee, dining at the same table as President He."

This morning, there was a colleague who basically made it clear that he thought Qiu Yanzhi got in because he knew Yang Fengcheng. If that guy knew he actually got in because he knew President He…

The scene was embarrassing to even think about.

At that moment, the voices of several secretaries and the translation team leaders suddenly came from around the corner.

"Hey Team Leader Lin, how come you're back from lunch so soon?"

"You guys are pretty quick too."

"No, no. A few of us ordered delivery together today..."

Qiu Yanzhi's heart skipped a beat. He subconsciously wanted to shake off He Zhou's hand.

However, He Zhou held onto him tightly and refused to let go. Qiu Yanzhi looked up at He Zhou, who blinked innocently.

Qiu Yanzhi grit his teeth. In his desperation, he pulled He Zhou into the small utility room nearby and slammed the door shut.

It was a very small room that quickly became cramped with two grown men inside. Their bodies pressed together out of necessity.

As soon as the door closed again, the utility room became dark. All they could hear was each other's breathing and heartbeat.

He Zhou leaned over to Qiu Yanzhi's ear. The hint of a smile in his voice made people’s ears go soft: "What, are you so afraid of being discovered?"

The dark and small space amplified those usually subtle sounds. He Zhou’s breath scattered across Qiu Yanzhi's ear, making it burn even more.

"...Shut up." Qiu Yanzhi said while blushing.

"Qiu Yanzhi..." He Zhou was just about to say something else when Qiu Yanzhi covered his mouth.

However, the place was so dark that Qiu Yanzhi misjudged his height. He actually ended up covering He Zhou's chin.

Qiu Yanzhi was about to move his hand upwards when He Zhou took hold of his wrist.

He Zhou quietly chuckled, "Qiu Yanzhi, shouldn't you seal my lips with a kiss at a moment like this?"

Qiu Yanzhi said through clenched teeth, "How am I supposed know where your mouth is when it’s this dark??"

"I know."

As soon as those words left his mouth, He Zhou leaned down and kissed Qiu Yanzhi.

With a hand on Qiu Yanzhi's waist, he gradually deepened their kiss.

In the small space, the sounds of breathing became more and more urgent.

At that very moment, the sound of high heels clacking on the ground and girls chatting became louder.

"...It's all President He's fault for not letting me bring snacks. Now I have to hide my precious away."

"You guys don't know, do you? President He actually keeps several jars of candy in his office..."

Qiu Yanzhi’s heartbeat accelerated. He tried to push He Zhou away, but that just made the man take him deeper into his arms. A tongue pried open his teeth, refusing to let go of him for even a single moment.

Just then, the door to the utility room was pulled open.

“How can he be such a--” Hypocrite.

The young secretary turned her head indignantly, ready to retrieve her snacks from the utility room.

Her voice came to an abrupt halt.

Outside, one translation team leader and three junior secretaries widened their eyes in shock simultaneously.

(1) - So there's a legend about a woman called Chang'e and her husband Houyi. Long story short she took an elixir of immortality and went to live on the moon without Houyi. They can only meet during the Mid-Autumn festival on a bridge of magpies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e