When he returned to the rented apartment, it was already past two in the morning. Xiao Yufan didn’t even wash his face before crawling straight into bed…
Although he had no work today, he was exhausted from running around all day. Except for a brief unexpected incident at the end, he had finally managed to celebrate his 25th birthday peacefully.
The next day, before it was even light outside, Xiao Yufan was woken up by the alarm clock. He had already taken one day off; he couldn’t possibly take two days off right after returning to work—it would be hard to justify.
“You still have to go to work today? Don’t you need another day to rest?” As soon as Xiao Yufan opened the bedroom door, he saw Yu Yihan already washing up. He was somewhat surprised. It was normal for him, a man, to brew some medicine, but Yu Yihan had been busy all day yesterday and didn’t sleep well. If she continued working today, she might struggle physically.
“No need. I didn’t go to the office yesterday already, and I’m afraid there will be a pile of work waiting for me today. It’s better not to leave things piling up!”
“Well…take care of yourself…” Although their relationship had somewhat improved, he knew whatever he said might not necessarily be heeded by her. Moreover, he had keenly sensed that, since Hu Yingluo’s appearance, Yu Yihan had clearly become more guarded around him.
“Is she jealous?” Xiao Yufan thought to himself, then shook his head. Why would Yu Yihan be jealous? After all, there was nothing between him and Hu Yingluo. Even if there were something between them, what would that have to do with Yu Yihan?
…
He headed towards the company in the Mercedes-Benz SLK convertible. Despite Yu Yihan’s disapproving glances, Xiao Yufan still got out at the traffic light before approaching the company building—he wanted to avoid fueling any office rumors if at all possible.
“Hey, buddy, you really know how to stir things up, huh? Neither you nor our CEO showed up at work yesterday, and when she did come in before, she looked really exhausted. You young guys should know how to exercise some restraint…”
He hadn’t even settled into his chair when Lin Pinle leaned over. Xiao Yufan could tell with his eyes closed that this guy had definitely misunderstood him. But was he going to explain? Probably, in this situation, silence was the only way to deal with all the suspicions.
“Stir things up? I’m a model citizen, okay? Don’t project your bad habits onto me…” Xiao Yufan adjusted his computer desk, leaned back in his chair, and rolled backward a bit, nearly knocking Lin Pinle—who was leaning on the back of the chair—off balance…
“You really expect me to believe that?”
“I don’t care whether you believe me or not!” Xiao Yufan smirked. Talking to this guy was a complete waste of time. He glanced around at the other colleagues and continued, “Do we have any tasks today? It seems like everyone else is pretty busy…”
“It’s all because of this proposal. Although the client agreed to sign the contract, the company has very high requirements, so we have to perfect everything.”
“I see…” Xiao Yufan hadn’t been in the office yesterday and wasn’t very clear on the details. But judging from the situation, something significant must have happened at the company yesterday. No wonder Yu Yihan seemed so rushed today.
“It’s probably the CEO’s cousin causing trouble again. If it weren’t for such a big client, we wouldn’t have to bend over backwards for him all the time. It’s not like the company belongs to him—why should we be led around by the nose?”
“I’m not sure either. Maybe the CEO has her own reasons. As employees, we just need to do our best.”
A vision of Burgess flashed through Xiao Yufan’s mind. For some reason, despite only meeting the man twice, he didn’t seem like the kind of person who would be scheming or manipulative. He didn’t fit the image of someone scheming to take over the company.
“Everyone, please hurry up. After we finish this proposal, I’ll treat you all to…milk tea…” Xiao Ai sashayed over and stopped in the middle of the aisle. Although this guy was a bit of a pervert, he was definitely serious about his work.
“Come on! Why don’t you dare treat us to a proper meal? We’re going to throw up from drinking milk tea again…” Someone from the crowd shouted back, and everyone burst into laughter. It was a brief moment of relief in the tense atmosphere.
After the laughter died down, everyone dove back into their computers. The entire floor was filled with the sound of typing keyboards. Occasionally, soft grunts could be heard—no need to guess, it was definitely Lin Pinle again.
Lin had a strange habit while working: whenever he encountered a difficult problem, he would hum softly to himself. According to him, all his inspiration came from humming. Others didn’t really mind his behavior since the humming wasn’t loud enough to disturb anyone.
Meanwhile, in the top-floor office, Yu Yihan was frowning deeply. Whether due to deliberate sabotage or coincidence, the client had discovered many loopholes in the proposal submitted two days ago…
This was completely unexpected. If those loopholes weren’t fixed in time, the signing of the contract might be delayed. This was a major deal this year—one that could determine the company’s annual revenue and future direction. She couldn’t afford to be careless for even a moment…
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