Becoming a Confidence Coach to an Arrogant Director - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Director Gu’s Warm Palace Pad

During the meal, Ji Xiu and Pei He did most of the talking. Yuan Yishan maintained her obedient persona, while Gu Jin remained silent throughout, only occasionally responding when Ji Xiu addressed her.

With everyone present, they had to keep up appearances.

Yuan Yishan found an opportunity to go to the restroom and discreetly placed a plastic bag in her mechanical throat. She ate with extreme caution, fearing she might accidentally puncture the bag and cause an electrical short.

Gu Jin seemed unusually fixated on her eating. She scooped food into Yuan Yishan’s bowl several times, and when the shrimp paste was cooked, she, for some unknown reason, took a piece and placed it in her bowl.

Yuan Yishan froze.

Ji Xiu noticed this once again.

Since when did Senior Sister start taking such good care of people?

Ji Xiu was a sensitive person, and she quickly sensed Gu Jin’s subtle concern. Her good mood turned complex, and her initial positive impression of Yuan Yishan diminished.

Ji Xiu had dedicated two years to Yuan Sheng Electronics just to be with Gu Jin. After finally building the tech team and handing it over to her, she had continued to help secretly under the pretense of being a part-time employee. This time, upon hearing that most of the R&D staff had resigned, she was worried Gu Jin couldn’t handle it alone, so she put her work on hold and flew over immediately.

She had always accepted Gu Jin’s cold personality, but now she was so concerned about a newcomer she had only known for a few days. What was her deal? Was it just because she was pretty?

After so many years of effort, she couldn’t let a newcomer ruin things.

At the same time, Ji Xiu also took a piece of cooked shrimp paste and thoughtfully placed it in the bowl opposite her.

“Senior Sister, don’t just focus on taking care of us; eat more yourself. Look how thin you are!”

Then, she put another piece of fish head that no one ever touched into Yuan Yishan’s bowl, her expression unchanged.

“Yishan, you too. The salmon fish head is the essence of this restaurant. Try it; it’s really delicious!”

Yuan Yishan saw the fish bones in her bowl and was suddenly nervous.

She appreciated the kindness, but in this situation, she had to be extra cautious. If she accidentally ate a bony piece of fish, her life would be in danger from a short circuit.

Gu Jin noticed her slight pause and, after a second’s hesitation, returned the favor by placing a piece of lotus root in Ji Xiu’s bowl.

“You eat more too!”

It happened to be her favorite. Ji Xiu was pleasantly surprised and for a moment felt like she had been overthinking things.

“Thank you, Senior Sister!”

“Hey, hey, hey, you three, going back and forth like this, can you at least consider my feelings as the one paying? I’m the one footing the bill!”

After Boss Pei complained, Director Xiu casually scooped up a steamed bun and threw it into his bowl.

“You eat more, Senior. Don’t underestimate the power of a steamed bun!”

With everyone interacting, Yuan Yishan finally didn’t have to deal with the delicious salmon fish head, and she relaxed a little.

When they finished hot pot and came out, it was almost 10 PM. Since they had to work the next day, they didn’t go to another venue. After Ji Xiu waved goodbye to them, she immediately had someone investigate Yuan Yishan. When she found out she was just a normal fresh graduate, she breathed a sigh of relief.

On the way back, Gu Jin was still highly focused on the road. Yuan Yishan was surprised by Director Gu’s deliberate help and inexplicably blurted out a “Thank you, Sister.”

Gu Jin held the steering wheel without a change in expression, looking indifferent.

Yuan Yishan continued to probe.

“I actually don’t like eating fish head. I don’t like anything with bones. If you hadn’t helped me out just now, I wouldn’t have known how to refuse Sister Xiu’s kindness!”

Gu Jin glanced at the person next to her, her face turning cold, her eyes filled with a clear message to shut up.

Yuan Yishan knew when to stop and quietly started drawing a boat of friendship on the car window.

After a nearly thirty-minute drive, they arrived home at almost 11 PM. Gu Jin washed up and went straight to her bedroom without lingering.

She had a cold drink and spicy hot pot earlier, and now her stomach felt uncomfortable. She had started to feel unwell while driving, and now it was both bloated and painful, making it impossible to sleep.

Gu Jin took some stomach medicine from the bedside table, swallowed a few tablets with cold water, and pulled the covers over her head, forcing herself to sleep. Unfortunately, it had no effect. She could endure the discomfort in the first half of the night, but by the latter half, her whole body was cramping.

She couldn’t bear it anymore and got up to look for more medicine. She fell and couldn’t get up again. She was curled up on the floor next to the bedside table, twisted into a small ball from the pain. Her silk pajamas were drenched in a cold sweat and clung to her body, but she silently endured it, not making a sound.

Yuan Yishan rushed into the room only after the system issued a warning. By then, Gu Jin couldn’t see clearly. Her usual stubbornness and coldness were gone. She was like a porcupine stripped of its quills, instinctively curling into a ball.

When Yuan Yishan rushed over to pick her up, she used a little force, but found her unexpectedly light.

—So light!

She instinctively paused. Her control panel displayed the user’s height and weight: 170cm, 42kg.

Her usual coldness supported her strength, but now that it was gone, she was as frail as a morning dewdrop on a blade of grass, giving the illusion that she would evaporate the moment she saw light.

Yuan Yishan carefully scooped her up. Drops of dark-red bl00d appeared on the floor where she had been. The system showed a “cold uterus” warning, and she realized that Gu Jin might have her period early and was experiencing menstrual cramps.

She wasn’t sure if there were any sanitary pads at home. After carrying her out to the sofa, she went to look for them herself. Luckily, she found some. When she went back outside with a clean set of clothes to help her change, Gu Jin had only slightly regained consciousness.

Even though they were both girls, it was still improper to just strip her clothes off. Yuan Yishan mentally prepared herself. The moment her hand touched Gu Jin’s waist and neck, Director Gu sensitively protected her undergarments.

“Get away! Don’t touch me!”

She said this with almost all her strength, a defensive rebuke that sounded incredibly weak.

Morale Booster Yuan quickly spoke in a gentle, patient voice.

“Your situation is very bad right now. I’m going to change you into some clean clothes. You’ll feel a little more comfortable.”

Gu Jin didn’t have the strength to struggle. A few fingers desperately clutched a corner of her clothing, not allowing Yuan Yishan to touch her. It was her last bit of stubbornness, a sense of shame in the midst of her severe pain.

“Be a good girl, listen to me. I won’t look!”

Yuan Yishan soothed her while carefully prying her fingers open.

Gu Jin couldn’t fight back and closed her eyes in despair. For the first time, a few clear tears overflowed from her beautiful phoenix-like eyes due to her powerlessness. Her whole body felt cold from the sweat, and a few strands of hair were stuck to her forehead.

Yuan Yishan had wanted to use a hot towel to wipe her body, but worried about making her nervous, she just changed her into a cotton pajama set. After she had her lying comfortably on the sofa, she went to make some ginger tea. When she came back, Gu Jin was once again curled up into a ball.

Yuan Yishan habitually blew on the steaming cup before carefully feeding her a little water.

“Come on, drink this while it’s hot. You’ll feel better!”

Her movements were gentle, like a caring older sister.

Gu Jin was trembling from the pain and couldn’t drink, refusing to open her mouth.

Yuan Yishan had searched the bedroom and found no warm palace pads. This situation was not good, and she was at a loss. The system then said,

Host, you can activate the constant temperature program to relieve your user’s pain.

“How do I do that?”

Just…

The system was a little embarrassed to say it out loud, so it just displayed the steps on the control panel.

A few minutes later, Morale Booster Yuan executed the steps on the control panel one by one. Her constant-temperature palm acted like a warm palace pad, her fingertips gently kneading the user’s lower abdomen, trying to absorb the cold.

Gu Jin’s pain gradually eased under her massage. After about seven or eight minutes, Yuan Yishan put her back on the sofa and began to massage her legs.

“Be a good girl, relax your legs, and I’ll massage them for you.”

Due to the previous cramps, Director Gu’s legs were difficult to extend. Yuan Yishan pulled them slightly with some force. The person on the sofa grimaced in pain, and a few fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

With Yuan Yishan’s rhythmic massage, she lost the will to resist. She only felt that the area beneath her was sticky and uncomfortable.

After a long time, she finally recovered a little and looked at her with narrowed eyes.

Under her gaze, Yuan Yishan’s mind processed a series of system commands. She couldn’t help but feel a blush spread across her otherwise emotionless mechanical face.

“I… I’ll go make you some brown sugar water!”

After saying this, she took the cup and flashed into the pantry.

Gu Jin lay weakly on the sofa, her mood complicated.

Yuan Yishan dawdled for two minutes making the brown sugar water, mentally preparing herself before returning to the user’s side. The person on the sofa was already fast asleep.

Director Gu had half of her head buried in the light gray sofa cushion, her long eyelashes covering her phoenix-like eyes. Her thin lips were slightly pursed, and her breathing was shallow and gentle. She looked so well-behaved in her sleep.

Yuan Yishan increasingly felt that a cold woman, when she let her guard down, could also be as proud and cute as a little princess who needed to be loved.

After tossing and turning until three or four in the morning, Gu Jin finally found a moment of peace and slept a very deep sleep. A.I. Yuan stayed by her side, not daring to be neglectful.

Early the next morning, Morale Booster Yuan messaged Boss Pei to take the day off.

Gu Jin’s consciousness didn’t emerge from her drowsiness until 10 AM. Seeing the light in the living room, she knew it was late. She tried to get up, but her body ached, and she had no strength.

Yuan Yishan was quick to extend a hand to help her.

“I asked the boss for a day off for you!”

Gu Jin was caught by her. The coldness she hadn’t yet managed to feign in her half-asleep state was gone. She simply looked at her with a blank expression, a bit like a confused child who had just woken up.

Yuan Yishan couldn’t help but tease her.

“Even a good student needs to skip class once in a while! Don’t you think so, Director Gu?”

Gu Jin looked away, not wanting to see her. Yuan Yishan made her comfortable on the sofa and was about to go to the kitchen to make her something to eat when the door was knocked on.

Yuan Yishan, wearing a slightly oversized cotton pajama set, opened the door and met the gaze of a woman in a casual business skirt suit.

“Sister Xiu, why are you here?”