Boss, Please Go Easy On Me (GL) - Chapter 18
Yan Xiaomi looked at the text message and then at An Yao’s face. To say her expression was unchanged was because An Yao normally showed little emotion; she was simply accustomed to hiding it.
But Yan Xiaomi knew she must be in a bad mood. The person she loved getting married to someone else and happily sending her an invitation text message—it felt torturous.
An Yao slowly ate the cake, her thoughts wandering to who knows where. Yan Xiaomi didn’t dare to disturb her. After a long while, An Yao looked at the cake and said, “Actually, I don’t like white chocolate cake.”
Yan Xiaomi was not surprised. The reason she would want to eat this was probably… because her aunt liked it.
“She likes sweets, she likes white chocolate, and she really likes the color white.” An Yao spoke slowly, as if flipping through a memoir, “I love her smiling face, her cheerful personality, and her gentle expression.” An Yao paused and then said, “Actually, I don’t even know how I fell for her, and why I’ve persisted with this unrequited love for so many years. The most ridiculous part is that I never had the courage to let her know.”
An Yao’s calm face showed a faint hint of sadness. She gently poked the cake with a fork and then casually threw it into the trash can.
Yan Xiaomi knew what it felt like to have a crush on someone. She also understood the feeling of seeing the person you have a crush on happily with someone else. If Tong Xi were heartbroken, she could boldly hug Tong Xi, curse the other person out, vent her anger for her, comfort her, and wipe away her tears.
But An Yao just sat there quietly, leaning back with her eyes closed, still and peaceful. To an outsider, she showed no emotional fluctuations, but Yan Xiaomi knew that the quieter An Yao was, the deeper her feelings were suppressed. Perhaps she just didn’t want others to see her emotions, or perhaps she was just used to handling everything by herself.
Facing the formidable An Yao, Yan Xiaomi felt powerless. After a long silence, she asked, “CEO An, would you like to eat anything else?”
An Yao suddenly opened her eyes, “What’s the date today?”
“The 13th.”
The 13th. There were 13 days until the 27th. These next 13 days had no impact on Yan Xiaomi, but for An Yao, it was going to be a little difficult. With what kind of mood should she attend her wedding?
Smiling as she watched her hold hands, hug, and kiss someone else, and then wish them a happy life together?
An Yao suddenly remembered a quote Li Wei Sa had shared during her melancholic period of openly loving An Yao with no result. “I used to think that if I ever got married, you definitely had to be my bridesmaid, because then we would finally walk down the red carpet together. Later, I thought, come to my wedding, crash the party, come and snatch me away, I will definitely go with you. Finally, I thought, you shouldn’t come to my wedding, because I’m afraid of seeing you at the wedding. You won’t do anything, but I will want to leave with you.”
An Yao knew that such a sad quote was not something Li Wei Sa could have written, but she only said it once, and An Yao inexplicably remembered it. She just didn’t expect it to be so fitting now.
Should she be Professor Yan’s bridesmaid and walk down the aisle with her? An Yao was genuinely afraid that she might not be able to resist rushing forward and taking Professor Yan’s hand. But even if she did everything she could, what difference would it make? Professor Yan wouldn’t leave with her.
An Yao rubbed her temples, frowning slightly. She felt her head was tight and uncomfortable. She sighed softly, “I’m fine now. You can go out first. I’m a little tired and want to sleep for a while. If anyone comes, just tell them I’m busy.”
The usually tireless An Yao, who had worked despite severe stomach pain yesterday, was now saying she was tired and wanted to sleep. Yan Xiaomi looked at her weary expression and felt a little heartbroken, but there was nothing she could do to make An Yao feel better. She could only turn up the air conditioner a little and then leave the room.
Afraid An Yao would be hungry when she woke up, Yan Xiaomi went to the cake shop again and bought some pastries. Although they were no match for a proper meal, they were at least better than instant noodles.
In the afternoon, Yan Xiaomi was distracted. Staring at the office door, she desperately wanted to open it to see if An Yao was awake, if she had eaten the pastries on the table, if she was thirsty, or if she was still asleep, whether the air conditioner was too high, or if An Yao felt hot.
Yan Xiaomi felt she was really too bored. Why was her mind preoccupied with An Yao’s affairs? An Yao was the one heartbroken, yet she wasn’t this anxious. What was she worrying about?
Yan Xiaomi looked at the form on her computer, filled in what needed to be filled, and then started spacing out halfway through.
Click. The office door opened. Yan Xiaomi jumped up instantly and asked excitedly, “CEO An, is there anything you need me to do? Did you eat the pastries? Were they good? Do you want some water?”
An Yao was a little stunned by her barrage of questions. Seeing her excited and nervous look, she found it a bit amusing, “Why are you so agitated?”
“I, I just…” Yan Xiaomi scratched her head, a little embarrassed, “CEO An, did you eat the pastries?”
“Buy me almond crisps next time. Go pour me a glass of water.”
“Yes, CEO An.”
Yan Xiaomi immediately scurried off to pour water.
Returning to the office, she saw An Yao working again, looking slightly better. Yan Xiaomi was relieved. She set the water down and prepared to quietly exit the door.
“Xiaomi.” An Yao called out to her.
“CEO An, what are your instructions?” Yan Xiaomi immediately turned around and stood straight.
“Why are you so nervous?” An Yao looked at her with amusement, “Do you have any plans after work?”
“N-no, I don’t.”
“Spend my birthday with me.”
“Ah? CEO An, is it your birthday today?!”
“Why else do you think I bought a cake?”
“No, I just thought you wanted to eat one,” Yan Xiaomi was suddenly a little excited, “CEO An, why didn’t you say it was your birthday sooner? I haven’t prepared a birthday gift.”
“Freeing up your time after work to spend with me is enough of a birthday gift.” An Yao said while typing on the keyboard.
“Although I am very happy to spend your birthday with you, is it just the two of us? Where is Miss Li?”
“She went on a business trip out of town and will be back in a couple of days.”
“Oh, I see,” a smile appeared on Yan Xiaomi’s face, “I feel much better about being the backup.”
If An Yao had formally asked her to spend her birthday with her, Yan Xiaomi would have felt quite awkward since she hadn’t prepared a birthday gift. Now that she heard it was because Li Wei Sa wasn’t around that she was asked, she felt like she was simply filling in temporarily, and it wasn’t awkward anymore.
An Yao was exasperated, not knowing what she was thinking, but if Li Wei Sa were really around, she probably wouldn’t have asked Yan Xiaomi to accompany her, after all, she didn’t want to waste anyone else’s time.
After work, Yan Xiaomi happily followed An Yao, asking, “CEO An, what are we going to eat?”
“What do you want to eat?” An Yao felt it was quite nice to have Yan Xiaomi accompanying her. At least there was someone to talk to, and Yan Xiaomi’s clumsy and adorable personality was also quite pleasant.
“It’s your birthday today. I’ll treat you to dinner,” three seconds later, Yan Xiaomi smiled and added, “But I’m relatively poor and can’t afford a big feast for you. A light snack is manageable.”
“Alright then. You choose the place, and I’ll go with you.”
Yan Xiaomi took An Yao to the snack street. As soon as they walked in, An Yao stopped and looked at her with some surprise, “Eating here?”
“Mhmm, mhmm.” Yan Xiaomi nodded innocently. Seeing An Yao’s look of distaste, she bravely reached out and pulled her arm, “CEO An, there are so many snacks here. Don’t worry, it’s absolutely clean.”
“Are you sure?” An Yao clearly didn’t believe her. Although the street was quite tidy, the crowded atmosphere of a snack street was something she couldn’t tolerate at all. As Yan Xiaomi pulled her inside, she really wanted to turn around and leave.
Yan Xiaomi didn’t feel that way at all. She loved the food on this street the most: drunken fragrant chicken, Zhong dumplings, long chaoshou, ye er ba (leaf-wrapped glutinous rice cake), chuan chuan xiang (skewered hot pot), beef jiaobing (crispy pancake), strange-flavored rabbit cubes…
All sorts of messy, peculiar things were available, with every flavor imaginable to satisfy you. Turning her head excitedly, she saw An Yao covering her nose and frowning. Yan Xiaomi suddenly chuckled.
“The stinky tofu here smells awful, and it tastes awful too.” Yan Xiaomi said with a smile. An Yao was speechless, “And people still buy it?”
“Once you get to this area, you’ll find all sorts of oddities. Hey, some people really do eat the genuinely stinky stinky tofu.”
Yan Xiaomi found this particularly endearing and was in a good mood. She led An Yao into a soup hot pot restaurant.
An Yao glanced at the style of the restaurant—a wooden house, somewhat like an inn. The lanterns were lit up, making it look rather interesting in this brightly lit, bustling area.
Going upstairs, she glanced at the surrounding decor. It was actually quite stylish, with some plants placed along the edges, giving it life. The window lattice was beautifully pasted, clean and bright. An Yao’s furrowed brow finally relaxed.
“CEO An, sit here.” Yan Xiaomi pulled her to sit by the window. Gently pushing the window open, the bright light of the Minglan River reflected inside, looking quite beautiful from a distance.
An Yao’s eyes lit up slightly, a hint of pleasant surprise, “This spot, I suppose many people scramble to sit here?”
“Yes, lots of people rush to get this spot, just to look at the Minglan River while eating. They find it romantic.”
Yan Xiaomi was quite happy, leaning against the window and looking at the Minglan River, even mysteriously reaching out to try and grab something.
“Grabbing what?” An Yao was amused.
“Grabbing some of the river’s glittering light. It’s bright.”
An Yao laughed. How could this person be so funny?
“Xiaomi, what does your family do?”
“Huh? My family?” Yan Xiaomi was a little confused. She hadn’t expected An Yao to ask this question. After all, it wasn’t a good subject to talk about; too much sadness came with it.
“My dad runs a small business. Nothing interesting.”
Yan Xiaomi said carelessly. In her eyes, her dad’s furniture company was quite boring, not as interesting as the glamorous world.
Seeing that Yan Xiaomi didn’t want to continue with the question, An Yao didn’t press further. She looked around, “Do you come here often?”
“Occasionally. Although this place isn’t exactly high-class, the prices are still quite high,” Yan Xiaomi pulled a card out of her wallet, “Hehe, if I didn’t have a discount card, I wouldn’t come here.”
An Yao smiled and nodded. Seeing that the food hadn’t arrived yet, she casually asked, “What did you order so secretively just now?”