Boss, Please Go Easy On Me (GL) - Chapter 23

An Yao invited her to go see the night view at Minglan River together!!!

Seeing this text message, Yan Xiaomi’s feeling of disappointment instantly turned into excitement, like she had taken a Xuan Mai (Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man) and couldn’t stop.

— I’m at a friend’s place, it’s a bit far. Wait for me.

Just as Yan Xiaomi was about to tell Tong Xi that she had to leave, An Yao’s call came through.

“President An, I’ll be there in a moment.”

Yan Xiaomi habitually stood up straight to answer the phone, looking very serious. Tong Xi glanced at her and almost choked with laughter.

“No, I was calling to say you don’t have to come if you have something to do.”

“I don’t have anything important,” Yan Xiaomi suddenly remembered she hadn’t eaten. As a foodie, eating was very important, but in front of An Yao, none of that seemed important. The phone call stirred up a storm in Yan Xiaomi’s heart. On one hand, she wanted to go see An Yao, and on the other hand, she was afraid to go see An Yao. After struggling between the two, she finally decided to go, wanting to spend more time with An Yao.

An Yao found her hurried explanation amusing. Was she that afraid she would hang up?

“Where are you? I’ll come pick you up,” An Yao said.

“Ah? I’m at…” Yan Xiaomi quickly tapped Tong Xi’s shoulder to get the address. After reporting the address to An Yao, Yan Xiaomi breathed a sigh of relief.

She walked over to Tong Xi and reached out for a dish, but Tong Xi slapped her hand away. “Are you still going to eat? I thought you were about to rush to your boss! Look how anxious you were just now. Even an ugly daughter-in-law meeting her in-laws isn’t that anxious.”

Tong Xi’s mouth—ordinary people truly couldn’t handle it. Yan Xiaomi was used to it, smiling and wrapping her arms around her waist to coax her. “Of course, I have to eat with you before leaving. Otherwise… hehe, how about I go downstairs and call Mr. Shen up to keep you company?”

“You, you keep acting up. Be careful, I’ll tell your boss that you like her.”

“Cough, cough, cough, cough…”

Yan Xiaomi choked badly this time, making her face red and her neck thick. Fortunately, it was impossible to tell whether she was blushing out of guilt or from choking.

“Xi,” Yan Xiaomi took a sip of water and sighed with emotion, “Our IQs used to be on the same level. How did you secretly upgrade?”

“Don’t be silly,” Tong Xi calmly denied her. “My IQ has always been several levels higher than yours. A simple person like you, if you weren’t following me, would probably have been secretly plotted against countless times.”

So this is the legendary ‘great hermit hidden in the city’—like the one right in front of her, showing off and doing it convincingly. Yan Xiaomi admitted her inferiority. Her experience of never winning an argument or debate with Tong Xi told her that rebutting now would only lead to self-humiliation, so she decided to remain silent.

“Eh?” Tong Xi suddenly put down her chopsticks and looked at her, asking seriously, “Did you just admit that you like your boss?”

“I didn’t,” Yan Xiaomi looked confused. “I don’t know. Why did this topic suddenly come up?”

“You’re just a coward,” Tong Xi looked at her with deep disdain. “Daring to like someone but not daring to admit it.”

Yan Xiaomi didn’t say anything. Coward is coward. Anyway, she didn’t want to admit it now, lest Tong Xi bombard her with more gossip questions.

Her phone suddenly rang. Yan Xiaomi jumped up and answered. “You’re almost here? I’ll be at the intersection right away.”

Yan Xiaomi motioned to Tong Xi that she had to leave. Tong Xi waved her hand impatiently. “Hurry up and go. Don’t be a coward here.”

When Yan Xiaomi jogged to the intersection, An Yao hadn’t arrived yet. She took a few deep breaths to adjust her mood. When I see An Yao later, I can’t be timid. Look bravely at her face, her eyes. Don’t blush, don’t be nervous. Yan Xiaomi, it’s not the first time you’ve had a secret crush. What are you afraid of? Don’t be a coward, go for it.

An Yao’s car suddenly stopped by the roadside, and Yan Xiaomi was still standing there, lost in thought. An Yao honked the horn, and she finally snapped back. “You can’t park here, get in quickly.”

“Oh, oh.”

Yan Xiaomi hastily got into the car. For a moment, all her emotions vanished. The nervousness, anxiety, and even the blushing and heart racing were forgotten. Sitting in the back seat, she looked in the rear-view mirror at An Yao’s calm face and suddenly started to zone out.

She had been by An Yao’s side for so long. Except when meeting clients, when she would pretend to be a little enthusiastic, she was quiet and unapproachable at all other times. The indifference in her eyes could completely cool down a person’s enthusiasm.

But deep down, Yan Xiaomi felt that An Yao was clearly a little different towards her. She often smiled in front of her, worried, was sometimes speechless, and showed a slight indulgence and a little dependency.

Just like now, she could have found someone else to go see the night view at Minglan River with, or she could have gone alone, but she called her. Does this mean her presence is quite important to An Yao?

Actually, Yan Xiaomi didn’t know why An Yao called her to go see the night view, but thinking this way made her feel more valued, and her mood improved.

“Have you eaten?” An Yao suddenly asked.

“Ah?” Yan Xiaomi snapped back, suddenly meeting An Yao’s eyes in the mirror. Her heart rate accelerated instantly. She turned her head to look out the window. “I’ve eaten. I ate at my friend’s house just now.”

“Mhm,” An Yao responded softly.

“President An, why did you suddenly want to go see the night view at Minglan River?” Yan Xiaomi couldn’t help but ask.

“Yang Sheng said the night view at Minglan River was nice and asked me to go see it with him. I didn’t want to go with him.”

Such a direct rejection.

Yan Xiaomi’s mood as a backup option wasn’t as bright as the last time. She was overthinking again, feeling that she might just be a spare tire to An Yao. Taken out when useful, and put away when not. Actually, a spare tire is quite important in life, but a spare tire can never compare to the preferred one.

This feeling, truly like a swing, constantly going up and down, was so restless.

When they arrived at Minglan River, An Yao found a place to park the car, and the two walked along the riverbank.

Minglan River was named so because the shops lining the riverbank were decorated with many blue lights. When night fell, all those lights turned on, reflecting off the river, turning the entire river into a shimmering blue. When the water mist met the downward flowing water, it created a magnificent, magical atmosphere, complementing the scenery on the opposite side beautifully.

They walked for a while without saying anything. Yan Xiaomi couldn’t hold back anymore and asked An Yao, “President An, if the lights on the opposite side were changed to other colors, would they have to change the name to Bright Red River or Bright Green River?”

“Maybe,” An Yao smiled. “Actually, they seemed to have used other lights before—multicolored and dazzling, or other colors like you mentioned—but none seemed as beautiful as blue. So, they finally settled on blue, and everyone agreed to call the river Minglan River. The lights on that side have never been changed since.”

“I see,” Yan Xiaomi nodded, with an expression that said, Now I understand.

“Xiaomi, do you know Lin Ran?” An Yao suddenly asked.

“Lin Ran?” Yan Xiaomi reacted, thinking of the person she met in the elevator. “Oh, yes, I know him. What about him?”

“What do you think of him?”

“Huh?” Yan Xiaomi was a little confused. “President An, why are you suddenly asking this? I’m not familiar with Lin Ran. How would I know what he’s like?”

Yan Xiaomi laughed, a little awkwardly.

An Yao was still quite composed. She and Lin Ran had a gentlemen’s agreement, not keeping in frequent contact, but they could still look out for each other if something came up. Occasionally, when they had free time, they would arrange to have coffee and talk about recent events and some shared interests.

She ran into him after work this afternoon, and they had dinner together. During their conversation, he mentioned a carefree, cute girl with short hair. An Yao immediately thought of Yan Xiaomi by reflex. Lin Ran’s tone suggested he thought Yan Xiaomi was quite nice and wanted to know more. An Yao didn’t intend to hide it, lest it be awkward if they met later, so she told Lin Ran her name. It would have been better if she hadn’t said anything. After hearing her name, Lin Ran became excited and wanted An Yao to play matchmaker, to create an opportunity for them to get to know each other and see if they were compatible.

Of course, she couldn’t tell Yan Xiaomi this directly.

“Lin Ran is a friend of mine. He’s a very good person.”

An Yao’s random comment left Yan Xiaomi puzzled, and she could only nod. “Mhm.”

“Oh, right,” An Yao suddenly asked. “Xiaomi, you don’t have a boyfriend, do you?”

Yan Xiaomi realized now. Is President An trying to play matchmaker? No way! She shook her head, not wanting to speak anymore.

“Then do you have anyone you like?” An Yao asked again.

Hearing the question about someone she liked, Yan Xiaomi immediately tensed up and smiled awkwardly. “How can a person not have a crush after growing up?”

“I didn’t mean that,” An Yao rubbed her head. “I mean, do you have someone you like now?”

Yan Xiaomi turned to look at An Yao, and after a while, she said, “Yes.”

At the moment their eyes met, An Yao was nervous. Yan Xiaomi’s gaze made her unable to react. It was a hurt and deeply affectionate look, but why?

An Yao was not like Yan Xiaomi, who would overthink things if she couldn’t figure them out. If An Yao couldn’t figure something out, she would put it aside. When the time was right, it would naturally become clear.

“Having someone you like is a good thing,” An Yao turned her face away and smiled bitterly. “But you have to find the right person to like to be happy. Don’t be like me, liking someone who can never like you back.”

An Yao’s last sentence was spoken lightly, without any hint of sadness, but Yan Xiaomi was still struck to the heart by her words. Is this a warning?

Yan Xiaomi didn’t know where she got the courage, but she suddenly took a step forward and hugged An Yao from behind, saying with a hint of sorrow in her voice, “President An, if you can’t love the person you love, why don’t you choose to love the person who loves you?”