Boss, Please Go Easy On Me (GL) - Chapter 3

“I, I know Auntie is allergic to flower pollen.” Yan Xiaomi felt like she had made a mistake again when An Yao stared at her, but she didn’t know what she did wrong, so she cautiously suggested, “But we can buy potted plants. Those kind of potted plants that look like flowers. What are they called again…” Yan Xiaomi poked her head, thinking, “Right, succulents! They’re the ones that look plump and are very cute.”

“I know those kinds of plants,” An Yao thought for a moment and felt that it might work. She turned and asked, “Where are they sold?”

“I know!”

Yan Xiaomi immediately brightened up. In her excitement, she reached out and pulled An Yao’s hand. “This way.”

It was just a touch, and she let go quickly. Yan Xiaomi’s hand was a little cool. The brief contact as her fingertips brushed past instantly transmitted a feeling to An Yao’s brain, then back to her neck and arms, causing a slight case of goosebumps.

An Yao had not been in contact with others for too long and felt her body was much more sensitive than before.

The two went to a gardening store. An Yao immediately took a liking to a heart-shaped combination succulent arrangement—delicate, cute, and indeed quite beautiful.

But with Yan Xiaomi here, how could she buy a heart-shaped potted plant to give to Professor Yan? Even if Yan Xiaomi weren’t here, she wouldn’t do it; it was just a thought.

“President An, how do you feel about this one?” Yan Xiaomi asked An Yao, pointing to a pot of Echeveria runyonii (Moon Garden).

The leaves of the Echeveria runyonii grew densely at the top of the stem, were white, and looked fuzzy, somewhat resembling rabbit ears, which felt comforting.

An Yao gently touched one of its leaves, then looked down at the name on the pot. “Yue Yan (Moon Garden), the name sounds nice, and it looks quite beautiful and elegant. The white leaves are very good. Teacher should like it.”

An Yao was quite satisfied looking at the Yue Yan, but Yan Xiaomi noticed her saying the white leaves were very good. White, white…

“We’ll take this one then,” An Yao said to the clerk. “Please help me package it nicely, preferably in a white box with red flowers [for decoration].”

Yan Xiaomi was still pondering, white, white, what was it related to?

“What gift are you buying?” An Yao asked her.

“Ah? I… I…” Yan Xiaomi snapped back to attention, somewhat confused. That was clearly the one she had chosen, er…

In the end, Yan Xiaomi ordered a large cake from a bakery. She really didn’t know what else to buy. An Yao was quite speechless about her ordering a chocolate cake. Yan Xiaomi could only give a hehehehe silly laugh. She just loved chocolate; there was nothing she could do. Just looking at it made her want to buy it.

She originally wanted to use dark chocolate, but An Yao insisted on white chocolate. Didn’t she dislike sweets? Why didn’t she want dark chocolate?

Yan Xiaomi didn’t dare to ask. Anyway, when she was with An Yao, An Yao was the boss, so she just listened to her.

“What do you want to eat?” An Yao asked her. Yan Xiaomi was a little overwhelmed, and she looked at the time in the shop. It was already noon.

After an emotionally exhausting morning that swung from sadness to joy, and rushing around, Yan Xiaomi felt extremely tired, especially since it was the middle of summer and walking a few extra steps made her feel lethally hot.

“President An, I want ice cream.”

Yan Xiaomi was listless and parched, feeling like her eyes were beginning to blur.

“Why is your physical health so poor?” An Yao frowned slightly, seeing her looking so wilted. However, the way this person softened up was quite cute, a little silly, like an immature child.

“Just ice cream for lunch?” An Yao asked.

“Mhm, I want ice cream,” Yan Xiaomi nodded obediently.

An Yao walked ahead. Yan Xiaomi followed behind and said, “I often caught colds and got sick when I was little, so my body has always been a bit weak. Winter is fine, but in summer, as soon as it gets hot and I sweat, I feel drained.”

Yan Xiaomi’s voice got softer and softer as she spoke. Following behind An Yao, she felt like she could barely move her feet. This summer was truly miserable, just like a succulent—one careless moment and you could be steamed to death by the high heat.

An Yao didn’t expect her to drive anymore. Once they got in the car and the air conditioning was on, Yan Xiaomi finally recovered. Wiping the nervous sweat from her forehead, she also looked a little more spirited.

It was noon, and the sun was directly overhead. It was probably thirty-six or thirty-seven degrees Celsius outside. Yan Xiaomi watched An Yao, who was enjoying the air blowing on her back, then turned her head to look at the quietly driving An Yao.

“President An, are you only keeping me because of my aunt?”

“Otherwise, what do you think?” An Yao spoke the blunt truth without giving her any face, her eyes fixed on the traffic ahead.

“Oh…” Yan Xiaomi wasn’t exactly disappointed; she knew this was likely the case anyway. Yan Xiaomi wanted to say something else, but An Yao’s phone rang. She glanced at it, put on her Bluetooth earpiece, and answered.

“Teacher.” An Yao’s expression and tone when addressing Professor Yan were very gentle. Yan Xiaomi stared intently.

“An An, Yang Sheng will also be coming tomorrow. You don’t mind, do you?”

Hearing the name Yang Sheng, An Yao frowned slightly. Yang Sheng had liked her for many years, and she had rejected him a long time ago, but it was useless. That person wasn’t in much of a hurry and said he would wait for her, and he quietly waited for over two years. Not having been in contact for a long time, she thought he had moved on, but she didn’t expect him to suddenly pop up, and through Professor Yan, no less.

Hearing Professor Yan’s cheerful tone, she knew the Professor intended to seize the opportunity to set them up. An Yao was reluctant but didn’t want to spoil Professor Yan’s fun.

“There’s nothing to mind. We’re all classmates. Whatever Teacher likes is fine.”

“I just wanted to tell you beforehand, so you wouldn’t say I was unkind later.”

Professor Yan’s laughter through the phone felt warm to An Yao’s ear, unlike the heat of the summer. Professor Yan’s voice sounded very young, elegant, lively, and gentle, making people feel comfortable. She loved hearing Professor Yan speak; she always had.

“Not at all. Whatever Teacher thinks is good, is good.”

“Alright then. Call me when you arrive tomorrow.”

After hanging up, An Yao was a little distracted. Her gaze stared far ahead. Yan Xiaomi kept watching her and didn’t dare to say anything. She figured her aunt must have said something that made her unhappy. She always felt that An Yao valued her aunt greatly.

Yan Xiaomi didn’t get ice cream for lunch, as the Western restaurant An Yao took her to didn’t have the ice cream she liked.

The two ordered two set meals. An Yao ate with an elegant, composed, and quiet manner, but she seemed a bit spaced out, as if preoccupied with something.

Yan Xiaomi also didn’t dare to make big movements and ate quietly. From the start of the meal to the end, the only thing An Yao said was two words: “The bill.”

It wasn’t until they returned to the company that Yan Xiaomi felt An Yao had snapped back to reality, resuming her serious and rigorous work attitude.

An Yao entered the office, and a moment later, she came out and placed the document in her hand on Yan Xiaomi’s desk. “The Publicity Department’s latest publicity plan is unacceptable. Take it to the manager and have them redo it.”

“Yes, President An.”

Yan Xiaomi somewhat enjoyed these moments when An Yao gave her commands peacefully, because having something to do made her feel needed and useful. This feeling of fulfillment was quite nice, and most importantly, An Yao wasn’t giving her the cold shoulder.

When relaying the message to the Publicity Department, the manager kept questioning her for a long time about what was unacceptable. Yan Xiaomi couldn’t give a detailed explanation. She hadn’t even read the publicity plan. If An Yao said it was unacceptable, then it was unacceptable. She wasn’t clear on the specifics.

She apologized and pleaded until the manager felt bad and finally let her go. She had just returned to her seat and hadn’t even warmed the chair when An Yao gave her another document and asked her to organize the data.

The whole afternoon passed by organizing the data. Just as she got home, the landline rang.

“Why is your phone off when I call?”

Tong Xi’s irritable and displeased voice came from the other end. Yan Xiaomi held the handset away from her ear. “My phone broke this morning when I dropped it.”

Thinking of the broken phone and the unpleasant events of the morning, Yan Xiaomi felt a bit down. She opened the refrigerator and took out a carton of milk to drink.

“That junk phone of yours should have been replaced ages ago. Are you free? Come out and play.”

“Oh, you busy person have time to play? Is your masterpiece finished yet?”

Tong Xi is a comic artist. After publishing a few popular shojo manga, she became lazy and is now constantly being chased by her editor for manuscripts. Whenever she’s rushing a deadline, she fights day and night, and even if her phone runs out of battery, she won’t answer it. The key thing is that she never calls back afterward, making the people who care about her rush to her house multiple times in a panic, almost breaking her door. So, Yan Xiaomi was very surprised by this sudden call.

“No, I don’t have inspiration. I just thought I’d go out and play for one night and then rush the draft tomorrow.”

Yan Xiaomi felt like Tong Xi’s voice was a bit distant, and she faintly heard rustling sounds. She figured Tong Xi was changing clothes and had the speakerphone on.

“Fine. If you’re crazy enough to want to drag me out, I’ll accompany you. Tell me, where are we going? The arcade or the big mall?”

Yan Xiaomi leaned on the sofa, turned on the TV, and drank her milk. The air conditioning at home felt wonderful.

“Could you aim a little higher? You’re a grown-up, still talking about the arcade? And the big mall? You go there a hundred times a year, only looking and never buying. Don’t you get tired of it?”

That person was only brushing her teeth now, her voice sounded muffled.

“Then where? KTV? Who are we going to party for, just the two of us?”

Yan Xiaomi boredly flipped channels. There was basically nothing good to watch on TV at this hour.

“A bar. I heard from a buddy that there’s a bar that’s quite interesting. Let’s check it out tonight.”

“A buddy?” Hearing that, Yan Xiaomi felt it wasn’t a reliable plan. “Is he trying to hit on you?”