Boss, Please Go Easy On Me (GL) - Chapter 4
“Why are your thoughts so dirty? Can’t a person have a perfectly proper friend?”
Yan Xiaomi could hear the mix of anger and amusement in Tong Xi’s tone, and she delivered the final blow, “Yes, yes, yes, your friend is perfectly proper, just like me, but you might not be. Maybe I said it backward; maybe you’re the one trying to hook up with him?”
“You, a lifelong single person, have the nerve to lecture me. If you’re not trying to hook up, then don’t drool later.”
Thinking of Tong Xi stamping her feet, Yan Xiaomi was amused, “I’m busy. I don’t have time to drool.”
“What are you busy with?”
“Busy catching your drool,” Yan Xiaomi laughed even more cheerfully.
“Yan Xiaomi,” Tong Xi shouted, then laughed too, “You’re really not disgusted by yourself, are you?”
“Stop the nonsense. Let’s go eat first. See you at Apricot Garden Restaurant in half an hour.”
Yan Xiaomi took a quick shower, changed into a light pink dress, washing away the sweat, and felt completely refreshed.
She didn’t need to dress up to meet Tong Xi. Yan Xiaomi grabbed her small handbag and left. She reflexively reached for the broken phone on the table, then realized and put it down before heading out.
Yan Xiaomi had just arrived at their usual spot, sat down, and picked up a newspaper, but before she could read it, she heard someone calling her.
She didn’t need to turn around to know it was Tong Xi; her loud voice was audible throughout the entire restaurant. Yan Xiaomi ignored her.
“I called you, why didn’t you answer?” Tong Xi complained as she walked up to her, taking the lollipop out of her mouth, licking it, and putting it back, behaving like a high school student.
Yan Xiaomi shielded her face and leaned back into the sofa, “Miss, who are you looking for? I don’t know you.”
“Don’t know me?” Tong Xi pulled her hand down and leaned closer to ask, “Was I calling a puppy’s name just now?”
“Is your puppy as cute as me?” Yan Xiaomi raised her face and glared at her. They held the stare for three seconds before both burst into laughter.
Yan Xiaomi nudged Tong Xi, gesturing for her to sit opposite her, “It’s boiling hot today. Why are you sitting so close?”
Tong Xi pushed her back, “Heartless! Haven’t seen you for months, and you don’t miss me. When we meet, you pretend not to know me.”
“Is it my fault? Who was it two months ago who said she was busy and shouldn’t be bothered?”
“Did I say that?” Tong Xi looked innocent, tossed the lollipop into the trash can, and waved at the waiter.
“I don’t remember either. It was probably a forgetful pig who said it.”
“Pigs aren’t as cute as me. You think everyone is like you.” Tong Xi pushed the menu to Yan Xiaomi, “The master is happy today, Little Girl. Eat whatever you want. This master has plenty of money.”
“Oh my, oh my~~ Still calling yourself a master? You don’t even have a single hair on your lip and you dare pretend to be a master.” Yan Xiaomi took the menu, tapped a few times, then smiled and handed it back to the waiter.
“Tell me, how have you been lately?” Yan Xiaomi asked.
“How can I be? I’m pestered by the stinky editor every day. They even chase me to my house. A few days ago, I pretended to be sick to delay things, but who knew that stubborn idiot would actually come to my house? It forced me to take a cold shower and perfectly cooperate by catching a cold. Eating bland food for days was simply agonizing.”
Tong Xi was complaining, but a smile was playing on her face, an expression of budding romance. This girl was definitely up to something.
“You said your male editor ran to your house?” Yan Xiaomi smiled, probing indirectly.
“Yes, thanks to him, I got a cold, and then he was burdened with taking care of me. He finally went home today, so I took the opportunity to come out and have some fun.”
Yan Xiaomi nodded. So it wasn’t what she thought. A little disappointing.
“What about you? What are you so pointlessly busy with?”
“When you’re busy, it’s just busy, but when I’m busy, how does it become ‘pointlessly busy’?” Yan Xiaomi was annoyed.
Can’t we just get along?!
“If you ask me, you’re just looking for trouble. Isn’t working at your dad’s company good? You just had to ask your aunt to help you find a job. In the end, it’s all the same.”
“The same what?” Yan Xiaomi narrowed her eyes at her. Three seconds later, she opened them and leaned back into the sofa, “Forget it, you’re right. It’s not much different. Either way, it’s relying on connections and pulling strings, but!” Yan Xiaomi suddenly sat up again and looked at her seriously, “Working at someone else’s company is better than at my dad’s company. At least I get to meet some new colleagues, and relatively speaking, I have a lot more freedom. It saves me from being in front of my dad all day, where he thinks this about me is bad, that about me is bad, everything about me is bad, which is quite frustrating.”
“Go ahead and entertain yourself with your precious self-esteem. The day you can’t handle it anymore and have to go back, remember to notify me. I’ll give you a kick so you can run a little faster.”
Tong Xi watched her, hands behind her head, laughing heartily. Yan Xiaomi was also amused, “Meeting you was truly the failure of my life.”
“Tch~ My record of failures is fine without adding you. Go hang out somewhere cool.”
“It’s quite cool in front of you. Can I stay?”
“Stay then,” Tong Xi reached out and stroked her head, like petting a puppy, “With this master protecting you, I’ll paint a good ending for you.”
The two babbled nonsense back and forth until the food arrived, which finally brought silence. Don’t let their tall, slender appearance fool you; when they ate, they were ferocious. Perhaps it was due to being deprived by the cold, but Tong Xi ate three small bowls. Yan Xiaomi ate one and a half. Normally, she only eats one bowl, but she was happy today, so she ate a little more. Also, she was too embarrassed to eat too much in front of An Yao at noon, and she was genuinely hungry this afternoon.
“When you’ve eaten and drunk your fill, you think of s3x. Come on, Little Girl, let’s go carouse with the Master.”
Tong Xi hooked her arm around Yan Xiaomi’s waist, waved her slender hand, and stepped forward. The two laughed without a hint of lady-like grace, not caring what others thought, as long as they were happy.
“Xun Le Le Bar?” Yan Xiaomi stood outside the bar and read the sign out loud, word by word. After reading it, she felt the name didn’t look proper at all. She watched a few men and women walk inside, then turned back to stare at Tong Xi, “Are you sure it’s this place? You didn’t get it wrong, did you? What kind of crappy…”
“Let’s go. What are you afraid of?” Before she could finish, Tong Xi dragged her inside. It was no different from other bars: a bar counter, a dance floor, sofas, a stage, a singer, and music. It was mediocre and disappointing.
“Where is your friend?”
Yan Xiaomi asked, not interested in this bar. What was there to do in a place like this? She had been to bars in college. She didn’t drink, so she would just watch her classmates drink. When everyone was pretty drunk, she’d wave her hand and walk ahead, ignoring everyone. Tong Xi would follow behind her, cursing and chasing her for a bit.
Tong Xi made a call, glanced inside, and someone waved at her. She pulled Yan Xiaomi, “Come on, over there.”
Yan Xiaomi followed reluctantly. When they got close, she realized there was only one person, and he was a handsome guy, smiling at them.
“Zhang Ji, this is my best friend, Yan Xiaomi. You two get acquainted.”
Zhang Ji stood up, smiled politely at her, and extended his hand, “Hello, my name is Zhang Ji.”
Although Zhang Ji was quite handsome, the slightly mischievous look on his face when he smiled wasn’t to Yan Xiaomi’s liking. She preferred sunny, wholesome boys. Out of politeness, she still extended her hand and shook Zhang Ji’s hand, “Hello, I’m Yan Xiaomi.”
After sitting down, Yan Xiaomi had nothing to say and just heard Tong Xi and him talking about comics. From their conversation, Zhang Ji seemed to be a cartoonist as well, and apparently, he drew Danmei (Boys’ Love). Danmei… Yan Xiaomi couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander again. Could this Zhang Ji be gay?
His tone and demeanor seemed quite masculine, so it was hard to tell. However, some gay men are indistinguishable from straight men, and you can’t tell from their speech or behavior.
“Xiaomi, why are you staring at him?” Tong Xi chuckled and patted Yan Xiaomi’s shoulder. It was then that she realized she had been lost in thought and staring at Zhang Ji. As she snapped back, her eyes met Zhang Ji’s gaze. She immediately blushed with nervousness, feeling very embarrassed, “Sorry, I zoned out just now.”
“Zoned out?” Zhang Ji smiled, “What were you thinking about?”
Zhang Ji handed her a glass of wine that had appeared at some point. Yan Xiaomi smiled and waved her hand, “Sorry, I don’t drink.”
“Xiaomi goes crazy when she drinks. She can’t handle it. Otherwise, she’ll lose control later.” Tong Xi was amused, and Zhang Ji also laughed, “I’m quite curious to see that.”
Yan Xiaomi was very embarrassed. She asked for a glass of juice instead of wine, clinked glasses with Zhang Ji, and took a sip. Seeing peanuts on the large table, she was bored and ate them one by one.
At this moment, the interesting activity Tong Xi had mentioned about this bar began. The rules were simple: each person takes a bottle of wine. If you find someone attractive, you place your bottle in front of them. The person with the most bottles at the end gets the chance to choose one of the people who placed a bottle for them, to play a game of 419 (four-one-nine, slang for ‘for one night’) in the luxurious private room provided by the bar. Plus, all expenses for the two of them for the night are waived.
This game is played intermittently. Everyone is an adult. Those who understand the rules join in, and those who don’t want to play can watch and cheer from the sidelines.
The people dancing on the dance floor had stopped, and the music on the stage had become hyped. Those who wanted to play the game went to buy wine and followed the person they fancied.
Some people, upon seeing the person they liked sit down, walked up to them, drank a large part of the wine in their hand, then ambiguously licked the corner of their mouth and placed the remaining half bottle on the table. Others chugged the entire bottle.
In any case, as soon as the game started, there were sights everywhere. A large group of people began to look at who was pretty and who was handsome. The ugly ones and the pretty ones attracted attention differently; the former were mocked, the latter admired.
Generally, attractive women would hold onto their bottles until the end, deciding after everyone else had placed their drinks down. Some men and women were equally reserved, savoring the not-so-delicious wine, captivating men and women by the minute.
After the three-minute decision time passed, the host started checking whose bottle count was highest. The nervous atmosphere at this moment was no less than the vote counting in a singing competition. Everyone was counting bottles. Even Yan Xiaomi, who had been bored, craned her neck to see the result.
“Who do you think will win?” Tong Xi asked Yan Xiaomi.
“I think the long-haired, sexy woman might win.” Yan Xiaomi had been staring at that woman.
“I think it’s the guy opposite the long-haired woman,” Zhang Ji said with a smile, his gaze fixed on the man.
Tong Xi laughed, “They’re evenly matched. The result is still unknown. I’m a little excited.”
Having eaten peanuts and drunk too much water, Yan Xiaomi suddenly felt the urge to go to the restroom. She looked over there, realizing the result wouldn’t be announced anytime soon. Yan Xiaomi tapped Tong Xi’s shoulder and whispered, “Where is the bathroom?”
Tong Xi looked at her, amused, and pointed to the sign nearby.
Yan Xiaomi smiled at Zhang Ji, stood up, and headed to the restroom.
She had to take a few turns, left and right, following the bathroom signs before arriving. The design was truly unreasonable. If someone who had been drinking was in a hurry, they would be frantic.
Yan Xiaomi felt much relieved after using the restroom. She hurriedly washed her hands and was startled as soon as she exited by a couple passionately kissing in the corridor next to the restroom.
Too embarrassed to look closely, she quickly took a few steps. The floor near the restroom inevitably had water. Yan Xiaomi was rushing and didn’t notice, slipped, and fell.
“Ah~!” Yan Xiaomi didn’t care if anyone was around and cried out. That fall really hurt. Her elbow and knee were bruised and aching. She grimaced, looked up, and before she could even complain about the pain, she froze.
The two people who were kissing nearby… were actually women?! And they were now tilting their heads and looking at her. One was smiling, and the other was frowning.
Most importantly! She recognized the one who was frowning!
Yan Xiaomi’s mouth twitched, and she cautiously uttered, “CEO… CEO An?”