Boss, Please Go Easy On Me (GL) - Chapter 7

At noon, the two left work early to pick up the gifts, and then headed to Professor Yan’s house.

Yan Xiaomi was quite familiar with Professor Yan’s house. She often went there with her parents when she was little, and after going to university, she attended the school next door to Professor Yan’s, often going over every few days for a meal because the food she cooked herself was too terrible, and she felt outside food wasn’t clean.

An Yao had been busy with work all these years, and they usually met outside, so she didn’t visit Professor Yan’s house often, but she knew exactly which building and floor it was. The two entered the elevator in silence.

“Do you still remember what I told you yesterday?” An Yao suddenly asked.

Yan Xiaomi immediately looked at her and respectfully replied, “I remember. Don’t speak carelessly.”

“Don’t be so nervous. Lest the teacher think I am harsh on you.”

An Yao’s tone was quite cold, but Yan Xiaomi was used to it. This was her normal state; only in the abnormal state like last night was she slightly gentler. Thinking of An Yao last night, Yan Xiaomi was a little distracted.

“Why are you spacing out?” An Yao lightly tapped her hand and walked out of the elevator.

Yan Xiaomi quickly snapped back and followed her out. Just as she was about to press the doorbell, An Yao caught her hand.

“I’ll do it,” An Yao said.

“Oh…” Yan Xiaomi retreated behind her.

An Yao pressed the doorbell once and didn’t press again, standing quietly at the door for two minutes before Professor Yan opened it.

“You two are here! Why didn’t you call first? I just thought I misheard the doorbell.” Professor Yan was very happy to see them. She naturally took their hands. “Quickly come in, quickly come in! I just finished cutting fruit, you can have some first.”

Upon entering the house, Yan Xiaomi didn’t immediately present the gift. She looked at An Yao.

An Yao placed the box in her hand on the table and turned to go into the kitchen. Yan Xiaomi also put down her gift and prepared to follow, but An Yao suddenly turned and looked at her. “You go watch TV.”

“Oh…” Yan Xiaomi stopped, watching An Yao enter the kitchen and ask Professor Yan if she needed any help. The two spoke and busied themselves in the kitchen. Most of the time, Professor Yan was talking, and An Yao merely responded, but her voice was very gentle, and one could hear a pleasant tone.

Yan Xiaomi sat on the sofa, eating fruit and watching TV, occasionally glancing into the kitchen. She could see An Yao tied with an apron, washing vegetables, and cutting vegetables, and could even see a gentle smile appear on her face sometimes. She was a little mesmerized.

President An is so beautiful when she smiles gently!

“Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling $\sim$”

“Xiaomi, answer the door,” An Yao’s voice came from the kitchen.

“Oh, oh, okay!”

“No need, no need, I’ll do it!” Professor Yan had already exited the kitchen and rushed to the door ahead of Yan Xiaomi.

“Happy Birthday, Teacher!”

As soon as the door opened, a man presented a birthday gift. Professor Yan took the gift box and smiled, calling out, “Oh $\sim$ you brought a gift too! So thoughtful. Quick, come in. An An is already here.”

Yan Xiaomi glanced at the person busy cutting vegetables in the kitchen; she didn’t turn around.

“Auntie, this is…” Yan Xiaomi stood up and asked with a smile.

“This is my student, Yang Sheng,” Professor Yan smiled and pointed at Yang Sheng, then casually pointed at Yan Xiaomi. “This is my niece, Xiaomi.”

“Xiaomi?” Yang Sheng was a little surprised, smiling.

Yan Xiaomi knew what he meant. Since Mi (Xiaomi) phones were so popular, it was easy to think of that. Yan Xiaomi was also frustrated. Her parents were educated people, so why did they give her such a minimalist name, Xiaomi? Why not just call her Dami (Big Rice)? That would be more practical.

“Mhm, I’m Dami’s little sister, Xiaomi,” Yan Xiaomi nodded, her smile quite natural.

“My apologies,” Yang Sheng smiled, then glanced at the person busy in the kitchen. He smiled and nodded at Yan Xiaomi and walked over. Yan Xiaomi’s gaze followed him. Professor Yan seemed to be free now and sat down on the sofa.

“Auntie, aren’t you going to cook?” Yan Xiaomi looked at her, a bit confused about the situation.

“It wouldn’t be right for me to go in now and be a third wheel,” Professor Yan said, smiling. She glanced inside at the two, then turned her attention to the TV, looking quite reassured. “An An can cook, and Yang Sheng can help her out perfectly.”

“Oh…” Yan Xiaomi also looked inside. An Yao was busy stir-frying, and Yang Sheng was saying something beside her. An Yao only responded, but her voice was much colder than it had been before.

There were only four people at the dinner table. Professor Yan’s son was about the same age as Yan Xiaomi, and after divorcing her husband, the son said he wanted to be independent and went out to make his own way. Professor Yan didn’t bother to intervene. A son, what’s the point of worrying too much? She hadn’t notified relatives and friends either, as it wasn’t a particularly important day, and too many people would be troublesome. She thought An Yao and Yang Sheng were a good match and wanted to seize this opportunity to set them up.

“Xiaomi, eat this,” Professor Yan put a piece of chicken on Yan Xiaomi’s plate. “Look how thin you are. If you can’t cook, just come to my house for dinner. It’s not too far, after all.”

“Thank you, Auntie,” Yan Xiaomi smiled a bit foolishly. “The company is quite far from here, but I will take good care of myself.”

“Good, good. It’s good that you know how to take care of yourself.”

Professor Yan smiled, then turned to An Yao. “An An has also gotten thinner.” Professor Yan reached out and touched An Yao’s face. An Yao’s movement of picking up food froze for three seconds, her heart immediately tensing. Professor Yan gently pinched her face again. “You’ve lost weight on your face.”

Professor Yan smiled and served her some chicken and fish. “Come, eat more.”

“Mhm.” An Yao lowered her head to eat, slowly finishing all the meat Professor Yan put on her plate. Yan Xiaomi felt that An Yao was really strange around Professor Yan, although she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was strange. Very well-behaved, obedient, and a little childish? Or something else?

“I bought movie tickets for the afternoon showing,” Yang Sheng said. “I didn’t know Xiaomi would be here, so I only bought three tickets.”

“It’s so hot, I won’t go with you,” Professor Yan said with a smile. “I’ve scheduled a time with Old Li for chess at the card room this afternoon. You go have fun.”

Yan Xiaomi didn’t mind. Anyway, they hadn’t bought a ticket for her, and she hadn’t planned on joining the fun anyway. It was perfect.

“Xiaomi, come watch the movie with us,” An Yao suddenly said.

“Ah?” Yan Xiaomi was startled. “I, I…”

“Xiaomi, come to the card room with me this afternoon. Didn’t you say before that you wanted to learn Go?” Professor Yan winked at her, but Yan Xiaomi felt a more intense sensation in her foot. An Yao’s high heel was gently pressing down on her instep. Even if she were an idiot, she would know what An Yao meant. It was no big deal to decline Auntie’s invitation once, but she absolutely couldn’t afford to offend An Yao.

“Auntie, I… I want to go see the movie,” Yan Xiaomi said with a guilty smile, seeing Professor Yan give her a disappointed look, she smiled even more guiltily.

“They’re going to see a horror movie. Are you sure you want to go?” Professor Yan suddenly smiled mischievously. She knew Yan Xiaomi was afraid of horror films.

But An Yao’s shoe tapped lightly twice on her instep. Yan Xiaomi, in a rush of excitement, slapped the table and stood up. “I love horror movies the most! I want to go.” She sat back down, looked at An Yao, and said with a smile, “President An, please take me to the movies.”

An Yao had been looking down. Hearing her request, she lightly nodded. “Mhm.”

Yang Sheng looked at Yan Xiaomi the whole time, feeling like she was going to ruin his plan for the day. He wished he had only bought two movie tickets. He had already agreed with the teacher that she wouldn’t come, so how could he have known Yan Xiaomi would suddenly pop up? There was nothing he could do. Since An Yao had said so, what else could he say?

Watching a horror movie was a massive challenge for Yan Xiaomi. As a child, she didn’t even dare to watch the least terrifying comedy zombie films. Once, she accidentally saw a clip, which scared her so much that she covered herself with a quilt in the middle of summer and wouldn’t poke her head out even though she was sweating profusely.

That wasn’t the worst of it. The most serious time was when she foolishly insisted on reading a horror novel, which resulted in her being mentally distraught for a whole month afterward, walking nervously, constantly looking around, and not even daring to go to the bathroom after dark. She constantly felt like she was hearing ghosts in the grass, and that something could pop out anywhere.

Since then, Yan Xiaomi had a deep hatred for the word “horror” and avoided it as much as possible. She never expected to willingly walk into it today. As Yan Xiaomi sat in the movie theater, she was so terrified that she wished she could just run away.

But looking at An Yao, she surrendered again. An Yao was definitely not as terrifying as a horror movie, but she was directly related to her livelihood.

“Are you scared?” An Yao asked Yan Xiaomi while Yang Sheng was in the restroom before the movie started.

“A little, a little,” Yan Xiaomi couldn’t help but swallow. She desperately wanted to suppress the fear in her heart, but she was too nervous and couldn’t help taking deep breaths. She grabbed the popcorn and ate it, pretending to be calm.

“If you’re scared, don’t scream in my ear.” An Yao’s cold voice came through, and Yan Xiaomi choked and coughed. She had just thought An Yao was worried about her; turns out, she was just afraid of her screaming.

An Yao handed her a soda. “You can hold my hand and hide behind me without looking at the screen.”

Yan Xiaomi felt much better after drinking two sips of the soda, catching her breath. The movie hadn’t even started yet, and she was already half-dead from the stress. What would happen later, she really couldn’t say.