My Boss Always Flirts With Me - Chapter 14
Chapter 14: The Oblivious Man
Fang Ci wasn’t the type of person who blushed often. To be precise, his perception of emotions was relatively weak. For instance, if someone confessed to him and he didn’t like them, he would refuse on the spot. He rarely felt shy or embarrassed.
But in front of He Chi, it was completely different.
Perhaps because he was thinking about him all day, He Chi drifted into Fang Ci’s dream that night. Fang Ci dreamed of the first few months after he joined Zhiyun Technology.
At that time, his desk was far from the CEO’s office. He only passed by it when he went to make photocopies. The door to the CEO’s office was always closed. The new employees around him loved to gossip about their boss, but Fang Ci had never even met He Chi in person.
His department was swamped with work. He couldn’t finish it on Friday, so he had to use his weekend to catch up. After finally organizing the product documents and vendor contracts, he ran into a problem while making copies. The pages in a stack were out of order. The most crucial part was that these pages were only in German.
He quickly took pictures with his phone, hoping to ask a senior colleague to check them. However, since it was Saturday, everyone was off, and it was hard to get a timely reply. He stared at the papers and sighed helplessly.
“Take out the pages that start with ‘Dieser Vertrag’ first.”
A voice suddenly appeared next to him. He was squatting on the floor and looked up. He saw the legendary CEO for the first time. The real person was even taller and more handsome than his image on camera.
But he didn’t understand. “What did you say?” His voice was tinged with the nervousness of a new employee, especially when facing the company’s CEO, whose status and professional level were worlds apart from his. It made him seem all the more inexperienced.
He thought He Chi would ignore him, but to his surprise, He Chi bent down and picked up the contract.
He only flipped through it twice, but he had already pointed out the dozen or so jumbled pages. The speed was astonishing. Fang Ci was blushing the whole time, feeling both embarrassed and extremely impressed. He had no idea He Chi spoke German. He had only ever used Chinese in his speeches abroad.
“‘Dieser Vertrag’ means ‘this contract.’ Some of the company’s components are imported from Germany, and the contracts come with three translations: Chinese, English, and German.”
“Ah… thank you. I’ve just taken over the project and there are many things I don’t understand yet,” Fang Ci said. “I’m sorry to have taken up your time.”
He could feel He Chi’s gaze on him, but he didn’t dare to look up and meet his eyes. He Chi didn’t give him the contract back. Instead, he said, “I’ll review and sign this contract. You can pick it up on Monday.”
Fang Ci was stunned. He was supposed to send the contract to He Chi today, and it was supposed to be reviewed by the director and the CEO’s office. He hadn’t expected to skip so many steps. He thanked him again.
He thought that his boss was not at all as serious and cold as the rumors said.
As he was about to leave, He Chi said to him again, “You don’t need to use honorifics. Zhiyun isn’t a state-owned enterprise; we focus on efficiency. If you have a business-related problem, you have the right to ask anyone here for help.”
“Including me.” Fang Ci was slightly surprised and looked into his eyes.
It turned out that so long ago, he had already told him that he could give him access, that he didn’t have to use honorifics, and that for all his questions, there would be answers.
Fang Ci woke up from his dream. In the darkness, he could hear He Chi’s breathing, half an arm’s length away—not too close, not too far. He stared blankly at the blurry figure, sensing that the glass wall he had painstakingly built was collapsing, on the verge of disappearing.
Would he one day fall in love with He Chi?
Thinking this, he quietly turned over, clutching the corner of the blanket and sighing helplessly in his heart.
Would he?
…
When he woke up the next morning, He Chi was no longer by his side. The sounds of conversation came intermittently from outside the room. Fang Ci woke up, his hair a mess, and pulled the door open.
He Chi glanced at him and continued his conversation.
Fang Ci’s face started to feel hot as soon as he saw him. He had completely lost control of himself. Vaguely aware of his state, he rubbed his cheeks and splashed cold water on his face to cool down.
He Chi’s demeanor at work was different from his normal self—colder, more like a distant, frosty star hanging in the sky. His professional attitude was actually very charismatic.
Fang Ci belatedly realized that for a person who loved his work so much, watching a movie with him yesterday was probably a very unusual thing to do. He felt he should give He Chi back to his work today.
He didn’t know what the call was about. He Chi’s expression was a bit serious. When he hung up, Fang Ci said, “Something came up at the company?”
He Chi: “Yes.”
He paused before continuing, “It’s about the AP project.”
Fang Ci: “…” It was his smart machine project. Just like an alarm clock, it had a switch that commanded him to instantly switch to the work channel.
“Can we talk about it now?” He Chi asked.
Fang Ci noticed that the question was surprisingly gentle. He was momentarily flattered, and his heart skipped a beat. He nodded.
It turned out that a small problem had occurred with their product’s application for the Red Dot Design Award in Germany. It was still in process and required the project manager to make a revision. This award was the largest product design award in the world. From small everyday items to the appearance of tech products, anything could be submitted. It was highly beneficial for product sales.
Time was tight. They had to send it back within two or three hours. They didn’t have time to find a translator again.
He Chi: “You tell me what to say, and I’ll write.”
The two of them went into the study. He Chi opened his computer, and Fang Ci pulled up a chair and sat next to him. The email was packed with German, making Fang Ci’s scalp tingle.
He Chi’s German was better than Fang Ci had imagined. He was fluent in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, which left Fang Ci impressed.
They didn’t need to add much information, so they finished quickly. Fang Ci let out a long sigh of relief. A warm sensation came from his arm. He realized their forearms were touching and quickly moved away.
He Chi sent the email.
“All done.”
Fang Ci relaxed and joked, “I feel like I need to learn some German, too.”
He Chi asked, “You want to learn?”
Fang Ci was stunned for a moment, then smiled. “Yeah, German is often used in industrial design. When this busy period is over, I’ll sign up for a class.” Was this a way to show his boss what a hard worker he was? Look how diligent your subordinate is.
He Chi was clearly oblivious. “You can.”
Fang Ci’s smile stiffened, but then He Chi added, “You can also come and ask me.”
Huh? Fang Ci looked at him, and his heart came to life again.
He licked his lips. His pounding heartbeat was drumming in his eardrums. Recalling his dream and looking at the man in front of him, a sudden impulse surged within him. “Can I ask you now?”
He Chi’s gaze shifted slightly.
Fang Ci cleared his throat and asked, “How do you say ‘hello’ in German?”
He Chi answered without hesitation: “Guten Tag.”
“‘Good luck’?”
“Viel Glück.”
“‘All the best’?”
“Alles Gute.”
A flicker of light appeared in Fang Ci’s eyes. “How about the word for ‘like’?”
“Liebe.”
He Chi’s tone and speed hadn’t changed at all. Fang Ci repeated softly, “Liebe.”
One second, two seconds… On the fifth second, He Chi said, “The pronunciation is good.”
Fang Ci was dumbfounded. “…Thank you?”
He Chi pulled an English-German industrial product dictionary from the bookshelf and handed it to him. “You can pick what you want to learn.”
Fang Ci lowered his head and looked at the book cover, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Is this the legendary emotionally oblivious man? Why did I ever think He Chi was good at flirting?
Hmph!