My Boss Always Flirts With Me - Chapter 29
Chapter 29: A Chance Encounter
Lately, Fang Ci’s good mood was felt by everyone around him. For example, he treated the whole team to bubble tea on Monday and made sure to add extra toppings. When Xiao Zhu asked for taro balls, Fang Ci gave her two boxes of ingredients. Also, when Chen Yu said “no,” “I’m not doing it,” and “do it yourselves” three times during a meeting, Fang Ci didn’t retort. Instead, he just smiled, finished the meeting notes, and copied the CEO’s office on the email as requested.
Cheng Wen, being a straightforward guy, was initially skeptical of the “Fang Ci is in love” theory. But now, if he couldn’t see it, he would be an idiot.
“It really feels like spring. The season for love is coming. Two iron trees have bloomed,” he couldn’t help but sigh.
Xiao Zhu: “Which two?”
Cheng Wen: “Fang Ci and CEO He. They’re both in love.”
This topic made Xiao Zhu sigh. Her blind date hadn’t worked out again, and her love life had ended before it even started.
Taking advantage of Fang Ci’s good mood, Cheng Wen slid his chair over and told him the bad news from the media department:
“The media team said it’s very likely we won’t be able to get the DEC team captain.”
Fang Ci was surprised. “Why?”
Cheng Wen: “Their captain’s price is too high, and he requires too many things to cooperate with. I heard his schedule is packed and there’s a risk of clashes. The media team suggested we not waste time on him.”
Fang Ci turned around to confirm with him. “Does that mean he’s available and the hard conditions are met, but the soft conditions, like his level of cooperation, are too demanding, and we don’t have much room to negotiate?”
Cheng Wen said, “You summed it up perfectly.”
Fang Ci looked at their list of people again. The first two were very professional but were older and less energetic. The others didn’t have enough social media reach to boost sales.
Cheng Wen: “Why don’t we switch to another team?”
Fang Ci: “They don’t have enough national recognition. DEC is the only world-class team in the country.”
The few of them put their heads together to brainstorm. Someone suggested inviting celebrities, but Fang Ci rejected all of them.
He re-calculated the costs and finally circled the name of the team captain. “We still have to try to talk to him again.”
“Do you have his manager’s contact information?” Fang Ci asked Cheng Wen.
Xiao Zhu chimed in, “Yes.”
Fang Ci said, “I’ll schedule a time with his manager to meet and talk.”
The others were stunned. “You’re going yourself?” This was usually the media team’s responsibility.
Fang Ci: “To show our sincerity.” After he said that, he went to make the call. Since their company was the client, it was very easy to arrange a meeting with the other party.
Sure enough, in less than two minutes, the manager agreed to meet, but the time was a bit rushed. “Can you make some time this evening? Our captain is going abroad tomorrow for closed training and won’t be available for at least two weeks.”
It would be too late to make a decision two weeks from now. Fang Ci immediately said, “Okay, let’s set a specific time and place.”
The other manager was very polite, letting them choose the time and place. Fang Ci casually mentioned a familiar and quiet venue.
When he came back, he told Cheng Wen, “I’ll have to trouble you with the department report this afternoon.”
Cheng Wen gave him an “okay” gesture.
Fang Ci thought his temporary trip wouldn’t take too long. He could go back to the company after the meeting and leave with He Chi.
When he arrived at the appointed place, it was only 4:30. There weren’t many people in the store. The manager was already there, sitting by the window with another person wearing a black mask.
Upon seeing Fang Ci, the manager stood up first and extended his hand. “Hello. We’re from the DEC company. I’m sorry for the short notice.”
“This is our captain, Xiao Fan.”
When Fang Ci saw that the captain had also come, he felt more confident. He had already prepared his speech and smiled. “Hello. I should be the one apologizing. I hope you don’t mind the last-minute invitation.”
“Not at all. Zhuyun Tech is a leading tech company in the country. Our gaming keyboards, AR devices, and hardware for our main console are all from Zhuyun. You and I are old acquaintances.”
Fang Ci hadn’t known this, which showed that the number of purchases wasn’t high. But he still graciously accepted the other party’s politeness and goodwill.
Business cooperation was a straightforward matter. Fang Ci went straight to the point. They ordered coffee and discussed the terms of the cooperation.
…
Waiting for Him
“…AP project progress report complete.” At 5:30, Cheng Wen arrived at He Chi’s office on time. He didn’t have much to report, just informing He Chi of the matters they were currently working on in meetings.
The boss took time to solve the allocation problems between departments and unified their approach and direction.
Today was clearly simpler. He Chi didn’t say a word the entire time, occasionally just nodding.
Cheng Wen was relieved when he saw that the boss had no questions or additional points. He felt a lot of pressure every time he met with He Chi, especially when he was giving a report.
“You’ve been working hard lately. You guys should get some rest this week. The first prototype will be ready next week, and you’ll need to follow up and debug.”
It was rare for He Chi to say so much, and his tone was so gentle that Cheng Wen was flattered. His mind was full of “a man with a wife is different.” He said, “It’s what we’re supposed to do.”
He Chi nodded slightly. Out of respect, Cheng Wen asked, “Do you have anything else for me? If not, I’ll go back to work.”
He Chi looked up at him and asked, “Is your manager Fang in a meeting?”
Cheng Wen was taken aback. Why did this sound so familiar?
“No,” he replied. “Manager Fang went out to meet with a potential guest.”
He Chi nodded. Fang Ci hadn’t told him about this.
“Did he say when he would be back?”
Cheng Wen: “Well… I’m not sure. But we’re done with our work for today, so Manager Fang might go straight home, right?”
He Chi didn’t say anything more.
Cheng Wen’s mind raced, wondering if he had said something wrong.
Fortunately, He Chi didn’t continue to ask.
Cheng Wen went back to his desk and the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He sent Fang Ci a message: [You didn’t offend CEO He recently, did you?]
He stared at the screen, thinking. He didn’t know if he was overthinking it, but He Chi seemed to be keeping a close eye on Fang Ci. It was hard to describe. Other departments also often changed who gave the reports, but he never saw He Chi ask like this.
Fang Ci didn’t reply. He was probably busy.
Cheng Wen was still feeling a little on edge, so he complained to Xiao Zhu, “We really have to do well on this AP project. CEO He is watching it so closely. I’m getting nervous.”
Xiao Zhu was confused. “Huh?”
Cheng Wen patted her on the shoulder.
He Chi’s all-day meetings ended at 7 p.m. He had checked his phone several times during the meetings. Besides work messages, there were no personal WeChat messages.
When the attendees left, He Chi passed by the AP department and found that all the lights were off. It was pitch black, and no one was left. He raised an eyebrow and typed on his phone: [Where are you?]
There was no reply to his message or call. It was possible that he was still in a business meeting, or he had gone home.
He stood by the desk for half a minute before sending the WeChat message to Cheng Wen again.
So Cheng Wen received a private message from the company’s CEO for the first time in his life. He was so startled that he swallowed the fishball he was eating for dinner. [CEO He? I don’t know Manager Fang’s exact location. He didn’t tell me.]
The message was sent, but there was no reply. Cheng Wen looked at the page with only two messages and screenshotted it, sending it to Xiao Zhu: [Is our team doomed?]
Xiao Zhu: [Are you crazy?]
He Chi’s car joined the congested traffic earlier than usual. His index finger tapped on the steering wheel, showing a hint of impatience. The WeChat page was still open. The little red dots on every group chat had turned into 99+, but the top-pinned contact was still silent.
Maybe he’s already home, he thought.
The car moved along the familiar route. The closer he got to home, the fewer people there were. There were no malls on these streets, only high-end restaurants with their lights on. He stopped at a red light.
He caught a glimpse of a restaurant’s neon sign. The car next to him honked, and he looked at his side mirror.
In that glance, he saw a familiar figure through the shop’s floor-to-ceiling glass window.
In a moment of distraction, the light in front had already turned green. He turned the steering wheel sharply, made a small circle, and stopped the car in front of the shop.
Inside, DEC captain Xiao Fan had a pen and was signing the contract. Fang Ci pointed to a few clauses and confirmed them with him again and again. Xiao Fan listened carefully to the details and then nodded. “I will cooperate.”
Fang Ci was completely relieved. “Then I wish us a pleasant cooperation.”
The two shook hands and quickly separated. Only then did Fang Ci remember to ask, “What time is it?”
The manager replied, “It’s past 8.”
Fang Ci was stunned. “8 o’clock?”
The manager: “Do you have somewhere to be?”
Fang Ci nodded. “I have to go back to the company.”
He then asked, “Can I borrow your phone for a second?”
The manager was about to hand him his phone, but Xiao Fan took it first and offered his own. “I broke your phone, so use mine.”
Fang Ci’s phone had gotten wet and still couldn’t be turned on, so he didn’t refuse. He took it, opened the phone app, and was about to type in a number when he froze: Oh no. I don’t remember He Chi’s phone number.
Voice messages have ruined me!
But they weren’t far from home. If worst came to worst… he might as well just go home. Fang Ci turned off the screen and handed the phone back to Xiao Fan. “I don’t need it for now. Thank you.”
The three of them said a few more words and walked out.
Standing at the door, Xiao Fan and his manager offered to drive Fang Ci. Fang Ci said, “I live on the street behind this one. I can just walk back.”
There was no way a client would let a service provider drive them. The manager stopped him and politely said, “Let’s walk together. It’s too cold outside. The car is warm.”
Fang Ci thought that made sense and was about to get in the car.
Suddenly, he heard three beeps. Fang Ci subconsciously looked back. A car had its hazard lights on, and its headlights illuminated the person inside… He widened his eyes.
“An acquaintance?” Xiao Fan asked.
Fang Ci’s eyes curved into a smile, and he nodded. “Mm. He’s here to pick me up. You guys go on ahead.”
Xiao Fan nodded, and he and the manager got into their car and left.
Fang Ci ran to the car and tapped on the window. Then he opened the door and got inside.
“Teacher He, what are you doing here?”
He Chi restarted the car. “A chance encounter.”
Fang Ci: “Oh.”
After a few seconds of silence: “That’s quite a coincidence, isn’t it?” He felt a little guilty for some reason.
He Chi glanced at him and said, “Mm. My luck is pretty good.”