My Boss Always Flirts With Me - Chapter 3
Chapter 3: The Announcement
As the CEO’s business assistant, Yuan Cheng had been by his boss He Chi’s side for five years. In that time, he had witnessed his boss’s growth, watched him aggressively expand their territory, and use his capabilities to win over tough investors.
When Yuan Cheng first joined the company, he was a little condescending towards this boss who was around his age. But after seeing him grow the company from its early funding stages to being on the brink of an IPO, he was completely won over.
In Yuan Cheng’s eyes, He Chi was a role model for all professionals: precise with his time, extremely disciplined, and hardworking.
Lately, however, Yuan Cheng had noticed a strange change. It was so subtle that it was almost negligible, but for He Chi, it was highly unusual—
His boss’s schedule had been changing every day.
Yuan Cheng kept a copy of He Chi’s work schedule, used for booking appointments and meetings. Regular employees might not know this, but He Chi’s day was incredibly full. Even on weekends, he was busy with investors. Besides sleeping, the rest of his time was meticulously planned.
Yet, for a person so dedicated to his work, his schedule now had the words “postponed” on it. Yuan Cheng stared at the words for a long time, unable to figure out why.
This phenomenon started on Sunday and continued until today. He was absent all day Sunday. The meeting on Monday night was temporarily postponed, and the one at 9 AM today was also temporarily postponed.
Yuan Cheng was getting to the point where he no longer recognized the word “postponed.”
Sitting in the conference room, Yuan Cheng listened to He Chi give new directives and quietly lamented. If the 9 AM meeting hadn’t been pushed back, they would have been off work by now.
The video conference spanned multiple time zones and had many attendees. There were a few minutes set aside for discussion. Yuan Cheng was organizing the meeting notes and casually clicked on the new product discussion group chat.
[Guess what time tonight’s meeting will end?]
[You’re underestimating Boss He; he’s capable of not sleeping at all!]
Followed by a few team members grumbling: [Don’t say that, please. I just want to get off work. It was supposed to be a morning meeting! I’m so miserable!]
The core team members were still working overtime. Some of the things mentioned in the meeting needed to be synced tonight. Yuan Cheng glanced at his watch. His boss had already picked up the pace, but the work was piled up. Even if they didn’t do it tonight, they’d have to do it tomorrow.
The work chat wasn’t the only place with complaints. Many people also posted pictures of their overtime on their social media, with the camera focused on their computer, a cup of coffee beside it, and the caption, “Every day I strive to work hard.”
It was the standard post for a working professional.
In the conference room, the people in charge had different opinions on the product development. He Chi listened to their arguments, tapping his index finger on the table, showing some displeasure.
Yuan Cheng thought he was unhappy with the branch’s work, so he moved his chair closer and whispered, “Boss, should we reschedule the meeting and let them have an internal discussion first?”
He Chi said, “No need. We’ll solve the problem today.”
Yuan Cheng couldn’t guess what he was thinking, so he just sat there, forced to watch them argue.
A few minutes later, he suddenly heard He Chi say, “For this key project milestone, overtime pay will be doubled, and you can take compensatory leave later.”
Yuan Cheng was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened. Oh my god, did Boss He see the group chat messages?
“Okay, I’ll talk to finance.”
He asked a follow-up question: “Do you need to postpone the Monday morning meeting as well? I can arrange it in advance.”
“No,” He Chi said.
Yuan Cheng nodded, relieved that this was the boss he was familiar with.
An hour later, the meeting ended. Yuan Cheng looked as calm as a rock on the outside, but his heart was leaping with joy. He even posted a “Done with work, going home” status on social media, and many people liked it.
He glanced at the 32 likes and closed his laptop.
“Why do you like to post on social media?”
The question was so sudden that Yuan Cheng almost dropped his phone. “What did you say?”
He thought he’d heard wrong. He Chi rarely asked such questions. Their daily interactions had little to no small talk. But when he looked at his boss’s expression, it was quite serious, as if the question was worth discussing.
Yuan Cheng thought for a long time about how to answer. He cleared his throat and said, “It’s not that I like it. I just share my status. It’s a way to let people know what’s going on, big or small.”
He Chi frowned. Yuan Cheng rephrased it, “For example, if I’m working overtime on the weekend and I post about it, my friends probably won’t ask me to hang out.”
He Chi “hmm’d” and looked away.
Yuan Cheng asked, “Is there anything else you need…” The end of his sentence got stuck in his throat. He had happened to be standing behind He Chi and saw He Chi, who rarely posted on social media, start composing a post.
The text was short, and it was accompanied by a red picture. Yuan Cheng couldn’t see it clearly, so he pulled out his phone and checked his own social media feed. Sure enough, there was an update.
[Married.] The picture was two marriage certificates together.
Yuan Cheng’s jaw dropped wider and wider. The employees who hadn’t left yet also let out a dramatic gasp. “Holy f*ck!!” The exclamation was perfectly timed.
“Boss He, you got married?!” he couldn’t help but ask for confirmation.
“Yeah,” He Chi said nonchalantly. “This morning.”
Yuan Cheng was completely shocked. So the postponed morning meeting was for getting his marriage certificate?!
The group chat exploded. People didn’t dare to gossip in front of He Chi, so they went to the smaller group chat to discuss it heatedly. Most people were skeptical:
[Impossible. Boss He doesn’t even have time to date. How could he possibly get married?]
[Didn’t someone on the anonymous forum say that Boss He hasn’t had a partner since college? Who’s making stuff up?]
[It’s not made up, is it? Boss He practically lives at the company! You can ask Assistant Yuan!]
Someone even tagged Yuan Cheng, asking if he knew any inside information. Yuan Cheng said he hadn’t heard anything and had just found out his boss got married.
Everyone replied: [Ahhh, Boss He went and got married behind our backs! I totally support it! A meeting is not as important as getting married. Postpone it! Postpone it indefinitely!]
Then came the sighs: [It’s over, it’s over. Even the “emotional desert” itself has been covered in vegetation. When will my iron tree finally bloom?!]
[Does Boss He have the ability to be in two places at once? One at the company working overtime, and one dating outside.]
[Waaah, what kind of siren managed to capture our great and handsome CEO?! I’m so jealous!]
[…]
The group chat was unprecedentedly lively.
Fang Ci was busy working on his proposal when his colleague Cheng Wen started shaking his arm frantically. Annoyed, he took off his headphones and asked, “Don’t you want to go home today?”
Cheng Wen slid his chair closer, draped an arm around Fang Ci’s neck, and said, “Quick, look at the chat! Look at the chat! The front-page breaking news! Our Boss He is the best. He never makes a move, but when he does, it’s a huge bang!”
Fang Ci looked at him, confused.
Cheng Wen’s eyes were shining as he stated succinctly, “Boss He just posted on social media that he’s married!”
Fang Ci was dumbfounded. Cheng Wen continued, “The girls at the company are crying so miserably. Oh, no, the guys, too…”
Fang Ci didn’t hear the rest. He immediately picked up his phone and scrolled through his social media feed. Sure enough, he saw He Chi’s post, with the department managers all liking it one by one.
“He’s probably being harassed by those pursuers, right? Otherwise, why would such a low-key person announce it himself?” Cheng Wen said, crossing his arms and analyzing.
Seeing that Fang Ci hadn’t said anything, he turned and asked, “Are you stupid? Why aren’t you saying anything? Aren’t you curious?”
Distracted by Cheng Wen, Fang Ci came back to his senses. He Chi’s post didn’t mention him, obviously to silence the people around them, just as they had discussed when they signed the agreement.
He had no choice but to agree, “I’m not curious.”
Cheng Wen: “…” The most important part of gossiping is the back-and-forth. The two of them clearly weren’t clicking. Cheng Wen’s desire to share was suppressed, and he could only vent in the group chat.
Fang Ci’s attention returned to his computer, but his phone screen flickered. He glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, his heart a little stirred. When he turned off the screen, two sentences from the group chat caught his attention:
[Do you think Boss He’s spouse is the heir of some conglomerate, like Young Master Xue?]
[They must be very charming, or how else could they have won over Boss He!]
Fang Ci couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: What charm? He only had the luck of winning the lottery after a one-night stand.