My Boss Always Flirts With Me - Chapter 31
Chapter 31: Testing (Revised)
Yuan Cheng noticed that his boss didn’t seem to be in a very bright mood today. He sensed it when he went in to report on the department’s expenditures. It wasn’t obvious, but it couldn’t be hidden from someone like him who was always around.
“The AP product launch project’s estimated expenditure is five million to invite the DEC team, with another one million for social media influencers and media publications.”
He Chi: “Is the DEC team the most popular one?”
Yuan Cheng said, “Yes, this team fits the esports selling point of the AP product perfectly. We originally had two other industry experts, but the company’s budget is limited, so Manager Fang prioritized the DEC team.”
He Chi: “What’s the budget for the others, and what percentage of the launch do they account for?”
Yuan Cheng replied, “The top three social media influencers combined would cost over ten million. Industry influencers have high prices. The launch is two hours. If we only invite DEC, they will have about 40 minutes of interactive time. If we invite all of them, each guest’s time will be reduced to about ten minutes, splitting the time equally.”
He Chi nodded. Yesterday, Fang Ci only told him the budget for inviting the DEC team and nothing else.
Yuan Cheng: “CEO He, do you see any need to revise the quotation plan?”
He then heard He Chi say, “You and Shang Qu, re-evaluate the estimated promotional effects we can achieve.”
Yuan Cheng was stunned for a moment. Did that mean they were going to re-plan the guest list?
“Are you not satisfied with the DEC team?”
He Chi said, “We’re not changing the guests. If the budget is right, we can consider adding more guests.”
Yuan Cheng suddenly understood. He nodded repeatedly and said, “That’s great. Manager Fang will be happy. He was so worried about the budget.”
He Chi returned the plan to Yuan Cheng. As he handed it back, he glanced at the publicity photo of Xiao Fan on the cover and asked casually, “I heard from someone in the AP department that young people these days like this team?”
Yuan Cheng said, “Young people like to play games, and games are also considered competitive sports. Everyone loves to watch competitions.”
He Chi nodded.
Since He Chi was willing to chat with him, Yuan Cheng said a little more. “My nephew loves it, for example.”
He Chi looked up and asked, “You like it too?”
Yuan Cheng was slightly startled and said, “I didn’t at first. My nephew dragged me into it over the holidays, and I just followed along. But this is a good thing. Most of the products our company develops are for young people, so it’s good to have some common topics to talk about.”
After saying that, He Chi seemed to be silent for a moment, signaling that he understood. Yuan Cheng left with the documents.
He Chi sat in his chair for a while before opening his phone’s notes app again.
…
A New Phone
While Yuan Cheng was re-evaluating the budget, Fang Ci was sitting and discussing with Cheng Wen and a few others. The AP prototype had arrived much earlier than expected. The engineer said it would be next week, but one was already mailed to them this week.
Cheng Wen frowned. “Is this reliable? I’ve only heard of deadlines being delayed, not an assignment being submitted early. I almost thought the engineer sent us a bomb.”
Xiao Zhu laughed so hard she couldn’t stop. As product people, they were most afraid of the R&D department. The last time, they had to both urge and block the engineers to get the product, and in return, the engineers threatened to go down with them.
“It won’t come to that,” Xiao Zhu said with a laugh.
Fang Ci also smiled. “It’s fine. It’s not the final version. There’s still a lot of debugging to do with the first one.”
Xiao Zhu nodded in agreement.
Fang Ci said, “I’ll take it home today and try it out. At the very least, I’ll install a game to test its operation.”
The team members all agreed.
Fang Ci took some time to download the game he usually played and called the super excited Shen Liu from yesterday. “I’m testing the new device today. Can you play a few rounds with me tonight?”
Shen Liu immediately agreed. “Okay! I can try out the skills Xiao Fan taught me.”
The mention of Xiao Fan didn’t make Fang Ci think of games but of He Chi’s behavior yesterday.
That sudden kiss.
It was very gentle, very forceful, and carried a hint of an elusive emotion. Fang Ci specifically recalled their conversation before bed.
Could it be because I mentioned motorcycles and he thought of his scar? After thinking about it, that was the only conclusion he could come to.
If that was the case, he would have to be careful in the future and avoid that topic.
And the kiss? He had no clue about that. For now, he just attributed it to a moment of impulse in the night.
After packing up the prototype, Fang Ci went to He Chi’s office for the report as usual. Today was especially busy, with three other department heads also in the office.
He Chi treated everyone the same, keeping it strictly business.
After Fang Ci finished, he stepped aside.
The more familiar they became at home, the more uncomfortable he felt with He Chi at work. It was like they were two different people. The CEO He at the company was very distant, with calm and expressionless eyes, almost cold.
The He Chi at home…
Fang Ci watched him, his mind recalling fragmented memories from the morning—the hand holding him tight, the warmth pressed against his back.
There really was… such a big difference!
The brief communication ended quickly. Everyone left the office one after another, but Fang Ci was stopped by one of the department managers before he could leave.
Fang Ci snapped back to reality and asked, “Did you need me for something?”
The person replied, “I heard that Assistant Yuan is re-approving the budget for the AP product launch?”
Fang Ci said, “It hasn’t been confirmed yet.” He had only heard Yuan Cheng mention it.
“Sigh, that means it’s very likely.” Many of the managers around him showed envious looks on their faces.
They were all older than him. Fang Ci gave a humble and cautious response. “It’s all for the product’s sales.”
“This launch of yours is probably going to cost over ten million, right?”
“Phew, that’s over three million more than the last launch? How did you convince CEO He, Manager Fang?”
Fang Ci was a little annoyed by the questions, which had a bit of a sarcastic undertone. He just smiled and said, “Who knows? Why don’t you go ask CEO He?”
The few people opposite him fell silent.
Fang Ci returned to his desk and, after thinking for a moment, sent He Chi a message: [Thank you, CEO He.] For being both my sugar daddy and my shield.
He Chi didn’t know about the conversation outside the door, but he seemed to have guessed it, because he replied: [Was it useful?]
Was the CEO title useful?
Fang Ci sent a nodding emoji: [Extremely useful.]
[That’s good.]
Fang Ci held his phone, reading the few words over and over again.
Only he knew the cool CEO’s true personality. And this kind of conversation only happened between the two of them.
Thinking this, Fang Ci was in high spirits until it was time to leave work, completely energized to work overtime. But it was He Chi who suggested they go home early.
“Don’t you need to test the prototype?”
Only then did Fang Ci close his laptop.
The AP prototype was very beautiful. After Fang Ci installed the software, the operation was also quite smooth. They got home and sat on the sofa, discussing the system’s performance. He wanted to hear He Chi’s opinion.
Shen Liu had already logged in and opened his microphone. When he heard him, he asked, “Ci-pien, who are you talking to?”
Fang Ci typed: [He Chi.]
Shen Liu immediately shut up. The roommate in the group also asked “who?” Shen Liu typed back: [Ci-pien’s husband.]
[Ooooooh~] There was a chorus of hisses in the group.
He Chi could also see Fang Ci’s phone screen. Fang Ci was startled by the word “husband” and his face flushed slightly. He quickly swiped away. As he was operating the phone, he also secretly glanced at He Chi’s expression.
It looked like he didn’t see it. Fang Ci felt a little relieved, but also a little regretful.
He Chi noticed his sideways glance and asked with his eyes. Fang Ci said, “Nothing.”
He finished the basic tests and opened the game interface.
They quickly played a round. One of the roommates in the group had to work overtime, so there were only three of them left.
Shen Liu asked, “Should I find another person for the time being?”
Fang Ci suggested, “Check the class group?”
At that moment, they heard He Chi speak from the side. “How do you play this game?”
The three people in the group were stunned.
Fang Ci looked at him and had an unbelievable guess. “You… want to play?”
He Chi looked quite serious, his tone as calm as ever. “To test the new device.”
Shen Liu’s jaw almost dropped to the floor. He couldn’t imagine a CEO playing a shooting game with them. It was very strange, but the reason was also very valid.
Shen Liu couldn’t help but whisper, “Is… that okay?” He didn’t want to play with a noob! And a CEO who was so much higher in rank than him!
He Chi raised an eyebrow. Fang Ci almost immediately cut in to retort, “It’s just to test the game features. Why wouldn’t it be okay?”
Shen Liu: “…”