My Boss Always Flirts With Me - Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Overbearing

After he recovered from his illness, Fang Ci returned to the company to a warm reception from his team. Cheng Wen threw an arm over his shoulder, his face full of excitement. Since Fang Ci had been gone, he and Xiao Zhu had been carrying the load. Judging by their expressions, they had been through a lot.

“I was thinking yesterday, what would we do if you were fired? I swear, I would have left with you,” Cheng Wen said, wrapping his arm around him.

Fang Ci: “Really?”

Cheng Wen laughed and nodded. “Really. Without you, no one is here to take the blame for the department, and no one can handle the pressure from CEO He. We’re miserable.”

Fang Ci looked speechless, then he smiled slightly and pulled Cheng Wen’s hand off him.

So, he was just a tool?

The team members laughed. Fang Ci said testily, “Get to work. We have to scout the venue for the press conference this afternoon. If you don’t finish this morning, you’ll be working overtime tonight.”

Cheng Wen really wanted to refuse. “Working so hard, people would think you’re the CEO of the company.”

Fang Ci pushed him and his chair back to his desk.

Yuan Cheng noticed that his boss seemed to be in a good mood today. He went to the office to hand in the progress reports and financial statements from all departments. He Chi handled them quickly, with almost no rejections, which was very different from his usual demeanor.

Yuan Cheng had become more shrewd recently because of a certain incident. He added, “The AP department is scouting the venue this afternoon. Is Manager Fang’s health okay? I heard there are a lot of details to go over.”

He Chi didn’t reply. He looked up at him and said, “Go ask him yourself.”

Yuan Cheng: “…Okay.” Sigh, seriously… He was just showing concern. He didn’t mean anything else. The boss, on the other hand, was so composed. They maintained their appearances perfectly, leaving no trace.

Thinking about it, he suddenly felt quite lucky and had a strange sense of satisfaction.

Back in the office, Yuan Cheng sighed with emotion. Wei Lin, who was drinking tea, looked back, confused. “What’s wrong? Did CEO He scold you?”

Yuan Cheng looked at him with a pitiful gaze. This naive boy still didn’t know anything…

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Wei Lin frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Yuan Cheng didn’t reply. He lowered his head to finish organizing the documents. He had a few media lists to give to Fang Ci. Wei Lin knew what his task was for the day. When he saw him getting up, he said, “Can’t you just call Manager Fang over?”

Yuan Cheng let out a dry laugh. “I’m going to the copy room anyway. It won’t take long. But you…”

Wei Lin: “What about me?”

Just be more aware, or you’ll be scared to death one day… Yuan Cheng muttered in his heart, patted his shoulder, and left.

Wei Lin was completely baffled.

Turning into the hallway, Yuan Cheng heard the voices from the AP department. Fang Ci had his back to him, going over the speech draft with Cheng Wen. Several team members were gathered around, offering suggestions.

Yuan Cheng went up and knocked on the divider. Fang Ci turned around and politely said, “Brother Cheng.”

This was a common form of address in the workplace, but Yuan Cheng flinched. “No need, no need. Don’t call me brother.”

Fang Ci didn’t understand. It was just a form of address. He smiled and moved on, asking Yuan Cheng what he needed.

Yuan Cheng handed him the list of experts. “The media department sent this over. The legal department has already reviewed the contracts. We can send them the requests after we get them signed this week. However, one expert is currently abroad, and it’s uncertain if he can attend the rehearsal. The media department said you should still include him in the schedule.”

This kind of thing was common. Fang Ci said, “Okay, as long as he can be there on the day of the event. Important guests can do the rehearsal online. We’ll have a teleprompter for him.”

Yuan Cheng nodded. “A teleprompter guarantees it. What about you? Are you going to go without a script this time?”

Fang Ci hadn’t decided yet. He asked, “Did CEO He always give speeches without a script?”

Yuan Cheng thought back and said, “Besides panel discussions, he always used a teleprompter for tech conference speeches. CEO He only had to go without a script once out of necessity.”

Fang Ci: “Necessity?”

Yuan Cheng: “Yeah. The others were fine, but when it was our company’s turn to speak, the teleprompter just broke down.”

Fang Ci frowned. The speech had to be revised so many times, sometimes even up until the second before going on stage. There was no time to memorize it.

Yuan Cheng said, “It’s all in the past now. Thankfully, CEO He knew what he was doing, or else who knows what would have happened.”

Fang Ci nodded, feeling a pang of sympathy for Teacher He at that time.

Yuan Cheng knew it was Fang Ci’s first time on stage, so he gave him a general rundown of He Chi’s previous experiences, mostly about the behind-the-scenes preparations. Just as he was getting excited, his phone suddenly rang.

Yuan Cheng stopped and replied to a WeChat message. “I have to go. CEO He is calling me.”

He took a few steps and then turned back. “If you have the chance, just ask CEO He directly. I’m just an outsider.”

Fang Ci smiled and thanked him.

He took note of the key points Yuan Cheng had mentioned, planning to ask He Chi about them later.

In the afternoon, Fang Ci packed up and went to the venue with Cheng Wen and the others. The large LED screen had been assembled and placed in the designated position. Besides the largest one on the stage, there were also a few smaller ones hanging above the audience seats.

The venue was even bigger than they had imagined.

There were so many details to go over. Fang Ci and Cheng Wen, being the two men, were the most active. By 7 p.m., they were exhausted. They found some chairs they could sit on, propped them up in the audience seats, and continued their discussion.

Fang Ci had attended a few product launches before and had already clarified the key issues. There were still some things he wasn’t sure about, which he would slowly fill in later.

Xiao Zhu went out to buy them water and food. She came back in just a few minutes, with a team member carrying a big box of snacks and hamburgers.

“That was fast. Did you order?” Cheng Wen asked.

Xiao Zhu: “No way. Assistant Yuan ordered it for us. He said it was from CEO He, so we could eat first and then work.”

Cheng Wen unwrapped a hamburger and took a big bite. He was clearly starving. After eating most of it, he saw that Fang Ci hadn’t touched his yet. He asked, “Aren’t you hungry?”

Fang Ci was busy messaging. He said, “I’m okay.”

He took a picture of the hamburger and sent it to He Chi. He was both well-behaved and sweet. He said: [Thank you, boss.]

He Chi replied a few minutes later: [Eat properly.]

Fang Ci sent a rabbit nodding emoji, then saw another message from He Chi: [I’ll come to the venue to find you later.]

Fang Ci: “?”

He Chi replied: [I should be there in about an hour.]

It seems He Chi isn’t too busy today. Fang Ci replied: [Okay.]

He finished his hamburger and then gave the rest to the venue staff, their clients.

“Shall we continue?” the person in charge of the venue asked.

Fang Ci said, “I remember a company’s PC launch was held here.”

The person in charge knew he wanted to find a reference and started to give him a list.

Fang Ci listened patiently. He wanted their first press conference to be perfect.

Cheng Wen still hadn’t recovered. He changed his posture a few times but was still uncomfortable. Finally, he turned sideways and rested his forearm on Fang Ci’s shoulder for a while.

When He Chi walked into the venue, he saw this scene in the messy construction site. His steps paused. He had just come down from the second floor. Cheng Wen saw him first and pulled Fang Ci. “CEO He is here.”

Fang Ci looked at his watch and realized he had been talking for several hours straight. He stood up with the person in charge and introduced him. “This is our CEO He.”

The person in charge’s eyes lit up. He reached out his hand. “Hello, CEO He. I’ve heard people talk about you often. I didn’t expect you to be so young.”

He Chi nodded calmly. “Hello.”

Logically, the CEO wouldn’t bother with such a minor matter as a press conference. They didn’t know what brought the big boss here.

For a moment, no one knew what to say. Fang Ci, with quick wit, took the initiative to report the progress to his boss. “We just need ten more minutes. The next time we come will be for the rehearsal.”

He Chi said, “Okay, you continue.” Meaning, he wouldn’t interfere.

Cheng Wen was dumbfounded. Then why did you come here? To supervise?

He Chi didn’t interfere. He just sat in the back row. Of course, this also had its benefits. It subconsciously put more pressure on their clients. The level of detail and the speed of their explanations doubled. Cheng Wen also didn’t dare to rest anymore and sat up straight.

Ten minutes later, the discussion ended.

“The venue will be ready in five days. You can come and inspect it then. If you want to rehearse, remember to come in early to set up the screens, lights, and music.”

Fang Ci nodded.

Cheng Wen whispered, “Are you still going to be the one to tell CEO He?”

Fang Ci said, “Yeah, I’ll tell him. It’s late. You guys should go home first.”

Cheng Wen was moved and hugged him again. “Good brother!”

Fang Ci said, “Go, go. Weren’t you going to make me take the blame?”

Cheng Wen shook him a couple of times and left with Xiao Zhu.

Fang Ci turned around and met He Chi’s gaze. He smiled and walked over to him. “Shall we leave later?” To create a time gap.

He Chi gestured for him to sit down. Fang Ci was mindful that there were still clients present, so his movements were a bit reserved. He sat down next to him. By now, there were fewer people in the venue, and half the lights were turned off. The back two rows were directly in the dark.

Fang Ci heard He Chi say, “The venue is quite big,” as if it were a casual observation.

Speaking of which, Fang Ci felt a little proud. “Yeah, it’s our company’s biggest press conference yet.”

He Chi looked at him in the dark. “Are you nervous?”

Fang Ci: “Not really.” Maybe it was because there was still some time until the press conference.

“Were you nervous during your first speech, Teacher He?”

He Chi leaned back in his chair. “Do you want to hear the truth?”

Fang Ci: “Of course.”

He Chi: “I was nervous.”

Fang Ci was surprised. “Really? I thought you were always so confident, Teacher He.”

He Chi said, “I’m not a god. Everyone gets nervous.”

Fang Ci said, “Oh. Well, from my perspective, you’re pretty much a god.”

He Chi’s expression seemed to soften. The light was too dim for Fang Ci to see clearly. So he joked a bit and then stopped, continuing to talk to him about the press conference. He brought up the old story Yuan Cheng had told him that morning:

“…If Assistant Yuan hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known that you came up with the company’s strategy on the spot at that tech conference.”

He then said, “Teacher He, you’re very good at making things up.” That’s called creating something out of nothing.

He Chi’s tone was a little defensive. “I couldn’t remember what I had written in the speech. It was revised too many times.”

Fang Ci: “Oh.”

He Chi: “My memory is pretty good. I usually don’t forget what I write myself.”

It sounded a bit like he was trying to save face. Fang Ci vaguely felt that familiar feeling of “Teacher He is so cute” again.

Fang Ci said, “Then… shall I test you?”

He Chi: “?”

Fang Ci coughed lightly. “I won’t test you on the speech. It was too long ago. I’ll test you on something I also know.”

He Chi didn’t say no, so Fang Ci took it as a yes. “What’s Article 15 of our marriage agreement?”

He Chi was silent.

Fang Ci waited for a moment, thinking He Chi wouldn’t answer, but then he heard him say, “Do not overly interfere with the other person’s private life and give them personal space.”

“Do you have any thoughts on this article?”

Fang Ci was dumbfounded. Oh no. God knows he just wanted to tease Teacher He. He didn’t even remember what this article was. But after he asked that, it did seem very deliberate, as if he was purposefully reminding him of something.

Did he just shoot himself in the foot?

“No, I was just saying it casually,” Fang Ci quickly clarified, then changed the subject. “Let’s go home.”

He Chi didn’t move.

In the dark, Fang Ci couldn’t see his movements, so he had to stand up first.

But he heard He Chi call out to him. “Fang Ci.”

Fang Ci: “?”

He Chi said, “If we remove this article, would you agree?”

Fang Ci was frozen for a moment, his mind blank.

“Since you brought it up, why don’t we change it? What do you think?”

Fang Ci was a little confused. “Whatever you want, but why do you want to change it?”

“I want to change it,” He Chi said calmly.

Fang Ci: “…” So casual and so overbearing?

He couldn’t figure out what He Chi was thinking, but since he had already said it, he would naturally go along with Teacher He’s wishes.

Then, he heard him say, “And there’s something else.”

Fang Ci: “?”

He Chi said, “I think you can tell your colleagues that you’re married.”

If he was just finding it incredible before, now he was completely confused. Fang Ci’s mind was full of question marks. “Is it that important?”

He Chi: “From now on, it can be ‘important’.”

“Are they all single?” he asked again.

Fang Ci said, “Yes.”

He Chi stood up and was very close to him. Fang Ci could already feel the warmth and scent from him. He looked up, trying to find his eyes in the fading light, but he couldn’t see anything.

As he was looking, his lips were gently rubbed by a finger.

“Listen to me.”

Fang Ci’s arms and legs turned to jelly.