The Boss Always Thinks I'm After Him - Chapter 10

Chapter 10 — Heartbeat Progress 1.0% — The Boss Is Too Pitiful…

Before Tao Hong’s betrayal, the workload of the Technical Team One was barely balanced across various tasks. Now that he had taken five senior employees away, Team One was suddenly short-staffed.

Gu Che sorted out the ongoing projects and gave a brief plan: “Everyone will keep handling their current projects as before. For the work Tao Hong’s group was responsible for, the important parts will be assigned to Xu Siyang, Ma Weiran, Liu Xu, and Xiao Yang; the less important parts will be given to the newcomers.”

“The recruitment plan has already been handed to HR. It’ll take some time; everyone just hang in there for now.”

Gu Che opened a list of Team One personnel and handed it to Zhong Jun. “I ordered some new office desks last week. You arrange the workstations, try to seat people who often work together close by to facilitate communication.”

“Got it.” Zhong Jun took the list and quickly started marking on it.

He usually got along well with everyone in Team One and roughly knew who interacted most with whom, so he arranged the seating swiftly.

Gu Che glanced over it roughly, then let him go organize everyone to tidy up.

Just as the office door opened, Gu Che suddenly called him back, “Zhong Jun, do you know why I chose you?”

Gu Che hardly ever took part in company gatherings because he knew they’d be awkward around him. The only reason he went last Friday was to observe quietly.

In terms of work ability, Zhong Jun wasn’t as outstanding as Ma Weiran and others, but within the entire industry, he was still a very capable technician. More importantly, he managed interpersonal relationships well, had a pure character, and no big ambitions.

No big ambitions meant he wouldn’t become a second Tao Hong.

Zhong Jun chuckled and said, “I guess I know—you want me to keep them in check.”

Gu Che smiled faintly, nodded, “Go ahead.”

When they held the morning meeting, workers were already bringing in the new desks, piling them up densely outside.

After sorting files, clearing trash, and setting up desks, the whole morning’s work ended up unproductive.

Xiao Yang and Xu Mubai were seated in the farthest corner row facing the CEO’s office, where just looking up could see the boss’s office—an excellent sense of security.

At around three or four in the afternoon, after coding for a while and feeling a bit tired, Xiao Yang took some snacks out of his bag and quietly shared them with Xu Mubai.

Xu Mubai glanced toward the CEO’s office and stealthily accepted.

The two hid behind the computer monitor to eat secretly.

Xiao Yang kept glancing up occasionally, wary of the boss suddenly appearing and catching them in the act.

In the secretary’s office, Zhang Rui received several calls and immediately went to the CEO’s office to ask Gu Che for instructions.

“Recently, the Miss and Smart Guide Glasses projects have been very successful. The local TV station wants to invite you for a simple interview. Also, the Tech Association invited you to bring your team to a tech exchange conference scheduled for early next month.”

Gu Che paused, opened the calendar to check the schedule, “If time permits, I can agree to both. Where is the tech exchange conference?”

“In Haishi,” Zhang Rui checked on a map and asked about specific arrangements. “The flight takes three hours, and you can take five tech staff members with you. How do you want to arrange it?”

The Tech Association’s conference was a top-tier industry event, attended by all the reputable companies. Participants shared new technologies and research results — a very good learning opportunity.

Gu Che looked up towards the cubicles, intending to see who would be suitable to take, and unexpectedly locked eyes with Xiao Yang.

In the next moment, Xiao Yang, like a startled rabbit, quickly ducked down behind his computer.

“Oh man, I locked eyes with the boss! Scared me to death,” Xiao Yang patted his chest, calming his frightened little heart.

He gulped down the snacks and resumed serious coding.

Gu Che saw this whole scene and fully interpreted it as Xiao Yang secretly watching him and getting caught, feeling very panicked.

Logically, Gu Che should keep his distance from Xiao Yang now to prevent emotional distraction, but the opportunity was rare, and taking Xiao Yang might actually help him learn a lot of new things.

After a brief silence, Gu Che stood and walked out of his office.

As soon as the boss appeared in the cubicle, everyone immediately looked over.

Xiao Yang thought he was about to get caught sneaking snacks and pulled everyone aside nervously.

Gu Che lightly clapped his hands, his gaze sweeping from left to right, “Next month, the Tech Association is holding a tech exchange conference in Haishi. Five people can go. If interested, sign up with Zhang Rui.”

“The quota must be shared evenly — two for Team Two and Team Three, so Team One can only send three people. Work it out yourselves.”

“We! We want to go!” Xiao Yang raised his hand high and even pulled Xu Mubai up, signing him up without asking.

Xu Mubai quickly withdrew his hand, voice as soft as a mosquito’s, “I don’t want to go.”

Xiao Yang whispered encouragement, “Come on, these kinds of exchanges are hard to get into. You’ll see lots of new stuff and might even learn new skills.”

Upon hearing “new skills,” Xu Mubai’s eyes briefly lit up, and he nervously clenched his hands, “Then… then I’ll go take a look.”

Gu Che glanced at them and then looked at others, “Anyone else?”

Zhong Jun and other veterans had been before and weren’t interested; the rest either disliked traveling or didn’t want to go with the boss, so no one else signed up.

Gu Che directly chose someone, “Xu Siyang, prepare a summary of our recent new technologies and research results to share on stage.”

“Okay.” Xu Siyang was one of Team One’s pillars, more than capable of handling this.

After this small incident, everyone went back to work.

With no urgent tasks recently, the atmosphere in Team One became much more relaxed compared to before; everyone could leave on time daily.

Xiao Yang and Xu Mubai jointly worked on the smart guide glasses program, each responsible for different modules, cooperating smoothly.

In just a few days, they became good friends — commuting, working, slacking off, and going home together.

Early Friday morning, just as they arrived at the office, they were suddenly blocked by a person carrying a camera and another holding a microphone.

A female reporter smiled politely, “Hello, we’re reporters from the city TV station. May we interview you with a few questions?”

Xu Mubai was too shy to talk to strangers, especially with a camera pointed at him; he couldn’t say a word and bent down to escape, leaving Xiao Yang alone to face them.

Thinking it was no big deal, Xiao Yang followed them to a small conference room.

They were mainly here to interview Gu Che, but since he hadn’t arrived yet, they took the chance to interview company employees to gather some material.

The reporter handed the microphone to Xiao Yang and began asking, “Is the CEO strict in the company? What image does he have in your minds?”

Xiao Yang thought for a while, torn between telling the truth and painting a good picture of the boss.

Deciding to be honest, he said, “The boss is very strict.” He wore a serious expression to prove he wasn’t joking. “He’s a workaholic with high demands, so everyone feels a lot of pressure.”

“And he often keeps a stern face, so basically, we’re all a little afraid of him.”

Suddenly realizing his words might be overheard by the boss, Xiao Yang quickly added, “But actually, he’s a very nice person; he just looks scary.”

He nodded, approving his own words.

The reporter smiled knowingly and curiously asked, “Usually, companies call their CEOs Mr. Zhou, Mr. Zhang, or something. Why does everyone at Phantom call him Boss Gu? Is there any special reason?”

Xiao Yang shook his head, “I really don’t know. Everyone calls him that, so I do too.”

The elevator bell rang and Zhong Jun came out.

Xiao Yang pointed at him and suggested, “That’s our deputy team leader. He might know; you can ask him.”

The reporters asked a few more questions about the Miss and Smart Guide Glasses projects, then let Xiao Yang go.

After interviewing over a dozen employees and gathering enough material, Gu Che was ready, and they held the interview in a nearby conference room.

The boss stood nearby, and everyone worked very seriously.

Xiao Yang had been coding for a long time and glanced at the conference room occasionally with some envy.

“Do you think we’ll ever get on TV, so our parents and relatives can see us and be proud?” he said.

Xu Mubai shook his head, not daring to imagine it, “We’re just small fry. No way we’re as amazing as the boss. He started from scratch and climbed up step by step.”

He lowered his voice to share some gossip about the boss, “I searched online; the boss started his first business when he was 18.”

“He and some partners wrote software to earn their first pot of gold, then founded Phantom. It took him only ten years to bring Phantom into the industry’s top ten. Really impressive.”

Xiao Yang’s mouth dropped open silently in amazement. Then he poked Xu Mubai and joked, “I didn’t know you were such a gossip.”

Xu Mubai blushed slightly and whispered again, “You know, Tao Hong, Zhong Jun, and a few others, plus the team leaders of Teams Two and Three, were all the boss’s initial partners.”

“What?!” Xiao Yang found it hard to believe, “Then how could Tao Hong betray the boss after over ten years of friendship? The boss is too pitiful.”

He looked toward the conference room, eyes full of sympathy.

Gu Che came out of the conference room, habitually glanced at the cubicles, and accidentally met Xiao Yang’s gaze again.

He saw some unusual emotion in Xiao Yang’s eyes and frowned slightly.

Recently, Gu Che had caught Xiao Yang sneaking glances at him more often than before. He also noticed Xiao Yang whispering to Xu Mubai now and then, making him wonder whether Xiao Yang was really focusing on his work.

Suppressing his thoughts, Gu Che escorted the TV reporters and cameraman to the elevator, then returned to the office, coldly scanning everyone.

“The workstation adjustments were to help you work better, not so you can look around or whisper during work hours.”

“I hope everyone can be more self-disciplined, especially some people — control your behavior.”