The Boss Always Thinks I'm After Him - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Heartbeat Progress 1.5% — “Love You, Boss…”:

Yuan Ming joked that he was like a suck-up, but Xiao Yang firmly rebuked him, saying that his praise was sincere.

Jin Li’s people were kicked out. The colleagues around laughed and joked again, and Xu Mubai finally stopped trembling and slowly calmed down.

Gu Che glanced back at the banquet hall. Since he had already met the important guests, there was no reason to linger. He arranged, “Eat well and then go back to rest in your rooms.”

“Boss, I—I want to go out for a walk.” A representative from Group Two Technical raised his hand timidly and said quietly, “The colleagues asked me to bring some local specialties back for them.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yang also remembered, “Right, right, I want to go too, to buy some local specialties for my parents.”

He blinked his eyes, looking at Gu Che full of expectation. “Is that okay, Boss?”

Gu Che looked at his phone—5:30 p.m., still early—and approved directly. He then turned to Zhang Rui, “You go too. Buy some specialties to send back to the company for everyone.”

Zhang Rui nodded, “Public account or private account?”

Using the public account means company reimbursement — the cost comes from the company; using the boss’s private account means spending the boss’s own money, purely employee welfare.

Buying specialties doesn’t cost much. Gu Che was always generous in this regard and immediately allowed him to use the private account, also giving each of the six people present a reimbursement limit of one thousand.

Xiao Yang cheered loudly and even wanted to rush forward and hug the boss, but he still had some reason and didn’t do anything so outrageous.

After tidying up, they headed out together.

With Gu Che leading, the others automatically cleared the way.

Occasionally, some people carrying wine glasses came over trying to chat, but Gu Che smiled and politely excused himself, looking effortlessly in control.

Suddenly, Xiao Yang had a flash of inspiration and laughed, “Don’t you think, in these kinds of occasions, the boss is like the Dragon King leading the way, Secretary Zhang is the Turtle Prime Minister, and we are the shrimp soldiers and crab generals following behind?”

“So, are you the shrimp or the crab?” Yuan Ming smiled meaningfully, clearly implying more than the surface meaning.

Xiao Yang thought for a moment, then gently poked him in the ribs, “I’m neither blind nor a thankless person.”

Among the five people, only the two of them talked the most; the others mostly listened, then were amused until they couldn’t help but smile.

Leaving the banquet hall, they had to cross the first-floor lobby to get to the hotel entrance; the guest rooms were on the other side.

Just as they arrived at the lobby, they heard someone shouting angrily.

“Are you out of your mind? If you have to pick a fight, why pick a fight with Gu Che? I barely begged and pleaded to get the qualification to attend this conference, and you ruin it the moment you arrive!”

Liu Yun was furious, wanting to kick that troublemaker to death.

Liu Zhenfeng looked defiant and argued, “I didn’t really hit him. I just wanted to scare him. Besides, who is Gu Che? Why can he cancel our qualification?”

To their surprise, the hotel’s efficiency was so high that in just a few minutes, Jin Li’s people were kicked out.

Jin Li’s employees were dragging their luggage near the front desk, looking at the boss and his son with faces full of grievance.

People from the association coldly warned, “With your company’s level, you didn’t qualify to attend this kind of meeting anyway. Please leave immediately and don’t cause trouble here.”

The karma was swift, and Xiao Yang felt secretly pleased.

Seeing them, Xu Mubai became nervous again, unconsciously shrinking behind Xiao Yang, silently praying that they wouldn’t notice him.

Feeling his nervousness, Xiao Yang looked around, gently tugged at Gu Che’s sleeve, and whispered, “Boss, boss…”

When Gu Che turned around, Xiao Yang used his other hand to point right and suggested, “How about we go this way? So we don’t get entangled with them later.”

Gu Che glanced at the hand tugging his sleeve, and that hand immediately withdrew. He then turned his gaze to the right.

The hotel lobby was very spacious, with folding screens and green plants on both sides, behind which were two side doors. Passing through the screens, they could exit the hotel directly through the side doors.

Just as they walked behind the screens, Liu Yun’s voice came from behind.

“You go apologize to President Gu right now. Even if you have to kneel on the ground and beg for forgiveness, get him to restore our attendance qualification!” He kicked Liu Zhenfeng’s buttocks, “Hurry up!”

Liu Zhenfeng staggered from the kick and shouted stiffly, “I won’t go!”

While they argued for a few tens of seconds, Gu Che and the others had already left the hotel, a bustling crowd surrounding them.

After the beginning of spring, the days grew longer. Although it was nearly six o’clock, the sky was still bright.

The street ahead was unfamiliar but prosperous, bustling with traffic, and a variety of shops.

Xu Siyang looked around and asked, “Which way should we go?”

“Wait.” Xiao Yang randomly picked a kind-looking aunt on the street and politely asked, “Auntie, hello, where nearby can we buy specialties from Haishi?”

The aunt raised her hand and pointed diagonally backward, enthusiastically explaining, “You walk down that street. There’s a long food street ahead with all kinds of delicious things and specialty shops.”

“Thank you, Auntie.” Xiao Yang smiled sweetly, making the aunt very happy.

Just as they were about to head that way, Zhang Rui remembered that Gu Che had been busy with socializing and hadn’t eaten yet, and suggested, “Does the boss want to go back to the room to rest? I can have room service send food.”

After all, a place like a food street would be crowded, and the boss might not be used to it.

Gu Che glanced across the street, about to agree, but Xu Siyang patted his shoulder, “Since we’re here, let’s take a walk together. Staying in the room is boring.”

Xiao Yang was eager to set off, “Yeah, Auntie said the food street has everything tasty. Boss, you should experience the local atmosphere sometimes.”

Since they were all so enthusiastic, Gu Che could only agree and went with them.

After crossing two intersections, the smell of food wafted from the food street, tempting the hunger inside.

Following the crowd, they entered from the entrance. Occasionally stopping for samples, they tasted and bought what they liked. As they walked, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Xiao Yang was attracted by a tempting aroma, staring at the grilled tofu in the store with longing.

After looking for a while, he handed his things to Xu Mubai, “Help me hold these. I’m going to buy grilled tofu. We’ll eat together.”

Several seconds passed with no response. When Xiao Yang turned around, he realized Xu Mubai had disappeared too.

Looking around, he couldn’t find anyone else—only a very tall back of a head standing in the middle of the street.

Xiao Yang felt conflicted, wanting the tofu but afraid to ask the boss to carry his things.

Seeing the tofu was almost sold out, and another tempting aroma wafted by, he made up his mind and bought a portion.

Holding his things in one hand and the tofu in the other, he carefully weaved through the crowd and reached Gu Che.

Before he could speak, he saw three girls standing in front of Gu Che.

“Just add a contact, it won’t do anything to you, handsome guy, don’t be so heartless.”

“Yeah, isn’t going out to make friends?”

…

After hearing this, Xiao Yang realized the girls were asking the boss to add them on WeChat.

The girls were really brave to block Gu Che and stop him from leaving. Seeing his helpless look was somewhat amusing.

Nearby, someone was secretly eavesdropping. Gu Che glanced and saw it was Xiao Yang, feeling strangely nervous.

He deliberately cleared his throat and gave the girls a signal with his eyes.

Xiao Yang snapped out of it, pretending he had just found Gu Che, and handed over the things, “Why did you come here? Everyone’s been looking for you. Here, hold this.”

Gu Che was a bit stunned, but cooperated and took the things. Xiao Yang held back his laughter and grabbed Gu Che’s arm with his free hand to leave.

“Let’s go buy some specialties.”

“Hey, handsome,” one girl leaned in blocking him and handed her phone to Xiao Yang, “Give us his WeChat.”

“Hmm?” Xiao Yang looked at her, then at the phone, shaking his head vigorously, “No, he has a girlfriend with a terrible temper. If he finds out, he’ll beat me up.”

“Ah…”

The girls awkwardly stopped, meaningfully looking at Gu Che, whispering, “Would’ve been nice to know he has a girlfriend.”

Seizing their hesitation, Xiao Yang quickly pulled Gu Che away. Only when far away did he let go.

Luckily, the grilled tofu almost got cold. Once cold, it wouldn’t taste good, so he had to hurry.

Xiao Yang poked a piece into his mouth, the delicious flavor bursting on his tongue with satisfaction. He turned around and handed the bowl to Gu Che, “Boss, try it? It’s delicious.”

The small bowl held rectangular tofu pieces covered in chili and scallions, very tempting.

Gu Che usually didn’t eat tofu and just stared without moving.

“Aren’t you going to hate these snacks? No way!” Xiao Yang looked surprised, putting back the skewer he had and picking another to offer Gu Che, “Really good, try it.”

This action was somewhat intimate, and Gu Che’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

Facing that hopeful gaze, he finally reached out and took a bite.

The tofu was tender and smooth, fragrant and soft—indeed quite good.

Xiao Yang smiled triumphantly, “Isn’t it delicious? Right?”

“I’ll tell you, good food has no rank or status. As long as it’s tasty, it’s good.”

Eating something good made him feel like he was bubbling with happiness.

The two of them walked forward together, sharing the bowl piece by piece.

Then Xiao Yang led Gu Che around trying samples until his own stomach was full and swollen, then stepped into a specialty store.

Rubbing his belly, Xiao Yang picked things for his parents, brother, and sister, while Gu Che took calls nearby.

Haishi had so many delicious things, and he had to buy three of each. Before he knew it, he had chosen a huge pile that he couldn’t carry.

Fortunately, the shop provided a thoughtful mailing service, solving Xiao Yang’s problem.

The cashier finished the bill and pointed to the payment code, “Hello, total 1298. Please scan here.”

“Over budget, but…” Xiao Yang looked around for Gu Che, who was actually right behind him.

He planned to pay first himself and then transfer the extra to the boss, but the boss just scanned the payment code.

The shop’s payment announcement rang out.

“WeChat payment received: 1298.”

“Thanks, Boss,” Xiao Yang took out his phone to transfer money back, “I’ll pay you back the extra.”

“No need.” Gu Che put his phone away and turned to leave.

Xiao Yang bounced happily and could hardly believe it, “Really? Really? Boss will reimburse me?”

“Boss, you’re really the best and most generous, thank you, Boss, love you, Boss.”