The Boss Always Thinks I'm After Him - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Heartbeat Progress: 0.2%. A Boss Who Gives Raises Is a Good Boss…

Xiao Yang’s brain, which had been spinning with excitement, suddenly snapped into clarity. Internally, he was at war with himself.

The terms Gu Che offered were undeniably tempting, but being directly managed by him… that would definitely feel more restrictive and less comfortable.

The main thing was—even someone as oblivious as him could sense something… off.

“Boss, can I ask something?” Xiao Yang glanced discreetly at the files on Gu Che’s desk and asked sneakily, “Am I the only one staying, or are all the people you borrowed from other teams staying too?”

Gu Che turned his head slightly, pretending to think. “Just you.”

If he kept everyone, it would disrupt the operations of Teams Two and Three. Keeping only the most useful was enough.

Xiao Yang felt secretly proud and decided to fish for compliments. “Why’s that? Did you realize I’m better than the others?”

Gu Che immediately saw through his little ploy—he was just fishing for praise.

To get him on board, Gu Che cleared his throat and forced out a couple of compliments. “Your code is indeed better than theirs. The structure is clean, formatting consistent, logic streamlined… and the execution speed is very high.”

“Someone like you would be wasted making games in Team Three. Come to Team One—you’ll create much more value.”

Under the intense work pressure this past month, Xiao Yang’s code had clearly become more refined and efficient compared to before.

Even though the compliments were delivered without much emotion, they still made Xiao Yang feel satisfied. His grin faded into a more serious expression as he sank into deep thought.

After five long minutes of mental debate and weighing all the pros and cons, he finally made up his mind—and his cheeky smile returned.

“If you think so highly of me, Boss, then of course I can’t let you down.”

Xiao Yang put on a theatrical display, bowing low in front of Gu Che and proclaiming loudly, “Rest assured, Boss! From today on, I’m your ox, your horse—wherever you lead, I shall follow. I’ll be loyal to the death!”

Gu Che remained expressionless, clearly unimpressed by his theatrics. “Get to work.”

“Aye aye!” Xiao Yang replied happily and bounced out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, he spun around on the spot in excitement.

Who says all bosses are slave drivers? Their boss was basically the God of Wealth! Sure, he kept a cold face and gave off an unapproachable aura, but hey—he gave raises! A boss who raises your salary is a good boss!

So that look on Ding Zhanyang’s face earlier… it wasn’t that Gu Che was firing him. It was because he was being transferred to Team One. He’d worried for nothing.

Suddenly, the boss didn’t seem all that scary after all.

There was still a bit of time left during lunch break, so Xiao Yang ran back to Team Three to pack up all the things he hadn’t collected before and moved everything upstairs.

Once Xiao Yang was settled, Gu Che summoned his secretary to arrange for the personnel transfer and begin recruiting.

Zhang Rui took down all the instructions and relayed the latest update. “The program we sent to the client yesterday has started internal testing. So far, no issues.”

“Good.” Gu Che looked through the glass wall at his team. Everyone looked exhausted. After a pause, he added, “There’s nothing urgent for now. Let’s give everyone a three-day break.”

“Understood.”

Zhang Rui was about to leave but then turned back and carefully asked, “What about the mole? How should we handle it?”

“No rush. They’ll slip up eventually.” Gu Che took a sip of coffee, savoring the rich taste.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a golden glow over him. But behind the rimless glasses, his eyes were sharp as ice.

Zhang Rui didn’t dare ask more and quietly exited the office.

Once news of the three-day break spread, the entire Team One erupted in cheers and instantly scattered.

Since the start of spring, the weather had been warming up, and everything felt alive with growth.

When Xiao Yang walked out of the Phantom building with his backpack, the setting sun streamed between skyscrapers, casting a long shadow behind him.

Real estate in the capital was sky-high, and since the Phantom building was downtown, Xiao Yang couldn’t afford to live nearby. It took him a full hour to get home.

After a good meal, he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind. He jumped up and opened his phone.

He couldn’t afford it before, but now that his salary had doubled, he could absolutely rent a place closer to the office.

Xiao Yang immediately contacted a rental agent and began apartment hunting the very next day. He ended up renting a place much closer to work—only 20 minutes away, a huge improvement.

Three days flew by as he moved, unpacked, and got everything set up. Before he could even relax properly, it was time to go back to work.

On Monday morning, Team One held their routine meeting.

Gu Che entered with a few unfamiliar faces and introduced them. “These are new hires and interns from the past few days.”

He sat at the head of the table and opened a file. “Let’s do introductions.”

“Hi everyone, I graduated from…”

“Hello, I’m…”

…

After the introductions, Gu Che raised his head and instinctively scanned the room. His gaze suddenly froze, and his face darkened.

Xiao Yang, who had overslept and rushed in without breakfast, was now sneakily nibbling on a piece of bread under the conference table—only his fluffy hair visible.

The room had gone eerily quiet. Suspicious, Xiao Yang slowly lifted his head.

Even a few seconds of silence were enough for everyone to follow Gu Che’s gaze and zero in on one person.

Xiao Yang, with his cheeks puffed full of bread, looked up and met Gu Che’s icy stare. Instantly startled, he began coughing violently.

His coughing echoed through the room. No one dared make a sound, terrified the boss would explode.

Everyone knew Gu Che hated distractions during work—and eating during meetings? That was practically a death sentence.

Gu Che’s fury rose. His expression darkened as he prepared to lash out, but Ding Zhanyang’s earlier words flashed through his mind, and he forced himself to calm down.

Seeing Xiao Yang choking badly, Gu Che glanced at Zhang Rui and subtly nodded toward the water dispenser.

Zhang Rui got the hint immediately, poured a glass of warm water, and handed it to Xiao Yang.

Gu Che set aside the personnel files and picked up another folder. “Go grab some chairs.”

The newcomers quietly fetched stools and sat in the corner, doing their best to make themselves invisible.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yang sipped his water, finally stopping his cough, and sat with his head down in guilt, not daring to meet anyone’s eyes.

Knock knock—Gu Che tapped the table with two fingers and looked straight at Xiao Yang. “Come sit over here.”

“Huh?” Xiao Yang looked up, met Gu Che’s unyielding eyes across the table, and immediately wilted. “Okay…”

Unwillingly, he stood up and pushed his swivel chair to the front.

Seeing this, everyone else shuffled backward to make room.

Xiao Yang obediently sat to Gu Che’s left, still clutching his half-eaten bread under the table.

Gu Che glanced at him briefly, then continued. “Last month, an emergency in the Miss project required temporarily pulling help from other teams.”

“Among them, Xiao Yang performed exceptionally well. So, from now on, he’ll officially join Team One.”

He raised a hand and clapped briefly. Everyone else followed suit.

The applause was tinged with mixed glances, all directed at Xiao Yang. He nodded awkwardly and smiled, murmuring thanks.

Amid the clapping, whispers began:

“What does this mean? Keeping Xiao Yang and hiring newbies? Something’s up.”

“Don’t tell me… layoffs?”

“Don’t jinx it.”

“You guys didn’t hear? That last incident was sabotage.”

…

When the clapping stopped, so did the whispers.

Gu Che opened the folder and flipped through a few pages. His expression grew darker, and he let out a cold laugh. “Interesting. A traitor, right under my nose.”

“Am I not paying you enough? Are the benefits not good enough?”

He looked like he was smiling, but everyone could hear the fury in his voice. Heads dropped instantly—no one dared breathe.

Only Xiao Yang’s eyes were wide, staring at the folder, totally stunned.

Wait… does that mean there’s a mole in Team One?! This just got so dramatic!

He glanced around at everyone, trying to spot anything suspicious—but came up empty.

Gu Che sensed movement beside him. Turning his head, he saw Xiao Yang gaping like a clueless spectator, clearly eager for gossip he couldn’t understand.

He actually found himself a little less angry.

“No point talking anymore,” Gu Che leaned back in his chair and lifted his chin slightly. “Out of respect for our years working together, I’ll give you all one chance.”

“Confess, and we’ll consider leniency. If the audit team digs you out, Phantom will pursue legal action.”

Silence.

Everyone kept their eyes down, waiting to see who the traitor might be.

A few minutes later, Gu Che stood up. “Product Manager, come to my office. Meeting adjourned.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Xiao Yang shot to his feet, trying to stuff the bread back in his mouth—only for Gu Che to turn around.

“You too. Come to my office.”

“…Okay.” Xiao Yang put the bread down and trailed behind him, tail between his legs.

Guess he was going to get chewed out after all…

Once the two left, the room exploded with noise.

“Did he say there’s a mole? Who is it?!”

“You think the mole would just admit it?”

“Fair point…”

“Boss looked really mad.”

“Xiao Yang’s toast. I want to go hear him get scolded.”

“You wanna get scolded too?”

…

In the CEO’s office, Gu Che stood behind his desk, searching for some files.

Xiao Yang stood quietly to the side, clutching his bread, ready to take the heat.

Seconds later, the door opened, and Product Manager Jiang Nicole walked in briskly. “Boss, you needed me?”

“There’s a project…” Gu Che turned around, only to see Xiao Yang standing there like a stiff board, eyes locked on his bread.

He didn’t know whether to be angry or amused. He ground his teeth slightly. “Just eat already.”

Xiao Yang looked confused but slowly raised the bread to his mouth.

…Boss wasn’t going to scold him? What a nice guy.

Gu Che pulled out two folders—one for Nicole, one for Xiao Yang. “There’s a bid for a new project this Friday. Get ready.”

“Nicole, write up a proposal. Xiao Yang, put together a program demo. You’ll both go with me.”

Nicole glanced through the file and frowned. “Smart glasses for the visually impaired? Boss, this doesn’t make money. Isn’t this a waste of time and resources?”

Gu Che waved it off. “It’s a charity project. Good for the company’s image.”

“Got it, I’ll get started.” Nicole flipped through the document as she left.

Xiao Yang stuffed the last bit of bread into his mouth, cheeks puffed out like a hamster. His eyes darted across the file.

A knock. Zhang Rui came in with coffee and noticed Xiao Yang still chewing. He handed him a cup of warm water.

Xiao Yang accepted it gratefully and thanked him profusely. “Zhang Secretary, thank you so much! I would’ve choked to death earlier without you.”

“Thank the boss—he’s the one who told me to get it.” Zhang Rui smiled and left.

Xiao Yang froze. It was the boss’s idea?

He stared at Gu Che in shock, not sure how to react.