The Boss Always Thinks I'm After Him - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Heartbeat Progress 31% — “I’m sorry, Boss, I really…”

Office romance?

Xiao Yang momentarily forgot to be nervous, his inner gossip soul igniting wildly. “What? There’s a romance in the company? Who’s dating who?”

The moment he said it, he suddenly remembered that Xu Mubai and Yu Qian were actually dating, and broke out in a cold sweat.

No way… Had the boss found out and was now probing him for info? Should he confess and plead on their behalf, or help cover for them?

Aside from that, Xiao Yang felt an inexplicable sense of guilt and panic, as though he’d been caught red-handed — a strange and unshakable feeling.

That odd sense of unease surfaced again as Gu Che turned the direction of a potted plant on the desk and pointed at the heart on it.
“You… like me.”

“Huh?” Xiao Yang stared blankly, unsure if he heard correctly. He stared at the heart sticker on the pot, trying to process.

Was the boss saying… he thought Xiao Yang liked him?

Gu Che then opened a cabinet and took out that same chubby blue pig plushie, placing the heart on its belly right in front of Xiao Yang.
“You’ve hinted your feelings for me over and over. I think it’s time I…”

Xiao Yang froze like he’d been struck by lightning, face full of horror.
“No no no, Boss, you misunderstood!”

Trying to suppress the rising panic from being exposed, he hurried to explain:
“The flowerpot— the florist swapped that for me. I really didn’t know it had a heart on it.”

“And the little pig— I didn’t even look at it properly. I swear it wasn’t meant as a confession. Please, don’t misunderstand!”

Gu Che’s expression slowly hardened, and he stopped moving altogether. Even his speaking pace slowed down.
“Then… when you keep sneaking glances at me during work, and quickly look away when our eyes meet— that’s also a misunderstanding?”

Xiao Yang was speechless. Cold sweat soaked his back as he dared not speak.

The office fell silent. Gu Che stared at him intently, waiting for an answer.

After a good half-minute of inner turmoil, Xiao Yang finally lowered his head and forced out an explanation:
“That’s because… I was slacking off and didn’t want you to catch me…”

So that was it.

The strange sense of confusion Gu Che had been feeling finally started to make sense. His face turned darker.

He inhaled deeply and asked one last question:
“And the time you said ‘Love you~’— that was also a misunderstanding?”

Xiao Yang cautiously looked up at him. Then his legs gave out and he collapsed onto the desk, practically kowtowing.
“I’m sorry, Boss! That was just me being happy and thankful— it really wasn’t a love confession!”

“You’re tall, handsome, rich, and a CEO. I’m just a regular employee— how could I possibly have the audacity to fall for you? Right?”

“I always keep the company rules in mind, follow them strictly, and would never develop any inappropriate thoughts about you. Please don’t fire me!”

He secretly watched the boss’s expression, only to see Gu Che’s face black as soot, and nearly burst into tears.
“I’m sorry, Boss. I know I messed up. I’ll never grovel for forgiveness again— I mean, I won’t tease you again— I mean, I’ll never say anything that could be misunderstood again!”

“I promise, I won’t do anything that could lead to any more misunderstandings. Please don’t be angry.”

Gu Che stared at him in a daze for several long minutes before finally realizing what felt so off.

Xiao Yang had always been completely open and innocent in front of him. His gaze was clear and pure, never carrying any flirtation or ambiguity. The so-called “avoidance” was merely a subordinate being afraid of their superior. Everything — every signal — had just been a giant misunderstanding.

It felt like someone had clenched a fist around his heart. Gu Che had trouble breathing. He sat back in his chair, removed his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Alright, go back to work.”

“Thank you, Boss.” Xiao Yang felt like he’d been granted a royal pardon. Just as he turned to leave, he stopped and picked up the potted plant and the pig plushie.

“It’s my fault for not paying attention and causing a misunderstanding. I’ll take these back with me.”

Gu Che lowered his hand, but before he could say anything, Xiao Yang had already bolted from the office with the items in his arms.

So it was all a misunderstanding…

If it was a misunderstanding, then maybe that feeling of “being moved” was also just an illusion. Perhaps he needed time to think clearly.

Gu Che put his glasses back on and called Zhang Rui.
“Get ready. Tomorrow you’re coming with me to the AI Representative Summit.”

“Yes, Boss.”

Zhang Rui was a little surprised. The boss had already assigned people during the morning meeting. Why the sudden change of heart? And the conference didn’t start for another two days.

But there was no time to waste. Without asking questions, Zhang Rui immediately arranged plane tickets and hotel reservations.

Meanwhile, in the office cubicles, Xiao Yang slumped back at his desk like the walking dead.

Xu Mubai glanced at him and whispered, “What happened to you?”

Xiao Yang sighed and shook his head, picking up his phone to type something— only to see unread emails and chat messages in the work group.

[HR Department: The updated Employee Code of Conduct has been delivered. All Phantom employees are required to follow it strictly.]

[Attachment: Phantom Employee Code of Conduct]

[Colleague A: Thank you Xiao Xu, fighting for benefits on behalf of all of us!]

[Xiao Xu: Thank you, Boss, for sparing my life.jpg]

[Colleague B: Since office romance is allowed now, how about a company dating mixer?]

[Colleague C: Sounds good. I’m in.]

[Colleague H: Me me me.]

[Colleague Z: Count me in too.]

…

Xiao Yang perked up and opened the updated employee guidelines, flipping through quickly before firing off messages to Xu Mubai.

[XYZ: What happened? Why did the boss suddenly approve office romances?]

[XYZ: If he’s okay with it now, then why did he ask me that question??]

He did the math— the boss must have already given the order to revise the company policy before calling him into the office.

Xiao Yang frowned, glancing over toward the CEO’s office, and a thought hit him — had he misunderstood the boss’s intentions?

[Xu Mubai: Someone reported Xiao Xu and his girlfriend from Team 2 for violating the office romance policy. HR was going to fire them. So their team lead took them to plead with the boss. That’s why he changed the rule.]

[Xu Mubai: What did he ask you about?]

[XYZ: …]

[XYZ: Long story.]

Xiao Yang rubbed his face. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t figure out what the boss had originally intended to say — only that somehow, he’d made another huge mistake.

Just then, the office door opened and Gu Che walked out. Without sparing anyone a glance, he walked straight to the elevator and went downstairs.

He looked calm, but Xiao Yang had the distinct feeling the boss was in a very bad mood— ever since the moment he’d clarified the misunderstanding, Gu Che’s face had been pitch black.

There were too many people and too many ears in the company. So Xiao Yang kept everything bottled up until he got home, then finally spilled the whole story to Xu Mubai.

He placed the potted plant and plush pig on the coffee table and pointed at the heart sticker.
“The boss pointed at this and said I liked him.”

“Scared me half to death! I explained everything right away.”

“I thought he was going to fire me or lecture me, but after I explained it all, his face turned really dark.” Xiao Yang threw up his hands, helpless.
“And then I found out he had already ordered the change to the office romance policy.”

“So… what do you think he was originally going to say to me?”

Xu Mubai looked at the potted plant, then the plushie, then back at Xiao Yang. He tested the waters:
“Well, if he thought you liked him and were pursuing him — and then went as far as to revise the rules to allow office romance, and even brought it up with you directly…”
“What do you think that means?”

Xiao Yang mulled it over for a long while but still couldn’t understand. Innocently, he said:
“But didn’t Xiao Xu plead with him to change the rule? What does it have to do with me?”

Xu Mubai opened his mouth and didn’t know what to say.
“You really are hopelessly slow.”

Since being subtle didn’t work, he decided to be blunt.

“The boss changed the rule because he wanted to say yes to your ‘confession’ and be with you. That’s why he had HR look into office romances in the first place.”
“He went to all that effort… and then you told him it was a misunderstanding. Of course he’d be upset.”

“What?! Say yes to my confession? Be with me?” Xiao Yang’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“You can’t be serious—why would he do that?”

Suddenly, a memory popped up. Xiao Yang mumbled:
“Right… you did say he likes me once…”

So that’s what Xu Mubai had meant. Not “like” as a boss likes a good employee, but like as in… romantic feelings.

Overwhelmed with information, Xiao Yang slumped onto the couch, staring at the ceiling and muttering to himself:
“This is too absurd. Is it real? It can’t be real… he’s the CEO… why would he like me?”

It was just too unbelievable — he couldn’t accept it as reality.

Xu Mubai stayed quiet. The living room was so silent, you could hear Yu Qian washing vegetables in the kitchen.

Now that he thought about it… they had a bet riding on this.

Determined to win, Xu Mubai dropped a bombshell:
“It’s not just the boss who likes you,” he said, leaning in with a knowing smirk.
“Actually… you like him too.”

“Ha? No way…” Xiao Yang didn’t even think before denying it. He even thought it was kind of funny.
“That’s the CEO of Phantom — he’s worth hundreds of millions. I don’t have the guts to like someone like that.”

Despite his words, his heart pounded uncontrollably, as though his secret had been exposed.

Xu Mubai smirked meaningfully.
“Denying it that fast? Sounds like you’re feeling guilty.”

He didn’t say more and went to help Yu Qian with dinner.

Xiao Yang was left alone in the living room. He collapsed on the couch, listening to his pounding heart, brain utterly fried.

The fact that the boss liked him was shocking enough. The idea that he might like the boss back was even more terrifying.

His heart thudded wildly, as if agreeing with what Xu Mubai had said, while his brain screamed in protest —
No! Impossible! That’s the CEO!
There’s no way someone like that would like someone like me! We’re not even from the same world.

Xiao Yang tried to stop thinking about it, but the moment he had a quiet second, Gu Che’s face popped into his mind. He tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.

Whatever this unexplainable emotion was, it left him feeling like he couldn’t face the boss just yet.

The next day, Xiao Yang went to work full of nerves, silently praying the boss wouldn’t call on him today.

To his surprise, Gu Che didn’t show up at all.