Chapter 90 – Extra: The Drone. Lian Qiao & Gu Yunlang
One phone call failed to soothe Gu Yunlang’s mood. Chu Hao seemed to diagnose his condition from afar. “I’ve got a prescription of Chinese medicine here. Lu Third and I have both taken it—” It works wonders for both real and imaginary cuckold syndrome, primarily treating chest tightness. Presumably, it might also help with being stuck with a lazy employee.
Gu Yunlang said, “No need.” Keep it for yourselves to tonify your kidneys.
Gu Yunlang had made the call to Chu Hao while Lian Qiao was changing his shoes. By the time he hung up, Lian Qiao had just come out from the entryway. Seeing his employer standing by the corridor window catching some air, Lian Qiao’s eyes curved into a smile.
Aside from being handsome, Lian Qiao hadn’t yet discovered many other merits in this employer. But there was one particularly precious quality: he was very patient when waiting for Lian Qiao to change clothes and shoes. He’d always find something to do on the side and never urge him.
Occasionally assigning a task was fine. But if someone kept pressing him, Lian Qiao would run away immediately.
Gu Yunlang walked over and lifted his arm slightly, signaling him to hook onto it.
Without thinking, Lian Qiao slipped his hand into the crook of Gu Yunlang’s arm. Walking like this was easier.
Gu Yunlang had booked a restaurant that specialized in desserts—not the kind with premade items refrigerated in advance, but one where many pastry chefs worked live in the kitchen, and customers could even watch the process.
Catering perfectly to his tastes, Gu Yunlang won Lian Qiao’s favor.
The lazy one’s legs suddenly became diligent as he flitted from one pastry station to another, watching bakers make desserts and tasting the very first bite fresh from the oven.
The queen bee often sent desserts back to the village, so Baihua Village had seen and tasted most types of sweets on the market. But long-distance transport dulled the flavor a bit.
Unfortunately, he had no money. Otherwise, he would’ve bought some for the worker-bee brothers to try.
Holding a slice of cake, Lian Qiao piped blueberry-flavored cream onto it himself. He accidentally squeezed out too much; the cream peak collapsed and fell onto the web between his thumb and index finger.
Lian Qiao lowered his head and licked the cream away. When he turned around, he saw Gu Yunlang smiling at him. For some reason, his face felt a little warm.
He wanted to eat lots of desserts, but his stomach capacity was tiny.
Seeing his dilemma, Gu Yunlang said, “We’ll split it—half each.”
“Okay!” Lian Qiao was just about to break the cake in half when Gu Yunlang stopped him. “I mean, you eat first. When you get tired of it, give the rest to me.”
Lian Qiao understood—this was about creating ambiguity.
Fine. He’d let him have it.
The two of them happily ate ten desserts. In the end, neither of them could handle any more.
For the sake of a little flirtation, Gu Yunlang had consumed half a year’s worth of desserts. Sweet—very sweet.
He led his wife to sit by the floor-to-ceiling windows to digest, then struck while the iron was hot and paid his salary. From the inner pocket of his suit, he took out a large red envelope and placed it in front of Lian Qiao. “Gu Group pays salaries mid-month. This is your salary for the month.”
Lian Qiao picked it up happily, opened the envelope, and squinted as he counted.
Thirty bills!
This was the first time in his life he’d earned money! He was a useful little bee now!
Holding the red envelope, Lian Qiao took a photo and sent it first to his mom, then to the worker-bee group. Finally, he looked up at Gu Yunlang, who had given him several hours of happiness. He stepped around the small table, bent down, and kissed him. “Thank you so much, boss—no, Brother Yunlang.”
Gu Yunlang’s smile hadn’t fully formed yet when he saw Lian Qiao clutching the red envelope. With his tall figure, he looked like a model holding something priceless. Lian Qiao asked him, “Can we pay in cash here?”
He was saving money to buy a gold lock for the queen bee’s baby. But since the queen bee didn’t have a baby yet, he could spend part of it first. He wanted to buy small cakes for the worker bees to thank them. Everything here was expensive; three thousand yuan wouldn’t buy much, but it really was delicious.
Gu Yunlang had a bad feeling. “I’ve already paid. You can take as much as you want.”
Lian Qiao said, “No, I’m buying them to give to someone.”
Gu Yunlang asked, “Who?”
Lian Qiao said, “The big brothers who helped me cook.”
Gu Yunlang closed his eyes briefly. “You’re just going to spend the three thousand like that?”
So generous—it really felt like he was supporting his wife while his wife supported gigolos.
Seeing that he looked a little unhappy, Lian Qiao said, “Then… I can also set aside a hundred yuan to buy something for you.”
In President Gu’s eyes, he genuinely couldn’t think of what a hundred yuan could buy him, so he paused.
As expected, Lian Qiao said, “You can’t really use anything that costs a hundred yuan. But if I buy things for the other brothers, a hundred yuan makes them very happy. And if I keep a hundred for myself, I’m also very happy.”
He was hinting that Gu Yunlang should save that hundred.
Gu Yunlang immediately retorted, “Who says I can’t use it? A hundred yuan is just right for two movie tickets. Treat me to a movie.”
Lian Qiao thought that if someone with a monthly salary of three thousand still had to treat their boss to a movie, that’d be too pitiful.
But he wasn’t that pitiful, because Gu Yunlang said that what he’d paid the restaurant today was enough for him to take away over a dozen boxes of cake. As long as he gave them delivery addresses, the restaurant would handle the delivery themselves.
Free was free—of course he’d take advantage.
Gu Yunlang successfully coaxed out the addresses of seven love rivals. He secretly added them to his map and took a look. Sure enough, the seven addresses formed a surrounding formation around his home.
Heh.
“What movie do you want to see?” Lian Qiao asked. A 4D blockbuster would be out of budget.
Gu Yunlang didn’t want a 4D blockbuster. He wanted something light and romantic. He searched on an app, only to find that none of the recent releases were romance-themed.
“…Do modern people not need love anymore?”
“Let’s go to a private cinema. We can choose the movie.”
Lian Qiao said, “That’s over budget, President Gu.”
Gu Yunlang said, “My treat.”
Lian Qiao felt that a regular cinema was better. Private cinemas weren’t safe. “Today I got paid. We agreed I’m treating.”
For a moment, Gu Yunlang desperately wanted to call the cinema and have them urgently add a romance film.
Lian Qiao made the executive decision and chose an animated movie. “Let’s watch this.”
Gu Yunlang said, “Sure.” What mattered wasn’t what they watched, but who they watched it with.
The cinema was upstairs. Apart from having more kids, there was nothing wrong with it.
Gu Yunlang and Lian Qiao sat in the back row.
Both were stuffed and didn’t buy popcorn. They held hands and leaned against each other.
As they watched, the kids in the front rows quieted down. Gu Yunlang turned his head, wanting a kiss, only to find that Lian Qiao had fallen asleep against his shoulder.
The movie really wasn’t very interesting. Gu Yunlang gently got up, picked Lian Qiao up, and booked a room at the hotel on the top floor for him to sleep.
It was still a ways back home. Lian Qiao was lazy; he’d probably find even sitting in a car troublesome.
Gu Yunlang called his assistant and had both his and Lian Qiao’s suits sent over. They could go straight to work from the hotel the next day.
When Lian Qiao woke up, he found himself lying on a hotel bed, with Gu Yunlang working beside him.
Lian Qiao took a moment to react, then gave his employer a thumbs-up. “You’re too smart. Getting a room was a great idea.”
Gu Yunlang accepted the praise happily. “Then give me a kiss.”
…
The next day, in order not to be late for work, Gu Yunlang had to wake his wife early. This time, he couldn’t just stand by and wait for him to get ready on his own.
Before Lian Qiao was fully awake, his clothes had already been changed and his shoes put on.
“To the outside world, you’ll be my assistant. Outside the office, just follow me. Inside the office, you can do whatever you want.”
Lian Qiao said, “Okay.”
Gu Yunlang brought him to the company and had the front desk take note. “From now on, when he comes, bring him to me.”
Lian Qiao added, prim and proper, “I’m President Gu’s new assistant. Please take care of me.”
Front desk: “Alright, Assistant Lian.”
Lian Qiao followed Gu Yunlang into the elevator. His ears were sharp, and he heard the front desk whispering.
“Where did President Gu recruit such a good-looking and professional assistant?”
“The last time I saw an assistant this talented and good-looking was when the big bosses from Lu Group came over to sign a contract.”
“As expected of a CEO—he can dig up anyone.”
Lu Group’s assistants? Wouldn’t that be Xilan and Bai He? Lian Qiao felt like he’d received the highest praise. His steps were light as he followed Gu Yunlang. There was a phrase, “the fox borrowing the tiger’s might”—following Gu Yunlang, others thought he was as professional as Bai He.
Lian Qiao decided he had to put on a show outside. If his mom knew he was ranked alongside Bai He in the world of executive assistants, she’d be so happy she wouldn’t sleep at night.
“Happy?” Gu Yunlang asked as he pressed the elevator button.
“Mhm.”
“As long as you’re happy,” Gu Yunlang said. He was most afraid of him being unhappy at work.
After the two entered the elevator, the two front-desk staff looked at each other.
Wait—why was the CEO pressing the elevator button while the assistant stood in the middle?
…
Lian Qiao called Bai He to ask how to look more convincing. Bai He thought for a moment and suggested wearing a wireless earpiece.
“Is that enough?”
Bai He said confidently, “Enough.” Any more and you wouldn’t manage it.
Lian Qiao then called Lin Xilan, who said to clip a pen into the chest pocket.
So simple.
Gu Yunlang spent most of his time in the office. Lian Qiao sat at another desk reading novels, occasionally sneaking glances at him.
A man at work really was different from usual. “I wonder if Gu Yunlang also thinks I’m different when I’m at work.”
When Lian Qiao got tired of sitting, he went out to pour himself a cup of coffee, then poured one for his boss as well.
Facing the assessing gazes from colleagues on the same floor of the executive office, he walked straight ahead, carrying the two cups of coffee.
He might not know how to pretend to work, but pretending to be Bai He? That he could do. They were all little bees—close enough.
Someone subtly probed his background, wondering why he became the CEO’s assistant the moment he arrived. Must be because of his face.
Lian Qiao replied politely, “My previous job was at Lu Group.”
That person: “…Holy crap, Lu Group. Then it’s not strange.”
Even though he didn’t actually do anything all day, being in a place with such a strong “work atmosphere” was exhausting to think about.
Fortunately, it was Friday. Tomorrow was the weekend. To celebrate him and Xiang Jin getting paid, the local worker bees decided to get together—also serving as a belated welcome.
When Gu Yunlang got off work and heard the bad news that his wife was going on holiday, he finally remembered the contract he’d signed back then and wanted to chop off his own hand.
“Where are you going this weekend?”
Lian Qiao said, “A group of friends are getting together.”
Gu Yunlang asked, “Friends from the group chat?”
Lian Qiao said, “Yes. Don’t overthink it.”
Gu Yunlang held his bottom line. “You must come back tomorrow night. I’ll pick you up.”
Lian Qiao said, “That works.”
Gu Yunlang said, “Then tonight we—”
Lian Qiao hurriedly said, “I’ve already worked a day shift at the company today. I can’t work a night shift too.”
Work more during the day, and you had to work less at night—otherwise it violated industry regulations.
Gu Yunlang: “…” So taking him to work during the day meant no kissing or touching at night?
Fine. Since he was here with him anyway, slow simmering was the way to go. He’d endure it. Spending the whole day out together had already raised their level of intimacy by several degrees.
Gu Yunlang said, “You did very well at work today. Everyone thinks you’re very professional.”
At times, he truly felt like he’d hired a professional assistant. Suddenly, he could understand why Oldest Lu and Second Lu took his secretary everywhere. It was really… very satisfying.
Lian Qiao restrained the corners of his mouth. “Really?”
Gu Yunlang said, “Let’s have a glass of red wine to celebrate.”
Lian Qiao warned him, “I don’t drink alcohol.”
Gu Yunlang’s ulterior motives were blocked by a single sentence. He retreated a step and said, “I’ll drink red wine. You can have plum sparkling soda. It’s sweet.”
Lian Qiao said, “That works.”
Gu Yunlang said, “Sit. I’ll get the wine glasses.”
Gu Yunlang rummaged through the kitchen cabinet but couldn’t find the wine glasses. He clearly remembered putting them there. “Strange—where did they go?”
Lian Qiao leaned over. “Can’t find them? Let’s use bowls.”
Gu Yunlang said, “I’ll look again.” Wine needed atmosphere—you couldn’t use bowls.
Seeing how particular he was, Lian Qiao took out his phone and called one of the worker bees. “Hey, do you know where my boss’s wine glasses are?”
Gu Yunlang didn’t cook. How would he know where the tableware was? Better to ask the worker-bee brothers who actually cooked.
The person on the other end said they didn’t know—hadn’t seen them.
Crouching in front of the cabinet, Gu Yunlang: “…” Feeling humiliated.
He refused to believe it. “I’ll find them myself.”
Lian Qiao puffed out his cheeks. Finding them himself was tiring. Just call around—surely one brother would know.
“Hey, Brother Shaoyao, have you seen President Gu’s wine glasses?”
Gu Yunlang searched the house fiercely, determined to find the glasses before his love rivals.
Lian Qiao made four calls in a row. Finally, Forensic Fang told him that the wine glasses were in the storage basket on top of the fridge.
Fang Furong asked sharply, “Are you two drinking?”
Lian Qiao suddenly became like an elementary school student—even drinking plum soda felt like something he shouldn’t admit. “He’s drinking. I’m having a beverage.”
Fang Furong said, “Oh.” As long as it wasn’t both of them getting drunk.
Lian Qiao said to Gu Yunlang, “I found them!”
Gu Yunlang: “…” He lost—lost to his love rivals in his own home.
He stood up awkwardly. Damn it. His love rivals knew his house better than he did. No—his love rivals had even hidden his wine glasses!
Was this a normal “big brother”?!
…
Gu Yunlang: “Is this a normal big brother?!”
Lu Xiao replied calmly, “Yes. Closer than a real brother.”
Gu Yunlang: “……”
After Lian Qiao went out, he was so angry that he went to Lu Xiao to complain. He even ran into the equally aggrieved Fu Jin, which made him feel even more justified.
“Are you taking sides?” Gu Yunlang said. “He has seven of them!” What kind of real brother comes in sevens?!
Lu Xiao replied casually, “Seven? Seven is nothing. That’s actually few.”
