Chapter 16: Was I Being Petty?
Shen Chi had gone to work perfectly intact, but by the time he got off work, there was an extra circle of medical gauze around his neck.
He did not like being watched, so when it was time to leave work, he deliberately waited a little longer. Only after most people had left did he slowly rise and start packing up.
Because of his injury, his usually aloof appearance gained an added sense of fragility.
The system clicked its tongue repeatedly as it watched. No wonder the male lead gong had gone crazy.
[Human, although you got hurt, you gained the male lead gong’s trust.]
Shen Chi sneered. “How much is trust worth?”
What he needed most right now was money!
Carrying a whole body full of gloomy pressure, he picked up his briefcase and had just walked out of the office when a familiar voice sounded behind him.
“Secretary Shen.”
Shen Chi stopped. His slightly dispirited face once again raised a smile as he turned back. “President Lu.”
Lu Chenzhou looked at the fake smile on his face but did not expose it. He only said coldly, “Let’s go. I’ll send you home.”
This time, it was Shen Chi’s turn to be surprised.
He did not think the two of them were already familiar to this extent. Besides, the previous scene was still vivid in his mind. What if this guy went crazy again? Who would save him then?
“That’s not necessary. I can go home by myself.”
Lu Chenzhou lifted his thin eyelids and looked at Shen Chi’s soft lips opening and closing, saying only things he did not want to hear.
“Follow me.”
His arbitrary tone made Shen Chi choke. In the end, he resigned himself to fate and followed.
The underground parking lot.
Shen Chi looked at the empty driver’s seat and froze with his hand on the car door.
“President Lu, where’s the driver?”
Lu Chenzhou said, “The driver has something to do today. I’ll drive.”
Shen Chi dared even less to get in now.
If his boss was driving, should he sit in the passenger seat or the back seat?
The passenger seat was too ambiguous. That was where couples or friends sat. But the back seat was even more unthinkable. That would be treating his boss like a driver.
Seeing him not move for a long time, Lu Chenzhou simply walked over and opened the passenger door for him.
“Has Secretary Shen forgotten how to open a car door?”
Shen Chi stared at the open passenger seat, always feeling as though there were wolves and tigers inside. The moment he sat in, he would be swallowed whole.
“How about I just take a taxi home instead?” After saying that, he was about to turn and leave, but as soon as he moved, he nearly crashed into a wall of flesh.
Lu Chenzhou looked down at him from above, his expression slightly dark. “Is Secretary Shen afraid?”
From this angle, he could see Shen Chi’s fair neck perfectly. With the white gauze covering it, he began to wonder what kind of sight would be hidden beneath that obstructive strip of cloth.
Lu Chenzhou did not remember what had happened during his episode, but he remembered the delicious taste when he bit down, the satisfaction on his tongue…
The color in his eyes gradually deepened. Shen Chi did not raise his head, so he did not notice this subtle change.
He decided to give up struggling. “Yes, I’m afraid.”
His honesty instead made Lu Chenzhou raise a brow. “Afraid of what?” he asked. “Afraid your boyfriend will misunderstand?”
The sudden mention of “boyfriend” nearly made Shen Chi expose himself.
Lu Chenzhou continued in a cold voice, “I can explain to him for you. The injury on your neck counts as a workplace injury. The company will provide compensation.”
Shen Chi was now so poor he was almost living on instant noodles. The moment he heard “compensation,” his eyes lit up.
A glimmer of light jumped into his cool eyes as he looked at Lu Chenzhou like a little dog. In that moment, Lu Chenzhou felt as though he was his owner.
As his owner, how could he disappoint his little dog?
“Can you get in the car now?”
Shen Chi immediately changed from his earlier reluctance and smiled like a spring breeze. “Yes. Of course I’ll get in President Lu’s car.”
The car soon left the parking lot. Lu Chenzhou knew Shen Chi’s address, and along the way, neither of them spoke much.
Lu Chenzhou was not a talkative person. As for Shen Chi, he simply did not dare chat with him, afraid that he would ruin his image in front of him.
This silence, however, meant something else in Lu Chenzhou’s eyes.
He sneered inwardly. He was only a little secretary. Besides, the most important thing for him now was to find his little Omega.
He told himself that the reason he was sending Shen Chi home today was not really to send him home, but simply because he wanted to revisit the old place.
Most of the people living in this old residential area were tenants from other places, or elderly locals.
The population changed too quickly. It was very possible that someone might still be here today, only to move away tomorrow.
The fact that he still could not find the person made irritation rise in Lu Chenzhou’s heart. He had already taken a strong inhibitor today, so logically speaking, he did not need to smoke to suppress himself anymore, but he still could not resist lighting a cigarette.
Smoke curled through the air.
Shen Chi choked and could not help coughing once.
Lu Chenzhou’s hand holding the cigarette paused. Then he casually put it out. “Sorry. I forgot you were in the car.”
Shen Chi: …
“It’s fine.”
Without the cigarette in his mouth, Lu Chenzhou became somewhat unable to restrain himself, and his words also began to increase. “Did Secretary Shen live here before?”
Shen Chi said, “Not really. I used to live at school. I only moved here after graduation.”
Lu Chenzhou asked, “Did Secretary Shen meet your partner in university? Are you two living together now?”
Lu Chenzhou clearly knew that not long ago, his bodyguards had sneaked into Shen Chi’s home. Although they had not turned the place upside down, the home very clearly showed signs of only one person living there. Yet he still could not help himself.
On one hand, he told himself Shen Chi had a partner. On the other hand, he still could not control himself.
He had deliberately waited in the office until Shen Chi got off work before going over. He had also deliberately asked about Shen Chi and his partner. However, he disguised it very well. His cold appearance made it look like casual small talk, without the slightest sense of interrogation.
Shen Chi did not suspect him either. Instead, he felt a little guilty, because his partner was imaginary.
“Ah, not exactly. We…” He touched his nose, a small habit of his when lying, then covered it up with a smile. “We met online. We don’t live together.”
Shen Chi’s covering smile, in Lu Chenzhou’s eyes, was bright, beautiful, and painfully glaring.
Did he like his partner that much?
Just talking about them made him smile so happily.
“Secretary Shen, we’re here.”
The car had driven very smoothly. Aside from the sudden smell of smoke along the way, the ride had been very comfortable.
However, Shen Chi did not dare linger. The moment the car stopped, he immediately got out. “President Lu, be careful on the road.”
Lu Chenzhou did not start the car right away. His hand rested on the steering wheel. His fingers were long and well-defined, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged slightly. When he turned his gaze toward Shen Chi, his handsome face looked lazy with a hint of arrogance.
Seeing that he was not leaving, Shen Chi did not dare leave either. He only tilted his head. “President Lu?”
Lu Chenzhou stared at his neck. “You really don’t need me to explain to your partner?”
Shen Chi said, “There’s really no need. He’s not a petty person.”
His casual explanation sounded to Lu Chenzhou like mockery that he was petty.
His partner was not a petty person, so was he, Lu Chenzhou, the petty one?
Lu Chenzhou’s expression turned cold. He withdrew his gaze from Shen Chi. “You go back first. I still have something to do.”
Shen Chi knew that Lu Chenzhou had been beaten up by a little Omega in this area, so he did not dare ask too much.
“Alright, I’ll go first. Goodbye, President Lu”
