Chapter 9: Keep Him Close, Circle Him In!
Shen Chi wore a white suit. Its neat tailoring and smooth lines, together with his elegant and proper manners, made him look like a noble young master from high society.
Beside him, Ruan Shangxue wore a black V-neck gown. Her figure was graceful, her face was beautiful, and the two of them stood very close together, their movements intimate. They looked like a golden boy and jade girl, extremely well matched.
When Shen Chi was called out by name, his body stiffened slightly, but he soon calmed down again.
He had not done anything bad. What was there to feel guilty about?
Shen Chi turned around and saw Lu Chenzhou standing in the center of the banquet, surrounded by people. His sharp gaze passed straight through the crowd and landed directly on him.
That powerful aura made even Ruan Shangxue, who had previously been planning to go to the Lu Group to find him, feel a little timid now.
She subconsciously wanted to grab Shen Chi. “Secretary Shen.”
Fortunately, Shen Chi remembered Lu Chenzhou’s strange quirks and skillfully avoided her hand. However, in order not to embarrass Ruan Shangxue, he bent down slightly and made a listening gesture.
“Mm? What is it, Miss Ruan?”
Ruan Shangxue swallowed. Her full red lips parted slightly, and under the shifting lights of the banquet, she looked as though she were about to kiss Shen Chi’s cheek.
She asked, “Secretary Shen, if I secretly take you away, President Lu won’t get angry, right?”
Shen Chi said, “I got off work on time, so Miss Ruan doesn’t need to be nervous.” After saying that, he added with slight apology, “But now, I may have to go work overtime.”
How would Ruan Shangxue dare delay him? She hurriedly said, “Then go quickly.”
The two of them had actually only delayed for about a minute. Shen Chi soon arrived in front of Lu Chenzhou and greeted him obediently.
“President Lu.”
“Why didn’t Secretary Shen tell me that you also had a banquet to attend today?”
Lu Chenzhou’s voice was cold and deep, but this man usually spoke in this tone anyway. Shen Chi smiled on the surface while complaining madly in his heart.
He was just a worker, not someone sold to him. He was already off work. Did he have to report his movements twenty-four hours a day?
“It was a last-minute invitation. I only found out a few hours earlier than President Lu.” He completely failed to notice the tense atmosphere between them and continued speaking lightly. “President Lu, do you need me now?”
To be honest, Shen Chi felt the other party probably did not need him.
This guy still had two assistants following behind him. The assistants had been with him for much longer and were much more useful than a half-baked secretary like him.
Lu Chenzhou did not answer. Instead, he looked him over from head to toe. His gaze was extremely oppressive. If it had been anyone else, they would have lowered their head involuntarily long ago. Only Shen Chi could still keep his back straight and let him examine him.
In the end, Lu Chenzhou’s gaze stopped on his right cheek.
His eyes darkened. “Assistant Zhou, take Secretary Shen to change into another set of clothes.”
Thinking of his abnormal mysophobia, the corner of Shen Chi’s mouth twitched slightly.
He had stood quite close to Ruan Shangxue just now, so he might have picked up some pheromones, but was it really necessary to change clothes?
When under someone else’s roof, one had no choice but to lower one’s head.
Shen Chi followed Assistant Zhou to the lounge.
Very soon, Assistant Zhou brought over a brand-new suit. Without Lu Chenzhou around, the atmosphere between the two of them was not so tense.
“Secretary Shen, you’re really bold.” Assistant Zhou sighed with emotion. “You actually attended a banquet with someone else behind President Lu’s back.”
Speechless, Shen Chi took the clothes.
What did he mean, behind President Lu’s back? He was only his boss, not his husband.
“Can’t I attend one after getting off work?”
This question stumped Assistant Zhou. It was not that he could not attend. It was just that President Lu’s reaction earlier—outsiders might not see it, but as people by his side, Secretary Xu could notice the problem, and although Assistant Zhou, as a man, was not as delicate, he could also sense something.
“It’s not that you can’t attend.” He scratched his head. “It’s just… next time you want to attend one, you should tell President Lu.”
Shen Chi said, “Then if I get a girlfriend next time, do I have to report that too?”
Assistant Zhou froze.
This was a question he had never thought about. After a long while, he finally squeezed out one sentence. “How can a partner be more important than your career? Our President Lu may have a few more rules, but he also has a lot of money. Listen to my advice…”
Assistant Zhou looked honest and quiet, but in private, he was actually a chatterbox.
Shen Chi took the clothes and went into the inner room. But he never expected that when he opened the bag, aside from the suit, there was actually underwear inside!
This was way too ridiculous!
“Assistant Zhou.”
Although there was a door between them, Assistant Zhou still heard his voice.
“Secretary Shen, what’s wrong?”
Shen Chi was somewhat on the verge of collapse. “Why is there underwear inside the suit?”
Assistant Zhou said, “Oh, President Lu instructed it. Secretary Shen, have you changed out of your clothes? If you have, give them to me.”
Shen Chi went crazy. “Why would I give them to you?”
Assistant Zhou said, “To throw them away, of course.”
The suit Ruan Shangxue had given him was already high luxury level, but the suit Lu Chenzhou had casually sent over was custom-made, a tier even higher than high luxury. Shen Chi had only just arrived in this world and did not know these things, but the system could not help letting out a wow.
[Just throw it away. The suit Lu Chenzhou gave you could buy ten sets of the one you’re wearing.]
Shen Chi: ?
He would fight those damn rich people to the death!
In the end, Shen Chi still changed out of all his clothes in humiliation. He walked out the door looking utterly lifeless, while Assistant Zhou remained cheerful.
Originally, he thought this was about enough.
But when he and Assistant Zhou returned to the banquet, Lu Chenzhou took a handkerchief from his body.
“Secretary Shen, when you changed clothes, did you only look at the clothes and not your own face?”
The handkerchief was tossed into his arms, and Shen Chi looked confused.
Lu Chenzhou said, “There’s dust on your right cheek.”
Shen Chi subconsciously apologized and hurriedly wiped it with the handkerchief. However, the system saw it clearly. Its Little Chi’s face was obviously perfectly clean!
Bullying!
This was workplace bullying!
But seeing that its Little Chi had not noticed, the system wanted to speak several times, but in the end, it held back.
Forget it. Even if it said something, Little Chi could only sulk and would not be able to resist.
“President Lu, is there anything else?” After Shen Chi finished wiping, he thought of the other party’s mysophobia setting and stuffed the handkerchief into his own pocket.
As a result, he saw Lu Chenzhou staring at his hand with a faint smile that was not quite a smile.
“Secretary Shen, you’re wearing my clothes, and now you want to take my handkerchief too?”
Shen Chi immediately felt wronged. “No, isn’t it dirty now? I was thinking of taking it back and washing it.”
Lu Chenzhou chuckled softly. He took the handkerchief from Shen Chi’s hand himself and said lightly, “No need. There are servants at home. They’ll wash it.”
The banquet continued.
Earlier, when he had been with Ruan Shangxue, only the few people in that small clique had released malice toward him. No one else had paid attention to Shen Chi. Unlike now, Shen Chi had the illusion that everyone was watching him.
“System, is this what it feels like to be the chief eunuch beside the emperor?”
This precise self-positioning made the system laugh itself rich. [If you’re the chief eunuch, then what am I?]
Shen Chi said, “Eunuch System.”
System: …
Damn!
Shen Chi had never served Lu Chenzhou before, nor did he know how Secretary Xu used to do it. But now…
Lu Chenzhou said, “Secretary Shen, wine.”
Shen Chi handed over the wine glass in his hand.
Lu Chenzhou said, “Secretary Shen, fruit.”
Shen Chi went to the fruit area and specifically picked some of the fruits the information said Lu Chenzhou liked, then brought them over.
The fruit had all been washed and cut. He placed them neatly on a plate and even thoughtfully inserted a few picks.
Shen Chi felt that serving him to this extent was already more than enough bootlicking, but Lu Chenzhou merely glanced at the fruit plate in his hand and showed no intention of taking it.
Shen Chi: ?
No way. Did he still have to feed him?
With this unbelievable micro-expression, Shen Chi hesitated for one second before resigning himself to fate. He picked up a fruit pick and chose a piece of seedless watermelon before handing it over.
Beneath the red watermelon flesh was a pair of porcelain-white, slender hands. The fingers were rounded, and the joints carried a healthy pink color.
Shen Chi knew nothing at all. He held the pick and handed the watermelon over. At first, he thought the other party would take it by hand. But then he saw Lu Chenzhou lower his head…
At that moment, his pupils trembled.
No, if you’re going to eat it, then eat it. Why are you taking it with your mouth?!
Shen Chi was so startled that his hand shrank back. As a straight man, he had already collapsed enough after finding out this world had six genders. If Lu Chenzhou were a woman, even a female Alpha, he would not have been this shocked while feeding her. But he was a male Alpha, an S-rank male Alpha at that!
The watermelon shifted a little. Shen Chi’s heart leapt into his throat, fearing that he would once again be scolded by this fussy, troublesome dog of a male lead. Fortunately, in the end, although the other party lowered his head, he still took the watermelon with his hand.
Shen Chi inexplicably broke out in a cold sweat and also ignored the fact that the other party’s fingertips had brushed against his hand when taking the watermelon.
Such a subtle touch went unnoticed by Shen Chi at this moment. He only felt his whole body relax and let out a long breath of relief.
The system, however, noticed Lu Chenzhou’s slightly moving Adam’s apple and clicked its tongue in disgust.
He was already this thirsty. Didn’t he have hands? He was even using watermelon to bully its host!
One person and one system, one in last place and the other in second-to-last place, were both so slow that they failed to notice the problem. Instead, the sharp people around Lu Chenzhou all looked at their noses, their noses at their mouths, and their mouths at their hearts.
“President Lu, I don’t recall ever seeing this Secretary Shen before. Since he could make President Lu hire him, Secretary Shen must have something extraordinary about him.”
Shen Chi was not the only man by Lu Chenzhou’s side. Aside from him, there were also two other assistants. However, compared with Shen Chi at this moment, the other two were like bodyguards standing guard. They only needed to stand behind Lu Chenzhou and did not need to help him do anything.
After eating the watermelon, Lu Chenzhou did not pay attention to the person beside him. Instead, he said indifferently to Shen Chi, “Hand.”
Shen Chi subconsciously reached his hand over. Then, a watermelon pick appeared in his palm.
Shen Chi: …
Damn it!
He even had to throw away the pick for him?
“President Lu, would you like more?” Shen Chi asked with a smile that did not reach his eyes.
An extremely faint smile flashed through Lu Chenzhou’s deep eyes. His gaze seemed to sweep unintentionally over his own fingertips. The “accidental” touch just now still left a tingling sensation even now.
This unprecedented pleasant experience almost made him lose control and reach out again.
However…
Lu Chenzhou glanced at the little secretary who was about to explode like an angry cat. Knowing that if he teased him any further, he would probably get angry, he said, “The taste is average. Secretary Shen, you eat it.”
His voice was low, deep, and cold. On the surface, Shen Chi did not seem special in any way, but everyone around Lu Chenzhou knew that at past banquets and drinking events, who would dare openly eat in front of the boss?
But Shen Chi was different.
Not only did he eat, he finished it all.
Lu Chenzhou chatted casually with the people beside him for a few sentences. When he turned back and looked at Shen Chi’s fluffy head, he suppressed the slight curve of his lips.
“Secretary Shen, is it good?”
