Has the Boss Bost His Temper Today? - Chapter 5

“Come to my office after the meeting…”

“Shi-ming.”

Duan Shiming had just finished organizing the group emails. He looked up from the crystal screen. “Oh, hey, Sister Xin Lei.”

“There’s an emergency. I have to rush to the factory to find President Yan right now. In a little while, could you go to his desk and water his succulents? Just a small amount of water will do. The tools are in the small cabinet next to the coffee machine on the left side of the pantry.” Xin Lei took a bag of cheese cakes from her drawer, handed them to him with both hands, and smiled. “Sorry to trouble you.”

Duan Shiming accepted them with both hands and nodded. “Sure thing, no problem.”

Haha! More snacks! At home, I’m barely allowed to eat like this, but here, the supply is endless!

At 3:00 PM, the CEO’s office was empty. The air was filled with a faint, almost intoxicating floral fragrance.

As soon as Duan Shiming entered the office, his nose twitched, and his eyes shimmered.

It smelled amazing!

What an addictive scent!

He looked around hesitantly but couldn’t find the source of the smell. He eventually walked over to the desk and leaned down to look at the small pot of succulents sitting next to the nameplate.

The leaves of this succulent were very plump. The patterns on the petals looked a bit like tiger stripes, with a circle of black edging the borders.

“Why keep it if it’s already dying?”

Duan Shiming muttered to himself as he went to grab the tools.

He filled a small spray bottle with some water and walked back to the desk with the pruning tools. He pulled out the small scissors, intending to trim the black edges of the succulent, but then paused. He decided to take out his phone and search for the proper way to prune them.

Succulent Black Rot:

Decisively ‘behead’ the plant or cut the leaves, disinfect it, let the roots dry, and change the soil.

Duan Shiming held the small scissors, stunned. “…”

This sounded way too difficult. If I ruin it, I’ll have to pay for it. Forget it.

He carefully trimmed just a tiny bit of the blackened edges of the petals. As for “beheading and cutting leaves,” he wasn’t touching that. After finishing the trim, he gave the succulent a final misting of water.

“Done!”

Duan Shiming packed up the items, cleaned the desk, put the tools back where they belonged, and finally placed the succulent pot back at the exact same angle it was before. His task as the “secretary-gardener” complete, he went back to continue his life as a corporate slave.

He felt like he had already adapted to the rhythm here. Perfect integration!

Two hours later.

“Duan Shiming!”

Duan Shiming, who had just finished organizing the group emails, jolted in fear. He looked up to see Chu Yanzhou standing at the doorway. His face was dark, looking as if he wanted to eat him alive.

What happened now?

Chu Yanzhou looked at the troublemaker peeking out from the workstation and said coldly, “Get over here.”

Duan Shiming: “…?”

Why is this boss angry all day long!

A moment later, the door to the CEO’s office was carefully closed.

Chu Yanzhou stood by the desk, pointing at his now-pitted succulent darling. “You did this?”

Duan Shiming poked his head over for a look. “Oh, yeah.”

Chu Yanzhou’s voice was tight with coldness. “Who told you to trim it?”

Duan Shiming pointed to the edges of the succulent petals. “I saw the edges were black and damaged, so I trimmed them.”

“It wasn’t damaged.” Chu Yanzhou barked, rapping his knuckles hard against the desk, his gaze sharp and scolding. “It’s supposed to look like that! Why on earth would you cut it!!”

Duan Shiming looked incredulous at being yelled at, his temper flaring instantly. “Hey, big brother, it’s because you didn’t give clear instructions, okay?”

Seeing that he dared to talk back, Chu Yanzhou said coldly, “Think carefully before you speak.”

Just as the words left his mouth, there was a loud “thud”—a hand slammed angrily onto the desk.

Chu Yanzhou: “?” He actually dares to throw a tantrum?

Duan Shiming glared at Chu Yanzhou. “Then why didn’t you take care of it yourself? Since this succulent is so important to you, how could you easily hand it over to someone unfamiliar? You didn’t say how to take care of it beforehand, so how was I supposed to know? I take care of it and you say I did a bad job, you have something to say about everything! Just fine me then.”

Chu Yanzhou pressed his palms against the edge of the desk and leaned down slightly toward him. “Did I not tell you yesterday about the attitude you should have when facing your superior?”

The height difference meant that even leaning down only slightly created an intense pressure. The cold, heavy aura of a high-ranking Alpha loomed over him, and warm breath brushed past his ear.

A gentle floral scent drifted down, making one feel drowsy.

Duan Shiming’s body went numb. His nose twitched as he raised his hand to cover his ear, taking half a step back. His expression showed no sign of backing down, and his tone remained stubborn. “I’m just stating facts! It’s not like I did it on purpose!”

Was the smell he was catching perfume?

Is this Alpha so flamboyant that he uses floral-scented perfume?

“I am the leader, I make the arrangements, and you only need to execute them.” Chu Yanzhou, seeing that he dared to back away and cover his ears, felt his suppressed anger nearly explode at the provocation. “Put your hands down and stand up straight!”

How could a secretary be harder to manage than his beagle at home? At least when the dog was disobedient, he could pinch its muzzle or flick its nose. This person, however, had only been on the job for two days and was already a rebel through and through.

He had already overlooked the “special forces” routine from the morning, and now this happens in the afternoon.

This pot of succulents cost millions!

Duan Shiming lowered his eyes and remained silent, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Seeing him stiff-necked and refusing to yield, fuming with indignation, Chu Yanzhou sat back in his leather chair, legs crossed and hands clasped. “Watch fewer of those mindless ‘reforming the workplace’ videos. Maybe then you’ll be able to slack off for a couple of days while getting paid, which would be much better than talking back to me like this.”

“Don’t think I don’t know how you got in here. I don’t care which executive you’re related to, if you have the ability, you stay; if not, get out.”

Duan Shiming’s eyes widened. “I got in through my own hard work, okay!”

“I don’t want to hear any excuses. A mistake is a mistake. Don’t touch my succulents again.” Chu Yanzhou picked up a file from the desk. “Get out.”

Without a word, Duan Shiming turned and left.

“When are you giving me the H-City itinerary?” Chu Yanzhou frowned, seeing that the fellow dared to walk away without a shred of guilt.

Duan Shiming opened the office door and said coldly without looking back, “I only have two hands, and I have a lot of things to finish. Just wait.”

With a loud “bang,” the door was slammed in a small fit of vengeful rage.

Chu Yanzhou’s face turned grim. He even dares to lose his temper with me?

Looking at his million-dollar succulent trimmed into such a state, he felt a stab in his heart. His expression was as dark as storm clouds.

Fine. He would see just what kind of “ability” this guy had to stay.

Duan Shiming walked back to his workstation with a blank face.

Xin Lei, sitting nearby, turned around. Seeing Duan Shiming sit down like a little ticking time bomb, she asked gently, “What’s wrong, Xiao Duan?”

“Don’t ask me to take care of President Yan’s succulents ever again. I ruined them by trimming them.” Duan Shiming turned on his computer screen and split the display to start his work for the day.

Xin Lei: “!!” She looked at him in disbelief. “…You… you trimmed President Yan’s succulent? Did he scold you?”

“Mm.” Duan Shiming typed the itinerary, his expression serious. The more he was criticized, the more annoyed he felt, and the more determined he became to do it perfectly.

Xin Lei immediately felt regretful. “I’m so sorry, Xiao Duan. If I had known, I wouldn’t have asked you. It’s my fault for not being more specific.”

“It’s okay. It’s just being yelled at. As long as he doesn’t make me pay for it, it’s fine.”

Half an hour later.

“Sister Xin Lei, I’ve sent the itinerary to you. Take a look.” Duan Shiming typed the final character and clicked send.

Xin Lei was quite surprised when she heard him. “So fast? Okay, let me check it now.”

As soon as she opened the file, she saw that the private club President Yan liked most had actually been booked?!

“Xiao Duan, you managed to book that club?”

Duan Shiming leaned back against his workstation partition, his chin resting lazily on the frosted divider, and let out a long yawn. “Yeah, they said a room just happened to be available.”

The club was indeed fully booked, but a private room was always reserved for family members.

Anyway, no one was using it.

The desk was by the window, with the shade halfway down. Sunlight tilted in from below, falling onto Duan Shiming.

The way he lounged there was lazy, his eyelashes casting small shadows under his eyes. He looked like a cat basking in the sun, eyes narrowed comfortably.

“So I booked it.”

Seeing him looking sleepy yet still staring at her with those bright, moist eyes, Xin Lei cleared her throat and reminded him softly, “Don’t fall asleep. There are cameras, President Yan will see.”

“Oh.” Duan Shiming sat up properly.

Xin Lei went back to reviewing the itinerary. “Hmm, everything seems fine. You can upload it to the OA system now, then print out a hard copy for President Yan to review.”

Printing again!

Duan Shiming set the file to print mode. As he waited for the printer, he grumbled internally. This Alpha is like an antique; he’s still using work methods from the last century.

Not smart at all!

Not eco-friendly at all!

He took the printed itinerary and walked to the CEO’s office.

Knock, knock—

“President Yan, the itinerary is ready.”

“Come in.”

Duan Shiming pushed the door open but paused for a second.

He actually looks like a decent person when he wears glasses.

Chu Yanzhou didn’t look up. He closed the real-time surveillance feed and flipped through some files. “Speak.”

Duan Shiming: “I’ve finished the itinerary. Please have a look.”

“Bring it here,” Chu Yanzhou said.

Duan Shiming walked over, handed the itinerary to Chu Yanzhou, and stood beside him to wait for a response.

By some unspoken agreement, neither mentioned the succulent incident, sparing themselves from reigniting the conflict.

Chu Yanzhou picked up the itinerary and skimmed through it. There was nothing to complain about; he couldn’t find a single flaw to nitpick. When he saw the name of the familiar club, his gaze paused for a moment.

He looked sideways at Duan Shiming. “The club, you booked it?”

“Mm,” Duan Shiming replied.

“That club is very hard to book.”

Duan Shiming said nonchalantly, “I didn’t know that. I just booked it and got it.”

Chu Yanzhou gave him another look.

Duan Shiming put on a professionally perfunctory smile. “I heard from Sister Xin Lei that you couldn’t get a booking, President Yan. We were really lucky this time.”

Chu Yanzhou put down the itinerary. “It’s not that I couldn’t get it, it just usually requires booking a month in advance.”

“Then I must be very lucky to get it right away,” Duan Shiming smiled.

Chu Yanzhou saw his bright smile and that stubborn “little ox” energy, but he couldn’t deny that the arrangements were well-handled. “The itinerary is fine. Execute it.”

Duan Shiming placed his hands in front of his waist and gave a deep, mocking bow. “Alrighty then, I’ll get right on it.”

With that, he backstepped out of the office in small increments, facing his boss the whole time.

Chu Yanzhou took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. “…”

Just looking at Duan Shiming gave him a headache.

First impressions really are important.

He picked up the itinerary again. The content was very detailed, especially the dining section. It even went as far as including photos of each dish and notes on what certain clients couldn’t eat.

He had only started yesterday and had no relevant experience, yet he could pick up itinerary planning so quickly. His learning ability was strong, but that temper still needed to be tempered.

Chu Yanzhou caught a hint of the lingering citrus and lime pheromones in the air and felt his mood lighten slightly. The pheromones of a Class-A Beta were good for that much, at least.

At that moment, his phone screen lit up, showing four photos and several messages.

The photos were taken from a hidden angle in dim lighting, mostly in highly private clubs or hotel parking lots. However, the facial features of the subject were still clearly visible.

It was his nominal fiancé, an Omega, caught in intimate poses with different men.

He met with three other Alphas last Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Chu Yanzhou’s expression remained cold, as if it had nothing to do with him. He replied to the message and turned off the screen. He then lightly touched a function key on the smart console. The words Meeting in half an hour appeared as he stood up to leave the office.

There were still three months left before the fake engagement agreement expired. That was too long.

He naturally had to find a way to end the agreement sooner.

Continue gathering evidence.

Chu Yanzhou walked a few steps, then turned back to his desk. He touched the voice function on the smart console and spoke into the microphone icon, which was glowing with a faint blue light. “Please have Secretary Duan print out the execution checklist for this quarter’s new drug R&D progress. Now.”

“Print, print, print. It’s always printing!”

Duan Shiming had just sat down when his smart console’s voice icon lit up with Chu Yanzhou’s voice.

He grabbed the edge of the desk and stood up again in frustration. He was just in the office! Why couldn’t he say everything at once!

“Sister Xin Lei, what is the ‘new drug R&D progress’?”

“I’ll send the encrypted file to you. Print it first,” Xin Lei said. “It’s the pheromone guider project from the Galaxy Research Institute. This confidential data isn’t shared on the general server.”

Duan Shiming: “?”

Wait?

“Under which group?”

“You didn’t know? The famous, century-old Chu-Luo Group. Our company is a second-tier subsidiary under the Chu-Luo Group, specifically responsible for drug packaging, R&D, and pharmaceutical operations. We’ve been following the guider tablet project lately. Next month’s Biotech Research Conference is also related to the new drug. Many industry giants will be there, so you should study hard.”

Duan Shiming froze. “Our company… belongs to the Chu-Luo Group?”

Xin Lei nodded. “Yeah.”

Duan Shiming: “…”

Wait, did he just end up working at his own family’s company?

Then what was the point of him working so hard on his resume? He must have gotten in on his own merit… right? And what Chu Yanzhou said about being a “connected hire”…?

“You’ll be in charge of taking meeting minutes later. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask me after the meeting.” Seeing Duan Shiming looking dazed, Xin Lei assumed he was nervous about next Tuesday’s meeting and smiled. “Don’t be too nervous, it’s a great learning opportunity.”

Duan Shiming gave a dry laugh. “Okay.”

Secretary Duan, is the printing done?

Hearing Chu Yanzhou’s voice from the console, Duan Shiming could only start printing with an annoyed huff.

Fine. So Chu Yanzhou is an employee of his family. That makes things much easier! He was going to go file a complaint!

Secretary Duan, make me another cup of coffee, thank you.

Duan Shiming had just finished printing ten copies of all the necessary materials when he received another instruction from the “Antique.” He looked at Xin Lei. “Sister Xin Lei, what kind of coffee does the Old Gu—I mean, President Yan, like?”

“Hot Americano, no sugar, no milk,” Xin Lei said.

Duan Shiming picked up the printed materials. “Okay, I’ll go put the materials in the meeting room first.” He finished and walked out of the secretary’s office with heavy steps.

Hot Americano, huh? Sugar! And milk!!!

Ying Feng leaned back and watched that spirited figure, couldn’t help but remark, “It’s good to be young. So much energy, so much vitality.”

The corridor was quiet. As he approached the pantry, he could vaguely hear muttering from inside.

A tall figure stopped in his tracks, leaning against the doorframe.

“Targeting me, he definitely looks down on me!”

“I admit the car scratching was my clumsiness, it’s definitely my fault, but I never tried to run away from it. I even offered to pay.”

“And renting a room from this Antique and having to walk his dog… but it does reduce my rent pressure, so I’ll let that slide.”

“But his work attitude is just a bit too much.”

“I’m a newcomer after all, it’s normal not to know things, but I’m a hard worker!”

As Duan Shiming spoke, his hand slipped, and he added two more spoonfuls of sugar. “Oops, that wasn’t on purpose. My hands are just sore from walking the dog.” After saying that, he poured in half a cup of milk.

To someone who absolutely hated sweets, this was a lethal dose of sugar.

“Sweeten you to death!”

Duan Shiming picked up this custom “super-sweet” Americano, admired it with satisfaction, nodded, and turned around.

The next second, the glass door made a soft “click.”

He saw Chu Yanzhou leaning against the doorframe.

Duan Shiming visibly shuddered. His hand holding the coffee cup froze in mid-air, the liquid sliding down the side of the cup in a messy streak. His round eyes were still filled with a smugness he hadn’t managed to hide yet, which was now being overtaken by guilt.

His expression was a perfect match for a puppy that had just torn up the house.

“My Americano?” Chu Yanzhou asked, tilting his chin slightly.

Duan Shiming: “= (“

Crap, when did this guy show up? Did he see? Did he hear?

Chu Yanzhou stared at those two large eyes filled with guilt and embarrassment. He took a half-step forward, his shadow completely enveloping the other’s stiff body. He reached out his hand, intentionally going to take it.

To his surprise, Duan Shiming gulped down the special-blend Americano in one go.

“Hah”

It was the sound of someone finishing a drink with gusto.

Chu Yanzhou’s hand stopped in mid-air. His gaze landed on the face in front of him, moved downward, and finally stopped on the moisture clinging to the edge of his lips.

“This cup is mine.” Duan Shiming laughed nervously. He shielded the cup and turned around. “I’m a bit sleepy, so I drank a cup to perk up. I’ll make yours right now, President Yan. Hot, no sugar, no milk, right?”

As soon as he turned around, he stuck out his tongue in disgust. It was way too sweet; he really brought this on himself.

He was completely unaware of the person watching from behind.

An Americano was simple enough, just an extraction. It was ready in a few minutes.

Duan Shiming poured the extract into a cup and added the right amount of warm water. He picked up the cup, turned around, and handed it to Chu Yanzhou. “Here, drink up.”

Chu Yanzhou took it and took a small sip. The hand holding the cup paused, and his expression shifted slightly.

“I didn’t put any sugar or milk,” Duan Shiming quickly explained. “You saw it yourself just now.”

Chu Yanzhou finished it in one gulp, then handed the cup back to Duan Shiming. “From now on, you’ll be the one making my coffee.”

The capitalist’s tone was as steady as ever.

Duan Shiming: So annoying!

Meanwhile, in the large meeting room.

The secretary’s meeting was held every Tuesday morning. Its main purpose was to work with senior management to provide solutions for specific topics, determine the priority of documents for the CEO’s signature, and plan the work for the following week.

“Next Tuesday’s Biotech Conference will mainly follow up on the clinical results of the guider tablets…”

Duan Shiming was very focused at first, but as time went on, he really started to feel drowsy. It was like a lullaby. This job was great; it actually made a chronic insomniac like him feel sleepy.

Since there weren’t many people in the meeting, his nodding off while propping up his head was particularly obvious.

He was immediately locked onto by the leader.

Xin Lei noticed it too and quickly nudged the dozing Duan Shiming under the table, whispering, “Xiao Duan, Xiao Duan, wake up.”

“Mmm, delicious…?” Duan Shiming woke up with a start. When he looked up, he happened to lock eyes with a pair of deep, intense eyes.

The silence in the room was deafening.

“Secretary Duan, is the meeting that boring?”

Duan Shiming laughed guiltily and gripped the edge of the table. “…Um, I’m not feeling well.”

“The meeting content makes you nauseous?”

Duan Shiming: Dammit. He forced a fake smile. “It was like a sudden enlightenment, truly eye-opening.”

“The company cares deeply about its employees. Would you like us to set up a bed for you here?” Chu Yanzhou leaned back in his chair, his gaze landing on those two ears that had turned red from sleep.

Duan Shiming: “No need, that’s far too kind.”

Chu Yanzhou: “Come to my office after the meeting.”

Duan Shiming: “Oh.”