Has the Boss Bost His Temper Today? - Chapter 7

“Duan Shiming, as a secretary, you really…”

When CEO Yan returned from his “special forces style” business trip, the entire secretary’s office went silent.

The usually unshakeable morning meeting was canceled because the leader was too exhausted to speak to anyone, locking himself in his office to find some peace.

Ying Feng and Xin Lei, who had accompanied Chu Yanzhou on the trip, had plenty to say. The moment they stepped off the plane and returned to the office, they collapsed into their chairs. Simultaneously, they turned to look at Duan Shiming, who was sitting nearby.

With haggard faces, they both gave him a weary thumbs-up.

Duan Shiming blinked. “?”

Ying Feng sat up, rubbing his tired face and feeling the rough stubble on his chin. He looked at Duan Shiming and laughed. “I’ve never seen President Yan so quiet. This is the first time someone has actually managed to wear him out.”

Xin Lei didn’t care about her professional image anymore and had already kicked off her high heels. She remarked, “Only you could make President Yan go completely silent from exhaustion.”

“I never thought I’d see the day where President Yan is eating steamed buns at the airport because there wasn’t even enough time to sit down for a bowl of noodles.”

“He’s such a tall guy, and those economy class seats are so cramped. His legs were squeezed in, and he had to sit all hunched up.”

The other secretaries couldn’t help but gather around to listen to the gossip.

Ying Feng shook his head helplessly. “Shiming, for the sake of us being colleagues, please show some mercy next time.”

Duan Shiming replied coolly, “Don’t worry, next time I’ll put you guys in business class. But President Yan’s time is precious, so as his secretary, shouldn’t I arrange his schedule to be seamless and airtight?”

If they wanted him to arrange the travel, they’d better not make him angry. Otherwise, every trip would be a “special forces” survival mission.

Chu Yanzhou had to admit, this guy was not to be trifled with. If pushed, he would arrange a grueling, back-to-back travel itinerary.

However, his ability exceeded expectations. Over the past two weeks, every task handed to him was completed with high quality and efficiency.

He was smart, yes, but he also had a huge temper. He was stubborn, pedantic, and constantly talked back. His “reverse PUA” skills were practically a mastered art form.

During the day, he went head-to-head with Chu Yanzhou.

“Secretary Duan, come to my office for a moment.”

“So sorry, President Yan, I have an urgent itinerary to organize. If it’s not pressing, please wait. If it is urgent, I’ll just have to make your next schedule even tighter.”

“Secretary Duan, stay for a half-hour meeting tonight.”

“Why wasn’t this meeting held during work hours? President Yan, is your efficiency a bit low? Do you really need all of us to stay late and rush the project with you?”

“It’s just one hour, and there’s overtime pay.”

“No, President Yan, it’s not about the money. You need to reflect on yourself.”

“Other companies are moving to four-day or even three-day work weeks and still running efficiently. We only have a standard two-day weekend, and you want us to meet after hours? You really need to think about your management style.”

At night, he even instigated Cullinan (the dog) to go against him.

“Look at your dad. Not only does he skip your walks, but he also straps you to a treadmill just because I was away for two days. That’s just too much!”

“Woof! Woof!”

“Look at me. If I hadn’t come along, would you have learned so many tricks? Look, I tell you to sit, you sit. I tell you to run, you run. I call, you come, and I even give you snacks. Isn’t Big Brother the best?”

“Woof woof woof!”

“Don’t be so well-behaved at home. Don’t be afraid of your dad! Tear the house down! Rebel!”

“Woof woof woof woof!”

Sitting on the living room sofa, Chu Yanzhou slowly looked up from his tablet. He glanced sideways at the human and the dog crouching by the door, whose friendship seemed to be growing alarmingly strong.

“Could you at least try not to say those things right in front of me?”

Duan Shiming stroked Cullinan’s head. “The contract doesn’t say I can’t say unpleasant things in front of my employer. Right, Nannan?”

Cullinan looked up and let out a heavenly howl, “Werwer!”

Chu Yanzhou, “…”

He never doubted his own judgment, but he started to wonder if society had conditioned people to be so obedient that he had simply grown used to subordinates following every whim.

Meeting Duan Shiming made him realize he was part of that conditioned group. Subconsciously, he felt a subordinate should listen, rather than argue back as logically as Duan Shiming did.

In fact, Duan Shiming didn’t seem to be wrong.

He put down his tablet, stood up, and walked toward the door.

At the entrance, the shadows of the two crouching figures merged. The only sounds were the soft friction of a wet wipe and the competitive warmth in the air, mixed with the unmistakable scent of a Class-A Beta’s pheromones.

“Shiming.”

“What?”

Chu Yanzhou crouched down beside him, looking at the hand wiping the puppy’s paws. It was fair and slender, such a pretty hand, yet it was so bold in its actions. “Can the flight for next week’s business trip not be so early?”

It was either 5 or 6 AM, or 9 or 10 PM. The schedule was suffocating.

“Or at least book me business class. The economy seats are a bit tight.”

He could endure the timing, but the size of economy seats was limited. His legs couldn’t stretch out at all, making him look quite disheveled.

Duan Shiming kept his eyes down, carefully cleaning Cullinan’s paws.

The warm light from above fell across his handsome profile, casting a soft shadow that highlighted the bridge of his nose. His cheeks were flushed pink from the walk, making him look surprisingly sweet and obedient.

He didn’t look like a secretary who would intentionally make things difficult for his boss.

Chu Yanzhou looked at him. “Is that possible?”

Duan Shiming tossed the used wipe into the trash can. The corners of his eyes tilted up slightly, and a mischievous, knowing smile played on his lips. “Why don’t you beg me?”

In the blink of an eye, it was the weekend again.

On a midsummer night filled with the sound of cicadas, Cullinan walked obediently by Duan Shiming’s side. Lately, the dog had rarely tried to bolt or rummage through trash cans.

“Hey, this is much better.”

“Our Cullinan is so good, right?”

“No barking, no fussing, and so cute with those big floppy ears. You look like a little lucky doll.”

Duan Shiming chatted with the dog while simultaneously talking on the phone with his family.

“I’m not coming home this weekend.”

His father’s stern voice came through the earphone, “Not coming back? Don’t you know your dad misses you!”

Startled by the volume, Duan Shiming took off the earphone and let it hang around his neck. “I was home last week.”

Going home was actually a bit terrifying. He had no siblings and was the only child of his generation. His uncles were all single, with no partners or children, so all their energy outside of work was focused on him.

It was essentially like having six fathers. Imagine how scary that is.

“What kind of job keeps you from coming home? No, just quit.”

Duan Shiming sighed. Other big families demanded their children be ambitious and inherit the business, but his father’s expectations were incredibly low. “I can’t just lie around. If something happens to the family and there’s a struggle for assets, with my current lack of experience, I’d only be able to win a bowl of porridge.”

He had to at least aim to be a CEO himself one day. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing.

“The things your great-grandfather and grandfathers left you couldn’t be thrown away even if you tried, let alone spent. That’s not something you should worry about. Besides, your four uncles haven’t even married yet. It’s not your turn to work hard, little guy.”

Duan Shiming scratched his head. “Then what should I worry about?”

“You only need to think about what to eat today, what to buy, how to be the happiest and most comfortable, or where to go for fun. That’s enough.”

Duan Shiming was helpless. See? The fact that he was so motivated was only because he had gained self-awareness early.

“Dad, why don’t you and Papa have another kid?”

“Impossible. You alone are enough for us to worry about.”

Duan Shiming clicked his tongue. “Why am I a worry? You raised someone who is rational, clear-headed, and motivated! Besides, I really like this job. It gives me a goal and a plan!”

“Your second uncle told me. He said our Little Prince is out on an ‘incognito inspection.’ Are you used to it? Is anyone bullying you?”

Duan Shiming thought, I knew it. He hummed, “So you already knew the company I interviewed for belongs to the family.”

“We didn’t know right away. Your second uncle told us. He found out first, and I was the second to know.”

Duan Shiming listened to his father passing the buck. Seeing Cullinan eyeing a trash can again, he tugged the leash. “I’m the Prince on an incognito tour, who would dare bully me? No one. It’s actually quite fun.”

The voice on the phone continued, “We know you don’t want to stay at home, but we at least need to know where you are. You only recently recovered, and with that chip, how can we be at ease?”

Duan Shiming listened to the nagging, his lips moving in sync with the words he had heard a thousand times. Don’t eat sweets or you’ll get an allergy, and so on. He had it all memorized.

He hung up to focus on the dog. Just as he put his earphones back on, Cullinan suddenly got excited and bolted forward.

“Awoooo!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

Duan Shiming quickly wrapped the leash around his wrist. The sudden jerk nearly pulled him over, and he was dragged several steps, stumbling.

He managed to steady himself, gripped the leash tight, and barked out a command, “Cullinan!”

Cullinan stopped abruptly, turning his head guiltily to look at Duan Shiming with innocent eyes, wagging his tail in an attempt to play it off.

“I’ve been teaching you for so long and you still forget! You can’t bolt when we’re out!”

Duan Shiming panted, crouching down in front of the dog and poking his head with a finger. “What if we were on a main road and you ran out and got hit by a car? You’d be sent flying, or squashed, or turned into a pancake!”

“Aw?” Cullinan tilted his head.

“Then your dad would cry!”

Regardless of whether the dog understood, Duan Shiming kept lecturing.

Under the streetlamp, his thin shadow stretched out, and a taller shadow silently merged into it without him noticing.

The young man was crouching, holding the Beagle’s chubby face. The dog’s ears were like soft cookies, flapping with every word of the lecture.

“Do you understand? Are you going to bolt again”

Duan Shiming’s hand was still on the dog’s wet nose when his lecture ended in a gasp. Cullinan lunged again.

Caught off guard, he started to fall forward.

Suddenly, a large, well-defined hand reached out from behind and caught him.

A solid arm wrapped around him, lifting him off the ground and grabbing the erratic leash along with him. It was the only thing that kept him from eating dirt.

Unsteady, Duan Shiming stumbled back into a firm chest. A faint, intoxicating scent surrounded him, making his eyes shimmer.

It was that scent again! That floral scent that helped him sleep so well!

Chu Yanzhou had a chest full of citrus and lime pheromones, but he had to hold the position to keep the other man steady.

“Are you okay?”

The voice made Duan Shiming’s ears tingle, and a flush spread from the back of his neck to his earlobes. “I’m fine.”

“Good.”

Cullinan, meanwhile, was ruthlessly yanked back and ended up face-planting on the ground. “=(“

Chu Yanzhou looked down, his gaze passing over the blushing earlobes before landing on the guilty dog. “I thought you were making progress under your ‘big brother’s’ guidance, but I see nothing has changed.”

They were so close that the deep, magnetic voice vibrated against Duan Shiming’s eardrums.

Duan Shiming quickly raised a hand to rub his ear. Damn… way too close.

Chu Yanzhou watched the movement, looking thoughtful.

Duan Shiming dropped his hand, stepped to the side, and crossed his arms. “Exactly! If you trip me again, I’m not playing with you anymore!”

Cullinan let out a pathetic whimpering sound and flattened himself against the pavement. “Whimper~”

Only then did Duan Shiming crouch down to rub the dog’s big ears. “Are you done bolting?”

The streetlamp was bright. The hand petting the dog was slender and pale, making the red leash burn on his wrist look particularly jarring. There were even tiny specks of blood from the friction.

Duan Shiming said, “If you’re done, then I’ll”

Before he could finish, his wrist was suddenly gripped from behind and lifted. He turned back in surprise.

Chu Yanzhou had stepped behind him, leaning down to inspect the hand. “Cullinan did this?”

Just as he asked, Duan Shiming sat down right on top of Chu Yanzhou’s shoes.

Chu Yanzhou, “…?”

“Yeah, pay up!” Duan Shiming sat on the shoes, looking up at Chu Yanzhou and waving his injured hand. “He’s your son, so you have to pay!”

Chu Yanzhou looked down at the guy’s defiant, shameless expression.

Seeing that he didn’t speak, Duan Shiming pulled a long face. “You’re not trying to back out of this, are you?” He thrust the injured wrist toward him. “We’re still in walking hours, this counts as a work-related injury!”

Chu Yanzhou, dazed by the hand waving in his face, reached out and held it. “I won’t back out.”

Duan Shiming held out his other hand. “Then pay up!”

“How much?”

“One hundred thousand.”

Chu Yanzhou, that was quite the demand. He pulled the young man to his feet. “Let’s disinfect it first.”

He gripped the leash tightly with his other hand.

Duan Shiming stood up, crossed his arms, and leaned into Chu Yanzhou’s space. He narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger. “It’s a work injury. Don’t. Even. Think. About. Escaping.”

Chu Yanzhou gave a silent laugh.

This guy really would take any opportunity to extort him.

“Duan Shiming, being a secretary is truly a waste of your talents.”

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