After Becoming a Full-Time Employee, I Signed a Romance Contract with My Ice-Cold Boss - Chapter 6

Are You Trying to Curry Favor with Me?

Xu Que’s inquiry didn’t come out of nowhere. Although the agreement stated a maximum term of three years, if Jiang Fengyi were dissatisfied, it wasn’t impossible for her to terminate it prematurely.

He Shuyi, unaware of the agreement between the two, simply thought Xu Que had finally “seen the light.” She nodded with satisfaction; this “Wishing Bottle” was truly a teachable student.

She immediately poured out all the romantic theory and experience she had gathered over the years.

“First, you have to find ways to create more opportunities for the two of you to spend time together.”

Xu Que, currently inside Jiang Fengyi’s home, replied honestly, “We actually have quite a lot of opportunities to spend time together.”

He Shuyi: “Then it’ll be easy!”

“Next, I’ll teach you how to win the other person’s favor during your daily interactions.”

Xu Que listened with rapt attention.

Her attitude was earnest, showing the same focus she used during Advanced Mathematics lectures; she even opened the memo app on her phone to record the important parts.

He Shuyi unreservedly taught Xu Que all the romantic techniques she had picked up online.

“First, you have to…”

One spoke, and the other listened.

The sunlight streaming through the window edge gradually slanted as time slipped away.

“I’ve told you everything I know. I hope you can become your boss’s confidante soon. Good luck!”

“Thank you.”

Xu Que had attended this “Master Class” all afternoon, only stepping out of her room as evening approached. “Ten Thousand Volumes of Books,” the master of romance, had warned her that one cannot rely solely on theory; it must be accompanied by practice.

That was the reason she was currently pacing in front of Jiang Fengyi’s door.

Yet, she never gathered the courage to knock on the door in front of her.

“What are you doing standing here?”

“Is something wrong?”

Jiang Fengyi had just opened her bedroom door when Xu Que’s face, filled with hesitation, suddenly burst into her field of vision.

She had just finished an online meeting and hadn’t yet taken off the glasses on the bridge of her nose. Her light brown pupils looked straight at the other woman through the clear lenses.

Xu Que nodded, then shook her head violently.

As her head moved, the ends of her hair flicked out a faint scent of shampoo. Jiang Fengyi’s nose twitched; she noticed the scent was similar to the uniform shampoo purchased for the house, yet slightly different.

It had an added touch of Xu Que’s own aura—a faint, fresh fragrance like green grass on soil after rain.

The slight irritation Jiang Fengyi felt from arguing with those old men on the board of directors all afternoon was swept away by this scent of green grass.

Staring at the slight curl at the ends of Xu Que’s hair, Jiang Fengyi asked, “Nodding and then shaking your head—what does that mean?”

Xu Que cheered herself on mentally. She plucked up her courage and took a step forward, closing the distance between them.

This was the first time she had seen Jiang Fengyi wearing glasses. It added a sense of aloofness, yet made her even more attractive than usual.

Xu Que bit the bullet and asked, “I do have something to talk to you about, but…” Her voice dropped lower, “But it’s nothing urgent. If you’re busy, I won’t disturb you.”

The teachings of the romance master from that afternoon echoed in her mind: [In the early stages of a relationship, inadvertently showcase your strengths to earn the other person’s praise.]

Jiang Fengyi asked, “I’m curious. What is this ‘not-so-urgent’ matter you mentioned?”

“What would you like to eat for dinner? I’ll go make it.”

The matter of eating could be considered important or trivial depending on the perspective.

Xu Que’s strengths were cooking, being easy to communicate with, and being obedient. At this moment, she seemed to have transformed into a kindergarten child, hoping to use her strengths to exchange for a teacher’s praise.

“So that’s the reason you’ve been standing at my door for half the day?”

Jiang Fengyi checked the time. “Isn’t it a bit early to prepare dinner at this hour?”

Xu Que, preoccupied with her nerves, didn’t notice that Jiang Fengyi already knew she had been standing at the door for a long time. She spoke in a hurried panic: “Then would you like some fruit? I’ll go cut a plate for you.”

Jiang Fengyi didn’t answer but asked instead, “Are you…”

She paused intentionally and, as expected, watched Xu Que’s face gradually flush red with fluster.

“Are you trying to curry favor with me?”

Jiang Fengyi’s tone was less of a question and more of a statement.

I’ve been found out!

Xu Que was instantly thrown into a panic. Would Jiang Fengyi think she was a sycophant?

Was her behavior that obvious? Clearly, she didn’t have the aptitude to be a boss’s confidante.

Xu Que’s expression was far too easy to read. Jiang Fengyi already knew the answer. Seeing that the girl’s face had turned as red as a monkey’s bottom, she stopped teasing her.

“For dinner, I’d like Coke chicken wings, poached shrimp, and garlic lettuce.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll go make them right away.”

Xu Que fled with her arms and legs moving in an uncoordinated fashion, only to feel a pull of resistance from behind. Looking back, she saw Jiang Fengyi firmly grasping her sleeve.

“Wait, no rush.”

The heat on Xu Que’s face slowly receded, leaving only a thin layer of pink.

Jiang Fengyi’s gaze moved from the ends of her hair up to her cheeks.

“Answer me first. Why are you trying to curry favor with me?”

“I… I…”

Dammit, the romance master hadn’t told her what to do in this situation.

She certainly couldn’t say to her boss’s face: I’m flattering you because I’m very satisfied with the salary you give and I don’t want to be fired.

Xu Que’s brain worked at high speed. After a moment, she murmured.

“This… this is my sincerity toward my partner,” Xu Que found an excuse. “Since I’ve accepted your payment, I must work hard for you.”

Jiang Fengyi was half-convinced. Although both were paid to cook, the feeling Xu Que gave her was different from the housekeeper’s.

But if she were asked to pinpoint exactly what was different, she couldn’t say. Since she couldn’t figure it out, she simply stopped thinking about it.

Jiang Fengyi bypassed Xu Que and walked toward the living room.

“Then I’ll trouble you to wash some fruit for me.”

“Okay!”

By the time Xu Que emerged with the fruit platter, Jiang Fengyi had already found a comfortable spot to curl up on the sofa. Her eyes were slightly closed, her brows revealing deep exhaustion.

Afraid of waking the sleeping woman, Xu Que placed the fruit platter on the coffee table with light steps. Then she returned to her own room and brought back a thin blanket.

She gently draped it over Jiang Fengyi.

Jiang Fengyi had a very long dream. She couldn’t remember the details, only vaguely recalling a meadow where she stood, enveloped by the fragrance of green grass.

The sun sank in the west, the red clouds dispersed, and only after the last sliver of gold fell behind the mountains did Jiang Fengyi slowly wake up.

The living room lights weren’t on, leaving it in dimness. Just as Jiang Fengyi was about to get up to turn on the light, the person sitting quietly on the other side of the sofa noticed immediately and pressed the switch before she could.

“You’re awake?”

The light that suddenly flared up reflected off the glass lenses, shining directly into Jiang Fengyi’s eyes. She had to squint to adjust to the light; once she grew accustomed to it, she reached out and took off the bothersome glasses.

“What time is it?”

Her voice was raspier than usual.

“Six-thirty.”

As Xu Que replied, she brought over a cup of warm water. “Moisten your throat.”

Jiang Fengyi tilted her head back and drank. She seemed unable to believe it: “I slept for that long?”

“Dinner is ready. Do you want to eat now or later?”

Jiang Fengyi set down the half-finished cup of water and stood up from the sofa while pinching the bridge of her nose. “Let’s eat now.”

The two of them walked to the dining room one after the other.

The dishes Jiang Fengyi had requested before her nap were already laid out on the table. On the other side sat the plate of fruit; because the flesh had been exposed to the air for too long, it was beginning to show signs of oxidation and yellowing.

Jiang Fengyi’s gaze skipped over the fruit plate and landed on the brightly colored dishes. Just looking at them worked up an appetite.

“Sorry for the trouble. Let’s eat.”

“Mmm~”

Jiang Fengyi bit into a chicken wing. The meat was tender, and the mellow sauce exploded in her mouth along with the soft, well-cooked meat. It was sweet but not greasy, salty yet fresh.

“Delicious~”

Seeing Jiang Fengyi eating with such satisfaction, the corners of Xu Que’s mouth turned up slightly.

“By the way, on the day we return to the company, come directly with me to the twenty-second floor. You don’t need to make a separate trip to the HR department.”

“Thank you. Sorry to trouble you.”

Jiang Fengyi laughed. “Are you throwing my own words back at me?” She swallowed a mouthful of rice. “We shouldn’t be too polite with each other.”

Being overly polite would create a sense of distance. They wouldn’t look like a couple who had been together for years, but more like strangers who had just met.

“You can just imagine me as someone familiar and treat me accordingly.”

Someone familiar? Faces of many people from the orphanage flashed through Xu Que’s mind. Recalling how she interacted with them, she nodded understandingly.

“Yes, I’ll remember that.”

The remaining two days of the holiday passed in the blink of an eye.

On this morning, Jiang Fengyi was woken by her alarm. She yawned as she got up to wash. She had to take Xu Que to the company today, so she got up quite early.

When she changed her clothes and walked out of her room, she saw that Xu Que had already prepared a lavish breakfast.

“The housekeeper is coming back today; you don’t need to…”

“This breakfast isn’t for you as an employer, but for you as a friend.”

“You told me to imagine you as someone familiar and treat you accordingly.”

In Xu Que’s life, the only people she was most familiar with were the friends she grew up with in the orphanage.

Jingjiang Technology, 22nd Floor.

He Shuyi had finished her wonderful holiday of lying around at home. On this first day back at work, she felt out of sorts all over.

Her superior, Wu Qi—who was also Jiang Fengyi’s General Assistant—saw this and teased, “What, three days at home wasn’t enough rest for you?”

He Shuyi shared one of the rice balls in her hand with her. “Who would ever complain about having too much holiday?”

“I haven’t eaten the rice balls from downstairs for three days; I missed them a bit.”

While taking the rice ball, Wu Qi handed over a cup of black coffee. “Snap out of it. You’re training a newcomer today.”

“What!”

He Shuyi didn’t even have time to swallow the food in her mouth as she asked urgently, “How could I be training a newcomer? I’m still a newcomer myself, being trained by you!”

“Everyone on the twenty-second floor is more qualified than me to train a newcomer. Why skip over all of them and pick me?”

She was full of questions. “I didn’t hear anything about our department hiring before. Why is this so sudden?”

“Who knows. Orders from above. Finish your breakfast and pack up; come with me to HR to pick the person up.”

He Shuyi finished the rest of her rice ball in two or three bites, nearly choking herself to death.

While the two were waiting for the elevator, she saw no one else was around and quietly approached Wu Qi, asking in a whisper.

“Sister Wu, tell me secretly? Is this person a ‘connected’ hire?”

Without waiting for Wu Qi’s answer, she speculated on her own: “How strong must their connections be to be air-dropped directly onto the twenty-second floor?”

Her eyes sparkled with the light of gossip. “It couldn’t be like last time, someone planted by Chairman Jiang’s side, could it?”

“Then I’ll definitely have to be polite to her later, so I don’t get ‘small shoes’ put on me.”

Wu Qi didn’t have time to answer her. She looked down at her phone and retracted the step she was about to take into the elevator.

“No need to go to HR to pick her up anymore.”

He Shuyi was confused. “Why? She hasn’t arrived yet?”

She checked the time on her phone screen; it was already past the clock-in time.

“As expected of a connected hire. Late on the first day of work.”

“She’s currently in President Jiang’s office.”

“She’s President Jiang’s person!”

He Shuyi stared at the elevator doors slowly closing in front of her.

“But we’ve been standing in front of the elevator this whole time; we didn’t see anyone come out?”

Wu Qi turned her head and gave her a flat look. She had trained He Shuyi for two months and knew the girl’s personality better than anyone—she was transparent, lacked guile, and wore everything on her face.

Most importantly, she was easy to get along with—the easiest person on the entire twenty-second floor, bar none. Aside from being a bit of a gossip, compared to the other “human spirits” in the department, she was practically a little white rabbit.

“Of course you wouldn’t see her at this elevator. President Jiang brought her up directly to the office using the private elevator.”

“Sh-she rode the private elevator… w-with President Jiang!”

She looked at Wu Qi in disbelief, pointing a finger at herself.

“And you’re letting me… train someone with th-that much of a background?”