The Cool CEO’s Ultra-Sweet Boyfriend - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: “Can’t Even Act Coquettish”

Back at his workstation, Xu Nanxin stared blankly at his computer screen, completely out of it. There was a cup of coffee sitting on his desk that he hadn’t even noticed until Yang Xuan, who was sitting nearby, nudged him.

“Xiao Ya from the Administration Department brought this over for you. She said it’s her treat.”

“Huh?” Xu Nanxin snapped out of his daze, looked at the coffee on his desk, and then nodded. “Thanks.”

“Seriously, what’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting weird ever since you came out of President Ji’s office. Don’t tell me he found trouble with you again? Is the project proposal still not good enough?” Yang Xuan noticed that Xu Nanxin was out of sorts, and her expression turned somewhat grave.

Usually, Xu Nanxin was quite good at regulating his emotions, but today he was exceptionally off.

Xu Nanxin looked at Yang Xuan and opened his mouth, hesitating. Only after a long while did he say with a miserable, tearful face, “No, he didn’t scold me. He actually said my proposal this time was okay.”

Hearing this, Yang Xuan became even more confused. “Then what’s wrong with you? Looking at you now, you don’t exactly seem like someone who just got praised.”

“It’s not that.” Xu Nanxin felt incredibly suffocated, yet he couldn’t share it with anyone. If the others found out, Ji Li might just fire him on the spot if things went wrong.

Xu Nanxin remained silent for a long time. In the end, feeling that he would burst if he didn’t vent to someone, he said, “Sister Xuan, my house has collapsed.” (Translator’s note: “House collapsed” is Chinese internet slang meaning one’s idol or favorite celebrity got into a scandal/ruined their image).

“Huh?” Yang Xuan froze for a second, then reacted with surprise. “So you’re actually a fanboy?”

Xu Nanxin: “…”

“Just let me calm down for a bit!” He picked up the coffee on his desk and took a huge gulp.

Yang Xuan sighed and shook her head. “As expected of the younger generation!”

Xu Nanxin spent the entire morning trying to calm his mind, finally accepting the fact that Ji Li was Mr. Z. But whenever he thought about Mr. Z being Ji Li, waves of anxiety would immediately rush over him.

At lunchtime, his colleagues invited him to join them, but he didn’t budge. He just sat at his desk, his eyes involuntarily drifting toward the General Manager’s office. Before long, he saw Ji Li step out of the office, causing Xu Nanxin to panic and instantly avert his gaze.

Ji Li seemed to notice Xu Nanxin’s stare and glanced over. Because Xu Nanxin had looked away too quickly, Ji Li merely frowned slightly before striding toward the company entrance.

Only then did Xu Nanxin breathe a sigh of relief. However, before he could fully relax, his phone chimed. Subconsciously looking down at it, he saw that it was actually a message from Mr. Z.

Mr. Z: It’s noon, are you awake? Since it’s the weekend, do you have any plans to go out and have fun this afternoon?

The tone was as gentle as always. Looking at the message on his phone, Xu Nanxin couldn’t help but wonder: How on earth did my perfectly fine boyfriend turn into Ji Li?

After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh. After some thought, he decided to send a reply. He didn’t dare mention that he was working overtime—mostly due to psychological paranoia, fearing that the other man might deduce his identity.

Big White Rabbit Milk Candy: Yeah, I’m out playing with some friends. I might be out pretty late over the two days of the weekend, so I won’t be able to reply to your messages.

Mr. Z: No problem, have fun.

Xu Nanxin put his phone away. He skipped lunch entirely, and even when his colleagues started filtering back into the office after eating, he was still staring blankly at his computer.

Seeing him like this, a few colleagues he was close with gathered around to ask out of concern, “What’s wrong with you today? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

Xu Nanxin looked up with a thoroughly soul-crushed expression and shook his head. “No.”

As a few people gathered around his desk, Jiang Yuan also walked over upon his return, unable to resist asking, “What’s going on?”

Xu Nanxin hadn’t expected so many people to worry about him. It wasn’t appropriate to say it was a relationship issue, either. Seeing everyone gathering around, Yang Xuan chimed in to help explain, “Ah, our young colleague’s favorite idol suffered a scandal and his house collapsed. He’s just having an EMO moment, he’ll be fine.”

“I’m not…” Xu Nanxin desperately wanted to explain that his kind of house collapsing wasn’t the celebrity kind; his collapse was way more catastrophic!

“Is that all? I thought it was something serious. Nanxin, whose house collapsed? Let me tell you, as long as you switch idols fast enough, a collapsed house is never an issue!” a colleague said.

Hearing this, Xu Nanxin’s eyes lit up. He suddenly had an epiphany, and his entire demeanor instantly revitalized. Right! We’re just in an online relationship anyway. Since we haven’t even met yet, can’t I just break up with him and find someone else?

“You’re absolutely right, thank you so much!” Xu Nanxin stood up, grabbed his colleague’s hand, and shook it excitedly.

The colleague looked utterly bewildered. His hand was squeezed so hard by Xu Nanxin that it hurt, so he quickly pulled it back and let out a dry laugh. “You… don’t seem to have liked them that much after all…”

Just as Xu Nanxin was about to sit back down, he happened to see Ji Li walking over from not too far away. He froze once again, his eyes automatically landing on Ji Li.

Ji Li had just returned to the company. Seeing a small crowd gathered around the Planning Department, he casually glanced over.

Their eyes met unexpectedly. Ji Li’s gaze held its usual indifference. Xu Nanxin’s body stiffened slightly as he stared straight at Ji Li. His fingertips twitched faintly, and an indescribable emotion flickered in the depths of his eyes.

Ji Li frowned slightly. His gaze lingered for only a fraction of a second before he looked away, noting that Xu Nanxin seemed to be quite popular with his coworkers.

Perhaps because they were around the same age and both newly starting out as interns, Xu Nanxin reminded him of his Little Rabbit lately.

The little guy’s work didn’t seem to be going very smoothly. During their recent chats, Ji Li could clearly feel his unhappiness.

The little guy would run to him seeking comfort. Yet, he didn’t even know how to act coquettish properly, only managing a single line: “Mr. Z, I’m having a hard time.”

He didn’t even dare to talk too much about work matters. Even when he occasionally complained, he was terrified that Ji Li would find him useless.

Ji Li didn’t realize that whenever he thought about Little Rabbit, a distinct tenderness would soften his brows, making him look like a completely different person compared to his usual self.

He hoped that the little guy had people to keep him company by his side, though he secretly wished that person could be himself.

Ji Li hadn’t originally intended to meet up so early, wanting to wait until he had completely reorganized this branch office first. However, words of comfort through text always felt too pale and hollow. Ji Li didn’t want to wait anymore—after all, coming to B City in the first place was for him.

For Ji Li, it was obviously impossible to stay in B City forever. The headquarters had long intended to replace the general manager here, but because they hadn’t found a suitable candidate for a while, they ultimately decided to dispatch someone from headquarters to temporarily take over.

He wasn’t originally on the shortlist, but he had actively volunteered to come over, claiming he would handle some personal matters on the side. The headquarters had tried to dissuade him but failed, and in the end, they could only let him come.

He only paused his footsteps for a brief moment before walking straight toward his office.

Xu Nanxin watched his silhouette gradually disappear from his line of sight…

For some unknown reason, when he saw Ji Li turn his gaze away without a single ripple of emotion, Xu Nanxin felt a strange sense of disappointment alongside his relief. He gently lowered his eyes.