The Cool CEO’s Ultra-Sweet Boyfriend - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Why Are You So Afraid of Mr. Ji?

“What’s wrong? What are you looking at?” Seeing him space out, a colleague turned around to follow his gaze but saw absolutely nothing.

Coming back to his senses, Xu Nanxin shook his head and said, “Nothing, Mr. Ji just passed by.”

The moment those words left his mouth, a collective chill ran down everyone’s spines. They couldn’t help but exclaim, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”

Seeing their reaction, Jiang Yiyuan smiled and said, “Alright, it’s after-hours now. He won’t say anything, so there’s no need to be that nervous.”

Xu Nanxin sat back down, propping up his chin as he scrolled through his phone. The group chatted for a bit longer, and just as they were about to disperse, Xu Nanxin called out to one of them, “Shi Le, wait up a second.”

The guy named Shi Le looked to be around the same age as Xu Nanxin. He stopped in his tracks. “What’s up?”

“Uh, let me ask you a question.” Xu Nanxin felt he couldn’t figure this out on his own and needed some help. It wasn’t quite appropriate to ask Sister Xuan, but Shi Le was his closest friend at work, and since they were of similar age, it would be easier to discuss.

“Hmm? Go ahead,” Shi Le nodded.

“Hypothetically, if one day you discovered that your online dating partner was actually your immediate boss, how would you feel?”

Shi Le froze upon hearing this. Then, he subconsciously pictured their new boss, Ji Li. Instantly, a wave of sheer horror washed over him. He shuddered, his face twisted in pure dread, and he shook his head frantically. “Oh my god, that is way too terrifying.”

Xu Nanxin: “…”

Indeed, it truly was too terrifying. How on earth could Mr. Z be Ji Li?

“Wait, why are you asking this out of nowhere? You’re not trying to intentionally disgust me, are you?” Shi Le felt like he still had goosebumps all over his body, feeling completely uncomfortable.

“Oh, come on, why would I want to disgust you?” Xu Nanxin said.

“Then why the sudden question?” Shi Le asked, resting his chin on his hand.

Xu Nanxin had no choice but to make up a random excuse. “I saw a thread about it online during lunch. People were debating it pretty fiercely, so I wanted to get your take.”

“Pfft, you actually take those online threads seriously? Let me tell you, people online will definitely cheer it on, but in reality, you better break up as soon as possible. With an office romance, you’re bound to bump into each other constantly. What if the two of them split up eventually? To protect the workplace environment, who do you think the company would kick out?”

Though harsh, it was indeed the reality.

“And besides, it’s just an online romance—it’s not real. What if you meet up, they end up not liking you, and since you’re in the same company, they just find some random excuse to fire you just to avoid the awkwardness?”

Listening to Shi Le’s words, Xu Nanxin couldn’t help but shudder. He felt that… Ji Li was exactly the type who might actually do something like that.

Considering how Ji Li was already nitpicking his proposals in every possible way and had even extended his probation period by two months for no good reason, Xu Nanxin figured his current anxiety should be focused on how to save his job first.

What should he do now? Break up? How was he supposed to bring this up to Mr. Z?

What if the other party thought he was just playing with his feelings?

When Xu Nanxin finally got home after work that evening, he grabbed a quick bite to eat, washed up, and lay down on his bed.

Operating on the logic that everything can be solved by Baidu, he opened his phone and typed into the search bar: Accidentally discovered boss is my online dating partner. How to break up gracefully to avoid retaliation and part on good terms in case identity is exposed.

The search results that popped up were all sorts of fictional stories. Xu Nanxin scrolled back and forth through them, only to find that none offered any practical answers; most were just romantic fluff pieces filled with pink bubbles. He sighed and put his phone down.

He had absolutely no clue what to do! Ruffling his hair in frustration, Xu Nanxin buried his face in his blanket and rolled over a couple of times on the bed.

Help! Someone save me, please!

——

After working overtime all through the weekend, Monday arrived. During the planning department’s weekly meeting, Jiang Yiyuan delivered some news to Xu Nanxin: his proposal had passed, the client was extremely satisfied, and they were even interested in handing the next phase of the project over to them.

This was probably the best news Xu Nanxin had heard in a long time. This particular client was notoriously demanding and difficult to deal with, and it was incredibly rare for a proposal to satisfy them on the very first try without any revisions. After all, no one could ever guarantee that their work would be one hundred percent perfect in a client’s eyes.

Instantly, color returned to his eyes, and his entire demeanor became vibrant and animated.

Looking at Xu Nanxin, Jiang Yiyuan offered a gentle, warm smile. “Nanxin, congratulations.”

“Thank you, Brother Yuan.” Xu Nanxin stood up and gave Jiang Yiyuan a bow.

Jiang Yiyuan smiled and shook his head. “If you really want to thank someone, you should thank Mr. Ji. He was the one following up and keeping a close eye on your proposal most of the time. Even though everyone has a lot of complaints about Mr. Ji, it has to be said that in the two months since he arrived, everyone has made huge progress. I hope we can keep this up.”

“Of course we’d make progress. There’s a knife held right to our necks,” someone muttered under their breath in complaint.

Hearing Ji Li’s name, Xu Nanxin also let out a strained, dry laugh. Ji Li helped me? Most of the time, he just threw it back to make me revise it again. Even asking him what the problem was felt like committing a cardinal sin.

Still, having it rejected and revised under Ji Li’s watch was ultimately better than having it thrown back by the client.

“Yes,” Xu Nanxin agreed with a forced smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“By the way, there’s a business dinner tonight. Nanxin, I want you to come with me. You wrote this proposal, and they’re highly satisfied with it. They want to communicate with you face-to-face regarding the next phase. Put in some good effort and let’s secure them!” Jiang Yiyuan instructed.

“Me?” Xu Nanxin was caught completely off guard. While it wasn’t like he had never gone out to socialize for business before, back then he was just shadowing senior employees to learn the ropes—essentially acting as a ghost.

“Yes, but don’t worry. Both Mr. Ji and I will be there.” Jiang Yiyuan’s tone was gentle. When it came to treating subordinates, he was much softer than Ji Li, offering far more encouragement and patience.

Xu Nanxin had originally been quite happy, but upon hearing that Ji Li was going too, his expression visibly stiffened. “Mr. Ji is going as well?”

With his emotions written entirely all over his face, Jiang Yiyuan couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, this is a major client of ours, so of course Mr. Ji will be there. Why are you so afraid of Mr. Ji? Don’t worry, he doesn’t eat people. Besides, won’t I be there too?”

Xu Nanxin: “…”

Aside from Jiang Yiyuan, can you find a single other person in this company who isn’t afraid of Ji Li? Being afraid is the normal reaction, okay?

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t exactly fear, but rather the sheer intensity of the man’s oppressive aura. Every time he faced Ji Li, the pressure felt as heavy as a mountain.

“It’s fine. You performed so well this time, he has no reason to criticize you anyway!” Yang Xuan chimed in to comfort him as well.

“Thanks.” Xu Nanxin didn’t look comforted in the slightest. However, there was at least one thing worth celebrating.

Mr. Z hadn’t reached out to him over the past two days.

In their daily dynamic, it had always been Xu Nanxin who took the initiative. From the moment they first met to when they officially started dating, he had been the one tirelessly chattering away and chasing after Mr. Z; the other party had simply never rejected him.

Thinking about it this way, Xu Nanxin felt a bit more at ease. Maybe he didn’t even need to stress over how to break up. As long as he stopped taking the initiative, it was highly unlikely that Mr. Z would ever actively contact him.

Let’s just leave it at that… Over time, the relationship will naturally fade away.

Yet… Xu Nanxin still felt a bitter pang in his heart. That was Mr. Z—someone he had liked for nearly three years, and someone he had spent an entire year pursuing just to win over.

But… how could that person be Ji Li? How could he be that boss they all hated so much?!

Xu Nanxin’s heart was deeply torn.