Why is this top-tier Alpha boss acting like this? - Chapter 20

The car moved smoothly along the road, punctuated by the occasional honk of a horn.

While they had sped to the meetings like the wind, the return journey was as slow as a “leisurely doctor.” Having escaped two back-to-back lunch meetings, they were now crawling back toward the office.

Cheng Yan looked down at the internal-spec tablet he’d brought from the company, handling some tasks on the OA system. Hearing movement beside him, he turned his head and saw Song Yang leaning against the seat back with his eyes closed, his brow slightly furrowed in an expression of discomfort.

Cheng Yan closed the tablet and asked softly, “President Song, are you feeling unwell?”

Song Yang opened his eyes to look at him, his voice low and raspy as he replied, “Just a bit of a headache. It’s fine; I’ll be okay after resting for a bit.”

Despite his words, the indentation between his eyebrows had clearly deepened.

Stubborn, Cheng Yan thought to himself.

The lunch meeting with Wu Hao had turned out quite unpleasant, and they had left before the food was even served. Although Song Yang was the one being schemed against—making his temper perfectly justified—Wu Hao was merely an accomplice with his own agenda. Wu Hao was indifferent to their abrupt departure; he had already achieved his goal.

However, Song Yang had left with a stomach full of anger, which left him with no appetite for the second lunch meeting. He had essentially toasted one glass after another on an empty stomach, so a headache was only natural at this point.

Cheng Yan put down the tablet, leaned forward slightly, and whispered to the driver, “Master Chen, please look for a pharmacy ahead and find a place to stop nearby.”

There were plenty of pharmacies along the street, and they soon pulled up in front of one with a parking spot.

He pushed open the car door. Before stepping out, he said to Song Yang, “President Song, I’ll go buy you some medicine.”

Song Yang gave a hum in response, his voice thick with a nasal quality. His eyes stared straight at Cheng Yan; the sunlight from outside reflected in them, creating an illusion of watery moisture.

Cheng Yan smiled as he got out and closed the door. The moment he turned around, he couldn’t hide the curve of his lips. Just now, Song Yang’s voice combined with that coincidental look in his eyes reminded him of his grandfather’s German Shepherd, who would whimper and act pitiful whenever it did something wrong to get sympathy.

Once he accepted this comparison, he found it impossible to look at Song Yang the same way for a while.

The pharmacy was stocked with a wide variety of sobriety aids. He chose the most practical one. While paying, he noticed a pink thermos sitting by the cash register with a large “Gift” sticker on the lid.

The clerk noticed his gaze and explained with a smile, “It’s a store promotion. If you sign up for a membership and top up 300 yuan, you get an 80-yuan credit and a free thermos. Would you like one, handsome?”

Cheng Yan looked at the medicine he was purchasing. After hesitating for only two seconds, he took out his phone. “I’ll take one. Does the thermos come in any other colors?”

The clerk shook her head apologetically. “We’re out of others; only pink is left. But pink is quite nice, isn’t it?”

Cheng Yan was silent for a moment before replying, “Fine. Get me a new one, and a jar of honey. Do you have hot water in the store?”

Regardless, Cheng Yan thought, Song Yang will probably only use it once. The pink shouldn’t matter.

The clerk rummaged through a box behind her and pulled out a brand-new thermos. “Yes, it’s right behind that shelf on the right.”

He paid, thanked her, and walked behind the shelves, where he found a floor-standing water dispenser in the corner. He first rinsed the thermos with boiling water, then mixed hot and cold to make a cup of warm water, stirred in some honey, and finally grabbed his medicine from the counter and walked out.

The company car was parked on the far left of the lot. He walked to the door holding the pink thermos and pulled it open.

Song Yang was still in the same position as when Cheng Yan had left, so the moment the door opened, Cheng Yan was greeted again by those eyes that looked just like his grandfather’s dog.

He paused, took a quiet breath to suppress the urge to laugh, and bent over to get into the car. As the door closed and the light dimmed, he looked over again; Song Yang was merely squinting lethargically. There was no longer any resemblance to a dog.

He handed over the pink thermos. “President Song, drink some honey water first.”

Song Yang took the cup and was about to open it when his hand paused. He slowly turned his head and gave Cheng Yan a listless look, but ultimately opened it and took a few sips in silence.

That look clearly said nothing, yet it felt as if it had said everything.

Cheng Yan couldn’t help but let a smile show. “It was a gift from a pharmacy promotion. They only had pink left.”

The corners of Song Yang’s mouth curled up. “Mm.”

Cheng Yan opened the package of painkillers, popped one out of the blister pack, and held it out to Song Yang.

Song Yang frowned at it and said in a low voice, “Open it for me.”

Cheng Yan gave an “oh,” lowered his head, and used his neatly trimmed fingernail to poke through the foil. Just then, the phone in his pocket rang.

He stopped his movements and pulled out his phone. The caller ID displayed… “Yanyan Baby”?

…

When did Qin Leyan change his contact name in my phone to something so mushy?

He gave a helpless smile and looked up at Song Yang. “President Song, may I take this call?”

Song Yang had already taken the medicine with the punctured foil and was looking down obediently to remove the pill himself. Hearing this, he lifted his eyes, looked at Cheng Yan dismissively, and replied weakly, “Aww, sure. Take it.”

Cheng Yan looked at the medicine in Song Yang’s hand, a momentary hesitation in his eyes. Aluminum foil shouldn’t be that hard to poke through, right?

The phone was still ringing. He brushed aside the strange thought and pressed the answer button. As soon as the call connected, Qin Leyan’s cheerful voice exploded from the receiver, loud enough that Cheng Yan had to pull the phone away.

“Hello, hello! My dear Brother Yan, your Yanyan has successfully completed the mission! I’m planning to head back now. What would Brother Yan like to eat tonight?”

Listening to this posturing tone, Cheng Yan felt even more helpless, though the smile on his face widened. This was just how Qin Leyan acted when he wasn’t speaking properly—always with a theatrical flair.

He smiled and was about to answer when a voice cut in before he could speak: “Overtime tonight.”

Cheng Yan looked at Song Yang in surprise. Overtime tonight? How come I didn’t know?

Song Yang’s eyebrows were slightly lowered as he looked at Cheng Yan with a face full of apology. “Sorry, your voices were a bit loud; I heard you.”

The other end of the phone went silent for a few seconds, then shouted loudly, “Who are you with?!”

Cheng Yan gave Song Yang an apologetic look and turned slightly, trying to keep the phone volume from bothering him. “Qin Leyan, can you speak more quietly? I’m in the company car with President Song heading back to the office. You’re being really loud.”

Qin Leyan gave a disgruntled “oh,” and his volume did indeed drop significantly, but the next second he yelled again, “I’m going to bring you dinner!”

Cheng Yan hissed, drawing in a sharp breath, and pulled the phone away again. Before he could answer, Song Yang’s voice came from behind once more: “The company provides food.”

Qin Leyan immediately retorted indignantly, “From the company cafeteria?”

As Qin Leyan’s brother, Cheng Yan knew his temperament all too well. Before Qin Leyan could speak again, he timely covered the receiver and apologized to Song Yang, “Sorry, President Song, I’ll step out to take this call.”

Without waiting for Song Yang’s reaction, he pushed open the door and got out. To avoid disturbing Song Yang, he thoughtfully closed the car door—completely.

On the phone, Qin Leyan had already started scolding Song Yang. “Brother! What does that President Song of yours mean? Why is he butting in while we’re on the phone?”

Cheng Yan massaged his temples. “He’s unwell from drinking, and you were being too loud and disturbing him. Besides, he didn’t say much.”

Song Yang had only stated two facts: overtime tonight and the company provides food. There was nothing wrong with that, yet Qin Leyan was this angry.

Qin Leyan continued to grumble, “What do you mean ‘didn’t say much’? He clearly meant I shouldn’t go bring you food! How is that not saying much? What kind of boss is this controlling?”

Cheng Yan thought over Qin Leyan’s words and finally concluded, “He probably just thinks there’s no need for you to make the trip. Don’t overthink it.”

What is Song Yang’s status? Cheng Yan thought. Would he bother making life difficult for a newly-turned-adult Omega? Completely unnecessary!

He cut off the call before Qin Leyan could explode again. “Alright, work is serious. I won’t be back for dinner tonight, and you don’t need to bring me anything. Rest well at home. That’s all, hanging up.”

Qin Leyan: “Wait! Brother! I still have something to say…”

He pressed the end button, exited the call screen, found Qin Leyan’s WeChat, and sent him a message.

CY: Talk later when I’m back. I have to return to the office.

Click, Send.

Seeing the “typing…” indicator, he added one more line.

CY: Be good.

A few seconds later, he received a reply.

Qin Xiaoyan: Oh.

Accompanied by an incredibly despondent emoji.

He smiled, turned off his phone, and got back into the car.

Song Yang looked up at him, the apology on his face appearing genuine. “Sorry, the overtime was a last-minute decision; I hadn’t had a chance to tell you yet. I was afraid you’d agree to him and have to go back on it later, so I took the liberty of speaking up… You guys didn’t fight, did you?”

Cheng Yan shook his head. “It’s fine. He… is quite obedient.”

Qin Leyan was indeed a very obedient kid to him. Song Yang nodded thoughtfully and didn’t follow up.

The car started moving again toward the company, and silence fell. Cheng Yan pulled out the tablet again to continue the work he’d interrupted, but halfway through, he realized he’d forgotten to ask what the overtime task was.

He looked over at Song Yang.

Song Yang was holding the pink thermos he’d given him, staring out the window motionless. Cheng Yan was dazed for a moment; he felt the scene was familiar.

Uh, is this missing some sad background music?

Sensing his gaze, Song Yang turned his head. “What is it?”

Cheng Yan looked at him and asked directly, “President Song, could you tell me the content of the overtime work?”

Song Yang didn’t answer directly. Instead, he looked away, unscrewed the lid of the pink thermos, took a few sips of honey water, and then leisurely replaced the lid before saying, “I want to organize the retailer data one more time.”

Cheng Yan sat up straight, a faint smile on his face. He felt he must have misheard. Was Song Yang talking about the retailer data they had already gone over five or six times?

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