Chapter 29 - The Boss Is Weird

Gu Nianbin stood there watching them away. Suddenly, he called Zhou Ting back and said in a low voice, “Go buy some snacks. Provide her with some movies or magazines to kill time. She can sleep there if she wants. One more thing, stay outside and check on her from time to time. Try not to make her uncomfortable or let anyone else in.” He paused for a moment and said, “Call me if needed.”

Zhou Ting was surprised but remained calm. She said yes and then left. The boss’s orders were always simple and straightforward, but this time were unusually long-winded. She was now curious about the little girl who could make the boss behave so abnormally.

She trotted to Du Xiaoxian and said with a smile, “What should I call you?”

Du Xiaoxian took a look at Gu Nianbin from afar, who was nodding at her with a smile. She then withdrew her sights and answered timidly, “My name is Du Xiaoxian.” She didn’t have the nerve to look at Zhou Ting.

“Miss Du,” Zhou Ting pointed at the door in front of them, “Here we are at the president’s office. Please come in.”

The office floor was fully carpeted. Du Xiaoxian stamped her feet gently and followed Zhou Ting in. The light brown carpet was soft to step on, muffling all footsteps. Du Xiaoxian kept looking back as she walked inside, fearing that her shoes would leave dirty marks on the carpet.

“Miss Du, please take a seat.” Zhou Ting took her to the sofa and asked her to sit down. She put a laptop on the coffee table and asked, “Miss Du, what kind of movies do you prefer?”

Du Xiaoxian seldom watched TV, not even mentioning movies. So she shook her head helplessly.

“Shall I bring you some magazines?” Zhou Ting asked again. Now she could tell that the girl was just a juvenile, shy, timid, and quiet. No wonder the boss treated her so gently.

Du Xiaoxian rubbed her fingers and nodded. Zhou Ting put a stack of magazines on the table and said, “Miss Du, please help yourself. I’ll be right back.”

Du Xiaoxian nodded again but didn’t reach out to grab any magazine.

Zhou Ting walked to the door but stopped soon for reassurance, “Miss Du, please stay here and don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back soon.”

Du Xiaoxian wasn’t used to being called Miss Du. She couldn’t help but correct Zhou Ting softly, “My name is Du Xiaoxian.”

Zhou Ting was bewildered. Is there anything wrong with the name?

“Miss Du,” She was about to say something. Du Xiaoxian promptly corrected her again, “My name is Du Xiaoxian.” Her voice was soft but determined, with an insistent expression on her little face.

What a strange girl. Zhou Ting had to compromise, “Alright, Du Xiaoxian, I have things to do. Be a good girl and wait for me here, okay?”

She left until Du Xiaoxian nodded. Out of uncertainty, she asked a fellow from the secretary’s office to guard the door outside. She noticed that the little girl was so timid that a mere stranger may frighten her. If the girl was scared, her boss might get furious about her. A secretary was not bold enough to bear the boss’s fury.

She went to the nearby supermarket, bought some snacks and rushed back. The makeshift guard was still sitting outside the president’s office. She asked curiously at the sight of Zhou Ting, “Miss Zhou, who is inside? I heard a sound at the door, but no one came out.”

Zhou Ting pushed the door open upon her words. Du Xiaoxian was sitting on the sofa with her shoulders trembling violently. “Du Xiaoxian, what’s up?” She asked out of astonishment.

Du Xiaoxian turned to her with a pale face and quivered, “Miss Zhou, I…I need to use the bathroom!”

Zhou Ting felt relieved. She ran to open the bathroom door. “Here it is. Come in.”

Du Xiaoxian covered her stomach and rushed into the bathroom. She was dumbfounded by seeing the sitting toilet after closing the door. She had never used such a toilet before and was not used to it. But she couldn’t hold it anymore and therefore squatted over the toilet without touching it. When she was done with it, she could barely stand up and her legs were trembling badly. She rested by the sink for a while before opening the door.

Zhou Ting waited anxiously outside the door. She couldn’t stop worrying about the little girl perhaps because of her boss’s attentive orders or because of the weird behavior of the little girl herself. She felt nothing but relieved when the door was finally open. She led Du Xiaoxian back to her seat and placed the snacks in front of her, “The president won’t be back in a while. Would you please take some snacks first?”

Du Xiaoxian nodded and sat there uneasily, casting her eyes on her feet instead of the snacks.

Seeing Du Xiaoxian sit still there, Zhou Ting stuffed a bag of bayberries in her hand, “Make yourself at home. Try this.”

Du Xiaoxian put down the bag without saying a word. Her mother told her not to eat anything from a stranger.

She shouldn’t eat anything from Zhou Ting as she was still a stranger to her.

Zhou Ting was smooth and slick in relationships. It was a piece of cake for her to deal with dozens of picky guests. However, she felt frustrated by a little girl like Du Xiaoxian, who kept silent all the time. She then recalled Gu Nianbin’s words, “Try not to make her uncomfortable.”

The little girl was clearly uncomfortable now. Well, she couldn’t think of anything else to treat her better but leaving the office to the weird girl herself.

Du Xiaoxian let out a sigh of relief when the door was closed. She got anxious about communicating with strangers and receiving attentions from others, particularly from a beautiful elegant lady like Zhou Ting. Actually she wanted to please Zhou Ting, but she was too clumsy and timid to say anything. The only thing she could do was to remain silent. However, she was still uneasy and panicked in silence. She didn’t even have the guts to scratch her itchy arm. Now Zhou Ting had left, and she was relaxed on her own, but only that the luxurious office room made her feel constrained. She dared not move or touch anything but sat still and waited for the young master.

Gu Nianbin discussed something with Shao Baiqing after the meeting and returned to the office two hours later. He opened the door and found Du Xiaoxian sit there dozing, nodding her head like a pecking chick.

Gu Nianbin walked over lightly to the sofa and saw on the coffee table a laptop on the left and a stack of magazines on the right. In the middle were some snacks. It seemed that she didn’t had anything because the crystal ashtray was empty.

He walked around the sofa, sat down beside her, and then gently placed Du Xiaoxian’s head on his shoulder. Although he tried his best to not awake her, she woke up immediately. She stared at him blankly with sleepy eyes for a while and then called out with a bright smile, “Young master.”

Gu Nianbin stroked her head and pointed at a door on the right. “Are you still sleepy? There’s a bed in that room. You can sleep there.”

Du Xiaoxian shook her head, “No.”

Gu Nianbin looked at his watch, “Then let’s have lunch first. After lunch, you can take a nap before going to school, okay?” He barely asked for others’ opinions before, but Du Xiaoxian was an exception. He couldn’t explain why, but it just felt like this way.

Du Xiaoxian was about to nod when he added, “We’ll have another friend with us. Is it alright with you?”

She hesitated. Another stranger? She had met many strangers after leaving the Gu Mansion. It was quite a torture this morning because she dared not look into their eyes or say anything to them. She…

She kept lowering her head silently. Therefore, Gu Nianbin said, “Forget it. There will be only two of us.”

Du Xiaoxian felt relieved and nodded promptly. It was not a problem to be with acquaintances.

Gu Nianbin believed it was a problem. How could she go to school and get along with her classmates and teachers like this? He sent her to school not only to be educated but also to join in normal social life. She had been alone for such a long time that she was incapable of communicating with others. Such social phobia was not good for her. She had to fit in, to make friends and to learn social skills. Only in this way could she live a normal life in future.

Gu Nianbin himself was surprised by his passion towards Du Xiaoxian’s affairs. He had even considered her future. He did not want her to live humbly for the rest of her life. He instructed her with unusual patience, only in hope of securing a bright future for her.

Zhou Ting sat outside quietly but didn’t hear anything inside. She took a glance of the room when Gu Nianbin opened the door. The little girl was dozing there. She was afraid that Gu Nianbin might be angry. But to her surprise, her boss was smiling on the contrary.

It was quite unusual. Gu Nianbin was known for his blank face with no obvious expressions. Being used to a poke-faced boss, Zhou Ting now was totally stunned by that rare smile. Did he smile for the successful meeting, or for the little girl?

She was still pondering over the mystery when Gu Nianbin closed the door to block her sight. Zhou Ting rubbed her face to sober up. Weird, all things were weird today. A weird girl and a weird boss. And their relationship…she shuddered suddenly and dared not think any further.

The door opened again. Gu Nianbin walked out and said, “Call Mr. Shao and tell him that I can’t have lunch with him this noon.”

Zhou Ting answered yes, but her eyes were on Du Xiaoxian who was following behind. The little girl was still the same as before, following Gu Nianbin closely with a lower head. Her fleeting observation was then interrupted by the boss with cold, arrow-like eye sights. Zhou Ting withdrew her eyes at once and saw them off in awe.