Chapter 81 - Best Friend Duties

"I'm done for the day! Meet you down in ten?"

Xi Long glanced at his watch and tried to calculate how much time he needed. He could leave now but he hated leaving behind small tasks if he could. Since Ying Yue had come he had completely stopped working and hadn't had time to finish it. He had seen her this morning and within a couple of hours be became greedy of her presence. Not that he intended on dropping the chip, it was a great reason for him to see her again. It was as if fate was working in his favour. "No I need to finish up some things and I know you have work to do. Go and we'll meet downstairs in thirty minutes."

"Ay Ay Captain." Adding in a mock salute, Zhuang Wei flashed a smile at the both of them before leaving.

As the door closed behind him, Zhuang Wei's face dropped back into a neutral expression. While he maintained a silly personality in front of Xi Long, he was 180° degrees different in front of employees. Throughout the office he tried to be one of the kinder directors and fairly social but entirely strict at the same time. It was good for information collecting that he kept a "harmonius" relationship with the staff but it was important to keep a line. Walking towards the secretaries he kept a cold smile on his face as he glanced at the three women there.

"I really hope details of this don't go around the office.....I hope you all know what I mean." A shiver ran down their backs as he spoke with a darker tone. They all nodded their head quickly in agreement before the atmosphere went back to normal. Relaxing his face he put on a charming smile before stepping away. "Great! Enjoy your the rest of your day!" Waving his fingers he signalled his goodbye and entered the elevator. He knew the secretaries on the top floor were the leads in giving office gossip and he usually turned a blind eye to any miniscule gossip. There was an unspoken rule that no business details were spoken outside and to work here confidentiality is key. They had a warning system like many other companies but they only gave one warning before people were fired. A lot of people applied every year to secure a job at the company so it was a fierce standard to keep your job. Not to say everyone cared, there were mang who broke the rules and thought they would not be caught. Still, in the end they were found and subsequently fired with a black mark portfolio forever.

The secretaries near Xi Long were chosen after intense vetting and held a higher status in the company social circle. They usually gave around small social gossip about the CEO like his outfits and if random indiviuals started trouble within the department. It was clear that they were shocked and curious about what happened. Xi Long's behaviour was unnerving and he should have known the effect of his rash actions. Though as his best friend he has the responsibility to cover what he forgot. Slipping in a small warning was the least he could do to stop the information circulating. Until he knew how serious they were and found out more about her it should remain a secret.

"Valentina....you sure are mysterious."

***

"So what work do you have left?" Looking up at him she saw him let out a small smile as he sat back down.

"Just a couple of papers and some emails, give me thirty minutes and I'll be done."

"Okay." Walking back to the sofa she took out her phone and opened up her news app. It was her routine to surf the daily news and keep note of what was happening. Even the small articles could mean something different and give valuable information. They both worked silently only the slight scratching of a pen against paper and his fingers typing against the keyboard could be heard. It was a comfortable silence and the time passed quickly. Hearing him pack up she lifted her head up from her phone and put it away.

Slipping her mask back on she waited a couple seconds for him to grab his things before they left the office. As they were walking towards the elevator she noticed him double click a button in his hand. She instantly can tell he turned on his security for the office room, she was curious as to what it exactly did but ignored it for now. As they waited for the elevator to arrive she sneaked a glance at the secretaries around her. She could see them keep their heads down and eyes glued to their desk. It was as if they were scared of looking up but she could feel their eyes on her once she turned her back fully. The curiousity was expected, in their place she would be just as curious but it was funny to see them hide.

It took a couple of seconds more for the elevator to arrive and they made their way down to the carpark. She followed him as he walked towards his car, just the soft taps of her shoes against the floor accompanying them. It was fairly empty to her surprise but it was a bit before work hours ended so it made sense. When they neared the car, both of them stilled as they stopped six feet away. She shifted her feet as Xi Long pushed her behind him and he slowly moved forward. A dark aura left Xi Long as his demenour changed. They could both feel that someone was near the car but hidden. Her fingers twitched as her eyes became hyper focused. For some reason as she neared the car she felt a strange tingling which was her cue that something was about to happen. She hesistated on bringing her weapons out but held herself back in case of it being a false alarm.

When they got close enough Xi Long spoke with a dangerous tone, "come out, I know you're there."