CH 8

As the car left the company’s underground parking lot, Feng Si looked at the navigation on his phone and asked Lu Jingshen, who was in the passenger seat, “What do you want to eat?”

Lu Jingshen replied calmly, “Anything.”

Feng Si glanced at him and casually opened a restaurant review app, handing the phone to Lu Jingshen for him to choose.

After a couple of minutes, Lu Jingshen handed the phone back, saying, “Let’s go to this one.”

Feng Si took a look; it was a Southeast Asian restaurant, nothing special, and quite far away. It would take at least twenty minutes to drive there.

He smiled and didn’t ask any further questions, entering the destination in the navigation system.

……….

While Lu Jingshen looked at the menu, Feng Si occasionally took a sip of mint water and kept his gaze on the slightly lowered face across from him, subtly studying him with his eyes.

Lu Jingshen raised his eyes, unexpectedly meeting Feng Si’s intense gaze. He paused for a moment.

Feng Si’s eyes carried a hint of adoration as he stared at him, becoming more obvious.

Lu Jingshen shifted his gaze away, picked up his own glass, and took a sip of water.

When the dishes arrived, Lu Jingshen silently ate, even though the food was ordinary. His elegance made him appear extra refined.

Feng Si’s gaze remained on him, and he reminisced of the past.

During those three months they spent together seven years ago, they had wandered aimlessly together in Africa, traveling through unfamiliar countries, cities, and vast deserts. They were used to roughing it, and elegance was nearly an impossibility.

Those were the happiest times, but unfortunately, they only lasted for those three months.

“Why did we come here to eat?” Feng Si asked.

Lu Jingshen didn’t raise his eyes and replied, “I just chose randomly.”

Feng Si said, “Afraid of being seen? If we chose a restaurant near the company, perhaps some employees would recognize you while eating. Alex, what are you ashamed of?”

Lu Jingshen’s hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly as he looked at Feng Si, who was smiling again. Feng Si’s tone was mocking and unserious, “I said not to stare at me like that, or I might think you’re trying to seduce me.”

From that point on until they finished the meal, Lu Jingshen didn’t respond to Feng Si’s teasing.

As they were driving back, Lu Jingshen’s gaze fell on a large billboard outside the building, and he earnestly looked at it for a while. Feng Si noticed and followed his gaze. It was a jewelry advertisement featuring a young male celebrity in his twenties. His smile was enchanting, exuding a boldness that seemed almost supernatural, shamelessly radiating hormones.

Feng Si chuckled, “So, Lu Jingshen, you’re interested in this type of young boys?”

Lu Jingshen averted his gaze, “He’s my younger brother.”

“Huh?” Perplexed, Feng Si didn’t understand.

Lu Jingshen calmly repeated, “The one in the poster, he’s my younger brother.”

Feng Si raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Your biological brother?”

Lu Jingshen nodded, “Yes.”

“Besides your sister, you also have a biological brother?”

Feng Si looked back at the poster, examining it for a moment. The person in the poster didn’t resemble Lu Jingshen much, and their personalities were likely very different. The person in the poster exuded a somewhat arrogant aura, like a pampered child from a wealthy family.

He asked Lu Jingshen, “Do you have any other siblings besides your sister and brother?”

Lu Jingshen replied, “No.”

Feng Si laughed, “Should I consider myself honored then? You are willing to share personal family matters with me.”

Lu Jingshen ignored his comment and continued facing forward.

Feng Si lightly tapped the steering wheel with his fingers, “It seems like your family is quite open-minded. They even allowed your brother to enter the entertainment industry and become a public figure. I guess he’s living a more comfortable life than you.”

Lu Jingshen didn’t want to continue the conversation and simply said, “I don’t approve, but it’s what he likes,” putting an end to the topic.

Feng Si smiled and stepped on the accelerator, driving away and leaving the large poster behind.

In the afternoon, Liu Jie assigned some tasks to Pheng Si, asking him to organize Lu Jingshen’s schedule for the next two weeks and coordinate the timings to prevent him from being idle and bothering Lu Jingshen.

Feng Si looked at the densely packed schedule in his hands and clicked his tongue, “Do you want to kill your boss with this? Can’t you cancel some of these unimportant appointments? And can’t we avoid repeating some of these meetings to save time?”

Liu Jie replied irritably, “Who told you they’re unimportant? These are all crucial appointments that have been approved by the boss himself.”

Feng Si frowned slightly and didn’t bother to respond. He sat down at the computer and started working.

He delegated the tasks that could be delegated to others. With so many people in the company, there was no need for Lu Jingshen to shoulder all the responsibilities alone. The main objective was to ensure that Lu Jingshen could start work at 9 a.m., finish at 6 p.m., and attend no more than two social engagements per week.

Next to him was a beautiful secretary. Feng Si occasionally asked her for advice, inquiring about the specific content of the tasks mentioned in the schedule. He made adjustments based on her input and his own judgment.

The secretary had plenty of work to do herself, but she couldn’t refuse Feng Si’s inquiries when he spoke to her with a smile. She answered his questions promptly.

Eventually, they started chatting. The secretary curiously asked, “I heard that you are the private pilot for the boss’s private plane. How come you’re here as the boss’s assistant?”

Feng Si responded, “Isn’t it good to be the boss’s personal assistant?”

The secretary felt that his tone was a bit strange, but under his smiling gaze, she blushed and didn’t have the heart to refuse. She continued, “I can see that the boss treats you well.”

Feng Si glanced in the direction of Lu Jingshen’s office door, his smile deepening, “I hope you’re right.”

At half-past five, when Lu Jingshen left his office, he passed by the secretary’s office and caught sight of Feng Si slouching in his chair, engaged in a lively conversation with the secretary at the adjacent workstation.

Hearing Liu Jie’s discreet cough, the secretary turned around and met Lu Jingshen’s cold and indifferent gaze. Startled, she quickly sat up straight, moved her chair back to her workstation, lowered her head, and resumed her work.

Lu Jingshen had already walked away, and Feng Si calmly stood up, smiled at the embarrassed secretary, and blinked. Then he caught up with Lu Jingshen.

Lu Jingshen had a dinner appointment to attend. As he sat in the car, Feng Si opened the tablet he had brought and displayed the streamlined schedule he had prepared in the afternoon, handing it to Lu Jingshen.

“Let’s follow this schedule from now on. I’ve delegated all the unnecessary tasks to others. We shouldn’t burden you with all these responsibilities. The main goal is to ensure that you start work at nine and finish at six every day, with no more than two social engagements per week.”

Feng Si stated it matter-of-factly, without doubting his own judgment or worrying about delaying Lu Jingshen’s matters.

On the passenger seat, Liu Jie turned to Lu Jingshen and quickly explained that it wasn’t her idea, but rather Feng Si’s own initiative. She also gave Feng Si a stern look, but Feng Si acted as if he hadn’t noticed.

Lu Jingshen examined the concise and clear schedule in front of him. At first, he frowned, but then his gaze focused on it, and he remained motionless for a while.

Feng Si’s intuition was sharp. He had sorted out which tasks were important and needed Lu Jingshen’s personal attention, and which tasks were less important and could be delegated. There were hardly any mistakes, and even for the tasks that were delegated, he had provided his opinions in the notes.

“Alright then.”

Lu Jingshen handed the tablet back to Feng Si. Turning to Liu Jie, who looked surprised, he said, “It’s fine. Let’s see if we can improve work efficiency with this.”

Liu Jie swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth and nodded, “Okay, I understand.”

Feng Si remarked, “It seems that I have finally done something that pleases the boss.”

In a deep voice, Lu Jingshen reminded him, “Don’t make decisions on your own next time.”

Feng Si smirked and smiled, leaving the next time for future consideration.

By the time they returned home after finishing their social engagement, it was already past 9 p.m. Upon entering the apartment, Lu Jingshen went straight to the bathroom, leaned over the sink, and vomited all the alcohol he had consumed.

Feng Si followed him and stood by the door, watching him.

At the dinner table, Lu Jingshen had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol in front of government officials. He had pretended as if everything was fine, drinking one glass after another. Now, he was paying the price for it.

After vomiting, Lu Jingshen rinsed his mouth directly from the tap, splashing water all over his face.

Feng Si reached out and firmly grabbed his arm, pulling him up.

Lu Jingshen’s wet hair hung in front of his forehead, his eyes hazy, his upturned eyes reddened. He looked at Feng Si dazedly.

Feng Si lifted his hand and patted his face, “Do you still recognize who I am?”

Lu Jingshen looked at him without saying a word. His eyes flickered, revealing a subtle emotion.

Leaning against the bathroom door, Feng Si calmly looked back at him. His hand, which had been pressed against Lu Jingshen’s ear, slowly moved down to the back of his neck, reminiscent of how he played with a beautiful glass during lunch.

Lu Jingshen’s eyelashes trembled, but he still didn’t speak. Feng Si’s fingers turned forward and caressed his unconscious Adam’s apple.

Moving downward, he undid the tie that Lu Jingshen had personally tied earlier that morning.

Lu Jingshen let out a low breath, his voice clear in the quiet bathroom.

Feng Si pressed him against the wall, leaning closer until their breaths intertwined, their eyes locked. The emotions in Lu Jingshen’s eyes could no longer be concealed.

It was an intensely suppressed, burning desire.

Intoxication made Lu Jingshen somewhat unsteady on his feet. Back pressed against the wall, he slid down slowly. Feng Si held onto his waist, casually removing his bothersome suit jacket and tossing it aside. With a knee pressed in between his legs, Feng Si prevented his body from sliding completely.

Lu Jingshen was trapped in that position, at once familiar and unfamiliar, with an intoxicating scent lingering at his nostrils, stimulating his nerves and awakening the desires that had been suppressed within him for years, yet instinctively resisting.

Feng Si’s deep voice sounded near his ear, “Alex, you’re hard.”