CH 7

After opening up, Zhou Qingbo completely let go of the burden from the blind date. Pei You also pulled Zhou Qingbo’s contact information from the “Blind Date 33-Zhou” group and changed the name to “Zhou Qingbo.”

The audit work was tedious and complicated. After moving to Qingshan as part of the audit team, Zhou Qingbo had been thrown into Pei You’s team by Zhou Cangshan, who claimed it was to assist him.

In reality, after a few days with Pei You, Zhou Qingbo felt like he had seen enough numbers for a lifetime.

Pei You’s demeanor during work and his usual appearance were completely different. If there had been some initial awkwardness when they first worked together, it had completely disappeared the following days.

The air purifier in the office hummed, and the water dispenser switched back and forth between green and red lights. The new shredder box was already half full, and the waste bin was filled with coffee cups.

As lunchtime approached, the bright sun outside cast dazzling rays through the half-closed Venetian blinds, making people’s eyes dazzled.

Pei You moved his computer to avoid the reflective area and said without looking up, “In the afternoon, take a person and go to the bank with the accountant to get the letter back. The bank rejected the previous format.”

A young girl to Pei You’s right opened her computer, clicked a ballpoint pen, and wrote two lines in her work notebook while asking casually, “Got it. Is there anything else?”

“Not for now,” Pei You asked, “Where are the asset documents?”

“Here.”

A stack of documents was quickly pushed over from the other side of the desk, and then a half-fluffy head barely emerged from behind the documents.

“They are all here,” she said. “By the way, Qingshan has two wholly-owned acquired companies. One of them has already been converted into a branch and is directly managed by Qingshan. The other subsidiary company is maintained as an independent legal entity, operating independently.”

“I see,” Pei You said, “Leave them here, and I’ll take a look later.”

Just as he was speaking, someone knocked on the office door. Pei You turned his head and saw Zhou Qingbo waving at him from outside the frosted glass door.

“Come in,” Pei You said.

Zhou Qingbo followed the voice, pushed open the door, carrying a bag that was neither big nor small, and greeted the people inside with a smile.

“It’s time for lunch,” Zhou Qingbo said. “We don’t need to rush with work. Let’s have lunch first and then continue.”

The several auditors in the office instinctively turned their heads to look at Pei You. Pei You glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the computer and found that it was indeed lunchtime.

“In that case, let’s take a lunch break,” Pei You said. “Organize the materials in the afternoon, and those needing rework should be submitted to me.”

His words had just fallen, and several auditors had already happily stood up and filed out one after another, saying to Pei You, “sir, are you not going to eat?”

“I won’t go. You guys go,” Pei You said.

Qingshan had its own cafeteria, offering affordable and delicious food, and it was open to the auditors for free. However, Pei You’s lunch for the past few days had been taken care of by Zhou Qingbo, so he hadn’t tried it yet.

Zhou Qingbo leaned against the door, watching his colleagues leave, then walked into the office with the bag and gently closed the door with his foot.

“Today, let’s have Cantonese cuisine,” Zhou Qingbo signaled Pei You with a smile and said, “How about steamed sea bass and poached chicken?”

As he spoke, he picked up the takeout bag and walked over to Pei You’s side. He looked around, shifted the stack of documents in front of Pei You, creating some space, and then placed the takeout boxes on the table.

“You don’t have to treat me to lunch every day,” Pei You said helplessly, “It’s too much of an expense.”

“What’s the expense? Just a few more pairs of chopsticks,” Zhou Qingbo replied.

Zhou Cangshan assigned Zhou Qingbo to work with Pei You, hoping that Pei You would put some pressure on him and help him get used to the high-pressure work mode and change his lazy nature. However, Zhou Qingbo had no interest in that and wasn’t cut out for it either. The first two days were manageable, but starting from the third day, the work became extremely painful for him. Luckily, Pei You was a decent person who took care of Zhou Qingbo and even covered for him in front of Zhou Cangshan multiple times.

Feeling grateful, Zhou Qingbo decided to bring Pei You along for lunch every day.

“In any case, I’d have to eat lunch even if you’re not here,” Zhou Qingbo said, “It’s just a few extra dishes.”

While Zhou Qingbo’s work performance was lacking, he was skilled in enjoying good food and drinks. The takeout he ordered wasn’t particularly expensive, but the taste was excellent. He seemed to find those hidden gems from some obscure sources.

“This restaurant is newly opened, so I’m not sure about the taste,” Zhou Qingbo said, “Let’s give it a try, and if it’s not good, we can change it.”

Pei You wasn’t very picky; he bent over and placed two blank A4 papers on the table to protect the documents from soup splashes.

“I’ve been meaning to ask since yesterday,” Zhou Qingbo moved his chair closer, carefully lifting the bowl cover while saying, “In this day and age, you guys still read paper documents. Isn’t it troublesome?”

“Paper documents are a bit more secure,” Pei You said, “But we have to look at both electronic records and paper documents because sometimes the information entered electronically might differ from the data in the paper documents, leading to financial discrepancies.”

As he mentioned this, Pei You suddenly recalled something. He put down his chopsticks, rummaged through his to-do list, and found a page.

“Like these,” Pei You pointed to some data marked with a highlighter on the list and asked, “The highest single reimbursement is 2,800 yuan, but there’s no reimbursement form. The finance department said it was a hospitality expense claimed by your Human Resources department.”

“Hospitality, probably a department gathering,” Zhou Qingbo said.

Zhou Qingbo was a good boss. He was easy-going, generous, and not stingy at all. As long as the department’s performance was good, he would often take the team out for team-building meals.

Usually, he would pay the bill first and then get reimbursed later. Occasionally, when they had too much fun, some receipts would get lost.

However, Zhou Cangshan knew Zhou Qingbo’s personality, and he wouldn’t tamper with such minor issues. So, he always approved the reimbursement for him.

“It’s not much,” Zhou Qingbo said, “Let’s just leave it… Do we need to review this as well?”

“According to regulations, anything without solid evidence should be reviewed,” Pei You said, “Do you remember where you had that meal?”

Qingshan had invited auditors a few times over the years to optimize their internal finances. However, none of them had been as meticulous as Pei You. Zhou Qingbo tried hard to recall but couldn’t remember the specifics.

“I really forgot,” Zhou Qingbo bit his chopsticks and said with a troubled expression, “It’s been several months since then, and I can’t recall it clearly. Anyway, I paid for it. Shall I check my payment records?”

Pei You nodded, “If you can’t find the specific transaction, just provide a list of expenses for that time period.”

“Got it,” Zhou Qingbo nodded and used a spoon to remove the carrots from the soup, saying, “I’ll send a message to my secretary to check it.”

Pei You agreed with a soft “Mmm” and put the documents back in place. He then lowered his head and began to drink the soup silently.

After working together for those few days, Zhou Qingbo had probably figured out Pei You’s nature. Besides work, Pei You wasn’t good at engaging in small talk with others. Usually, if Zhou Qingbo didn’t initiate a conversation, they could sit face to face in silence in the office.

Zhou Qingbo was an outgoing person and wasn’t used to such silence at first. He felt like he was sitting next to a high mountain flower, making him uncomfortable.

But after a few days, Zhou Qingbo gradually realized that Pei You wasn’t cold, he just didn’t know what to say.

Pei You didn’t seek out excitement, but he didn’t avoid communication either. If Zhou Qingbo wanted to chat about random topics, he wouldn’t find it annoying. But if Zhou Qingbo didn’t feel like talking, Pei You didn’t take it as a snub.

In general, Pei You was polite and gentle, but perhaps too serious. He hadn’t experienced the world of romance, which sometimes made him seem a bit awkward.

It’s a pity, Zhou Qingbo thought with regret; Pei You would probably be quite popular if he were into women.

The two of them finished their meal in silence, and then Pei You stood up and disposed of the empty lunch boxes.

They had a clear division of labor, a silent agreement developed over an unknown number of meals. Zhou Qingbo was responsible for preparing the meal, and Pei You took care of the aftermath.

As Pei You left to throw away the garbage, Zhou Qingbo, who was full, began to feel drowsy and lazily leaned back in his chair, checking his phone.

Several new messages popped up on WeChat. Zhou Qingbo clicked on them and saw that they were from an old acquaintance.

“I have a performance tonight, and I need someone. Are you coming?”

Zhou Qingbo raised an eyebrow, used his finger to stroke the screen, thought for a moment, and then replied with a secret code-like message.

“What time?” he asked.

“From 7:30 to 11:30,” the other person replied, “You can leave early if you want.”

The other person’s message teased Zhou Qingbo, making him itch with excitement. Unable to resist, he sent a cheeky emoji back and replied, “Sure, get my baby ready and wait for me.”

After sending the message, Zhou Qingbo saw Pei You just returning from throwing away the garbage. He saw Zhou Qingbo, who was smiling like a sunflower while holding his phone and felt as if he had been possessed by someone else.

“Why are you so happy?” Pei You wondered.

“It’s a secret,” Zhou Qingbo said mysteriously, tucking his phone into his pocket. “By the way, I’ll be in your office this afternoon.”

The lunch break was two hours, but the audit team was used to being busy. Soon after finishing their meal, they all returned to the office.

Zhou Cangshan had assigned them a meeting room with a long table. Pei You occupied one end of the table alone, while Zhou Qingbo pulled a chair and sat beside him, taking up just a corner of the table, silently blending into the background.

Due to Zhou Cangshan’s arrangement, Zhou Qingbo had been working with the audit team quite often those days. They were used to seeing him around, so they didn’t find his presence unusual and continued with their tasks.

“sir,” a young girl next to Pei You raised her head from the computer and said, “The independently operated subsidiary hasn’t submitted the required documents.”

“Did you remind them?” Pei You asked.

“Yes, I did,” she replied. “But they are dragging their feet and not providing the documents.”

Pei You had reviewed the information before. The company in question was not a local one in Beijing and was relatively small, with only around forty to fifty employees. It was an engineering company. Normally, such small companies without connections and not involved in emerging industries wouldn’t be considered for Qingshan’s future development plans. Pei You wondered why Zhou Cangshan acquired it.

“Zhou Qingbo,” Pei You reached over and took the materials from the colleague. He then turned his head to ask, “Do you happen to know…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Pei You stopped. Zhou Qingbo had moved his chair to a corner without him realizing it. He had his notebook on his lap, but he had already fallen asleep, tilting his head awkwardly, nestling in the chair.

Zhou Qingbo was sleeping soundly, and Pei You hesitated for a moment, not wanting to disturb him. He decided to leave the other half of the question for Zhou Cangshan.

The central air conditioning hummed, and the red cloth strips at the air vents fluttered up and down. Pei You reached over and gently took the notebook computer that was about to fall off Zhou Qingbo’s knee and then picked up his suit jacket from the back of the chair, draping it over Zhou Qingbo.

After completing those actions, Pei You quietly pulled the chair away and returned to his seat.

“Speak in a low voice,” Pei You said, “Message me if you need anything major.”