Chapter 124 - Asleep yet?

...

Han Ye showered and dried his hair with a dry towel before he lay on his bed. He was about to sleep when he realized something. 

Taking out his phone, he texted Xiao Lei. 

[ Asleep yet? ]

Xiao Lei was on her bed. She was watching a prank video online when she received his message. Once she read it, she quickly replied to him.  

[ Just about. What's up?] 

Han Ye thought for a moment before he texted.

[ I'm sending An Xin to work tomorrow, so I'll be leaving at 7.30 am instead of 6 am. Do you want a ride? ]

Xiao Lei sighed and typed back. 

[ Did your girlfriend give you permission for this? ]

Han Ye frowned. He murmured to himself, "Wait... Did Angela say something to her?" 

He shook his head and quickly typed.

[ You can tell? ]

[ *facepalm emoji* Only someone like you can't tell. ]

Han Ye sat up on his bed and typed back. 

[ What do you mean? ]

Xiao Lei chuckled as she typed. 

[ A man blinded by l.u.s.t. One who thinks with his D instead of his B. Alas, great civilizations had fallen because of the same blindness, so you shouldn't think too much about it. ]

Han Ye cursed as he quickly replied to her. 

[ You do know that you're talking to your boss, right? *angry emoji* ]

Xiao Lei scoffed, "Boss? I'm off work, you perv!" 

She then typed back.

[ *bowing emoji* Yes, Mr. Han. As your secretary, I shouldn't go to the office in my boss' car. ]

When Han Ye saw her message, he thought that she didn't get his joke and he quickly typed back.

[ I was joking. I've talked to Angela. She was just a little insecure earlier since our relationship is still unstable at the moment. We talked about it, and... I just need to tell you. I'm a taken man. If she somehow offended you, I'll apologize on her behalf. *sad emoji*]

Xiao Lei rolled her eyes. "I'm not offended. As if a simple woman can offend me."

[ Fine, Mr. I'm A Taken Man. I know why she's feeling insecure. After all, if I want to, I can be quite a drop-dead gorgeous woman, which you have witnessed earlier. Other women are going to feel threatened. ]

Han Ye choked on his saliva and started coughing. "This woman..."  

[... Have you always been this sure of yourself? I saw your head earlier. It wasn't that big. Did you pump air into it after I dropped you off earlier?]

Xiao Lei smiled when she read his message. 

[ Maybe... Anyway, I have to sleep. My boss is kind of an a*s. If I'm late to work, he will scold me. ]

Han Ye nodded. He lay on his bed and typed something. After a while, he deleted his original message and typed something else. 

[ I'm pretty sure your boss will be too afraid of you messing with his work schedule to scold you... Oh yeah, just a reminder. I have a party to attend this weekend and as my secretary, you're required to come as well.]

She frowned as she typed. 

[ This is not within my job scope. ]

[ I know you're frowning. Maybe this will take your frown away. It's triple your normal pay. ]

Less than 20 seconds after he sent the message, her reply came back. Short and sweet. 

[ Deal. ]

...

The next day at the office, Han Ye was stuck at a proposal that he was supposed to prepare for a meeting tomorrow. Despite thinking for hours, he couldn't think of a solution that would give 70% benefit to Du Corporation. Bored, he then changed the setting of his office wall, which was previously opaque, to a one-way mirror so that he could see what was going on outside his office. 

He smiled when he saw that Xiao Lei was looking at her computer screen intently. When he walked to the door and was about to open it, he noticed something else. Instead of reading the stuff he sent her earlier, she was playing Minesweeper. 

Han Ye frowned as he muttered to himself. "That woman... I told her to read the sites and she's playing Minesweeper?!" 

He then paced around his room for a while. After some consideration, he narrowed his eyes and an evil grin appeared on his face.

Walking back to his seat, he sat down and pressed a button on his intercom. When it connected, he said without waiting for any response, "Xiao Lei, please bring me a cup of coffee." 

Xiao Lei nodded. "Alright." 

Within 5 minutes, she returned with a mug of coffee and placed the coffee on Han Ye's table. 

Han Ye pretended to look at a doc.u.ment when he glanced at the mug and said gruffly, "This is not my mug."

"What?" Xiao Lei was confused. 

Han Ye sighed and continued to read his doc.u.ment as he said sternly, "My mug has HY written at the bottom."

"Why don't..." She was about to say something mean when she realized that she was at work. With a bow, she said, "Yes, sorry, Mr. Han." 

After she left the room, Han Ye looked at the door and grinned.  

She came back 5 minutes later with the right mug, but Han Ye looked at her impatiently as he said, "Xiao Lei, I don't drink instant coffee. I get sick from certain chemicals inside the instant coffee." 

"Fine..." Xiao Lei said through gritted teeth and a forced smile.

15 minutes later, she came back with another mug of freshly brewed coffee and placed it on his table. "Fresh coffee as per your order, Mr. Han." 

Han Ye took a sip and scowled. "Xiao Lei, I don't drink black coffee." 

This time, she did not say anything else. Instead, she took a deep breath and walked out with the mug. Another 15 minutes later, she came back with another mug of coffee.

Han Ye took a sip and sighed. He looked at her with an "I'm-so-disappointed" expression and shook his head slowly. Turning back to the doc.u.ment that he was not reading, he said, "Xiao Lei, this is too sweet."

She glared at him and it looked as if she were cursing him in her mind. 

Without even looking at her, Han Ye said, "Xiao Lei, it's bad to glare at your boss." 

She took a deep breath and went out with that mug of coffee. She went back into the pantry and bumped into An Xin who was brewing a fresh pot of coffee. Her angry expression as well as how loud she placed the mug into the sink took An Xin aback.

Curious, the latter looked at her as she asked cautiously, "Are you alright, Ms. Xiao?" 

"My boss is being a difficult a*s!" Xiao Lei complained. Most of Xiao Lei's previous jobs, which was mostly cleaning people's houses or cars, did not require constant supervision or interaction with her bosses.  

She then told An Xin what had been happening since the last hour, to which, the latter laughed and asked, "Ms. Xiao, have it ever occurred to you to ask what Mr. Han wants?" 

"What?" Xiao Lei frowned as she looked at her. 

An Xin chuckled. To her, Xiao Lei was like a fresh graduate who knew nothing about how to please their boss. She smiled and shook her head. "This is an office, and he's your boss. And you're a secretary! You're supposed to know what your boss likes to drink."

Xiao Lei scowled. "But how can I possibly know everything?"