In the project team’s assistants-and-admin group chat, “Bosses’ Little Tails”—
[Why is the big boss here??????? Terrified.jpg]
[No idea—this isn’t even year-end yet! Terrified.jpg]
[Exactly! And normally when the big boss comes, doesn’t Director Qiao give a heads-up in the bosses’ group first? Terrified.jpg]
[Did Director Qiao forget today?! Terrified.jpg]
[Holy crap, He Xiaoyuan is still standing there. Someone—please—escort him back to his desk. Terrified.jpg]
[But isn’t his desk even scarier to go back to? Terrified.jpg]
[Covering face laughing-crying.jpg Director Yang really picked a great spot. Thanks so much, Director Yang. He Xiaoyuan really is Director Yang’s “biological son.” Terrified.jpg]
……
On He Xiaoyuan’s end, he finally sensed that something was off amid the sudden silence.
What was going on?
He honestly didn’t get it.
Lu Chen had arrived, and then… huh?
The atmosphere felt weird.
Is everyone really that scared of Lu-ge? He Xiaoyuan wondered, completely baffled.
Still, since he was the only one standing, he knew he looked a bit out of place. Holding his coffee, he walked back to his workstation.
As he passed by, he glanced at Qin Chengfei’s monitor and was speechless—Qin Chengfei was still playing Minesweeper.
Only after sitting down did He Xiaoyuan fully realize what Lu Chen had meant when he said he’d saved him a “good seat” in the project team, one close to him—this close.
Desk to desk. Face to face. The closest spot in the entire office.
He Xiaoyuan laughed helplessly to himself.
So that empty long table across from me—without even a computer on it—is Lu Chen’s workstation?
Was this being laid-back to the extreme, or just uniquely unconventional?
He Xiaoyuan could only laugh again.
Once he sat down, Lu Chen met his eyes. Others might not understand it, but He Xiaoyuan did—Lu Chen was greeting him. So He Xiaoyuan quietly returned the look.
After that silent exchange, Chang Bei, who was standing beside Lu Chen, began explaining how the rumor about him holding thirty million in intended funds while the other party wouldn’t even meet him had started, and what the actual situation of the case was.
He Xiaoyuan didn’t stare at them. He pretended to look at his screen while discreetly pricking up his ears to listen.
During the twenty minutes that Chang Bei spent “communicating” his case one-sidedly to Lu Chen, the glass door opened again and again. Several people He Xiaoyuan had never seen before slipped into the office quietly and quickly, returning to their desks.
He Xiaoyuan discreetly messaged Qin Chengfei—who was finally not playing Minesweeper—asking if he knew who those people were.
Qin Chengfei replied:
[The first one was Xue Jinming, one of the bosses.]
[The one in the black shirt is Yu Xun, also a boss.]
[The one who just came in is Xiao Qiyi, boss as well.]
……
With Qin Chengfei’s prompts, He Xiaoyuan silently memorized the names and faces.
As for the term “boss,” based on what Lu Chen had explained before about the project team, He Xiaoyuan understood it this way: officially staffed team members who held projects—not literally “directors,” but extremely high-level, commonly called “boss” within the group.
Now, seeing these bosses show up one by one, lining up to bring their files to Lu Chen for case reports, He Xiaoyuan suddenly grasped just how much higher Lu Chen’s level was. And once again, he marveled—Lu Chen truly was a top executive, a real boss.
Meanwhile, Yu Xun, Xue Jinming, Xiao Qiyi, and the rest were marveling just as silently: What kind of “auspicious day” is this, to summon the big boss himself?
Is Mercury in retrograde or something?!
Standing in line, Yu Xun, Xue Jinming, and Xiao Qiyi exchanged glances—
Yu Xun: You guys go first.
Xue Jinming: In your dreams!
Xiao Qiyi: No way!
Yu Xun: Rock-paper-scissors?
Xue Jinming looked up at the ceiling. Xiao Qiyi stared at the floor.
Yu Xun: …
Their shared inner thought: What’s going on? The big boss shows up and Old Qiao didn’t say a word beforehand?
Are we even brothers anymore?!
Meanwhile, He Xiaoyuan was fully engrossed, ears perked up as he listened to the case details. Whenever he heard a term he didn’t quite understand, he opened a document and typed it down. Out of the corner of his eye, he met Qin Chengfei’s gaze—sure enough, Qin Chengfei was listening too.
He Xiaoyuan blinked at him. Qin Chengfei raised an eyebrow.
He Xiaoyuan looked back at his screen. Qin Chengfei messaged him on OA:
[Looks like this is a boss among bosses.]
Feeling closer to the truth, He Xiaoyuan replied:
[The big boss.]
As the big boss sat there “sorting out” one mid-level boss after another, the mid-level bosses who had just returned lined up at Lu Chen’s side. Each of them inevitably glanced at He Xiaoyuan sitting across the desk—and every one of them was struck by how good-looking he was, though their inner reactions varied—
Yu Xun: Who’s that?
Xue Jinming: Ohhh, the male model!
Xiao Qiyi: (⊙v⊙) Is he really that handsome?!
……
Not hearing Xiao Qiyi speak, Lu Chen slowly lifted his head. “What are you looking at?”
Xiao Qiyi blurted out, “I’m looking at the handsome—uh—the declining market and whether there’s still room to reverse losses.”
Lu Chen: “.”
He Xiaoyuan: “.”
Qin Chengfei: “.”
Xiao Qiyi: QAQ
That day, Lu Chen stayed until six. When it was time to get off work, he didn’t move, and the entire office remained deathly silent—no one dared to move either.
Only when Lu Chen, head lowered over his documents, lifted his hand to check the time and calmly said, “You’re off,” did people in the back office area begin to stand and leave, one by one, tails metaphorically tucked between their legs.
Those who left were all from admin—no assistants. Of course assistants couldn’t leave; their own bosses were still standing there with the big boss, enduring his “thunder and rain.” How could they possibly desert the battlefield?
He Xiaoyuan thought it over. There was nothing for him to do anymore, so he decided to leave. He raised a hand, shut down his computer, and stood up.
The moment he did, all the bosses clustered around Lu Chen lifted their heads in perfect unison—like a group of cats locking onto a feather teaser.
Yu Xun: We don’t want to stare either.
Xue Jinming: It’s just… we’ve never seen him before.
Xiao Qiyi: And he’s this handsome.
He Xiaoyuan noticed, but since he was used to being looked at, he didn’t think much of it. As he pushed his chair back under the desk, he bent slightly toward Lu Chen and said quietly, “President Lu, I’ll head out first.”
Lu Chen lifted his gaze from the documents. “Mm. Get home early.”
The surrounding bosses: “……”
Chang Bei: Is he not scared because he’s good-looking?
Yu Xun: Young—like a newborn calf that isn’t afraid of tigers?
Xue Jinming: Just started, hasn’t experienced the big boss’s ferocity yet?
Xiao Qiyi: Never been taken apart and eaten by the big boss before?
Bosses, collectively: Impressive. 👍
Only Qin Chengfei—who was also getting ready to leave—noticed a small detail: He Xiaoyuan had called the big boss “President Lu.”
Qin Chengfei didn’t know Lu Chen and had never seen him before, but he’d interacted with a few of Spris’s senior executives and knew the company’s top boss’s surname was Lu.
Earlier, when he saw He Xiaoyuan refer to the man as “big boss” on OA, he’d assumed He Xiaoyuan was reminding him that this man was the company’s top executive. Now, hearing He Xiaoyuan directly address him as President Lu, Qin Chengfei assumed He Xiaoyuan had already figured out the man’s real identity as well.
His thinking was simple: since everyone knew and it was an open secret, there was no need to further discuss who the man was.
“Goodbye, President Lu.”
Qin Chengfei also said his farewell and left.
The bosses: “……”
They were worse than the newbies.
He Xiaoyuan got on the shuttle bus. Thinking back to how all the “presidents” had looked earlier—like quails facing an eagle—he couldn’t help but smile to himself.
Is Lu-ge always that fierce at work when he’s President Lu?
Maybe.
He Xiaoyuan thought very seriously.
Then he thought: There really is a big difference between Lu-ge at work and Lu-ge in private.
Which led to: Then from now on, in the company and the department, I shouldn’t joke around with President Lu. When it’s time to be serious, I should be serious.
He Xiaoyuan: Alright. That’s settled.
That evening, as usual, He Xiaoyuan received a call from Lu Chen. Lu Chen asked whether, after leaving the department, he’d gone out to eat with someone or gone straight back to the dorm.
He Xiaoyuan replied, “Didn’t make any plans today. I went straight back.”
Comparing Lu Chen’s tone now with how he’d sounded that afternoon, He Xiaoyuan felt that privately, Lu Chen really was much more easygoing.
He asked, “Lu-ge, are you always like that at work?”
“Like what?” Lu Chen asked.
“Like… how you were this afternoon.”
Lu Chen played dumb. “How was I this afternoon?”
He Xiaoyuan laughed. “That serious.”
Lu Chen’s voice was gentle. “More or less.”
He Xiaoyuan turned around, leaned his back against the railing, and propped an elbow up casually. Smiling, he said, “I really didn’t expect you to be like that at work.”
Lu Chen asked for the third time, “Like what?”
He Xiaoyuan knew Lu Chen was teasing him and said helplessly, “President. Lu.”
Only then did Lu Chen answer properly. “I’m used to it. I was like that from the start.”
He explained, “I’m actually younger than Chang Bei and the others. When I first started at the company, if I wasn’t serious—or a bit harsh—some people wouldn’t take me seriously.”
That made He Xiaoyuan realize he still didn’t know how old Lu Chen was.
He hurriedly asked, “Lu-ge, what year were you born?”
Lu Chen laughed softly and didn’t answer.
He Xiaoyuan started guessing. “Thirty-one? Thirty-two? Thirty-three? Thirty-four? Probably not over thirty-five, right?”
Then he deliberately raised his voice. “Thirty-nine?!”
Lu Chen laughed.
He Xiaoyuan pressed, “Come on, tell me. I’m curious.”
Lu Chen indulged him. “Why are you curious about that?”
He Xiaoyuan said, “No big reason. I just want to know how many years apart we are—how many generation gaps there are between us.”
Lu Chen asked, “How do you calculate a generation gap?”
He Xiaoyuan thought for a moment. “Isn’t the usual saying two years equals one generation gap?”
Then he said, “How about this—I’m twenty-one. You just tell me how many generation gaps there are between us. Five? Or six—”
“Five and a half,” Lu Chen replied.
He Xiaoyuan froze, then quickly did the math. “So you’re thirty-two.”
Lu Chen said, “Mm. Satisfied now?”
He Xiaoyuan laughed. What was there to be satisfied or not about?
But since chatting was about having fun, he went along with it. “Satisfied. Very satisfied. This age gap is just right.”
Lu Chen’s tone was casual, amused. “What’s so good about it?”
He Xiaoyuan made it up without hesitation. “If the gap’s too small, it doesn’t show how mature you are. If it’s too big, I can’t call you ‘ge’ anymore—I’d have to change how I address you. Eleven years is just right.”
His tone was bright and playful, showing not only his good mood but also how much more familiar and relaxed he’d become with Lu Chen.
Lu Chen could hear it too, and followed along. “As long as you’re satisfied. If you’re satisfied, then I’m satisfied.”
He Xiaoyuan asked with a laugh, “What are you satisfied with, Lu-ge?”
Lu Chen replied, “Everything.”
“Everything?” He Xiaoyuan echoed.
“Mm. Everything,” Lu Chen said. Then added, “I like younger people. Younger ones aren’t sensible yet—I get to teach them. Makes me look like I know everything, all mature and steady.”
That made He Xiaoyuan laugh, his shoulders shaking.
……
Behind him, a crescent moon hung high in the sky.
Under that same moonlight, the [Middle-Aged Disco] group chat was in a completely different mood that night—
Chang Bei: @Qiao Sixing @Qiao Sixing @Qiao Sixing
Chang Bei: Little Qiao, you have no heart! The boss showed up and you didn’t give us any warning!
Xiao Qiyi: Good thing I live nearby and managed to rush over. I was in such a hurry putting on my shoes in the entryway that I almost tripped and died on the spot, QAQ.
Xue Jinming: That was terrifying. This afternoon was fucking terrifying.
Yu Xun: I still feel traumatized.
Xiao Qiyi: Trauma +1
Chang Bei: +2
+3
…
Qiao Sixing: The boss wasn’t even here for you guys.
Message retracted.
Qiao Sixing: Forgot. I’ll be more careful next time.
Yang Yun: eating popcorn.jpg
Chang Bei: Thank god the big boss only comes by occasionally. If he’s still here tomorrow, I’m going to the hospital for a heart bypass.
Yang Yun: eating popcorn.jpg
Qiao Sixing: Ahem, the boss might not necessarily be gone tomorrow.
Chang Bei: ?
Yu Xun: ?
Xiao Qiyi: ?
Xue Jinming: What? What did you just say?
Yang Yun: eating popcorn.jpg
…
The next day, when He Xiaoyuan arrived at the office, he could clearly feel the lingering aftershock of Lu Chen’s presence from the day before.
The area was quiet, the atmosphere heavy. No one was chatting, and even when someone spoke, they kept their voice low.
He Xiaoyuan glanced toward the back and saw Chang Bei’s assistant signaling to him with a phone. He nodded in response.
Sitting down and turning on his computer, He Xiaoyuan pulled out his phone and realized he’d been added to a new group not long ago.
The group name was: “The Bosses’ Little Tails.”
People were already chatting inside—
Is the big boss not coming today, right? terrified.jpg
No idea… what if he does? terrified.jpg
Based on past experience, he won’t. terrified.jpg
Praying he doesn’t show up. burning incense.jpg
burning incense.jpg
burning incense.jpg
…
He Xiaoyuan found it hilarious.
He thought this group really wasn’t suitable for him—like a wolf’s direct subordinate wandering into a den of sheep.
He had just put his phone down when the office door opened and several unfamiliar faces walked in, carrying laptops and even desktop towers.
They efficiently made their way to the long table in front of He Xiaoyuan’s workstation. The way they installed the computers was like an F1 pit crew changing tires mid-race—keyboard, mouse, done in seconds. After setting up the computers, they even neatly arranged a document tray, stuck pens into a holder, and placed a decorative green plant on the desk.
Once finished, they left together just as efficiently, disappearing so fast it was as if they’d never been there at all.
The entire office: “……”
Dead silent. As quiet as a grave.
He Xiaoyuan could practically feel the mourning atmosphere behind him. He picked up his phone to check the group chat, and sure enough—
I’m going to die. collapsing.jpg
Does this mean the big boss isn’t just coming today, but will be here regularly from now on? I’m dying too. collapsing.jpg
Does my boss know about this? collapsing.jpg
Probably not. If he did, he’d already be here. collapsing.jpg
I can’t do this anymore. I feel like I’m about to suffocate. collapsing.jpg pinching philtrum.jpg
…
He Xiaoyuan wanted to laugh just reading it, and had to restrain himself to keep from actually laughing out loud.
That was when Qin Chengfei arrived.
Seeing the long table already set up with computers, he showed no surprise at all. Calmly, he sat down, calmly powered on the computer, and even calmly exchanged a glance with He Xiaoyuan, greeting him with a simple, “Morning.”
He Xiaoyuan: “Morning.”
He had the strange feeling that Qin Chengfei might just open his computer and start playing Minesweeper like nothing was wrong.
But he didn’t.
Qin Chengfei turned his head and, in the dead-quiet atmosphere, lowered his voice and asked, “How much did you hear yesterday?”
He Xiaoyuan paused, thought for a moment. “Part of it. Some of it I didn’t really understand. You?”
Qin Chengfei: “About the same.”
…
The two briefly exchanged thoughts about the case they’d “overheard” yesterday. Because the office was so quiet, they eventually switched to chatting on OA.
Meanwhile, the various bosses arrived one after another.
He Xiaoyuan typed away at his keyboard, eyes on his screen, but kept part of his attention on his surroundings. The entire office felt like a high school morning reading session with the dean standing guard—silent, oppressive, and tense.
He instinctively glanced at his phone and wondered: Is President Lu coming today?
Then he thought about how Lu Chen’s desk had only just been fitted with a computer.
So how exactly had he been working before?
?
Only then did He Xiaoyuan realize something felt off.
But he quickly talked himself out of it.
As the real “boss,” Lu Chen surely had his own private office.
Just because it wasn’t here didn’t mean it didn’t exist.
Is President Lu coming today?
He looked at his phone but didn’t actually send a message to Lu Chen. Everyone was waiting anyway.
At ten o’clock, Lu Chen arrived.
Just like yesterday, his presence alone—without anger or words—pressed down on the entire room.
His arrival was like an alarm clock. The moment he sat down, the bosses poured out of their seats and gathered around him.
Because his desk was closest, Chang Bei was the first to reach him. But Lu Chen spoke first, his tone calm and flat:
“What’s there left to discuss? Go handle it.”
Chang Bei immediately turned to head back to his desk.
Lu Chen lifted his eyes, looking across at He Xiaoyuan. His words were directed at Chang Bei, his authority undiminished:
“If one person can’t handle it, don’t you know how to call for backup? There are so many people in the group—are they just decoration?”
He Xiaoyuan looked up from his screen: ?
Chang Bei turned his head and immediately gestured at He Xiaoyuan. “Come on, come on—come with me.”
?
He Xiaoyuan: Me?
Chang Bei pointed inside at Qin Chengfei. “You too. All of you, come with me.”
Qin Chengfei reacted quickly and stood up. He Xiaoyuan followed, and when he saw Chang Bei grabbing his suit jacket, keys, and a thick stack of documents from the desk, He Xiaoyuan stepped forward and took the documents for him.
Chang Bei stepped out from his workstation, slung the suit jacket over his shoulder, and strode toward the exit.
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
He Xiaoyuan turned around. As he left, he naturally exchanged a brief, silent glance with Lu Chen, who had lifted his eyes without drawing attention.
From Lu Chen’s gaze, He Xiaoyuan read two words: Go on.
He Xiaoyuan and Qin Chengfei quickened their pace and followed Chang Bei out of the office.
Once outside, with a fair bit of distance between them and Chang Bei—who was walking fast up ahead—He Xiaoyuan and Qin Chengfei exchanged another meaningful look.
If it hadn’t been for President Lu today, they had no idea how long they would’ve kept warming the bench.
Qin Chengfei lowered his voice and said to He Xiaoyuan, “Your feng shui is pretty lucky.”
He Xiaoyuan: ?
Qin Chengfei continued, “You show up, and suddenly I don’t have to play Minesweeper anymore.”
He Xiaoyuan laughed.
Lowering his voice as well, he replied, “You looked like you were enjoying Minesweeper just fine.”
Yesterday, when Lu Chen showed up and suppressed the entire room, Qin Chengfei had still been calmly playing.
Qin Chengfei muttered, “Now when I see 1-2-3, I feel like throwing up.”
He Xiaoyuan laughed again.
Up ahead, Chang Bei stopped and turned around. After waiting for the two of them to catch up, he spoke quickly, “Have you looked at the Baray Tech case in the system?”
He Xiaoyuan: ?
Qin Chengfei: …
Both of them instantly caught the key words: case, system, looked at.
Cases were viewable in the system?
What system?
OA?
Where exactly?
He Xiaoyuan and Qin Chengfei exchanged another silent look.
Chang Bei glanced at them and reacted dramatically. “Don’t tell me—you haven’t looked at my case, or you haven’t even looked at the system at all?”
“Are you guys even part of the project team?”
“If you’re not looking at cases or the system, what are you doing at your desks—playing Minesweeper?”
He Xiaoyuan: …
Qin Chengfei: …
Chang Bei gave up on that line of questioning and immediately launched into an overview of the case he was handling, his speech just as fast as his walking pace. “Baray Tech had a self-developed mini-game blow up last year. This year, the same team released another one. I think this one can blow up too, so I want to bring it over. I’m in talks with Baray Tech right now…”
At that moment, the phone in He Xiaoyuan’s pocket buzzed. It was a message from Lu Chen—
[Look more, think more. This stage will be very different from before.]
[You don’t have to just follow Chang Bei. You can sit in on other people’s cases too—you’ll learn a lot.]
[Go on. You’ve got this.]
—
Meanwhile, back in the project team office, Lu Chen’s phone lay by the edge of his desk. He had just sent those messages not long ago.
While he was texting, Yu Xun, Xue Jinming, and the others were all standing nearby. No one dared to peek at his phone; the wait itself was just a little nerve-racking.
Finally, when Lu Chen set the phone down, Xiao Qiyi mustered up the courage to lean in slightly and ask, “Boss, does the company really value our project team this much now?”
Lu Chen turned his gaze toward her, steady and casual. “Yeah.”
Then, knowingly, he asked, “Happy?”
Xiao Qiyi and the others: “……”