That day, the dinner went fairly smoothly and ended fairly properly as well. In the end, Lu Chen shook hands with Fang Dinghao and told him to think it over carefully. Any feedback or ideas could be passed to He Xiaoyuan, who would relay them. Fang Dinghao said, “You’re not going to just give me a business card?”
Lu Chen replied, “I used to have them. I haven’t used them in a long time.”
Meaning: he didn’t have one.
Fang Dinghao deliberately responded with polite, official words. “I understand. Spirys itself is your business card. Not like me—I really don’t have one.”
What he was thinking, though, was: this guy’s got some moves. Having He Xiaoyuan pass things along lets him keep up his big-boss image while also conveniently continuing to flirt with the young guy afterward.
Yikes.
Fang Dinghao left. He Xiaoyuan watched him go, then turned around and immediately saw Lu Chen looking at him thoughtfully. His head started buzzing again: big boss, big boss, big boss.
The big boss took a step closer. “Shall we talk?”
He Xiaoyuan looked at him and instinctively took a step back.
The big boss laughed. “You don’t have to react like that.”
He Xiaoyuan’s scattered thoughts gathered a little, and he suggested, “Let’s… let’s talk after we get back.”
That was fine.
Lu Chen asked, “Can you drive?” They had both driven there that day.
He Xiaoyuan looked as out of it as someone who’d been drinking.
“I can.”
Once he got into the car and closed the door, alone at last, the composed expression He Xiaoyuan had maintained for so long completely cracked.
His eyes were wide open, his brows deeply furrowed, forming a sharp crease, his face full of disbelief.
Big boss.
Big?!
Boss?!
He! Is! Dating! The! Big! Boss!
Big—? Boss—? Boss—?!
A dream? This has to be a dream, right?
He Xiaoyuan pinched the back of his own hand—painful.
Not a dream?
Not a dream?!
Oh, heavens.
His mind was still reeling as he made his way back.
On the way, flashes of his past interactions with Lu Chen ran through his head, each one making him exclaim in astonishment—
No wonder he understood everything during rotations;
No wonder Chang Bei and the others were so terrified of the big boss;
No wonder he could live in the top duplex of Yanlan Bay;
No wonder…
There were too many “no wonders.” Only now did He Xiaoyuan belatedly realize that for so long, there had been so many subtle clues pointing to Lu Chen’s true identity.
Like that time at Lin Xuhan’s salon lecture—when Lin Xuhan and the others talked about Spirys, they kept mentioning Lu Chen. He had wondered why they talked about Lu Chen instead of Tang Xingzhou.
Or when a colleague from another company asked him who Lu Chen and Qin Chengfei were, he’d said project team leaders. Qin Chengfei had given him a strange look, then said they were the big boss. He had been puzzled why “big boss” was translated so literally.
So that’s it.
It was like this.
The big boss.
The big boss of Spirys.
His… boyfriend.
He Xiaoyuan: Oh—my—God—!
He was so shocked that on the road he even did something a little strange—
Stopping at a red light, he flipped down the sun visor over the seat, opened the vanity mirror, and looked at his own face, wondering: what does the big boss see in him? His face?
Arriving at Yanlan Bay, taking the elevator, He Xiaoyuan felt weird—like he wasn’t going to see his boyfriend, but rather going to the company to see the big boss. He even subconsciously straightened his jacket and tidied himself up.
He Xiaoyuan: “…”
Huh?
What is he doing?
The elevator doors opened, revealing the top-floor duplex’s bright lights. Lu Chen had obviously returned early.
He Xiaoyuan didn’t step out immediately, only peeking his head to glance.
Lu Chen’s voice came from the sofa: “What are you looking at? Seeing if ‘my company’s boss’ is here?”
He Xiaoyuan: “…”
Then he stepped out.
Lu Chen had changed into home clothes and was sitting at one end of the long sofa. Seeing He Xiaoyuan, he gestured to the space beside him, speaking warmly: “Xiaoyuan, come sit. Let’s talk a bit.”
Oh.
He Xiaoyuan walked over, not thinking, and for some reason buttoned the jacket of his suit he was wearing today.
Lu Chen: “…”
Lu Chen sighed, asking, “Are you meeting a client or a leader?”
He Xiaoyuan unbuttoned his jacket, came silently to the sofa, and sat down across from him on the other side of the coffee table.
Lu Chen had never sat so far from He Xiaoyuan in his life.
Lu Chen: “…”
At this point, He Xiaoyuan’s mental state was like discovering your online school crush is actually the school principal.
Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.
Sitting down, he didn’t think the distance was odd—just that he was sitting too stiffly and upright—so he slid back a little to appear more relaxed.
Lu Chen stood, walked around the coffee table, and plopped down beside him.
He Xiaoyuan scooted a bit to the side, turning slightly toward Lu Chen.
Lu Chen looked at him, patted his own leg.
He Xiaoyuan: ?
Lu Chen patted again, signaling: “Come sit here.”
On my lap.
“…”
He Xiaoyuan lowered and raised his eyes, hesitating: “I don’t… think I should.”
Lu Chen asked softly: “Then why were you sitting so far just now? Do you think I’ll eat you?”
You wouldn’t?
He Xiaoyuan didn’t show it, but Lu Chen could still read the thought on the young man’s face.
Lu Chen: “…”
Sighing internally, he said, “I don’t eat people.”
He Xiaoyuan muttered: “I know.”
Lu Chen patted his leg again. He Xiaoyuan quickly said: “I really won’t sit.”
Who wants to sit on the principal’s—no, the big boss’s—lap?
Lu Chen was speechless again. “I mean my hand.”
His hand.
“Oh.”
He Xiaoyuan reached out.
Lu Chen took it, pulled it onto his leg, then, now serious, spoke in an ordinary tone: “It’s my fault for never having actively talked to you about my position and work.”
Now he was ready to clarify.
Lu Chen: “As you now know, I’m the owner of Spirys, founder, and actual controlling shareholder.”
“The project team reports directly to me, so your previous assumption that I was just the project leader wasn’t wrong either.”
Lu Chen: “Not many outside know my true identity. Partly because I prefer to stay low-profile, and also because Spirys was founded later than most big companies, so I rarely appear publicly.”
His real identity fully explained.
Lu Chen then asked: “Do you have any thoughts?”
He Xiaoyuan: Thoughts?
“No.”
Being held by the hand, he replied honestly.
Lu Chen sighed inwardly: “But your reaction isn’t like that.”
He asked again: “Do you have any thoughts?”
Pausing, he added: “Surprised? Unused to it? Not adapted?”
He Xiaoyuan looked at him, blinked, and nodded slightly.
A little.
Lu Chen encouraged him: “Anything else?”
He Xiaoyuan honestly: “No.”
No?
Lu Chen looked at He Xiaoyuan, lifting his free hand to pinch the young man’s cheek. “If there’s nothing, why the expression?”
He Xiaoyuan: “Really, nothing.”
He just…
Lu Chen: “Hm?”
Just…
Lu Chen watched him closely.
He Xiaoyuan: “Just feels a little unreal.”
There was a clear sense of disconnection in his gaze.
He said, “Ever since I met you—until just before today’s dinner—you were obviously a senior executive at the company.”
Lu Chen: “Strictly speaking, the boss is also a senior executive.”
He Xiaoyuan kept thinking: how could he be the big boss?
He asked, “A big boss shouldn’t be in his forties or fifties?”
Like other big company CEOs, or other prominent figures in this circle.
Lu Chen was only in his thirties.
Lu Chen laughed softly: “Compared to others, I’m still relatively young.”
He Xiaoyuan, following his own logic, asked: “A big boss must be extremely busy, appearing rarely at the company, flying around on a private jet.”
Lu Chen: “Not really, not that busy. The private jet exists, but only used when necessary.”
He Xiaoyuan looked at Lu Chen and continued, “Your life shouldn’t be high-end, right?”
But from his experience, Lu Chen’s daily routine wasn’t much different from a regular office worker. He even cooked his own meals—and did it well.
Lu Chen snorted: “High-end, you mean attending parties, fancy salons, mingling in elite circles?”
“Sure, that happens sometimes.”
Finally, He Xiaoyuan asked the question that had been nagging him all along: “What do you see in me?”
What would Lu Chen, the big boss of Spirys, see in him?
Lu Chen listened, amused and slightly exasperated.
He said teasingly, “You’re young, good-looking, long legs, nice figure, easy to fool and please—okay?”
He Xiaoyuan actually took it seriously, frowning in confusion.
Lu Chen, both amused and exasperated, reached out, pulled him closer, released his hand, pinched his chin while saying: “You little ungrateful one, haven’t you felt how I treat you? And you still ask what I like about you?”
Lu Chen stated openly: “I like your appearance—everything about it. And I like your inner self—everything.”
“When you speak to me, my heart races.”
“Just sitting on the riverside bench blowing bubbles, I can’t take my eyes off you.”
“When you smile at me, I feel like I’m melting.”
Lu Chen: “Now you understand? Hm?”
Only now did He Xiaoyuan, shaken by the revelation that Lu Chen was the big boss, collect his scattered thoughts and blink, muttering: “I just didn’t expect you to be the big boss.”
He wasn’t unaware of these things.
Lu Chen, rarely showing dominance in front of him, asked: “So what’s wrong with the big boss?”
Big bosses can’t date like ordinary executives?
Or are big bosses some ethereal beings above the mortal world?
Shouldn’t a big boss be unattached?
He Xiaoyuan, still shocked, asked again: “You really are the big boss.”
Lu Chen repeated: “So what’s wrong with the big boss?”
He Xiaoyuan said something that made Lu Chen laugh: “A big boss can still be single?”
And added, from a very pragmatic perspective: “Don’t they usually date someone of equal social standing or former classmates?”
Lu Chen: “……”
This time he pinched He Xiaoyuan’s nose: “Boyfriend, wake up. Are you dreaming?”
“The one I’m looking for is you. The boyfriend is also you.”
He Xiaoyuan blinked, his gaze a mix of scrutiny and disbelief, which even stirred a rare emotional reaction in Lu Chen—he gritted his teeth, leaned in, kissed him once on the lips, then again, nibbling slightly as if to punish him.
He Xiaoyuan finally came to his senses, raised a hand to his mouth: “Why are you biting me?”
Lu Chen: “Awake now?”
He Xiaoyuan: “I’m awake.”
Lu Chen: “Back to your senses?”
He Xiaoyuan: “……”
Lu Chen could understand He Xiaoyuan’s delayed reaction to learning his true identity—it was only human.
He pulled him close, soothing: “You need to try to digest and accept it.”
He Xiaoyuan looked at him, already beginning to process it, though in his mind it was extremely exaggerated.
In one sentence: I’m dating the billionaire boss of a major company.
Banner headline: Are the ancestors starting to smoke from their graves?
He Xiaoyuan thought: Wow—!
Seeing He Xiaoyuan still staring blankly, Lu Chen, amused, kissed him several times, and said: “Not only are you dating the boss, remember? You’ve been French-kissing the boss recently.”
He Xiaoyuan: “……”
Lu Chen kissed his ear and whispered: “And you touched me too.”
“…………”
He Xiaoyuan blushed bright red.
He argued stubbornly: “You grabbed my hand first!” Not that he touched him willingly.
Lu Chen chuckled: “You still ended up touching me.”
He asked: “Thinking about it, doesn’t dating the boss feel… acceptable?”
He Xiaoyuan: “……”
Looking at the man in front of him, he muttered: “You don’t seem like a big boss at all.”
Lu Chen laughed and countered: “Why would I act like a boss in front of you?”
He pinched the back of He Xiaoyuan’s neck, comforting: “Digest and accept it quickly. We’ve already started dating—there’s no seven-day unconditional refund. You can’t ‘return’ me.”
He Xiaoyuan: “……”
Oh.
At that moment, Lu Chen glanced at the time. “It’s late. We have work tomorrow.”
He leaned in and kissed He Xiaoyuan on the lips.
Seeing no reaction, he raised an eyebrow and teased, “Or do you want to stay…”
He Xiaoyuan jumped up. “Good night, I’m leaving.”
He hurried toward the elevator.
Lu Chen watched him go, smiling and teasing: “Fang Dinghao didn’t try to convince you to reconcile with me?”
Reconcile?
He Xiaoyuan twisted his head.
Lu Chen teased again: “Stay the night, I’ll give you company shares?”
He Xiaoyuan, putting on his shoes, pretended to grab a slipper to toss at him.
Lu Chen just laughed.
When He Xiaoyuan had finished changing shoes at the elevator, ready to leave, Lu Chen said softly: “Xiaoyuan.”
He Xiaoyuan looked back.
Lu Chen’s gaze darkened slightly, and he said quietly, “Although I’m surprised you only found out today who I really am, I have to admit… I’m actually a little glad you didn’t know until now.”
He Xiaoyuan didn’t understand.
Lu Chen explained: “It at least proves you’re not with me because of my status, wealth, or position.”
He Xiaoyuan rolled his eyes internally. Of course he wasn’t.
“I’m leaving.”
The elevator doors opened, and he stepped inside.
But before the doors could close, he popped back out.
He suddenly realized why Lu Chen had said all that: as the boss of Spirys, he probably worried that people around him might only care about his wealth, status, or power.
He Xiaoyuan kicked off his shoes again, hurried back to the sofa, and, standing behind it, bent down to kiss Lu Chen twice on the lips. “Don’t worry. No matter how rich you are or how high your position, I wouldn’t be with you if I didn’t like you.”
Lu Chen smiled, reached for He Xiaoyuan’s arm, and tried to pull him around the sofa into his embrace. “Stay.”
No.
He Xiaoyuan broke free and ran off, just as he had come in.
While putting on his shoes, he asked, “So your office is actually in the CEO suite?”
Lu Chen nodded, watching him near the elevator. “Where did you think it was?”
He Xiaoyuan: “I thought there was a separate office on the same floor of the project team I hadn’t been to.”
Lu Chen chuckled, genuinely finding He Xiaoyuan sometimes quite clueless—especially in front of him. He liked this about him.
He Xiaoyuan finished putting on his shoes. “I’m leaving. If anything happens with Fang Dinghao, I’ll let you know.”
Lu Chen stood and said, looking toward the elevator, “Xiaoyuan, I want to transfer you to work by my side.”
He Xiaoyuan froze, eyes wide.
“No.”
Lu Chen: “It’s convenient. Not a bother.”
He Xiaoyuan: “No. I’m leaving.”
He stepped into the elevator.
Then he poked his head back out. “Lu Zong… big boss.”
He enunciated each word deliberately: “No…using…your…big…boss…privileges…on…your…boyfriend.”
“You…don’t…need…to…do…this.”
“Okay?”
Lu Chen smiled. “Got it. Go. Good night.”
The doors closed. He Xiaoyuan leaned against the cabin, hand on his chest, feeling his heart thumping hard—again trying to process it: big boss! Big boss!
His boyfriend is the big boss!
He picked up his phone, reopened the previous browser page, reading Lu Chen’s brief bio: worth billions.
He put the phone down, realizing something: before, he thought Lu Chen’s top-floor penthouse, trips to horse tracks, personal butler, and giving him tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts were extravagant. Now he understood.
Spending like that isn’t reckless—that’s a billionaire’s everyday life.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
Exiting the elevator, a thought struck him: while others online jokingly call someone “daddy,” he’s dating “daddy.”
Impressive.
He gave himself a thumbs-up as he walked.