Knock knock knock.
The sound of knocking echoed, and both Yuan Yi and the young woman standing in front of him turned around in unison. When they saw that it was Yan Xi, Yuan Yi's smile couldn't be hidden, and his voice even rose a few decibels: "Xiao Xi."
Yan Xi had rarely visited his company, and these past few days, he had been so busy he felt dizzy. He wanted to finish his work quickly so he could make more time to spend with Yan Xi, but he never expected she would come to visit him.
The surprise in his eyes was genuine, and there was even a hint of pride in showing off that his girlfriend came to see him. There was no panic or guilt in his demeanor. Yan Xi stood at the door, not stepping inside: "Am I interrupting your work?"
Hearing this, Yuan Yi suddenly remembered that there was another person in the room, and a woman at that. Seeing Yan Xi's almost teasing smile, his heart skipped a beat. He had heard that women could be quite sensitive, and if Yan Xi suspected something between him and the female employee, what would he do?
Although his ability to sweet-talk had improved recently, after all, he had spent many years as a single man. Faced with the situation now, he wasn't sure how to resolve it. Explaining himself might seem defensive, and not explaining could just make the misunderstanding worse. Thinking about the melodramatic misunderstandings he had seen in TV dramas, Yuan Yi began to feel flustered.
How could he calm his girlfriend down if she was upset?
Now, in Yuan Yi's eyes, Yan Xi's smile looked more like a sarcastic grin, her gentle demeanor like a condemned criminal's last meal, and even the food container she was holding seemed like it might end up being thrown at his head.
But Yuan Yi was no novice. No matter how turbulent the waves inside him were, his exterior remained calm and composed. He handed the folder to the female employee, walked to the door, took the food container from Yan Xi, and held her hand as they walked into the office together: "Please sit and rest for a bit. I'll be done here soon."
A clever man knows that at this moment, he should never say things like, "How come you're here?" or "I didn't expect you to come," because those words are key phrases that can easily ignite his girlfriend's anger. If she has gone through the trouble of bringing you a meal with love, and you respond with surprise about her visit, whether it's a casual question or genuine disbelief, it sends the message that her coming is a nuisance to you.
"It's fine, you go ahead and work, I'll just play on my phone for a bit." Yan Xi heard Yuan Yi talking to the female employee about ports, data, and servers, so she lowered her head and opened a chat app to talk to some microbloggers from her group.
She truly didn't expect that several people in the group were genuinely fond of the game developed by Yuan Yi's company. They often showed off what items they had dropped. After spending the past few days caught up with her work at the TV station, she had a strange sense of being left behind by the times.
Yuan Yi spoke for a few more minutes, then turned to look at Yan Xi. Afterward, he even pointed to the wrong part of a document. The female employee couldn't stand it anymore, and she cleared her throat twice. "Boss, there are some aspects of this art design that aren't quite ready. Should we have our team make some revisions and show it to you tomorrow?"
"Sure," Yuan Yi nodded without hesitation, then turned to Yan Xi and said, "Xiao Xi, come take a look at these character designs. Tell me if they look good."
Yan Xi walked over and saw many beautiful female character designs that aligned with feminine aesthetics rather than intentionally revealing arms, legs, or cleavage to cater to male players. After looking at a few, she realized these designs didn't quite fit the style of the game currently operated by Hengtai. "Is this for a new game you're developing?"
"Do you like it?" Yuan Yi asked.
Yan Xi nodded. "The characters are beautiful. But since I'm an outsider and don't know much about game development, is the difficulty of modeling high?"
"There is some difficulty," Yuan Yi admitted. "But we're working hard on both the design and the playability." He pointed to the female employee. "This is Liu Yi, the planner for this game."
"Hello, Mrs. Boss, just call me Xiao Liu," Liu Yi said with a smile. She was strikingly beautiful, with a neat, short hairstyle that gave her a very energetic lookâalmost aggressively beautiful, the kind of beauty that doesn't easily win over other women.
"Hello, just call me Xiao Yan. 'Boss's wife' sounds a bit too old," Yan Xi said, shaking hands with Liu Yi. Liu Yi's nails were neatly trimmed, and perhaps due to frequently using a computer, she didn't have any nail art.
The two women smiled at each other, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then Liu Yi left Yuan Yi's office, her high heels clicking quickly on the floor. She seemed like a fast-paced person.
Yuan Yi closed the office door and turned to look at Yan Xi. "What delicious food did you bring me?"
"I knew you'd be too busy these days to eat on time, so I had the restaurant make some dishes to help with digestion," Yan Xi opened the thermos box. "I haven't eaten yet either, so I'll keep you company."
As they sipped the fragrant yam soup, Yuan Yi hesitated, then said, "Aren't you going to ask me anything?"
Yan Xi knew what he was getting at. She wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I didn't want to ask anything, I just wanted to kick the door open. But then I remembered, you're the boss of the company, so I should give you some face."
She smiled at his uneasy expression. "But luckily, I didn't get mad, because your female employee is very capable. If I had jumped to conclusions, it would have been an insult to her."
"Couldn't you think that maybe it's an insult to me?" Yuan Yi asked, with a teasing look in his eyes.
"Didn't think about that," Yan Xi tilted her head and looked at him. "Could it be that I have a tendency to favor women over men?"
"Gender discrimination is a stumbling block to human progress, an obstacle on the steps of advancement. You should try to overcome it," Yuan Yi looked at Yan Xi with a hint of complaint. "Anyway, I would never have an affair with another woman."
After a moment, he added, "And neither can you, especially with someone named Song or Chen."
"What's wrong with the surname Song? I've been a Song for ten years," Yan Xi poked Yuan Yi's face. "Aren't you a big man? Aren't you all about big chests and long legs? Surely, you'd never go for someone like me?"
Seems like women always bring up old accounts, huh?
Yuan Yi felt a wave of despair in his heart. "Think about it, I used to think I liked big chests and long legs, but after meeting you, nothing else matters. What does that show? It shows that I truly love you!"
"Yuan Xiaoer, Yuan Xiaoer," Yan Xi smiled as she pinched his chin and shook it gently. "If you keep trying to use Zhang Wang's tricks to flatter women, I'll have to start learning how to punish my boyfriend."
"Punish? What kind of punishment?" Yuan Yi hadn't expected that his shameless sweet talk wouldn't win Yan Xi over. He silently vowed never to trust the bad advice from Zhang Wang and Xu Qiaosheng againânone of it was useful.
"Maybe something like a durian keyboard or a washboard," Yan Xi waved her hand dismissively. "Nothing too innovative."
Yuan Yi: Am I not a dignified CEO? Don't I have any pride?
"I didn't say sweet words, they were all from the heart."
"Hmm?" Yan Xi raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
"Don't worry, I won't act like Zhang Wang, that playboy," Yuan Yi said, as if possessed by the spirit of countless lovesick heroes. "I've only had one girlfriend in my life, and that's you. No one else."
Lacking experience in relationships and unsure how to make his girlfriend happy, Yuan Yi had been searching for ways to say sweet things, reading all sorts of relationship guides. After some time, he finally concluded that no strategy was better than treating her with sincerity. Sweet talk couldn't compare to meaningful actions. After all, no two people were exactly the same, and there was no one-size-fits-all approach to relationships.
In short, the key takeaway is: never go against your girlfriend, unless you don't want a girlfriend.
The sound of knocking came, and Yan Xi quickly packed away the lunchbox on the table and threw the used napkins into the trash. Yuan Yi stole a kiss on her cheek before going to open the door.
When the door opened, Assistant Meng saw Yuan Yi standing by the door and Yan Xi, the future boss's girlfriend, covering her face at the desk. He stole a glance at his boss's expressionâdid he come at an inopportune time?
"Boss, the weekly game operations report is ready. This is from the department. Please have a look." Assistant Meng handed Yuan Yi the document.
Upon hearing their conversation, Yan Xi immediately realized why the voice on Shen Xingyan's phone had sounded familiar. She couldn't help but take a few more glances at Assistant Meng. Since the station had collaborated with Heng Tai before, and given Shen Jie's top position at the station, it was not strange for her to know the assistant to the CEO of Heng Tai. What was odd, though, was that Yuan Yi had never mentioned it to her.
To be precise, Yuan Yi had never mentioned anyone he knew from the station, but after their relationship went public, her standing at the station had undoubtedly improved.
Yan Xi stayed with Yuan Yi for a while longer. After Yuan Yi finished reviewing the report, he locked it in a safe and took her hand. "Work's done, let's go."
"All finished?" Yan Xi yawned. Using Yuan Yi's strength, she stood up and grabbed her coat and scarf from the sofa. "Let's go."
The two of them took the elevator downstairs. There were many employees just finishing their work in the lobby, and their appearance attracted everyone's attention.
"Wait a minute," Yuan Yi stopped and said, "It's cold outside. Put your coat on first." He took the clothes from her hand and put them on her, then wrapped the scarf around her neck.
He really wrapped it around her several times, making Yan Xi feel like he was bandaging her.
"If you wrap it any tighter, I won't be able to breathe," Yan Xi tugged at the scarf and pointed at her neck. "From a distance, people might think I have a watermelon hanging around my neck."
"It's only a short walk, it's fine to look a little awkward. We'll take it off once we're in the car," Yuan Yi glanced at the door, "Looks like it's snowing?"
"Snowing?" Yan Xi tucked her hands into Yuan Yi's suit pocket, "Let's go check it out."
Seeing how cold she looked, Yuan Yi reached over and wrapped his arm around her waist, guiding her outside.
"It's really snowing," Yan Xi exhaled a breath of warm air, "This winter isn't cold enough."
"The road is slippery with snow, don't drive back," Yuan Yi stretched his hand over her head to shield her from the snow, "Take my car."
"Okay." Yan Xi smiled and agreed, then tucked her head under Yuan Yi's coat, making sure not to let any cold wind touch her.
Yuan Yi thought to himself: "She's afraid of the cold like this, but how did she manage to stand outside my door on her birthday in the middle of the night?" It was clear to him that he must be very important to Yan Xi!
Thinking about this, Yuan Yi felt a surge of warmth in his chest. At this moment, even if he took off his coat, he wouldn't feel cold.
After getting into the car, the driver drove for a while before turning to Yuan Yi and saying, "Mr. Yuan, the snow is getting heavier, and the road conditions might not be good."
"This is closer to my house. Why don't you stay at my place for the night?" Yuan Yi said with a serious expression, as if genuinely concerned with no ulterior motive. "Aunt Li has been saying for a while that she hasn't seen you."
Of course, Yan Xi... could only agree.
Yuan Yi was secretly hoping to take this opportunity to spend more time with Yan Xi, but as the snow kept falling, the ground soon accumulated with snow. After they reached the villa, Yuan Yi asked the driver to stay as well. With such heavy snow, if there were any accidents while driving, it could ruin the happiness of an entire family.
When they opened the door, Aunt Li was sitting on the sofa, quietly sobbing, as if something had upset her. Seeing this, both Yuan Yi and Yan Xi, who had been teasing each other, stopped joking and hurried into the room to ask what had happened.
"Aunt Li, what's wrong?" Yan Xi gently patted Aunt Li's back, trying to soothe her emotions.
However, when Aunt Li saw her, she cried even harder.
"Miss Yan, those poor children, they're so pitiful."
Aunt Li cried uncontrollably, pointing at the television screen, struggling to speak as she finally managed to say those words.
Yan Xi looked at the TV screen. It was the Beijing Channel 8 logo, showing a drama that rarely made it to satellite channels. Aunt Li was crying over this show?
"Don't be too upset, it's just a drama," Yan Xi continued to comfort her. Aunt Li was over fifty, and if she got too heartbroken, it could affect her health.
"It's not a drama, it's the program you hosted," Aunt Li seemed to find a point to vent her emotions. "How could those parents be so cruel? Those children are so young."
At this point, Yan Xi understood what Aunt Li was talking about. She gently patted Aunt Li's shoulder. "But there are still many good parents in the world. Don't worry, our program has already contacted some charity organizations. Those children will be helped."
"But the country is so big, there will always be children who get overlooked," Aunt Li cried from exhaustion, leaning on the sofa and softly sobbing. "Miss Yan, you're really amazing, organizing all this information. It couldn't have been easy."
"It was the effort of everyone in the production team, and with the help of some enthusiastic viewers, we were able to make this program," Yan Xi poured a glass of water for Aunt Li. "Take a moment to relax."
"Thank you." Aunt Li took the water, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Second Young Master, Miss Yan, you haven't had dinner yet, have you? I'll make some late-night snacks for you."
"We already ate before we came back. Please sit down and rest," Yan Xi gently pushed Aunt Li back into her seat, joking, "If I had known this program would make you so upset, I wouldn't have made it."
"How could you not? If you don't do it, how will more people learn about their situation?" Aunt Li took a sip of water. "Miss Yan, I don't know if your station has any donation channels, but I want to donate some money and goods to these children."
"Since it involves money, our station doesn't easily accept donations. If we start any charity work in the future, we'll let the government or charity organizations handle it. Don't worry, if there's anything like that later, I'll definitely notify you."
"That's good, that's good." Aunt Li seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She slowly stood up. "You and Second Young Master rest well. I'll go back to my room."
Once Aunt Li regained her composure, she knew not to stay and interrupt the couple's time together.
After Aunt Li and the driver left, the spacious living room was left with only Yan Xi and Yuan Yi.
Under the warm orange light, Yan Xi's appearance was gentle and captivating, and she looked especially alluring.