Chapter 94
Note: Early chapter release. Thank you for the Ko-Fi, Sakuradahl! ◝(ᵔᵕᵔ)◜
Under Lin Xingchen's guidance, Mu Cai officially began performing various tasks in the name of the company's CEO.
After receiving the digital version of the contract and other documents from Lin, Mu Cai printed and signed his name. He also tried to learn about creating bid proposals, budget quotes, and presentation slides, following the files Lin had prepared for him.
These tasks were typically assigned to newcomers just entering the company, but Mu Cai didn't mind. He had been a violin soloist and had never been part of the corporate world. Now, he found these tasks interesting.
At least it was better than sitting awkwardly in the office with nothing to do.
The extremely handsome young man sat at his desk, dressed in a blue-striped casual shirt. His eyes, radiant as morning stars, were focused on the computer screen while his slender white hand held a wireless mouse. Mu Cai, immersed in his work, occasionally tapped the keyboard, unaware that his silhouette was reflected on the completely transparent glass, visible to the staff outside in the project team.
It was great that the boss could stay! Amidst their strenuous work, being able to appreciate such beauty up close was a great comfort to them!
Reflected on the thick lenses of their glasses, almost like beer bottles, was the silhouette on the glass. Members of the project team, tapping on their keyboards from time to time, sneaked glances and were much more efficient than usual. Consequently, the project's progress also advanced much faster than usual.
Li Yu was one of them.
But his perspective was different from his colleagues who were simply appreciating the beauty. Instead, like Kuafu who chased the sun day by day in the myth, he considered Mu Cai, hidden behind the glass, to be his sun, thus inspiring Li Yu to study harder. At the very least, he didn't want to become a hindrance to Mu Cai or expect him to clean up his mess.
The afternoon passed rapidly, and when it was time, Mu Cai happily prepared to leave work. Having tidied up his desk, he glanced around subconsciously as he stepped out of his office and found Lin Xingchen, who had an office of his own, and the project team in their cubicles still silent and engrossed in their work.
Having never been a boss, Mu Cai wasn't sure about the usual leaving times for CEOs. He had been living alone in his own world, with weekends and holidays spent at home. Whenever he went home, his brothers and sisters would quickly follow and visit. So, in Mu Cai's understanding, overtime did not seem to be that common.
Considering that there was a glass door separating Lin Xingchen's office, Mu Cai naturally turned to the project team members in the cubicles, “How is everyone doing? If you're almost done, you can finish up. Go for dinner and then rest early.”
His voice, ethereal and pleasing, like the babble of a brook in a valley, was like a long-awaited drink of water for the weary employees listening. At the sound of it, heads popped up from behind the desks, their eyes sparkling with excitement behind heavy glasses.
"The boss is both beautiful and kind-hearted!"
Recalling their recent encounter with Mu Cai in the elevator, a young female employee with a ponytail pushed up her glasses and responded earnestly, "Thank you for your concern, boss. We are almost finished with today's tasks and should be able to leave soon."
Upon hearing this, the other members of the project team nodded approvingly. They were invigorated by the uplifting atmosphere of the day, and their productivity had noticeably increased. They couldn't help but secretly hope that if the boss were around every day, their overtime hours leading up to the end of the year would be less painful.
Seeing this, Mu Cai was finally relieved. He smiled, saying, "That's good, don't forget to eat and rest early."
With that, he swung his military-green hoodie over his arm and, striding with his long legs clad in casual jeans, he moved to Li Yu's side.
Li Yu was seated on the outermost workstation in the cubicle, the one closest to the glass doors of the office area. Therefore, it took only a few steps for Mu Cai to reach his side.
He looked down at Li Yu’s workstation. On the desk, several Java programming education books were stacked up, and on the computer screen, numerous lines of code stretched across. Just one glance made Mu Cai feel dizzy. He quickly turned away, reaching out to gently put his arm around Li Yu’s shoulder, softly asking, "How do you feel this afternoon?"
The warmth of the hand on his shoulder made Li Yu freeze, despite its gentle touch. Like a young elephant tied to a stake, he dared not move an inch. His body stiffened, as a faint scent of milk seemed to always linger around his nose.
Li Yu had noticed the scent when Mu Cai first approached him, so it could only have originated from Mu Cai. The subtle aroma teased his senses, forcing him to barely maintain his composure, and he replied, "I'm doing okay. Although it's a programming language that I haven't dealt with before, I believe learning one often means understanding others. I've been reading the entire afternoon, tried to code a small program, and after two tweaks, it can run. I should be able to complete this task in a couple of days."
The other members of the project team were quite surprised to hear this. Most of the members who graduated from a computer science background knew that freshmen were just getting started with programming languages, and although they could write some simple code, creating a complex program using a new programming language often required a lot of effort.
The best-case scenario the project team had envisioned was that Li Yu would be able to start coding some relatively simple programs after the New Year. Unexpectedly, this young man showed remarkable talent, nearly starting from zero, he had picked up a new programming language in just one afternoon and had already started coding. He was also incredibly diligent, a great help was just around the corner!
Indeed, he is someone worth noticing by the boss!
Mu Cai was also thrilled and instantly suggested, "Then you should go eat with me. It's pretty dull eating alone."
The individual standing beside him, looking down at Li Yu, had a beautiful line from his chin to his neck. He made the proposal assertively, as though he had not considered the possibility that Li Yu might refuse him.
Looking into Mu Cai's eyes, which shimmered like the morning stars, harboring two tiny reflections of himself, indeed Li Yu found it impossible to refuse. Without any hesitation, he heard his voice responding, "Sure."
His gentle and doting demeanor that he couldn’t help but reveal naturally.
The other members of the project team seemed serious, typing on their keyboards, but their hearts were seemingly boiling with excitement!
The newbie had performed well and truly knew how to win the boss's heart! On the other hand, Brother Lin hadn't made a move until now!
No sooner had the peanut gallery finished their murmurs, than Lin Xingchen emerged from the office.
His hair, initially neatly combed back, had become disheveled over the course of the day, making him appear slightly younger. As soon as Lin Xingchen came out, he noticed Li Yu standing up. This college student, freshly into adulthood, with his high nose and thin lips, looked young and handsome. Although his appearance was naturally severe, it appeared gentle in that moment, while he was being held by the beaming Mu Cai.
Their postures were so intimate, their appearances suited each other.
They looked particularly ..... irritating.
Lin Xingchen also joined in the laughter, "Boss, are you ready to leave work?"
Mu Cai felt good about his performance that afternoon and had also completed his tasks, so he wasn't as nervous or scared when faced with Lin Xingchen. He readily said, "Yes, I plan to have dinner with Li Yu upstairs."
Lin Xingchen, with his coat neatly draped over his arm, also laughed along and calmly said, “Perfect, I was about to get dinner as well. How about we all go together?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the employees in the project team could not sit still anymore.
Seeing a love rival would make anyone's eyes turn green, let alone having dinner together! They could code later, but they couldn't miss such an event.
They had to go too!
Mu Cai did not expect Lin Xingchen to make such a suggestion. As far as he knew from the original owner's memories, the man before him was always a workaholic, but surprisingly, he planned to eat dinner on schedule today.
It seemed that the project team's employees had indeed been very efficient today.
Thinking of this, Mu Cai, with his arm around Li Yu, nodded in agreement, "Alright, let's go together."
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Upstairs in the living area.
The employee canteen was already serving dinner, offering a variety of meals like rice sets, Japanese ramen, fried rice noodles with small wontons, and some beverages and desserts. However, considering that there were only eleven people in the entire Galen Technology company, the variety of meals was abundant, but the quantity was actually not much.
Lin Xingchen, who was nearby, swiftly grabbed a bowl of small wontons and a glass of lemon water, placing them on the table. However, he didn't immediately sit down to eat but turned around to look at his boss.
Mu Cai hesitated as he looked at the serving window.
He wasn't particularly picky about his food and felt he could eat anything, but he still had his preferences. Lin Xingchen had already settled his clothes and came over to look at Mu Cai with a smile. "What would you like to eat? I can get it for you."
Mu Cai hadn't made up his mind yet and was just about to discuss it with Lin: "I kind of feel like having...".
Before he could finish speaking, Li Yu, who had been standing by his side, suddenly walked to the front of the canteen window. He picked up the fried rice noodles with one hand and the Japanese ramen with the other. The containers for both dishes were quite large, yet Li Yu held them steady. He asked the cook at the window, "Do you have any smaller bowls?"
Li Yu then turned his face back to Mu Cai and smiled, "He wants to have both."
The cook followed his gaze and immediately spotted the stunningly handsome young man. She had never seen these two before, but each of them was more eye-catching than the other. The cook looked at the delicate and soft-looking young man in confusion at first, then quickly flashed a look of delight, and said, "Yes, yes, I'll get them for you right away!"
Li Yu walked to the side of the table with his tray, holding it very stably, and even found the time to joke with Mu Cai: "I'll leave the two small bowls to you."
Mu Cai also began to laugh. He went over to take the small bowls from the cook, politely thanked her, and then remembered the ignored Lin Xingchen. He hurriedly looked in his direction: "Brother Chen, come and join us."
Before Lin Xingchen had a chance to speak, he saw the stunningly handsome young man with a smile on his face, stepping lightly to sit across from Li Yu, as if he didn't care about his reply.
Just then, the recently matured college student raised his head and for a moment, his eyes met those of Lin Xingchen.
The corner of the other party's mouth curled into a mocking curve, which quickly turned into a gentle smile in front of Mu Cai.
The project team members who were following quietly and sat at the next table, were stunned after witnessing this quick change of character.
The newbie's acting skills were so good that it would be a loss if he didn't win an academy award in the entertainment industry!
With shining eyes, Mu Cai sat across from Li Yu and couldn't help but ask: "How did you know what I wanted to eat?"
His eyes were bright, looking over with full of curiosity. The person sitting opposite was originally unwrapping chopsticks, but now he seemed to be avoiding Mu Cai's gaze. The dim light in the staff cafeteria obscured his slightly reddening ear: "I saw you were constantly observing these two dishes. I'm okay with eating anything, so I thought I could share with you."
Mu Cai secretly admired that the lead male character was really worthy of the title, with both good looks and charisma. No wonder many others liked him in the original text. He couldn't help but praise: "You're really thoughtful!"
The employees secretly watching from the side couldn't help grieving inwardly. Their boss was too naive, and had not yet seen the true face of the person sitting across from him. Moreover, the boss was speaking to him in such a manner. How many people could bear it?
Even the two-faced rookie actor couldn't stand it!
As expected, Li Yu's face immediately turned beet red.
Mu Cai had already lowered his head and was looking at the two dishes in front of him. The fried rice noodles were enticingly colored, mixed with thin carrot strips, green bean sprouts, and shredded meat. The Japanese ramen was topped with half an egg, along with plenty of barbecued pork, pickled bamboo shoots, and leeks, which were fragrant and appetizing.
He was indecisive for a while, so he earnestly asked the other person's opinion: "Which one do you want to eat?"
"I'm fine with anything," Li Yu hurriedly responded.
Mu Cai thought for a moment, then picked up the Japanese ramen and pushed the fried rice noodles in front of Li Yu. Although he also wanted to try the fried rice noodles, he preferred food with soup. He scooped ramen into a small bowl, prepared it for Li Yu, all while asking, "Is there anything you would like to drink? I can get it for you."
But Li Yu shook his head, saying, "I will get it for you. Would you like milk? I think I saw hot oat milk over there."
Mu Cai was truly surprised at this, his eyes wide open: "You could guess that I like to drink milk?"
Li Yu just chuckled and stood up.
The scent of milk surrounded him. The entire person was like a sweet piece of milk candy. How could he not like milk?
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Author's Note:
Concubine Li: Heh, without the necessary skills to cater to His Majesty's needs properly, they dare to compete with me for his favor.
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