Fu Chun Shen sat at the workstation in the farthest corner of the open office area, with documents piled half a person high in front of him. His shirt cuffs were rolled up to his elbows, and he was currently lowering his head to organize the quarterly reports, the sound of his keyboard regular and light.
In the pantry, people were whispering to one another.
“Wasn’t he fired? Why is he back?”
“He couldn’t make it out there, I guess.” The young man with slicked hair and an overly polished face curled his lip. “I heard he washed dishes in the back kitchen of a Japanese restaurant for a year.”
The person beside him widened his eyes. “Washing dishes? No way. Wasn’t Manager Fu a Columbia University graduate? He couldn’t have fallen that low, could he?”
“What use is a degree? People need emotional intelligence and know how to handle things. Back then, I heard he offended Vice President Ruo An. The fact that he can come back now is only because Vice President Ruo An is softhearted.” The young man deliberately raised his voice. “Now he’s come back with his tail between his legs, all shabby and disgraced. Look, he doesn’t even have an independent office anymore. He’s sitting on equal footing with us.”
The glass door of the pantry was open. Though the discussion was not completely clear, one or two lines could still be heard. When Fu Chun Shen placed a stack of bound reports into the document tray, He Ze at the neighboring workstation secretly glanced over and discovered that the former Manager Fu, now Secretary Fu, did not even let his lashes tremble.
Inside the pantry, someone egged him on. “Wang Shi Liang, didn’t he always say you lacked ability before? Didn’t he also hint that you… got in through connections? Don’t you want to teach him a lesson now?”
The slick-haired, overly polished man gave a light snort and set down the coffee cup in his hand. “I’ve disliked him for a long time.”
……
“Secretary Fu.” Wang Shi Liang slammed a stack of materials onto Fu Chun Shen’s desk. “The format of this report is wrong. Redo it.” His fingertip tapped the corner of the page. “Also, you don’t need to attend this afternoon’s department meeting. Reorganize all the cost accounting for last year’s projects.”
Fu Chun Shen lifted his head, and the gaze behind his lenses was as calm as a pool of dead water.
Wang Shi Liang was stunned by that look, and he instinctively shrank back. The spinelessness he used to have in front of Fu Chun Shen almost emerged again.
He gave a low cough and straightened his back. “Don’t want to do it? Don’t forget your current identity. Also, remember, I am your team leader. You’re under my leadership.”
Looking at the man before him, Fu Chun Shen took a moment to recall what he had read before bed last night: Little Schemes in Love. He clearly remembered one passage from it: In love, showing weakness in moderation can allow the other person to feel their own value and importance, satisfying their desire to protect and to be needed.
After recalling every word of this passage, even the punctuation marks, in his mind, Fu Chun Shen reached out and expressionlessly took the document from Wang Shi Liang’s hand. “All right, Team Leader.”
And at the same time the other man let out a sigh of relief, he asked again, “Handling these matters is far too simple. Is there anything else for me to do?”
……
When Ren Yu walked out of his office, it was already past midnight.
The entire open office area was pitch-black, with only the workstation in the corner still lit by the cold glow of a computer screen.
He carried his briefcase and walked over, saying as he went, “Why haven’t you gotten off work yet? The company doesn’t advocate…”
His voice suddenly stopped. He saw Fu Chun Shen lifting his head from the pile of documents.
Ren Yu had never paid attention to Fu Chun Shen’s onboarding situation, and it was only today, after repeated urging from the human resources director, that he had reluctantly signed the department approval opinion of “consent to employment.”
At this moment, seeing the man sitting in the narrow workstation, his face slowly cooled. The joking tone from earlier also turned into mockery. “The company doesn’t advocate overtime. Has Secretary Fu even forgotten this?”
“I haven’t forgotten. But the work in my hands isn’t finished yet.”
Ren Yu gave a cold laugh. “The second young master of Fu Group, the actual controlling shareholder of Fuguang International, Young Master Fu, who was so awe-inspiring at the board meeting, now has to sit here pretending to work overtime?”
He pressed one step closer, his gaze full of mockery and anger. “Fu Chun Shen, what exactly are you trying to do?”
“Stay by your side.” Fu Chun Shen’s answer was smooth, as though he were stating the simplest mathematical formula. “After all, we are lovers.”
Ren Yu almost never cursed. The only few times had all been contributed to the man before him. “Fu Chun Shen, we haven’t seen each other for almost a month. What the fuck kind of lovers is that? Can your thought process be a little more normal?”
Fu Chun Shen stood up, his tall figure instantly making this corner seem cramped. He walked up to Ren Yu and lowered his eyes slightly. “Before, the company’s power structure was changing, and Zhou Ruo An had been staying in the hospital the whole time. You were so busy you couldn’t even eat, so I didn’t disturb you.” He reached out, wanting to touch Ren Yu’s face. “Now I’m here to keep you company. Don’t be angry.”
Ren Yu felt like he was about to go insane. He knocked that hand away. “Fu Chun Shen, do you even know what I’m saying?”
“I know.” Fu Chun Shen slowly pulled him into his arms. “You’re angry I didn’t contact you.”
“Fuck!” Ren Yu shoved at him fiercely. “This is the office. Keep your hands to yourself! I’m warning you as your supervising leader. Stay away from me.”
Fu Chun Shen gave a soft “mm,” but instead became even more excessive, leaning close to his ear, his warm breath sweeping over the shell of it. “Manager Ren… they bullied me.”
Ren Yu froze. Only then did he notice the mountain of documents piled on Fu Chun Shen’s desk and the work list displayed on the computer screen that was obviously meant to make things difficult for him.
After struggling twice and failing to break free, Ren Yu simply relaxed his back and leaned against the wall. His gaze withdrew from the piled-up documents, and he suddenly laughed softly. “You reap what you sow. When Secretary Fu was a department leader back then, you didn’t exactly show them many kind faces.”
“Some people in the department truly lacked ability, and their work attitude also had problems.” Fu Chun Shen’s voice was very calm.
Ren Yu’s face abruptly chilled. “Yes, for example, me. Lacking ability, poor attitude, the one who received the most cold faces from you.”
Fu Chun Shen frowned slightly. “You were the most outstanding in business ability in the entire president’s office.” His fingers unconsciously rubbed Ren Yu’s fingertips hanging at his side. “I was always taking care of you. How could I possibly give you a cold face?”
“Taking care of me?” Ren Yu laughed from anger. “Making things difficult for me in every possible way, nitpicking and fault-finding, saying this wasn’t good and that wasn’t right. Does Manager Fu still remember? That key project inspection plan of mine was sent back by you seven times.” He gritted his teeth. “This is what you call ‘taking care of me’?”
A trace of confusion flashed across Fu Chun Shen’s face. “When other people’s reports weren’t good, I revised them myself. Only yours…” His voice lowered. “Every time, I read it more than twice, marked the problems, and sent it back for you to redo.” He paused. “I thought… this could help you grow. I was pursuing you.”
Ren Yu abruptly laughed out loud. “You sent my proposal back seven times in one day, and you fucking call that pursuing someone?”
He grabbed Fu Chun Shen by the collar. “Fine. Tomorrow, I’ll also properly ‘pursue’ you.”
Their breaths mingled at close range, their eyes meeting. One gaze was tender, the other angry, yet somehow it was strangely harmonious.
Suddenly, the elevator doors opened with a ding. Immediately after came the tapping sound of footsteps, along with the security guard humming a tune out of key.
The metallic clink of the key ring was close at hand. With just one turn around the corner, the security guard on late-night patrol would be able to see the entire hall.
And at this moment, Ren Yu was being firmly trapped by Fu Chun Shen in the corner against the wall, their chests pressed together, their breaths scorching. No matter who saw it, this was not an innocent posture.
There was nowhere to hide, and no time to separate.
In the flash of a spark, Ren Yu grabbed the floor-length curtain beside him and quickly covered both of them with it.
The heavy velvet blocked the light, and at the same time, blocked the outside view.
“You…” Fu Chun Shen had only just let out the beginning of a word when Ren Yu covered his mouth tightly. In the darkness, Ren Yu shook his head nervously, his hair brushing against the other man’s cheek.
Fu Chun Shen was very obedient. He merely reached up and pressed the hand over his lips more firmly, placing a kiss in Ren Yu’s palm.
Ren Yu’s entire body stiffened, but he did not dare break free. He could only listen to the security guard’s footsteps and slowly calm his breathing.
Fu Chun Shen, however, pushed his luck. Behind the heavy curtain, he pulled down the hand blocking his lips. He leaned slightly forward, pressing closer under Ren Yu’s shocked gaze, and his warm lips gently covered his.
“Who is it? They didn’t even turn off the power…” The security guard’s muttering was close at hand. When he bent down to turn off the power strip, the curtain just happened to stop swaying.
The kiss behind the curtain grew deeper and deeper. Fu Chun Shen was a top student, and this time, he had learned how to bite the tongue.
Very lightly, not hard. Yet it made the mind abruptly go numb. Ren Yu was forced to endure this not-quite-gentle invasion, and he could clearly feel every tremor of Fu Chun Shen’s breathing, as well as each probing touch and force of lips and teeth.
Only after he had been thoroughly kissed did the security guard’s footsteps finally recede.
Ren Yu abruptly pushed Fu Chun Shen away and lifted the curtain. He wiped the corner of his lips, then awkwardly tugged at the hem of his suit jacket to cover the reaction he should not have had.
“Secretary Fu.” Picking up the briefcase on the ground, Ren Yu pulled out a stack of documents and shoved them into Fu Chun Shen’s hands. “The evaluation report for the new project. I want to see it on my desk first thing tomorrow morning.”
He lifted his head and glanced at Fu Chun Shen’s work computer that had been forcibly cut off from power. “And the work you didn’t finish just now. Hand it in together tomorrow morning. Secretary Fu has outstanding ability, so I imagine you won’t disappoint me.”
After saying this, he strode toward the elevator.
Stepping into the elevator, as the doors slowly closed, through the narrowing gap, Ren Yu heard Fu Chun Shen’s low, hoarse voice. “Very romantic.”
“What?”
“I liked the private space you created just now that belonged only to the two of us.”
“Huh? You fucking…” The elevator doors closed, and Fu Chun Shen only heard one word: “Fuck.”
“Even acting spoiled is very cute.” Facing the tightly closed elevator doors, he said softly.
……
Futile Devices Scans 
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