Chapter 5: The employer-employee relationship ②
Translator: Aafkee
Proofreader: DDDDD:
When Chen Yifei went back to the restaurant, the others were still having fun and did not seem like they were planning to leave any time soon. Chen Yifei sat down and had a mouthful of water, suddenly noticing the heavy smell of alcohol leaning towards his back. Yan Yu hugged Chen Yifei’s neck from behind, face flushed from the alcohol, and started twisting and moving around on his back.
“President-- Chen…!
With red cheeks, Yan Yu brought a glass of alcohol to Chen Yifei’s lips, as if he wanted to pour the alcohol straight into Chen Yifei’s mouth. Chen Yifei pulled Yan Yu’s hand away but some of the alcohol splashed out, a few droplets of alcohol staining his sleeve. Chen Yifei let out a sigh and stood up to support the unstable Yan Yu.
Chen Yifei told Guo Shengxing, “Yan Yu has a morning meeting tomorrow, I’ll send him back first. You guys have fun, let’s meet again next time when there’s time.”
Guo Shengxing nodded and sent the two to the entrance.
Chen Yifei moved Yan Yu to the car and just as he was about to start driving, Yan Yu started to move drunkenly towards Chen Yifei and bothered him again, “Chen Yifei… where did you go just now…”
Chen Yifei could not drive with the drunk Yan Yu disturbing him, so Chen Yifei pushed his face to the side. To prevent him from flailing about, Chen Yifei secured him with the safety seat belt. Chen Yifei then drove the car out of the car park, and finally onto the road.
Yan Yu was leaning on the side, speaking nonsense while Chen Yifei opened the car windows to air out the strong smell of alcohol. He drove Yan Yu straight back to the house, found the house key in Yan Yu’s leather wallet, and supported and half-dragged Yan Yu back into the house.
Chen Yifei places Yan Yu on the bed. Judging from his drunken state now, Yan Yu will most likely struggle to wake up tomorrow morning, so Chen Yifei went to the kitchen and made some soup that helps with hangovers. Yan Yu seems to be a relatively well-behaved drunk. At the very least, he did not go wild when he was drunk. Chen Yifei only had to coax him a little before he drank the soup obediently.
Chen Yifei was worried that it may become too hot for Yan Yu in the middle of the night, so he went over and unbuttoned his shirt, and even turned on the air conditioning. But now, he was also worried that Yan Yu would catch a cold, so he made sure to cover Yan Yu with a blanket.
Just as Chen Yifei was pulling his hand back after making sure the blanket was placed properly, Yan Yu suddenly grabbed onto his sleeve and asked in a daze, “Who… are you?”
Chen Yifei, “Your assistant.”
Yan Yu stared at him blankly, “You are… Xiao-Zheng*?”
(T/N*: Yan Yu’s previous assistant.)
Chen Yifei could not be bothered to reason with a drunkard, “Yes, that’s me.”
Instead, Yan Yu flushed red and shouted angrily, “Bullshit! There is no way Xiao-Zheng is this handsome!!”
“… I am Chen Yifei.”
Yan Yu mumbled a few more sentences before flopping down on the pillow and laughing foolishly, “Ah, you are President Chen… It’s you… It’s really you… Class President Chen is much more handsome than you are… don’t think you can trick me so easily…”
To remember Chen Yifei as the class president, as well as the fact that he looks handsome even when he was utterly drunk, Chen Yifei thought that perhaps he ought to thank Yan Yu instead.
Chen Yifei set tomorrow’s alarm for Yan Yu but realised that it would probably be useless. Instead, Chen Yifei took Yan Yu’s house key, deciding to come directly tomorrow morning to wake Yan Yu up himself.
The next morning, Chen Yifei arrived at Yan Yu’s house at six in the morning. Yan Yan, as expected, was still deep asleep with no hint of waking up despite the alarm clock ringing beside him.
Chen Yifei woke Yan Yu up, the latter gradually waking up, drowsy-eyed, the alcohol seems to have almost left his system completely. Yan Yu stared blankly for a while, before sitting up all of a sudden, realising that his shirt was completely opened. He quickly buttoned his shirt up, embarrassed, “Why are you in my house?”
“I am here to wake you up.”
Only then did Yan Yu recall the fact that he was drunk the previous night, his head aching. He has no recollection or impression of how he had returned home last night, but he thought he must have troubled Chen Yifei quite a bit, “Sorry for all the trouble.”
“Is your head aching?” Chen Yifei asked, “Are you still going to the morning meeting?”
With that, Yan Yu was reminded of his morning meeting and moved quickly out of his bed. However, his vision darkened the moment he stood up, feeling a bit faint.
Chen Yifei looked at him, concerned, “Should I cancel it? You don’t seem to be in the right condition to continue this meeting.”
“No can do, the regular meetings must go on, there is an account I have to check.” Yan Yu rubbed his forehead and said, “Help me find some painkillers…”
Chen Yifei sighed, “You’ll get drowsy if you take that.”
“Fuck… you’re right…”
In the end, Chen Yifei made some lemon juice for Yan Yu and the latter only felt better after puking twice. Yan Yu suddenly recalled what happened last night and asked, “Did you leave halfway through the reunion?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s wrong?”
“My ex left something in my house, I went back to help find it.”
Yan Yu furrowed his brows, “Your ex is so annoying. You guys have already broken up, how is she so thick-skinned as to ask you to do this and that when you were at a get-together?”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
“I wouldn’t have answered her if it was up to me.” Yan Yu hmphed, “Ah, that’s right. I think Liu Xiaoli wanted to add you on WeChat when you were gone last night, I think she is pretty interested. Why don’t you start a new relationship Instead of getting tangled up with your ex?”
Chen Yifei replied helplessly, “I am not interested in her.”
“Why not? She is pretty outstanding, she looks good too. I think she’s currently working at an international company as a translator of some sort, even her family seems pretty well off and she’s still single.”
“…She does not fit the criteria for my choice of partner.”
“Why don’t you tell me what your criteria are? I’ll have a look around.”
What is the point of looking when even the most basic criterion for the right gender is not met? Chen Yifei merely answered, “Stop trying to play cupid for me, I don’t have any intentions to start another relationship now.”
Yan Yu pouted. He was only trying to help Chen Yifei move on from his previous relationship, and Chen Yifei does not even appreciate it.
Chen Yifei put on an apron and began making breakfast for Yan Yu. The clear lines from his back muscles really do incite one’s imagination. There was a stark contrast between the apron with small flowers printed on it, and his white shirt and black trousers, perfectly melding the characteristics of a casual homebody and a steady and self-restraint man into one person.
Yan Yu leaned on his dining table and watched, thinking ruefully how handsome of a man Chen Yifei is for the umpteenth time.
(T/N: You simp. 😏)
Not only is he extremely handsome, but also does well in everything he does. He is also very attentive and considerate of others. He would send Yan Yu back home when he was drunk, even made soup for him; he would even come especially just to wake him up the next day; he said he would not do any extra work, but he is still making him breakfast right now…
Where can you find such a perfect man in this world? Even Yan Yu, a man, thought that Chen Yifei’s ex-girlfriend must have been freaking blind.
Yan Yu felt that he should make full use of the time when Chen Yifei is single and monopolise him. If not, he would be too busy doting on his girlfriend once he finds himself a new relationship.
Just as such a thought emerged, Yan Yu thought that he was being too much of a creep. How could he think this way? Class President Chen belongs to everyone.
Chen Yifei served a plate of fried rice and said, “Take your time, it is still early.”
“You’re not eating?”
“I’ve already eaten.”
Yan Yu had a taste, even his cooking is good. Even as a chairman of the board, Yan Yu clearly felt his own inferiority in front of his own assistant. His only good point was his ability to earn that bit of money.
After arriving at the office building, Yan Yu went straight to the meeting. As Chen Yifei could not attend that meeting, he stayed in his office to organise the leftover documents from last night.
Not long later, the phone on Chen Yifei’s desk rang. Thinking that it was work-related, he quickly answered, only to be surprised by the voice he heard on the other side of the line, “... Miss Gu?”
Yan Yu was indeed being truthful last time, he did give his working number to CEO Gu’s daughter, and she actually called.
Chen Yifei chatted with her for a bit out of politeness, but when she asked whether he has time, Chen Yifei used Yan Yu as an excuse to decline her invitation with no hesitation.
Not wanting to occupy his working phone for too long for his own private matters, Chen Yifei ended the call with a few simple but concise sentences. After the whole ordeal, Chen Yifei thought he needs to seriously tell Yan Yu again to stop playing cupid for him.
Yan Yu’s meeting started in the morning and lasted till past one in the afternoon. According to the employees who were tasked to send in some documents, Yan Yu has found mistakes in the details of the accounts he has checked himself. Apparently, they would have resulted in a grave problem if those mistakes were left alone.
The furious Yan Yu has asked to gather the supervisors and those from the finance department who have not realised those mistakes and began listing their mistakes, old and new ones included. Yan Yu also asked for an emergency shareholders meeting to report on and announce all the details of the accounts.
To have faced such an aggravating issue on top of enduring his nagging headache, Yan Yu has lost all his appetite after giving a good scolding to that group of people. He merely stopped by his office to have a mouthful of water before going back to the shareholders meeting.
Meanwhile, the documents Chen Yifei has been working on were a bit urgent. They involved things that he was not quite experienced in. Although he did come into contact with such types of documents during his training, his experience was never put into real practice before this so he had no choice but to ask Yan Yu for his decision.
He originally wanted to ask Yan Yu to have a look at the documents when he returned from the meeting, but seeing that Yan Yu was sitting on his chair looking absolutely exhausted, Chen Yifei could not bear to give Yan Yu more trouble any more than this.
Yan Yu’s afternoon meeting only ended at six or seven in the evening. He called over the person in charge of these financial affairs and reprimanded him so severely that the person could not even lift his head.
Yan Yu’s throat was wrecked by the time he sent the person in charge away. But his work did not end there. Yan Yu received a call from the chairman of the board asking for another meeting, giving him absolutely no time to catch his breath.
Chen Yifei knew Yan Yu must be utterly exhausted and agitated now, but he did not have a choice but to ask Yan Yu to check the documents, “Please have a look at this, the other party is rushing us.”*
(T/N*: Chen Yifei is speaking formally here.)
Yan Yu took the documents and had a closer look. After a few moments, Yan Yu furrowed his brows all of a sudden, slamming the documents on the table and said sharply, “Look at this, do you think this is appropriate? Did you even refer to the official data from the company?”
Indeed, Chen Yifei was not quite sure how he could confirm the data given that it was his first time doing a practical investigation. Chen Yifei immediately realised his own negligence after hearing Yan Yu’s words. Chen Yifei immediately felt guilty and ashamed of his own mistakes and apologised, “I apologise, this is my first time doing this…”
Yan Yu knew it must have been difficult for Chen Yifei as well, but he could not control his temper right at that moment, even a little mistake could trigger his anger, “Do you think that is a good excuse?! I am leaving this to you because I trust that you could do it properly! What happened to the good results from your training?! If I can use that excuse, does that mean that since this is my first time being a chairman, there is nothing wrong with me not being able to spot the mistakes in the accounts?!”
“...”
“If you know you are responsible for this, then you should have worked hard to understand it and make sure it is done properly, do you understand?! Why are you asking me to check your mistakes when I am already this exhausted? I hired an assistant to make my work easier, not to increase my burden!!”
Chen Yifei answered earnestly, “I am sorry.”
Yan Yu, “Fix it!”
Chen Yifei gathered the documents and returned to his own office, while Yan Yu left his office not long after.
Yan Yu only returned to his office after eleven at night. He felt as if his life has shortened after today’s ordeal. Yan Yu flopped onto his chair, absolutely drained. He had not eaten the whole day. He did not even have more than a few mouthfuls of water.
Just as Yan Yu sat down, he realised a cup of hot tea placed near his computer. The tea was still hot, probably brewed not long ago, and beside the cup was a pile of neatly stacked documents.
Surprised, Yan Yu turned to look at Chen Yifei’s office, but there was no one in there. He drank a sip of hot tea and browsed through the documents Chen Yifei has fixed. Chen Yifei has been extremely thorough and detailed with the documents this time.
Yan Yu signed the documents and stared blankly for quite a while. He sighed and flopped down on the table, ruffling his own hair.
Now that Yan Yu has calmed down and no longer angry, he wholly regrets how he had bawled out at Chen Yifei just now.
How could he take out his anger on Chen Yifei? Chen Yifei is still a newbie, what happened was completely reasonable. To have reprimanded him so severely without even giving him a chance to explain himself… Yan Yu wondered if Chen Yifei left his office to avoid seeing him?
Chen Yifei even took care of him so well last night… was he being too harsh?
Just as Yan Yu wanted to give Chen Yifei a call to ask for his whereabouts, he had second thoughts. As the boss, it was completely reasonable and fair for him to reprimand an employee that has made a mistake.
The number of people Yan Yu has scolded in the past few years far exceeded the number of people he has talked to, there was never once when he would feel so much guilt in his heart for reprimanding someone. Despite having a proper and fair reason for his reprimand, Yan Yu felt especially regretful in his heart.
Just as Yan Yu contemplated over it while tapping lightly on his desk, someone suddenly knocked on his office door, Chen Yifei’s voice could be heard from the other side of the door, “Boss.”
Startled, Yan Yu quickly straightened his own clothes and opened a document, pretending to be looking through it and answered seriously, “Come in.”
Chen Yifei pushed the door and entered the room. Seeing that Yan Yu was looking at his edited documents, he stood at the side to wait for his instructions. Feeling extra nervous with Chen Yifei watching him, he could not process a single word so he closed the document instead.
Chen Yifei, “Are there any more problems?”
“No… No more, well done.”
Chen Yifei nodded his head and tidied up the documents on the desk. Just as Yan Yu finally prepared himself mentally and decided to apologise, yet, he was a moment too late as Chen Yifei apologised first, “I sincerely apologise for my mistakes in the afternoon, it was indeed my negligence that has caused you trouble. Please notify me when you are ready to leave.”
The words Yan Yu wanted to say got stuck in this throat, he could only nod in response.
Yan Yu should be feeling happy and pleased with himself to hear Chen Yifei speaking with so many honorifics, but he did not feel an ounce of happiness this time. He could only feel a sense of estrangement.
There was not a single word spoken on the way back. It was almost midnight, the streets were quiet, and it was even more so in the car.
Yan Yu could not endure such an atmosphere anymore and interrupted, “Have you eaten dinner? Let’s find a restaurant and have something.”
Chen Yifei, “It is too late, I don’t think there are any shops that are opened now.”
Yan Yu, “... Sorry, I was too fierce today.”
“Why are you apologising?” Chen Yifei replied helplessly, “It was indeed my fault.”
Hearing how Chen Yifei has dropped the honorifics, Yan Yu let out a sigh of relief.
Chen Yifei continued, “Besides, you’re my boss and I am an employee. Getting criticised by your boss is nothing, I’m not bothered at all.”
“I mean, we were classmates…”
“You should just do things the way you usually do, there’s no need for so many apprehensions for an assistant like me.” Chen Yifei answered, “You’re the one who’s the boss.”
Yan Yu looked at him, “... As long as you are not angry.”
What can Chen Yifei do even if he was indeed angry? It was not like he could slap Yan Yu’s face with the documents.
(T/N: LMAO YIFEI, PLEASE.)
Yan Yu, “But I still need to find a place to eat.”
“Let’s go back, I’ll make something for you.”
Hearing Chen Yifei’s gentle voice, a strange feeling began to flourish in Yan Yu’s heart. Unknown and unexplainable thoughts started growing into the depth of his heart, forcing a crack in the simple employer-employee relationship Yan Yu has with the man in front of him.
Ahhhh, thank you so much for the chapter! wish you always be in good health.
ReplyDeletebtw, does it update irregularly or there's any certain time?
Thank you! xx
DeleteThe schedule may change, but for now, I update twice a week. Once on Monday (Through Thick and Thin), and once on Wednesday (Full-time Boyfriend), usually at 12am-1am GMT+9.
Awwwwh. Although I don't like how Yan Yu vented his anger on Chen Yifei, I'm glad he regretted it and apologized. All is well now.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much.
Glad that you are enjoying the chapter! <:
DeleteIdk why but I kinda like the scene wherein Yan Yu reprimanded Chen Yifei. It seems more realistic and makes Yan Yu feel more human? if that makes sense. It also shows how strong Chen Yifei is emotionally and mentally. If I were in CYF's shoes, I would be bawling my eyes out.
ReplyDeleteIndeed! I also like how CYF reacted maturely instead of being dramatic. It does make them seem more realistic in a sense.
Delete