T.N: Thank you Sealunis for your donation! I’ll upload an extra chaper later tonight. Happy reading! ♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡
The joy of the harvest diluted the unhappiness of the “bad news”, and everyone accepted Xu Shen’s divorce. Anyway, according to most people’s ideas, if one had money, they wouldn’t have to worry about finding a wife.
After all the workers left the factory satisfied, a few of the brothers stayed to drink tea and relieve the alcohol.
Chen Sen knew that Shu Ran hated the smell of cigarettes, so he deliberately sat far away from the other party before smoking. “My mother invited you over for dinner, but I refused her for you. After being busy for so long, it’s rare to have some free time. Just stay home.”
“Well…” Xu Shen said. “I’ll go to the Zhou family’s house again before the holiday so I can later celebrate the New Year in peace.” Then he looked at Jiang Fan and asked: “When will you return to Beijing?”
Jiang Fan leaned on the chair and said lazily: “Whether you love me back or not depends on the situation…”
Yo, what was with that attitude?!
“Hehe.” Chen Kai joked: “Now that their wings have hardened, who cares about us?”
Everyone laughed.
Shu Ran drank some white wine and was a little tipsy. He sat in a relaxed posture, with one hand in his pocket and the other held by Xu Shen, exuding an unbridled and comfortable temperament that was beyond those times. Maybe that was why Chen Kai said they drank too much.
However, Xu Shen knew that even if he didn’t drink, Shu Ran’s specialness couldn’t be concealed. It made people sigh every time, and then they couldn’t help but be attracted.
After the lively annual meeting, the shareholders went back to their homes. On the Gregorian calendar, 1983 also passed by in a busy and bustling manner.
January had been going on for a long time, and Shu Ran and Xu Shen finally had some free time. They worked together to improve the hygiene of their home and put in new calendars.
“How did you celebrate the New Year before?” Shu Ran asked abruptly. Alone at home? Or did he go to the Chen family’s house to join in the fun?
Anyway, what emerged in his mind was a lonely figure… If he didn’t take action, there would be nothing but a cold pot and cold stove waiting for Xu Shen. It was even worse than the life Shu Ran had before, in his modern times. At least he followed his grandfather, and there was a nanny, a chef, and a big wolf dog at home.
“Did you imagine some terrible scene?” Xu Shen knew what Shu Ran was thinking at a glance, and quickly explained so that the other party wouldn’t think too much: “When you weren’t here, people were coming and going every day, and everyone did a lot of unnecessary things.”
When the brothers came, they naturally wouldn’t let him feel lonely. However, after Shu Ran’s appearance, Xu Shen ordered them not to come again.
That was the truth.
Shu Ran was a bit embarrassed, so he asked: “According to what you said, am I dragging you down?”
Xu Shen did most of the cleaning, and he looked very tired. In previous years, when his brothers came over, Xu Shen should have acted just like an uncle, sitting around with his legs crossed, right?!
Xu Shen smiled and shook his head: “Don’t say that, don’t you know I enjoy it?” If he had to choose, of course, he would choose to be with Shu Ran. After thinking about it, Xu Shen asked: “How did your family celebrate in the past?” After finishing cleaning the house, he planned on going to send New Year’s gifts to the Zhou family, and also stop by Wang Dong’s house.
Suddenly, Shu Ran was stuck. He, a ghost who came over halfway, had no idea how the Zhou family spent the New Year in the past… He didn’t even know how ordinary people in the village celebrated!
“It’s nothing special.” Shu Ran was still a writer who could publish manuscripts and books, so he wasn’t really a fool.”It’s just that we eat better than usual, and I don’t have to get up early to work, so I can have some free time. We usually just go visit each other and get together with peers to brag.”
Xu Shen nodded: “That little Tian Erwa of yours, should we go and visit him? Bring some gifts?”
“Oh.” Shu Ran said. That’s okay.”
…………
They planned on driving to the countryside around noon, so the next morning, they went to buy gifts, pick up Zhou Lan, and bring along everything that Zhou Hui and her husband prepared for the Zhou family.
Zhou Hui definitely didn’t want to go back to the village. It was the Chinese New Year, so her sewing business was busier than usual.
Zhou Guodong was very happy when he saw Xu Shen driving his new car from afar. He was indeed the big boss of a big company, making him feel so happy that he wanted to cry… Cry because he was no longer his son-in-law, but for some reason, he was still treating them politely, even walking more diligently than his real son-in-law!
After giving the gifts to the Zhou family, they went to Brother Wang’s house to see how the family was doing during that period.
However, Wang Dong smiled bitterly and said to them: “There are no big things, just small problems.”
Shu Ran comforted him: “You’ll come back to the factory after the Chinese New Year anyway.”
“Yes.” Wang Dong nodded, knowing very well that his wife was looking forward to returning to the factory. Life in the factory was much happier than at home.
“Where else are you two going?” Wang Dong saw that they were still carrying things in their hands.
“I want to go to Tian Erwa’s house.” Shu Ran said.
“It’s getting late.” Xu Shen urged. “Let’s go early so we can come back early. I’m afraid it will rain again.”
It rained yesterday, making the roads in the village difficult to walk. Wang Dong agreed: “Hey, you should go quickly, it’s difficult to walk to his house.”
Xu Shen: “Yeah.”
And so, the two went to visit Tian Erwa’s house. However, Shu Ran soon found out that Zhou Ding’s little friend was on a blind date and was preparing to get married after the New Year. He was shocked. How old was Tian Erwa?!
Since he was going on a blind date, Shu Ran put down the courtesy gifts, exchanged a few words, and quickly pulled Xu Shen away. After all, Xu Shen was there, and he was really afraid of disturbing other people’s good things.
“What are you doing? It’s like a tiger is chasing you.” Xu Shen was dragged by Shu Ran along a muddy path from the countryside. Since it was not easy to drive, they walked over.
“It’s not a tiger, but it’s more terrifying than one!” Shu Ran withdrew his hand and stuffed it back into his pocket, turned his face, and asked: “Didn’t you see that they were on a blind date? You don’t have the eyesight to see. If the girl falls in love with you, what am I going to get as compensation?!”
No matter what era, one had to spend red envelopes to find someone to introduce them, which was a losing business.
Xu Shen also laughed: “Why can’t she like you?” His wife was dressed like a magazine model, and he couldn’t get enough of it.
“Okay, let’s show some respect and stop talking about that!” Shu Ran said with a smile, exhaling bursts of white air from his mouth. It was too cold. He arranged his scarf and quickened his pace to go back and warm himself by the fire.
His and Xu Shen’s sudden appearance at Tian Erwa’s house unexpectedly attracted the attention of the matchmaker. She immediately rushed to the Zhou family’s house and asked Zhou Guodong and his wife if they wanted to find a wife for their son. It turned out that several girls were looking for a family right as they were speaking!
Shu Ran was dumbfounded. He was right there, and the matchmaker didn’t even ask him what he thought! Instead, she directly passed him and asked Zhou Guodong and his wife.
Well, it was that feudal thinking all over again! No wonder avant-garde scholars wrote articles criticizing it!!! If nothing else, parents should be criticised for perpetuating that tradition!
Introducing girls to Shu Ran?! Xu Shen’s face darkened suddenly. Although he knew it would definitely not work and no one would agree, it still made him feel very offended and depressed.
Before Shu Ran could refuse, Zhou Guodong waved his hand first: “No, my son works in the city and will marry a girl from the city in the future.”
The matchmaker just wanted a son-in-law who worked in the city, otherwise, she wouldn’t have come, but now that his family was more discerning, there was nothing she could do.
Xu Shen clicked his tongue and muttered quietly: “Snobbery also has its advantages…” From then on, Shu Ran’s net worth would become higher and higher. According to Zhou Guodong’s idea, he could only be matched with a rich lady!
That little episode not only made Xu Shen unhappy, but Shu Ran also felt uncomfortable, so he left not long after. Since he came together with Xu Shen, the Zhou family didn’t dare to stop him.
On the way back, Shu Ran grabbed Xu Shen’s hand: “Brother Shen, don’t be unhappy. This situation is inevitable. Let’s not take it to heart and just stick to ourselves.”
“Yeah.” Xu Shen forced a smile. Indeed, that situation was definitely unavoidable. As Shu Ran got older year after year, the pressure would become greater and greater in the future. He could make his own decisions without worrying about anyone else’s thoughts. But Shu Ran was different after all. He didn’t know if Shu Ran would change in the future.
Not in one year, but what about five or ten years later?
The time was too long, so the problem circled Xu Shen’s mind once and then he promptly stopped thinking about it.
Shu Ran thought that the matter was over, and it was not a big deal in his heart anyway. Only at night did he realise that Xu Shen’s unhappiness did not disappear because of his few words, but needed to be vented.
In the past, he didn’t want Xu Shen to quit smoking, since it was right to give Xu Shen an outlet to vent his stress. But now that guy didn’t smoke anymore, so whenever he felt a little troubled, he dragged him into a few fights that left Shu Ran almost useless.
The next day, he got up comfortably, held his waist, and secretly swore in his heart to never let Xu Shen have the opportunity to be stimulated again, otherwise, he would be the unlucky one…
It was uncomfortable to go downstairs, so he sighed in bed. The holiday was still so long…
“Brother Shen, why don’t you take your cigarettes back?!”
“Um?” Xu Shen was in a daze at first. When he figured out why Shu Ran asked him to start smoking again, he immediately burst into laughter. It was…How could Shu Ran come to such a naive conclusion?! Where did that logical chain even come from?!
He felt that he needed to clarify: “Why, you don’t think that I am simply unhappy and that’s why…”
“Spoiled.” Shu Ran answered the last word for him.
“Yes.” Xu Shen liked that adjective. As expected of Writer Shu, his word choices were bold.
“Isn’t it?” Shu Ran said. In his memory, they have not been so unruly in a long time. The craziest times were when they were newly married, and they had to live and die again every night.
“Of course not.” Xu Shen glanced at his wife speechlessly, his eyes full of love: “You’re so smart, but you always get the wrong idea.”
“Talk like a human being.” Shu Ran glared at him.
“Okay…” Xu Shen said humanly. “We were busy before, and I felt sorry for you, so I didn’t want to be so presumptuous.” Most of the time, it was just about having fun, but having enough fun was a whole different story…
“…You don’t feel sorry for me now that we’re on holiday?!” Shu Ran reacted and looked around for something he could use to teach him a lesson. He had to beat up Xu Shen, that guy who didn’t know how to show mercy to his partner!
After searching around, he found that the thousand-layer cloth shoes on his feet were the most useful, as they could be used for both close and long-range attacks.
“Hero, spare my life!” Xu Shen said, but actually, he had no intention to run away. Soon he was pressed down by Shu Ran and beaten. Seeing that he first raised his hands to protect his face, Shu Ran almost laughed: “Do you think I would slap you in the face with my shoe sole?!”
Xu Shen thought about it for a moment, then showed his eyes and smiled stupidly: “No, you are reluctant to slap me in the face.”
“Get lost!” Shu Ran also smiled.
Holidays were all about eating, drinking, and sleeping in bed. Shu Ran felt that was too decadent and did not meet his requirements for himself, so he took time every day to write work plans and conceive a new book.
In previous years… He never relaxed during the Chinese New Year. He was used to working hard, either studying or on the way to study, becoming anxious if he fell back even a little bit. No matter how well he did, he felt that it was not enough because no one could bring him the happiness that Xu Shen brought. He was finally happy from the bottom of his heart.
So that year was particularly relaxing. It felt like New Year’s Eve was ushering in as soon as he closed and opened his eyes.
His boyfriend, who was made very handsome by him, was busy making food in front of the stove early in the morning. When the first bite of each dish was done, Xu Shen tasted it himself to see if it was good, and then put it in Shu Ran’s mouth to ask for his opinion.
“Is it delicious?” Xu Shen raised his hand and used his fingertips to help Shu Ran wipe away the sauce from the corners of his mouth.
“Well…” Shu Ran tasted it and nodded: “It’s delicious.” Then he added: “You have talent, keep working hard!” Emotional bloggers said that the more you praised your man, the more diligent he became…
“As long as you’re happy with the meal.” Xu Shen found the praise to be helpful. In fact, he felt that his skills were only average and not as good as Chen Sen’s, but Shu Ran didn’t dislike it.
He didn’t even have to think about it. Shu Ran couldn’t cook himself, and starving because he didn’t like the food was obviously not a good choice.
The two of them slowly prepared the New Year’s Eve dinner. It was exactly three or four o’clock in the afternoon. Shu Ran looked at the two chairs closely connected and the distance between their arms and said: “How about you just hug me on your lap?”
“Are you serious?” Xu Shen looked at him in surprise and smiled: “It’s not impossible, come on.”
“…” Come on! Looking at the sky comfortably, can’t you hear the irony?!
“Aren’t you coming?” Xu Shen patted his leg.
“That’s enough for you.” Shu Ran picked up the chopsticks and the bowl to eat: “I didn’t expect you to be this kind of Xu Shen.”
“Why do you say that?” Xu Shen also picked up the chopsticks and put food into Shu Ran’s bowl: “Is not that bad,right?”
Shu Ran paused for a moment and said in disbelief: “No, you can act even more exaggerated?!”
“Nonsense.” Xu Shen said.
“Like what?” Shu Ran felt funny when he thought about it. Wasn’t that just expressing pure love? “How exaggerated can you get?”
“Very exaggerated…” Xu Shen muttered for a moment. “Very very exaggerated.” It was clear that he was running out of adjectives.
“Hey!” Shu Ran really wanted to find out how exaggerated “exaggerated” was, just to satisfy his curiosity. Xu Shen immediately fed him a bite: “Let’s not talk about this kind of issue at the dinner table. It’s easy to be very exaggerated.”
After finally swallowing the food in his mouth, Shu Ran smiled and cursed silently: “Who started this conversation?! If you don’t whet my appetite, I won’t ask questions!”
Xu Shen smiled and said nothing more.
Shu Ran was also silent, thinking of when Xu Shen said: “You can’t imagine how happy I can be if you smile at me”, and his heart moved.
“Brother Shen, happy New Year’s Eve!” Shu Ran looked at Xu Shen, smiled as sweetly as he wanted, and gave him something delicious: “I love you!”
Will that have the effect of doubling happiness?
“Love you too.” Xu Shen smiled so hard that his face felt sour, and he replied with his heart completely melted: “Happy New Year’s Eve!”…But then asked again: “Are you really not coming?”
“Are you serious?!” Ah, Shu Ran couldn’t bear it.
“Yes.” In the first year he spent with his wife, Xu Shen held him in his lap and fed him one bite at a time until Shu Ran said happily “Really, it’s quite exaggerated!” while looking up at the sky.
Xu Shen smiled and repeated the same sentence: “Is not that bad,right?”
Sweet and boring, both of them.
It was quite lively outside on New Year’s Eve, and there would be some traditional blessing activities to watch. After dark, Xu Shen and Shu Ran went out in full gear. On the crowded streets, Xu Shen hugged Shu Ran from behind, openly and honestly.
After all, Shu Ran was completely covered with only one pair of eyes left, and it was impossible to tell whether he was a boy or a girl, taking full advantage of the perks of winter.
“You’ll be nineteen after the New Year.” Xu Shen suddenly said. “When is your birthday?”
“Ah?” It’s not like Shu Ran didn’t know Zhou Ding’s birthday. Coincidentally, he heard Zhou Hui mention it before, but he was just hesitating between telling Xu Shen his real birthday or Zhou Ding’s to avoid trouble. After thinking about it, he still said what Zhou Hui said: “March 13th, what about yours?”
As soon as the question was asked, Shu Ran wanted to slap himself in the mouth for opening that dirty pot.
Xu Shen was an abandoned baby, where could he find out his date of birth?!
“I don’t remember.” Xu Shen thought for a moment: “I heard it was sometime in July.” He looked at Shu Ran and laughed: “What’s wrong? I’m fine.”
“Oh…” Shu Ran was stunned. July. The same as his real birthday…
“Shu Ran.” Xu Shen said seriously: “Don’t think of me as too fragile. You don’t need to be so… Sensitive when getting along with me.”
“Look at what you said…” Shu Ran rubbed his face: “I’m not so stupid as to give you an advantage.”
Xu Shen almost choked, gritted his teeth, and said with a smile: “Chen Kai really didn’t accuse you wrongly, you are really naughty!” How could there be such a… Person?!
“Can you even understand me if you’re not a naughty person?” Shu Ran bumped him with his elbow.
“…” Xu Shen was speechless.
“You don’t remember which day, do you?” Shu Ran smiled and said: “What about July 22nd? From now on, July 22nd will be your birthday.” It used to be his, but now he gifted it to Xu Shen.
“Twenty-two? Okay.” Xu Shen didn’t ask what made that date so special. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, nor was he blindly being obedient. He was just thoughtful for a little bit and then raised the corner of his mouth… Huh? July 22nd was just fine.
After watching the blessing activity, they bought two red lanterns and went back home. Xu Shen hung the red lantern on the gate, which was very prosperous and also looked very interesting.
The house did not have a new TV set for the time being, nor did they plan on watching the Spring Festival Gala. The two of them just sat around in the house for a while before going to bed. Early in the morning, they set off firecrackers and continued to be idle.
The radio in the room was playing the host’s Spring Festival greetings to the people across the country, wishing everyone all the best and happiness in the Year of the Rat. Then the song “Sweet Honey” by Teresa Teng1Teng Li-chun (Chinese: 鄧麗君; 29 January 1953 – 8 May 1995), commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, actress, musician and philanthropist. Referred to by some as the “Eternal Queen of Asian Pop”, Teng is considered one of the most successful and influential Asian popular singers of all time, a contemporary music goddess, was played. Shu Ran bathed in the soft and mellow melody, wearing a military coat he bought according to fashion, and writing the first lines of his new book.
Not far away from him, Xu Shen was sitting on a rocking rattan lounge chair, holding a newspaper in his hand and reading it. There was an exquisite charcoal stove at his feet, with a bamboo woven basket on the outside.
A bigger one was at Shu Ran’s feet and he also had a hand warmer at hand, which Xu Shen had set up for him.
“Nanshi will also stop the distribution of tickets this year.” Xu Shen carefully flipped through the newspaper and softly shared the news he saw: “Free buying and selling is the new trend, and more and more people will do business in the future.”
“Yes.” Shu Ran took the time to sigh: “But it doesn’t matter, we caught the first train.”
“You don’t seem surprised by this?” Xu Shen asked.
“Um, is it worth being surprised?” Shu Ran said: “Free trade is a matter of time. Look at the coastal areas. How long has the economy been so good?” Of course, many other factors were boosting the coastal economy. In addition to free trade, there were other aspects and reasons.
Only with self-employment could the economy pick up. Which city did not want to develop its economy? Of course, everyone was scrambling to find ways to promote reforms.
“That’s right.” Xu Shen smiled, his eyes falling on Shu Ran’s back: “There’s really nothing to be surprised about.”
Shu Ran felt a chill on his back and couldn’t help but touch his neck with his backhand, but he didn’t think much about it and just thought it was because the story he was writing at that time was more terrifying.
He was planning an unlimited flow2Unlimited Flow- a genre of books in which the MC goes through different instances that have their own storyline book universe, with hopes to publish one book per year, for seven or eight years. If one wanted to play, he should just play a big game…
…………
After the Lantern Festival, people across the country returned to work and school. Shu Ran was also going back to work. The first thing he did upon returning back to the factory was to go to the school and recruit.
In the first half of the new year, they planned to open five new factories. Other venues and equipment were easy to talk about. The only gap left to fill was people.
When it came to where to find people, the first thing Shu Ran could think about was a school. There were many educational institutions in Nanshi, including many high schools and three universities. Plus vocational schools, there was a lot of room for selection. Back in those days, one didn’t have to graduate from college to work. Many people started working right after graduating from middle school and high school, and only a few went to college.
Chen Kai and the others have been preparing for the new factory since the beginning of the year, with Shu Ran being the last to resume work. He got the phone numbers of several schools and first contacted the school leaders to see if they had similar intentions.
Not surprisingly, all universities rejected his recruitment request.
Only high schools accepted and allowed him to come to school and promote their unit. To make himself look more convincing, Shu Ran put on a suit. That was also the first time he wore a suit that completely fit his body shape. It made his legs longer and waist more eye-catching.
“It looks good.” Xu Shen helped him sort out the details but saw that he looked uncomfortable and smiled: “Are there clothes that even you can’t bear?”
“It’s not that I can’t bear it…” Shu Ran muttered secretly. He felt uncomfortable because he looked like an insurance salesman. However, in that era, wearing a suit was still expensive. It seemed that wearing a suit could instantly make people look elegant: “How should I put it? I think loose, casual clothes are more suitable for me.”
Xu Shen didn’t like suits either. As far as he’s seen, nobody looked good in them, and everyone displayed an awkwardness that was not in line with Chinese people, giving the feeling that they were being framed by their clothes.
However, Shu Ran didn’t give him that feeling. He looked like he was born to wear a suit. Walking, sitting, and lying down were all natural.
“You look good in your clothes.” Xu Shen sincerely praised him, especially the waist, which made him have the urge to hug his wife. He did hug him in the end, unwilling to let go: “This outfit is too close to the body. The waist? The legs? Everything is clear at a glance!”
“I can’t help it!” Shu Ran adjusted his collar: “It’s not easy to do things with a hairless face! My face already looks tender, how can people believe me if I also dress younger?”
Yes, Xu Shen touched Shu Ran’s chin. It was still clean, and his whole face looked full of student energy.
“Let’s go.” Shu Ran pushed Xu Shen’s finger away, turned his face to him, kissed his lips, and then picked up a briefcase that contained a recruitment flyer he specially made, with publicity on the front, and a blank resume form on the back.
That day, Xu Shen acted as a driver and sent him to the school he wanted to negotiate with.
Shu Ran: “Brother Shen, I’m going in.”
In that situation, he could just do it by himself. Intellectuals were more perceptive and could immediately tell when something was wrong. It was better for them to avoid standing together.
“Okay, I’ll wait for you.” Xu Shen raised his chin and said.
“Yeah.” Shu Ran got out of the car. Xu Shen could recall this view and behavior a thousand times.
The university rejected Shu Ran’s olive branch, but the high school welcomed him. There were already too many high school graduates in the city, and the demand for jobs far exceeded the supply.
Moreover, the salary offered by this young boss was not low, so there was no reason why the school leaders should not welcome him. The only thing they worried about was whether the boss was reliable and whether the company was really that good.
The first impression the school principal had when he saw Shu Ran was that he felt good about him. The second impression was that the young work unit leader had a very good temperament, like someone who came from a wealthy family.
The two exchanged a few words in the office, and Shu Ran introduced his company: “Our new factory is going to start construction in April. Students from your school who are interested in finding employment can first fill in the resume form on the back and pass the review. If they do, they can start working as soon as they graduate.”
“Hey, okay!” The principal’s hand held the flyer that looked very classy even at first glance. He laughed and said: “Your unit is really good. I see a lot of people are rushing to get in!”
Yes, the news that a company was recruiting on campus had spread among the graduating class, and everyone was discussing it. Some smart students saw Shu Ran in a suit entering the principal’s office and immediately ran back to the class to report: “Everyone, the recruiter is here!”
The students went to lie down at the window of the principal’s office…
Shu Ran accidentally glanced at the young and energetic faces and smiled at them. Most of the teenagers hid immediately, appearing shy and introverted.
After a moment of relief, they continued to peek at Shu Ran.
In the parking lot of the school, Xu Shen was sitting in the car waiting for his wife. Suddenly he saw a familiar figure approaching. He was startled and hurriedly bent down to hide, scared to death.
How could he meet Yuan Xiaobing there…?!
“Xu Shen?!” Yuan Xiaobing had already seen him, and there was no point in hiding. She just came towards him: “Hello?!”
There was a knock on the car window, and Xu Shen had to sit up straight and open the car window: “Miss Yuan.”
“Why are you being so polite?” Yuan Xiaobing looked at his car and continued: “My fourth brother said you bought a new car. It turns out it’s true. Are you rich now?”
“No, I bought it frugally…” Xu Shen remembered that she just walked straight over and asked: “How did you know I was here?”
Yuan Xiaobing: “I heard from students that someone drove a car to recruit people. I came to see which unit it was.” She looked at Xu Shen: “I didn’t expect to see you. Did you really follow a new boss and joined a big company?”
New boss?
“Is that what your fourth brother said?” Xu Shen thought about it, thinking that he only told Yuan Jun about that matter.
“Yeah.” Yuan Xiaobing’s voice rose: “Where is your boss?”
“In the principal’s office.” Xu Shen pointed in the direction.
“Why didn’t he take you with him? He asked you to wait here…” Yuan Xiaobing frowned slightly. Although she didn’t like Xu Shen anymore, she couldn’t stand Xu Shen’s boss’s bullying behavior: “It’s not as good as my elder brother who treats his subordinates well..”
“Oh!” Xu Shen said: “I think my boss is the best!”
Yuan Xiaobing was stunned and said: “You have changed.”
However, Xu Shen said nothing. Change was normal, people changed.
“You used to…” Yuan Xiaobing described. “You were very arrogant, and you were extremely cold when talking to anyone. It was not normal at all.” It felt like no one could warm him up, he was lonely and cold, so when she heard that he got married, Yuan Xiaobing was shocked. She never believed it, and even if he really married someone, it was probably fake, just a superficial marriage without emotions.
“What are you doing at school?” Xu Shen said.
“I’m the music teacher here.” Yuan Xiaobing heard that he was changing the topic, but she didn’t intend to end it: “Did your wife change you?”
Xu Shen wanted to nod, but considering that the news of his divorce would spread sooner or later, he changed his mind and said: “It’s my boss.”
“What?!” Yuan Xiaobing was stunned.
“Don’t you have to go to class?” Xu Shen’s meaning was obvious, to let her go about her business.
“Hey, it seems like no one wants to talk to you…” Yuan Xiaobing was also an intellectual, someone who was really keen on everything. She turned around and said: “I’m going to the principal’s office.”
That wasn’t okay!
Xu Shen got out of the car immediately and received a sideways glance from Yuan Xiaobing: “Why are you so nervous? I won’t talk nonsense to your boss.”
Xu Shen: “No, if possible, please don’t talk to him!”
Yuan Xiaobing: “?”
Xu Shen ignored her, strode to the door of the principal’s office, and knocked on it.
Seeing it was him, Shu Ran smiled and said: “You’re tired of waiting, come in.” Then he introduced him to the school leader: “This is Mr. Xu, another shareholder of our company.”
“Hello, principal.” Xu Shen came over to say hello.
“Hello, Mr. Xu,” the principal shook hands with him and smiled: “Please sit down.”
As soon as Xu Sheng sat down, the door was knocked on three more times.
Xu Shen frowned and quickly explained clearly to Shu Ran in a low voice: “Outside is Miss Yuan, Yuan Jun’s sister. She knows me…”
“Oh.” Shu Ran responded, raising his eyes to meet Xu Shen’s, and inexplicably smelled something different: “What else?”
Xu Shen was confused: “What else?”
“You…” Shu Ran lowered his voice: “What else haven’t you explained?!”
“Ah?” Xu Shen continued: “No more.”
“…” At that time, a beautiful girl walked in. Shu Ran no longer cared about interrogating Xu Shen. Intuition told him that there might be a story between Xu Shen and that girl.
“What are you looking at?” Xu Shen came closer and quietly twisted Shu Ran’s waist with a sullen face.
“Hiss…” The flesh on his waist hurt, and Shu Ran said innocently: “If someone comes in, let me take a look, okay?!”
“No.” Xu Shen said domineeringly.
“Heh.” Shu Ran rolled his eyes at him and distanced himself.
After Yuan Xiaobing finished talking to the principal, she could finally take a good look at Xu Shen’s new boss. Then she was stunned.
That boss… Looked even younger than Xu Shen, at most twenty years old! …What the?!
Um, it seemed to be right?! Xu Shen said that his new boss was only eighteen years old, but she didn’t expect it to be true. Moreover, in every aspect, he looked just as good as Xu Shen!
That was quite surprising in Nanshi. One must know that Yuan Xiaobing had a wide circle of friends. If there was a good-looking man in Nanshi, she couldn’t possibly not know about it!
While she was looking at Shu Ran, Shu Ran was also looking at her, and he quickly got the impression that she was a typical rich girl from the 1980s and 1990s, with a sweet and ladylike style.
“Hello, I heard that you are Xu Shen’s boss.” Their eyes met and Yuan Xiaobing turned around and said with a smile: “I am Xu Shen’s friend, my name is Yuan Xiaobing.”
Shu Ran didn’t expect she would greet him, so he said: “Hello, my name is Shu Ran, and I am also Xu Shen’s… Friend and partner.”
“Partner?” Yuan Xiaobing glanced at Xu Shen: “Didn’t you say he was your boss?”
Xu Shen nodded: “That’s right, he’s in charge of everything, and we all listen to him.”
“You all? Are you talking about Chen Kai and the others?” Yuan Xiaobing was quite surprised. Chen Kai could also obey?!
However, even Xu Shen, the person who was least likely to be submissive, had been tamed. What was Chen Kai?! So Yuan Xiaobing looked at Shu Ran with admiration: “You are very powerful! Seeing how polite you are, I thought you were a scholar. I didn’t expect you to be able to hang out with Xu Shen and the others.”
Xu Shen explained to Shu Ran: “Miss Yuan is Chen Kai’s childhood friend. He has known her since they were children.”
“Oh, that’s it.” Shu Ran understood. No wonder she had such a tone. He hesitated and said: “It’s okay, everyone gets along well.”
Yuan Xiaobing glared at Xu Shen, but did not bother to correct the other person’s title and continued to say to Shu Ran: “My fourth brother has been depressed for several days because of you.”
Shu Ran’s eyes widened: “What?”
What do you want to start by talking about that?!
“Ahem…” Xu Shen was embarrassed for a while. He was bragging about Shu Ran everywhere outside, but never told him, nor planned to ever tell him… Who knew that such a very unlikely encounter would happen?!
So embarrassing!
Yuan Xiaobing’s eyes wandered back and forth between the two of them, and she finally believed that Xu Shen might not be lying. His change was indeed due to his new boss. She said with a strange feeling: “My fourth brother heard that you are only eighteen years old but can speak foreign languages, write books, and are also very good at business. He was deeply affected.”
Shu Ran was stunned for a moment, and then his face became hot. No… He narrowed his eyes and stared at Xu Shen. What was that man doing outside, talking blindly every day?!
