18 Happy New Year, Boss

Having long been accustomed to seeing Shen Zhi in sharp business attire, He Si was stunned for a good two or three seconds when he suddenly bumped into him wearing a down jacket.

He took a step back and called out, "Hello, Boss."

There was surprise in Shen Zhi's eyes as well, though he quickly masked it. He nodded and asked, "Did Manager Yang send you?"

"Yes," He Si replied. "I called the manager just now, and she told me to wait in the main office."

Shen Zhi looked enlightened. He stepped aside and said, "Come in."

He Si quickly pulled himself together and walked inside. "Boss, should I close the door?"

"No need," Shen Zhi replied. He then reached out and pulled the other door open, leaving both wide open.

There was no one else in the main office, and it was so quiet that only their breathing could be heard.

He Si stood in the aisle in the middle of the office, feeling somewhat awkward.

Now that there was some distance between them, he noticed that Shen Zhi's down jacket was very long, reaching almost to his ankles. Perhaps because it was thicker than a standard coat, it made Shen Zhi’s naturally slender frame appear somewhat bulky.

He Si didn't dare to stare, taking only a brief glance before averting his eyes.

He had assumed Shen Zhi was opening the door because he was leaving, but it seemed the boss had no intention of going out; rather, he had walked over to him, having evidently heard his knock.

"Find a seat anywhere. Your manager has gone to the second technical department; it will take a while for her to get back," Shen Zhi said.

He Si nodded like a bobbing bird and sat in Assistant Bi's chair nearby.

Shen Zhi didn't stop, walking straight toward his own office door. He paused and remembered to add, "If you're thirsty, get some water yourself. There are disposable paper cups under the water dispenser. If you want tea or coffee, you'll have to go to the pantry. Do you know where the pantry is?"

He Si had just sat down, but he stood back up at once. "I know, I’ve been there a few times before."

Shen Zhi nodded and said nothing more, entering his office without closing the door.

Standing at Assistant Bi's desk, He Si could turn his head and see the black desk inside, and Shen Zhi sitting behind it, half-hidden by his computer.

He pondered for a moment before sitting back down.

*Why does the boss look like he’s gained weight?*

*It must be the clothes.*

After waiting for about half an hour, the manager finally returned in a rush. No sooner had she entered the office than she gave He Si a task: "There’s a café to the left outside the main gate. It shouldn't be closed yet. Go down and buy a few cups of coffee."

He Si stood up and said, "Manager, the boss said there’s coffee in the pantry."

"Oh, what's good about that coffee?" The manager waved a hand dismissively. "I'll send you the order on WeChat. Just buy according to that. Pick whatever you want for your own cup, and I'll reimburse you for the whole thing."

As she spoke, she suddenly remembered there was someone else in the office. The manager tiptoed over to the door of Shen Zhi's office and knocked. "Boss, what would you like? The usual?"

Shen Zhi’s voice came from inside, cold and indifferent: "The usual."

"Got it." The manager snapped her fingers at He Si. "You head down first. I’ll send you the list and the money."

Seeing the manager pick up her phone, He Si agreed and started to head out.

Just then, Shen Zhi’s voice came from the office again: "Wait."

As the words fell, Shen Zhi walked to the door.

"Don't buy mine. I won't be drinking it," Shen Zhi said.

The manager reacted quickly. "Then shall I make you a cup of coffee in the pantry?"

"No need." Shen Zhi walked past He Si, saying as he went, "The doctor advised me to drink less coffee. Don't include me in future coffee runs."

The manager looked at He Si with an expression as if she had seen a ghost.

He Si remained silent, turned around, and followed Shen Zhi. It wasn't that he was intentionally following him; there was only one path to the elevator, and Shen Zhi happened to be heading that way.

He didn't walk side-by-side with Shen Zhi, just keeping a respectful distance behind him.

Shen Zhi was not only wearing the down jacket but had also switched to flat-soled sneakers. Even though his attire was much more comfortable than before, his walking pace was significantly slower.

He Si wasn't a particularly impatient person, but he still had to deliberately shorten his stride to keep in sync with Shen Zhi.

He stared at Shen Zhi's back in front of him.

For some reason, he had a vague feeling that something about Shen Zhi had changed, though he couldn't put his finger on exactly what.

When they passed the restroom, Shen Zhi turned and went inside.

Seeing this, He Si quietly let out a sigh of relief.

*So the boss was just going to the restroom. That scared me; I thought he was going downstairs and I'd have to share an elevator with him.*

The café downstairs was still open. It was the same one where He Si had first met Shen Zhi. He remembered seeing Shen Zhi chatting with a woman there; he wondered what their relationship was.

He Si took out his phone and ordered the coffee the manager wanted. Too lazy to choose, he just ordered the same one for himself. He carried the four bags of coffee upstairs and then followed the manager down to the second technical department.

The office area of the second technical department was quite large, filled with dense rows of cubicles, but only five or six people were working overtime. They beamed with joy as they took the coffee from the manager.

Besides the people from the second technical department, some staff from the third business department and the marketing department were also working late. He Si followed the manager to deliver the coffee, getting to know everyone who was working overtime.

Back at the main office, Shen Zhi had returned and was calling the manager inside.

The manager gestured for He Si to join them.

He Si had been dragged in to work late at night, so naturally, he didn't have any major tasks. His job was to assist the manager and act as a bridge between her and the others—especially the departments downstairs, requiring him to run up and down to coordinate.

He Si had been working under the manager for over half a year, and his greatest strength was being an errand runner.

After a flurry of activity, it was nearing midnight.

Taking advantage of the time while the manager and Shen Zhi discussed work, He Si sat on the sofa in Shen Zhi's office to rest.

He checked his phone; it was flooded with text messages and WeChat notifications—mostly mass-sent New Year's greetings, though some were sent to him individually. As he replied to them one by one, he noticed that Qin Hua had also sent him a few messages.

[Qin Hua: Are you really working overtime?]
[Qin Hua: Are you coming back?]
[Qin Hua: You really wasted that registration fee. There are so many activities left, and they're all so interesting. It’s a real shame you left.]
[Qin Hua: Oh, right, that dark-haired beauty asked me about you. She wants your phone number. Should I give it to her?]

He Si guessed Qin Hua hadn't given it, because the woman hadn't called or texted him, only sending a few WeChat messages just like Qin Hua.

He Si wasn't surprised by this.

*If Qin Hua had given it, the sun would be rising in the west.*

He finally tapped back into the woman's chat window. He had intended to ignore it, but seeing that she had sent only voice clips and he had nothing better to do, he clicked one to listen.

In the next second, the woman's voice rang out from his phone—not through the earpiece, but on speakerphone, echoing throughout the entire office.

"Number 194, why did you leave halfway? I looked for you for ages and couldn't find you; I only found out after asking your friend."

He Si: "..."

At the same time, the conversation at the desk came to an abrupt halt.

He Si felt his face burn like it was on fire. He hurriedly sat up straight and looked over at the desk, only to find both Shen Zhi and the manager staring at him.

Shen Zhi showed no expression, his brow only slightly furrowed. In contrast, the manager looked quite dramatic, her mouth hanging open.

The voice clip the woman had sent was only four or five seconds long. As soon as one ended, the next one began playing.

"I asked your friend for your number, but he wouldn't give it to me."

"Actually, when you walked in tonight, I noticed you immediately. The first time you went on stage, I called you up on purpose..."

He Si pressed pause.

The woman's voice stopped abruptly. For a moment, the office was so quiet that a pin dropping could be heard.

He Si took a deep breath, stood up, and apologized. He wanted to leave, but then remembered the manager might have tasks for him at any moment, so he had to bite the bullet and sit back down.

After a moment, Shen Zhi tapped the desk and reminded them, "Continue."

Only then did the manager snap out of it, putting away her surprise to continue the work discussion.

When the discussion concluded, the manager looked at He Si, unable to resist teasing him: "Number 194, did you go on a blind date tonight?"

He Si glanced at Shen Zhi.

Shen Zhi was intently looking at his computer, the pale screen light reflecting on his handsome face. He held no expression, seemingly unaware of what the manager had said.

"It wasn't a blind date, just an activity," He Si said. "I even paid a registration fee."

"Looks like you had a harvest tonight," the manager said, picking up the documents on the table and gesturing for He Si to follow her out. "You even added each other on WeChat. Is this a sign you're starting a relationship?"

He Si followed the manager out of the office. Seeing that the manager was using Assistant Cen’s computer again, he sat down at Assistant Bi’s desk.

In the past, He Si wouldn't have bothered to explain such trivial things; he had always been reluctant to share much about himself.

But tonight, for some reason, seeing the manager's meaningful expression, he felt a surge of irritation and couldn't help but explain: "It’s not at that stage. We only added each other on WeChat because the host made us do it during a game on stage. It wasn't intentional."

The manager tapped away on the keyboard without looking up, letting out a long, drawn-out "Oh," sounding completely unconvinced.

He Si: "..."

He wiped his face, wanting to say more, but when Shen Zhi’s figure appeared in his peripheral vision, the words stuck in his throat.

Shen Zhi left the main office without a word.

He Si’s gaze followed him to the door until the manager made a clicking sound with her tongue.

"Frequent urination, urgency, incomplete emptying."

"..." He Si was speechless, though it reminded him of something. He walked over and asked the manager, "Wasn't the boss sick a few days ago? It seemed quite serious. Has he seen a doctor?"

The clacking of the keyboard stopped abruptly.

The manager looked up from the computer. "Wasn't the boss just here? Why didn't you just ask him yourself?"

"I was too embarrassed to ask," He Si said. "I thought you knew."

"Even in ancient times, servants were divided into those who handled external affairs and those who handled internal ones. How would I know about something like this? You should ask Assistant Ma; he’s the one who handles the internal affairs." The manager didn't take it to heart, muttering to herself, "Why is Cen Chen's computer screen always this original wallpaper? I'm sick of looking at this grassland. Sure enough, 'workhorses' always yearn for the prairie."

He Si: "..."

He suddenly remembered seeing Assistant Cen’s WeChat Moments not long ago, showing her happily running through a withered, yellow field.

*Sigh.*

*Heartbreaking.*

After sitting at his desk for a while and seeing that Shen Zhi still hadn't returned, He Si thought for a moment and stood up to go to the restroom, only to find the door locked from the inside.

He knocked, but there was no response. He pressed his ear against the door for a long time, faintly hearing the sound of running water and, beneath it, the unmistakable sound of dry heaving.

He was startled and knocked harder. Just as he was about to go downstairs to find a security guard, he heard a soft *click*—the lock had turned.

The door was pulled open.

Shen Zhi stood behind it with water all over his face, even his hair dripping wet. He looked at He Si with a cold, indifferent gaze. "Did you want to come in?"

He Si stared at Shen Zhi for a few seconds, then looked away, shaking his head. "I just came to check on you."

"I'm fine," Shen Zhi said, turning back into the restroom.

He Si followed closely.

Shen Zhi walked to the sink, tore off two paper towels to wipe the water from his hands, and then began wiping his hair.

He Si watched quietly. Only when Shen Zhi had finished drying his face did he speak: "Boss."

Shen Zhi didn't answer, raising his eyes to look at He Si, who was standing behind him, through the mirror.

He Si met Shen Zhi's gaze in the reflection. Across the distance and the glass, he didn't reflexively look away, continuing, "It's midnight. Happy New Year, Boss."