After scrutinizing the amount of food in the packaging, Wei Zhiqian said, “I see that you’ve bought a lot. Follow me to my office to have dinner together.”
Without further explanation, he immediately pulled Tan Mo’s hand and walked toward the elevator.
Being used to obeying his words, she followed him into the elevator on reflex with her hand being held.
Both of his hands were full as they were ascending steadily. The right side carried the sushi while the left one held Tan Mo’s. Neither side was willing to let go of its grip.
Just then, he gave her palm a gentle yet flirty squeeze.
Tan Mo was stunned by it.
A tingling sensation and heat spread across her palm. Her hand would shake uncontrollably if Wei Zhiqian released his clutch.
“I can’t believe that Momo is already mature enough to be concerned about me,” Wei Zhiqian praised with thankfulness and affection.
There were only two of them inside the elevator. Although Wei Zhiqian spoke softly, she could vividly hear his voice in her ears in such a confined space.
It was as if a precious gem was being stuffed in his throat. Every time he uttered a word, his voice sounded like jewels colliding with each other—pleasant and crisp.
Tan Mo’s ears fluttered inexorably at the sound of it. She experienced an adrenaline rush upon listening to his voice.
‘How did I not notice that his voice could be so tantalizing before?’
Even though it was Sunday, when most of the staff didn’t work, some employees still had to come in to work. In the worst-case scenario, some of them even had to work overtime. Due to their job nature differences, certain departments had higher priorities.
Consequently, they had to take overtime shifts during the weekends more often than not.
As the elevator continued moving upward, the gleaming floor level indicator light followed by a “ding” halted its momentum.
After the doors opened, Manager Wang from the Sales Department could be seen standing outside in a dazed state. At that moment, numerous interior monologues flooded his mind.
The only question that drowned out the others was whether he should enter the elevator or not.
He figured that entering would be the equivalent of playing Gooseberry.
“Don’t just keep standing there!” Wei Zhiqian’s brows forced together into a pronounced frown. “Do you wanna get in?”
Manager Wang was wasting their time.
Beads of cold sweats rolled down his back as his heart skipped a beat. He thought, ‘Oh, snap! President is mad now! This is the worst!’
It was as clear as daylight that he was interrupting Wei Zhiqian’s date by being the third wheel.
Manager Wang stammered in anxiety, “I… I’ll wait for the next one.”
Wei Zhiqian furrowed his brows upon hearing that. “There’s still so much space left. What’re you waiting for? Get in!”
Manager Wang became inarticulate.
Tan Mo had never come to Wei Zhiqian’s office before.
She had insisted on segregating private life from work. Thus, she would never come to his office without reason.
Due to that fact, no one in the company knew about her.
With consternation, Manager Wang trudged into the elevator.
Upon seeing Wei Zhiqian’s finger moving toward the close button, Manager Wang exclaimed, “President, let me do it!”
Without delay, Manager Wang stretched his finger and pressed the button.
“Many people use the elevator every day. The buttons are contaminated from being touched by countless randos. Therefore, you shouldn’t touch them with your fingers,” Manager Wang clarified while retracting his hand.
Tan Mo was at a loss for words at the sight of it.
She had heard rumors of how Wei Zhiqian trained everyone in the company into docile staff.
Yet, the level of their submissiveness was beyond her expectations.
Seriously. What had Wei Zhiqian been doing in the company before this?
“Um. President, how may I address this person?” Manager Wang found himself in a tight spot.
No matter what, he could not just ignore Tan Mo’s presence and not greet her.
The fact that he noticed their fingers were interlocked with each other only added to his struggle.
Everything was well except the fact that Tan Mo looked a little too young for Wei Zhiqian.
The former appeared to be around the latter’s niece’s age, who was a high schooler.
Had the latter always been such a brute?
Just then, Manager Wang suddenly recalled that Wei Zhiqian was rumored to be homosexual.
It might be hearsay, but it had proven a point as Wei Zhiqian had never been in a relationship before. He did not even have a woman close to him for crying out loud.
Many young female staffs lamented when they caught wind of the gossip that circulated around the company.
Despite that, they knew there were insurmountable odds stacked against their chances to be with Wei Zhiqian.
Realistically speaking, they never stood a chance to become his other half to begin with.
If they could not have it their way in real life, they could do it in their dreams.
Yet they were told that Wei Zhiqian swung that way.
It meant they could not even dream about it.
It was disheartening.
On top of losing the competition against other women, they even had to emulate a man.
The thought of it greatly frustrated them.
It was somewhat unbearable to harbor any romantic feelings for a man who was homosexual.
Immersing into their fantasy about a man like that was impossible even for them.
At first, Manager Wang did not believe in the gossip.
Then, he started looking out for handsome young male employees secretly in the company.
After marking his targets, he would observe how Wei Zhiqian treated them and compared those with the latter’s attitude toward female employees.
One of the many things he would look for was if Wei Zhiqian would take a second glance at those handsome young men.
Upon recollecting the differences between Wei Zhiqian’s behavior toward both male and female employees all this time, Manager Wang realized that the former indeed treated his male subordinates slightly better than the female counterparts.
Needless to say, it was just a tiny bit more.
The only difference was that Wei Zhiqian would at the very least sit with male personnel.
What about female employees?
Sorry, no such luck.
One would never see Wei Zhiqian share a table with his female underlings.
That attitude led Manager Wang to believe Wei Zhiqian’s rumored sexual orientation.
Having said that, the former was taken by surprise upon seeing him holding another woman’s hand.
And it was tenderly to boot.
The person before Manager Wang’s eyes was the only young woman to be seen in such an intimate manner with Wei Zhiqian thus far.
There was still the fact that she was too young.
With his hand holding Tan Mo’s, Wei Zhiqian announced, “She’s Tan Mo. A junior student at Beijing University and a disciple of the Department of Chinese Literature’s Professor Gu, the Department of History’s Professor Tang, and the Department of Aerospace Engineering’s Professor Yue. She was also involved in the making of Legend of Wei and Jin as a scriptwriter.”
Wei Zhiqian’s was overflowed with delight all the more as he continued the introduction. He gradually lifted his head without realizing it.
Upon hearing that, Tan Mo was rendered speechless.
‘Why did he tell him so much?’
‘Wouldn’t it be easier to say that I was his step-niece?’
Wei Zhiqian was in a tranced state before continuing proudly, “That’s Momo for you.”
At that, Manager Wang could not help but blink his eyes.
After everything Wei Zhiqian said, Manager Wang remained clueless about the former’s relationship with Tan Mo.
Nonetheless, he could tell that there was more to their relationship than met the eyes the moment he caught sight of Wei Zhiqian’s expression.
Still, he was bright enough not to make any opinionated assumptions before he was certain about their relationship.
“I see. So you’re Tan Mo!” Manager Wang focused solely on showering Tan Mo with praises. “To think that you could add so many great achievements in your biography at such a young age. You’re truly exceptional.”
Manager Wang laid his eyes on Wei Zhiqian’s expression while he spoke.
As anticipated, the former’s eyes were gleaming as he grinned from ear to ear.
Upon seeing that, Manager Wang heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that whatever he said was on the right track.
He added, “I’m Manager Wang from the Sales Department.”
Following that, he handed Tan Mo a business card.
Since she had one hand clasped by Wei Zhiqian, she could only stretch another one out.
