Chapter 29
Shoutout to nyanmaru for the commission!
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In the past few days, the weather in Shanghai has been mostly rainy, without the penetration of sunlight, and the entire city is shrouded in a gloomy and depressed atmosphere.
Ye Mu’s work efficiency has been much lower than before recently. He had dark circles under his eyes all day, his face was pale, and his body was even thinner.
He had a clean and handsome appearance and a young girl in the office secretly has a crush on him.
Seeing him like this, she was a bit worried and couldn’t help but go up to ask. “Ye Mu, did something happen to you recently?”
Ye Mu didn’t sleep all night and had a terrible headache, but he still politely replied, “It’s nothing; thank you for your concern.”
“But…” The girl wanted to say more, but she was interrupted.
“I’m really fine.” Ye Mu said, his tone unusually impatient.
“Oh… alright then.”
The girl saw that he was in a bad mood and tactfully left. After returning to her desk, she couldn’t help but purse her lips, looking worried.
A colleague next to her saw this and teasingly said, “So, you finally got to talk to your Prince Charming Ye. How does it feel?”
The young girl gave him a sidelong glance. “Oh, come on.”
After that, she lowered her head and started muttering to herself, “I don’t know why, but I always feel like he has something on his mind recently. He seems to be very unhappy.”
The colleague took a sip of the coffee in his hand, narrowed his eyes, and put on an experienced look. “If you ask me, your Prince Charming must have gone through a breakup.”
“Breakup?” The young girl’s eyes widened.
The colleague nodded with a serious face. “Yes, insomnia, bad dreams, low mood, irritability, don’t these fit the top three symptoms of post-breakup syndrome?”
“Huh? No way, right?” The young girl found it hard to believe.
The colleague clicked his tongue. “Of course it’s possible. I think your Prince Charming Ye was probably indirectly rejected by the person he secretly likes.”
The young girl pouted and let out a long sigh. “If possible, I really want to see what that person looks like.”
The colleague had a mischievous grin on his face. “That goes without saying. It must be a sexy beauty.”
“Tsk, how do you know it’s the sexy type? Maybe it’s the pure and innocent type.”
The colleague revealed a honeyed smile. “Last time, I took the opportunity to do a psychological test for your Prince Charming. The results clearly showed that he likes girls with hot bodies and muscular charm.”
The young girl had a thoughtful expression. “Speaking of muscles, I think President Chen’s physique is really good-looking. The last time I saw him take off his shirt, those muscles were so beautiful that they made people drool.”
The colleague raised his eyebrows flirtatiously. “Actually… have you noticed that your Prince Charming and President Chen look quite good together when walking side by side?”
The young girl laughed and said with a wicked taste, “Haha, I know that. I just read a Boys’ Love novel. The male couples are usually divided into top and bottom. I bet Ye Mu is definitely the top.”
The colleague disagreed. “Come on, you’re being a bit biased here. Based on the aura, it has to be President Chen on top no matter what.”
The young girl sneered. “Screw you. It depends on the level of maturity and steadiness. If you ask me, Ye Mu would definitely top President Chen.”
The colleague shook his head. “You’re still young and inexperienced. For top and bottom, it depends on the size of the nose. Look, President Chen’s nose bridge is obviously higher than Ye Mu’s.”
The young girl really didn’t understand. “How does the height of the nose bridge determine top and bottom?”
The colleague laughed teasingly and leaned close to her ear, whispering, “The size of the nose determines the length of that thing down there on a man.” The young girl covered her mouth, her face turning red.
“This… you… you’re vulgar!” She said and ran away, stomping her little feet.
The colleague found it amusing and was about to laugh when he saw the black shadow standing on the side, his face stiffening.
“Pre- President Chen…”
Chen Mo looked at her coldly. “Mm,” he responded.
“When… when did you come… why didn’t you say something… I…”
Chen Mo interrupted her, his face displeased. “Deduct a thousand from this month’s salary. Go report yourself to HR now.”
The person had a mournful face and dryly agreed. She got up and left her seat sluggishly.
Today was really an unlucky day.
Chen Mo watched her enter the HR department office. After the door closed, his gaze involuntarily turned to Ye Mu in the corner.
Looking at this person’s increasingly thin figure and worsening dark circles, Chen Mo’s ears started echoing the fragments of conversation from those two people just now for some reason.
Post-breakup syndrome…
Indirectly rejected by the person he secretly likes…
…Standing in place, after a long period of deep thought and consideration, Chen Mo walked over and lightly tapped on Ye Mu’s desk.
He coughed and turned his face to the side, indifferently saying, “Are you free? Let me treat you to a meal.”
Ye Mu heard the voice and gave him a light glance. His lips moved slightly, his voice filled with deep fatigue.
“Let’s go.” As he spoke, he put on his suit jacket and slowly walked towards the door.
Chen Mo glanced at him askance, put his hands in his pockets, and followed, his expression neither salty nor bland.
The two walked for a long time without saying much, all the way into the elevator. Chen Mo crossed his arms and leaned to the side, his face expressionless.
Ye Mu lowered his eyes and looked at the ground, remaining silent. In the narrow space, the atmosphere was eerily quiet.
“Hey.” A cold, single word.
Chen Mo spoke first.
Ye Mu’s eyes moved slightly, but he didn’t respond.
“Hey.” Chen Mo was displeased and called out again.
“Mm,” Ye Mu was silent for a moment before finally responding.
Chen Mo looked at him expressionlessly and said, “You better not overthink. Treating you to a meal is just because I noticed your work has been slacking off lately. This is a conversation between a leader and an employee.”
Ye Mu stared at the floor for a while, slowly averting his gaze to look out the glass window. “I’m not overthinking.”
Chen Mo glanced at him coldly. “I know what I said a few days ago affected you, but it was all based on facts. I advise you to keep an open mind and not be half-dead all day.”
Ye Mu didn’t respond. He silently walked out of the elevator door step by step, his hands casually in his pockets, his head hanging low, making it impossible to see his expression. It wasn’t until they walked into the restaurant and sat down that he slowly spoke, his voice flat.
“A few days ago… what did you say?”
Chen Mo narrowed his eyes and glanced at him askance. “I told you to get rid of those unnecessary thoughts in your mind.”
Ye Mu lowered his head and put his phone on the table, unusually silent. He let out an “mm” and stopped talking again.
Chen Mo found his state a bit of a headache and couldn’t help but raise his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.
“Sirs, your dishes.” Just in time, the waiter brought the plates.
Chen Mo couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to Ye Mu and directly started eating on his own. A few dozen minutes passed just like that.
Ye Mu didn’t take a single bite and just lowered his eyes. His dark lashes covered the blackness in his eyes, making his facial features even more profound.
“After a while, take Hei Ye back home.”
Chen Mo used a knife to cut the steak, curling the corners of his lips. “What? You can’t stand it either?”
Ye Mu was silent for a moment and shook his head. “After a while, I have something to do.”
Chen Mo raised his eyes to look at him, slightly raising his eyebrows with a hint of nonchalance.
Ye Mu met his gaze, his expression calm and cold. “I might… have to go to prison.”
Chen Mo’s hand suddenly paused…
After a while, a low voice came, carrying obvious displeasure. “Are you sure you’re not joking with me?”
Ye Mu raised his hand to take a sip of water, his thin lips slightly pursed. “Don’t worry; it’ll only be about eight or ten years.”
Chen Mo glanced at him. “What crime?”
Ye Mu coldly curled his lips, his words filled with bone-chilling sarcasm. “Misappropriation of company funds.”
Chen Mo frowned tightly. “That scumbag’s doing?”
Ye Mu lowered his eyes. “Forget it.”
Chen Mo looked at him coldly. “So you’re planning to just let yourself be slaughtered like this? If they want you to go to prison, you’ll go to prison?”
“Most of the amounts listed in the indictment were bribes paid to relevant persons in charge for the sake of project progress. Although it didn’t comply with regulations, at the time, they were all approved by Yan Chen and arranged for payment one by one. Now he’s turning around and biting me, refusing to acknowledge it. I have no way out.”
The arc of Chen Mo’s thin lips was cold and indifferent. “Contact those project leaders at the time and have them testify for you.”
Ye Mu looked at him calmly. “I’ve tried. They either make excuses or refuse. That side has already bought off all the parties involved and is just waiting to see how I die.”
Chen Mo’s long, dark eyes were half-closed. “At worst, fight back tooth for tooth.”
Ye Mu was very indifferent. “I don’t have that much money.”
Chen Mo’s fair, slender fingers tapped on the table as he looked at him coldly. “I do.”
After a moment of silence. Ye Mu spoke, “You’re willing to help me?”
Chen Mo frowned. “You saved me. I have no reason not to help.”
Ye Mu’s expression was light, but his tone was still a bit aloof. “You need to think clearly. The money you might use to help me this time, I might not be able to pay back even if I work for you for the rest of my life.”
Chen Mo’s brows furrowed even deeper, his tightly pursed thin lips revealing a hint of impatience. “No need for you to pay it back.”
Ye Mu was unmoved and stared at him for a long time without speaking. Chen Mo didn’t avoid his gaze and also looked straight at him.
The air suddenly became still.
After a while, Ye Mu put down the water glass. “The reason?”
Chen Mo’s temples twitched as he suppressed his emotions and explained, “I told you, you saved me.”
Ye Mu fell silent. “This doesn’t fit your style.”
Chen Mo’s face suddenly turned very ugly as he gritted his teeth and said, “Have you heard of an idiom?”
Ye Mu: “What?”
Chen Mo enunciated each word. “Helping others brings joy.”
Ye Mu looked at him blankly. “Never heard of it.”
Chen Mo raised his eyes and glared at him. “Then what have you heard?”
Ye Mu: “A beast in human clothing.”
Chen Mo’s face looked terrible. “Besides that?”
Ye Mu looked at him and said, “A human face with a beast’s heart.”
After a moment of silence…
“Splash!”
A glass of cold water burning with anger splashed on Ye Mu’s face, drenching him miserably. Chen Mo heavily put down the water glass with a “smack,” coldly looking down at him.
The tightly pursed line of his lips carried bone-chilling coldness. “What about now?”
Ye Mu didn’t make a sound. He silently took a tissue from the table and wiped himself.
After a while, he clearly said, “Heartless and cruel.”
Chen Mo directly grabbed his collar. “What do you mean?”
Ye Mu’s messy black bangs covered his face, making him look extremely gloomy. “I don’t need your help, Chen Mo.”
He said it word by word, his voice low but firm.
Chen Mo narrowed his eyes. “Without my help, you’ll have to go to prison.”
Ye Mu’s eyes were pitch-black. “I was already prepared for this since last night.”
Chen Mo frowned tightly. “There’s still hope now, isn’t there?”
Ye Mu shook his head. “You won’t understand. Even if we can buy off all the project personnel, as long as he doesn’t relent, I’ll be guilty no matter what.”
Chen Mo clenched his fists, the sharp line of his lips revealing an edge. “Then start with him. There must be a way.”
Ye Mu’s long lashes drooped, his black pupils looking at the ground with endless decadence. “Forget it, I’m too tired.”
He had already given up, completely…
Even if Yan Chen was willing to compromise, Gu Huai wouldn’t let him off.
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