Chapter 095　 If you cheat again, I’ll come back and kill you.

  *

  Su Xian interrogated Li Chengshi and learned that he had seen the itinerary from Honda. Feeling depressed, he had booked a room at Kuromatsuso and arrived this afternoon before they did.

  Zhao Nanfeng said coldly, "I’m firing both you and Honda as soon as we get back."

  Li Chengshi knew he was being unreasonable and was prepared to be punished, but involving Honda was too much. He hurriedly said, "Boss, please don't fire Honda. I forced her to show me your itinerary."

  Zhao Nanfeng didn't answer.

  Su Xian patted Li Chengshi’s shoulder. "Don't worry, Boss won't fire anyone. But your behavior is really... mental. It’ll only backfire."

  He knew from the start it wouldn't achieve much; he just wanted to cause some meaningless destruction. He simply couldn't help himself.

  Su Xian stood up and packed her bedding.

  "Team Leader, where are you going?"

  Su Xian looked at him, then at Zhao Nanfeng. "I can't exactly stay with both of you, can I? I'm going to sleep in your room. You stay here and spend a 'romantic night' with the Boss."

  *

  The door closed. Li Chengshi stole a glance at Zhao Nanfeng and pulled his bedding toward the side of Su Xian’s room. Zhao Nanfeng caught sight of this and gave a cold laugh. "You think you’re sleeping? Get up!"

  He opened his laptop, pulled up the feedback spreadsheet, and told Li Chengshi to manually enter all the contents from those ten feedback forms.

  "Can't I just scan them when we get back?"

  "No. I want the text version."

  Knowing he was in the wrong, Li Chengshi obediently took the laptop to his futon and began typing.

  Zhao Nanfeng organized the inspiration he had gathered from the meeting into his sketchbook. At exactly 12:00 AM, he put on his eye mask and lay down to sleep.

  Li Chengshi glanced at him but didn't dare sleep. He worked until past 3:00 AM before he finally finished entering everything, saved the file, and shut down the computer.

  Outside, the heavy snow was so beautiful.

  If he hadn't broken up with Su Xian, they might have gone into the woods at dawn to catch wild rabbits together.

  Sigh.

  Su Xian was right; doing this only backfired. It didn't make him look devoted; it made him look ridiculous.

  *

  Outside the window of Li Chengshi’s room, a withered tree branch swayed wildly, its shadow falling on the paper screen—it really did look a bit like a youkai had arrived.

  He hadn't even unpacked his suitcase; his planner was thrown inside haphazardly. Su Xian took it out and flipped through it. There were many entries from the past nine months, mostly schedules for outings with her. Plans forced to be canceled due to overtime were marked with stars, intended to be made up for later. Turning to today, there was a record of the Shinkansen train number and time. Destination: Sendai. Goal: Catch them in the act.

  You're insane. Do you still think I'm your girlfriend?

  Su Xian shook her head and smiled. She knew he was unhappy, but she never imagined he would actually follow them. This wasn't something to be happy about; rather, because of his immature behavior, she felt a bit more favor toward Zhao Nanfeng. Just over a week ago, she had been furious enough to hit Li because he suspected her and Zhao were getting intimate in the meeting room—likely because she hadn't made a final decision then. If asked now, she certainly wouldn't be that angry. She was even wondering herself: Will we do that in the meeting room?

  Maybe.

  Both were people with very little sense of rules.

  **

  At 7:00 AM, Zhao Nanfeng took off his eye mask. The snow outside was bright, and the sky had cleared.

  He hadn't planned on waking up early today; he had booked afternoon Shinkansen tickets to give himself ample rest after a night of passion. But now that wasn't necessary. It was better to change to an earlier train and get back to work. He looked at Li Chengshi, who was still fast asleep.

  He walked over and kicked him awake. "What time is your return ticket?"

  Li Chengshi rubbed his eyes for a long while before suddenly snapping awake. "I only booked a one-way ticket. I haven't booked the return yet."

  Zhao Nanfeng gave him a look of disdain, canceled the two afternoon tickets, and rebooked three for 10:00 AM. Looking down again, he saw the kid had actually fallen asleep again.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  He kicked him awake once more. "Get up! The roads are bad after the snow. We leave right after breakfast."

  "I'm going to tell Team Leader you're abusing me," Li Chengshi muttered, miserably tired.

  "Do you think she's your mother or something?"

  "Don't be insulting!" He sat up angrily, but reflecting on his own lack of stamina, he just irritably snapped his blanket and said nothing.

  Zhao Nanfeng went back to his room and began reinstalling the wall panels. Li Chengshi sighed, stood up, and helped him hold them in place. Seeing Zhao Nanfeng glance at him, he asked, "Do you want to strangle me?"

  Zhao Nanfeng said flatly, "I've already snatched Su Xian away. I don't need to strangle you."

  Li Chengshi felt his heart turn to ash. "Then fire me."

  "Why don't you just resign yourself?"

  "Fine. I’ll write my resignation as soon as I get back."

  "Tell you what, I’ll give you a month. But you don't just have to resign; you have to move out of Su Xian’s house at the same time."

  "After I move out, will you move in?"

  "No. I’ll take her to find a better house to stay in for a while, and then we’ll pick a piece of land together to design and build our own home."

  Li Chengshi felt a tightness in his chest and difficulty breathing. These were things he couldn't provide; he was almost useless.

  "...Then be good to her."

  Zhao Nanfeng sneered. "As if you need to tell me."

  "If you cheat again, I’ll come back and kill you."

  "I’ve decided to live seriously with Su Xian. You don't need to worry for her. Furthermore, a little thing like you shouldn't get angry so easily; I only find it amusing."

  "Who are you looking down on!" He shoved the wall panel.

  Zhao Nanfeng peeked out from the side. "If you're not helping, move aside."

  *

  After a hot breakfast and a few words of small talk with Granny Watanabe, the texi arrived.

  The roads were slippery and the car moved slowly, giving them time to appreciate the snow.

  Passing a slope, Su Xian patted Li Chengshi’s arm. "Look, doesn't that look like the snow slope we saw in Hokkaido? It's a shame nobody's playing here."

  He pretended to look at the slope, but he was actually looking at her, his eyes blurring slightly.

  On the Shinkansen back, Su Xian and Zhao Nanfeng sat in the front row, discussing yesterday’s meeting, new inspirations, and upcoming work arrangements throughout the journey. They were in perfect harmony.

  Li Chengshi sat in the back row, staring indifferently at the scenery outside, filled with infinite sorrow.

  He finally realized he had completely messed everything up.

  So stupid.

  **

  Back at the company in the afternoon, Li Chengshi felt dizzy and lightheaded. However, Team Leader Tamazawa found an issue with the budget he had prepared and urged him to fix it as soon as possible. He had to force himself to check and correct it line by line.

  At past seven, Su Xian came to his workstation after finishing her work. Seeing he was the only one left in the central work area, she asked, "How much longer? I'll wait for you."

  "Still more than an hour. You go back first. It’s easy for me to take the train home after I’m done."

  "I’ll help you." She pulled up a chair and sat beside him, browsing through the documents he had printed. She circled the problem areas with a red pen. "Adjust these items, and it should be fine."

  "How are you so familiar with this?"

  "This is the template Zhao Nanfeng designed. I used it the whole time I was at An Liang, so of course I’m familiar with it."

  "So the one we used at An Liang was designed by the Boss? He really is amazing."

  Su Xian smiled. "I heard he punished you by making you enter the feedback forms last night?"

  "It’s a miracle he didn't hit me. By the way, has the Boss left yet?"

  "Yeah. Do you need him for something?"

  "He booked the return tickets. I wasn't on a business trip, so I shouldn't use company funds. I want to pay him back."

  "Don't fuss over such details. Hurry up and work. When we're done, we’re going home to eat ox tongue—and you're cooking, of course."

  **