FOBTS CH18

Chapter 18: Experienced

“Yes, hahaha, it was indeed our President Jian. I left work early yesterday and wasn’t on-site. What a pity…” Assistant Gong walked past the stairwell, holding a stack of documents and talking on the phone.

“Eh? Second Young Master.” Gong Huo backed up, “Why are you standing here?”

“Twice, twenty floors… I’ve stepped on every single brick of this staircase…” Jian Yuheng muttered to himself.

Assistant Gong: “…?”

“Nothing.” Jian Yuheng snapped out of it. “Go ahead with your business.”

“Hahaha, yes, as I was saying.” Assistant Gong continued his phone call and walked away.

Ready, go!

Jian Yuheng started climbing the stairs for the third time, his mind conjuring up seven or eight different punishments.

Just wiping desks wasn’t enough—Secretary Song would have to mop the floors too. Then, Secretary Song should be made to stand as punishment for two hours, followed by delivering documents outside.

He wanted to see Secretary Song exhausted and gasping for breath.

Eighteenth floor, nineteenth floor… twentieth floor. Jian Yuheng reached the top once again.

“Song! Ruo! Chen!” He stormed into the office, furious.

A green pothos leaf spun in the air and floated to the ground.

The office was filled with life—but devoid of people.

He had fled. This time, Secretary Song had outright fled.

Jian Yuheng: “…”

The elevator slowly stopped on the first floor. The door opened, and Secretary Song, with his work badge hanging around his neck, stepped out, grinning cheekily.

[Useless but loves to mess around.]

The system remarked.

“System, I can brag about this for a whole year.” Song Ruochen said proudly, “I just ran wild on the villain’s head.”

[And then got so scared after playing around that you felt guilty and couldn’t face him, so you rewound time by 25 minutes?]

“Don’t send meme reactions in my head,” Song Ruochen said. “Also, it’s not like that… I just suddenly wanted to try a large-scale rewind.”

[How did it feel after trying?]

“It felt like the days got longer,” Song Ruochen replied. “Life has infinite possibilities.”

In the quiet office, Jian Yuheng felt so exasperated he wanted to punch the air.

He walked step by step back to his slightly messy desk and sat down calmly.

Fragments of memory resurfaced—just now, Song Ruochen had been very close to him. Black strands of hair had brushed against his earlobe, and then… he sniffed his scent?

What a rogue.

Forget it. It was better that he ran away. The office was quiet now.

All he needed to do was turn on his computer and send the evaluation report to the head office…

Jian Yuheng: “…”

The report was gone.

Taking a deep breath, Jian Yuheng reopened the document, his mind completely blank.

He was furious. He wanted to string up Secretary Song and give him a beating.

How much free rewind time had Song Ruochen gotten? How had he become so wild, so bold?

What was the catalyst for the system upgrade?

Thinking about Song Ruochen’s recent proactive actions, could the catalyst have been… getting his brother to move off Earth?

Probably not. He needed more analysis.

Jian Yuheng worked overtime at no extra cost, distractedly wrote up version 2.0 of the report, and sent it to his brother and the head office.

At 6:00 PM, Jian Yuheng closed his laptop, ready to clock out.

The office door creaked open, and Jian Feng, reeking of overtime, dragged himself in.

“Finally finished running around…” The eldest young master trudged heavily to the sofa. “I’ve been busy all day.”

Isn’t it possible that running around in circles makes you feel busy?

Jian Yuheng hesitated but ultimately said nothing, closing the door behind him.

*

Skipping work felt great. Song Ruochen had gone to explore the food street in City C.

By the time he reached the third food stall, he had finally seen a message from Jian Yuheng.

[J]: You’re not organizing documents, cleaning the office, or liaising with clients. Secretary Song, are you slacking off?

[Song Ruochen]: Out on fieldwork.

[J]: Where exactly?

[Song Ruochen]: Isn’t Second Young Master being a bit nosy?

His phone vibrated, and a new text message popped up on the screen.

{Hello, your request for pheromone compatibility testing has been processed. As of midnight today, there are 12 people nationwide with a compatibility rate of 80% or higher with you, 3 people with 90% or higher, and 0 people above 95%. The data is continually updating. Please download the “Awooo~” app to chat with them.}

Song Ruochen: “?”

So detailed.

Compatibility really was important.

[Of course, it’s important. With low compatibility, AOs can’t be together.]

[If it’s 0%, it’s even more impossible.]

Song Ruochen pondered this.

He wasn’t particularly interested in finding an alpha, but ever since he arrived here, he still hadn’t figured out how to control his grape-flavored pheromones.

[Anyone in an ABO world can use them—for calming, intimidating, attracting. They’re quite versatile.]

The system sounded disdainful.

“I’ll find an opportunity to practice,” Song Ruochen said.

The phone screen lit up with a new message—

[J]: [File] I’ve analyzed the content. You make the PPT. It’ll be used for tomorrow’s branch-wide meeting presentation.

[Song Ruochen]: Okay.

[J]: 🙂

“Why is the villain so passive-aggressive?” Song Ruochen asked.

[Because he’s a villain.]

“Branch-wide meeting… let me think…” Song Ruochen recalled the plot.

It seemed like another hurdle for the eldest young master.

The original author had crammed a lot of angst into this part.

During the meeting, an omega manager from the Xiaoshi branch had a pleasant conversation with Jian Feng, which was coincidentally captured by the company photographer. The photo ended up on the company intranet.

Somehow, the photo went viral. Netizens praised how compatible they looked, saying Jian Feng was like a high mountain flower, far out of reach, and that Yan Ci, a small-time game streamer, was unworthy of him.

Feeling inferior, Yan Ci, who had just been brought back from the mountains by Secretary Song, ran away again—this time to the desert.

Song Ruochen: “…”

Jujubes really were drought- and cold-resistant.

Song Ruochen started brainstorming.

“Let’s go, Big System,” Song Ruochen said. “Time to go home and make the PPT.”

*

The branch management had been on edge for days, waiting for the branch-wide meeting.

Jian Yuheng arrived early at the conference room and waited for about half an hour before spotting Song Ruochen in a white shirt at the entrance, talking to a photographer-like alpha and occasionally smiling.

Jian Yuheng paused and looked away.

“Brother.” Jian Yuheng raised his hand. “Sit next to me.”

Jian Feng gladly took the seat.

“I’ve organized the evaluation results,” Jian Yuheng said. “I also made the PPT.”

A minor punishment—taking credit for Secretary Song’s work to annoy him.

“I trust what you’ve done,” Jian Feng said. “I’ll do the presentation. You worked hard yesterday.”

He’d been a bit introverted lately. A presentation might help him open up.

Jian Feng took the USB drive and stepped onto the stage, opening the PPT file—

The title was clear, and the content was detailed. Each point about the branch’s current situation was analyzed thoroughly.

But why was the PPT background a wedding photo of him and Yan Ci?

Jian Feng: “…”

Jian Yuheng: “…………”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Jian Feng began awkwardly, “regarding the branch’s current situation, I have a few points to address.”

The PPT flipped to the next slide, and another new photo popped up.

PPT created by: Jian Yuheng

Jian Yuheng: “…”

Jian Yuheng and Assistant Gong got up and moved a few rows back, coincidentally sitting next to Song Ruochen.

Jian Yuheng started glaring at him.

Song Ruochen absentmindedly held a paper cup, his gaze fixed on a certain alpha photographer. In a moment, he would walk over and block the camera, ensuring that the photo that would cause a sensation across the internet would never exist.

Five minutes later, Jian Feng stepped off the stage. An omega manager stood up and walked toward him. Song Ruochen also stood, ready to photobomb and create a “moment of a lifetime” photo.

But Jian Feng lowered his head, waved his hand to decline the interaction, and dove straight into the crowd of employees.

The omega manager: “?”

Song Ruochen: “?”

Was the big date-husband being unusually quiet and withdrawn lately?

The omega manager stood there, bewildered, and ended up getting a solo shot from the photographer.

[Rewind Coin Pouch credited with 20 minutes.]

With Jian Feng suddenly shutting down socially, the inexplicable problem was resolved. Song Ruochen was delighted to relax. He snuck out of the meeting and pocketed two packs of cookies on his way out.

Crisis averted, with nothing left for him to do, he decided to head to the office to experiment with his pheromones.

Sitting cross-legged on the office sofa, Song Ruochen took a deep breath, focused, exhaled, and then yelled, “Waaaahhhh…”

[…Is your output purely based on yelling?]

“There’s no grape scent,” Song Ruochen said. “I can’t control my pheromones.”

I’m such an unqualified omega.

[How about focusing your attention?]

Song Ruochen closed his eyes and began trying again.

Warmth spread through his chest, and the air took on a faint hint of grape.

“I smell amazing!” Song Ruochen exclaimed. “I’m a sweet grape.”

The scent was faint and quickly dissipated.

“More, more!” Song Ruochen said. “Wow, I can even become a sour grape.”

Song Ruochen tried again: “This is a single grape.”

Song Ruochen: “This is a bunch of grapes.”

The fresh fruit aroma filled the entire office.

“Whoa, I’ve turned into wine now,” Song Ruochen said.

Meanwhile, Jian Yuheng was climbing the stairs. No matter what, today he was going to punish Song Ruochen.

It was just a rewind system that could only turn back time for short durations—hardly dangerous.

He had been through plenty of storms and had gained experience.

“Song Ruochen!” The office door was pushed open, and Jian Yuheng stood at the entrance, ready to confront him. “What’s with your PPT—”

Jian Yuheng: “…”

The alpha staggered back a couple of steps, inadvertently inhaling a large dose of pheromones.

“Song Ruochen, you…” Jian Yuheng grabbed the doorframe for support.

“Is this… pheromone suppression?” he heard Song Ruochen say. “I’m so powerful.”

Jian Yuheng gritted his teeth. “Song Ruochen, you’re just—”

Ding.

The grape scent vanished, and Jian Yuheng found himself back in the meeting room, dazed for a long moment. This time, he was caught red-handed by Jian Feng, who had come looking for him.

“Hey, little brother.” Jian Feng grabbed hold of Jian Yuheng and wouldn’t let go. “I want to go to the desert for a couple of days.”

Jian Yuheng: “… :)”