FOBTS CH23

Chapter 23: Secretary Song’s Actions

Jian Yuheng signed his name with a hasty and abstract flourish, handing the document back to Song Ruochen.

Song Ruochen: “?”

Signing so quickly—does he dislike his own name?

“Let’s go, Assistant Gong,” Jian Yuheng said, dividing the stack of file boxes on the desk into two parts.

“Coming!” Assistant Gong responded.

The three of them—an A, B and an O—walked out of the office.

Song Ruochen lagged a step behind, earning a glare from Jian Yuheng.

“Second Young Master, let me help you carry one,” Song Ruochen offered proactively.

“Take one from the top,” said Jian Yuheng, holding a stack of file boxes. “If you take it from the middle, are you trying to play Jenga with me?”

He crouched slightly, allowing Song Ruochen to take one file box.

“Second Young Master, let me press the elevator for you,” Song Ruochen said.

The elevator stopped on the first floor, and the doors opened.

“Second Young Master, let me accompany you to store the files,” Song Ruochen added.

If you’re doing work, you have to announce it loudly; don’t do it silently.

“Second Young Master,” Song Ruochen said, “I’ll stand here and watch you store the files.”

Jian Yuheng: “…”

As the sun set, warm hues filtered through the glass windows, casting a glow on the little secretary’s refined profile.

“There’s still one more,” Song Ruochen said, shaking the file box in his hand.

“Put it up there,” Jian Yuheng said with a faint smile, pointing to the very top shelf of the file cabinet.

Song Ruochen: “Why not just ask me to put it on the moon?”

Ding.

“Got it, Second—Young Master,” Secretary Song said, his tone both respectful and aloof.

He walked to the file cabinet, stood on tiptoe, and reached up. As his white shirt lifted slightly with the motion, a sliver of pale, slender waist peeked through. In the warm sunset, the taut lines of his waist were even more pronounced, emphasizing his delicate frame.

Jian Yuheng paused, about to step forward.

But Song Ruochen, with the agility of a basketball player going for a layup, slammed the file box into the cabinet.

“All done, Second Young Master,” Song Ruochen said. “I’ll head back to the office now.”

And with that, Song Ruochen slipped away.

“Second Young Master, shall we head back too?” Assistant Gong asked.

Two seconds later, Assistant Gong asked again, “Second Young Master?”

“Mm,” Jian Yuheng responded.

“Find some miscellaneous writing tasks for Secretary Song,” Jian Yuheng instructed. “Assign them every evening for him to complete.”

“Understood,” Assistant Gong replied, always unconditionally executing his superior’s requests. “Should we review the tasks?”

“No need,” Jian Yuheng replied.

As long as they’re done by the next morning, let him stir up trouble during the day if he wants.

He didn’t want to experience a one-click undressing incident again. 😀

*

Song Ruochen returned to First Young Master Jian’s office at a leisurely pace of 0.2 m/s.

Jian Yi had finished his phone call and was nowhere to be seen. The office echoed with the rapid clicking of game sound effects as Yan Ci sat in the CEO’s chair, live-streaming gameplay.

“Secretary Song, you’re finally here,” Yan Ci said, glancing up.

“Good day, Madam,” Song Ruochen greeted.

“I’ve been here since two o’clock and even went out to buy snacks in between,” Yan Ci said. “Secretary Song, I came to wait for you to finish work.”

Song Ruochen: “Huh? You should’ve said so earlier—I just started my shift.”

Since there wasn’t much to do, he pulled up a chair to sit beside Yan Ci, watching him play while snacking on the treats Yan Ci had brought.

“This chestnut pastry is super delicious,” Yan Ci said.

Yan Ci turned to the screen and addressed the viewers: “If you’re not as skilled as the streamer, it’s better to avoid this area.”

After a flood of “Got it” comments, a few unfriendly ones popped up.

[So timid? The streamer I follow tackled this area head-on.]

[Haha, they’re talking about Qingping, right? Definitely more impressive.]

[Useless streamer. Qingping’s streaming adventure games this week, and you’re copying their style?]

“Streamers are people, and so are you,” Song Ruochen commented off-camera. “If you’ve copied the streamer’s reincarnation style, hurry up and reincarnate as a pig instead.”

[…]

[…]

Yan Ci nearly broke into laughter, wiping his eyes. “Everyone, let’s not argue. It’s the streamer’s fault for not inventing a new genre of games before streaming.”

[Don’t cry, Ci Ci!]

[What’s wrong with you people? Same genre doesn’t mean you should compete maliciously, okay? The game’s there for anyone to play.]

[Stay strong, Xiao Ci.]

[Do you really think you’re someone important? Shameless.]

The audience in the livestream ganged up on the trolls, drowning out their comments.

[The friend with the nice voice—can we see your face?]

“Just finished this level, so that’s it for today’s stream,” Yan Ci said. “I’ll continue tomorrow.”

After ending the livestream, Yan Ci turned to Song Ruochen. “Little Grape, eat up. I also bought you some new clothes.”

A few minutes later, Song Ruochen stared at himself in the mirror. “Madam, are you sure this looks good?”

The hat had two pointed ears, and the scarf had paw prints. It was clearly a matching set.

“It looks great!” Yan Ci exclaimed. “Winters in City A are freezing.”

“Alright, Madam, rest assured,” Song Ruochen said. “When it gets cold, I’ll weld this hat to my head.”

“Oh, by the way, Madam,” Song Ruochen suddenly remembered something. “Do you know how to write monthly work reflections?”

His work reflections were as follows:

Work is useless.

If you procrastinate long enough, some tasks will disappear.

Clients are all spoiled brats.

“Work reflections?” Yan Ci said. “I don’t want to work. I want to travel.”

“Little Grape, don’t worry,” Yan Ci said. “I’ll ask my husband tonight. He’ll definitely know. I’ll get him to write you a template.”

“Good,” Song Ruochen replied.

With that, today’s work ended. Song Ruochen dragged his suitcase full of new clothes and headed home.

*

[Rewind Coin Pouch credited with 30 minutes!]

[By promptly helping Meng Yumian find inspiration, the idle protagonist gong can now spend quality time with the protagonist shou.]

As soon as Song Ruochen stepped out of the elevator, he heard the system’s notification.

“Thank you, Teacher System, for the recognition,” Song Ruochen said in his speech. “I will continue to take good care of Meng Yumian in the future!”

*

Two days later, on the weekend, there was an art auction in City A. Song Ruochen hailed a taxi to pick up Meng Yumian.

“Young Master Meng,” Song Ruochen entered with several bags in hand, “I brought you some daily necessities.”

“Just in time, thank you, Secretary Song,” Meng Yumian said with a smile.

Having just arrived in City A, he indeed lacked some toiletries, changes of clothes, and fruit snacks. Secretary Song was very considerate.

“I really was short on some daily necessities,” Meng Yumian said.

Song Ruochen opened the bags and pulled out a gaming console, five game cartridges, and a small figurine.

Meng Yumian: “…”

Uh.

“With these, your life in City A will only get better,” Song Ruochen said.

He glanced at the time and began urging, “Let’s go, Young Master Meng. The auction is about to start, and the taxi I called is already here.”

*

A luxury car stopped in front of the auction venue. Gong Huo opened the car door, and Jian Yuheng stepped out with a friend.

“Boss, Third Young Master Jia,” Assistant Gong said, “I’ll take you to your seats.”

“I’m looking for a painting,” Third Young Master Jia said. “One that expresses emotions and inspiration more than technical skill. And you, Second Young Master Jian?”

“I want to…” Jian Yuheng started, but his gaze drifted to the other side.

That was—

Song Ruochen?

The temperature had dropped today, so the little secretary was dressed warmly. Song Ruochen wore a light blue long sweater, the cuffs covering his hands, with only his fingertips resting on the edge of a wheelchair.

Jian Yuheng’s gaze swept over and landed on the person in the wheelchair.

Where did this unknown beta come from?

He heard Song Ruochen earnestly introducing the auction house: “The A City Auction House is located in the city center, which has several large malls. The parking lots are big, but parking fees in the city center are expensive. The hourly fee can buy a small cake. Do you know which bakery in the city center has the best cakes?”

Meng Yumian: “@.@”

Jian Yuheng: “…”

This is prose.

But what was Song Ruochen doing?

Wasn’t the weekend workload enough? Now he was out taking care of some random beta? And doing a pretty good job of it?

Jian Yuheng twisted open a bottle of mineral water and took a swig.

At the auction house entrance, there was a threshold that was hard for wheelchairs to cross, but Song Ruochen believed in the power of brute force.

“Secretary Song, will anyone really buy my painting?” Meng Yumian asked.

Song Ruochen remembered that in the original story, it hadn’t sold. Instead, Jian Feng, who accompanied Meng Yumian, bought it as a favor, which later caused a misunderstanding with Big Date.

“It will sell,” Song Ruochen said. “Young Master Meng’s creation this time has a lot of depth.”

He gave a strong push, and with a light motion, the wheelchair crossed the threshold.

But Meng Yumian was thrown out.

Second Young Master Jian: “…”

Third Young Master Jia: “…”

Song Ruochen: “.”

Jian Yuheng grinned.

Ding.

Jian Yuheng was pulled back to the moment he tilted his head to drink water. The water in the bottle spilled out, and before he could react, he quickly withdrew his hand, splashing half the bottle onto Third Young Master Jia’s head.

Jian Yuheng: “…”

Crap, this was some real “Secretary Song behavior.”

Third Young Master Jia was stunned. After five seconds, he asked, “Second Young Master, aren’t you going to apologize to me?”

“It’s fine, no big deal. Don’t worry about it,” Jian Yuheng said magnanimously. “You’ll forget it in a moment.”

Third Young Master Jia was dumbfounded. Everything this man said was his own line!

Sure enough, a few seconds later, there was another ding. This time, Jian Yuheng steadily caught the water bottle.

Young Master Meng learned a lesson, and Song Ruochen gained some wisdom. This time, he didn’t push hard but instead looked around for help.

By chance, his gaze landed on Jian Yuheng.

“Second Young Master,” Song Ruochen began seeking external assistance. “This is Young Master Meng Yumian, a childhood friend of President Jian and practically his godbrother.”

“Oh?” Jian Yuheng’s gaze turned a bit distant.

“You are President Jian’s brother, and so is he. You’re both brothers,” Song Ruochen reasoned emotionally and logically. “Could you help push your brother?”

Jian Yuheng: “…”

The urge to teach this omega a lesson surged again.

“Alright.” Jian Yuheng took the wheelchair. With the strength of an alpha’s arms, he easily pushed the wheelchair over the threshold.

Having helped, don’t expect me to go back and play acrobatics again. 😀

Jian Yuheng pushed the person all the way to the seating area, sat down next to Song Ruochen, and calmly unscrewed the cap of his water bottle to take a sip—

The next second, the necklace around his neck was gently tugged.

“Hawthorn, your necklace is so pretty,” Song Ruochen exclaimed. “As expected of a top-tier face. You look great when not wearing your work uniform. You don’t even seem that fierce.”

Jian Yuheng scolded angrily, “You—”

Ding.

Another water-drinking moment.

Jian Yuheng: “Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp…”