GLIHBN Chapter 40
by VolareSu Shi was a man with an infinite yearning for money, extremely interested in earning it, and wouldn’t miss any opportunity to do so. Normally, nothing could stop him from going to work and making money.
Therefore, Xiao Jie wasn’t surprised when he received a message from Su Shi last night saying he wouldn’t be coming to the studio today, and now hearing from the front desk that Su Shi was already in the office.
Knock, knock.
Xiao Jie knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Xiao Jie didn’t ask why Su Shi said he wasn’t coming but then did, because there was no need for unnecessary questions. “Su Shi, have you had breakfast?”
Su Shi was writing something in a notebook. He wrote incredibly fast, his handwriting so messy it resembled a doctor’s prescription, only understandable to himself or specific individuals. Xiao Jie certainly couldn’t decipher it.
Su Shi looked up and nodded at Xiao Jie. “I’ve eaten.”
Xiao Jie found this strange. Ever since Chi Ye moved out, Su Shi had always had him buy breakfast to eat in the office. Because Su Shi said he wasn’t coming last night, Xiao Jie hadn’t prepared breakfast today.
“Okay, then I’ll tell you about today’s tasks.”
Su Shi interrupted, “Not in a hurry, I’ll call you later.”
“Okay.”
Xiao Jie nodded slightly and retreated.
Sister Zhou from finance was just about to go in and almost bumped into Xiao Jie. “Why did you come out so quickly? Didn’t you just go in?”
“Su Shi is busy.”
“Oh.” Sister Zhou supported the thick stack of financial statements in her hand. “Then I’ll go back later.”
“Mm.”
Sister Zhou suddenly said mysteriously to Xiao Jie, “Do you know that Su Shi’s boyfriend is back?”
Xiao Jie didn’t think this was anything new. “I know.”
Sister Zhou reproached, “Then why didn’t you tell us?”
“What’s there to say? It’s Su Shi’s private matter.”
“Alright.” Sister Zhou probably felt that Xiao Jie’s lips were too tight, which was quite uninteresting, and turned to leave with a lack of enthusiasm.
After a while, Su Shi called Xiao Jie in.
Tea was being brewed on the coffee table, chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea, steaming hotly.
Su Shi needed to clear his liver and improve his eyesight, and also needed to reduce internal heat.
Seeing Xiao Jie come in, he asked him to sit down and have a cup.
How could Xiao Jie dare to let the boss pour tea? He immediately said, “Su Shi, let me do it.”
Su Shi raised his hand to stop him. “You speak, I’ll do it.”
Xiao Jie had no choice but to comply. “Okay.” Then he reported on several projects that were in the contract process.
Su Shi’s hands were very well-shaped, the knuckles defined just right, neither too thick nor too thin, fair and beautiful. When he held the white bone china cup, it was momentarily difficult to tell which was more outstanding.
Su Shi listened to the report, occasionally nodding. He habitually asked a question after Xiao Jie finished speaking about something. Xiao Jie understood his habit, so he always paused for a few seconds after finishing one item. If Su Shi didn’t ask, he would continue to the next item.
The two cooperated seamlessly.
Su Shi poured two cups of chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea, pushing one cup in front of Xiao Jie. “Here, have some tea.”
Xiao Jie was flattered and said, “Okay, thank you, Su Shi.”
Sometimes Su Shi felt that Xiao Jie was too simple-minded, rigid, not smooth or composed enough.
But this was precisely what he liked about Xiao Jie, loyal enough, and sincere enough.
The chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea was very strong after being brewed, with a fragrant aroma of chrysanthemum. Su Shi blew on it and slowly took a sip, the fragrant, sweet warmth sliding down his throat.
Xiao Jie looked at Su Shi and said, “Su Shi, did you see today’s news?”
Su Shi put down his cup and looked at him. “What news? I haven’t had time to look today.”
Xiao Jie clicked on his phone, found the news in a few taps, and showed it to Su Shi. “It’s about Mr. Qi’s scandals, take a look.”
Mr. Qi was a client they had collaborated with in the studio, an art exhibition that Su Shi was personally responsible for. Although there were minor accidents and conflicts in the middle, fortunately, the situation was remedied in time, and the exhibition was successfully completed.
Mr. Qi’s stage name was Mr. Qi. He was known in the industry for his bad temper, difficulty in getting along with, and extreme pickiness.
To put it this way, to earn money from Mr. Qi, you had to shed a layer of skin.
Before the collaboration, Su Shi had learned some things and felt confident that he could take on this project. The idea was simple: which great artist doesn’t have a temper?
But during the collaboration, he realized that this person was even more difficult to deal with than he had imagined.
At that time, Su Shi’s headache from dealing with this person was so severe that he couldn’t wait to throw in the towel.
Because that person was difficult to communicate with, an old pedant, impossible to reason with.
The headlines of suspected plagiarism, bad temper, acting like a big shot, and kicking and beating cooperation partners caught his eye. Su Shi’s first thought was, he really wasn’t wronged.
However, scrolling down further, the detailed description of kicking and disrespecting cooperation partners seemed familiar, a bit like what happened to him that night. However, the news exaggerated it too much. At that time, Mr. Qi only bumped into him, and it wasn’t as serious as kicking and beating.
Su Shi murmured, “Could this cooperation partner be talking about us?”
Xiao Jie said, “I saw it too, but I don’t think so, maybe Mr. Qi treats other cooperation partners like this too?”
Su Shi was thoughtful. “Possibly.”
Su Shi simply treated this matter as news, reading it and forgetting about it, handing the phone back to Xiao Jie. “Never mind him, it’s none of our business, tell the colleagues not to comment, just do what they’re supposed to do.”
“Okay, understood.” Xiao Jie took back his phone and finished the chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea in his cup in one gulp. “Then I’ll go out first.”
Just before walking out the door, Xiao Jie stopped and added, “Su Shi, have you removed the mites from your mattress yet?”
“Ah.” Su Shi was stunned for a moment, then remembered, “Too busy, I forgot.”
Sure enough, Xiao Jie volunteered, “Do you want me to arrange it?”
“No need, by the way, where is it red this time?”
Xiao Jie pointed behind his ear. “Here.”
Su Shi touched the location of the red mole behind his ear, which seemed a little swollen, and muttered, “Looks like I have to arrange it immediately.”
Xiao Jie smiled and went out, seeing that his boss was quite innocent. His boyfriend was back, but it was actually mites that were causing the problem.
After a few more cups of chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea, Su Shi spaced out on the sofa for a while, then opened his phone to look at Xu Chongming’s series of messages.
Xu Chongming’s writing was really not very good, just a few sentences back and forth, with no fresh vocabulary.
But you could indeed read his inner anxiety from the sentences, as well as his determination to seek forgiveness.
Su Shi spent some time reading them, his fingertip lingering on Xu Chongming’s last message: I’m coming to find you.
Su Shi didn’t mean to force Xu Chongming to come out to his family, he just wanted to increase the cost of Xu Chongming’s mistakes, to tell him where his bottom line was.
His good temper and tolerance were based on enough honesty.
After last night, Su Shi had calmed down a lot, no longer dwelling on Xu Chongming’s deception and concealment, but trying to think from the other person’s perspective.
Facts proved that if it were him, he might not have done any better.