Don't Fire Me

Gu Yuechen narrowed his eyes, wondering what had suddenly gotten into this young master that he wanted to treat him to a meal.

Of course, he did not want to eat with Yu Yaochen. As long as he had to face that face, even the finest delicacies would become tasteless.

But this was also a rare chance to get close to Yu Yaochen. He wanted to find out the details of their relationship.

After weighing the pros and cons, Gu Yuechen curved his lips into a smile.

"Sure."

"What time do you get off work?"

Gu Yuechen checked the time and said, "I can get off in an hour."

"Alright." Yu Yaochen gave a slight nod and walked back to the entrance of the pet hospital. "I'll come pick you up later."

Gu Yuechen froze. "Aren't you looking for Doctor Pei?"

Yu Yaochen glanced toward Pei Huanyi's office. His brows furrowed, and his expression seemed to turn a little colder.

"He has a guest inside, so I won't go in and disturb him."

Though the emotion on Yu Yaochen's face vanished in an instant, Gu Yuechen still caught it.

A smile appeared at the corner of Gu Yuechen's mouth. It seemed the two of them might have had an argument.

The door had not even opened. How did he know there was a guest inside?

He could not even come up with a proper excuse.

Gu Yuechen acted as though he had not taken Yu Yaochen's words to heart. "Alright, see you later."

Not long after Yu Yaochen left, Xie Wangchi arrived as well.

When Gu Yuechen saw Xie Wangchi's face, disgust flashed in his eyes.

What was going on today? Why was everyone coming to the pet hospital?

Xie Wangchi knocked on Gu Yuechen's desk. "A-Yi..."

He paused, seemingly recalling the sarcastic words Gu Yuechen had said that night, and immediately changed his wording. "Where's Huanyi?"

The moment Gu Yuechen realized it was Xie Wangchi, he lowered his head and worked on a spreadsheet on the computer.

There was not much time left before he got off work. He only wanted to finish his tasks as quickly as possible.

Though he could leave unfinished work for the next day, he did not want Pei Huanyi to think his position was dispensable.

His résumé was already fake. He could not fake his work ability too.

"He's in his office, but he has a guest inside."

Xie Wangchi and Pei Huanyi were close, so it would not matter even if he went in and disturbed him at work.

Besides, when Pei Huanyi had insisted on opening this pet hospital despite his family's objections, Xie Wangchi had even helped fund it.

Strictly speaking, Xie Wangchi could be considered a shareholder in the pet hospital too.

"Your attitude at work doesn't seem very good."

Xie Wangchi did not hurry to leave. He leaned against the front desk, propping his chin on one hand as he watched Gu Yuechen's golden curls with a half-smile.

For some reason, he had the urge to reach out and rub them. He wondered whether they felt as good as the golden retriever he kept.

"You're not a guest, and you're not my boss either."

Xie Wangchi laughed. "Who says I'm not your boss? I lent Pei Huanyi the money to open this hospital, and he still hasn't paid me back. That makes me your boss too."

He paused, as though deliberately trying to tease the person before him. Leaning half his body forward, he lowered his voice. "Do you believe I could fire you on Huanyi's behalf right now?"

The moment the words fell, Gu Yuechen abruptly raised his head, a flicker of panic appearing in his eyes.

Xie Wangchi had often spoken to him rudely before, but he rarely used Gu Yuechen's job to joke with him.

Knowing how much Xie Wangchi disliked him, Gu Yuechen took those words completely seriously. He believed Xie Wangchi truly would fire him.

"Don't." Gu Yuechen's voice trembled slightly. "Don't fire me."

Life had already pushed him hard enough. Pei Huanyi was the only ray of light in his dark life, and he did not want that light to disappear.

If he left this place, he truly could not think of any reason to get close to Pei Huanyi.

Unless... he latched onto Pei Huanyi's fiancée and became close friends with her.

Before Gu Yuechen could come up with a good plan, Xie Wangchi's soft laugh suddenly sounded by his ear.

"I was joking. I didn't expect you to care so much about this job. Then you'd better work hard and stop having any crooked thoughts."

After making his nasty joke, Xie Wangchi actually reached out and touched Gu Yuechen's head. Just like his personality, he never denied himself anything. If he wanted something, he fought for it. The only place he had ever stumbled was with Yu Yaochen.

He stroked Gu Yuechen's hair as though petting a dog, using no small amount of force. In no time at all, he had turned Gu Yuechen's hair into a complete mess.

Just as Gu Yuechen was about to lose his temper, Xie Wangchi finally withdrew his hand and commented with disdain, "What shampoo do you use? Your hair is so rough."

"I'm just an ordinary commoner. Naturally, I use shampoo from supermarket sales. It's not like I can go to expensive salons for regular treatments every month like you people."

Gu Yuechen suppressed his irritation and fixed his hair in the small mirror on his desk.

He had specifically prepared that small mirror so that he could always show Pei Huanyi his most perfect side.

Xie Wangchi watched his actions. "Tch, you're really vain."

Having lost the mood to keep teasing Gu Yuechen, Xie Wangchi straightened up and prepared to go find Pei Huanyi.

Gu Yuechen did not know whether he was angry that Xie Wangchi had joked about his job or irritated that Xie Wangchi had messed up his hair so badly, but he suddenly blurted out, "Yu Yaochen is treating me to dinner tonight."

Xie Wangchi stopped abruptly and turned to look at Gu Yuechen. After a long while, he laughed.

"Stop joking. Why would Chenchen treat someone like you to dinner?"

Gu Yuechen knew he should not have told Xie Wangchi this. That guy had always had a sharp tongue. For all he knew, he would run off and tell Pei Huanyi in a moment.

He did not know what was going on between Pei Huanyi and Yu Yaochen either. What if Pei Huanyi got jealous and kicked him out?

But the words had already left his mouth, and he wanted too badly to see the look on Xie Wangchi's face when he was put in his place. He could not help continuing.

"What's wrong with someone like me? Your beloved Yu Yaochen likes getting close to me."

Xie Wangchi's eyes widened slightly. "How did you..."

How had Gu Yuechen guessed that he liked Yu Yaochen?

Had he made it that obvious?

The smug expression that had originally been on Xie Wangchi's face now shifted to Gu Yuechen's.

He curled his lips into a faint smile without explaining how he had found out. He simply continued moving his mouse and clicking through the spreadsheet on his computer.

Xie Wangchi's surprise turned to anger. "If you dare mention in front of Chenchen that I like—"

"I don't have time for that." Gu Yuechen cut him off. "I'm not like you, always meddling in other people's business."

"However..." Gu Yuechen paused, lifted his eyes to stare at Xie Wangchi's embarrassed, furious face, and smiled like a dangerous thorned rose. "If you dare threaten me with my job again, I might panic and actually run to Yu Yaochen and tell him everything."

"Gu Yuechen, you dare threaten me!"

"I learned it from you." Gu Yuechen withdrew his gaze, entirely unwilling to look at Xie Wangchi for another second.

Xie Wangchi said "Fine" several times in a row, then turned and stormed off in anger.

When it was time to get off work, Gu Yuechen packed his things and walked to the entrance, where he saw Yu Yaochen's luxury car parked outside.

He had just been about to walk over and open the door when Yu Yaochen immediately got out of the driver's seat, walked around to the other side, and opened it for him.

Gu Yuechen froze for a moment, quietly said thank you, then bent over and got in.

As he fastened his seatbelt, he saw Xie Wangchi and Pei Huanyi through the car window.

"Doctor Pei came out." Gu Yuechen asked, "Do you want to say hello to him?"

Yu Yaochen shook his head and started the car, driving away at once.

Gu Yuechen could only look through the window again. His eyesight was good, and he caught Xie Wangchi's somewhat unpleasant expression.

If Pei Huanyi had not been standing beside Xie Wangchi, he really wanted to roll down the window and wave at him.

It would be best if he pissed him to death.