Appearing as a Male Companion

Shen Jingyan stared at the invitation wrapped in ribbon in Zhu Yu's hand, unable to believe his eyes.

"Is this woman insane?"

"Alright, I'm done playing with you two. Whether you have business or not, hurry back," Zhu Yu said, walking toward the parking lot in high spirits.

He left Su Duoduo and Shen Jingyan standing there.

Today's events were a massive blow to Shen Jingyan; he had actually been called a loser, and a worthless one at that.

Zhu Yu returned home happily, tucked the invitation away, and opened his closet to start thinking about what to wear on Wednesday. After all, it was a high-society birthday banquet, and he needed to dress with some sophistication.

Zhu Yu held a few suits against himself to compare them when his phone suddenly rang.

Zhu Yu picked up the phone with a puzzled expression. Who was the little brat calling him after work hours?

Zhu Yu squinted at the screen, and the words "Golden Thigh" came into view.

Oh no, it was the big boss! It was a good thing he hadn't answered the phone while talking to himself earlier, or he would have been finished.

Zhu Yu took a deep breath and answered with a smile.

"Boss, do you have any instructions?"

--[You'd better have something important to say, otherwise, just for interrupting my off-hours, I'll definitely make a note of this in my little book later.]

As soon as Shen Jingmo connected the call, he heard two contradictory thoughts.

Shen Jingmo's mouth twitched. Anyone who didn't know better would think Zhu Yu was the boss.

"This Wednesday, the eldest daughter of the Feng Family is hosting a birthday banquet. You will accompany me."

"Understood, boss." Zhu Yu didn't think anything was wrong with that. After all, as the boss's assistant, helping to block drinks or opening doors was just standard procedure.

"Mm. I'll have someone send over the clothes, accessories, and watch." Shen Jingmo nodded. In truth, he didn't even understand why he had suddenly decided to ask Zhu Yu to go with him.

He had always attended various banquets, large and small, alone. This time, it was all Li Yiyan and Fu Bo'en's fault for egging him on, insisting he bring someone. Shen Jingmo's mind had gone blank at the time, but the next second, he had pictured Zhu Yu happily munching on sunflower seeds.

Shen Jingmo wasn't a man of hesitation; once the thought occurred, he made the call.

"Hm? Boss, the clothes, accessories, and watch aren't necessary, right? I have my own clothes." Zhu Yu's face was full of panic. He knew his boss didn't do things on a small scale; if he lost even one item, he wouldn't be able to pay it back even if he sold himself to the Shen Corporation.

"How could that be? As my male companion, you naturally must have the best," Shen Jingmo said as if it were a matter of course.

"What??? Male companion??? Boss, I'm not going as your assistant?"

Zhu Yu's mind went blank. It was over, it was all over. Although some assistants or secretaries in novels would attend banquets as their boss's male or female companion, how did this end up happening to him?

Shen Jingmo had never had such a situation before.

"What else did you think? That's enough, it's settled." Shen Jingmo felt a rare moment of guilt and hung up the phone.

Zhu Yu stood in his walk-in closet, holding the phone he had just hung up, wanting to cry but unable to shed tears. Although the boss was indeed his type, being a last-minute male companion was just too difficult.

Zhu Yu stopped agonizing over what to wear; since the other party had already decided for him, there was no point in stressing.

Zhu Yu hugged a pillow and lay back on the sofa in agony. He could already predict that some inexplicable things would happen at the banquet. After all, his boss was still wearing that "overbearing CEO" halo.

Usually, staying by an overbearing CEO's side never led to anything good; someone was always looking for trouble or picking a fight.

Being a CEO's partner requires caution! Without enough strength, trouble always follows!

Soon, it was Wednesday evening.

Zhu Yu was sitting on the sofa, hugging a bag of potato chips and watching cartoons.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang urgently.

Zhu Yu opened the door in a panic, and as soon as it swung open, a crowd of people swarmed in.

"Mr. Zhu, we need to be quick. We have to get your styling done."

"Quick, quick, quick! Check if the clothes are pressed. Are the accessories and watch ready? Stylists and makeup artists, get to your stations!"

Zhu Yu was like a lamb to the slaughter, tossed from one group of people to another.

Time ticked by, and finally, the entire team stopped. Everyone's gaze turned to Zhu Yu in the center of the circle.

Zhu Yu was now wearing a royal blue suit that accentuated his physique. With the exquisite styling, he looked even more elegant and noble.

The glasses Zhu Yu wore daily had been removed.

"Wow! Mr. Zhu, you are truly too handsome. This outfit really suits you perfectly."

"It really does! And this watch, the full-diamond setting is so dazzling!"

"The ttf 'Starry Sky' is dazzling to your wallet too—60 million."

"That's a price I can't afford."

Zhu Yu had been busy admiring his own heaven-defying looks, but when he suddenly heard "60 million," his whole body trembled. Especially the hand wearing the watch—60 million! How many zeros was that?

Johnny, the director of the styling team, looked at the perfect work his team had created and smiled with satisfaction. "As expected of a suit worth over 100 million, it is flawless in both cut and tailoring."

Zhu Yu had been trying to control his hands, but upon hearing this, he froze in place and turned his head stiffly.

"How, how much?"

Johnny didn't notice Zhu Yu's stiff expression and instead checked the watch on his wrist.

Oh no, time was running out. The boss was already waiting downstairs; he had to get Mr. Zhu down there immediately.

"Mr. Zhu, let's head down quickly."

Zhu Yu was escorted downstairs by two people.

Downstairs, Shen Jingmo leaned against the car door, arms crossed, watching the entrance of the building.

Just as Shen Jingmo felt time was getting tight and was about to make a call, movement came from the doorway.

Shen Jingmo looked up instinctively. He was indeed stunned the moment he saw Zhu Yu, but the next second, seeing his stiff, uncoordinated gait, the filter shattered instantly.

Shen Jingmo got into the car and looked at the stiffly seated Zhu Yu, full of confusion. "You don't like this outfit?"

Zhu Yu turned his head slowly, wearing an expression that was half-laughing and half-crying. "I'm wearing hundreds of millions on my body; who wouldn't be nervous? Boss, if this suit gets dirty by accident, will I have to pay for it?"

Shen Jingmo turned to look out the car window, speechless. He had thought Zhu Yu didn't like it, but it turned out he was just terrified by the money.