Why Don't You Keep Me?

Song Shi'an: "..."

Maybe he should just die. This was way too mortifying.

"Wh... what... how... how could something like that have happened..." Song Shi'an was so nervous he could barely speak properly.

Lu Mingyu continued, "You also said that once you got promoted, got rich, and your boss died, you'd keep me."

Song Shi'an lowered his head even further, wishing he could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.

His head buzzed.

On the verge of tears, he wanted to slap himself twice.

They won't fire me over this, will they?! Wuwuwu! I was wrong. I never should have drunk! Oh god, I even got handsy with the tyrannical CEO last night. Is he going to settle every score with me later?!

Song Shi'an had already thought through where he wanted his ashes buried.

The backs of his knees went weak, and he wanted to immediately kneel and bang his head on the floor.

He stammered, "P-President Lu, it was probably all a misunderstanding. I'm a terrible drunk. After drinking, I like saying the opposite of what I mean. You have such a fortunate face—you'll definitely live to be a hundred."

Lu Mingyu put down the magazine in his hand. Amusement lingered in his eyes as he stared straight at Song Shi'an.

Feeling that burning gaze, Song Shi'an's scalp went numb.

His mind was already racing.

What do I do? What do I do? I don't want to lose my job!

Lu Mingyu looked at him. "Assistant Song, don't tell me you've been thinking about it during the day and dreaming about it at night, so you blurted it out after getting drunk."

"No, no!" Song Shi'an hurriedly denied it. Apparently eager to prove his innocence, he blurted out, "You said it yourself—I even said I wanted to keep you after getting drunk. I can't possibly spend every day thinking about keeping you!"

Lu Mingyu raised a brow. "Then why don't you want to keep me?"

Song Shi'an: "?"

For a moment, he was genuinely stumped.

Is there something wrong with this man's brain? Is keeping him really the issue here? Didn't I curse him to death? How am I supposed to answer that?!

As expected of a boss. His train of thought is completely different from everyone else's! There must be intestines in his head, which is why it's so twisted and roundabout!

He cursed inwardly, but his face remained respectful as he flattered him. "You're worth tens of billions, handsome and elegant. The women chasing after you could line up from here all the way to France. How would I dare entertain such thoughts?"

Lu Mingyu lowered his eyes and did not press the matter further.

Instead, he changed the subject. "Go to the company."

Song Shi'an immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Luckily, luckily, the tyrannical CEO was not the petty sort.

Inside the president's office at Lu Group.

The moment they entered, they saw Tang Ruan standing in the office.

She was dressed all in white today, her long, straight black hair spilling down her back and her eyes rimmed red.

Song Shi'an jumped. If she stood there at night looking like that, he would have thought Sadako had arrived.

Tang Ruan stared straight at Lu Mingyu. Tears gathered in her eyes before silently falling.

As the female lead of this story, Tang Ruan was naturally beautiful. The sight of such a beauty crying was rather heart-wrenching.

Seeing this, Lu Mingyu merely frowned slightly. "This is my office. Other than Assistant Song, no one may come and go without permission."

That cold sentence directly cut off the words Tang Ruan had been preparing to say.

Tang Ruan's mouth had just opened when she was so abruptly blocked that she faltered.

Song Shi'an: What a hopelessly straight man. How is the female lead supposed to speak now?!

Tang Ruan truly deserved to be the female lead. She quickly recovered, took two steps forward, and said through sobs, "President Lu, you clearly saw it last night. Why didn't you save me?"

Last night?

Song Shi'an had been too drunk last night. He remembered flirting with Lu Mingyu, but he had truly forgotten everything else.

He watched the two of them with an expression full of gossip.

Lu Mingyu's tone was cold. "You're merely an employee of the company. What you do after work is your own business."

"But I was nearly taken advantage of yesterday!" Tang Ruan sounded somewhat agitated. Covering her chest with both hands, she continued to cry.

Sure enough, women were made of water—their tears fell whenever they pleased.

Lu Mingyu: "..."

For no reason at all, people kept pinning blame on him.

Lu Mingyu lost patience as well. "You chose to work at a club. Do you expect me to keep an eye on you twenty-four hours a day? Tang Ruan, you did my grandmother a favor. If there's something you want, you can just say it."

Tang Ruan shook her head. "I don't want anything! I didn't save Grandma for material gain."

Tang Ruan looked as though she had suffered a tremendous insult.

Even Song Shi'an was speechless.

In old-school tyrannical CEO novels, the female lead's background was always as tragic as possible!

Isn't her mother waiting in the hospital for money for surgery? Doesn't her younger brother need money for school? Isn't her father on the run because he owes hundreds of thousands in gambling debts?

My god, with things already like this, what is the female lead being so reserved about! Just ask the tyrannical CEO for a few million! Wouldn't all the family's difficulties be solved at once?!

I'm getting anxious for her!

Lu Mingyu said, "I need to work now. Leave."

The tyrannical CEO's cold words made Tang Ruan sway as though she might collapse. She looked at Lu Mingyu, then finally walked out.

Lu Mingyu lifted a hand and rubbed his temples.

To him, Tang Ruan was now like a Buddha he had to worship.

He could not send her away, nor could he slight her.

That afternoon, when work ended, Song Shi'an finally did not have to work overtime.

He happily clocked out and went home.

That evening, Song Shi'an arranged to meet his good friend Chen Jiashu at a street food stall.

They had been college roommates, and after graduation, they had both stayed in Sea City to work.

Chen Jiashu had studied media. He had not become an artist, but he had become an agent instead.

Over the years, he had done quite well for himself.

Before they even reached the street food stall, they could smell the heavy scent of barbecue.

Song Shi'an swallowed and ordered every single thing he liked to eat.

Chen Jiashu was already waiting at their table. He wore a light-colored coat and glasses, giving off an air of refined elegance.

Song Shi'an plopped down in his seat. Seeing how Chen Jiashu was dressed, he could not help laughing. "I've noticed you're getting better and better at dressing yourself."

Chen Jiashu ignored him, grabbed a bottle of iced cola and opened it, then asked, "How come you had time to ask me out today? Didn't you say you were swamped with work?"

Facing Chen Jiashu, Song Shi'an could not hold back his complaints. "Recently, my boss has been acting like he's possessed. He makes me work overtime every day, and it's all trivial nonsense. Today, I finally didn't have to work late."

Chen Jiashu smiled and gently comforted him. "Maybe your boss values you."

Song Shi'an pressed his lips together, looking like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Chen Jiashu noticed his hesitation and asked, "What is it? Did something else happen?"

Song Shi'an hesitated, then leaned closer to Chen Jiashu and whispered, "I got drunk last night and flirted with my boss."

Chen Jiashu was puzzled for a moment. "I remember your boss is a man?"

Song Shi'an nodded. "He is."

Chen Jiashu gave him a thumbs-up. "You've got guts."

"Don't make sarcastic comments. Help me figure out what to do. I'm on edge now, terrified Lu Mingyu will settle the score with me." Song Shi'an asked with a miserable expression.

He had asked Chen Jiashu out today because he wanted him to help think of a solution.