Remembering how Fu Xiuyuan's father had behaved today, and how the male lead had always dealt with these things alone, Gu Nian'an could not help feeling suffocated.
Looking at Fu Xiuyuan's weary figure, he thought for a moment, then slowly went downstairs and gently sat down beside him.
Feeling the sofa dip beneath him, the man opened his eyes and turned to see the young man sitting beside him.
When he saw Fu Xiuyuan looking at him, Gu Nian'an gave a sheepish smile.
Then he rubbed his fingers together somewhat awkwardly and said softly, "You must be tired today, sir. Let me sit with you for a while."
The exhausted man looked at Gu Nian'an's sweet smile and caught the faint scent of citrus shower gel. For some reason, he suddenly felt a tickle in his heart.
The two sat quietly like that, neither speaking, simply keeping each other company.
Several more days passed in the blink of an eye.
Gu Nian'an was playing nonstop with the kitten in the cat room.
He read the message Fu Xiuyuan had sent, saying he would be working late tonight and telling him not to wait up and to get some rest early.
It suddenly occurred to him: how did the male lead usually eat at work?
Thinking back to the book's descriptions, he recalled that the man seemed very busy and usually just made do with some coffee and bread.
The thought of stomach pain made Gu Nian'an shudder. Since he had taken so much money to be the man's partner, he might as well take care of his meals during these three years, too.
With that thought, he immediately headed for the kitchen.
Opening the refrigerator, he saw the freshly purchased pork ribs and lotus root inside, along with some vegetables and beef.
He immediately got to work. Soon, the lotus root and pork rib soup and a dish of beef with green peppers were ready. He found an insulated lunch box in the cupboard, packed the dishes and rice inside, and went out to get a ride.
Recalling the name of the male lead's company, he opened the map and entered Fu Yu Tower as his destination. A ride-hailing car soon arrived and took him to the foot of the building.
As soon as he entered, he heard the bustle in the lobby. People were constantly making phone calls and jotting things down, while others walked together in twos and threes, talking in low voices.
He looked at the building's complicated layout and fell silent for a few seconds. There was no way he would find it himself. Walking over to reception, he asked softly, "Hello, could you tell me where Fu Xiuyuan is?"
The receptionist had noticed the young man the moment he entered the building. With his gentle appearance, lunch box in hand, and unhurried steps, he seemed completely out of place among the busy office drones. After coming in, he had looked around as if searching for something.
Looking at the bewildered young man before her, the woman smiled but still dutifully asked, "Hello, do you have an appointment?"
Gu Nian'an froze for a moment, then tapped his forehead as he suddenly realized how foolish he had been.
Fu Xiuyuan was the group's CEO. There must have been plenty of people wanting to see him, so there was no way Gu Nian'an could see him by turning up unannounced without an appointment.
So he said softly, "Sorry, I don't have an appointment. Just a moment, I'll give him a call."
The woman was briefly taken aback. She had assumed he was an employee's family member, but he had asked for CEO Fu right away, almost making her think he had come to curry favor.
But looking at his sweet appearance, she felt that did not quite fit. Then she heard him say he would call CEO Fu.
She could not help finding it a little funny. Since when had the unapproachable CEO Fu had a friend like this? She assumed he had simply made up an excuse.
The call was soon answered, and a puzzled "Hmm?" came from the other end.
Gu Nian'an said gently, "Sir, I brought you some food, but I don't know where you are. The lady at reception said I need an appointment. Could you let her know?"
The man on the other end paused briefly, then asked in confusion, "Why did you come here?"
Gu Nian'an smiled sheepishly. "You said you were busy today, didn't you? I thought you probably wouldn't have time for lunch, so I made you something and brought it over."
A trace of amusement flashed in Fu Xiuyuan's eyes. He said softly, "Be good and wait a moment. I'll come get you right away."
"Mm-hmm, okay. It's all right now. Mr. Fu said he'll come down to get me. Thank you."
After hanging up, the young man gave the receptionist a gentle smile.
The woman had frozen in place the moment she heard the familiar male voice over the phone.
If the scene in her mind could have taken physical form, everyone would probably have seen a herd of ?????? stampeding past.
Within minutes, the private elevator suddenly opened. People in the lobby stopped and looked up. Why had CEO Fu come down?
Seeing the young man standing nearby with the lunch box, Fu Xiuyuan felt a flicker of warmth in his heart. He hurried over, draped his jacket over him, and said gently, "It's so cold. Why didn't you wear something warmer?"
Seeing Fu Xiuyuan come down, Gu Nian'an smiled brightly. "It's fine, it's fine. I'm not cold. Sir, I made you lotus root and pork rib soup, and stir-fried beef with green peppers."
Looking at the soft smile on his face, Fu Xiuyuan could not help smiling as well.
He turned to the receptionist and said, "This is my friend, Gu Nian'an. If he comes again, let me know and send him straight up."
The receptionist had already frozen, nodding purely on instinct.
Taking the lunch box from the young man, he took his hand and walked toward the elevator.
Everyone else only saw their president come out of the elevator, hurry toward a young man carrying a lunch box, drape a jacket over him, take the lunch box himself, and then lead him upstairs by the hand.
If inner thoughts could have taken physical form, the lobby would have been full of ?????????? right now.
They had been too far away to get a clear look at the young man, so they went over to question the receptionist, who had witnessed the whole thing.
"Hey, who was that boy just now?"
The woman stiffened. This turn of events was far too outrageous. Then it suddenly occurred to her that she seemed to have heard the name Gu Nian'an somewhere before.
"Holy shit??? That was Gu Nian'an!!!"
The office was well heated. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city's tallest buildings and streams of passing traffic were visible. Sunlight spilled through the glass onto a freshly watered pothos nearby.
Gu Nian'an carefully laid the food out on the table, then sat to one side, blinking as he looked expectantly at Fu Xiuyuan.
The man tasted a spoonful of soup. The fresh sweetness of lotus root mingled with the meaty aroma of the pork ribs. It was delicious.
Looking up at him, seemingly waiting for praise, Fu Xiuyuan could not help the slight upward curve of his lips. "It's delicious. Thank you," he said softly.
Hearing him praise the food, Gu Nian'an's eyes curved with his smile. "As long as it's to your taste. Hurry and eat. It won't be good once it gets cold."
Knock, knock, knock. There was a sudden knock at the door.
Fu Xiuyuan set down his chopsticks and said casually, "Come in."
Gu Nian'an turned to look as well and saw a woman in business attire approaching with a stack of documents.
"CEO Fu, this is the proposal for this project. Please review it."
Fu Xiuyuan raised his eyes for a glance and gestured for her to put the documents at the edge of the desk.
While setting the documents down, the woman quickly surveyed her surroundings, taking everything in as a glint flashed in her eyes.
Then she hurriedly turned and left.
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