"The Delicate Male Lead's Eyes Turn Red, and the CEO Heiress Spoils Him Rotten"

That morning, Wen Ning had told Nanny Wang to prepare her lunch as well.

Perhaps it was because his breakfast had been drugged that day, or perhaps Bo Yan had always been deeply guarded, but when he had dinner at the Wen family's home that night, he only picked up his chopsticks after everyone else had started eating.

Bo Yan had eaten at an unhurried pace throughout, looking perfectly well-mannered and showing nothing amiss, but Wen Ning had noticed anyway.

Afterward, Wen Ning remembered that her best friend did seem to have mentioned how miserable Bo Yan's life had once been. As if having neither a father's affection nor a mother's love wasn't enough, his birth mother had even poisoned his food. Worse still, Bo Yan had witnessed it.

He had still been very young then...

Wen Ning couldn't imagine how devastated she would have been in his place, seeing her only family poison her food, wanting her dead...

Now, seeing that Bo Yan had opened his lunch containers without picking up his chopsticks, Wen Ning started eating first.

She didn't make a deliberate show of it, either, chatting with Bo Yan about his coworkers as she ate.

"Logically, anyone who gets into Bo Group should be talent from a top university. And this is their idea of talent? Bo Group must really be starving, taking in anyone they can get..." Before transmigrating into the novel, Wen Ning had worked at a major tech company. There had certainly been internal scheming, but everyone was an adult with an education to their name. Even when they fought, they wouldn't bring it out into the open. Spreading rumors right in front of the person involved was such idiotic behavior that it was practically serving yourself up on a platter to your opponents.

This really was a novel world. Pure fiction, without a shred of logic.

Over the past few days, Wen Ning had kept wondering whether this novel's author had ever actually held a job.

Still grumbling, Wen Ning picked up a piece of sweet-and-sour pork ribs, and her eyes instantly lit up. "Try these ribs. Nanny Wang really knows her stuff. They're delicious!"

Bo Yan had been silently listening to Wen Ning chatter away without touching his chopsticks. Only now, seeing that she was fine after eating, did he reach for the sweet-and-sour ribs.

This was how he ate. Even though he knew, deep down, that this Wen Ning probably didn't have the nerve to poison him, a habit formed over so many years couldn't be changed.

People were contradictory like that sometimes. Bo Yan wanted to die, but he didn't want to die so easily, so inexplicably, at the hands of the idiots around him.

His life was all he had left now. It wasn't worth much, but at least it was the one thing he could still control.

Normally, Bo Yan saw nothing wrong with being a little more vigilant. Yet at this moment, he suddenly felt a little annoyed with himself for being this way.

He didn't understand what he was annoyed about. He had always been suspicious of everything. If he hadn't stayed vigilant at all times, how could he possibly have survived until now?

Until he saw Wen Ning take the initiative to pick up some food...

Bo Yan's grip on his chopsticks tightened slightly. His deep, peach-blossom eyes rested on the person before him, studying her with such care for the first time.

The face was still the same, but what lay in her eyes was completely different.

Bo Yan became even more certain of the idea in his mind.

But he still didn't understand. Where exactly had she come from? And what was her purpose?

She seemed to know him very well. She knew he was allergic to seafood, knew he suffered from severe insomnia, and even knew his "little habit" when eating...

What a strange woman.

Bo Yan thought.

Bo Yan couldn't describe how he felt at that moment. Perhaps he was a little happy and a little unhappy. Everything about him had become strange.

He silently picked up a rib. It was all right, a little too sweet. Not as good as what he'd eaten at the Wen family's home that night.

After finishing one piece, Bo Yan looked up to find Wen Ning watching him with her head tilted and her eyes blinking, clearly waiting for his feedback.

Bo Yan thought this Wen Ning was even more troublesome than the previous one. She even wanted feedback on the food he ate. How childish. It wasn't as if she'd cooked it herself...

A few seconds later.

His face was expressionless. "...It's all right."

Wen Ning burst out laughing. The villain's slightly tsundere temperament was rather amusing, just like the cat her best friend kept.

Wen Ning continued teasing the cat. "This tamagoyaki is good too. Try it."

Bo Kitty glanced at her. "I don't eat eggs."

Wen Ning was just about to say, fine, try the soup instead, but before she could get the words out, she saw a certain tsundere kitty who disliked eggs pick up the tamagoyaki with distaste but obediently put it in his mouth and chew, chew, chew. Then, with a cold face, he mumbled, "So-so."

Wen Ning could barely stop her traitorous lips from curling up. Feigning seriousness, she delivered that classic line. "Bo Yan, you're too old to act cute."

Bo Yan struggled to swallow the eggs he disliked, then rolled his beautiful eyes at her, looking utterly speechless, and snapped, "You're nuts."

Wen Ning didn't know which part had tickled her funny bone, but she roared with laughter.

Bo Yan couldn't be bothered with her. Since Wen Ning had already tried every dish anyway, he simply lowered his head and silently ate and ate.

He'd had a whole pile of aggravations that morning, and he was both annoyed and hungry.

But as he ate, Bo Yan couldn't hold down the corners of his mouth, and they curved up too.

This lunch began with Wen Ning starring in the brainless, face-slapping, sweet-romance mini-drama "The Delicate Male Lead's Eyes Turn Red, and the CEO Heiress Spoils Him Rotten," and ended with CEO heiress Wen Ning herself cackling merrily.

It was lively from beginning to end.

Bo Yan had never eaten such a lively lunch in his life.

After lunch, Bo Yan had to go back to work. Wen Ning asked if he needed her to handle the aftermath, joking, "I've seen male leads in mini-dramas send those clowns packing with a single word. Want me to send them packing with a word too?"

Bo Yan said neither yes nor no, only remarking mildly, "Watching mini-dramas affects your IQ. I'd suggest watching fewer of them. Don't put any more strain on that already barren brain of yours."

Wen Ning: "..."

As Bo Yan turned to return to the office, he could still hear Wen Ning roaring behind him-

"Bo Yan, why don't you just lick your lips and poison yourself to death!"

Bo Yan chuckled quietly.

Still, there really was no need for Wen Ning to intervene in what followed.

That afternoon, Xu Lin and the others came running to Bo Yan. Unable to plead their case with Wen Ning, they could only beg Bo Yan to ask the Wen family's young lady to let them off.

In the break room.

Seeing Xu Lin and the others kneeling before him, Bo Yan suddenly remembered what Wen Ning had said when she berated Bo Xubai that morning: a scumbag's knees weren't worth much.

His gaze swept over them, and he thought she was right. They really weren't worth much.

When Xu Lin saw Bo Yan smile, he thought his begging had worked and felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

But before they could thank Bo Yan for being magnanimous enough to overlook their petty offenses, they suddenly heard him ask, "You just said that if the young lady doesn't intend to let you off, you're dead?"

Bo Yan tilted his head slightly, his smile casual.

He said, "Fine, then go die."

The break room door opened and closed again.

Xu Lin and the others stood frozen in place, only one thought in their minds: they were completely finished.

That afternoon, HR sent out a notice.

Seeing that only Xu Lin and the others had been fired, the team leader let out a deep breath of relief, but her heart soon rose into her throat again.

With how much the Wen family's young lady favored Bo Yan now, she'd better behave herself from now on and stay out of his sight, lest he remember what had happened that morning and whisper some pillow talk into the young lady's ear...

Bo Yan wasn't surprised by HR's decision.

His father would be returning to the country in two days, and Bo Xubai was currently tearing his hair out over the joint project with the Wen family. If he didn't handle that morning's incident properly, he would have no way to answer to either the Wen family or his father.

Those poor idiots, Xu Lin and the others, really thought a single word from him could cost them their jobs.

A bastard like him didn't have that kind of power.

That woman Wen Ning was right. Bo Group really was starving, taking in every idiot that came along.

At eight that evening, Bo Yan finished the last of his work and prepared to leave.

He glanced outside. It was already dark.

Then he checked his phone. Wen Ning had been sending him WeChat messages since seven-

[Hubby, are you done with work?]

[Ping, ping.]

[What's going on? It's this late and you're still at work? More than an hour of overtime? Bo Group is exploiting its employees. I'm going to report them for violating labor laws.]

[Still not finished? Why aren't you answering your phone either?]

Probably realizing he was busy, Wen Ning hadn't sent anything else until nearly eight, when she'd sent a sticker of a little figure collapsing from hunger.

Bo Yan suddenly let out a low laugh.

He sent a concise reply: [.]

Usually, hardly anyone contacted him on WeChat, much less called him for no reason.

It wasn't as if he had any friends.

But ever since Wen Ning returned to the Wen family's home a few days ago, Bo Yan had been receiving dozens of WeChat messages every day.

The feeling was unfamiliar, but Bo Yan didn't dislike it.

At least, if he died someday, there would still be someone who remembered his name.

Yanjing blazed with lights in the night.

Wen Ning's car was parked downstairs.

Before Bo Yan had even left the building, he heard the silver Ferrari's urging honks.

The instant Wen Ning lowered the window and waved at him, Bo Yan suddenly felt that a life like this was actually rather nice...