Bai Yanfei never expected Ling Zeyu to say such a thing in public. His face turned bright red, but there was nothing he could do.
It was already a rare occurrence for the CEO to come to the cafeteria. Although he could sense that everyone was afraid of Ling Zeyu, quite a few people would still sneak glances over.
"You're just trying to maintain your persona."
"What persona? Do I need to maintain my persona?" Ling Zeyu scoffed. He never thought he was creating a persona; that was just his performance in front of the camera. He knew perfectly well what kind of person he was.
"I've seen all the recent trending topics, isn't this exactly what you wanted? I'll go along with it, what else do you want?"
"Is it your turn to lecture me?"
Bai Yanfei was sulking and refused to eat. These were all foods he disliked; he was so picky about food that he was practically obsessive. Unless he was starving, he would never eat something he didn't like.
The two remained locked in a stalemate, and Ling Zeyu grew increasingly angry as Bai Yanfei made no move.
When did Bai Yanfei dare to give him attitude? This had never happened before. The person who used to follow him around had suddenly changed, and he was a little unaccustomed to it.
What would you like to eat?
Bai Yanfei stood up and went to buy some himself. There were many desserts in the cafeteria, and he bought a whole bunch of them, not caring whether he could finish them or not. If he couldn't finish them, he would take them back to his office to eat in the afternoon.
All the grievances she had suffered during this period turned into resentment towards Ling Zeyu. Bai Yanfei brought back a bunch of desserts and ate them in front of Ling Zeyu.
Ling Zeyu didn't care about him. The card he gave Bai Yanfei was enough for Bai Yanfei to eat at the company for a lifetime. However, when he saw Bai Yanfei's bulging cheeks, he really wanted to reach out and poke them.
How can someone be so cute even with a small amount of fat on their face...?
Ling Zeyu lowered his eyes to hide his emotions. He couldn't do that. Bai Yanfei wasn't the person he liked. He was just a substitute, an imposter.
How could anyone like a secondhand item? Only Su Kai treasured Bai Yanfei.
Ling Zeyu watched Bai Yanfei eat dessert with indifference. Bai Yanfei couldn't eat anymore after eating half of it. His stomach was small to begin with, and now it was even more stuffed.
"I'm full, take it back, don't waste it." Bai Yanfei consciously avoided wasting food.
People nearby who saw Ling Zeyu and Bai Yanfei's actions were whispering among themselves.
"Doesn't President Ling forbid people from eating in the office? Bai Yanfei actually managed to bring dessert in."
"How can that be the same? Try eating at the company, and President Ling will immediately appear at the door and scare you to death."
"Don't say anything more. I don't even dare to mention Bai Yanfei anymore. I'm afraid that President Ling might appear behind me at any time. It's too scary."
"Shh—stop talking, stop talking. He's being pampered right now. When has President Ling ever eaten in the cafeteria? Maybe it's because Bai Yanfei wanted to eat the cafeteria's desserts, so President Ling came to accompany him."
"What you said seems to make sense—it seems the trending topics aren't just marketing; our CEO is genuinely smitten."
"Of course, men in love become stupid. Look at the CEO, he never used to do these things."
...
Bai Yanfei carried a bunch of desserts back to his office, but then he remembered something.
"Am I not allowed to eat in the office?"
"snort."
Ling Zeyu sat back in his office chair, turned on his computer, and continued looking at the documents. He had been working like a maniac these past few days and couldn't stop; there were just too many things for him to handle.
He's almost found out the background of the video, and he's even had a long article written about it. Once it's released, it'll probably trend on social media again.
This incident can also draw attention to people like Bai Yanfei who have been bullied in the past, killing two birds with one stone.
Desserts make you hungry easily, and Bai Yanfei was a little hungry in the afternoon. He looked at the desserts on the table and licked his lips.
If he's not allowed to eat in the office, then he should be able to eat on the balcony, right?
Bai Yanfei turned his head to look out the window. It was the time when the sun was at its strongest. Ling Zeyu's office was on a high floor, and he felt like he would melt if he went out into the sunlight. But he was hungry if he didn't eat.
Going hungry or basking in the sun—that is the choice.
Bai Yanfei took the dessert out; he didn't want to go through the pain of his stomach ailment again. Ling Zeyu saw Bai Yanfei walk out onto the balcony and frowned at his strange actions.
Bai Yanfei was munching on dessert on the balcony. It was the first time he had seen the buildings outside from Ling's Group. As he approached the outside, Ling Zeyu's heart skipped a beat when he saw him.
Snap—
The small cake in his hand fell to the ground, and Bai Yanfei's mouth was still covered with cake crumbs.
"Are you crazy?!"
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Bai Yanfei's innocent look, Ling Zeyu was even more furious. How dare this person scare him? Didn't he know that such a high balcony was dangerous? He actually dared to stand outside in such bright sunlight. Did he want to die?
"I'm hungry, so I came out to eat."
Bai Yanfei looked at Ling Zeyu innocently, and Ling Zeyu suddenly released Bai Yanfei's waist.
What's wrong with him? Why is he so scared?
Chapter 67 Late Night Stories
"You only came out to eat?"
"But we can't eat in the office, so I came out to eat."
Ling Zeyu's face flushed red and then turned pale. He had never felt so embarrassed before, and for the first time, he couldn't control his expression.
After holding it in for a while, Ling Zeyu glared at Bai Yanfei.
"You're out of your mind!"
Bai Yanfei stood there in a daze. Ling Zeyu went back to his office in anger, and when he turned around, he saw Bai Yanfei still standing outside.
"If you get tanned black, I'll throw you down there!"
Bai Yanfei was startled. He picked up the trash on the ground and threw it in the trash can. The little cake was quite delicious, but he only ate a few bites before it fell. His heart ached.
"Eat here, and you're not allowed to go out onto the balcony anymore."
"Okay, I'm still hungry."
"Can't you find something to eat if you're hungry? Don't get in my way. Come back after you've eaten."
Ling Zeyu kept his head down, avoiding looking at Bai Yanfei, trying to hide his lapse in composure, afraid that someone would notice something was wrong with him.
Bai Yanfei ate a hearty meal at the cafeteria and came back with a few small cakes to take home. Ling Zeyu had been working non-stop, and with such a heavy workload, he was probably hungry too.
He picked out flavors that Ling Zeyu liked, but after taking them back, Ling Zeyu didn't even glance at him.
Ling Zeyu didn't look up at him until the small cake was placed on the desk.
"I don't eat these things."
How can you work if you're not well-fed?
"Do you think I'm like you? You skip regular meals and eat this stuff? Also, you're too skinny. Go to the gym sometime."
Bai Yanfei pinched his flesh. He had lost a lot of weight recently, but working out... wasn't that going to kill him?
"I won't."
"I'll ask the coach to teach you."
Bai Yanfei imagined a greasy, muscular man teaching him how to use gym equipment, and he was shocked by his own idea for a moment.
"I've heard that many fitness instructors are gay..."
Ling Zeyu looked Bai Yanfei up and down, then snorted coldly, "They look down on your small frame, but I'm the one who has to put up with this."
Bai Yanfei's lips parted, too angry to say anything.
You don't like him, yet you keep preventing him from sleeping? Is that something a human being would do?
Neither of them noticed that their way of getting along had changed.
Bai Yanfei hadn't taken a nap at noon and was already feeling sleepy. He yawned and unknowingly fell asleep on the sofa.
...
After reading the last document, Ling Zeyu stretched and loosened his shoulders. He had been sitting in the office a lot lately, and his muscles felt loose. He needed to find some time to go to the gym to exercise.
Once this busy period is over, I'll bring Bai Yanfei over with me.
Looking up, he realized it was already time to leave work. He was engrossed in reading the documents and was a little unaccustomed to not hearing Bai Yanfei's chattering voice. When he looked down, he saw that Bai Yanfei had already curled up on the sofa and fallen asleep.
"Get up, it's time to go home."
Bai Yanfei groggily got up, and his sleepy appearance made Ling Zeyu really want to have an office romance.
He glanced around.
This seems like... a pretty good location.
Bai Yanfei rubbed his face. He had been too tired lately, and when he finally got a chance to rest, he slept for ages.
"Going home?"
"You can stay here if you wish."
"I don't want to!" Bai Yanfei jumped up and followed behind Ling Zeyu. "Have you gone home for dinner?"
Ling Zeyu didn't answer him. He felt that Bai Yanfei had been acting too strangely these past few days, and he decided to ignore him.
Ling Zeyu didn't answer Bai Yanfei's question until they got home, while Bai Yanfei's mouth was dry from talking.
He didn't understand why Bai Yanfei was always so lively until later he realized that it was because Bai Yanfei still loved him. When Bai Yanfei's love for him disappeared, he realized that Bai Yanfei also had such a cold side.
But that all happened later.
After dinner, Ling Zeyu sent Bai Yanfei a manuscript.
"If you think there are no problems, I'll send it."
Bai Yanfei didn't know what it was at first, but when he clicked on it, he found it was a clarification article.
Regarding the previous video.
"This is……"
"Don't overthink it, I'm using it for marketing."
Bai Yanfei read it carefully. The article was very well written, at least he thought it was very good.
When he experienced that incident, he felt like the sky was falling. He was relatively lucky, as he didn't suffer any real harm in the end.