Chapter 32 Part 2

Yao Yan said, "They're saying that during the meeting on the island, you knocked on President Qin's door in the middle of the night and were scolded and thrown out. To redeem yourself, you found out that President Qin has a habit of morning jogging and specifically went to the mountain behind the hotel to intercept him. As a result, you encountered the earthquake and even implicated President Qin, who got trapped trying to save you."

Bo He nodded and gave an objective assessment, "Cause and effect, a complete story. This rumor sounds quite plausible."

Yao Yan was amused. "You're not angry?"

Bo He said helplessly, "It's not like I can go stuff a rag in each of their mouths, right? The knocking part is true. We had just come back from the sea that day, I got water in my eyes, my head was groggy, and I went to the wrong room. I was indeed misunderstood by President Qin. But the rest is all fake. Isn't this just a case of 'a picture to start, the rest is all made up'?"

Yao Yan smiled, "I know you're not that kind of person. President Qin also personally clarified things for you."

Bo He, on the contrary, became confused. "Clarified what?"

In her impression, President Qin had an extremely poor opinion of her. Good things never came her way, but she always ended up taking the blame for any bad things. Bo He had long gotten used to it and was even mentally prepared to be kicked out of the company one day.

Yao Yan said, "You haven't checked your email, have you? This morning, the President's Office sent out a mass email praising you for remaining calm in the face of danger during the typhoon and helping a colleague. They are preparing to give you a Good Samaritan award according to company regulations, and also give you an extra three months' salary this year. This email essentially clarified the previous rumors. Plus, the President's Office is asking for you. Now those people have all quieted down. I was originally thinking of having you come to the Sales Department with me as my assistant, but the President's Office offers a better future. After all, you're closer to the boss, so your every move and every little contribution might be noticed, and it's not as tiring. So, it's still up to you to choose."

Bo He said without the slightest hesitation, "I'll follow you!"

...

"She wants to follow Yao Yan."

Guan Shen said this in a flat tone, then continued, "As for the other candidates, like Wang Qi..."

"The salary and benefits in the President's Office are higher, and the prospects are better," Qin Chuan interrupted him.

Guan Shen said, "I told them about the benefits. Bo He is surely aware of them, but she still wants to stay with Yao Yan."

It was an objective fact that the President's Office was short-staffed. Li Xi had gradually completed handing over his duties. Now, the department was managed by the four generals: Guan Shen, Tang Mi, Fang Ying, and Shi Yu.

Fang Ying lacked a big-picture perspective and could only manage her own little patch of land.

Tang Mi handled external affairs, while Shi Yu handled internal ones.

Guan Shen was a confidential secretary, the emperor's confidant, and not on the same level as them.

Everyone had their own duties, so theoretically there shouldn't have been any problems. However, Shi Yu was new and would have difficulty perfectly completing all of Li Xi's former tasks for a while. This was why an assistant was needed to share the load. The President's Office had been short-handed for a while now anyway.

Guan Shen had selected a few candidates he thought were suitable, but after hearing Qin Chuan's question, he immediately understood that the one Boss Qin favored was still Bo He.

Qin Chuan asked, "Is it because of what happened last time, when she was sent back to her original department from the President's Office?"

Guan Shen hesitated. "It's not just that. There were some messy rumors about her before. I guess she heard them too. It's probably... to avoid suspicion."

He then briefly recounted the rumors in a few words.

Qin Chuan frowned. "You believe this stuff too?"

Guan Shen said, "From a professional standpoint, an employee who attracts too much gossip, if she stays in the President's Office, will not only affect herself but also the work morale of others. Letting her follow Yao Yan isn't a bad idea."

Qin Chuan pondered for a moment. "How about this: isn't there an exhibition coming up soon? The President's Office urgently needs people. In any case, she has spent a week or two in the President's Office before. She'll get the hang of many things more easily than others, and she's quick to react. It's fine if she wants to follow Yao Yan. Let's just transfer her over temporarily. After she's done helping with the exhibition, you can let her go back."

Guan Shen thought that was acceptable. "So, have her come over to work temporarily?"

Qin Chuan nodded, a hint of anticipation growing at the thought of being able to see a certain someone just by walking out of his office.

But a small accident happened that very night.

The accident wasn't in reality, but in a game.

Qin Chuan hadn't logged into the game Nine Heavens for several days.

He was used to following in Bo He's footsteps as soon as he went online. When she played "chicken dinner," he also played "chicken dinner." When she played mini-games, he would also open a room. Habit is an addictive poison. When Qin Chuan reopened his Nine Heavens account and saw this familiar yet foreign jianghu, he suddenly felt as if a lifetime had passed.

Bo He wasn't there.

But "Eight Whiskers" was.

Qin Chuan hadn't seen this friend in a long time. Although his connection with him wasn't as deep as with "Peppermint Tea," seeing him again so suddenly still felt somewhat warm.

Before he could even say hello, "Eight Whiskers" had already sent a message.

Eight Whiskers: Haven't seen you in so long, I thought you two had taken your online relationship offline. When are you treating us to wedding wine?

Qin Chuan: Don't be ridiculous. We have a master-disciple relationship. She still thinks I'm a girl.

Eight Whiskers: No way, you haven't told her the truth? I thought you told her long ago. Well, when she was online just now, I teased her about it, and she just went along with what I said.

Qin Chuan froze.

He quickly asked: Went along with what? What did you two say?

Eight Whiskers: I just asked if you two were dating. She said I was overthinking it. I said, she's a young maiden in her prime, and he's a grown man in his prime. It's perfectly normal for a man and woman to be in love, to be intimate.

Qin Chuan: And what did she say?

Eight Whiskers: She didn't say anything. When I looked again, she had already logged off.

Qin Chuan hurriedly checked QQ.

Bo He was shown as offline.

But it was also possible she was invisible to him.

Qin Chuan never intended to keep deceiving Bo He for his own amusement, but he had also never expected the truth to be revealed so hastily and abruptly under such circumstances.

Once Bo He found out that her beloved little disciple, the withdrawn, quiet, teenage girl who never used voice chat, had suddenly transformed into a man about her age, what would she think?

The worst part was that he hadn't confessed it himself; rather, she had found out from someone else.

Qin Chuan couldn't guess what Bo He was thinking, but if it were him, kept in the dark like this, he knew he would have definitely blocked the other person directly, never to interact with them again for the rest of his life.

Bo He hadn't blocked him.

This was perhaps a small blessing in the midst of misfortune.

For the entire night, he left messages on all their methods of contact—QQ, Stimulus Battlefield, Nine Heavens—but received no reply.

It was possible she wouldn't see the in-game messages right away, but modern people usually have QQ running on their phones. It was rare for someone not to see a message all night.

The only possibility was that Bo He simply didn't want to deal with him.

Qin Chuan turned on his computer, logged into QQ, and typed out a message word by word on his keyboard. It was about a hundred words long, explaining that he hadn't done it on purpose. He checked it over and over before sending it.

Another hour or two passed.

For the first time in his life, Boss Qin experienced the taste of being restless and anxious about personal gains and losses.