Company
Because he had absorbed a fair amount of spiritual energy yesterday, there was no spiritual energy outburst all the way until the next morning.
But now there was an extra ghost in the house, which made things lively from early on.
Yingying, unable to win an argument with the mirror ghost, tried to play the victim by using its current form as a little girl—whimpering and wanting to run to Lu Congxing to tattle. But the moment it got close and opened its mouth, it suddenly shivered in fear.
“H-He’s here!” it stammered before bolting like lightning, surprisingly nimble—nothing like its previous delicate appearance.
Even the mirror ghost vanished.
In the living room, only Lu Congxing and the panda alarm clock remained.
From their reactions, it was obvious who had arrived. Sure enough, a second later, there were three knocks on the door—calm and deliberate.
When he opened the door, he was greeted by He Zhouyan’s smiling eyes. Lu Congxing froze for a second, suddenly feeling a little awkward.
There was this weird sense that he had just scammed this guy last night, and now he’d come to settle the score.
But He Zhouyan seemed not to notice the cub’s discomfort. He took out a report.
It clearly detailed how in the past two years, evil creatures from the Southern Abyss had been appearing more frequently in human society.
The cub’s attention was immediately drawn to it. He took the report and started reading carefully.
While he was focused, He Zhouyan took the opportunity to slip into his space. By the time Lu Congxing looked up after reading, he suddenly noticed how close the distance between them had become.
Just one step closer would’ve made the atmosphere flirtatious—but He Zhouyan seemed to know exactly where the line was and walked it perfectly.
Aside from a slight sense that something was off, Lu Congxing didn’t notice the tension in the air at all.
He handed the report back to He Zhouyan and asked, “The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs doesn’t know who released the thing from the Southern Abyss either?”
He Zhouyan shook his head and reached out to pat the cub. “Most things from the Southern Abyss are extremely dangerous. Come live with me. It’s too risky for you to stay alone.”
Lu Congxing paused and looked behind He Zhouyan.
While it wasn’t unreasonable for a guardian demon to suggest something like that, they did live right across the hall from each other—was it really necessary to move in?
Besides, he had just paid six months of rent. Wouldn’t it be a waste to move out after only a few days?
But in He Zhouyan’s eyes, that hesitation looked like rejection. He casually tossed out some bait: “I looked into some records yesterday. I think I might’ve found a lead on your father.”
Lu Congxing immediately looked up, his big, moist almond eyes widening slightly. “You found something about my father?”
He had lost all contact with his father since he was sixteen. He never imagined He Zhouyan would be the one to uncover something.
He Zhouyan nodded. “Yeah, I found a demon who used to have dealings with him. But it’ll take a bit more time to confirm things.”
He made it sound easy, but Lu Congxing knew it couldn’t have been.
Tilting his head slightly, he said sincerely, “Thank you.”
He Zhouyan’s smile deepened. He suddenly felt that all the effort, all the connections he had pulled, were worth less than that soft little “thank you.”
But a cunning hunter never lets the prey go that easily. He brought up the idea of living together again.
This time, Lu Congxing only hesitated for two seconds before nodding. The trust in his eyes when he looked at He Zhouyan was obvious.
He Zhouyan narrowed his eyes in satisfaction and suggested, “I’ll call a moving company to help with your stuff later. Do you have work today?”
You live right across the hall—what moving company do you even need?
Lu Congxing had originally planned to refuse, but after hearing the second half of the question, he instinctively shook his head. “No.”
Even if he had agreed to help Gu Hanyin, that was something for tomorrow. As for today, he had nothing going on.
He Zhouyan narrowed his eyes, as if he had received a very satisfying answer. However, his tone still carried a hint of distress. “I wonder if I could ask you for a favor.”
“What kind of favor?” The naive cub was completely unsuspecting.
“One of my intern assistants was recently dismissed, so there’s a vacancy. I was wondering if you could help out today,” He Zhouyan explained. “I’ll pay you, of course.”
If anyone else had said that, no one would believe the mighty president of the He Group could possibly be short of an assistant.
But since it was He Zhouyan himself, and the cub trusted him, Lu Congxing nodded without hesitation. “Of course! But I don’t really know how to do anything… so you don’t have to pay me.”
Back then, it was his unreliable father who had pushed him to skip grades. He no longer remembered his father’s explanation clearly, but Lu Congxing still remembered how he had managed to meet everyone’s expectations and skip grades successfully. He had even received his university diploma before turning eighteen. After his father disappeared, he didn’t pursue further studies and instead started his own career at an early age.
His major had nothing to do with He Zhouyan’s company, so he doubted he’d be much help.
He Zhouyan casually took his hand and led him forward. Hearing his words, he just chuckled softly.
Such a well-behaved cub made people want to rub his head affectionately.
But even such a sweet cub had people trying to harm him. That thought made He Zhouyan’s eyes grow cold for a moment—though he quickly composed himself when the cub glanced over.
He Zhouyan wasn’t slow to notice things. The cub had run into creatures from Southern Abyss during both of his last missions. He’d long grown suspicious. The mastermind had even managed to slip past the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs undetected, and not even He Zhouyan could sense anything—clearly, it had been carefully planned.
He turned slightly, looking at the cub’s obedient black-haired head to steady his emotions. When he looked up again, he was back to being the serious, dependable President He.
. . . . .
A sleek black Maybach stopped in front of the company building, and everyone downstairs instinctively quickened their pace, raised their heads, and straightened their backs.
Their eyes flicked sideways with nervous anticipation—everyone knew that was the president’s car.
The man in a suit skillfully opened the car door. This time, unusually, he didn’t ask the driver to take him to work—instead, he casually handed the keys to the security guard at the entrance who was in charge of the parking lot.
“G-Good morning, President He,” someone stammered.
The usual chorus of greetings stuttered at the exact same moment.
Everyone stared in disbelief at the young man who stepped out of the car next.
The bolder ones were already frantically messaging in the company group chat. Since President He almost never checked the group, people were especially unrestrained.
[Is that President He’s younger brother???]
[SOS, why are they both so attractive? Did their family save the galaxy in a past life?]
[Isn’t this the same guy who made President He break his no-phones-in-meetings rule? I swear I’ll eat veggies forever if they end up together.]
[Wisdom tooth extraction in Henan1.]
[Is this some rookie star who hasn’t debuted yet? This tough guy’s heart is shaken.]
[Thanks for the info, I’m switching ships. I’m done shipping President He with Vice President Qu—this is what real couple vibes look like.]
Lu Congxing could feel the eager gazes locked onto him. Although he was used to demons crowding around him with excitement, that didn’t mean he was comfortable being stared at by a group of humans.
So he quietly moved a little closer to He Zhouyan—only to find that made the stares even more intense…
He Zhouyan didn’t stop walking, but when he felt the cub’s soft body lean in closer, he subtly slowed his pace.
Something that could’ve been stopped with just a glance—he deliberately let those harmless stares slide. The only thing he did was subtly shift his body to shield the cub completely.
His office was on the top floor, where Qu Xiu and the executive assistant’s offices were also located.
The secretary had already seen the group chat messages and knew the president brought someone to work today. So when she saw Lu Congxing step out of the elevator, she didn’t look surprised at all. Instead, she professionally handed over the important documents for the morning.
Following behind He Zhouyan, Lu Congxing sweetly greeted the secretary. He also sneaked a glance at both the secretary and the assistant.
Doesn’t look like they’re short on help…
But he didn’t have time to dwell on it. This was his first time seeing what the most spacious office in the entire building looked like.
As expected—floor-to-ceiling windows and a rather dull color scheme.
He Zhouyan noticed the cub sitting on his usual resting couch, wide-eyed and curiously taking in everything around him. He suddenly felt a bit nervous.
He’d never cared about the decor of his office before. But now, it seemed a little too lifeless—probably not something the cub would like.
He gave a soft cough. “Go ahead and play on your phone for a bit.”
Thinking he looked just like an overly indulgent parent, Lu Congxing couldn’t help but chuckle.
He obediently took out his phone and started playing a match-three game.
One focused on work, the other focused on clearing game levels—it was unexpectedly harmonious.
Outside, the secretary stared blankly at a message from the president for five seconds. It was the first time she’d ever received a refreshment request from President He that wasn’t just coffee.
A slice of strawberry cake. A glass of milk.
Clearly, these were for the young man inside.
With a complicated expression, she placed the order. Remembering how the boy had just smiled softly and greeted her, her hand trembled, and she added a mousse cake too.
Then she picked up her phone and went back to quietly lurking in the lively company group chat.
[Vice President Qu just arrived at the office!]
As soon as that message dropped, the previously buzzing chat went silent for a few seconds.
Then, someone send a message: [I’m at the front desk. Vice President Qu just came straight up and asked if the President was in. Looks like he’s headed straight to President He now.]
She added another message: [Vice President Qu looked kinda mad when he walked in.]
[Vice President Qu isn’t going to give the little cutie a hard time, right? Wuwuwu]
[Let him go—I’ll take the hit instead!]
[So… who’s the real main partner here??]
The group chat exploded again. Tons of people started tagging the secretary, begging her—front-row seat to all the drama—to secretly keep them updated.
After all, this was way too juicy. Everyone’s imagination was already running wild with 100k-word fanfiction-level scenarios.
The secretary, pretending to be all professional but secretly enjoying it, replied:
[Please refrain from gossiping during work hours.]
Almost the moment she sent the message, Qu Xiu had already arrived.
Without stopping, he stormed straight toward He Zhouyan’s office, threw the door open, and burst in, face full of rage, gritting his teeth as he shouted:
“He Zhouyan, you—!”
Startled, Lu Congxing jumped, eyes going wide like a little hamster as he turned to look.
Qu Xiu’s angry rant came to an abrupt halt the moment he noticed the cub in the room. Like a rollercoaster screeching to a halt, his tone made a dramatic U-turn into something ridiculously soft and over-the-top sweet: “Mua~ Good morning!”
Author’s Note:
Qu Xiu’s original form is a Pi Xiu (a mythical beast that brings in wealth), which explains why President He can slack off at work all day and still thrive as a president.
- The phrase 河南拔智齿 (Hénán bá zhìchǐ) is an internet meme that originated on Baidu Tieba. It evolved from the phrase 很难不支持 (Hěn nàn bù zhīchí), which literally means ‘hard not to support’. ↩︎