Chapter 39: The Office
The company bustled with activity, the flimsy figures of colleagues coming and going like moving stage props.
The entire office, bright and clean, with its glass walls and doors, was essentially a hastily constructed stage, where the backdrop figures and the few prominent actors played their parts, each immersed in this farcical play.
Xiang Er stood outside, an audience member, an observer, a shadow extending beyond the stage, separate from the actors.
But she still pushed open the door, her face calm, ready to face everything this farcical play threw at her, missing Shen Yuhe more than ever.
Throughout the afternoon, aside from dealing with the occasional slime and tentacles that escaped from her sleeve, she thought about Shen Yuhe.
The more she thought, the more unreal it seemed. Perhaps Shen Yuhe hadn’t meant to kiss her? Perhaps it had been an accident, not intentional? Perhaps Shen Yuhe was just affectionate, expressing friendship, nothing more? Perhaps she, in her loneliness, had misinterpreted Shen Yuhe’s intentions?
Xiang Er’s heart fluttered with uncertainty, her mind adrift, the world around her unreal, the scenes in her mind her only reality… Thankfully, the workday soon ended.
The bell rang, her colleagues still seated, but Xiang Er had already jumped up, her heart filled with excitement and anticipation, and hurried towards the door.
She had almost reached the exit when General Manager Cheng appeared, blocking her path:
“Come to my office, let’s talk.”
His expression was grim. Xiang Er followed him, the small eyeball on her arm, which had been still all afternoon, now stirring as if waking up, creating a small bulge in her sleeve. She quickly pressed it down.
Soft and yielding, like a rubber water balloon sold at a street stall.
General Manager Cheng sat in his office chair, gestured for Xiang Er to sit opposite him, his face dark, and immediately launched into his interrogation:
“Why weren’t you at work this morning?”
Xiang Er:
“I wasn’t feeling well. I submitted a leave request. I don’t mind the pay cut.”
General Manager Cheng frowned:
“Then why didn’t you reply to my messages? If you were taking leave, why didn’t you tell me directly?”
Xiang Er had seen his messages earlier that afternoon. They were… suggestive, and rather oily, making her uncomfortable.
Xiang Er raised an eyebrow:
“I didn’t want to bypass my supervisor. The company has rules and procedures, you should also follow them.”
General Manager Cheng slammed his hand on the desk angrily:
“You! You’re playing hard to get, aren’t you? Do you know how much effort I’ve put into you!”
Xiang Er looked at him calmly and reiterated:
“We’re just boss and subordinate.”
General Manager Cheng choked, momentarily speechless, and poured himself a cup of tea to calm down.
Xiang Er stood up to leave. She didn’t have time for this, she had to go find Little Fish.
But General Manager Cheng raised his voice:
“Come back here! Sit down, I’m not finished yet.”
Xiang Er sighed and sat back down.
General Manager Cheng’s expression softened slightly, and he leaned closer, his tone coaxing:
“If you’re still pretending not to understand, I’ll just say it directly. Xiao Xiang, will you be my girlfriend? You know, if you’re my girlfriend, you don’t even have to come to work, no one will care, you just have to be with me, understand? You’re fresh out of college, you should know that a woman’s prime is only a few years, if you miss this opportunity, it will be hard to turn things around later!”
As he spoke, he reached out across the desk towards Xiang Er’s right hand.
Xiang Er looked down at her right hand, a strange sense of calm settling over her.
She looked at her hand and whispered:
“Little Akhe, protect me, and I won’t throw you away—for now.”
The small eyeball on her arm seemed to twitch, or perhaps it didn’t move at all. But a gust of wind, carrying a faint stench, seemed to sweep through the enclosed office.
Xiang Er smiled faintly, looked up at General Manager Cheng, her expression calm and gentle.
General Manager Cheng’s hand reached out, almost touching hers, his face, that of a young, successful man, filled with greed, triumph, and contempt. Just like that, all women were the same, a few sweet words, and they would…
But he suddenly saw Xiang Er’s expression, and his heart skipped a beat, a sense of unease washing over him.
Then, his hand froze.
The dark red wooden desk, a relic from the previous general manager, held Xiang Er’s hand, its pale, delicate skin a stark contrast against the dark wood.
It wasn’t a conventionally attractive hand, but it possessed a certain enigmatic quality that had captivated General Manager Cheng from the moment he first saw it. He had resolved to have her.
Now, his hand was less than an inch away from that coveted hand.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move it any closer!
His hand was completely immobile, like a wax figure!
He strained, trying to move his hand, to grip the desk, to move his fingers, but even his fingertips wouldn’t budge!
His hand felt like it was stuck in quicksand, the more he struggled, the more immobile it became, a growing numbness spreading from his fingertips up his arm, as if something strange had suddenly wrapped around it…
At that moment, General Manager Cheng finally understood the meaning of Xiang Er’s smile.
He looked up, his face filled with terror, and cried out:
“What did you do? What did you do to my hand!”
Xiang Er didn’t answer, just smiled and glanced at the scene before her.
The desk, in her eyes, was now far more interesting.
After she had spoken those words, the eyeball on her wrist had begun to wriggle, energetically emerging from beneath her sweater, its tentacles dancing around its eye. Its excitement was almost palpable, and dozens of tentacles immediately extended, wrapping tightly around General Manager Cheng’s fingers, from the tips to his palm, pinning his hand to the desk.
Then, the thin tentacles continued to grow, like branches, like vines, like the endless flow of blood through capillaries, like black tire tracks in the snow. The red and black tentacles, one after another, climbed up his arm, like an endless ouroboros, coiling and wrapping around it, moving upwards, towards his shoulder.
But General Manager Cheng couldn’t see anything, he only felt his arm go numb and immobile, instinctively blaming Xiang Er.
Xiang Er watched the tentacles coiling around the man’s arm, the sight strangely fascinating. She thought of the times Akhe had bound her with its tentacles, was this what it had looked like? Had it been this terrifying?
When she had been the one bound, she had hated the tentacles with a passion, but now, seeing someone she disliked being restrained… she found the sight strangely captivating, noticing the intricate details of the tentacles, their nimble movements, how well-suited they were as weapons, and… as pets.
Xiang Er thought self-deprecatingly, she had been the one who wanted Akhe gone, and now she was the one who thought Akhe would make a good pet. She had been so fickle about Akhe, yet she was still… entangled with It.
But right now, she really needed Akhe.
The tentacles continued to extend, reaching General Manager Cheng’s shoulder, the black fabric of his suit twisting and bunching under the red and black tentacles, a horrifying sight for him.
General Manager Cheng screamed:
“Ah… what have you done! Let go of me!”
Xiang Er watched the tentacles climb upwards, a hint of anticipation in her eyes. She had told Little Akhe to protect her, she didn’t know how Little Akhe would interpret that, after all, Little Akhe had its own mind, its own judgment.
What would it do? Xiang Er watched with interest.
The tentacles reached his shoulder, their thin tips curling and swaying, as if greeting Xiang Er.
Then, suddenly, a “crack” echoed through the room!
The sound of a bone snapping!
“Aaaaaah—”
General Manager Cheng screamed, his arm going limp, collapsing onto the desk!
Xiang Er’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected the tentacle to break his arm. But thinking about it, it was a very Akhe-like thing to do.
The tentacles hadn’t stopped, they continued to coil and writhe, tormenting the man.
General Manager Cheng continued to scream and shout, his eyes bloodshot, on the verge of madness. Xiang Er hesitated, then said softly:
“Come back.”
Little Akhe immediately and obediently retracted all its tentacles, withdrawing from General Manager Cheng, gently caressing Xiang Er’s hand before returning to her arm, disappearing beneath her sleeve, as if nothing had happened.
Someone tried to open the office door from outside, and Xiang Er stood up, ready to tell her colleagues that she didn’t know what had happened, that General Manager Cheng had suddenly had a seizure and broken his own arm.
Her face calm, she waited for her colleagues to enter, whether it was her supervisor or someone from HR, she could handle it. She had faced a Evil God, she could handle this.
But the office door opened, and a tall, graceful figure entered, a wave of fragrance accompanying her, the red of her skirt brightening the entire room.
Xiang Er’s eyes widened in disbelief. How… how had Shen Yuhe gotten in here?
She immediately thought, thankfully Little Akhe and the tentacles were hidden beneath her clothes, otherwise Shen Yuhe would have seen them and guessed what had happened…
Just the thought of that possibility sent a chill down Xiang Er’s spine. Shen Yuhe couldn’t know about this! In Shen Yuhe’s eyes, she had to remain pure and innocent, always!
Xiang Er immediately feigned a look of fear and distress, looking at Shen Yuhe with pleading eyes:
“I don’t know what happened, he suddenly had a seizure, it has nothing to do with me… Little Fish, why are you here? How did you know I was here?”
Shen Yuhe glanced at General Manager Cheng, writhing and screaming on the floor, her gaze as cold and indifferent as if looking at a piece of trash, then immediately turned back to Xiang Er, a faint smile playing on her lips as she listened.
A smile that seemed to say… how cute.
Xiang Er, afraid that Shen Yuhe wouldn’t believe her, even forced out a few tears:
“You have to believe me, he’s my boss, he just suddenly had a seizure, I was so scared, I’m so glad you’re here…”
Shen Yuhe, seeing the tears in her eyes, walked towards her, suppressing a smile, and extended her hand:
“Let’s go.”
Xiang Er hesitated:
“Aren’t we going to do anything about him?”
Shen Yuhe:
“You’re scared, why should you care?”
Xiang Er took a deep breath, extended her left hand, and placed it in Shen Yuhe’s, her hand immediately enveloped in a firm grip.
Shen Yuhe led her out of the office.
Almost all their colleagues were still there, sitting or standing, they had all heard the commotion in the office, but no one had moved, no one wanted to get involved.
Shen Yuhe, her red skirt swirling beneath her trench coat, her hand intertwined with Xiang Er’s, who was slightly shorter, dressed in a white top and jeans, walked through the stunned crowd, ignoring their gazes, openly displaying their joined hands for the world to see.
Like two protagonists making a dramatic exit from a farcical play.
No one knew where they were going, but everyone knew that their story would be far more dazzling than anyone else’s.
The crowd watched them leave, their expressions a mixture of shock and bewilderment.
It wasn’t until the two had left the company, disappearing around the corner, that Zhu Minmin, hidden in a corner, finally let out a scream:
“Holy shit!”
They were… perfect together… Mom… my ship… they were so perfect, so beautiful, aaaaaah!!!
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