Chapter 32
Having finished the project proposal, I felt completely relieved. Just as I was thinking about how to reward myself, Yang Yun called again. This time I didn't even answer—just hung up. Ever since that day, Yang Yun hadn't respected my request to stay away. That guy kept asking me out every day, but since I'd made up my mind, I wasn't about to give in, so every time I'd give him a clean, simple answer: "No!"
Sure enough, the soft are afraid of the tough, the tough are afraid of the ruthless, the ruthless are afraid of the fearless, and the fearless are afraid of the shameless. Once I threw my face to the wind, Yang Yun stopped using that thing to threaten me, and finally I didn't have to lie to Shangguan anymore.
But maybe because I still had a guilty conscience, Shangguan seemed very strange lately. Note—not cold, not hot-tempered, but gloomy. That suffocating oppression before a storm, that kind of stifling heaviness. Even though he still cooked every day, still adjusted the temperature of my bath water every day, still drove me to work and picked me up every day, I had a very bad feeling about all this.
As humiliating as it sounds, I have to admit that I do have a habitual fear of Shangguan. Once he loses his temper, I turn into a obedient little rabbit. Even though he hadn't exploded yet this time, I knew clearly that I absolutely could not light that fuse, or the consequences would be catastrophic.
Pressure makes people progress. Under this terrifying shadow, I suddenly became clever and agile. I even remembered Christmas without Shangguan reminding me, and used a whole month's salary to buy a watch as a gift, preparing to give it to him on Christmas Eve—though the one on his wrist probably cost tens of times more than this, it was the thought that counted, right? You don't strike a smiling face. Maybe seeing how sycophantic I was, even if he knew I'd been meeting Yang Yun, he wouldn't lose his temper anymore.
Err, I don't know why, but I always felt like Shangguan knew about me meeting Yang Yun, even though it was just my guess. But ever since Yang Yun exposed my rookie performance that day, I figured that as brothers from the same family, Shangguan's shrewdness had no reason to be inferior to his brother's—especially when the opponent was me.
Though Christmas was becoming more and more popular in China, it was still a foreign holiday, and the company didn't give us the day off. Before leaving the house, I stuffed that watch into my bag, planning to give it to Shangguan that evening. According to habit, whether it was Eastern or Western holidays, Shangguan would always want to celebrate. Because of my terrible memory, in previous years I'd only ever received gifts—even if I occasionally remembered to buy a gift, I usually ended up giving it the next day because I only remembered what day of the week it was, not the exact date.
This time I finally remembered. Surely, with all this effort I put in, that storm would dissipate before it even formed.
At the office, I made tea as usual. Looking at the empty desk with no files, I suddenly felt at a loss. The project proposal was finished, there was no other work—what was I supposed to do, just rest?
After thinking it over, I decided to go online and gather some information about games. While I couldn't say for certain the company would develop in that direction, it would undoubtedly be a significant part of the business, so it was better to know more about it.
I had just opened a website when I heard the manager's low voice say: "Li Yi, Yang Xin, come in for a moment."
I walked into the manager's office calmly. It was already end of the year, the company probably wouldn't have any new projects, so being called in must be about that proposal. Though the review had been a bit too fast, there was nothing to worry about—I had done my best. Even if I got fired, I could face it with a clear conscience.
I stood quietly in front of the desk, waiting for the manager to speak. But I stood there for a full two minutes without hearing a single sound. I curiously raised my eyes and saw him squinting, staring at me intently. That expression was impossibly gloomy.
Huh? Was the proposal really that terrible? Or had I done something unconsciously to make him angry?
Honestly, I've always felt like the manager had it out for me. Though I didn't know what exactly I'd done to offend him, it seemed like he was always picking on me.
Just as I was letting my thoughts run wild, he finally spoke: "This—who made this?" With that, he slapped a folder onto the desk.