Chapter 39 Part 1

Having to work overtime on a weekend night, don't you think your boss is utterly devoid of conscience?

The former Boss Qin, sitting in front of his computer with a smile of someone holding a winning hand and strategizing from afar, was setting a trap, waiting for a foolish fish to take the bait and get caught.

How is your boss cute in any way?

At this moment, Qin Chuan, with a little deer refusing to quiet down in his chest, unexpectedly recalled an old saying while waiting for the other party's reply.

The tears shed today are all the water that got into your head in the past.

Words of wisdom.

He had never thought that a single minute, a single second, could feel like an eternity.

By the time Bo He's message came through, only twenty minutes had passed on the clock.

Peppermint Tea: Sorry, I just took a shower and came back all sweaty. I can't really say where he's cute, but I just feel he's not as unapproachable as I imagined.

Qin Chuan: For example?

Peppermint Tea: For example, when he said he was also very scared, I almost thought he was going to burst into tears the next second.

Qin Chuan: ???

When was I about to burst into tears?

I was just showing a little weakness.

Was the lighting too dim, or is there something wrong with your eyes?

Boss Qin frantically questioned this in his mind, his face expressionless.

Peppermint Tea: The two young girls next to him seemed calmer than he was.

Qin Chuan screamed 'Nonsense!' in his heart, but his fingers still had to calmly type out a smiling emoji, followed by two elegant words—

Is that so?

Peppermint Tea: Yeah, so to ease his nervousness, I had to say that I was also locked in a small, dark toilet overnight when I was a child, to make him feel he wasn't the most miserable one, and he should slowly get better.

Qin Chuan: So you weren't actually locked in a place like that?

Peppermint Tea: I was, but not for that long, maybe about ten minutes. The neighborhood kids used to bully me when I was little. They tricked me into going in, then locked the door from the outside. I climbed out, turned around, and gave them a good beating. After beating them up, I threw them in one by one and locked them up, letting them also have a taste of being surrounded by the... fragrance inside.

Qin Chuan's mouth twitched: Didn't they come looking for you to settle scores after they got out?

Peppermint Tea laughed: After I locked them in, I went home to sleep. I heard their parents found them missing late at night and discovered them after searching everywhere. Afterward, those parents came to our door, but my dad scolded them until they ran off. After that, those kids never dared to mess with me again.

Qin Chuan felt that Bo He was like a treasure box. As he opened it layer by layer, each layer held a different treasure.

When he thought she was a pitiful, down-and-out wretch, Bo He was probably somewhere eating a popsicle and singing a song.

When he wanted to reach out and save this girl who had fallen into the water, she had already swum ashore, stomped her feet, and her clothes were instantly dry.

I think your boss, perhaps, just wanted to spend a little more time with you.

This probing remark, meant to test the waters, was immediately refuted.

Peppermint Tea: How is that possible?

Qin Chuan: From a man's perspective, I can attest that it's possible.

Peppermint Tea: That's because you don't understand our boss at all.

Qin Chuan thought, How could I not understand myself?

He humbly typed out a question on his phone: How so?

Peppermint Tea: He likes beautiful women.

Qin Chuan: All men do.

Peppermint Tea: He's a perfectionist with extremely high standards. I once saw him furiously scolding his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend in a parking lot. She was a very beautiful woman with a flawless figure. If he wasn't even satisfied with a woman like that, it's even more impossible for him to be interested in anyone else.

Qin Chuan: Maybe there's a reason you're not aware of.

Peppermint Tea: Not only that, he has a strict personality and always strives for perfection. Because our office is right next to his, almost no one speaks during work hours. Everyone is on high alert. Forget about ordering afternoon tea; there isn't even half a sentence of idle chat.

Qin Chuan: That's how work should be.

Bo He: I don't object to being serious and focused during work hours, but it's hard for a person's concentration to remain at a high level for several hours straight. There will always be moments of distraction. A balance between work and rest is not a bad thing; it might even lead to higher efficiency. So, back to the point, for a workaholic like our boss, what he loves most is either work or another workaholic just like him.

Qin Chuan: Have you ever thought that maybe he works so hard for another reason?

Bo He: Haha, he's my boss, not my boyfriend. I have no need to understand him, do I?

Qin Chuan said in his heart, But he wants to be your boyfriend.

Naturally, he didn't type that sentence out.

Qin Chuan: Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Understanding your boss is beneficial for advancing in the workplace. Don't you want a promotion?

Peppermint Tea: I want to go back to my original supervisor. It feels like I can learn more by her side. Facing the big boss every day now, the pressure is immense. The most important thing is—

Qin Chuan: Hmm?

Peppermint Tea: Maybe many people like him, but that doesn't include me. I have no interest in being Cinderella, nor do I have any interest in an office romance.

Qin Chuan: That's too absolute.

Peppermint Tea: Seeing him just reminds me of work. If working at the office can motivate a person, then wouldn't coming home to a boss-boyfriend feel like you're on the clock twenty-four hours a day?

Qin Chuan: ...

Peppermint Tea: See? You can't refute that, can you?

Qin Chuan felt that his plan to win her over in reality had, without him realizing it, turned into a dead end.

No path forward, pursuers from behind, blocked on both ends, unable to advance or retreat.

He wasn't a fledgling experiencing love for the first time, but never had anyone been like a hedgehog before him.

He wanted the hedgehog to voluntarily lower its quills so he could reach out and touch it.

Because he was serious, he didn't know where to start.

Perhaps I should find another way, he thought.

Qin Chuan: Play a game with me. After the new dungeon came out last week, we haven't tried it yet. I heard it only takes twenty minutes to clear. We can rest after we finish.

Peppermint Tea: Alright.

She must have been very tired, but faced with her disciple's request, she still agreed.

While the other party was opening her computer to log into the game, Qin Chuan logged in first and brought out the new mount he had bought.

This was a new item that appeared in the store along with the new dungeon last week. It could be ridden by two people, fly into the sky and dive into the sea. Moreover, when flying, it would sprinkle petals of a custom color in the air. Players wherever it went could see the falling flowers, making it a veritable chick magnet.

Seeing the notification that Bo He had logged into the game, he immediately sent a message inviting her to ride with him.

A moment later, the system showed that Bo He had accepted the invitation.

Qin Chuan smiled faintly.

Bo He's figure soon appeared on the back of the immortal crane he was sitting on.

The immortal crane flew slowly through the air. Qin Chuan deliberately slowed it down and activated the special effects.

Soon, fireworks exploded in the clouds, dazzling and brilliant. Specks of flowing light landed on their shoulders and the crane's back, then cascaded down.

The game Nine Heavens, while perhaps having many criticized bugs in its system and gameplay, with players cursing its creators' eighteen generations of ancestors daily on Weibo and forums, had art and special effects that could be called top-tier both domestically and even globally. Many players, precisely because of the game's outstanding visual effects, would play while cursing it. Often, the players who cursed the loudest on the forums were the ones who loved the game the most.

For this game, Qin Chuan could only be considered a pay-to-win whale, not a hardcore grinder addicted to the game. But he had to admit, Nine Heavens had practically fulfilled a dream for all xianxia genre lovers, allowing the world of their imagination to be realized.

The Immortal Crane Flowing Mist was a combination of all ethereal, immortal auras, and its visual effect was stronger than any previous mount or summoned beast.