148. The Boss Is Jealous

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“General Manager.” Secretary Guo and the others, who had been waiting nearby, saw him stop and hurried over to ask in a low voice.

Jin Ye glanced at the two people embracing and deliberately ignored the slight discomfort stirring within him. “Let’s go.”

With that, he headed toward the airport exit.

Lin Xia, meanwhile, had been stunned by You Xin’s sudden action. By the time she recovered, he had already released her.

“You…”

She was genuinely bewildered. You Xin was not usually like this. What had happened?

You Xin remained as gentle and refined as ever. “I’m leaving.”

“Leaving?” Lin Xia pressed. “Where are you going?”

You Xin smiled, reached out, and ruffled her hair without answering.

“You…”

After a few years, would she still remember him?

“What is it?” Lin Xia asked curiously.

“I may not return home for several years.” His warm eyes fixed on her. “Don’t forget me.”

Lin Xia stared blankly into those eyes, which seemed filled with tenderness. The usual calm detachment in them had long since vanished.

Did You Xin… like her?

But she had never noticed it before.

Someone as gentle and refined as him was certainly wonderful as an ordinary friend. But if he were a lover, she honestly could not tell how he treated her any differently from his other friends.

A person like him hid himself behind a smile. Unless one spent a long time with him, it was difficult to reach his heart.

Yet as a friend, he was an excellent person to have around.

As long as one did not touch his boundaries, he was very easy to get along with. In ordinary matters, he was generous and rarely took offense.

Lin Xia moved her lips, seemingly wanting to say something.

But what could she say? Life was unpredictable. Perhaps fate would play some cruel trick, and the two of them might never meet again in this lifetime. What promise could she possibly make him?

In the end, all she managed was, “Then where are you going?”

You Xin smiled. The smile was no different from his usual one—equally soothing and clear, calming the heart.

Just then, the airport filled with the announcer’s sweet voice.

“Passengers traveling to the city, please take note. Your flight is about to depart. Please proceed to the ticket gate for inspection…”

Lin Xia’s father had also gathered his things and risen to look in their direction.

You Xin ruffled her hair once more. “Go on. Your father is waiting for you.”

Lin Xia smiled. “You too. Take care of yourself.”

When You Xin nodded, her father picked up his luggage and walked over. Lin Xia said, “Then I’m leaving.”

You Xin nodded again.

Lin Xia had taken only a few steps when she suddenly turned back. “Oh, right. Your book.”

“You can keep it. Let it serve as something to remember me by.”

By then, Lin Xia’s father had come over as well, and she could not say much more. She went to meet him, and the two of them became busy checking in, passing through security, and making the rest of their preparations.

You Xin watched father and daughter leave. Only after they had vanished from sight did he turn away with an expressionless face.

At that moment, a group of people appeared from somewhere, surrounding him and escorting him toward the other end of the airport.

Everyone had a life of their own, and everyone had moments when they were powerless. He did not want to obey his family’s arrangements, nor did he want to marry a girl he did not love in the future. That was why he had chosen to resist.

But at present, he possessed not the slightest bit of power or influence. What could he do?

Xiaxia, it is only for a few years.

Will you wait for me?

Jin Ye got into the car his secretary had prepared and listened as Secretary Guo reported the company’s affairs during his absence. Weary, he rubbed his temples.

The matters he usually listened to without a second thought seemed particularly irritating today.

Reading his mood, Secretary Guo tactfully fell silent.

Jin Ye leaned back in his seat and made no comment on anything Secretary Guo had said. After a long while, he finally asked, “How is the matter I instructed you to handle?”

Secretary Guo froze for a moment before realizing that he meant the matter of finding a house for Lin Xia and her father before his departure. He was secretly puzzled. What exactly was the relationship between the Lin family and the boss?

If the boss valued them, then why had he given them only an ordinary house? The Jin family owned countless properties, including numerous villas and housing developments. And this house was not even in the heart of the city.

But if he did not value them, why would the general manager ignore business deals worth tens of millions while asking about this insignificant house purchase worth only one or two million? And the house was being bought from one of the family’s own developments.

It was truly baffling.

Though his mind was turning over countless possibilities, Secretary Guo promptly reported everything. He had already found a renovation company; they were merely waiting for Lin Xia’s father to have time to come to City B and oversee the work.

Jin Ye gave an indifferent “Mm,” indicating that he understood.

Seeing this, Secretary Guo had a few suspicions of his own, but all he asked was, “General Manager, are we going to the company now, or would you like to go home and rest for a while? You don’t look very well.”

“Go to the company first.” Jin Ye rubbed his temples. He was indeed somewhat tired.

The work in America had already been rushed. He had not yet adjusted to the time difference, and as soon as he had stepped off the plane, he had encountered this situation.

Jin Ye tried desperately to ignore the displeasure in his heart, but the frightening chill radiating from him made Secretary Guo’s heart tremble twice more. He had no idea what had happened to the general manager. When he got off the plane, he had seemed to be in a fairly good mood. How had he changed into an entirely different person in the blink of an eye?

Judging by this, someone at the company was about to suffer.

Honestly, the boss’s heart was as inscrutable as the depths of the sea.

Sure enough, after arriving at the company, Jin Ye summoned all the senior and middle managers for a meeting.

For these employees who merely worked to make a living, the meeting was a catastrophe. Almost everyone was reprimanded, and every proposal was rejected.

Only Secretary Guo escaped because the task he had handled—finding a house—was too trivial to warrant punishment.

“Meeting adjourned.”

After Jin Ye uttered those two words, everyone fled as if they had been granted a pardon, moving faster than rabbits.

Once they had closed the door with lingering fear, Supervisor Liu, who was on good terms with Secretary Guo, waited until everyone else had gone before dragging him to a secluded floor-to-ceiling window to chat.

“What’s wrong with the boss? Didn’t he win the case in America? And the profits seem pretty good too. Why does he look as if he swallowed explosives? Anyone who didn’t know better would think the whole thing had gone disastrously wrong.”

Secretary Guo gave him an unfathomable look and shook his head. “Who knows? But as for the case, when the boss handles something personally, is there anything he can’t settle? I suspect he’s fallen in love.”

“Fallen in love!” Supervisor Liu cried out in shock.

“Shh! Why are you shouting?” Secretary Guo hurriedly covered his mouth. “It’s only a guess. Think about it. We’ve followed the boss for so long—when have you ever seen him show his emotions so openly? This is the first time I’ve seen him lose his temper so badly. If it isn’t because he’s in love, who would believe otherwise?”

Supervisor Liu thought about it and realized that the explanation made sense. He had been through it himself. Back then, because of his girlfriend, he had been unable to eat or sleep, and whenever they quarreled, he had drowned his sorrows in alcohol.

No matter how capable the boss was, he was still a young man in his twenties, full of passion and vigor.

At the thought, Supervisor Liu sighed. “No wonder people say that even heroes cannot resist a beauty. I just wonder what kind of beauty managed to bring down our formidable boss. Wait—could it be that family you personally took to look at houses on the boss’s orders?”

Secretary Guo shook his head firmly. “I can guarantee that is absolutely impossible. Completely impossible.”

Recalling the adorable way Lin Xia had called him Uncle Guo with a bright smile, he shook his head again. “She’s still just a little girl who hasn’t even grown out of her childishness. What kind of beauty hasn’t the boss seen? How could he possibly take a fancy to her? And judging by her father’s appearance, looking like some country bumpkin, he’s probably from the countryside and has never seen the world. The boss may not have an ordinary background, but he certainly won’t marry into a family like that.”

Supervisor Liu laughed twice. “That isn’t necessarily true. Maybe the boss has had too many lavish banquets and has suddenly developed a taste for plain porridge and simple vegetables.”

“If he wanted plain porridge and simple vegetables, he could find any kind he liked at Heaven on Earth. Why pursue a perfectly respectable young girl? She’s still in high school.”

After hearing that, Supervisor Liu stopped taking the matter seriously.

She was only a high school student. Even if she were as beautiful as a celestial being, she would not attract the attention of men like them. What could a student possibly understand about such things?

Besides, making a move on a high school student—would that not be worse than an animal?

With that thought, Supervisor Liu did not pursue the subject. He and Secretary Guo began discussing several of the issues the boss had raised during the meeting.

After everyone had left, Jin Ye leaned back in his leather chair, a simmering anger still lingering in his heart.

His mood seemed strangely wrong today.

He rose and returned to his office, then poured himself a glass of liquor from the small adjoining lounge.

His work was demanding, and when things became especially busy, he sometimes slept directly in the office. Thus, the office had a small side room equipped with basic necessities.

Only after drinking did he feel somewhat better, though a restless heat still smoldered inside him. He could not concentrate on the documents before him at all.

After thinking for a long while, he finally dialed Chen Qing’s number.

“Hello—Ah Ye, what do you want? I’m rather busy over here.” Chen Qing held the phone between his head and shoulder while quickly signing a document and handing it to an editor. “Several of the authors in this batch are quite good and have real potential. Keep an eye on them and don’t let any slip away. I’ll come find you later.”

“All right, Editor in Chief.”

The editor withdrew with the documents, and another editor knocked before entering. The entire editorial department was in a frenzy of activity.

Chen Qing gestured for her to wait a moment, then took the phone in his hand. “Ah Ye, what is it?”

Jin Ye was not a frivolous person, nor did he have that kind of spare time. If he had called, there had to be something important.

Hearing Chen Qing’s question, Jin Ye pressed his attractive lips together before finally saying, “I just saw that little girl you’re so protective of at the airport.”

“So you saw her. What of it? She happened to come to City B to look at houses, and she’s going home today.” Chen Qing was puzzled. Had he really called just to say this?

“I saw her embracing a man.”

Before he could say the words, Chen Qing’s question left Jin Ye momentarily stunned.

That was right. So what if he had seen her? What relationship did she have with him—or with Chen Qing? What right did he have to call and question Chen Qing about it?

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