The Ceo Of The Company Next Door Seems To Have A Crush On Me Chapter 20

The Regular Meeting and Next Door

It was already evening when Lu Zhijian returned home. He had intended to invite Yan Xucheng to dinner, but Yan Xucheng said he needed to prepare for the big regular meeting the next morning. The materials he had sent included a relatively rare case, and he needed to go back and check papers to familiarize himself with it.

Lu Zhijian did not insist. Mondays were always difficult, and a big regular meeting made it even worse.

The employee group chat for Juefei Media would explode with messages every Monday.

The employee group used an anonymous system. Lu Zhijian did not know who was behind each account, and naturally, others did not know that their biggest boss was lurking in the group every day. Lu Zhijian did not mind them chatting during work hours.

There was no helping it; chatting was much more interesting than working. Lu Zhijian often opened the group chat during meetings to see what everyone was talking about. Since he himself couldn’t focus entirely on work, he felt he had no right to demand that others not slack off at all.

If anyone in all of Juefei Media was least likely to slack off, it would probably be his Chief Secretary, Mo Hui.

Lu Zhijian had always found Mo Hui’s high-spirited work enthusiasm baffling.

Suddenly remembering that tomorrow was Monday, he also had a regular meeting. However, his situation was slightly better than Yan Xucheng’s: he didn’t need to do anything but sit there and listen to reports. But Mo Hui would be sitting next to him during the meeting…

Slacking off would be difficult then.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhijian sighed. The Vice President positions in the company were currently full. He needed to find a way to give Mo Hui a new role and quickly let her go manage subordinates.

Lu Zhijian sat in the hanging rattan chair on the balcony, leaning back comfortably. The weather was excellent today; the evening was warm and windless. Lu Zhijian simply lowered the balcony window. The slightly chilly outdoor air, mixed with a faint scent of grass and wood, drifted in.

In the quiet night, Lu Zhijian’s succulents were neatly arranged on the flower stand on the balcony. The soil was still moist. Lu Zhijian closed his eyes, and the fresh scent of earth quietly tickled his nose.

The gently swaying hanging chair brought on a bit of drowsiness. Before he got too sleepy, Lu Zhijian quickly stood up and used the remote control to close the balcony window, preparing to go to bed. If he actually fell asleep out here, he would definitely catch a cold.

He turned to go back inside when suddenly, a vivid splash of color caught his eye. Lu Zhijian belatedly realized what he was seeing and quickly looked again. That was right.

It was Yan Xucheng.

He was on the balcony right next door, sitting with his back to Lu Zhijian on a fluffy rug that looked like one could sink into it. Lu Zhijian could even see the black ribbon he used to tie his hair, which inexplicably reminded Lu Zhijian of a bouquet of roses packaged for Valentine’s Day—black wrapping paper paired with rich, red roses was always a perfect combination.

Yan Xucheng was using his laptop to review literature. A flash of light passed as he looked up. Lu Zhijian recognized the glasses he had just given Yan Xucheng that afternoon.

Lu Zhijian’s sleepiness instantly vanished to an unknown place.

His mind suddenly flashed through all the information Yan Xucheng had revealed about that house, and these pieces of information finally connected—

Yan Xucheng had said he was moving on Saturday, and he had moved here!

Lu Zhijian’s first instinct was to call out to him.

After a moment’s hesitation, he picked up his phone and sent Yan Xucheng a message: Little Rabbit Waving Hand jpg.

An emoji was more practical.

He couldn’t bring himself to shout Yan Xucheng’s name across the balcony; he couldn’t do it, nor could he shout it out. If he sent a message, he didn’t know how to phrase it, and just sending a name would be too strange. After much thought, the emoji was the most reliable choice.

The phone screen lit up upon receiving the message, but unfortunately, Yan Xucheng seemed to be working seriously right now. It automatically dimmed thirty seconds later, as if closing its eyes and falling asleep. Only Lu Zhijian knew that beneath the black screen, a message awaited Yan Xucheng.

Interrupting someone’s work was inviting divine retribution.

Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, Lu Zhijian simply sat back down in the rattan hanging chair. He turned the chair’s direction to make it easier to observe when Yan Xucheng finished working. After turning the chair, he belatedly realized his behavior was strange.

Why would someone stare at another person like this? Wasn’t that creepy?

Lu Zhijian put himself in Yan Xucheng’s shoes and felt a chill of fear: “Phew, that was close. I almost got mistaken for a pervert.”

He turned the chair back.

Yan Xucheng was to Lu Zhijian’s right. Lu Zhijian could see him just by turning his head. After looking a few times, Lu Zhijian shot up again and turned the chair so his back was directly facing Yan Xucheng.

This was much better.

Lu Zhijian absentmindedly looked at the emails in his inbox, his eyes constantly fixed on the top of his phone screen, afraid of missing a message from Yan Xucheng.

Yan Xucheng stretched.

Finally done.

He moved his stiff limbs. A wave of numbness shot up from his lower body, directly attacking his brain: “Hiss!”

His legs were asleep.

He definitely couldn’t sit cross-legged now. He groaned and struggled to free his two stiff long legs from under the table, casually placing them to the side. The rug was very thick, so he wouldn’t get cold. He lay motionless on the rug, waiting for the pins and needles in his lower body to subside.

He truly couldn’t move at all. The moment he moved, his legs would tingle, and he couldn’t help but make strange noises.

Even though he lived alone, he still cared about his image!

Yan Xucheng was young after all, and after a while, he successfully escaped his semi-paralyzed state. Although his legs were still a bit disobedient, it wasn’t a major issue.

He grunted and pushed himself upright. Because of his earlier movements, the slightly shorter strands of hair had escaped the ribbon’s hold and fell around his cheeks, adding a casual, messy look.

Yan Xucheng opened his phone. There was only one WeChat message on the lock screen from Lu Zhijian, sent an hour ago. He replied with an emoji as well: Little Cat Appearing jpg.

Then he asked: What’s up?

The words “Lu Zhijian” at the top of the screen immediately changed to “Typing…”

Had Lu Zhijian been waiting for his reply all this time?

Lu Zhijian only sent three words: Look next door.

Yan Xucheng raised his head in confusion, meeting Lu Zhijian’s gaze. Lu Zhijian shook his phone at him, showing their chat interface.

Yan Xucheng froze in place. Even his glasses couldn’t hide his stunned expression.

Lu Zhijian watched Yan Xucheng half-kneeling on the floor, his hair slightly messy, looking utterly bewildered. A complicated emotion instantly welled up in Lu Zhijian’s heart. Lu Zhijian instinctively avoided the sudden complex feeling, trying hard not to think about what it was or why it had appeared.

He had expected them both to be pleasantly surprised, but now Lu Zhijian almost wished none of this had happened.

He wanted to pretend nothing was wrong and go back inside, but Yan Xucheng had already reacted.

Yan Xucheng scrambled up. His legs were still a bit uncomfortable, and he suddenly stumbled forward. Lu Zhijian instinctively reached out his hands to steady him, only to be blocked by the thick layer of glass.

Fortunately, Yan Xucheng only staggered, managing to steady himself against the wall. Lu Zhijian breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, Yan Xucheng saw Lu Zhijian seemingly saying something to him, but the glass was highly soundproof. He strained his eyes and ears but couldn’t hear anything. So he gestured to Lu Zhijian: Send a message.

Lu Zhijian was quick: “What’s wrong with your leg?”

“Nothing, just sat too long. It’s numb.”

Lu Zhijian was a man of few words, and he was also reserved online. Yan Xucheng, however, was consistently chatty: “You actually live next door to me! I love the rug you have by your door, it’s super nice!”

Then, Yan Xucheng repeated his old request: “Can you send me the link?”

He and Jiang Mingyi had searched for a long time but couldn’t find one they liked.

Yan Xucheng saw Lu Zhijian standing opposite him, smiling helplessly. This time, he didn’t send a message. Yan Xucheng understood his lip reading: “I’ll give it to you.”

Help!

Why did he end his sentence with “ya” again!?

Yan Xucheng had always been defenseless against such gentle people.

He quickly lowered his head, his fingers pressing hard on the keyboard: Don’t! Act! Cute!

Of course, this message was not sent. Lu Zhijian had once been bullied because of that particle word. How could he poke at someone’s wound? That would be too mean!

It was Lu Zhijian who sent a question mark first.

Yan Xucheng: It’s nothing, it’s nothing.

He walked up to the glass. His pajamas were too thin, and he could feel the cold radiating from the glass. His warm breath hit the glass, condensed into water upon meeting the cold air, forming a small patch of fog on the glass.

Yan Xucheng reached out and drew a smiley face on it.

Lu Zhijian saw Yan Xucheng’s face blurred by the fog, then his cold-reddened finger drew across the glass. Lu Zhijian first saw those focused, smoky-blue eyes, then the slightly upturned red lips. Finally, Yan Xucheng jumped out from behind the smiley face and stood next to it to say goodnight.

Lu Zhijian smiled too: Goodnight.

Back in his bedroom, Yan Xucheng’s first reaction was to tell his best friend, Jiang Mingyi!

His second reaction—