บท 19: [Bonus chapter] Deciding on Xue Ning's Gifts

A few days ago...

Yi Ting and Shengli stare deadpan at Sun Jingwei's myriad of purchases lying around the office, and then at Sun Jingwei who was strangely, actually in the office at such an early hour.

"Boss?" Yi Ting asks hesitantly, "what is happening here? Am I getting fired?"

"Did you piss off another one of your one-night-stands?" Shengli asks.

"Nonsense! Stop roasting me and help me look over all these, especially you, Yi Ting."

"Me?" Yi Ting asks, pointing to herself in surprise.

"Yes, as a woman, what are the items that appeal to you from everything here?" Jingwei waves a hand to encompass the multiple parcels stacked on top of each other, as though they were a Taobao warehouse.

"Er… I'll just take a look then," Yi Ting says, shooting Shengli a look of abject confusion. After working for Sun Jingwei for years, this was probably the least troublesome request of his. "Oi, Shengli, be useful and bring me the parcels."

'Hello? Am I your dog?" Shengli complains as he proceeds to do just that, unceremoniously shoving the parcels at Yi Ting, who is now sitting on the floor.

Jingwei hides a laugh behind his hands. Liu Shengli could complain and grumble all he wanted, but he would still do what Yi Ting asked. Jingwei wonders when Yi Ting would ever notice - but even if she didn't, this is still fun to watch.

"What are you laughing at?" Shengli narrows his eyes suspiciously.

"Nothing!" Jingwei says innocently, hands outstretched. "You can give your opinions on the things I bought too! I'm sure you and Yi Ting will provide me with some new insight."

Yi Ting opens the first parcel to reveal black lacy underwear. The price tag attached to it shows that it is worth 3 months of Yi Ting's salary.

"Boss, what insight are you looking for?" Yi Ting asks, internally despairing. No amount of on-the-job training could have prepared her for working under Sun Jingwei. "It's underwear."

"Whether or not you think most women will like it," Jingwei says. "Is this sexy enough? Comfortable? What would you think if your boss sent you this?"

"Boss, while I'm flattered at your interest, I must reject you." Yi Ting says seriously, staring up at him. "You're not my type."

"This is sexual harrassment," Shengli says flatly, ignoring the way his intestines curdled at the thought of Jingwei liking Yi Ting. "Yi Ting, I'll help you to sue the pants off him."

"Oh come on! This isn't for you, I'm just asking if I were to give this to someone who hypothetically saved my life from ruin, would it be fine?" Jingwei asks.

"This is for your bodyguard?" Shengli exclaims.

"Yes!" Jingwei says excitedly. "You got it!"

"Boss, if I were her, I'd just let you die," Yi Ting states heartlessly. "You'll make her regret saving you."

"Oh," Jingwei says, face falling immediately. "Then what about if I gave her this dress along with it? Would it change her mind?" He then hands them a garment bag that was lying over his work dress.

Yi Ting unzips it cautiously, revealing a beautiful evening gown in sky blue.

"Oh, this does look nice," Yi Ting says wistfully. "But what excuse are you going to give her to accept this?"

"It's another uniform for her bodyguarding duties. I can put it under workplace expenses." Jingwei shrugs casaully.

"No wonder Rui Lin from Finance hates you," Shengli says, shaking his head. "You make her job a lot harder than it needs to be."

"And we pay her a lot more to make up for it," Jingwei replies smoothly. "So this dress is good."

"It looks good," Yi Ting agrees. "But do you have her measurements?"

"Not exactly. I just eye-balled it, but it should fit," Jingwei says.

Shengli makes a tsk-ing sound in response. "That's not ideal, but you asking for measurements would be weirder."

"True," Yi Ting nods. "So here's hoping she can actually fit into it, if not she'll hate you more."

"Do you guys realise that the only time when the both of you agree on something is when you're roasting me?" Jingwei asks idly.

"It's great team bonding," Yi Ting replies honestly. "If you weren't our boss, I would have murdered Shengli in our first month."

Shengli scoffs, rolling his eyes. "Like you can."

"What, like you and your scrawny arms are going to stop me?" Yi Ting raises an eyebrow. Shengli was a man that did not work out, for he spent most of his time looking over contracts.

"Not everyone needs to use brute force to get their way!" He argues.

"You're just saying that, because you have the strength of a limp noodle!" She yells back.

"Okay okay, calm down, children," Jingwei says placatingly, as though he's a kindergarten teacher trying to calm his rowdy students. "Look, I have more parcels for you guys to comment on!"

Shengli and Yi Ting quiet down, but not before trying to discreetly kick each other's foot. To be called a child by Sun Jingwei, one of the most childish people they've ever met, was a grievous insult.

Yi Ting opens the next parcel. It was a pair of fancy heels, presumably to go with the dress.

"This looks fine? But how did you get her shoe size?" She asks, curious.

"I looked at her shoes when she was still in the ward," Jingwei says proudly.

"I see," Shengli replies with dead eyes. He doesn't know whether to be proud or appalled at his resourcefulness.

While he was busy cleaning up Jingwei's mess with the police and the media, this man was out there staring at the shoes of his presumed future wife to buy her fancy heels.

"Next box!" Yi Ting says cheerfully. This task isn't as bad as she feared, she's having fun now - it's as though she's one of those influencers doing unboxing videos, only better because she didn't pay a single cent for any of these gifts!

The next box reveals a sexy cocktail dress with a plunging neckline.

"Boss, you're a pervert." Yi Ting says.

"Is this your first day of knowing him?" Shengli asks sarcastically.

"Guilty as charged." Jingwei admits easily, "I think Xue Ning would look amazing in this outfit though!"

"Now I'm curious to know how she looks like," Yi Ting says, a finger tapping on her chin.

Sun Jingwei smiles at her, it suddenly looks more evil than she expected.

"Guess what Yi Ting? I have the best way for you to find out!"

Shengli makes fake consoling noises while laughing at her, because he knows what's coming. Yi Ting refuses to believe the signs, but there is no mistaking the words coming out from Sun Jingwei's mouth.

"You can deliver all these packages to her!"

She despairs.