006: Take a Bite While Passing By
Jiangyuan was a big city.
And people in big cities always had that strange sort of tolerance about them.
Tang Yu, for one, was very tolerant.
He didn’t understand but he respected.
After all, An Tihu hadn’t used his hands to walk, so even if he couldn’t wrap his head around it, he decided it wasn’t worth overthinking. He simply tried to forget that unforgettable sight altogether.
Fine. Whatever. Who cared whether people used their hands or feet to walk? Who cared why anyone would open an umbrella inside a stairwell?
A proper leader, Tang Yu thought, should be able to accept every kind of subordinate and every kind of eccentricity that came with them.
So he forced himself to accept it, straightened his expression, and went back to his office looking calm as ever.
Meanwhile, Sang Zhao was still thinking about it.
Even after he sat down at his desk, the little cat’s curiosity refused to rest. He couldn’t stop replaying that moment in his head.
Why walk with your hands and hold the umbrella with your feet? Was this… some sort of local custom in Jiangyuan?
He was still deep in thought when the same administrative girl who’d taken lunch orders yesterday wandered over.
She stopped beside his desk, tapped the tabletop, and waved her phone at him.
Sang Zhao obediently opened his WeChat chat with her.
He saw a freshly sent screenshot, an ad from a nearby milk tea shop.
The girl leaned closer and whispered, “We’re making a group order, but we’re short on people, so I came to ask if you want in. They’ve got a new flavor, Strawberry Snowball Ice, special price ten yuan eight. Want one?”
Wow. Strawberries! Wow. Snowballs!
Sang Zhao had never tried it, but just hearing the name made his mouth water.
Back when he was a cat, he used to sneak a lick or two off the tips of strawberries. Just thinking of that fresh, sweet-tart flavor made his little mouth tingle. He loved strawberries!
“Yes!” he said brightly.
So he transferred the money right away.
The girl looked down at the amount and froze.
“Wait, what?” she said. “Why’d you send me 108 yuan? You forgot to type the decimal point, didn’t you?”
Sang Zhao’s heart stopped. Panic hit him hard.
Oh no. Disaster. Big, big disaster.
Humans didn’t make mistakes like this! Humans didn’t forget decimal points!
This kind of slip-up screamed not human!
If he didn’t fix it, he’d blow his cover, his whole “pretend-to-be-human” mission would fail!
He stiffened up, trying to look like a serious office worker. “Mm, yes,” he blurted, grasping at straws. “Because I want ten cups.”
The girl blinked. “...Really?”
Her tone was getting more and more skeptical. Seeing her expression change, Sang Zhao’s pulse jumped faster.
Wait, ten cups? That wasn’t something a human would do either, was it?!
He’d made it worse! Way worse!
No, he couldn’t let this slip. He’d promised Director Li he’d do a good job pretending to be human!
So he rushed to correct himself, quick as lightning. “I-i m-mean, I’m treating everyone! I’m buying ten cups so our whole office can drink together!”
There! That sounded human!
The girl accepted that explanation and took the payment.
When she left, Sang Zhao just sat there, staring blankly at the transfer record on his phone.
【￥108.00】
He let out a tiny choking sound and covered his face with both hands.
Oh heavens. A hundred yuan! That wasn’t money, that was his life savings!
He was still drowning in misery when An Tihu and the rest of the secretariat staff came back from another department errand.
An Tihu walked over and saw his dejected face. “What’s wrong, Sang Zhao? We just stepped out for a bit and someone pick on you?”
“No,” Sang Zhao mumbled, lips pressed tight. “I… joined a group order for Strawberry Snowball Ice and… treated everyone.”
Of course, everyone was delighted. They thanked him over and over. New guy, generous, easy to get along with.
Sang Zhao loved being praised, so even while his heart ached, he puffed his cheeks and sat there all sulky and round, brain lagging from emotional overload.
One of the more observant girls leaned close and whispered, “Hey, Sang Zhao, how many cups did you buy?”
“Ten.”
There were ten people in the secretariat today, counting him.
Her eyes darted, and she lowered her voice. “Then… why didn’t you get one for the big boss?”
Big boss?
It took a moment for Sang Zhao to realize she meant Tang Yu.
His office was right there inside the secretariat, and most of the time, they handled his affairs directly.
If everyone in the department got drinks but left him out… that probably looked bad in human social logic.
Like they were excluding him or worse, like he was snubbing his boss.
“Big boss…” Sang Zhao muttered, scratching his head in frustration.
He hadn’t even gotten one for the department head, and that was already a boss. So why would the big boss be any different?
Still, he sniffled, thanked the girl for reminding him, and forced himself to adapt to human society’s unspoken rules.
When the drinks arrived, he didn’t drink his own. Instead, he took his cup, the one he’d been looking forward to all morning and with great reluctance, went to knock on the CEO’s door.
Tang Yu happened to be chatting casually with the vice president.
Seeing him at the door, Tang Yu gave his colleague a look and walked over to meet him, in full view of the VP’s amused expression.
Sang Zhao stood there like a kid making an offering and held out the drink solemnly. “President Tang, please have this.”
Tang Yu couldn’t help but laugh at his miserable face.
“What’s this? Why do you look so tragic just for offering me a drink?”
His voice was smooth, gentle as always.
And because Sang Zhao never really feared him, just got flustered around him, his chest grew tighter at that warm tone.
He hesitated, then confessed in a small voice, “When I ordered drinks for everyone, I didn’t think to ask if the big boss wanted one. I didn’t know you’re supposed to automatically include the big boss. So… I’m giving you mine.”
Then he mumbled in genuine distress, “Do bosses have to drink too?”
The way he said it nearly made Tang Yu choke with laughter.
“Of course bosses drink too,” Tang Yu teased, “Bosses have mouths, don’t they?”
He couldn’t bear how pitiful the boy looked, so he pulled out his phone. “Here.”
Sang Zhao blinked, confused.
Without further explanation, Tang Yu unlocked his phone and opened WeChat. “You’re new, and you’re still young. How much could you possibly earn? You don’t need to be spending money on this kind of thing. How much did it cost? I’ll reimburse you.”
Sang Zhao’s eyes sparkled like starlight.
He opened his payment screen instantly, though he tried to sound modest. “Is that… okay?”
“Of course it’s okay,” Tang Yu said.
But when he glanced at Sang Zhao’s phone, he sighed. “Why are you showing me your QR code? Can’t you just add me on WeChat? It works the same way. Or are you that unwilling to add your boss?”
He groaned softly. “Throwing your boss a cold, emotionless payment code, what kind of attitude is that? Is adding me that hard?”
Sang Zhao laughed, switching screens quickly. “No, no, I want to add you!”
Once they connected on WeChat, Tang Yu sent him two hundred yuan.
Sang Zhao accepted it right away, his gloom evaporating, though he was puzzled.
“Why are you reimbursing me?” he asked earnestly.
He wasn’t a cat anymore, after all. He didn’t have an owner to take care of him. Did this mean Tang Yu was… taking care of him?
Tang Yu pocketed his phone and looked at him meaningfully. “Don’t go copying others and playing host. You’ve just started working, and you don’t make much. Money goes fast. Just living decently is hard enough.”
That made perfect sense to Sang Zhao, who nodded furiously.
Tang Yu smiled at how obedient he was, then glanced at the strawberry drink in his hand.
He waved lightly. “Take it back and drink it yourself. I’m not at the point where I’ll take a kid’s drink while he stands there watching.”
Sang Zhao was deeply moved.
What a good human! He refused to take the drink and gave him money!
His heart melted on the spot. Eyes misty, he blurted out without thinking, “Wuwu, Tang Shu-ge…”
Tang Yu’s temple twitched. He snapped, “Tang Yu!”
Sang Zhao shuffled away, looking back every three steps.
By the time he sat down again, all his worries had vanished.
He took out his phone, determined to send Tang Yu a thank-you message.
But most people were still at their desks, so voice messages were out of the question, and he couldn’t use speech input either.
That left typing.
He wasn’t great with pinyin yet, a half-trained cat at best. He typed slowly, eyes narrowed in concentration, and after five whole minutes, he finally sent a message that read:
【Thankyoo yoo good hooman!!! Wery wery like yoo, like like tuna!!!】
Tang Yu read it. Then read it again.
What… what even was that? He shook his head, smiling helplessly. The boy was truly the king of typos.
He typed back:
【Also, thank you for liking me as much as you like tuna.】
Then he paused, remembering how Sang Zhao once misread Yu as Shu.
Worried the boy might not recognize some of the characters, Tang Yu also sent a voice message repeating the same line aloud.
The whole time, his vice president, his long-time business partner and friend, had been sitting there, quietly observing this whole exchange.
He’d never seen Tang Yu talk like this before.
So of course he leaned in to take a look.
And what he saw left him speechless.
“Wait, what the hell is this?” the VP blurted out.
Tang Yu hurried to explain, “He’s just not highly educated, that’s all. But he’s really good at his job.”
The VP gave him a deeply skeptical look. “Really? I don’t buy it.”
“Besides,” he added, “you hate idiots. When did you become so patient with one?”
Tang Yu thought about it for a second… then muttered honestly, “He’s such a rare kind of stupid.”
He coughed lightly. “And he’s lively. Cute too.”
“The thing is, he only earns three thousand a month. In Jiangyuan, that’s barely enough to live on, yet he still acts like I’m the best boss ever. I just… can’t bring myself to be annoyed with him.”
That did make Sang Zhao sound a bit useless, so Tang Yu quickly added, “But he’s really diligent! You see how clean my desk is, right? He can’t stand any clutter, yesterday he even came by before leaving just to tidy it all up.”
“Other than being a bit dumb, he’s great. And every time I see that fluffy orange hair of his, I just... feel better.”
He trailed off, eyes unfocused, as if seeing something far away.
Then he noticed the VP’s face and frowned. “...What’s with that expression?”
The VP rested his chin on his hand, eyes gleaming with mischief. “The expression of someone witnessing love blossom.”
Tang Yu sighed. “It’s not like that. He’s too young.”
The VP scrunched his lips and mimicked him in a sing-songy voice, “It’s~ not~ like~ that~~ he’s~ too~ young~~”
He clicked his tongue several times. “I swear, I’m starting to ship you two.”
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