Chapter 15: I want to ask for leave

“Um… Miss Su Jin.”

A trembling, soft voice rose from beneath Su Jin.

Su Jin tapped away at the keyboard, her brows furrowed.

She was busy with work issues, yet Lin Luan’s single sentence completely broke her train of thought.

At this moment, Lin Luan was sprawled on the floor in an orz posture, serving as Su Jin’s chair.

This was his punishment for losing the maid outfit Su Jin had given him.

“Do chairs talk?” Su Jin hooked her calf, the heel of her high-heeled shoe viciously striking Lin Luan’s lower abdomen.

“Ugh!” Lin Luan grunted, forcing himself to speak, “I’m sorry, Miss Su Jin… The chair shouldn’t talk.”
“Then why are you talking!”

Su Jin kicked him again.

“Ugh!”

Dao heart.

No, right?!

Lin Luan gritted his teeth.

Whether he spoke or not, either way it was wrong. Just what did she want him to do?!

He had been lying here for half an hour already.

To be honest, simply being sat on wouldn’t have tired him out this much, but the soft sensation of Miss Su Jin’s body pressing on his back was truly distracting.

And could he really be blamed for the whole maid outfit situation? The outfit was in Shen Yu’s hands—was he supposed to show up and say he needed to “use” the maid outfit? That would be social death!

A soft laugh drifted over.

Lin Luan looked up and saw Song Li standing to the side.

Song Li stood upright, her gaze perfectly forward.

Lin Luan kept staring.

Song Li remained unmoved.

Lin Luan locked his gaze on her.

“Pfft.” Song Li finally broke.

Song Li! So you really were holding back laughter!

How could a true man allow himself to be trampled underfoot for so long!

Detestable woman, when my contract ends, I’ll be sure to bring you down with me!

Lin Luan ground his teeth at this bodyguard, hating her to his core.

“By the way, Lin Puppy, I think you didn’t get your pay yesterday.” Su Jin seemed to suddenly remember something. She crossed her legs and tapped away on her phone.

Lin Luan’s phone rang instantly.

[WeChat received payment: 10,000 yuan.]

Lin Luan fell silent.

Who’s a “true man”? Never heard of him. I’m just Miss Su Jin’s loyal dog.

Love me, love my dog. No more hating Song Li.

But… there was still business to discuss.

“Su…” Lin Luan began.

“Pa!” Su Jin’s heel struck again.

“Ugh!” Lin Luan cried out in pain.

Su Jin sighed and pressed her hand to her forehead, closing her laptop.

“Honestly… What do you want to say? You keep calling my name.”

Seeing his chance at last, Lin Luan quickly said, “Miss Su Jin, my little sister’s school is having a parent meeting tonight, and I was wondering… could I have two hours off to go a bit earlier?”

“Parent meeting?” Su Jin raised her eyebrows and stood up.

“No can do. Tonight, ‘Jinse Technology’ is hosting a small networking event. All the important partners and potential investors will be there. You must attend as my male companion.”

The weight on his back finally disappeared, and Lin Luan let out a breath, but he still didn’t get up.

He remained prostrate as he pleaded, “Please, Miss Su Jin, the parent meeting won’t take long… I promised my sister.”

Su Jin tapped her cigarette case, drew out a slim lady’s cigarette, and sat on the sofa.

“You promised your sister…?” Su Jin reached out, and Song Li immediately stepped forward to light the cigarette for her. “You never told me you had a sister.”

“Ah… yeah,” Lin Luan answered, staring at the floor. “After all, it’s a private matter.”

“True, I won’t pry into things outside of work,” Su Jin took a deep drag, slowly exhaling. The pale-blue smoke curled into the air. “But if you want time off, that’s a work matter.”

The smoke drifted slowly toward Lin Luan. As it brushed past his face, his body trembled slightly.

Lin Luan had never smoked before. He tried to hold back any reaction, but for someone unaccustomed to tobacco, the smell was still a bit much—he couldn’t help it.

Su Jin noticed Lin Luan’s discomfort”

“Don’t like the smell?”

“No, it’s not that, Miss Su Jin. It’s just that my sister’s still in school, and I need to set a good example for her. But if you want me to smoke, I can—”

Lin Luan quickly bowed his head. He really didn’t want to upset Su Jin over such a small thing at a time like this.

Su Jin’s hand, holding the cigarette, paused in mid-air. She looked at Lin Luan in silence for a few seconds.

Lin Luan thought she was dissatisfied with his behavior and was about to speak, when he heard the hiss of the cigarette being pressed out in the ashtray.

He looked up slightly in surprise, stealing a glance from the corner of his eye.

He saw that Su Jin had already put out the cigarette she had only just lit.

Her movement was casual, as if she had simply lost the mood to smoke. There was no particular expression on her face, still that same nonchalant air.

“It’s not a good habit. Don’t pick it up.”

Lin Luan lowered his head. “Thank you, Miss Su Jin.”

“Nothing to thank me for.” Su Jin crossed her legs. “Now, back to your request for time off.”

“Yes.”

“Taking leave is fine. I can approve it, but only for one hour. And once the parent meeting is done, you’ll leave with me straight to the networking event. Understood?”

“I understand,” Lin Luan replied.

He didn’t expect it to be so easy to get leave from this woman—great! He couldn’t let Xiao Wan down.

“But.”

Su Jin’s tone shifted.

Lin Luan tensed up. He knew it wouldn’t be that simple.

“You’ll have to make up the lost time during work hours. After all, I pay you.”

“Of course, Miss Su Jin.”

“Crawl over here.” Su Jin kicked off her high heels.

Lin Luan lowered his head and crawled forward, until his head bumped into something soft.

It was Su Jin’s foot, clad in black stockings.

“I don’t want to wear black stockings for tonight’s event. Change them to white for me.”

Lin Luan’s heart pounded wildly. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

It’s just a business transaction. Pleasing the boss is his job. Relax, Lin Luan, relax.

He took a deep breath, put on a smile, and looked up.

“No problem. It’s my honor, Miss Su Jin.”

A perfectly submissive attitude—if the boss said east, he would never go west; if the boss claimed there were nine suns, he’d snatch Hou Yi’s bow and swear she was right.

Su Jin eyed his swift change of attitude with some doubt, but said nothing more.

She tapped his forehead lightly with her toe, her tone lazy: “Hurry up. I don’t like waiting.”

“Yes.”

Lin Luan replied, eyes landing on her outstretched foot.

The black stockings wrapped delicately around her slender ankle, radiating a kind of restrained allure.

He pinched the edge of the stocking with his fingers, inching it down bit by bit.

Lin Luan wasn’t particularly skilled at this, but he was very careful, making sure his fingers avoided inappropriate contact and keeping his gaze respectfully lowered.

The process was slow and quiet, with only the faint sound of fabric brushing in the air.

Lin Luan could clearly feel the warmth of her skin through the stocking, but the smile on his face didn’t waver, his gaze focused.

The black stocking slid off completely, revealing a pale, smooth ankle and calf. Lin Luan immediately picked up the pair of white stockings Song Li had prepared in advance.

He gently supported her ankle, slid on the new stocking, slowly pulled it up, and meticulously smoothed out every wrinkle to ensure perfection.

Through it all, his expression remained calm, as if he were a devout believer.

Though his faith was in the cult of RMB.

Su Jin leaned back on the sofa, her cheeks flushed as she watched him.

She was the one who asked Lin Luan to do this, but why was she the one embarrassed now?!

She had been expecting to see more awkwardness on Lin Luan’s face, but at this moment, he was like a river-polished pebble: smooth and meek on the surface, but impossible to gauge inside.

She grew a bit annoyed. Why, after all this, was this man still so unmoved? Was her “training” still not enough?

“All done, Miss Su Jin.” Lin Luan finished the last step, respectfully withdrawing a little, remaining kneeling, head slightly bowed.

Su Jin raised her foot and looked it over, then simply made a noncommittal “Mm.”

“Go to the kitchen and get dinner ready,” she said, waving him off, picking up her phone again to act as if she’d lost all interest in Lin Luan.

“When it’s time, I’ll drive you to your sister’s school for the parent meeting.”

“Thank you, Miss Su Jin.” Lin Luan slowly stood up, his legs a bit numb from kneeling so long.

***

After a few moments, Lin Luan headed for the kitchen.

In the living room, Su Jin watched his back, her fingertip sliding aimlessly across her phone’s home screen.

“Miss, if you send Lin Luan to the parent meeting, you’ll barely make it to the evening event on time.”

“I know.”

Song Li actually wanted to say: Then why did you agree to his leave? There’s no way a parent meeting could be more important than tonight’s company event.

But she only paused briefly and said, “Then how should I proceed?”

Su Jin sighed.

“Let everyone know—the meeting will be pushed back an hour.”

Song Li was silent for a moment, then respectfully replied, “Yes.”

“…And get him a proper suit for tonight’s event.”

“And…”

“Yes.”

“Alright, go handle it.”

Su Jin waved her hand, and Song Li immediately left to make the arrangements.

Watching Lin Luan’s busy figure in the kitchen, Su Jin found herself at a loss for words. This was the first time she’d rearranged her work schedule for someone else—and for something so trivial at that.

Postponing a company event just for her “boyfriend’s” sister’s parent meeting? If people heard about this, it would definitely be a joke.

Su Jin rubbed her temples. She wasn’t sure if she’d gone too far with Lin Luan, losing sight of the original intention—it was supposed to be a game with her pet dog, yet it was starting to affect her business.

But… she’d already promised Lin Puppy. So be it—let’s do it this way.