E-Scum Gong Chapter 16
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 16
After becoming roughly familiar with the business, workdays became more leisurely.
So, when his assistant knocked on the office door with Yu Song following behind, Gu Jinzhi, who was sleeping peacefully like a baby, was suddenly startled awake. His long legs instinctively dropped from the desk.
He rubbed his eyes, cleared his throat, and, after making sure his appearance was in order, called out, "Come in."
Gu Jinzhi remembered Yu Song. The last time he saw him, Yu Song was arguing with someone in the underground parking lot, his eyes tinged red. Yet, judging by Yu Song’s work record over the past few years at the company, he was a very capable member of the team.
His first impression of Yu Song was that he was cultured and efficient, with neat and delicate features, always keeping himself clean and tidy.
"What’s the matter?" he asked curiously.
The assistant closed the door and left, leaving only Yu Song and Gu Jinzhi in the room.
Unexpectedly, Yu Song handed him a resignation letter. "General Manager, I'm very sorry for all the company has done for me. I've decided to resign."
Gu Jinzhi was shocked. He had just taken office not long ago and had never seen any core team member say that they wanted to resign. Could it be that he had scared people away?
"Why?" he asked.
The company was considered one of the top entertainment firms in the industry. Although Gu Jinzhi's attitude towards work was a bit slack, he never acted recklessly. Yu Song’s compensation was excellent, and his position offered room for advancement. Given his age, it was not impossible for him to rise to the core leadership.
Therefore, Gu Jinzhi couldn’t understand the reason for Yu Song’s resignation.
Yu Song's expression was clearly hesitant and conflicted, indicating that he had made this decision with great determination. To start from scratch at another company was a difficult path.
After a moment of silence, Yu Song, his lips dry, said, "I'm just a bit burned out."
In truth, that wasn't the reason.
His lover, worried about their office romance being exposed, always looked sullen and taciturn. Yu Song had finally reached his breaking point and decided to quit his job to keep his lover.
He used to be very career-oriented, but now, perhaps softened by love, he couldn't bear the thought of their relationship going down the drain.
Moreover, his heart was still full of love.
As long as he resigned and made this sacrifice, his lover could fully realize his dreams. The hope for a happy future together was the main reason Yu Song had the courage to knock on Gu Jinzhi’s office door.
Gu Jinzhi glanced at him, his fingers slowly tapping the desk. He could see that Yu Song was hiding something.
“It’s okay, I can approve a leave of absence for you,” he said.
Yu Song wasn’t looking for a short-term leave from the company. As long as he stayed, his eyes would give him away and their relationship could be discovered.
“Thank you, General Manager, but I still want to resign. I won't be able to continue working in the short term,” Yu Song said, lowering his eyes.
Gu Jinzhi, being a free-spirited person with a kind heart, thought of Yu Song's hard work over the years. He clasped his hands together and said earnestly, “It’s okay. You can take a year off and come back. Relax and think about your career plans. When you’re ready, come find me. The company will welcome you back.”
Yu Song had been with the company since its inception.
Yu Song looked at Gu Jinzhi in shock, feeling deeply moved. Gu Jinzhi hadn’t been the general manager for long, yet he was so understanding of his employees. This made Yu Song feel he was being irresponsible toward himself.
But now, his relationship was his top priority. He accepted Gu Jinzhi’s proposal and said, “General Manager, before I leave, I’ll find a suitable replacement and complete the handover. It won’t affect the company’s operations.”
“It’s a leave of absence,” Gu Jinzhi corrected.
Yu Song smiled, his heart feeling full.
After Yu Song left, Gu Jinzhi pouted. Why was it that as soon as he became the general manager, people wanted to leave? He wanted to talk to someone, but everyone was in a meeting.
This was so unbearable!
Lately, Gu Jinzhi had been staying in more at night. He didn't want to miss any messages from Amour, since they had agreed to chat in the evenings.
After taking a shower and lying down on his bed, Gu Jinzhi hesitantly sent a message, “Your little cutie has suddenly appeared~” If Lin Xu was still working overtime, he might actually lose it.
By now, Gu Jinzhi felt absolutely no discomfort. He could even be a bit more coquettish since they were communicating online. Ever since they started dating, Amour had never argued with him and seemed to accept everything he did. As a result, Gu Jinzhi chatted without any reservations.
He thought about how real couples would have minor quarrels every three days and major fights every five. Given his own argumentative nature, the mere thought of such scenarios gave him a headache, making him even more satisfied with their current arrangement.
Thus, Gu Jinzhi often found himself sharing his thoughts and feelings with Lin Xu rather than with his family or friends.
“I’m here, at home writing a report,” Lin Xu replied, having developed the habit of keeping his phone on the desk where he could see the screen light up.
In reality, he wasn’t writing a report but rather a speech.
Since the decision was already made, there was no reason to be careless. As the class representative, Lin Xu understood the weight of his responsibility. He wanted to prepare something sincere and meaningful for his classmates.
So, after school, Lin Xu had started working on the outline of his speech, dividing it into several parts.
At that moment, he was writing the main body, carefully crafting his words to be formal yet engaging.
However, upon seeing Gu Jinzhi’s message, Lin Xu put down his pen.
“How can your boss be so annoying? Such an evil capitalist!” Gu Jinzhi was speechless and immediately felt a surge of anger, wanting to file a labor complaint on Lin Xu’s behalf.
He almost fancied himself a labor union leader.
Meetings all morning, writing reports at night, and still not earning much money.
Lin Xu was taken aback and felt a bit embarrassed, so he tried to soothe him, “Don’t be upset. I like working.”
Gu Jinzhi even wanted to reply, "Then come work for me."
But he forcefully reminded himself of his student status and muttered, "I don’t like studying." Work was so annoying, but fortunately, he was in a relationship now~
Lin Xu couldn’t help but chuckle softly. He already knew that Gu Jinzhi hates studying. Otherwise, why would he often skip classes, only coming alive on the basketball court?
According to the rough content of the novel, Lin Xu knew that Gu Jinzhi's family was well-off, so if he really didn’t like studying, it shouldn’t matter too much. He just hoped he wouldn’t be deceived by the scumbag male lead this time.
“So what time will you finish your report?” Gu Jinzhi asked, wondering if chatting with him would delay Lin Xu.
“I’ll probably be up all night,” Lin Xu replied. He didn’t like procrastinating, so he planned to finish it tonight.
“Then don’t chat with me anymore (crying).” Gu Jinzhi frowned. Although he felt a bit disappointed, he decided he would play games for a while, sleep when he got tired, and continue working tomorrow... so annoying.
"It's okay. I have made a promise to you. I can write my report and reply to your messages at the same time," Lin Xu said, feeling bad after seeing the sad emoji Gu Jinzhi sent. He should be able to multitask.
Gu Jinzhi just wanted to hear that from Lin Xu. Of course, he wouldn't blame him if he wanted to cut off their conversation, but now he was extremely happy.
"Then I'll keep you company while you finish your report!" he said excitedly, rubbing his hands together like a fly.
"Did you know? Someone in our class dropped out," Gu Jinzhi switched to gossiping with Lin Xu.
"Really? Why?" Lin Xu asked, playing along.
"I don’t know, but I guess maybe he wanted to get married," Gu Jinzhi speculated, thinking Yu Song felt he was old enough to focus on settling down.
Lin Xu didn’t quite understand the connection between marriage and dropping out of school, but since Gu Jinzhi said it, he decided to go along.
"That’s very irrational," he said.
Then he added, "Don’t ever do that. Don’t let emotions cloud your judgment. Nothing is more important than your own life."
Knowing Gu Jinzhi's fate from the book, he seized the opportunity to offer some advice.
Gu Jinzhi found Lin Xu’s serious tone amusing and felt some of his preconceptions being shattered. He had previously thought that Amour just wanted to make him lose his head over love and then deceive him.
So he jokingly replied, "If you asked me to drop out of school and elope with you, I'd be happy to."
Lin Xu’s expression became serious. Such thoughts were terrifying. He even put down his pen and sent a voice message directly: "Zhizhi, you’re a college student, not a grade schooler. Someone worthy wouldn’t ask you to drop out or do anything irresponsible. Do you understand?"
Gu Jinzhi was taken aback by Lin Xu's somewhat stern tone. Although he was only joking, the other side had taken it seriously.
He wasn’t stupid. There was no way he would mistreat himself for anyone.
"Don’t be mad at me. I understand," Gu Jinzhi said sullenly, but inside, he felt a strange sensation.
"Sorry," Lin Xu said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a tissue. He had thought of the book's content again and felt that Gu Jinzhi was heading in a self-destructive direction, so he had reacted strongly.
Since he hadn't blocked Gu Jinzhi or broken up with him, it meant he was determined to look out for Gu Jinzhi, and he couldn't give up now.
"I’m sorry. Trust me, I’m doing this for your own good," Lin Xu said in a more gentle tone.
"Hmm. Did my gift arrive?" He wasn’t really angry. He just felt a bit emotional. It was the first time, apart from his older brother, that someone had lectured him.
It didn’t even feel like a lecture. It was more like a gentle coaxing.
It was weird. Was it because he was older that he behaved this way? With him, Gu Jinzhi almost felt like a clueless college kid.
At the mention of the gift, Lin Xu’s momentum instantly plummeted below ground level.
Gu Jinzhi had the original Lin Xu's address, which was a coffee shop near the school. When Lin Xu realized this, he was a bit startled but then slightly relieved, thinking Gu Jinzhi probably wouldn’t figure out he was a student.
When he received the package and opened it at home, it turned out to be a royal blue tie with a very nice texture.
It looked quite expensive.
He knew the other person had put a lot of thought into it, but he wasn’t sure how he would use it.
So when Gu Jinzhi asked about it, Lin Xu felt a bit anxious. "It arrived."
Gu Jinzhi jumped up excitedly and quickly said, "Then put on a suit and show me how it looks. I want to see if it fits."
Lin Xu was momentarily at a loss. Where was he supposed to find a suit?
"What’s wrong? You don’t like it? (sad)"
Lin Xu, still feeling bad for scolding him earlier, didn't want to upset him further.
After "dating" Gu Jinzhi for so many days, he had long realized that the other side was truly an impulsive and energetic boy. With a rather pitiful fate, it was hard for Lin Xu to be indifferent.
"No, just give me a moment," Lin Xu said, gritting his teeth.
Then he bit his lip and quietly left his room. His grandparents were early sleepers, so the lights in their room were already off, which worked to his advantage.
Lin Xu could only think that his parents’ closet might have a suit.
He walked lightly, careful not to wake his grandparents, and tiptoed into his parents’ room like a cat.
After digging around for a while, he finally found one of his dad's old suits. His eyes lit up as if he had found a solution.
Lin Xu grabbed the suit and hurried back to his room, quickly putting it on and tying the tie neatly.
The other side was already urging him. The suit was a bit wrinkled from sitting in the closet for so long, but there was no helping it. He propped his phone up and quickly took a few photos, sending them over as if he were turning in homework.
Gu Jinzhi had chosen the tie to make his older boyfriend look younger, not always like an old fogey. It had taken him several days to pick out one that was stylish but still mature.
But when he saw the outdated, long-out-of-fashion suit, he didn’t know how to react.
It was a branded item, but such an old style was worthless now. And probably only men in their forties or fifties would like it, right? Yet the other person's neck and body shape showed that he was young, so the whole outfit was completely mismatched.
"Gege... I think..." Gu Jinzhi pondered for a moment, trying not to hurt him. Maybe he'd buy Amour a new suit for their next monthsary.
Though the clothes weren’t ideal, the other person’s physique was impressive. Gu Jinzhi remembered Amour claiming to have an eight-pack, which he hadn’t seen yet. Given how restrained Lin Xu was, he decided to change the subject gently, "Gege, don’t button up all the way. Zhizhi wants to see your abs~"
Lin Xu’s mind went blank. He wanted to reply but didn’t know how to explain he didn’t have abs yet.
He did exercise a bit every day, but with his tight schedule, it wasn’t easy to see results. He wasn’t exactly an athlete...
"The air conditioning is a bit cold. Next time..." he said dryly, promising himself to work on it for the next time.
