BIAC CH 11

Chapter 11: Ge, thank you for being so good to me.

The next day, as soon as Tang He arrived at the office, he told Su An to inquire about the blood pressure monitor that the secretarial team had discussed last time.

A while ago, the entire secretarial team had suddenly gone on a frenzy bulk-buying spree for blood pressure monitors. When Tang He first heard about it, he genuinely thought these women had lost their minds—spending money like they had nowhere else to spend it, even bulk-buying blood pressure monitors.

Back then, Anne, the chief secretary, had even excitedly run over to brainwash him, going on about how this was the most advanced technology available—how it not only measured blood pressure accurately, but also had reminder settings so the elderly wouldn’t forget to take readings. After taking a reading, it could immediately upload the results to a designated account, and even print out blood pressure readings in intervals to show to doctors during follow-ups, which could help adjust their medication. She rambled on and on as if it were something powerful enough to be launched into space.

Anne kept persuading him to buy several units, saying it was “perfect for both gifting and personal use.” At the time, Tang He really couldn’t understand how someone could think of gifting a blood pressure monitor—wasn’t that kind of ominous? But now, apparently, times had changed and people didn’t think that way anymore!

Who would’ve thought that just a few months later, he’d be the one asking for the vendor’s contact number, requesting a product catalog, and preparing to pick out a suitable unit to give to Auntie.

He originally wanted to discuss it with Du Jianyou, but Jianyou had gone out of town for a property shoot for an exterior commercial. It looked like he wouldn’t be back for over a week. Tang He thought back to that day at the Du family home—how Jianyou had been so worried about his mother that his eyes turned red. The moment he heard about a good blood pressure monitor, he was ready to rush out and buy one on the spot. Tang He figured if it weren’t for his commitments to the Guangsheng ad campaign, Du Jianyou probably wouldn’t have waited even a moment.

Well, if that’s the case, then I’ll just make the decision myself. Auntie and Uncle are such wonderful people. My own parents are far away overseas—being able to do something filial on Jianyou’s behalf feels pretty good too.

With that thought, the ever-busy CEO Tang He seriously sat down to study the catalog’s different models. He even discussed the more popular units with the sales rep and went so far as to pester both Lin Yan and Guan Dongbao.

That bean bun (Doubao) seemed to be in the emergency room, busy stitching someone up. There were people yelling at each other in the background—it was pure chaos. When Tang He asked about blood pressure monitors, he snapped, “Mercury ones are the most accurate!” and hung up on him. Tang He was so pissed he immediately called Lin Yan to complain about how their hospital’s ER director clearly didn’t treat all “patients” with equal care.

“Treat you like a patient? You’re not even a patient! Why should he treat you like one?” Lin Yan sighed wearily. “You just had bad timing. When you called, the ER was a mess. I only just finished dealing with everything myself.”

“What happened? I could hear all that chaos over the phone just now,” Tang He asked curiously.

“It was two rival gangs hacking at each other out in the middle of the street. They were all injured and brought into the hospital, but they still kept fighting—ended up injuring one of the ER doctors. And you know how Doubao is—he fiercely protects his people. One of his own got hurt, yet he still had to stitch up the thug who did the damage. Can you imagine how pissed he was? The fact that he didn’t go off cursing your ancestors eight generations back already shows serious restraint. You should be honored, President Tang, that he held back just for you.”

“Okay, okay, I get it—I’m just unlucky today. Then let me ask you instead—what should I look for when choosing a blood pressure monitor?” Tang He quickly shifted gears.

“Mercury ones are the most accurate,” Lin Yan replied flatly.

“Hey—are the two of you ganging up on me? Doubao said the exact same thing.”

“Well, he’s not wrong. He already gave you the right answer, and you still went to file a complaint about him. Are you even human?”

“Give me your hospital director’s number.”

“For what?”

“So I can lodge a complaint against you…” Tang He snapped, clearly annoyed.

“When it comes to blood pressure monitors, accuracy is the most important thing. And mercury sphygmomanometers^[1] are the most accurate. There’s no one you can complain to about that,” Lin Yan said helplessly.

“But elderly people don’t know how to use them! If I buy a mercury monitor, does that mean I need to include a nurse too?”

“Elderly? Who’s elderly? Your mom’s all the way in the U.S.—you trying to buy her a blood pressure monitor from here?”

“My mom has her own private doctor. She doesn’t need me to buy anything.”

“Then who’s it for?”

“A friend’s mother. Ugh, can you not ask so many questions?”

“A high-flying CEO like you, dealing with tens of millions every second, actually going out of your way for a friend’s mom? Is there romance in the air?” Lin Yan suddenly pried, sounding nosy.

“……” Tang He paused for a second. “You pervert. It’s my friend’s mom, what romance are you talking about?”

“……” Lin Yan rubbed his temples. Who’s the pervert here, seriously? “I meant you and your friend—that something’s happening between the two of you. Who said anything about his mom?”

“Ohhh,” so he meant me and Bunny. “That’s still not right. My friend’s a guy. Who’s getting into a relationship with him?” Tang He shouted again.

“Okay, okay, forget I asked,” Lin Yan replied. So defensive… definitely something going on. But… a guy? That’s… an unexpected twist.

***

In the end, Tang He didn’t get a proper recommendation for the blood pressure monitor. Dr. Lin Yan said all those electronic ones were more or less the same — just pick one that came with after-sales support and scheduled calibration services.

Tang He hung up the call, flipped through the catalog again, and sighed.

In the end, he went with his usual decision-making method: picked the most expensive one. What a waste of a chaotic morning. His time was worth millions per second!

It wasn’t until Du Jianyou got a call from his mother that he learned Tang He had already handled everything regarding the blood pressure monitor. He even personally brought the sales rep to their house, taught Auntie Du and Uncle Ke how to operate the device, and linked it to Du Jianyou’s phone account.

“Xiao You, that Little Tang is such a nice person. In just a couple of days, he already got the blood pressure monitor. You really should thank him properly. Oh, and don’t forget to pay him back for the device — it doesn’t look cheap. But really, it’s not even about the money. What matters is that he had the heart to do all this. He spent the whole afternoon here with the rep, patiently helping us learn. Not once did he act annoyed. He even left his number and said that if you’re too busy, we could call him if anything urgent comes up…” Auntie Du kept on rambling fondly.

Meanwhile, Du Jianyou was so stunned he didn’t even know how to react. Busy? Who could possibly be busier than President Tang?

“Mama, don’t really call him, okay? He’s a super busy CEO, probably a million times busier than I am. He was just being polite — don’t take it seriously,” Du Jianyou quickly reminded her.

“I know, I know. I don’t even like bothering you. You think I’d bother him?” Mama Du snapped back, not amused.

“Hey, how is it a bother when it’s me? See, you don’t love me anymore. Not only do you never call when something’s wrong, you even think I’m annoying when I call you first.” Du Jianyou slipped into his usual act, whining and teasing until his mother’s mood improved again. She scolded him playfully a few more times before finally hanging up.

After ending the call, he looked at the blood pressure readings his mother had sent him through the app — she’d measured them specially just for him.

Du Jianyou felt relieved and grateful.

Ge, thank you for being so good to me.

Lately, it had almost always been Du Jianyou initiating contact with Tang He. Whether it was messages, phone calls, or asking to meet up for meals — Tang He had been the passive one in their interactions. That was very unlike his usual habit of taking the lead. Then again, it’s not like he had any intention of pursuing Du Jianyou anyway.

That said, Du Jianyou’s messages were becoming increasingly frequent. Every morning when Tang He opened his eyes, he’d see a “good morning” waiting for him. Every night before sleeping, there would be a “good night” too.

When he saw a flower swaying in the morning sunlight, a lazy cat sunbathing on a wall, a silly dog pooping in the middle of the road, radiant clouds at the edge of the sky, or the setting sun over the bridge — Du Jianyou would immediately take a photo and send it to Tang He, wanting to share every touching, funny, and beautiful moment.

And often, he would throw in cheesy little messages like:
“Ge, I miss you.”
“Ge, I really like you.”

The kind of cringe Du Jianyou was uniquely capable of.

If it had been anyone else sending these kinds of messages, Tang He would’ve blocked them immediately. But coming from Bunny? Somehow, it felt like those words were meant to come from him. Anyone else saying them would’ve been the weird part.

Throughout the day, almost every time Tang He glanced at his phone, chances were he’d see a message from Du Jianyou.

Tang He would often smile and tell him, “You’re so noisy in person, but somehow, when I don’t see you, you’ve made my phone even noisier.”

Du Jianyou would pout and say, “So you do find me annoying.”

“I don’t, I don’t… I put my phone on vibrate.”

And from that point on, Tang He’s phone practically became a vibrating device, buzzing nonstop in his pocket.

Fridays had gradually become Du Jianyou’s designated dinner day with him. At first, Tang He often had work dinners or social engagements, so Du Jianyou would patiently wait until those ended and then suggest they go to Moonlight Bar for a chat to unwind after a stressful week.
Eventually, Tang He stopped scheduling Friday engagements altogether — reserving that day just for Du Jianyou.

Later on, aside from dinners, Du Jianyou would even drag Tang He to his studio to check on work progress.

The first time it happened, when the team heard that their big client’s boss was coming, everyone — the staff, the models — didn’t know whether to sit or stand, and all scattered like frightened birds. In the end, only an angry Du Jianyou and an amused Tang He were left in the studio, staring at each other across the room.

After that, Tang He didn’t dare “inspect” the studio anymore.
Now, he’d just pick Du Jianyou up and leave right away.

Why was Du Jianyou angry? Because his own employees failed to live up to the moment.
He’d planned to show off in front of Tang He a bit, prove he had good management skills. But these useless fools…Come on, it was just the president of Guangsheng Group dropping by!
What was there to be scared of?

Why don’t they tremble when they see me?
They’re always joking and slacking in front of me, their actual boss. Aren’t they always so cocky? Clearly, they don’t respect me one bit. Just wait till I come back — I’ll skin you alive and we’ll see if you still tremble!

Du Jianyou furiously glared at the last assistant director fleeing the scene. He pointed his orchid fingers dramatically at their back, pretending to stab them from afar as if it could pierce their head. Muttering bitterly under his breath the whole time.

Tang He pursed his lips and turned away, doing his best not to laugh at this ridiculous act.

Sometimes, under the excuse of “seeking inspiration,” Du Jianyou would also ask Tang He to drive him around in his luxury car.
Of course, all the locations he asked to visit happened to be properties Guangsheng Group had invested in — some completed, some still under construction, and others in their natural, undeveloped state.

These sites, each in a different stage of development, always sparked new ideas for Du Jianyou. And in truth, they really did bring fresh inspiration.

Since the reasoning was solid and professional, Tang He never refused his requests. He said, “It’s work-related.”

Du Jianyou was thrilled.

But Su An — oh, she was fuming.

Because her boss was slacking off with someone, she hadn’t gotten off work on time in ages.

And today was Friday again.

That morning was the bi-monthly executive meeting at the Guangsheng Group. Every two months, all department heads reported on their division’s performance.

As president, Tang He gave the opening summary on general operations over the past two months. Then it was Su An’s and the others’ turns to present revenue breakdowns and profit-loss details.

Usually, Tang He listened attentively to every report. But today, he was completely distracted.

By the time he pulled out his phone and grinned at the screen for the eighth time, the final manager had just finished their report.

That young manager sat down with sweat pouring down his back, having faced a president clearly not paying the slightest attention.

Meanwhile, Su An was livid. She shot Tang He a look that could kill, then coldly announced the meeting’s adjournment on his behalf.

After the meeting, Su An followed him back to the CEO’s office with an expression as dark as a storm cloud.

Right then, Tang He had just received a message from Du Jianyou:
“Wanna check out that beautiful site you mentioned this afternoon? We can grab dinner after?”

Just reading it made President Tang beam from ear to ear.

But when he turned around and saw Su An standing silently behind him like a ghost in a horror film…

He nearly dropped his phone from fright.

Half a life lost.

“What are you doing?! Hiding behind people and scaring them like that?” Whether it was because he’d spent too much time with Du Jianyou or not, Tang He actually patted his chest just like him, trying to calm himself down.

“I’m the one scaring people? You should look in a mirror! That creepy grin of yours just now was terrifying. Are you really still Tang He?” Su An looked at him in disgust.

“Really? Was I smiling?” Tang He tried to fix his expression, but the smile tugging at his lips just wouldn’t go away.

“Forget it, forget it—just let it out. You look like you’re about to have a stroke.” Su An gave up on trying to “treat” him.

Tang He looked at the exasperated Su An, about to tell her that he had “business matters” to handle with Du Jianyou again this afternoon, when Su An beat him to it.

“President Tang, what’s going on between you and Director Du lately?”

“Huh? What do you mean ‘what’s going on’?” Tang He was completely baffled.

Seeing him either play dumb or genuinely clueless, Su An dropped the subtlety and got straight to the point.

“I’m asking you what’s going on with you and Du Jianyou lately. You two have been getting really close—are you two involved?”  She wasn’t even sure if she was using the right word, since she’d spent so many years abroad.

Tang He had just brought a cup of tea to his lips for a sip when her words almost made him spit it out.

“Cough cough—hey, you’re a lady, can’t you be a bit more refined when you speak? Don’t just throw around words if you’re not sure what they mean. That word ‘involved’—I mean, it—it….”

He flailed his hands trying to explain but gave up halfway. With a shake of his sleeve, he decided to let it go with some dignity.

Su An eyed her boss, flustered and red-faced, with deep suspicion. She wasn’t giving up that easily.

“Then you tell me. The two of you exchange texts and calls all day, for business, for private things, it never stops. Do you know how many dinner appointments I’ve canceled for you just so you could go eat with him? And those were prime networking slots, President Tang! Since when did you start putting pleasure before profit? Unless…”

She trailed off meaningfully.

“Unless what?” Tang He eyed her warily. If she spouted one more indecent phrase, he was really going to hire her a proper Mandarin tutor.

“Unless he’s the one in your heart.” Oho—“the one in your heart”? Where on earth did she learn that phrase from? Tang He cringed at how disgustingly cheesy it sounded.

“Who’s in whose heart?” Tang He lowered his head to check his phone. Du Jianyou had just sent a silly selfie making a ghost face.

Su An saw how distracted he was, and her anger surged again. Tang He had always been someone extremely focused on his work. Now, thanks to Du Jianyou, it was like half his soul had floated away.

Had she known this would happen, she would’ve never arranged for them to meet in the first place. She glared at her boss, who was once again grinning like a fool, then suddenly snatched the phone out of his hand. Pointing at the ghost-faced selfie on the screen, she snapped furiously:

“I knew it—Du Jianyou is the one in your heart. You’ve fallen in love with him, haven’t you?!”

“Huh? Wahahahaha…” Tang He froze for a second—then burst into laughter, uncontrollably.

He pointed at Su An as if she had just told the most absurd joke in the world.

“Me? Fall in love with Du Jianyou? Are you serious? He’s a man!” Tang He laughed so hard he was gasping for breath as he replied.

“I asked, ‘Did you fall in love with Du Jianyou?’ I didn’t ask *‘Is he a man?’” Su An precisely pointed out the issue Tang He was subconsciously trying to avoid.

“Your question contradicts itself! That’s not even politically correct—how am I supposed to answer that? You’ve known me since day one—don’t you know I can’t go without women? How could I possibly fall in love with a man? I won’t fall for a man!” Tang He covered his awkwardness by throwing back questions and repeating himself, as if afraid Su An wouldn’t understand human language.

“I get it, you won’t fall in love with a man.” You’re just falling for Du Jianyou, she thought—but was smart enough not to say that part aloud. She wanted to see for herself how this man—who had always played the field, treated love like a game, claimed he couldn’t survive without women, yet had dismissed every bed partner and hadn’t touched a woman in over half a year—was going to dig his own grave.

She suddenly gave Tang He a dazzling smile and said sweetly, “Don’t you have an appointment? Go on! I’ll hold down the fort here. Don’t worry, President Tang. Take care now.” Then she gave him a meaningful look.

Tang He was baffled by Su An’s sudden good mood and gentle tone. He figured she must’ve just been too exhausted lately, hence the strange behavior.

Sigh. He made a mental note to reward her more generously when year-end bonuses rolled around.

(To be continued…)