Chapter Five
Leng Zheng thought of himself as a good assistant. He was punctual and wise. And when paired with Boss Lu, the two of them work efficiently and in sync. Despite Boss Lu's work-shy personality.
Outside of being his assistant, Leng Zheng was also Boss Lu's friend. And he was proud to say that he was one of the only people who knew Boss Lu the best. But even then, Leng Zheng could only know so much. He knew Boss Lu's personality, his ticks, and pet peeves. But when it came to what Boss Lu is thinking, he wouldn't know.
To him, Boss Lu was an enigma. He could try all of his life trying his best to find out more about him, test him, and see who he is. But even if he dedicates his whole life to studying him, Leng Zhang could tell that there would still be new things to learn.
Leng Zheng knew about Boss Lu's sleep problems. How could he not? Although Boss Lu wore make-up to try his best to cover the bag under his eyes, Leng Zheng had to wake up Boss Lu in the morning. There were countless times he had walked into Boss Lu's room and spotted his friend's exhausted face. He was worried, but he could ask him what was wrong.
When he heard Boss Lu's scream in that car the first thought in his mind was to get away. His second was to protect his boss. His life flashed before his eyes. He thought of his family, his mother, and his father. Both of them were so proud of him for getting into University A, imagine how excited they were when he got such a good-paying job. His parents invited all of his relatives to celebrate.
He thought of the first time he met Lu Jiang. They had already been going to school for a while. And after classes one day, Leng Zheng had been doing his duties as a member of the student council. When he saw a student squatting in front of a vending machine, with his arm squeezing through the flab at the bottom.
"Hey! What are you-?" He called out to the man. But before Leng Zheng could finish, the other man whacked the inside of the glass panel with a 'Slam! Slam!' And right in front of his eyes, Leng Zheng watched as piles of goods fell past the student's hand and to the bottom of the vending machine.
Leng Zheng was amazed, but he was more surprised when the man turned his face towards him. Leng Zheng recognized him instantly. Wasn't this the famous young boss of the Lu family!? Why was such a prestigious guy digging in a vending machine?!
The famous cold Lu Jiang turned towards him with a straight face. His eyes were dull as he said to him, "Is there something wrong?" Leng Zheng was surprised by the question. What do you mean 'is there something wrong' you're currently squatting on the floor digging through the goods you've just stolen!
"Hey! You can't do that!" Leng Zheng speed-walked towards the squatting man and swiped the bag Lu Jiang was holding. "You can't do this, it's stealing!" Lu Jiang's eyes glowered and his mouth turned into a frown. He snagged the bag back from Leng Zheng and said to him, "You dare, do you know who I am?"
A tick mark found itself onto Leng Zheng's forehead as he felt his veins bulge. "Bastard! Who cares who you are? Stealing is stealing! No matter who. And why would you even need to steal! You're rich!" Lu Jiang raised his eyebrow at the righteous Leng Zheng. And without a care, he picked up his goods and held them by using his shirt as a basket and then walked away.
The furious Leng Zheng trembled in anger as he watched Li Jiang's back walk farther and farther away. That was the first time Leng Zheng spoke to Lu Jiang, but it wasn't the last. He was later paired with him during a group project. And instead of working together, Leng Zheng just had to watch as Lu Jiang finished all the work in an hour. Leng Zheng was furious. Perhaps it was because Lu Jiang was too perfect. Everyone saw him as a handsome young boss who could do everything. But Leng Zheng saw him as a person who thought that he was above everyone because of his talents. Leng Zheng couldn't stand him.
It was until Leng Zheng met Lu Jiang on the street one day that his opinion of him changed. Lu Jiang was wearing a mask to cover his face, but Leng Zheng was able to recognize him easily. It's not every day that you would see someone so good-looking. But what was more surprising was how Lu Jiang was acting. Gone was the cold and capable man from before. All that Leng Zheng saw in front of him was a child. A lost child.
Lu Jiang was lost at that time. He stood in the middle of the market standing out like a sore thumb. Apparently, he was with his 'friends' and ended up getting lost in the crowd. Leng Zheng didn't point out the lie right away. Of course, he knew that there were no friends. They were his bodyguards. He didn't really know about getting lost in the crowd part. But if it was the current Leng Zheng, he knew that it wasn't the crowd, but instead, Lu Jiang walked off by himself and ended up getting lost. Mr. Leng knew his Boss has a terrible sense of direction when he's by himself. Mr. Leng has had to deal with many similar situations before.
Leng Zheng had helped him back then. He brought him back to his supposed 'friends' and didn't accept any reward from them. He told them to keep their money, and that he was only helping because he thought it was right.
When the both of them went back to school Leng Zheng wasn't planning on mentioning anything. Although he was confused. He wondered why he acted so differently at school than when they met outside but it wasn't any of his business.
And without Leng Zheng knowing, he had warmed up to Lu Jiang. Over their time together, and their coincidental meetings they both grew to know each other. Lu Jiang's personality became looser and looser. And along with it, Leng Zheng's disappointment in his boss became higher and higher.
He watched as Lu Jiang found someone to love. And he also watched as that same guy fake his way into that woman's heart. He had been with Lu Jiang for so long, it's already been almost sixteen years. He was getting older, and seeing his boss being in a relationship reminded him of his own. And the fact that he was thirty-six years old and had never been in a relationship.
Not to mention that he was still a virgin...
-
Boss Lu doesn't remember his dreams. He knows he has them, but he never remembers any of them. He doesn't mind, it's not like he wants to remember them. Because he already knows what they are. He is data. Data compiled into a program meant to fulfill an action. So all of his dreams shouldn't even be real ones. Just his memory holder processing the information it gained throughout the day.
There were times where he had to remember experiencing dreams. There were times where according to the plot of the story he was in, he would have nightmares, wet dreams, and predictive dreams. But they were never his own. Just a scene in the story.
This time wasn't any different. His body seemed to float mindlessly in an empty space. His mind was black, and all of the sounds outside this space never made sense to him. Whether it did or not wouldn't matter, once he wakes up he wouldn't remember anything.
Boss Lu has always been a light sleeper. He was never able to relax enough for him to fall into a deep sleep. So when the click of the lock resounded throughout the room his consciousness was pulled from the dark space.
He found it hard to open his eyes, they were too heavy. He felt the uncomfortable tubes in his nose and the numbing feeling around his body. He didn't struggle and instead listened to the presence in the room.
The person walked closer to his bed and was doing something. Boss Lu still couldn't move well and instead listened to the person's breathing. He tried to move his arm and open his eyes. His eyes cracked open and his eyelashes fluttered slightly. The first sight he saw was the glint of light that shone in his eye. He raised his arm to cover the beam, but when he saw the scenery around him Boss Lu's heart almost jumped out of his throat. The blade rushing directly towards him aiming straight for his chest definitely was a new wake-up call.
Out of shock, Boss Lu moved his elbow to drag himself in an attempt to run away. But instead, the IV on his hand was pulled strongly. The tubing line was stretched and the carrier holding the bag tipped.
Boss Lu laid as still as dead fish as the IV pump carrier fell straight onto the stranger's head with a 'bonk'.
"..."
"..."
It was still for a moment. Both the stranger and Boss Lu didn't move. The blade in the man's hands stilled to a stop. Once Boss Lu saw that he took the chance to run away. But right as he was about to fall off the bed, the stranger grabbed him by the wrist. Boss Lu looked back at the man and made desperate eye contact with him.
Mister! Please spare this old man, I'm only trying to live!
Boss Lu looked into the man's deep eyes and felt extremely intimidated. Was this how that trangmigrator looked up close? So pale! His eyes look so dull! Is he a zombie?!
Bai Mo looked at the supposed problematic rouge program with a sullen look. This guy...is his fighting power perhaps zero? Wasn't he supposed to be dangerous?
Bai Mo raised the blade again and tried to lodge it in between Boss Lu's eyes. Boss Lu's eyes widened as he tilted his body back in an attempt to dodge. But along with his body, the IV tube connected to his free wrist was also pulled along. And the carrier at Bai Mo's free lifted up and hit him in the back of his knees. Causing his knees to buckle and fall.
Boss Lu saw this chance and took the time to strike. He promptly pushed the man over and onto his back. He kicked the blade away and held the man's arms down. Boss Lu wanted to rejoice and thank the systems for making him a protagonist. Naturally, his body was more lean and flexible. He was quite tall, and although the man in front of him was also pretty lofty, Boss Lu was only a couple centimeters behind.