I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

Qi Yunche muttered to himself, not entirely convinced.

Qi Shiyan, standing to the side, was furious. He took two deep breaths before suppressing his anger and asked, "Do you know who it is?"

"Who is it? Are you telling me they're from the Lu family?" Mother Qi poked his chest and said seriously, "Even if they are from the Lu family, so what? A fallen phoenix is ​​no better than a chicken. You, a cadre from Beichen, are no less capable than anyone else!"

After saying that, she crossed her arms and said, "Besides, I asked Qingxuan about it. His Lu family member is seriously implicated. He not only comes from the countryside, but he is also from a distant branch of the family. He is not a real member of the Lu family at all."

Qi Shiyan frowned and said, "I think you're judging him by a narrow eye. Do you even know who he really is?"

"Who?"

Qi's mother crossed her arms, still looking disdainful.

Chen Ya is not very old, what achievements could he possibly have? Even if he has a very prominent relative, it wouldn't surprise her much.

Qi Shiyan turned to look at Qi Yunche, pointed at her and said, "Don't tell anyone about his identity."

"Huh? What's wrong? What's wrong with his real identity?" Qi Yunche didn't understand. What real identity could Chen Ya have, and what couldn't he tell others?

“There’s a courtyard house next door to our house,” Qi Shiyan said, taking a sip of water. “That’s his.”

Qi Yunche didn't understand for a moment: "Which courtyard house?"

Qi Shiyan glared and pointed in the direction of his home: "That Qian Yuan! Don't you always brag about him to people?"

"Qian Academy?" Qi Yunche thought for a moment before his mind finally caught up, and he suddenly covered his mouth.

"The founder of Beichen?"

Qi's mother looked on incredulously: "What founder of Beichen? The founder of Beichen is his father? His mother?"

"He is the founder of Beichen himself!" Qi Shiyan raised his voice slightly. "He is the founder, CEO, and controller of Beichen. He can veto all of Beichen's strategic plans and personnel changes. The board of directors cannot convene without him. Is that clear enough?"

Qi Yunche's eyes were round and darting around.

The information she just received was so outrageous that it left her frozen in place, like a snake that had swallowed an ostrich egg, suffering from indigestion.

Mother Qi glared at him and said, "Old Qi, are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?"

Qi Shiyan rolled his eyes at her: "I am Beichen's, my highest leader. How could I possibly mistake him?"

"Chen Ya is the founder of Beichen?..."

Qi Yunche muttered to himself.

Memories of conversations with Chen Ya kept coming back.

"No wonder he was fiddling with something at the neighbor's door at night; it turns out that's his house..."

The girl was momentarily lost in thought.

Then, she suddenly recalled the times she had boasted to him about how the founder of Beichen lived next door.

Qi Yunche suddenly blushed and buried his head behind the car seat.

So embarrassing.

How am I supposed to get along with Chen Ya from now on?!

……

……

Lu Qingxuan sat in the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt.

Chen Ya looked in the rearview mirror, and she remained silent.

Silence fell over the car for a moment.

It wasn't that Lu Qingxuan's relationship with him was tense; it was mainly that she didn't know how to bring it up.

She discovered a problem: the more time she spent with Chen Ya, the more suspicious she found about him.

When they were soaking in the hot springs earlier, she said that Chen Ya had a mysterious aura, which girls would probably like. Although she repeatedly emphasized that she was not a superficial girl, in reality, she wasn't that profound either.

The more curious a person is, the more fascinated they become by this kind of charisma, which is actually quite normal, isn't it?

For some reason, Qi Yunche had told her that when she held hands with Chen Ya, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest, a feeling that came out of nowhere.

She always regarded Chen Ya as a relatively good partner, or a colleague or relative.

She rarely even acknowledged him as her friend. Her standards for friendship were extremely high; everyone who became her friend was cool and stylish, and Chen Ya clearly didn't meet those criteria.

Therefore, it's a bit unreasonable for her to be jealous of Chen Ya and Qi Yunche's good relationship.

After much reflection, Lu Qingxuan finally realized—yes, I've finally figured out my relationship with Chen Ya.

We should have a master-servant relationship.

If Lu Qingxuan is the shepherd on the mountaintop, then Chen Ya should be the majestic sheepdog, a good helper, a good partner, and a good friend.

If her majestic sheepdog runs off with someone else, she will not only feel jealous, but also very angry.

Because a majestic sheepdog should only have one owner. That's her.

That makes sense.

After re-evaluating their relationship, Lu Qingxuan finally found a way to speak. With her arms crossed, she coldly asked, "So, how did you manage to save Yun Che?"

"Just like that, we got it back without much trouble." Chen Ya was still fiddling with the rearview mirror.

Lu Qingxuan fiddled with her hair and said, "I can see that from the time it took you to leave to the time it took you to return, it really shows that you didn't spend much time."

After saying that, the two fell silent again.

Then, Lu Qingxuan added, "So, the kidnappers were just too unprofessional?"

"Yes, they are a bit lame."

“That’s too much.” Lu Qingxuan repeated, then added proudly, “But you’re pretty good too. Most people would be scared out of their wits in this situation.”

She brushed her hair aside and said softly, "You were so calm back then."

"Oh," Chen Ya said.

Lu Qingxuan didn't want to talk to him anymore.

Chapter 252 Let me know if you're dating

Lu Qingxuan said irritably, "I praised you for being calm, and this is your reaction?"

"Doesn't this make me seem calmer?"

Lu Qingxuan was so angry that she crossed her arms and didn't say anything for a long time. Chen Ya started the car and drove quite a distance before she finally said, "Qi Yunche said you held hands with her. Are you two dating?"

"Huh?" This was an unexpected topic for Chen Ya, and he almost slammed on the brakes.

Seeing his surprised expression, Lu Qingxuan felt a little more at ease, but she still continued to probe him:

"Don't pretend. You took advantage of my best friend being kidnapped and panicking to grab her hand, right? You're such a Casanova, what's there to pretend about?"

"No? I didn't hold her hand intentionally. It was probably by accident."

"Stop pretending. They held hands, that's all. I won't say anything. After all, I'm just Yun Che's best friend, not her mother."

Chen Ya shook his head, both amused and exasperated: "Really, no."

After he finished explaining, he didn't even know why he needed to explain to her.

Lu Qingxuan was actually very happy, but her expression was sour: "Really? Then if you two are really planning to talk someday, you should let me know."

Chen Ya turned to look at her: "Why?"

"Don't look at me, watch where you're going."

"Why?" Chen Ya asked, looking at the road ahead.

“After all, she’s my best friend. If you two were talking, I would definitely feel a little uncomfortable and somewhat awkward,” Lu Qingxuan said. “Just let me know so I can prepare myself mentally.”

"Oh," Chen Ya said.

After hearing this, Lu Qingxuan's face darkened slightly: "So you mean it's really possible for you two to talk?"

"No, now that you mention it, I'm just agreeing. Actually, your best friend isn't my type."

Lu Qingxuan objected: "Yun Che is so handsome, isn't he a better match for you? What do you find wrong with him?"

Chen Ya: "..."

This woman is such a pain in the ass.

……

……

The next day was the last day of December, which was also the last day of the year. As per their agreement, Chen Ya and Xia You planned to spend it together.

As soon as he woke up in the morning, Lu Qianzi invited him to spend time with her family. After he declined, Qi Yunche called again.

"I'm so sorry about yesterday, I caused you so much trouble." Qi Yunche used polite language from the very beginning, sounding even more like a Japanese person than Ruriko.

Chen Ya replied politely, "It's nothing, I had a lot of fun yesterday."

“I probably won’t be happy anymore,” the little girl said, her voice sounding aggrieved. “I’m grounded and can’t go anywhere. I might have to stay at home for the next two months.”

"Please allow me to say goodbye," Chen Ya said. "However, it shouldn't take two months, less than a month, before you can go out."

"Really? How did you know?" Qi Yunche had just asked the question when he realized he had asked the wrong question.

He's the founder of Beichen. He said he'd be able to go out again in less than a month, which means he can eliminate his business competitors in a month?

Thinking of this, Qi Yunche suddenly felt the other party's domineering aura and couldn't help but tremble.

"Um, may I invite you to my house for a visit?" Qi Yunche asked. "I didn't get a chance to properly thank you last night, so I'll treat you to a family dinner."

“Sure, but I don’t have time today,” Chen Ya said. “I’ll probably be very busy for a while.”

Qi Yunche's voice was incredibly humble: "Then it depends on your schedule, I'm fine with anything."

After saying that, the girl seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, isn't your house right next door? Why don't you come back to live here?"

Chen Ya said with a smile, "I'm not used to living here. It's too big, and it's not very convenient to do anything."

Qi Yunche quickly said, "That will only be comfortable to live in after it undergoes modernization. The procedures for renovation are very complicated now, but I know someone who has connections to get it approved. Do you need my help?"

Chen Ya could obtain the modification permit himself, but the people he knew were all too high-ranking. Dealing with this kind of thing would be like using a cannon to kill a mosquito. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "Then I'll have to ask for your help."

Qi Yunche never expected that he would be able to help the founder of Beichen. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his voice trembled like an oscilloscope as he whispered, "Then, then I'll help you. I'll call you when the program is running smoothly."

"Row."

Just after I hung up the phone, my aunt's fiancé, Wei Mingzhe, called again.

"Hey, Xiaoya, I've really lost my job."

He spoke of the topic seriously, but his tone was quite relaxed. He didn't seem to be suffering from the pain of mid-life unemployment; in fact, he seemed quite relieved.

Chen Ya was a little surprised: "Unemployed? You got fired?"

“I fired my boss,” Wei Mingzhe said with a laugh. “That old man Bi Deng was always giving me a hard time in the workplace, so I just ripped off my employee badge and threw it in his face. I quit.”

Chen Ya asked, "How many years did you work at that company?"

"8."

"If we lose out, does that mean we won't get N+2?"

After working for 8 years, if the company fires him, he will have to pay 10 months' salary as compensation, which would amount to over 100,000 yuan in a lump sum.

Wei Mingzhe said, "They can't fire me. For the past two years, they've been subjecting me to workplace bullying and making things difficult for me every day. They just want me to leave on my own. I've been clinging to this for two years, and I've finally come to terms with it. Looking back now, I realize that these two years have been a complete waste of my life."

"You did the right thing," Chen Ya nodded approvingly. These kinds of things require decisive action; staying another day would be a waste.

Wei Mingzhe said, "I was the first employee of this company. I followed the boss through the early stages of the business. My education level is not high, and my resume is not outstanding."

"Later, the company caught the wave and took off, and the people they recruited became more and more capable. As a result, I became less and less favored by the boss. He often said to me, 'If it weren't for the fact that your employee number is meaningful, I would have fired you long ago.'"

Chen Ya felt annoyed upon hearing this and said, "This is a typical example of workplace PUA."

“Yes, but I didn’t know that at the time. I just thought I wasn’t strong enough,” Wei Mingzhe said. “So I worked hard to improve myself. In addition to working ten hours a day, I also watched videos and took notes.”

"It wasn't until five years later, when a new employee whom the CTO had been boasting about showed off his skills in front of me, that I realized it wasn't that I was incompetent, but that they were incompetent."

Chen Ya wanted to laugh, and asked, "And then?"

"Later, I met your aunt, and I went to have a heart-to-heart talk with the boss. I told him that I was about to get married, and with my current salary, I would basically never be able to buy a house in Beijing in my lifetime. The new employees were earning two or three times my salary. I asked if he could give me a raise. Guess what he said?"