Extremely stupid or extremely dense

"Get out."

The head of the planning department stilled. He was in the middle of reporting to the CEO regarding his difficulty handling the new project when he was interrupted by him. "Pardon, CEO Fei?" He stared at his boss ignorantly.

"I said get out!" His face was as cool as ice but his ears were as red as an apple. The atmosphere in the office was thick and heavy, almost suffocating. If there was anything Fei Huangjin hated more than dumb people, it was dumb people who were incapable with their job. He could feel a slight ache on his temples at the moment. He lifted his hands to massage them and made a mental note to demote this employee if he continued to be incapable of something so simple as handling a project. He began to wonder why he was promoted to that position in the first place.

The manager trembled and bowed twice. "Yes, CEO Fei. I apologize, CEO Fei."

"Don't show your face to me until you've handled everything."

The manager rushed out of the office like a deer being chased by a lion.

It wasn't even noon time yet but Fei Huangjin was already at the edge of his seat. These stupid managers and executives should be fired, but he had a three-strike rule to be fair. He sighed and pinched the space between his brows.

A hesitant knock could be heard and he sighed again. "Come in."

A head poked out from behind the door before scurrying over in front of his desk. "Brother Huang…"

"What do you want, Haocheng?" The man in a gray suit with a pink shirt underneath looked a lot like Fei Huangjin. Fei Haocheng was only two years younger than his brother. He had longer hair, and much to the irritation of the elders of the Fei family, had a piercing on his left ear.

In front of Fei Huangjin, he appeared hesitant to say anything. He hated talking to his brother when he was in a bad mood, because that only meant he was going to get fried by brother Huang, too. However, he really had to ask this favor. "Brother Huang… can I ask for a 3-day leave? No! 2 days! Just 2 days of leave!" He put on the best puppy dog look he could muster and approached the desk with much earnest. He was Fei Huangjin's younger brother after all. Surely, he would grant him this one request? "You see, Lina is on vacation from her movie, and I would like to go with her and ask her to be my girlfriend…"

Fei Huangjin's headache worsened. Fei Haocheng was a very capable external vice president at Fei International, but at times he can also be incredibly immature and childish. He started counting in his head to cool himself down. 1… 2… 3… 4… 5… 6…

Although Haocheng knew his brother would be irked by this, he really wanted to ask this favor. He was 26 and had never had a girlfriend. For some reason, the ladies preferred his older brother to him -- even if Fei Huangjin would never spare them a glance. "Pleeeease, brother!"

Fei Huangjin didn't even get to count to ten before he saw red. "Haocheng."

"Yes, brother Huang?"

"I am not sure if you are extremely stupid or extremely dense. You've asked that woman to be your girlfriend twice and she still hasn't accepted. Doesn't that tell you anything?" He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and smack his younger brother in the head.

Haocheng thought for a moment and snapped his fingers. "Oh yes! That tells me the third time might be the charm! She will surely accept me this time!"

He sighed. His brother was not one or the other. He was both extremely stupid and dense. "She won't accept you even if you asked her ten times. Go back to your office, Haocheng."

"But brother…" Haocheng started to wail and kneeled before Fei Huang's desk. "Please brother, please, please!"

"No."

Haocheng wailed again. This was not fair. He worked hard for his brother and he would not grant him this one request. Why did his brother have zero EQ?

"Don't test me, Haocheng. Go back to your office." He dismissed him without another glance. Fei Huangjin pulled a document from the pile on his desk and started reading it. He did not have time to listen to his brother's romantic ventures.

Haocheng stood up and pouted. "Aiyaaa, you are so mean to me sometimes, bro Huang."

Fei Huangjin gave him a look that could freeze a mountain.

"Alright, alright, going back to work now." His brother scurried to the door mumbling. "I'm sorry my Lina, I will ask you on your next vacation because my brother is so stubborn…"

The door shut with a gentle click. Haocheng may have acted like a child, but he did not hold grudges and would never stay mad at Huangjin more than a day. He also never slammed the door on him. It was Huangjin, after all, who always defended Haocheng when he got bullied as a kid and even saved his life when they were just teenagers.

Fei Huangjin hoped that the next person to knock on his door wouldn't add to his headache.

Two soft knocks signaled the entry of a woman in a pale pink pencil skirt and white blouse. Her walk was hurried but her hips held a confident sway in them.

She had a delicate face framed in jet-black straight hair, parted slightly at the left. She usually held her hair in a bun or a ponytail at the office, but today, it was tumbling down all the way to her waist.

Finally, someone he can rely on to do her work.