The errand boy

...Someone's gentle arms gently embraced him as he trustingly basked in the warm embrace. A feeling of immense happiness and fullness filled his heart. Beautiful lips said something to him, but as usual, he could not make out the words. It was as if the man had made him a promise, and then he turned to leave.

Ling rushed to him and reached out his hand to grab and hold him, but his fingertips only managed to touch the silk of his long blond hair, which shone like gold in the sunset.

There was complete silence in the office, next to the CEO's office.

"Somebody wake up Secretary Shi," the young female employees whispered, treading softly on the carpet.

"He's worn himself out, I hear he's in debt for his studies."

The door to the study slammed loudly, and a man with a suit in his hands rushed past. His brisk footsteps made the furniture shake slightly, disturbing the harmony.

Shi Ling woke up. He was sitting at his desk, propping his head up with his hand.

He was startled and immediately got up. It looked like tailor Xu had arrived.

The young man straightened his crumpled jacket and glasses, flashed his eyes the color of an autumn sky, and frowned. That dream again... He had not slept through the night either, and now he was falling asleep on the move.

While the secretary was gathering documents on the desk, the girls in the office were looking at him and whispering with a smile.

The young, handsome, and intelligent Shi Ling always intrigued his colleagues, but he was so modest and reserved that no one could even hold his hand.

The slender, taller-than-average secretary took control of his chaotic thoughts and made his way to the office to help his boss if needed.

His thick hair curled slightly, exposing a blond and slender back of his head that he wanted to touch.

From inside the office, I heard the boss's determined voice.

"That's enough!"

Jiang Wei shifted his gaze from his shiny socks to the panoramic view outside the window. The day was drawing to dusk, and his office windows offered an incredible view of the cloudy cities. The sun was setting inexorably, approaching the annual reception for the CEO.

The guest of honor stared out the window and grumbled that these receptions were a waste of his precious time.

An elite tailor was bustling around him. The older man looked tense: drops of sweat glistened on his forehead and cheeks. Nervously fumbling with his hand in his pocket, he pulled out a centimeter.

"Sir, allow me," he measured the volume of his chest again and frowned more than before.

"What is it again? You're darker than a cloud..." commented Jiang Wei.

The tailor was silent, obviously doing his complicated calculations in his mind. The suit didn't fit as perfectly as he had calculated. But why?

"Let's finish it," the bored man commanded dejectedly.

"Mr. Jiang, is it possible that you have lost weight in the last two weeks?" mumbled the half-sounding tailor, again covered in beads of sweat.

"Ah, that's..." was all Jiang Wei said.

Li Guang told him he was getting married. Of course, he had lost weight. Although this scumbag sometimes acted like a normal person, the rest of the time he was fond of tormenting the people around him.

Loving him was a trial and a punishment. It was not in vain that he was advised to be examined by a psychiatrist. Guang's wild pranks raised reasonable doubts in people about the adequacy of the one who did them.

Yet the brat had a soft spot for Jiang Wei. Maybe because their influence and capitals were roughly equal, maybe because Wei's ruthless character did not allow himself to be mistreated, so their tender and ambiguous friendship lasted for years.

As soon as the tailor left, Jiang Wei sat down in his favorite chair, threw his leg over his leg, and quickly opened Li Guang's page.

Not that Jiang Wei was a masochist, but he took a painful pleasure in being convinced over and over again that he had been mercilessly betrayed.

[The famous businessman and philanthropist Li Guang became engaged to the only daughter and heiress of the N. Corporation... The ceremony took place in the central hall... The festivities included performances by famous bands such as... It was announced that the wedding would take place at the end of August after the two corporations had prepared everything for the merger procedure...]

"Shameless creature!" growled the man.

Not only had Li Guang betrayed his feelings, but he had also crossed paths in business. Jiang Wei had been negotiating with the owner of the N Corporation, which was preparing to merge, for almost six months. All was going well until the old geezer hinted that the company and his daughter were going two for the price of one.

"Argh," Jiang Wei snorted coldly.

He couldn't sell himself and he wasn't going to waste his life like that. The usual human pattern was not for him.

Get married? He would never marry, never tie his life to a woman! In his mind, Wei had long ago realized that he admired only men. But that didn't have to be communicated to everyone.

A timid knock on the door brought him back to a bleak reality.

"Come in," he commanded.

The door slowly opened, and Jiang Wei's unassuming assistant shyly crept into the room. Looking at him, it was hard to tell anything definite. The headmaster grimaced and preferred not to look at the wretched secretary.

"What?" he shouted impatiently.

"Your car is already downstairs, sir, will there be any orders before the banquet?"

"Ahh," mumbled the director, "bring me something to eat, and there's always no time for a snack at these receptions. I'll come down and wait for you in the car."

"Yeah," the assistant ran off much faster than he'd come into the office.

The boss's presence overwhelmed him and caused him to lose confidence.

Reflecting on the cowardly nature of the secretary, Jiang Wei realized that he liked being the king of beasts, a cunning predator who inspired fear in others. He stood up, smoothed out his pants, and strode confidently to the personal elevator. As he descended, he could watch the clouds change color, and the lower he was, the darker the atmosphere.

"How symbolic," thought the director, "where I am going there will be no smell of blood, but sharks and bears will be in abundance."

He had nothing to fear, however. His uncompromising and cruelty created the image of a man who is not easily devoured.

Incidentally, this was why Jiang Wei could not imagine having anyone other than the jerk who had abandoned him by his side. His views and methods were frightening and even disgusting, and only the crazy Li Guang never paid any attention to it, accepting him for who he was.

"Or maybe it was important to him, and that's why he was done with us?" - Wei pondered. There was nothing much between them. Only hints on Guang's part and Jiang Wei's foolish hopes.

Sitting in his car, the man noticed that although the evening had not yet begun, he already had a headache. A secretary arrived just in time to bring food and was abruptly dragged into the car. Accustomed to this kind of impudence, he sat down and looked down.

After only a minute, the boss exclaimed:

"What the fuck? Where did you buy this?"

The young man mumbled:

"In the cafeteria... only the place was still open..."

"Holy crap! I've never tasted such a disgusting sandwich!"

While drinking his woeful dinner, the boss was angry at the assistant and the disgusting food. Opening the window, he tossed everything on the way out and brushed crumbs off his jacket.

"I have a headache, get some medicine!"

The young man held back his curses and bought the medicine. There was pleasant music playing in the store, which gave him back his composure for a moment and calmed him down.

Leaning back in his seat, Jiang Wei meditated on his happy/unhappy life. In his mind, he scrolled through the guest list and made notes of who he should say hello to and who he wanted to avoid.

Jiang Wei stepped onto a carpeted walkway leading to a large, brightly lit building. Because of the presence of many movie and pop stars, journalists and fans flocked here. The man in the perfect suit hesitated and stepped forward.

He stopped for a couple of pictures and then swiftly walked through the doors, pulling his phone out of his pocket at the same time. Quickly typing a text and reaching the ceremonial hall, he had already sent the secretary a short message demanding that he come for him in forty minutes under any pretext.

Meanwhile, the astonished assistant stared at the message for five minutes. It wasn't that he couldn't think of a reason to get the chief out of the party with dignity.

The problem was that he had been in the position for only a year and had only had time to pay off his debts for his university education and had not renewed his closet in a long time.

It was because of his education and outstanding mental ability that he was able to beat out the other candidates to become Jiang Wei's assistant.

Despite his jubilation over his victory, Shi Ling quickly lost confidence, facing scorn from his boss every day. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get the slightest bit of recognition from his boss.

This heartless man could call him in the middle of the night or on his day off, never said hello, and gave him an extremely disapproving look. Therefore, in recent weeks, Shi Ling had heeded the entreaties of his friends and began to look for another job.

Even if it was a less well-paid position, it was no big deal. After all, he had managed to pay off his debts and could now put up with a smaller salary.

But his natural nobility and sense of duty were at odds with the idea of changing jobs. He felt grateful and guilty at the same time.

Shi Ling often gave the impression of a soft-spoken, spineless man, being an incredibly loyal, responsible, and conscientious young man.

Unfortunately, having a fine mind, he could not guess that his boss rejects him because of his lack of taste in clothes and carelessness and Jiang Wei is a man who looks first and foremost at appearances.

Of course, Shi Ling could not take his eyes off his boss from the first minute. But he hid his interest, and even more so, he did not compare himself and the boss.

On the contrary, he felt like a shadow of him who was not supposed to attract attention. For this reason, people would flinch in surprise when they heard his voice.

He skillfully played the role of invisible and was not noticed until he began to speak. So now, the chauffeur almost jumped in his seat when the young man asked him to drive a few blocks to the nearest clothing store.

"Mr. Shi, you're so quiet and inconspicuous, I thought you were out too," the chauffeur muttered and turned the ignition key.

What made Shi Ling tense as he read the message was that he didn't have the proper clothes to attend the reception. He rarely accompanied his boss to such events for obvious reasons.

But now there was no choice. He refreshed his account status page and sighed. A rented suit would cost a hefty sum that no one was likely to pay him back.

"Shall we stop here?" The chauffeur asserted rather than asked, pulling up outside a beautiful yet predatory-looking store.

Shi Ling sighed and got out. As expected, the store employees looked at the young man contemptuously. In the morning he opened his closet and found an old jacket he had worn at university.

Hidden modestly beneath it was a faded blue shirt. The sand-colored pants were of sturdy but out-of-shape fabric.

The boots were old, too, and Shi Ling had honestly promised himself that one day when he had paid off his debts, he would visit his uncle's clothing store to upgrade his closet.

The sloppy hair, on the other hand, blended very seamlessly with his sloppy image. The glasses hid the young man's bright, sparkling eyes.

So he stood five paces from the door, not knowing whether to move on or stay where he was to avoid being judged by the store's beautiful female employees.

Stumbling awkwardly, he ran his eyes down the hall. Two girls in their trademark clothing were chirping sweetly about something, and their cheeks were in turn covered with a blush.

They glanced at him fleetingly and continued to ignore him, counting on the young man to leave on his own.

Shi Ling could have continued to stand at the entrance, but suddenly there was a noise and a man ran out of a side room. The sight of him made the young man's face stretch. The man had an unusual color of hair, bright pink.

His eyebrows, at the same time, were black. Covered in jewelry and glittering clothes, he looked like a bird of paradise.

Shi Ling just stared and didn't move, blending back into the interior. But the man did notice him.

"There you are!" In an unpleasant voice, the bird squeaked. "Why are you late?"