Xu Yan, the interim new boss of Shu Tu Media, is the childhood friend of the company’s actual young boss, Feng Qing.
He reluctantly agreed to take over at Feng Qing’s persistent request, and today was his first day on the job, in a far from cheerful mood.
After hanging up the phone, his gaze was involuntarily drawn to a girl’s backpack beside him, partly unzipped to reveal an ugly dog head.
The dog plush was incredibly lifelike, its black eyes like obsidian, staring motionlessly as if fixed on him, sending shivers down his spine.
He harbored a secret weakness: a fear of dogs.
Any living dog, big or small, coming within a meter of him would paralyze him with fear, rendering him immobile.
This psychological terror stemmed from a childhood trauma of being bitten by a dog, the scar from which still marked his calf.
He had sought psychological help, but the treatment had little effect.
Fortunately, the environments he frequented were mostly dog-free, allowing him to live without significant disruption, and he eventually let the matter rest.
A familiar numbness, long absent, crept through his body, his muscles tensing uncontrollably.
He gritted his teeth and spat out,
“A plush?”
Han Shuangshuang was sweating bullets, but catching sight of Xiao Bai’s motionless state out of the corner of her eye, she praised the dog’s cleverness internally.
She quickly shook the dog’s head in her hand, forcing a dry laugh,
“See, it’s just a plush.”
Had the dog been alive, it would have struggled, but the head in her hand showed no resistance, seemingly just a lifeless toy.
Xiao Man, feigning death: “…”
Enough already, she’s being very considerate!
The stiffness in his body didn’t ease; Xu Yan stared at the so-called plush dog, his fear of dogs assuring him it was real!
Han Shuangshuang hadn’t expected to run into the new boss on his first day.
It seemed he wasn’t fond of dogs, and from his phone conversation with
the young boss, it appeared he didn’t care much about making big moves.
Firing a small employee like her wouldn’t be a big deal.
As she was sweating profusely, unsure how to explain, the elevator reached the 16th floor where their company was located.
She hurriedly pretended not to know who he was, saying,
“I’ve reached my company, goodbye!”
Han Shuangshuang stepped out of the elevator, and looking back as the doors closed, she saw the new boss hadn’t exited.
Could she have been mistaken?
Was he not their new boss?
With a mix of confusion and relief, she headed to her workstation, patting Xiao Bai’s head as she walked,
“Thank you, Xiao Bai, you acted so convincingly just now!”
Xiao Man rolled her eyes.
Was it necessary to act?
Their company didn’t prohibit bringing dogs to work, as long as it didn’t severely disrupt work, and their building didn’t ban pets either.
She couldn’t understand why the girl was so nervous.
But since she was being taken care of by Han Shuangshuang, she reluctantly played along.
Han Shuangshuang’s complacency was shattered upon seeing a message in the work group chat.
Director Han announced that due to the young boss’s injury, the new boss, Xu Yan, would be taking over for the next month.
A photo of Xu Yan was attached for everyone to recognize.
Han Shuangshuang broke into a cold sweat; the man in the photo, with his sharp eyebrows and striking eyes, was exactly the one she had seen in the elevator!
She crouched beside her workstation, conspiratorially whispering to Xiao Man,
“Xiao Bai, the man we met in the elevator, is really our new boss. Can you act like a plush for today?”
Xiao Man: “…”
So, there was no need to lie earlier!
Young people are always so impulsive, jumping from one idea to another.
But since she was a dog now, all she could do was roll her eyes at Han Shuangshuang.
After receiving an eye roll, Han Shuangshuang sat back in her chair, dejected.
She could only pray the new boss wouldn’t come around and recognize her.
In the few months since she joined, she hadn’t seen much of the young boss, and she hoped the new boss would be the same.
For Han Shuangshuang, a newcomer without family support, being caught eavesdropping on the boss’s phone call and lying to his face felt like the end of the world.
Meanwhile, the seasoned Xiao Man had comfortably settled down for a nap.
When bored, just sleep more; perhaps she’d wake up back in her original state.
In the elevator, Xu Yan’s body gradually relaxed after the dog left, but the elevator doors had already closed and continued upward, forcing him to stay inside until it reached the top floor and descended again, allowing him to exit on the 16th floor.
Stepping out, he immediately scanned the area, not spotting the dog, which slightly eased his mind.
The girl had exited on this floor, which was entirely occupied by Feng Qing’s company.
As long as he didn’t get too close, no one would discover that the esteemed Mr. Xu was afraid of dogs.
Previously, he avoided any places with dogs under the guise of disliking them, which sounded much more respectable than a fear of dogs.
He hadn’t been at the reception desk long before Feng Qing’s assistant hurried out to escort him on a company tour.
Having only been persuaded by Feng Qing that morning, he knew nothing about the company and simply listened with a cold expression, offering no opinions.
As they toured, Xu Yan recognized the girl with the dog in the content creation department.
He cautiously looked around but saw no dog.
As Assistant Yuan described the department’s work and past achievements, Director Zhong exchanged pleasantries with Xu Yan.
Pretending to browse, Xu Yan strolled near the girl’s workstation and finally saw the dog lying on the floor.
It looked sleepy, its head resting on its front paws, swaying slightly with drowsiness, but the moment it caught his gaze, it froze, staring at him.
Xu Yan: “…!”
He knew it! It was a real dog; his body’s reaction didn’t lie!
Assistant Yuan noticed Xu Yan’s distraction and instinctively stopped his introduction, following Xu Yan’s gaze.
Uh, a dog?
He looked at Director Zhong, who looked at Han Shuangshuang standing at her workstation, who was now drenched in sweat, at a loss.
Xu Yan sneered,
“A dog plush?”
Assistant Yuan and others: “…?”
Huh?
Was there some backstory they were missing?
Han Shuangshuang: “!”
Caught red-handed!
Xiao Man, the actual dog: “…”
From his tone, he had figured it out earlier?
Then no need to act.
Seeing Han Shuangshuang’s near-death reaction, Xiao Man got up, patted her calf with a paw to calm her, and trotted towards Xu Yan.
Then Xu Yan could no longer remain calm.
A live dog was walking towards him!
Before the dog got within a meter, triggering his paralysis, Xu Yan frowned and said,
“I don’t like dogs. Keep it under control.”
Han Shuangshuang was startled, but after a cold glance from Xu Yan, she quickly stepped forward, bent down, picked up Xiao Bai, and stepped back.
Only then did Xu Yan look away, nodding to Assistant Yuan, “Continue.”
Assistant Yuan, recovering his professional demeanor, promptly resumed his earlier spiel.
While Xu Yan appeared to be listening attentively, at least half of his attention remained on the dog, wary of it suddenly breaking free and approaching.
Soon, the tour ended, and Assistant Yuan led Xu Yan away.
Han Shuangshuang visibly relaxed, and her colleagues immediately gathered around, eyes alight with gossip.
Even Director Zhong looked on curiously.
Han Shuangshuang stammered,
“I met Mr. Xu in the elevator, overheard his phone call, and realized he’s the new boss. Afraid he wouldn’t allow dogs, I impulsively said Xiao Bai was a plush.”
Director Zhong coughed lightly,
“As long as the dog doesn’t interfere with work, it’s fine. Mr. Xu didn’t say anything, right? Back to work, everyone!”
The lingering questions were set aside as everyone returned to their stations, pretending to work.
Han Shuangshuang also sighed in relief, rubbing Xiao Bai’s paw and softly complaining,
“Why didn’t you keep acting earlier? You scared me to death.”
Xiao Man ignored her.
Han Shuangshuang murmured to herself,
“Mr. Xu seems fierce, but he’s surprisingly decent, didn’t even scold me.”
Xiao Man, thinking of Mr. Xu, pondered.
She felt like he was a bit afraid of her?
Speaking of which, since becoming a dog, her sense of smell had greatly improved, and communication was no longer limited to language.
Like the golden retriever yesterday, it tried to gather information about her through scent.
Becoming a dog didn’t grant her “dog language” skills; barks didn’t automatically translate into human speech, but she could sense the dog’s friendliness and excitement from its barks.
She also seemed to detect special scents from Han Shuangshuang, not yet adept, but it felt like emotions.
And just now, she smelled fear on the new boss.
So, the new boss is afraid of dogs?
But he put on a good facade; if she weren’t a dog, she might have been fooled.
Han Shuangshuang’s morning unease vanished after Xu Yan’s visit; young people’s emotions rise and fall quickly.
At lunch, colleagues gathered around Han Shuangshuang, trying to glean some information about the new boss.
Han Shuangshuang wasn’t entirely a greenhorn; she didn’t elaborate on the eavesdropped phone call, merely mentioning she overheard that he was the new boss.
It wasn’t a big deal, and the colleagues soon lost interest, moving on to other topics.
Han Shuangshuang was relieved that only three of them had visited Sister Man at the hospital, and none would gossip about what they saw or heard, sparing Sister Man from becoming the subject of their gossip, especially concerning her private family matters.
Today, Mr. Xu didn’t make any moves, and Han Shuangshuang worked as usual, left on time, and went to the hospital again.
Sister Man was still unconscious in her hospital bed, but fortunately, her condition hadn’t worsened.
That night, Han Shuangshuang took Xiao Bai out again, this time wearing running shoes, ready to race against the dog.
As they ran joyfully in the night, suddenly, the sound of barking and crying came from nearby.
Han Shuangshuang was startled, and before she could react, Xiao Bai had slipped from her leash and darted towards the noise!