Chapter 2522: Non-Human: Xiao Chen's Amnesia 13

The door of the Chief Executive Officer's office opened and closed silently.

Zhou Chengjun finished the morning meeting, his brow still bearing the unresolved solemnity and post-decision fatigue, and he pushed open the office door.

Inside his office stood a strange young man.

Zhou Chengjun's brow furrowed, his sharp gaze sweeping over the chest badge of the other person—General Assistant Office Ye Lu.

In his impression, an employee of this level should not appear here without being summoned, unless led by Liang Yanzhe.

"Who are you?" Zhou Chengjun's voice sank, carrying obvious displeasure and the irritation of being interrupted, "How did you get in?"

Ye Lu was frightened by his aura, his body slightly shrinking, but he quickly gathered courage, lifted his head, his expression showing a hint of admiration and some pitiableness.

"Hello, Chief Zhou, I am Ye Lu."

"I... I have something I want to report to you."

Zhou Chengjun has a good memory, especially for those who try to bypass hierarchy and contact him directly.

He immediately recalled, there was such a person who, before, through some unknown channel, wanted to add his WeChat, and he had directly forwarded it to Liang Yanzhe to handle.

"If you have something, go to your direct supervisor." Zhou Chengjun had little patience, walked around him toward his own desk, tone cold.

"Now, get out."

Ye Lu, however, seemed not to have heard the dismissal order, instead stepping forward two steps, looking even more frail and helpless.

He had specially sprayed a bit of cologne today, the scent light, and he still held a steaming cup of coffee, his fingertips whitening slightly from the pressure.

Ye Lu believed that this appearance would always arouse a bit of pity.

"Chief Zhou, you... you don't remember me?" Ye Lu lifted his eyes, his eye sockets slightly reddening, voice choking, "My name is Ye Lu; a year ago, at A University's graduation ceremony, we met... I also, I even took a photo with you..."

Zhou Chengjun was about to pick up the internal line phone to summon Liu Zou to take the person away, but hearing this, his motion paused, he frowned and thought back.

A year ago, he had indeed been invited by his alma mater to attend the graduation ceremony of the sponsored students.

"At the ceremony a year ago, there were several hundred people on site," Zhou Chengjun put down the phone, looked at him, his tone unruffled, even indifferent.

"I have sponsored many students; not remembering you is quite normal."

Jin Chen, hovering in the corner of the ceiling watching the show, gave a slight nod, indicating agreement.

That's right, he also rarely remembers what others look like; remembering his wife's appearance is enough.

Ye Lu, however, was stabbed by those words; tears instantly filled his eye sockets, about to fall but not yet, his voice choking even more.

"It's different... to me, you are different; if it weren't for your sponsorship back then, I might not have survived, let alone completed my studies..."

Jin Chen: "?"

The human world is indeed complex; does repaying gratitude require crying like this?

He looked doubtfully at Zhou Chengjun.

Zhou Chengjun's facial expression showed no change, even a bit irritable.

He has seen too many people who, in the name of gratitude, try to take more.

"You can admire me," the CEO said in a strictly businesslike manner, "but that's it; now is work time."

Ye Lu, however, hurriedly confessed, "I am... I have admired you for a long time, truly."

He stepped forward, placed the cup of coffee he had been holding for a long time on Zhou Chengjun's desk, his eyes watery as he looked at him, full of pleading, "Before joining the company, I had heard you like coffee."

"I... I specially learned pour-over just for you; you... you can try a sip? Just one sip..."

Ye Lu feared being outright rejected, and quickly added, "I also count as one of your assistant team members..."

Ling Gun Gun quickly sprang up, 【Host, hurry and stop! The protagonist's halo is activating, Zhou Chengjun will involuntarily soften and agree.】

Jin Chen, although not fully understanding what the protagonist's halo specifically is, felt Ling Gun Gun's anxiety.

A wisp of extremely fine mist silently emerged, hovering above that cup of coffee, its tip lightly probing into the scalding liquid, giving a gentle touch.

Zhou Chengjun, who was about to lift the cup out of politeness, froze in his motion.

An extremely strange smell, as if mixed with rotting aquatic plants and muddy swamp, surged into his nostrils.

Zhou Chengjun: "?"

Where does this dirt taste come from, when did this kind of coffee bean flavor appear?

He suspected his sense of smell was off, and stirred the dark brown liquid with the small silver spoon on the desk.

With that stir, the black, sticky sludge settled at the bottom of the cup was instantly flung up, mixing into the coffee and giving off an even richer, pungent earthy odor.

Zhou Chengjun: "..."

He stared at the disastrous scene in the cup, his face sinking.

He felt that, for someone of his stature as a CEO, the present world was truly full of unforeseeable dangers.

He had seen many business rivals send corporate spies, but using this method to poison was still a first.

Ye Lu also saw the sludge welling up from the cup's bottom; the color drained from his face completely.

"No... impossible, how could this be?" He flailed his hands in panic, incoherent, "Chief Zhou, it's not me! Really not me! I like you so much—no, I admire you so much, how could I tamper with the coffee? This must be someone framing me!"

His tears burst forth like a broken dam, and in his heightened emotion, he even instinctively reached to grab Zhou Chengjun's sleeve to explain.

Zhou Chengjun disgustedly avoided his touch, his eyes turning completely cold, he snorted.

"These lowly office scheming tricks, performed before me, you're not even qualified."

He pressed the internal line phone, voice icy: "Liu Zou, come in."

Chief Secretary Liu Zou immediately appeared at the office door, sweeping over the tear-streaked, panicked Ye Lu.

"Chief Zhou."

Zhou Chengjun, too bothered to recall Ye Lu's name, said, "Take this employee out, and also notify Xiao Liang."

Liu Zou nodded, walked up to Ye Lu, "Please. I will truthfully inform Assistant Liang of the specifics, and I hope you can also explain yourself well to him."

Ye Lu was still struggling in vain, tears flowing more fiercely, looking at Zhou Chengjun, "Chief Zhou, believe me, it's really not me; I don't know why this happened, you can't target me just because of this..."

Liu Zou: "..."

His smile faded a bit, and he pulled the person away.

Mist drifted in the air, watching the show was quite enjoyable.

Suddenly, Jin Chen saw an extremely faint, barely there gray aura drifting from the head of the agitated Ye Lu.

That aura... looked delicious.

The mist lunged over and swallowed that wisp of gray aura in one gulp.

In the sea of consciousness, Ling Gun Gun's voice almost did a split.

Even the Pixiu Lord wouldn't dare eat everything!

【Ahhh Host! How can you eat everything! That's a wisp of energy emanating from the protagonist's halo, how did you eat it?】

Jin Chen felt the comfort brought by that wisp of energy merging into the mist, and contentedly let out a belch.

【Delicious.】 He commented, 【How much more of this halo does he have? Can I burrow into his flesh and eat it directly? That would be faster.】

Ling Gun Gun went into a frenzy, 【I said no killing, really no killing……】

It urgently searched the data, barely giving a guess: 【Perhaps... perhaps if the protagonist's halo partially fails due to setback, those emanating energies you can absorb?】

【If that's the case, then you should all the more diligently do your mission, Duoduo, stop him from flirting with the protagonist's attack!】

Jin Chen somewhat understood but didn't fully grasp it; however, it sounded good.