I noticed how hard today is for you, I thought to send you something nice.

Bai Guanghai’s blood pressure remained high all the way from the conference room to the parking lot.

By the time he slammed the car door shut, his head was still buzzing.

Bai Yao was also gritting his teeth. Before, Bai Guanghai promised that he would be rewarded with a sports car once the contract was signed.

He had already dazzled it to his friends, no way did he expect today would turn out like this.

The more he thought about it, the more resentful he felt, then, there was a hint of doubt in his heart. “Father, do you want to ask Bai Juanqiu about this?” 

“Ask?” A trace of spite appeared in Bai Guanghai’s eyes, and he took out his phone to make a call, “I want him to give me an explanation.”

It took several rings before Bai Juanqiu picked up his phone as he answered in a very detached tone, “I’m busy. Be quick on what you want to say.”

Bai Guanghai sneered and said, “You think you’re so great now that you didn’t need to greet your uncle?”

Over the past few days, Bai Juanqiu’s attitude towards the Bai Family had become less and less courteous.

But before today, there was a delicate balance maintained between the two. Bai Guanghai had tolerated this behavior because of how relatively smooth his negotiation with the Ren Empire was.

Now the talk with the Ren Empire had crumbled, Bai Guanghai wasn’t as patient with him as before.

Bai Juanqiu remained silent.

Bai Guanghai took it as the other being afraid, so he softened his tone, “Juanqiu, I have done my best for you all these years. I provided for your upbringing and even helped pull some string for you to meet with Young Master Ren. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be where you are today, don’t you agree?” 

There was a low chuckle. It seemed that finally got to Bai Juanqiu, like he was touched by those words. “Yes, it was all thanks to you that I can be here today.”

At least the kid was sensible.

Bai Guanghai briefly explained what had happened today, withholding anything that was unfavorable to him and double emphasizing how unreasonable Ren Xingliu was.

Bai Juanqiu sounded surprised by this, “Did he really do that?”

Listening to his tone, Bai Guanghai knew that he didn’t know anything about it. It seemed that it was not his instruction. He was a little warmer to his tone and said, “Yes, it’s a good thing that the young master has a good relationship with you, but you shouldn’t take it for granted.” It’s a joke about business matters, go and tell him and ask him not to interfere in this matter again.”

Judging by the tone, Bai Guanghai knew this was news to his nephew. It appeared that Bai Juanqiu wasn’t the one who instructed the young master, so he warmed up his tone by a few degrees, saying, “Correct. It’s good that the young master has a good relationship with you, but he shouldn’t joke around when it comes to business matters. Why don’t you talk to him about this, in a way so he won’t stick his hands in this matter again.”

After a moment of silence, Bai Juanqiu finally replied, “Okay, I’ll go find him now.”

– 

As soon as Ren Xingliu sent Bai Guanghai and Bai Yao off, he was called into the office by Ren Zhu.

He Lang had already updated Ren Zhu on the matter. On this, she actually could do with or without.

If this matter had happened before, she would have thought that her son was a rascal and wouldn’t have agreed to this.

But now, Ren Zhu clearly sensed the growth in Ren Xingliu, whether it be in his everyday life, or his performance at this morning’s meeting. 

For the Bai Family case, he didn’t act recklessly as usual; what he did was he made a serious analysis.

So, even if she felt concerned inside, she didn’t object to it for once and instead, handed over the decision-making power to him.

Unlike He Lang, she had a deeper understanding of Ren Xingliu and cared more about what he really thought.

“Be honest with me, do you have any objections to the Bai Family?” Ren Zhu asked. 

To be honest, he wasn’t all that sure what had happened in the past between Bai Juanqiu and the Bai Family.

Regarding the deeds the Bai Family had done, other than the bits mentioned during their initial blind date, Bai Juanqiu had not brought up anything since. 

Most of the circumstances were Ren Xingliu’s own guess from the small details.

Bai Juanqiu was very secretive about this, and Ren Xingliu didn’t want to speculate on it without authorization. He thought about it and said, “I just think this is unreasonable, and Juanqiu wouldn’t want it to be like this.”

Bai Juanqiu didn’t breathe a single word on this, and Ren Xingliu didn’t want to speculate on his own. After careful consideration, he only said, “I don’t find this contract reasonable, and Juanqiu wouldn’t want this.”

He didn’t give a clear answer, but he was serious about this. 

Ren Zhu gave him a good look. His appearance actually didn’t change much, but without her knowing, he got a mature aura in him.

He was starting to act like a grown-up.

She eventually nodded without further questioning, “Alright, I believe you have a sense of propriety.”

After processing this, she added, “Since that’s the case, I’ll leave the negotiation with the Bai Family to you…I trust you.”

In her eyes, there was a rare moment of warmth in her usual tough front.

Ren Xingliu noticed the change in her attitude towards him and smiled back, saying gratefully, “Got it, I won’t disappoint you.”

When Ren Xingliu left, Ren Zhu called her assistant once more and said, “I need you to investigate something for me.”

Although Ren Xingliu was vague, his words still revealed some information. 

When Bai Guanghai introduced Bai Juanqiu to the blind date, it was for this cooperation.

If that was the case, why would Bai Juanqiu ‘not want this’.

–

Ren Xingliu left the office, and as he was about to return to his division, he saw that the receptionist was looking for him. 

“Umm, y-young master…” The receptionist stuttered and called out to him, clearly having some trouble with the address.

Ren Xingliu could understand that.

He has a special status, and these ordinary employees may be embarrassed to call him by his name directly, but he has just joined the company and does not have a rank to call him.

He had a special identity, and it must have been very hard for these ordinary employees to call him directly by his name. But since he just started, there had been no establishment on how to address him, position wise. 

But it was still a little awkward to be called ‘young master’ in the office.

He smiled and took the initiative to say, “It’s fine to call me Xingliu.”

The receptionist was taken aback. The Crown Prince’s attitude was unexpectedly nice.

She just recently started working in the Ren Empire, but she had heard a great deal about the Crown Prince. 

Knowing that he was coming to work today, her department head even specifically warned his subordinates to avoid him as much as possible.

So, something as simple as an address made her very nervous.

However, now it seemed that the Crown Prince wasn’t very difficult to get along with.

She breathed a sigh of relief internally before saying, “There’s a visitor outside asking for you.”

Ren Xingliu was puzzled. “A visitor?”

This was only his first day of work, and he didn’t even notify Ding Shi of this. So, who would come visit him?

No, there was one other…

The receptionist added, “Someone whose surname is Bai. He said he has something for you.” 

“Got it.” Ren Xingliu’s heart skipped a beat, and he changed his route without hesitation.

When he arrived at the lobby, sure enough, he saw a familiar figure sitting on the sofa.

“Xiao Bai.” Ren Xingliu smiled with his eyes, and he suddenly picked up his pace, rushing over in less steps.

Because he ran too fast, he wasn’t able to stop in time. Thankfully, Bai Juanqiu reached out and got him to stop. 

“So clumsy.” Bai Juanqiu rubbed Ren Xingliu’s head, but the corners of his mouth curled up unknowingly. “I hope I didn’t disturb you.”

“Not at all.” Ren Xingliu shook his head. “But why did you come?”

Bai Juanqiu pointed to the small coffee table in front of him and said in a serious manner, “To deliver something for you, call it express delivery.”

It was only then that Ren Xingliu noticed the square gift box on the table. “What is this?’ 

Bai Juanqiu looked at him with joy in his eyes. “I noticed how bitter today is for you, I thought to send you something sweet.”

It was actually nothing special, just a cake.

The young master deserved a small celebration for first day on the job.

Originally, he thought about having the store deliver it, but after receiving a call from Bai Guanghai, he changed the plan. 

He really wanted to see the other person, so here he was.

Ren Xingliu looked at the box and felt an unspeakable feeling in his heart, and it was a little itchy. He hesitated, but only asked: “Don’t you have to go to work?”

When Ren Xingliu looked at the box, there was this hard to describe feeling in his heart, and an itch. After a moment of hesitation, he only asked, “You don’t need to work today?”

Bai Juanqiu was straight to the point, “I stuck up my work.” 

He said it so naturally that Ren Xingliu didn’t take it seriously and gave him a thumbs up: “Well done, this is the spirit that a working man should have. If you are good enough, you will earn it.”

He said it so naturally that Ren Xingliu didn’t take it seriously. He even gave the other a thumbs up. “That’s the spirit. This is what a worker should do, skipping work and still getting paid.”

Bai Juanqiu: “…”

If he remembered correctly, the person in front of him was a capitalist, right? 

He playfully flicked the young master’s forehead before saying, “Then I’ll off then.”

He wasn’t done with today’s work yet, and he came here on impulse. Seeing the person was enough, so it wasn’t good to take up too much time.

However, Ren Xingliu reached out and tugged him back. He raised his eyebrows, “Since you’re here already, of course we’re eating it together before you can go.”

Bai Juanqiu stopped his track and hesitated. “You’re still working. It might not be a good idea for people to see you skip out on work.” 

“It’s fine.” Ren Xingliu chuckled. “I’m the big boss’s son. None of them have the guts to test my diligence.”

Bai Juanqiu: “…”

He had to admit, the way this person skipped work was much bolder than he was.

The cake he bought was Ren Xingliu’s favorite, but it was obviously too big for two people to finish. 

Bai Juanqiu explained, “I thought you could share it with your colleagues.”

Ren Xingliu couldn’t resist looking at him. Xiao Bai was so very thoughtful, truly wise and kind.

He nodded and said, “I got an idea.”

It just so happened that the same receptionist, who had just passed the message, was back at the front desk. Ren Xingliu called out to her and said, “Excuse me, could you help me with something?” 

The receptionist wasn’t as nervous as before, but to be addressed so suddenly, she still instinctively stiffened. “What can I help you with?”

Ren Xingliu pointed to the gift box on the coffee table and said with a smile, “The cake my boyfriend bought for me is too big for me to finish it alone. Can you help me slice it and share it with others?”

The receptionist: “?”

This statement was quite a surprise, and she was taken aback for a moment. 

She didn’t expect the help the Crown Prince needed would be this. Even more so… Her gaze slowly turned to the tall figure standing in the lobby.

This person was the Crown Prince’s boyfriend!

She was quite adaptable and quickly came to her senses. Once she regained her composure, she nodded. “Not a problem.”

He said it so naturally that Ren Xingliu didn’t take it seriously and gave him a thumbs up: “Well done, this is the spirit that a working man should have. If you are good enough, you will earn it.” 

Ren Xingliu didn’t mind this, and even took the lead in bringing the cake over, explaining with embarrassment, “I just started today, so I’m not very familiar with my colleagues. Sorry for troubling you with this.”

He was very polite and courteous, not at all like the rumor made him to be, at least, he wasn’t commanding others with his facial expressions.

The receptionist had some mentality to handle things, so she became more proactive and said, “No way, this is in my job description.”

The Ren Empire usually provided employees with goodies such as afternoon teas, which were the responsibility of the administration department, where the receptionist was under. 

Therefore, she was quite skilled in the matter and quickly sliced the cake. She asked thoughtfully, “Do you need me to deliver it to your division?”

She had already made a guess, since it was the Crown Prince’s first day of work, he wanted to take the chance to win over people from his division.

Ren Xingliu shook his head. “No need. You can share it with the staff in your department.”

“?” The receptionist was stunned again.

For background, the administration department didn’t hold much status in the company, and most people treat them as unskilled workforce. Usually when there were benefits, they wouldn’t be included.

There was no need for Ren Xingliu to be so polite to them with his status.

But he did. Just for this, he was much better than some of those snobbish seniors!

The receptionist internally cursed the company’s false rumors, and her smile was more genuine. “Then let me thank you on behalf of my colleagues.” 

Bai Juanqiu also found this strange and asked in a whisper, “Why didn’t you share it with the people in your division?”

Ren Xingliu put his index finger up to his lips and made a “shh” gesture, with a rare hint of timidity: “I’m skipping work, and I’m arrogantly giving them cakes. What a bad influence.”

Ren Xingliu raised his index finger to his lips and made a harsh gesture. He then showed a rare shy side. “I’m still skipping work. Think of how bad the effect would be if I gave them cake in their faces while slacking.”

Bai Juanqiu: “…” 

Oh, so this young master was worrying about the effect.