As the appointed time approached, the remaining colleagues gradually arrived. Knowing that the new CEO would be present, they were all more restrained than usual.
They had intended to use this time to commiserate and encourage each other, but when they pushed open the door, He Jingyan was already there.
Next to him was a handsome young man, undoubtedly the new assistant. Though the air conditioning in the room wasn't very warm, the tips of his ears were slightly red.
The group didn't dare to look too closely, lingering awkwardly at the doorway.
"You're not late, please sit down," Shen Guangyi said, sounding somewhat tired.
Old Tai, sitting in front of the projection screen, looked a bit strange, fidgeting uncomfortably with his fingers.
The intern asked ingratiatingly, "Master, would you like some water?"
The earlier incident had been sparked by bottled water. Hearing this topic unintentionally brought up, Ji Mi cast a furtive glance at He Jingyan.
The latter showed no awareness of having caused trouble, casually twirling a pen.
"I'm not thirsty," Old Tai said, also observing He Jingyan's expression nervously. "Since everyone's here, let's begin."
The afternoon's agenda focused on three groups, mainly exploring the application of reinforcement learning to game algorithms.
The research was ultimately meant for practical scenarios. Ji Mi had found a development team suitable for initial testing and inquired whether it could be implemented in a vertical field by the end of the year.
His schedule wasn't arbitrarily divided. Various arrangements were combined with the project's version progress, and he also mentioned that certain iterations could be optimized using the new research results.
Faced with the gazes of numerous executives, it was impossible not to be nervous. Ji Mi maintained a steady voice as he finished his presentation, his heart nearly pounding out of his chest.
He Jingyan seized the opportunity to pick up the thread: "There are several external release points before the major version, we can push for early implementation."
He Jingyan's attendance at this meeting was optional. When Ji Mi had asked about his intentions earlier, he thought He Jingyan would decline.
But He Jingyan had quickly agreed. Given the CEO's busy schedule, making a special trip like this made Ji Mi think at one point that He Jingyan didn't trust him to handle important requirements alone.
The lack of mutual trust was indeed one aspect, and everyone had noticed that He Jingyan was backing Ji Mi up.
Who says what and how it's said can make a huge difference. With the boss's endorsement, everyone's attitude became fully cooperative.
Many colleagues had previously doubted the new assistant's ability to mesh with the team, speculating that he would soon be replaced. People tend to treat others differently based on their status, and they hadn't taken this assistant very seriously.
Now He Jingyan's attitude was obvious, and everyone needed to pay more attention. Besides this, they were surprised to find that Delay was actually someone who protected his subordinates.
"People say you come out swinging for your subordinates, is that true? I don't believe it!" Shell exclaimed frantically.
He was almost in tears: "I got verbally destroyed by those concept artists from the art design team last time, and I didn't see you coming to save me!"
He Jingyan dismissed him: "Those art students are too fierce, even if I went, I'd just end up getting scolded too."
"Is Old Tai really that easy to deal with? It's not like you just found out about his ways today, why choose this moment to clean house?" Shell chattered on.
He Jingyan was annoyed by his pestering and left the office for some fresh air. He saw Ji Mi studying PyTorch model building and mischievously whistled softly.
Ji Mi was engrossed in his studies and probably didn't want to pay attention to him, pretending not to hear.
"It's dinner time, is anyone lining up for the cafeteria?" He Jingyan deliberately lingered near him.
Again, there was no response. He drawled, "Whose vegetable is so aloof?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the "cabbage" before him finally tuned in, glaring at him sullenly.
"You're bringing that up again?" Ji Mi said, embarrassed and annoyed. "The way Shen Guangyi looked at me then, it seemed like he was about to call the police on my behalf!"
He Jingyan said, "It's not like there aren't people who try to steal others away. I'm warning you in advance, don't say I didn't tell you."
Ji Mi's eyes darted: "Do you want to say something at my probation review too?"
He Jingyan teased, "Then I'll beg HR, 'We've finally trained the new guy, how can we let him go? Is the CEO's office a training ground for new graduates?'"
Ji Mi became enthusiastic at this point: "Today's menu has dumplings. I'll treat the boss to a plate."
Shell, who had been ignored, protested: "You're just going to leave me behind?"
"We wouldn't dare disturb you and your girlfriend's communication," He Jingyan said.
Shell followed behind him, asking ominously: "Who's disturbing who?"
He Jingyan was very frank: "You go off to cuddle every day at this time, I'm just used to not being a third wheel."
Ji Mi pressed the elevator button while asking, "Shell, where do you live? I'd like to use it as a reference."
Knowing that Ji Mi was planning to change apartments, Shell chatted about it at length.
He then said, "It's a bit expensive, but not as expensive as where Delay lives. That guy sleeps in a big duplex."
Ji Mi made an interested "Oh" sound and asked, "Is it rented?"
Shell shook his head, explaining that He Jingyan's apartment was in a popular building complex. The price had once made the news, and it was an asset he had purchased outright with a hefty sum.
"Noah tried to crash at Delay's place, saying that even sleeping in an attic there would be more comfortable than sleeping outside," he laughed.
"Guess how Delay responded?"
Ji Mi turned to look at He Jingyan: "He invited you guys over?"
Shell patted He Jingyan's arm: "He said he regretfully couldn't accommodate wild men."
Ji Mi: "..."
He Jingyan said lazily, "You guys haven't seen Noah's place, it's pretty much like a wildlife park."
Hearing his cold mockery, Ji Mi thought of his own rented apartment and pressed his lips together without saying much.
His bedroom used to be very tidy, but he had been too busy lately, barely sleeping a few hours on weekends, let alone doing housework.
He'd take off his jacket and leave it lying around, and delivery packaging wasn't thrown away promptly. The scene could be described as a complete mess.
"Xiao Mi? Xiao Mi!" Shell called out to him, "What are you spacing out about?"
Ji Mi came back to his senses and made an excuse: "I was counting how much longer until we can go out and play."
He Jingyan said, "Just five more days, we'll go with the other departments."
"Will we be traveling together then too?" Ji Mi asked.
He Jingyan replied, "No, we just booked the same flight."
After answering, he saw Ji Mi eating dumplings and was about to say something when Noah, who arrived late, diverted his attention.
Noah sat down with his tray: "Why are you staring at your assistant again?"
"Probably afraid he'll run off. After all, one has run away before, so it's normal to feel a sense of crisis," Shell said.
Ji Mi snorted and concluded: "A rare species, please protect."
He Jingyan was exasperated and explained: "His chopsticks are uneven, one long and one short. What's wrong with me looking?"
Ji Mi had accidentally taken chopsticks of different lengths and only noticed when he tried to pick up a dumpling.
He stubbornly maintained his composure and said, "I'm training my sense of control."
He Jingyan laughed briefly, then shifted his gaze downward, noticing that Ji Mi's fingers were long and well-proportioned.
...They looked a bit like Mi's? He couldn't help but pay a little more attention.
Unfortunately, Mi's profile picture was dimly lit, the image so blurry it seemed pixelated.
As for the subsequent photos sent, one showed a hand making a "9" gesture, but due to the camera angle, it wasn't very useful for comparison.
[Why are you looking again...]
[First you look at his face, then his hands. He's your colleague, not your wife, okay? And he's not a suspect that needs to be scrutinized!]
Receiving two private messages from Noah on WeChat, He Jingyan clarified: [It's not what you're maliciously speculating.]
Noah: [Me, malicious? What were you complaining about at first? Why blame me for finding you this assistant?]
He Jingyan: [That was also reasonable doubt.]
Noah: [Now you're enjoying it, aren't you?]
He Jingyan quickly defended himself: [I'm not.]
[I often communicate with Fang Xiyun and Shell too, why don't you nitpick about that?]
At this, the other side became overly righteous, and Noah began to reflect on his overreaction, apologizing for reading too much into things.
After finishing their meal, they all went back to work. Everyone had been incredibly busy lately, and to squeeze out time for the trip, many things had to be handled in advance.
Once, Ji Mi was about to leave work when he glanced into the office and found He Jingyan asleep, slumped over his desk.
It was the first time he had seen He Jingyan so relaxed, and he plucked up the courage to take a closer look.
He Jingyan's features were handsome, easily giving an impression of coldness and arrogance. But asleep, that air of flamboyance was tucked away, replaced by a softer demeanor.
The cap of the fountain pen was removed. Somehow, He Jingyan had managed to poke the pen tip against his cheek, leaving a short black mark.
Ji Mi wanted to capture this rare moment on camera, but suddenly a timer alarm went off nearby.
He Jingyan's eyelashes fluttered as he was forced awake from his light sleep, becoming aware of someone beside him.
For a brief moment, Ji Mi vaguely sensed that He Jingyan's body was very tense, exhibiting a rejection as if his personal space had been suddenly invaded.
But before Ji Mi could examine this closely, He Jingyan realized it was him and casually leaned back in his chair.
"Do you need something?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse, taking a sip of coffee.
Ji Mi's eyes curved into a smile. "You have something on your face."
Being stared at by such clear eyes made He Jingyan feel a bit awkward, and he touched the tip of his nose.
However, Ji Mi misunderstood: "It's not on your nose... Delay, it looks like you have a single dimple."
Usually, He Jingyan's expressions were very subdued, and even when he smiled, it was very restrained.
Plus, Ji Mi had been somewhat timid around He Jingyan before, always keeping a respectful distance, and never daring to observe his features up close. He hadn't even noticed that this man actually had a very shallow dimple.
"Is that so?" He Jingyan seemed groggy from sleep, as if he didn't even know what he looked like.
Ji Mi picked up the fountain pen and slowly reached out, very gently poking the mark with the end of the pen.
"It's here," he said softly. "Oh, I can see you really do have a dimple."
Being told this, He Jingyan suddenly became aware that he was smiling, and tried unsuccessfully to suppress the corners of his mouth.
He then looked away, pretending to ask casually: "Are you pointing a fountain pen at your boss because you think I might be allergic if it touches me?"
Ji Mi looked somewhat innocent: "I remember you warning Noah about that."
He Jingyan paused for a moment: "What?"
Ji Mi recalled what he had witnessed when he first came to the main office and replied: "You said you couldn't stand being touched by men."