PTCQT Chapter 16

Shen Chun’s response sparked a huge storm of discussion online, essentially confirming all the previous speculations, and it was clear that their relationship was very close.

The outpouring of lament and sorrow on the internet didn’t really affect him much; however, in reality, the number of people expressing their favor towards him dropped significantly, which also helped ease President Xie’s tense mood quite a bit.

During freshman year, most students’ focus was still fixed on campus life. But junior year was different—many had already started connecting with companies related to their field during the first half of the semester. After classes ended in the first half, they would go for internships during winter break. With significantly fewer courses in the second half of the semester, most of their time was likely spent at the company. Xie Baiyuan was no exception.

With his abilities and reputation, he would enter the company at a management level. Although he still needed to slowly work his way up from the bottom, his future was clearly promising.

“President is really impressive,” Shen Chun said admiringly as he looked at the company’s profile.

It was a Fortune Global 500 company, and of course, no need to mention its prestige domestically. Starting at the management level showed how much the company valued him. But for Xie Baiyuan, it was well deserved.

“I’ve only gotten the offer. There are plenty of outstanding people in companies like that, far more than at school,” Xie Baiyuan said without much excitement.

Step by step, moving upward, stepping into increasingly outstanding circles, one realizes that among the vast crowd, they are actually quite ordinary—there’s nothing to be particularly proud of.

“President is just too humble,” Shen Chun said with a smile.

But Xie Baiyuan wasn’t thinking about that; instead, he said, “Once I start working, I’ll have less time at school. The President’s position will gradually be handed over, and you…”

Not having enough time to be with his lover always worried Xie Baiyuan.

“The company is far from school?” Shen Chun checked the distance and raised an eyebrow.

It wasn’t actually that far, but in City A, where the morning rush hour traffic could be jammed for hours, it was definitely troublesome.

When it comes to commuting, living closer always makes things easier.

“How about picking a place somewhere in between the two?” Shen Chun smiled.

“Are you saying you want to live with me?” Xie Baiyuan looked at him in surprise.

Of course, the idea of living together made him happy, but was it too soon…?

“Aren’t we already living together now?” Shen Chun said, looking at him.

Xie Baiyuan’s ears twitched, faint red coloring the tips. “That’s true.”

They chose a location in the middle, with convenient transportation, about half an hour to either side.

Shen Chun looked at his earlobe and gently twirled it with his fingers. “If the president were with someone else, would he be thinking so much about the future?”

Xie Baiyuan’s academic performance had always been excellent. Even when representing the school in competitions, he always returned holding trophies. His scholarships came so frequently it was almost effortless. With grades like his, getting into graduate school was a given. But once he started working, he would have to switch from full-time to part-time graduate studies.

The difference wasn’t huge, but it would definitely be much tougher.

Although people often say that when you’re young, you have the energy to work harder, no stage of life should be burdened solely by heavy responsibilities.

Xie Baiyuan’s choice was clearly made with the future in mind. After all, in the original timeline, he chose to pursue a combined master’s and doctoral program. Although he had connections with outside companies, he never rushed into working early.

“How could I be with anyone else?” Xie Baiyuan twitched his ear and said, “Only you, there won’t be anyone else.”

“Hm? I don’t believe you,” Shen Chun softened his tone, wrapping his arms around him with a smile. “If the president really goes to work, you’ll have to wear a ring. There are too many temptations outside; better to keep others from noticing.”

“Okay,” Xie Baiyuan agreed without hesitation.

It felt really good knowing that Shen Chun was afraid of losing him. He liked the way this man’s possessiveness flared up when it came to him.

Once their plans were set, the days passed in anticipation. There weren’t many who could trip Shen Chun up, he had an extensive network, and even Xie Baiyuan openly protected him. Hardly anyone dared to mess with him.

But Xu Ze wasn’t so lucky. There were plenty who bullied him; shifting their tasks onto him, stealing credit while stepping on him to prop themselves up. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he tried to resist, but his temperament leaned toward quiet endurance, which only emboldened certain people further.

“This proposal was well written, keep up the good work,” Lu Tao praised as he held Wang Pengcheng’s event plan. “We’ll go with this. Coordinate the expenses with the External Relations Department.”

“Thank you, Director. I really appreciate your trust,” Wang Pengcheng replied with a charming smile. “Would you like to grab a meal together later?”

“Sure, we can take the opportunity to discuss the event details,” Lu Tao said with a smile. “Next time, everyone should draft a preliminary plan for the team-building event as well. That’s all for today’s meeting. Let’s all put in a bit of extra effort this time.”

“Got it, Director.”

“Not a problem.”

“Just doing what we should.”

The others chimed in one after another, while Shen Chun’s gaze fell on Xu Ze, who stood quietly to the side.

The young man kept his head down, looking a little drained. While the others got up and filed out one after another, he remained seated, only slowly rising after a long pause. His lips were tightly pressed together, the corners of his eyes tinged red, and his steps sluggish and heavy.

It wasn’t jealousy, his proposal had been stolen. But in a setting like this, if he spoke up about it, others would just think he was envious and rude. No one would believe him. So he chose to endure it in silence.

In the original timeline, things had unfolded in a similar way. Xu Ze had been ostracized by his dormmates, even by classmates in the same year. Wang Pengcheng disliked him, yet shamelessly stole the proposal Xu Ze had painstakingly put together, deleting his original draft completely in the process.

There were no security cameras in the dorms, so he had no way to prove his case, even reasoning with others was out of the question.

It was stifling and helpless.

Lu Tao didn’t concern himself with things like this; he only believed what he saw with his own eyes. In the original timeline, it was Xie Baiyuan who noticed Xu Ze quietly wiping away tears by himself. After learning what had happened, he reached out to the tech team, recovered the original file, and resolved the issue—deepening Xu Ze’s feelings for him even further.

Now that the person was his, Shen Chun naturally had no intention of letting the old gears click back into place.

Shen Chun finished writing his proposal quickly. Since they were in the same organization, he naturally had Xu Ze’s contact information. He sent a message straight over: I’ve finished my draft. Want to exchange and learn from each other’s experience?

Xu Ze paused in the middle of his research when he saw the new message. He quickly picked up his phone and replied: I haven’t started yet.

He finished the whole thing in just one afternoon?!

The reason Wang Pengcheng’s proposal had been selected was entirely because Shen Chun had been temporarily assigned to the External Relations Department. Wang Pengcheng hadn’t actually contributed any real planning.

Shen Chun’s proposals were often used by the department head as exemplary models. If Xu Ze had a chance to see one, it would definitely help him gain valuable experience.

Shen Chun sent another message: It’s okay, just send yours to me once it’s done.

He sent over the files one after another. Xu Ze could only quietly receive them, opening the team-building proposal document. As he read through the plan, he silently closed the browser tabs he had previously opened.

Compared to this, he really still had a long way to go.

Xu Ze replied, Okay, I’ll finish it as soon as possible.

“Hey, you’ve already finished your proposal? That’s fast,” Wang Pengcheng said, appearing behind him at some unknown moment, looking at the open document.

“That’s not mine,” Xu Ze hurriedly closed the page.

“Tch, it’s just a quick look. So stingy,” Wang Pengcheng scoffed before turning and walking away.

Xu Ze let out a sigh of relief, carefully organizing the files before reopening his browser to search for new materials.

It wasn’t until lights out that Xu Ze finally shut down his computer, reset his password, and went to wash up and sleep.

“Team-building proposal?” Xie Baiyuan sat beside Shen Chun, looking over it. “There’s nothing wrong with what you’ve done. What do you want me to check?”

“To prove it was done by me,” Shen Chun replied.

Xie Baiyuan pondered for a moment. “Has someone stolen your work?”

“Not exactly,” Shen Chun’s eyes darkened slightly. “But President, since you’re so skilled, have you ever had your work stolen before?”

“When I first joined the student council, someone did try,” Xie Baiyuan said seriously. “But he didn’t expect that I had backups on both my USB drive and cloud storage, including the whole process and materials. So the trail was exposed.” He gave a firm reminder, “You should take precautions too. Most people mean well, but there are always some who might have bad intentions. Why did this happen to you this time?”

“There are people like that in the Organization Department, but they haven’t targeted me yet. I’m listening to you and staying cautious,” Shen Chun smiled.

“Good. If anything happens, let me know,” Xie Baiyuan said coldly.

“Alright.” Shen Chun closed the file, glanced sideways at his serious expression, then leaned in and kissed him.

Xie Baiyuan was suddenly kissed, his heart racing a little faster. “What’s wrong?”

“The president is really adorable,” Shen Chun said as he closed his laptop and leaned in, studying his slightly flushed cheeks. “How about we sleep together tonight?”

“The dorm’s not very soundproof…” Xie Baiyuan hesitated slightly.

Although he also wanted to be closer to his lover, the dorm wasn’t exactly a good place for that.

“Hm?” Shen Chun’s tone was teasing. “President, it’s just sleeping, what are you thinking?”

Xie Baiyuan’s cheeks, already tinged pink, suddenly flushed bright red. “I—I meant the same thing.”

“Oh…” Shen Chun’s voice lingered playfully as he smiled. “It’s okay. I always believe in the president.”

Xie Baiyuan: “…”

What a little troublemaker.

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