Extra: The Liar 02 (Wolf & Rabbit) – You reek. Go wash up before you come back!
This was the second time Gao Tu had taken leave this year, and it had only been half a month since the last time.
The sudden onset of his heat caught him completely off guard.
The bedsheets were drenched through, his body weak and feverish. Because of his pheromone disorder, this heat was even worse than the last.
After lying at home for three full days, Gao Tu finally managed to pull himself together enough to return to the office.
But the aftereffects of mixing painkillers with suppressants had become more and more obvious. His body felt heavy, his mind sluggish. Even at his best, it already took everything he had just to keep up with the elites at the company—now it was even harder, barely manageable.
But compared to the difficulty of work, the emotional pressure was worse.
For some reason, since this last leave of absence, Shen Wenlang’s attitude toward him had become even harsher.
If before, Shen Wenlang was just a bit picky, now he seemed to go out of his way to find fault, to the point of nitpicking everything.
What hurt even more was how openly disgusted and indifferent he’d become toward Gao Tu.
“Get out.”
That was the first thing Shen Wenlang said when Gao Tu stepped back into the office after his leave.
The most eligible bachelor in Jianghu City didn’t even look up when he added:
“You reek. Go wash up before you come back.”
Gao Tu’s natural pheromone scent was sage.
Compared to Hua Yong’s orchid fragrance, his fresh sage scent was hardly stunning—but it was absolutely not stinky.
Yet to hear it so cruelly dismissed by the man he’d secretly loved for ten years—Gao Tu felt like a knife was twisting in his chest.
He stood there in the doorway for several seconds, lips pressed together, before finally forcing himself to murmur an apology and quietly back out.
Gao Tu had always thought himself lucky.
When he’d nearly been forced to drop out of school for being unable to pay tuition, he was lucky to have met Shen Wenlang, who was sponsoring struggling but outstanding students at their school.
When he was looking for a job, he was lucky again to land in a position so close to Shen Wenlang.
Not long ago, when he couldn’t afford the scheduled surgery for his sister Gao Qing, he was lucky yet again—Shen Wenlang had silently covered all the costs.
So, even if Shen Wenlang had a sharp tongue and a nasty temper, to Gao Tu, he was still like a savior.
Every time he was backed into a corner, Shen Wenlang would swoop in from nowhere to help him, tough on the outside but soft at heart.
At first, Gao Tu liked him simply because he was brilliant, dazzling, someone who stood head and shoulders above the crowd. Shen Wenlang’s radiance made someone as ordinary as him feel envious, irresistibly drawn in.
Back then, he didn’t even know that Shen Wenlang was the generous “long-legged uncle” who had helped him stay in school.
When he finally learned that Shen Wenlang was his benefactor, the one who had given him the chance to finish his education, Gao Tu decided then and there: Shen Wenlang was an angel.
To be able to interact with him up close, to work for him—he felt unimaginably lucky.
And to keep that luck, Gao Tu was willing to give everything.
“Secretary Gao, you don’t look well,” said one of the assistant secretaries near the end of the day, handing him a piece of chocolate with a worried look. “Is your blood sugar low?”
“No,” Gao Tu politely thanked him. “Thanks, Eric. I just didn’t sleep well. A little dizzy.”
“But… there are several puncture marks on your arm,” Eric said, concerned. “Were you on an IV? But they usually stick the back of your hand for that…”
“No,” Gao Tu lied gently, “I had a bit of a fever, so I’ve been getting antipyretic injections the past few days.”
“Oh!” Eric nodded. “You really don’t look good—your face is flushed, and you seem exhausted. If the fever hasn’t gone down, why not take a couple more days off?”
Truthfully, Gao Tu also regretted not resting longer.
He should have at least waited until his heat was completely over and his scent faded before coming back.
After being chewed out by Shen Wenlang and told he “reeked,” Gao Tu couldn’t help sneaking off to the restroom to give himself another suppressant injection.
The cold liquid rushed into his veins, the sharp pain making him let out an involuntary whimper.
Sitting in the not-soundproof stall, Gao Tu pressed himself against the wall, teeth clenched, eyes tightly shut, his eyeballs trembling under his thin eyelids as his breath came rough and heavy.
The doctor had strictly forbidden him from continuing to mix painkillers and suppressants. So he’d been forced to give up painkillers and simply endure the pain of the side effects.
Since stepping up to shield Shen Wenlang that day, taking on Sheng Shaoyou’s pheromonal suppression, his episodes of pheromone loss of control had only gotten worse, his disorder more severe.
The doctors at the pheromone clinic had repeatedly urged him to check in for long-term treatment, but he kept refusing. With his sister’s surgery coming up, he was running back and forth between the hospital and company these days, with no time to be hospitalized himself.
Meanwhile, in the HS Group chairman’s office—
Eric brought a cup of tea to Shen Wenlang but had barely turned to leave before he was stopped.
“Where’s Gao Tu?”
“He… I think he went to the restroom,” Eric answered cautiously.
During Gao Tu’s leave, Shen Wenlang’s mood had clearly soured. The chairman’s office had turned into a hell no one wanted to enter. Everyone who came in spoke as little and as softly as possible, terrified of provoking the “angry wolf” and getting chewed out.
“If he’s not on leave, then he’s hiding in the restroom. Does he not want this job anymore?”
Eric really wanted to say something in Gao Tu’s defense. He wanted to tell Shen Wenlang that Gao Tu was the most dedicated employee in the company—no one came close. Since starting here, Gao Tu had perfect attendance every month, with unused vacation days every year. He wasn’t slacking now either; he was just unwell and had gone to the restroom.
But faced with the snarling wolf, Eric kept his mouth shut.
He didn’t know if Gao Tu still wanted this job—but HS’s salary was among the best in the industry, and even if Shen Wenlang wasn’t exactly the easiest boss to work for, Eric still sincerely hoped he himself could keep this job forever!
“Go get Gao Tu. Tell him to stop brooding in the restroom and come see me, now!”
“Oh—yes, right away.” Grateful to be dismissed, Eric quickly backed out of the office.
He found Gao Tu at the restroom door.
He looked even worse than he had that morning—his lips pale, his forehead damp with cold sweat.
“Secretary Gao, are you okay? Maybe you should go to the hospital,” Eric suggested.
“I’m fine.” Gao Tu had plenty of experience enduring his heats. He didn’t think this time was any different. Summoning his strength, he asked, “What do you need?”
“Oh!” Prompted, Eric finally spoke up. “President Shen wants to see you.”
Gao Tu froze for a moment, then nodded right away. “Okay, I’ll go now.”
Eric hesitated but kindly warned in a low voice: “Be careful. President Shen seems to have misunderstood something. He was really angry.”