Wen Qinxi The IT Guy

In a futuristic skyscraper located in City A, the office was boisterous with employees carrying out their daily targets in a vibrant colourful work environment. This wasn't your average boring old fashioned company run by old farts. It was one of the most unconventional yet productive companies globally with innovative games launched every month catering to all kinds of preferences.

The gaming experience provided by this company was unmatched in the industry but it wasn't enough for CEO Qie Ranzhe, a fourth-generation heir who built GameX from the ground up. GameX was always ahead of its time producing thousands of patents annually, always the head and never the tail.

Qie Ranzhe had a game-changing vision that would wreak havoc in the gaming industry and thus introduced project Flagship with a team of experts brought on board to bring to life a new virtual-reality game with a whole new gaming experience that could bring their competitors to their knees and Wen Qinxi was part of that team.

The genius had only been a part of the company for less than a year. Nine months of being labelled an intern though he had the full benefits of a permanent employee. Wen Qinxi went through months of hazing by senior staff, from coffee runs to photocopying documents and still achieve his daily targets.

At first, he had accepted it as part of the company culture like making fun of the new guy but when the person employed after him didn't go through the same experience, he soon realized that it was all on purpose. His co-workers instigated by his manager had overlooked Wen Qinxi's outstanding resume and only focused on the high school he attended.

The gossip after that was, "That new guy, Qi something went to the same school as the CEO and were even in the same class. That's why he got the job in the first place,"

"l heard he was the CEO's lackey in high school so he got the job pushing out more capable candidates,"

The gossip got even weirder especially after being selected into the new team for project Flagship, "l heard he belongs to the CEO. He's a kept man,"

'****! Laozi belongs to no one,' he thought angrily stomping out of the break room when he overheard them gossip. It was true that he and Qie Ranzhe were former classmates but they barely had any interaction all throughout high school. Their social circles were worlds apart though they were physically separated by a single desk.

Wen Qinxi fell under the charity case class sponsored into the school for their outstanding performance but Qie Ranzhe was from the Forbes group that literally ran the school. To top it all off he was a male god the school grass featuring in every girl's wet dream.

The one memorable encounter he had with Qie Ranzhe was when he asked him to help throw a twinkies wrapper into the bin as he hurriedly ran off for swim practice. They operated in different circles and Wen Qinxi was fairly certain Qie Ranzhe didn't even know his name let alone his face.

But to the whole office, he was a man kept by the overbearing CEO. From then on, he stayed in his bat cave with his own personal coffee maker and packed lunch. He no longer mingled with the rest of the staff hence starting the legend of the troll that stews in his office all day long plotting against mankind. He came to work early and left work late that was his daily bread minimizing the risk of bumping into his co-workers to almost zero per cent.

Today the so-called troll, Wen Qinxi, was busy programming the software for project Flagship when he received an unusual phone call. He picked it up with his eyes fixed on the monitor as he typed at light speed. "Hello, Wen Qinxi's office, how may l help?" he politely answered the phone though cursing in his head, 'who the **** would be calling when we have a fuckin deadline.'

Recently the head of the department had been on their throats trying to get Flagship up and running before the previously stipulated deadline, a direct order from the guys upstairs. The entire company was made aware of the urgency of this project and hence the team was not to be disturbed but some jerk had the balls.

"Umm...Wen Qinxi, sorry to bother you but l need your help," said an angelic loli voice that had him wagging his invisible tail, "my computer won't turn on and tech support is not picking up, it's pretty urgent. Will you come upstairs and help me please," she said in a pleading tone.

Okay l wi-," he replied before the phone was rudely cut off but he didn't seem bothered. If it was anyone else, he would have told them off but Wen Qinxi immediately dropped his work and rushed like a knight to rescue the damsel in distress. That damsel was Li Menxie, a gorgeous goddess and one of the executive assistant to the commander and chief. Okay, Wen Qinxi was not doing it for the good of the company but for the good of his little brother, that was only familiar with the five knuckle shuffle.

He hoped his charming looks and genius mind would score him some points with a beauty queen and even if she rejects him she could set him up with a few of her friends. He excitedly jumped into the elevator and pressed the highest floor possible that led to the director's floor after that he had to be escorted into another elevator with military-grade security to get to the CEO's office.

Li Menxie smiled at him flashing her beautiful pearly white teeth and led the way. Wen Qinxi's IQ dropped drastically as he fumbled through his words trying to strike up a conversation. "So when did it start giving you problems?" he asked as she did a retina scan to open the elevator

"Since this morning," she replied with a fixed smile on her face that was obviously forced but Wen Qinxi was too dense to take a hint. She was somewhat irritated but had to act polite so he could help her before Qie Ranzhe comes into the office.

"Did you check if all the ports were plug-in correctly because sometimes it's as simple as that?" he asked with a sweet smile that would normally charm any maiden but Li Menxie who had been constantly exposed to Qie Ranzhe's male god appearance had become immune to any other man's charms. She only had her eyes set on the big whale and cared less for the plankton in the sea.

If I hadn't would I have called you? Just get it done before the CEO comes into the office," she replied no longer concealing her annoyance as the elevator doors opened. Wen Qinxi wasn't stupid, he realised then he had been tricked into coming and was now being given a cold shoulder since it was too late for him to back down.

'I guess it's just you and me for a while Lil bro,' he thought to himself while walking over to her desk.

word count: 1240

Chase A Skirt

Wen Qinxi didn't waste any time, he was under pressure to deliver but had foolishly got roped into doing a task outside his job description all to chase a skirt. He had never felt this fuckin stupid before as he studied the device checking all ports. Li Menxie rolled her eyes at him thinking, 'You think I am that fuckin' stupid not to check my ports before calling you?'

Irritated to the max, she quietly slipped away while he crawled under her desk to inspect further. Wen Qinxi scowled when he figured out where the problem was, the plug wasn't even turned on. "You didn't check the power supply, somebody must have switched off the main circuit without your knowledge!" he yelled with his head lodged under the desk as he reached out to switch it on. The only thing you could see was his perky tooshie protruding from under the desk.

Qie Ranzhe who had just come out of the elevator walked into this kind of situation with a strange man under his assistant's desk talking to himself his butt sticking out. His brows furrowed as he gestured for security to manhandle the crazy lunatic hanging around his office without permission.

Wen Qinxi who had just switched on the computer was then dragged out from under the desk and forced to face a domineering handsome guy with bewitching phoenix eyes holding him hostage. '****! Is this Qie Ranzhe? Holy shit how can a man be this fuckin handsome. Is he a fuckin god in disguise sent to shame the rest of us!' he thought averting his gaze. He suddenly felt so inferior like a chicken amongst peacocks.

Now he understood why his charming smile did shit for him on Li Menxie, faced with such a dazzling man every day what more could she want. It wasn't just his face, the guy was a head taller than Wen Qinxi with a well-built body that made him envious. "Haha, I came to fix your assistant's computer. I am the IT guy," he said nervously laughing while staring at the beefy security holding his arms at either side.

Qie Ranzhe didn't say anything, he tapped the keyboard with his long slender fingers before placing his hands in his pockets. Wen Qinxi sneered within as he looked down at his own stubby fingers thinking, 'Just fuckin awesome, Mr Perfect over here making me feel like crap. Do you even have a single flaw?'

"It seems to be working fine, what was the problem?" he asked in a cool unhurried tone.

'Because I fuckin fixed it you asshole!' he screamed internally with a fake smile gritting his teeth. "It was a minor issue, the power source was switched off and I turned it back on for her."

Qie Ranzhe nodded his head while saying, "Okay, I understand. What department are you from?" Wen Qinxi sighed in relief as the security released him, surely Qie Ranzhe was an understanding man. But no matter how understanding he was, Wen Qinxi was not stupid enough to truthfully divulge that he was from the innovation team and a lead programmer to the project Qie Ranzhe had rendered top priority. If he found out that he was here turning on a beautiful woman's computer instead of working on the project, he would be in a shit load of trouble so he lied.

"I am from Tech support," he said really glad that Qie Ranzhe had absolutely zero impression of him otherwise who knows if he would still have his job by the end of the day. Just as Qie Ranzhe found the answer acceptable, Li Menxie walked in with a touched-up face. She most definitely had slipped away to redo her makeup without even telling Wen Qinxi.

'Oh **** me! You left me talking to myself like a crazy person just so you could look good for your boss. Shit! How can she be so ruthless,' he thought while hoping Qie Ranzhe would let him leave.

"I am from Tech support," he said really glad that Qie Ranzhe had absolutely zero impression of him otherwise who knows if he would still have his job by the end of the day. Just as Qie Ranzhe found the answer acceptable, Li Menxie walked in with a touched-up face. She most definitely had slipped away to redo her makeup without even telling Wen Qinxi.

'Oh **** me! You left me talking to myself like a crazy person just so you could look good for your boss. Shit! How can she be so ruthless,' he thought while hoping Qie Ranzhe would let him leave.

"Li Menxie, did you call tech support just to switch on your computer at the power source?" asked Qie Ranzhe pointing at Wen Qinxi. Her once beaming face when she saw her boss quickly turned sour glaring at Wen Qinxi with a 'don't fuckin ruin this for me' expression. That's when Wen Qinxi realised he was going to be the sacrificial lamb by fire by force.

"No president Qie, he called me to inform me something was wrong with my computer and couldn't gain remote access to it so he had to come up and physically fix it," she said with a black expression lying through her teeth. She knew Wen Qinxi couldn't sell her out because he was guilty of abandoning a top priority project to help her. Hell, she was prepared to play the 'he is interested in me' card just to save face.

Wen Qinxi had an expressionless visage but was swearing like a sailor in his mind, he used swear words that weren't appropriate to say out loud especially to a lady.

Qie Ranzhe seemed to believe his assistant more concluding the situation as 'guy likes a girl and decides to stupidly use his IT knowledge to strike a conversation'. He dismissed Wen Qinxi and asked security to walk him out.

It would be an understatement to say Wen Qinxi walked out of this simply disappointed because he was extremely pissed off. Not just at Li Menxie but himself for being so stupid. At least Qie Ranzhe had no idea who he was otherwise he might have been slapped with a serious warning or even lost his position in the team.

Yes, Qie Ranzhe was that petty, he remembered the guy once tackled a boy for giving his girlfriend a unicorn pen which she had asked for in the first place. The sad thing was that the victim had zero interest in girls but was still tackled for it. Wen Qinxi returned to his office feeling crappy.

Qie Ranzhe, on the other hand, walked into his massive office while instructing Li Menxie to send the tech support guy's file. He wasn't going to let him get away without some form of discipline and maybe next time he won't treat his office as a dating site. While waiting for the file he took out his phone before dialling a number registered Huangzhi. His brows furrowed when a pre-recorded voice told him that the number was currently out of commission.

He leaned back into his chair with a pained expression on his face pinching the bridge of his nose frustrated. Huangzhi was the only woman that ever piqued Qie Ranzhe's interest enough for him to pursue her and he succeeded. They had been involved with each other for five years going on six when he proposed to her. Though it was a long-distance relationship, Qie Ranzhe was head over heels for her hence didn't hesitate but things didn't go as planned. She ruthlessly rejected his proposal, her reasoning being that he was boring and only put up with it because his mother begged him.

Throwing money at her was useless because unlike every other girl, her family's company was worth more than his. This was the reason why he worked hard to build something for himself so he could prove to her that he was capable but it wasn't enough to make her stay. It was evident that his number was now barred and it hurt like hell being rejected.

"Sir, I sent over the tech support guy's file," said Li Menxie interrupting his thoughts with a bashful smile. She was fully aware of the Huangzhi situation and hoped Qie Ranzhe would notice her even if it was as a rebound. If that happened, she would be set for life. Just thinking about it caused involuntary fissions all over her body, she would never have to work a single day her entire life.

"Wen Qinxi?" said Qie Ranzhe interrupting her corrupt fantasy.

Qie Ranzhe's eyes harden when he looked through the file, the pervert had lied to him. Wen Qinxi was part of project 'Flagship' and a lead programmer at that. At first, he wanted to just cite him for inappropriate behaviour at work but now he had to go for a harsher penalty..

word count: 1518

This skirt is too expensive

Wen Qinxi only left the office when he was done fixing the script for 'Flagship' and only left when he was sure there were no mistakes after compiling it into a program. Tomorrow they were going to run a trial on 'Flagship' so he had to be up early.

He left the comfort of a cosy office heading straight into the cold snowy night. Wen Qinxi ordered a ride and dinner from an app off his phone before crossing the street waiting for the car. Normally he would have taken the bus home but it was too late and didn't feel like spending two hours in transit.

The ride didn't take time to arrive so he didn't have to endure the cold breeze for long. He hopped into the car and lazily leaned back as he removed his glasses before rubbing his sore eyes. Spending the entire day looking at a screen wasn't doing his eyesight any good but he loved his job and wouldn't give it up for anything.

While he was taking some time to unwind, he got a call from his younger brother, Wen Danzhe whom he chatted with all the way till he got to his shabby apartment.

"What the **** bro? You got yourself tangled with a green tea bitch!" yelled Wen Danzhe through the phone when Wen Qinxi retold his terrible day. His brother was so loud that he instinctively removed his ear phones and opted for the loudspeaker instead.

Wen Qinxi let out an angry laugh while receiving his food delivery. "How messed up is that right? Anyway it doesn't matter at least it didn't get me into trouble," he said tossing the bag of food on the kitchen counter.

He took off his coat listening to his brother rehash how ruthless women are these days but Wen Qinxi was barely attentive settling down in the couch while opening his laptop. Because he was so busy today he hadn't checked his emails and needed to confirm his schedule for tomorrow.

While looking through his inbox sorting for an email about 'Flagship', an odd-looking email with the subject 'Notification of bonus cut back for Mr Wen Qinxi grasped his attention. He froze when he read the heading and suddenly cursed out loud, "What the ****! Shit, shit, shit!" while opening the email his fingers trembling like a leaf.

His reaction startled his brother who was still rambling on about women. "What's wrong? Qi why you are not answering, what the **** happened?" asked a panic-stricken Wen Da.

Wen Qinxi didn't respond for half a day thoroughly reading through the email which mentioned how he had disobeyed orders frolicking around when he had an incomplete top priority project. The penalty was getting his bonus slashed in half but to him, that was a bucket load of money.

He had a sibling and mother to take care of yet Qie Ranzhe had to go on being petty and screw things over for him. Curses rung the entire fourth-floor as Wen Qinxi vented his frustration. He was so loud that the neighbour had to knock on his door to shut him up.

"Dage now that's a fuckin expensive skirt and you didn't even get to hold her hand. I think this is the most you have ever spent on a woman," said Wen Danzhe sympathising with his brother.

"Shit! I am so fuckin pissed but I can't deal with it till we finalise project 'Flagship' otherwise he might ruthlessly slash the other half," said Wen Qinxi suddenly opening up the fridge to grab a beer. He normally wouldn't drink during the week but he was just too angry to care.

That night Wen Qinxi barely slept and woke up feeling heavy like he weighed a ton. Qie Ranzhe had really screwed him over but was powerless till at least after handing over the project.

He literally dragged his feet all the way to the office with prominent panda eyes. He wasn't in the mood to be here but he had no choice and so Wen Qinxi got straight to work. By the time the rest of the team arrived he had already run his program in the gaming capsule. The man was like a zombie downing tons of coffee but even as a zombie, he was still highly efficient.

While the team was conducting a trial run they were unaware that the CEO was behind a one-way mirror watching them as the project manager reported their progress. Though attentive, Qie Ranzhe was more interested in the zombie with panda eyes who seemed as though he was running the show.

Observing the little scammer now, made him feel a sense of familiarity as though they had met before but he couldn't put his finger on it. "That Wen Qinxi is he any good?" asked Qie Ranzhe pointing at the nerdy guy currently pushing up his glasses while typing at light speed.

The project manager's face crumpled hearing the CEO personally ask about Wen Qinxi especially after the rumours he heard that were flying around the office. Wen Qinxi's former manager had warned him to be wary of that young man but he never thought much about it till now. "He seems okay. Sir if he doesn't meet the standard I can replace him," said the manager unable to read Qie Ranzhe's face.

"You chose him for this project, if he doesn't meet your standard then do what you think is best. I don't give a damn who is in your team as long as you hand over the project by next week," replied Qie Ranzhe before walking out of the door. What he didn't know was that the manager took his words to heart, resulting in Wen Qinxi being kicked off the project the very next hour.

When Wen Qinxi heard that he had been replaced as lead programmer and kicked off the team, he was so livid that the jerk of a manager had kicked him out just when the project was being finalised.

He couldn't help but blame Qie Ranzhe and his stupid assistant for screwing with him over a trivial matter. The man didn't take it so well throwing a fuss in his office till he eventually calmed down.

The office suddenly felt stuffy, he just wanted a break from this crappy place otherwise he might say something he would regret. He regained his composure and opened his laptop applying for a five-day leave. Since it was a Friday and Wen Qinxi no longer had an urgent project, he packed his things and left without looking back..

word count: 1137