Assistant Architect

Chapter 186: Second Brother

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Upon hearing her declaration, Zhang Siyi perked up and quickly asked: “Someone is harassing you too?”

Startled for a moment, Gu Yao paused then spoke: “Wait, what? What do you mean?”

However, her attention was quickly diverted by Gu Yu’s chilling question: “What harassment? Make it clear.”

Gu Yao hesitated for a moment before slowly explaining: “Last month, a new very wealthy client took interest in our company and the manager brought me to the preliminary wealth management financial meeting. At that time, the client took notice of me. As our department was managing his investments, he came over frequently each week. Anytime there was a meeting, whether it was in the building or out to lunch, he requested my presence. As this was part of our department, I couldn’t refuse. However, not long ago, he wanted my business card and had added me to his WeChat contacts. Privately, he began to ask me out saying that he wanted to take me to a movie or have dinner with him. I seriously refused every time, but he didn’t stop. Recently, he has been sending things to my office every day. At first it was cakes, but lately it has been other things. Today, he sent a large bouquet of roses!”

Zhang Siyi mouth twitched. Why does this sound so familiar? He just received a cake today at noon...... Fuck, Gu Yu was right. Bai Rui really thought of him as a young girl!

Gu Yu calmly asked: “How long has he been asking you out privately?

Gu Yao: “It’s been almost two weeks.”

Gu Yu frowned: “Why didn’t you speak up earlier?”

Gu Yao hurriedly replied: “I thought I clearly rejected him. I didn’t think he wouldn’t understand my refusal. I told him to stop sending me things but he told me that it is his business whether or not he sends them and if I didn’t like it, to simply throw it away. Then I asked him what motive he had by giving me so many gifts. He claimed that he wanted nothing but to go out to dinner together. And if I don’t go with him, he would just continue sending me things....”

Zhang Siyi angrily said: “Damn! What a jerk!”

Gu Yao cried out: “Yes!”

Gu Yu was livid: “In addition to the gifts, did he do anything else? Anything physical?”

Gu Yao shook her head: “Nothing yet, but the incidents have greatly impacted work. Now, every time he sends something, it causes the people in my department to go into a frenzy.”

Gu Yu sighed. He told Bai Rui to leave to prevent the same type of thing from happening. He never thought his sister would have the same problem. Unlike Zhang Siyi, he wasn’t able to do anything about it.

Knowing his sister hadn’t yet been subjected to physical harassment, Gu Yu slightly relaxed. He went to the kitchen to get a bowl of rice for her: “Come, eat first. Then we can discuss it.”

Even though Gu Yao didn’t feel like eating, she accepted the bowl of rice and using it to relieve her fustration, she poked her chopsticks at it: “He also was sending things to the entire office staff. The day before, not only did he buy lilies for the front desk, he also gave my department Starbucks coffee. While I can toss the things he sent me into the garbage, I have no right to tell my colleagues what to do. Since my circumstance are benefiting them, some are on his side. They have made remarks telling me I should cherish him and quickly marry the rich so I don’t have to work.”

Zhang Siyi indignantly said: “He is holding you hostage! Since he is putting the pressure on you through your coworkers, he is trying to force you to submit. How despicable!”

Gu Yao blinked her red eyes: “Yes. I studied hard to go to a famous college so I could get a good job to support myself. Am I supposed to give up on my hard-earned work? A girl from the office who I thought was my friend told me that I was too cold. She said that if she had such an admirer, she would be moved to tears and that I should be grateful.”

Gu Yao whimpered: “If I don’t like him, is it my fault he doesn’t accept my rejection?”

Zhang Siyi hurriedly replied: “Of course it’s not your fault! It is the man’s fault for not respecting you. He’s an asshole.”

Surrounded by an unhealthy environment for so long , Gu Yao was starting to feel like something was wrong with her. She was stunned by the forcefulness of Zhang Siyi’s declaration. Finally, after so long there were people on her side. A bright light pierced the fog of suffering.

Gu Yao firmly said: “That’s right. He imposed his will onto me with gifts and used my colleagues for his selfish wishes. He didn’t care about my feelings at all and that’s what makes me really uncomfortable!”

Gu Yu raised one of his eyebrows and asked: “With a small gift, are you supposed to run into his arms? Surely, your colleague doesn’t really believe that is love. “

Gu Yu joked: “Besides, if you run away from just a few gifts, what were all those years of food for the Gu family for?”

Breaking the heavy atmosphere, Zhang Siyi laughed out loud. Gu Yu’s joke was just the right medicine.

Gu Yao started laughing. She wiped her tears and smiled: “You are the one getting the food!”

Gu Yu gave her a piece of braised pork and said: “Come on and eat.”

Watching his sister visibly start to relax and begin eating, Gu Yu inquired: “Have you ever spoken to your colleagues about your feelings?”

Gu Yao: ” ... No.”

Gu Yu raised his eyebrow questioning: “Why not?”

Gu Yao felt bitter: “Now that the client was pursuing me, the financial manager is taking special note of me. If I offend the client, I’m afraid that my actions will affect the company negotiations with the client’s account. I was simply going to be quiet about it, but now that my coworkers are also giving me a hard time...... I really want to quit!”

Zhang Siyi impulsively reacted: “Don’t quit!”

Gu Yu frowned slightly then looked at Gu Yao and asked her three questions: “Has the situation already reached the point where you have to quit to resolve it? It isn’t your fault the client is pursuing you, so why do you want to quit? You worked really hard to get that internship at the company and they finally have begun to recognize your contributions. Do you want to just give up?”

Gu Yao bowed her head: “But what can I do?”

Gu Yu was very serious: “If you have a problem, does quitting solve it? Since you are an adult now, you can’t just quit when things get rough. Do you think myself or Siyi wouldn’t help you? Are you afraid of getting bullied?”

Stirring her rice gently, Gu Yao responded: “Hmm.”

Listening to Gu Yu’s Remarks, Zhang Siyi remembered his own declaration of wanting to quit and felt a bit self-conscience. His slight embarrassment quickly passed when hearing Gu Yu talk about him like he was already party of the Gu family. He flushed red. Like a blood related brother, he felt a responsibility towards Gu Yao.

Gu Yu went on to say: “The first problem you have to solve is the attitude of your colleagues. Make sure they understand your thoughts clearly. I don’t believe a few cups of coffee will buy the favor of everyone in the department. I suggest that you first talk with your boss. Is your financial manager a woman?”

Gu Yao: “Yeh.”

Gu Yu: “She should be able to understand your situation better. If you can make your predicament clear, she will definitely be able to do something about it and make a difference.

Gu Yao frowned: “But, what if she doesn’t understand?”

Gu Yu chuckled: “You won’t know until you talk with her and if you do, and she decides to use your presence to attract his sale, then the company you work for isn’t worth working for. In the face of the worst outcome, you can hand in your resignation.”

Nodding, Gu Yao remarked: “I know.”

Gu Yu ate a couple of mouthfuls of soup then continued: “But, I’m still worried about the situation. Starting tomorrow, for the next couple of weeks Siyi and I will take turns bringing you to and from work.”

Gu Yao: “Ah? Aren’t you both very busy? Wouldn’t it be too much trouble?”

Zhang Siyi: “It’s no trouble at all. What if the client isn’t just inside, but outside too? What are you going to do alone?”

Gu Yao shrunk her neck sheepishly: “In fact, he was waiting for me downstairs when I got off work these past two nights.”

Zhang Siyi: “What?”

Gu Yu face became serious: “All the more reason to pick you up.”

Zhang Siyi blurted out the first thing that came to mind: “I can pretend to be your boyfriend. If he knows that you are in a relationship, then he should stop harassing you, no?”

Unexpectedly, Gu Yao said: “I have already tried that tactic and lied to him about having a boyfriend. When he investigated it himself, my lie was exposed when he went to talk to my colleagues. He also knows I have two brothers, so it would be impossible.”

Surprised, Zhang Siyi asked: “You talked about me with your coworkers?”

Gu Yao: “Yeah. During a department lunch, I was asked where I live and I told them that I live with two brothers; elder brother and a second brother.”

Zhang Siyi: “...”

While listening, Gu Yu he glanced at Zhang Siyi. He raised his hand to cover his mouth in attempts to hide his soft laughter: “Perfect! Brother Siyi “ge” and now a second brother “gege”.

When Gu Yu accented the second ‘ge’, Zhang Siyi gave Gu Yu a hard stare.

Adept at reading the current mood, Gu Yao ate two mouthfuls of rice then said: “Right, gege it is.”

Zhang Siyi: “......”

Gu Yao grinned then asked: “You mentioned being harassed too... What did you mean?”

Zhang Siyi looked embarrassed and didn’t want to answer.

Gu Yu replied for him: “He also encountered something similar to you.”

Wide-eyed, Gu Yao stared at Zhang Siyi: “Recently? My brother’s love rival? What girl is so bold?”

Zhang Siyi didn’t have time to stop Gu Yu from blurting out: “It’s a man!”

“Pfffft——!” Gu Yao’s food sprayed out of her mouth and she coughed. “Second brother is so popular!”

Not wanting to comment, Zhang Siyi lifted his rice bowl in front of his face and ate. Being pursued by more than one man isn’t something worth showing off!