June 9, Monday.
Early in the morning, a light rain fell from the sky. Office workers hurried along both sides of the road as a blue Honda Civic sped past, splashing water.
The car turned at an intersection and entered Star Bay No. 1 through the North Gate 2. A moment later, it came to a steady stop in the sales office parking lot.
The driver's door opened, and a tall, beautiful woman stepped out. She wore a formal outfit: a suit jacket over a light blue blouse and a pair of crisp slacks.
The woman was Dong Linlin, the sales office's supervisor. Because of the weather, she had given up the figure-hugging skirt that showed off her shape even better. But even in slacks, it was hard to hide her perfectly shapely legs.
She jogged into the sales office, brushed the rainwater off herself, pinned on her name tag, and raised a hand to check the time. It was just 7:20.
The morning meeting started promptly at 7:30, and most people had already arrived. Dong Linlin was just about to gather her salespeople when someone called out behind her.
"Morning, Sister Linlin."
"Good morning, Xiao Qin."
It was Qin Shuang. Dong Linlin smiled and greeted her.
Qin Shuang carried an umbrella in her right hand and breakfast in her left. She hurried over to Dong Linlin. "Sister Linlin, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you?"
"No, not yet," Dong Linlin said softly. Seeing Qin Shuang carrying so much breakfast, she already understood that the other woman was trying to curry favor with her. She didn't mind.
She quite liked subordinates like Qin Shuang: clever, pretty, tactful, and capable.
"Perfect, Sister Linlin. I brought two extra portions of breakfast," Qin Shuang said with a grin, offering them to her. "They're grilled cold noodles from the place downstairs from my apartment. They're really good. I usually get up too late to get any, but I got lucky today."
"Grilled cold noodles... Thanks, Xiao Qin, but I don't really like those." Dong Linlin politely declined. She had started to reach out, but quickly withdrew her hand. Her expression didn't change, but her tone carried a faint hint of distance.
The moment she heard the words "grilled cold noodles," Dong Linlin felt distinctly uncomfortable.
Last night, a portion of grilled cold noodles had ruined her enjoyment of her late-night snack and indirectly kept her awake all night.
She was still feeling a little grumpy from waking up. For Qin Shuang to bring up grilled cold noodles in front of her now—she was already showing considerable restraint by not snapping at her.
Grilled cold noodles...
Don't let me see grilled cold noodles ever again!
Dong Linlin seethed inwardly, but couldn't help picturing the photo Li Xian had posted last night.
New Zealand Black Gold Abalone, Australian Lobster, Sturgeon Caviar, secret-recipe sweet sauce, bonito... It was just a portion of grilled cold noodles. Did he have to rub it in so much?
Poor grilled cold noodles had been one of her favorite snacks, but now she'd put them on her blacklist.
That showed just how badly Li Xian's grilled cold noodles with Australian lobster and black gold abalone had hurt her.
Qin Shuang didn't know what had happened, but her instincts told her she'd done something wrong. She hurriedly said, "It's okay, Sister Linlin. Then I'll..."
"The morning meeting's about to start. You'd better finish your breakfast quickly." Dong Linlin had lost her appetite.
With that, she turned and headed for the reception center. Qin Shuang glanced at the breakfast in her hands, thought for a moment, then tossed it into the trash before carefully following her.
Nine in the morning.
A phone ringing jolted Li Xian awake. He squinted at the screen and saw that his supervisor, Sister Gao, was calling. After a moment's hesitation, he answered, very reluctantly.
"Li Xian, do you know what time it is? Are you trying to quit or something?"
As soon as the call connected, he heard that familiar booming voice. Li Xian instinctively moved the phone farther from his ear.
Go to work?
I'm sleeping on a bed worth over twenty thousand yuan, and you expect me to earn just a few thousand in wages? Are you crazy, or am I?
There's no way I'm going to work!
I'm never going to work again!
"Yeah, Sister Gao. I don't want to work anymore," Li Xian said listlessly.
"You little punk, have you lost your mind..." Sister Gao paused, as if she'd noticed something off in his voice. "Li Xian, are you sick? If you're not feeling well, I'll approve some leave..."
"No, I'm fine..."
"Then why do you sound like you're about to die..."
"I... I was sleeping soundly, and you woke me up." Li Xian didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"All you ever do is sleep! Do you know how much you have to do today? Get to the office, now." Sister Gao raised her voice, clearly not taking Li Xian's talk about quitting seriously.
Li Xian scratched his head and said solemnly, "Sister Gao, I'm not messing with you. I really am quitting!"
"Hmph... If you don't work, do you plan to live off the wind?"
"Mm-hmm... I'll stay home and live off others until I die..." Li Xian rolled over into a more comfortable position and continued, "Sister Gao, let me call you after I wake up. Bye."
"You little punk—"
Li Xian hung up, switched his phone to silent, and went straight back to sleep.
It was still cloudy and drizzling outside. Li Xian loved this kind of weather. Not sleeping until noon would be such a waste.
Sister Gao's real name was Gao Ying. She was two years older than Li Xian, a true Northeastern girl with a broad build and a somewhat fierce appearance. She usually spoke very loudly and looked rather intimidating, but she was warmhearted.
Gao Ying usually took good care of Li Xian. She rarely called him out even when he slacked off. The reason was simple: there were only two men in the telemarketing department, and they were treated like precious treasures. Who else would she look after if not him?
Li Xian's behavior today really was strange. He never skipped work, and he was hardly ever late. Now, out of nowhere, he was saying he'd quit. Gao Ying couldn't help getting worried.
Had something happened to the guy?
No, she had to find out.
Gao Ying picked up her phone and called him. It rang for a long time without an answer. She tried a few more times, but got the same result.
At that moment, Guan Yuhan, sitting not far away, took off her headset and asked, "Supervisor, what's going on with Li Xian? We're short-staffed over here." She was the team leader of Li Xian's group.
"I don't know either. He's not answering my calls," Gao Ying said helplessly.
Guan Yuhan frowned slightly, looking displeased. "What's his deal? He skips work without a word and won't even answer his phone."
"Why don't you try calling him? You get along pretty well with him. Maybe he'll answer you," Gao Ying suggested.
"Okay, I'll give it a try." Guan Yuhan took out her phone and called Li Xian, muttering under her breath, "What a pain. Just wait until you show up. I'll teach you a lesson."
Beep, beep, beep...
The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered. Guan Yuhan tried a few more times, with the same result.
"Supervisor, see? He's not answering my calls either. He's getting way too bold."
"Could something have happened to him?" Gao Ying said with concern.
"Pfft... How could it?" Guan Yuhan scoffed. "I know him too well. He's easygoing and optimistic. He'd never do anything rash. Even if the world ended, he wouldn't."
"Ha ha ha... That's one way to put it." Gao Ying laughed, and most of her worry faded. "I just meant, what if..."
"There's no 'what if.'" Guan Yuhan sounded certain. "I bet he's slacking off at home. When he shows up, I'll give him a proper talking-to."
"Fine..." Gao Ying thought it over. "Then mark him absent today..."
"Definitely. Dock his pay. Better yet, dock him three times his daily wages."
"Sister Yuhan, isn't that a little harsh?" The only other man in Li Xian's department couldn't help chiming in.
"Why are you butting in? Get back to your calls. Li Xian's absent today, so make his calls too."
"Uh... Pretend I didn't say anything."
Li Xian drifted back to sleep, half-awake, and didn't stir until noon. He lingered in bed for a while before getting up to wash in the bathroom.
The enormous Presidential Suite was empty, with only him left inside. Cao Xue and her two friends had partied until midnight the previous night, then gone to work early that morning.
Now that there were suddenly fewer people in the suite, it felt a little strange.
Cao Xue was a bit of a handful, but she did help keep him entertained.
It was pretty fun to tease her now and then.
Of course, it would've been even better if her mouth were sewn shut.
After leaving the bathroom, Li Xian went to the kitchen and put a pot of water on to boil. Then he took out the mini wontons and special broth base he'd prepared yesterday.
Once the water boiled, he added the broth base and wontons. Before long, the kitchen filled with a savory aroma.
The broth base was seafood-flavored, made mainly with abalone and sea cucumber. The wonton filling consisted of king crab, mantis shrimp, lobster, and wagyu beef—a proper combination of seafood and beef.
Unpretentious Cookbook really suited Li Xian. It was filled with all kinds of snacks that satisfied his inner foodie.
And the recipes weren't complicated. As long as he didn't aim for perfection, he could make every dish himself.
Take these simple wontons, for example. What was so difficult about boiling water and making soup?
Of course, that was assuming someone else had already prepared all the ingredients.
Preparing ingredients was delicate work, and he wasn't suited to it just yet.
He carried the freshly cooked wontons to the dining table, blew away the steam, and took a blissful sip of hot broth. It was comforting from head to toe.
These wontons didn't need any dipping sauce. Adding one would only spoil their flavor.
As he ate his wontons and played on his phone, he saw his coworkers teasing him in their VX work group and nearly spat out his food.
These women really loved stirring up trouble. He'd only skipped work and shown off a little on Moments. What were they all thinking?
He couldn't take it anymore, so Li Xian quickly sent a message.
"What are you all guessing for? Your boyfriends are all GG, but your Brother Xian promises he's doing just fine."
"Ooh, Manager Li has finally appeared."
"Young Master Li, where are you having fun? You're not even going to work."
"Exactly. Not caring about money isn't like you. I heard the team leader's going to dock you three times your wages."
Three times his wages?
Please. He could spend over a million in a heartbeat. Did he really care about that little bit of money?
Li Xian curled his lip and tapped out a reply.
"Man, pretending has been exhausting!"
"I don't want to pretend anymore!"
"I'm the legendary rich second-generation heir!"
"Now I'm just going to live off others and wait to die!"
Less than two seconds after Li Xian sent those messages, the screen was flooded with reaction stickers.
"Haha, that's a pretty good joke."
"Oh my god, Li Xian, did you join a comedy troupe?"
"I can't take it. I'm laughing so hard my stomach hurts."
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