So much like Bai Xi

After Lin Jingchen left, Bai Chen gathered the teapot and cups upstairs, picked up the tray, and carried it down to the first floor.

As soon as he went downstairs, he saw someone hurrying toward him. Perhaps the injury to her hand was still bothering her, because there was a faint strain in her expression.

Still, she did her best to keep smiling.

The young woman stopped a few meters away and bowed deeply. Her eyes were a little red as she said, "Thank you, Young Master Bai. Thank you for speaking up for me. I'll earn the money to compensate that gentleman for his loss."

As she spoke, she held back her tears and offered Bai Chen many more words of thanks.

Bai Chen pondered what to say. After a moment, he said, "We'll consider this incident settled, but since it all started with you, there still has to be some punishment."

At that, the young woman immediately agreed. "I understand. Any punishment is fine. As long as you don't fire me, I'll do anything."

She was already deeply grateful for everything Bai Chen had done for her. The punishment didn't matter, as long as she wasn't made to leave.

"Then how about staying an extra hour every day for two months? Help the cleaning lady finish cleaning before you leave," Bai Chen asked.

He had given the punishment a great deal of thought. Docking her pay was out of the question.

Working at the teahouse didn't pay much to begin with, and she had a younger brother to support. Taking any more of her money would be far too unfair.

All he could do was have her work a little extra to make up for this mistake.

The young woman immediately nodded in agreement, without any objection to the punishment.

"Of course, Young Master Bai. I can do that. I'd even do three extra months."

She felt that Bai Chen's punishment was too light to make up for her mistake.

She also understood perfectly well why Bai Chen hadn't docked her pay, which only deepened her gratitude toward him.

Bai Chen had been watching her hand for a while, trying to see where she was hurt. Then he noticed a large patch of redness, swelling, and burns on her arm.

He pressed his lips together slightly, concern crossing his face. A burn that bad might leave a scar. It could become troublesome if she didn't go to the hospital soon.

He immediately told her, "Go to the hospital and have that arm examined. Take today off. The teahouse will reimburse your expenses. This counts as a workplace injury."

Her eyes widened slightly, as though she couldn't believe Bai Chen had noticed she was injured.

She quickly shook her head and refused. "There's no need, Young Master Bai. It's only a small injury. It's nothing."

Bai Chen certainly wasn't going to let her have her way. Instead, he felt even sorrier for her.

In a tone that brooked no argument, he said, "No. Go see a doctor right now. If it leaves a scar, it'll affect the teahouse's image. Then I won't be able to do anything about whether Manager Wang keeps you on."

He hadn't wanted to say something like that to her, but she was too stubborn. Without a little pressure, she would never willingly go to the hospital.

Sure enough, she grew anxious at his words and hurriedly pulled up her sleeve to check her arm. But she moved too quickly and tugged at the wound, making her suck in a breath.

Bai Chen had thought only her wrist was scalded. He hadn't expected her arm to be burned too, even worse than her wrist. Her long sleeves had kept the wound covered, and the fabric had stuck to it.

It looked serious.

Bai Chen quickly said, "Go to the hospital right now. Even if the doctor says it'll leave a scar, that's all right, but you have to go. Don't try to save money. I'll reimburse you. When you get back, take your medical report to Manager Wang."

The young woman could only nod through her tears and bow deeply again, tears pattering onto the floor.

"Thank you." With that, she turned and left. Her retreating figure looked frail. Perhaps she hadn't had a proper meal in a long time.

As Bai Chen watched her walk away, his eyes gradually darkened.

If her parents were still alive, perhaps she would have been a girl who smiled all the time.

Seeing her suddenly reminded him of Bai Xi. When he had gone home during a school break, Bai Xi, who was then in high school, had been just as thin and frail.

It had frightened him so much that he immediately took Bai Xi to a doctor.

To his surprise, the doctor said it was caused by prolonged malnutrition.

But he distinctly remembered sending Bai Xi plenty of money every time, enough for her to eat her fill. How could she be malnourished?

Still, he hadn't asked Bai Xi directly. Even if he did, with her stubborn temper, she wouldn't tell him.

Instead, he went to her homeroom teacher and quietly asked about her situation.

Only then did he learn that her homeroom teacher had gone to the classroom one day to look for someone.

By chance, she had seen Bai Xi sitting alone at her desk. All her classmates had gone to the cafeteria, but she was sitting there doing homework by herself.

The teacher said she hadn't gone inside at first, but had watched from outside. Then Bai Xi took a steamed bun out of a plastic bag and ate a few bites.

When it seemed a little dry, she took a few sips of water and kept eating.

The teacher had gone in and asked why she wasn't eating in the cafeteria. Bai Xi had replied that she wasn't very hungry.

Her homeroom teacher hadn't questioned that answer. She had simply reminded her not to keep starving herself to lose weight for the sake of looking pretty, then left.

She had never doubted the truth of those words.

Only in the end did Bai Chen learn that Bai Xi had become very frugal after their parents passed away.

From then on, he cooked plenty of nutritious meals for Bai Xi every day. Even after he returned to school, he made her send him photos of everything she ate at each meal.

Watching that young woman's retreating figure made him miss Bai Xi a little.

He really wanted to know how Bai Xi was doing on her own in that world, and whether she was eating properly.

"Mr. Lin? Where should we go first?" the driver asked from the front seat, addressing Lin Jingchen in the back.

"To the office," Lin Jingchen replied flatly.

"All right." The driver wanted to say more, but Lin Jingchen probably didn't want to hear that person's name.

He was leaning back in the rear seat, taking a short nap.

Before long, the car stopped in front of the Lin Corporation.

Lin Jingchen glanced at the silver watch on his wrist. It was only just past noon.

Inside the company building, the second through fourth floors housed the regular employees' offices. The fifth floor was for finance, while the sixth housed the senior management offices and rest area.

Lin Jingchen took the elevator straight to the sixth floor. One or two employees greeted him along the way, and no matter how bad his mood was, he still responded with a smile and a nod.