For a moment, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
It wasn’t until Li Jing had a sudden flash of inspiration: “Customer, what is it that you do for a living?”
The inquiry didn’t seem forced, and the guest explained good-naturedly, “I don’t have a job; I stay at home to take care of my children.”
Hearing this, Lu Yao was even more unable to figure out the reason. Before this, she had been much like this guest—at home without a job. Since that was the case, it was unlikely for their paths to cross. This guest wasn’t introduced by Shen Qing, nor was she Jiang Yunyun. So, where had she heard that Lu Yao had opened a flower shop, and why did she travel such a long distance to support it?
The guest wore a faint smile, her gaze drifting lightly toward Lu Yao.
“My husband said he ran into you at a bar. You were with Chen Shi at the time, and he told us to come and show our support,” the guest explained in a few short sentences.
Chen Shi?
Lu Yao recalled the scene at the bar that day.
“I see,” Lu Yao murmured, lowering her head in thought. Chen Shi had been surrounded by people at the time; likely, someone had asked, and he had mentioned it in passing. Then, this lady had actually come.
Now that she understood the situation—and considering this guest had indeed supported her business—she realized she had inadvertently incurred another debt to Chen Shi.
Lu Yao knit her brows. She couldn’t very well show her displeasure in front of the guest, so she quickly composed herself. “I don’t believe I know your name yet.”
“Just call me Tang Xuesheng,” Tang Xuesheng said. Her manner of speaking was dignified; she was a proper lady.
After Lu Yao noted down her name, the two chatted a bit more. Tang Xuesheng was very easy to talk to and liked Lu Yao’s personality; they had a very pleasant conversation. When Tang Xuesheng left the shop, Lu Yao even gave her a single wrapped flower as a gift.
Watching the guest depart, Lu Yao walked to the checkout counter and picked up her phone, which was charging. She suddenly remembered that she hadn’t deleted Chen Shi yet. She had originally planned to delete him after a while, but she had been so busy until now that she had only just remembered.
It was probably a good thing she hadn’t; if she had deleted him too early, things would be awkward now.
Lu Yao prepared to send a message to Chen Shi to say thank you. When the message was sent, a large red exclamation mark appeared on the screen. She thought the network was bad, so she edited the message and tried sending it again. This time, she was prompted that the other party had blocked her…
She had been deleted by Chen Shi.
Today, Chen Shi had gotten up very early, intending to perform well at the company.
Luo Yueming had introduced him to Mr. Shao, and Mr. Shao’s side was short on people; he had said many flattering things to Chen Shi. Chen Shi felt there was hope for a transfer. Once he was working under Mr. Shao, he wouldn’t have to be dispatched to the branch office. These past few days, he had been full of drive, working even more efficiently than he did under Luo Yueming.
He walked to his workstation. A colleague at the next desk, biting into a biscuit, greeted him: “Not working at your station again today?”
Chen Shi smiled with self-satisfaction. “President Luo asked me to go help out over at Mr. Shao’s.”
Everyone understood the meaning behind his words.
The colleague smiled but said nothing, turning away to roll their eyes. A moment later, just as Chen Shi finished packing his things to head to Mr. Shao’s side, he was called into Luo Yueming’s office.
Though puzzled, Chen Shi went in. This time, he didn’t feel his usual nervousness when knocking on the door. He thought that since he was about to become Mr. Shao’s subordinate anyway, there was no need to fear Luo Yueming.
“Come in,” Luo Yueming’s voice came from behind the door.
Chen Shi pushed the door open and walked in. “President Luo, I’m here.”
Luo Yueming didn’t look at him; her eyes were fixed on a document on her computer, her voice devoid of any inflection. “What time is it?”
Chen Shi’s heart instantly tightened. For some reason, this simple question from Luo Yueming still made him feel uneasy. He answered in a small voice, “Ten-thirty.”
“Ten-thirty…” Luo Yueming’s chair turned, and she looked at Chen Shi. “The company starts work at nine o’clock. Where have you been for the last hour and a half?”
“I…” Chen Shi’s palms felt hot. “I wasn’t late. I just went to Mr. Shao’s side first. He left me some unfinished business yesterday, so I went there to wrap it up.”
Mr. Shao had been introduced by Luo Yueming herself; surely, she wouldn’t be angry. Chen Shi was scared to death.
Luo Yueming paused slightly. Those few seconds allowed countless guesses to rise in Chen Shi’s heart. A moment later, he only heard the cold words falling from her lips: “I thought you had gone to a bar to drink again and overslept.”
Chen Shi braved it out: “I wouldn’t dare do it again.”
“Wouldn’t dare?” Luo Yueming sneered; her eyes filled with a biting chill. “Aren’t you quite daring? Taking someone to a bar and even introducing them to the company’s people.”
“!!!”
A jolt went through Chen Shi’s entire body. Meeting Luo Yueming’s eyes, he knew he was finished. He had been gambling all along—gambling that those people could help, and gambling that Luo Yueming wouldn’t be too angry even if she found out. It was just that President Luo’s arrangements the next day had almost made him forget about the matter.
Since he had already deleted the contact, he felt as though the matter had already passed.
How did President Luo know? Did Lu Yao tell her? Chen Shi explained with rapid breaths, “At the time, I just wanted to help resolve the conflict between you two.”
Luo Yueming looked at Chen Shi. Her inorganic gaze was like she was looking at a file on the computer, evaluating his value. Finally, she delivered her judgment.
“The company’s dispatch begins next week. Go back and prepare. You don’t need to come to work for the rest of this week.”
“But what about Mr. Shao’s side?”
“Hmm?”
“I understand.”
Chen Shi left the office unwillingly. After the door closed, Luo Yueming lowered her eyes. She looked at a fountain pen placed next to the computer. The tip was sharp; if stabbed into someone, it could leave a long gash. Her strange mood filled her mind with all sorts of thoughts; at that moment just now, she had truly wanted to hurt someone.
Luo Yueming’s slender fingers picked up the fountain pen and toyed with it, turning it with very small movements, acting cautiously as if she were afraid it would fall to the floor and break.
It could be a potential weapon. Yet it was also incredibly fragile.
She looked at this expensive fountain pen and suddenly stood up from her seat, tucking the pen into her pocket as she did so. On her way out, she passed several of her subordinates who asked where she was going.
“Going home for a bit.”