Lu Jiuyan frowned.
Why did he have this impulse to help her?
But she was just an ordinary female employee.
“Hey, isn’t that Xia Bai and the others up ahead?”
Su Lingyu, who had stepped out for a break after staring at her computer screen for too long, had just turned the corner when she spotted the trio not far away.
“Damn! That shameless bitch rushed over to cling to President Fu and General Manager Lu the moment she saw them! How disgraceful! Just wait till I teach her a lesson later!”
The furious Qiao Feifei beside her rolled up her sleeves, ready to charge forward immediately.
“Calm down, don’t be impulsive!”
Su Lingyu pulled her back firmly.
“Why are you stopping me?”
“We haven’t heard anything yet. If you rush over recklessly like this and it turns out the situation isn’t what you imagined, wouldn’t you end up embarrassing yourself in front of the Male Lead—I mean, President Fu and General Manager Lu?”
“What you said… does make sense.”
After thinking it over, Qiao Feifei temporarily agreed with her reasoning. “Then what should we do now?”
“How about we first observe what’s actually happening?”
“Fine then.”
Su Lingyu cautiously peeked out to look.
Was this some kind of battlefield where the Male Lead, Female Lead, and Male Lead Second were all present?
But that didn’t make sense—the romantic storyline wasn’t clear yet, and it shouldn’t be time for the three-way emotional entanglement.
But the Female Lead truly lived up to her title!
Just this iconic scene with two incredibly handsome men was enough to make countless female supporting characters grit their teeth in envy.
“What do you think they’re talking about?”
Su Lingyu, unable to hear the conversation, asked the person beside her.
“Xia Bai must be getting scolded by President Fu!”
“How is that possible?”
Su Lingyu didn’t believe it.
“Why wouldn’t it be possible?”
Qiao Feifei took one look at Fu Yuchen’s stern expression and felt completely certain about her guess.
“I think President Fu might actually be concerned about Xia Bai?”
In her years of reading romance novels, Su Lingyu’s experience told her this made more sense—a domineering CEO seeing the girl he loves doing menial tasks at the company, thinking she’s being bullied, hence his displeasure.
Noticing the light in Su Lingyu’s eyes, Qiao Feifei—who stood further inside—recalled that Su Lingyu used to dislike Xia Bai as much as she did, and ventured a bold guess:
“Hey, do you like President Fu too?”
“Of course not!”
Su Lingyu refuted without hesitation.
Everyone knew the Male Lead belonged to the Female Lead!
She had never entertained such presumptuous thoughts! Female supporting characters weren’t worthy!
“Alright, alright, no need to react so strongly if you don’t like him.”
“I was afraid you’d misunderstand.”
Su Lingyu looked seriously at Qiao Feifei.
As an early-dying cannon fodder female supporting character, she was trying her best not to make any enemies now.
“I recall you’re still an intern.”
On the other side, Fu Yuchen broke the silence after a moment.
“Yes.”
“So you’ve been late three times this month during your internship?”
“……”
Xia Bai lowered her head without responding.
If she had a choice, who would want to be late?
But her mother and sister at home always had unexpected situations that forced her into this position… Thinking of this, Xia Bai’s eyes began to redden.
She fought back tears: “I’m sorry, I promise I won’t be late again in the future.”
“Mm, remember that going forward.”
Fu Yuchen watched her pitiful, tearful expression.
The reprimanding words that had been on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back.
What was going on with this woman?
As for Lu Jiuyan, when he heard rustling movements nearby, he took a step forward and unsurprisingly spotted Su Lingyu hiding by the wall.
Confused.
What was she secretly watching this time?
Simultaneously, he hadn’t yet realized that the impulsive pity he felt for Xia Bai was gradually fading away…
“We should hurry and leave. It won’t be good if we’re caught eavesdropping.”
Seeing that their conversation seemed to be wrapping up, Su Lingyu tugged at Qiao Feifei’s sleeve.
“Alright, let’s head back to the office then.”
“You go first. I’ll catch up later.”
“Okay, I’ll head off then.”
Qiao Feifei waved at her.
“Mm.”
Watching her retreating figure, Su Lingyu was about to head in the opposite direction when a tall figure blocked her path.
“Where are you going?”
Lu Jiuyan looked down at her from his height.
“Uh, to the restroom.”
Su Lingyu lifted her head. Damn! Just moments ago she’d said not to get caught, and now she was cornered!
Had her mouth become prophetic?
The most frustrating part was that Qiao Feifei had managed to leave unscathed while she hadn’t!
She was terrified of being targeted by that black sesame dumpling. Tears welled up!
“Is this the route you take from your office to the restroom?”
“I wanted to take a longer way to slack off a bit.”
“…”
Lu Jiuyan’s eye twitched.
Was this how a company employee should speak to their boss?
To openly admit wanting to slack off—wasn’t that a bit too… honest?
“Which department are you from?”
“I…”
Su Lingyu paused. Was this the beginning of him holding a grudge for revenge?
But the company wasn’t that big, and she was standing right in front of him. Wouldn’t lying only make things more awkward if exposed?
“Hmm?”
“I’m just a lowly intern.”
Another intern? Lu Jiuyan glanced in Xia Bai’s direction. “Your batch of interns…”
Su Lingyu blinked at him. Was there a problem?
“If nothing unexpected happens, probably none of you will be retained.”
“Oh.”
“Oh?”
That was her reaction upon learning her internship wouldn’t lead to a permanent position?
“May I continue on to the restroom now?”
Completely unaffected by his words, Su Lingyu genuinely felt a slight urge to urinate.
Seeing her indifferent attitude, Lu Jiuyan looked at her with a faint, ambiguous smile, then shifted sideways to make way.
It seemed the intern situation needed stricter management!
In the restroom.
Su Lingyu washed her hands.
She truly hadn’t taken Lu Jiuyan’s words to heart.
According to the plot, Xia Bai and Qiao Feifei would be retained no matter what.
As for herself, she’d ideally return home right after completing her mission.
Everything beyond that—who cares?
“Bang—”
The restroom door suddenly swung open.
Xia Bai walked in carrying a mop and bucket.
“Are you… okay?”
Su Lingyu turned off the faucet, noticing Xia Bai looked rather pale.
Had Fu Yuchen really reprimanded her earlier?
“I’m fine.”
Xia Bai set her things down and shot her a resentful glance.
Waiting in the restroom just to mock her? How pathetic.
“Did President Fu say something harsh?”
“What’s it to you?”
No wonder she was waiting here!
So she’d been eavesdropping earlier? Hmph, how annoying and despicable.
“Don’t misunderstand. I just happened to pass by earlier and saw from a distance. I wasn’t deliberately eavesdropping or anything.”
Hearing the hostility in her tone, Su Lingyu quickly explained to avoid further misunderstanding.
“…”
Xia Bai lowered her head to rinse the mop, neither responding nor wanting to engage with her.
“Hey, don’t take it too hard. Everyone in the company knows President Fu is the cold type—his words can be quite blunt and hurtful. Don’t take it to heart.”