Lin Xiaojin quickly retracted her foot and stuffed it into her ill-fitting flat shoe, her long, slender legs pressed tightly together. Her face flushed red with shame as she cursed inwardly, “Pervert!”
Qin Ge sneered, “I was openly appreciating beauty, while you were sneaking around stealing.”
Caught red-handed, Lin Xiaojin immediately gave up all resistance.
“Alright, it’s getting late. Go home,” Qin Ge waved her off without further delay.
It was as if she’d been granted amnesty. Lin Xiaojin turned and ran.
Before she could leave the office, her second-hand phone suddenly chimed.
Seeing the 500-yuan transfer from Qin Ge, she turned around and asked in confusion, “CEO Qin, why did you send me money?”
Qin Ge closed his eyes and yawned, “Massage fee.”
According to Gambling Agreement Two, he needed to have at least three consecutive days of financial transactions.
After getting caught once, Lin Xiaojin definitely wouldn’t go near the snack area again in the coming days.
Without an excuse to pay her, how was he supposed to obtain the Divine Power [Immunity to All Poisons]?
…
The next morning.
In the main group chat of the entire Jiangxue Group, every employee received two notifications from Zhou Mei:
[Starting today, the company’s registered name will be changed from ‘Jiangxue’ to ‘Qin Tiancheng Group.’ Please take note.]
[At 9:00 a.m. today, all employees of Qin Tiancheng Group are required to go to Yunhai City’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital for a full-body medical check-up. Transportation and medical expenses will be fully reimbursed by the company. Note: Interns must also participate and will be reimbursed accordingly.]
In the afternoon, at the intern desks in the Operations Department, a flamboyantly dressed girl stared at Lin Xiaojin’s medical report and suddenly shrieked, “Holy crap, Lin Xiaojin, is this an ECG? Why are there arrows going up and down all over the place?”
“Your body’s in worse shape than a tractor from 1982!”
“Even my grandpa’s medical report doesn’t look this bad!”
Flustered, Lin Xiaojin quickly flipped the report over and pressed it against the desk, then glanced nervously at the surrounding stares of the full-time employees.
She bit her lip and didn’t say a word.
She knew her health wasn’t good, but she hadn’t expected it to be this bad.
Still, her family was broke.
There was no way she could afford any kind of health care.
Fortunately, she was still young and could probably hang on for a few more years.
Once she saw off the person who gave birth to her and raised her, she could close her eyes without regret.
At that moment, Zhou Mei, dressed in her standard office uniform, suddenly entered the Operations Department.
Everyone instantly retracted their gazes and rushed back to their desks like they’d been injected with adrenaline, hammering away at their keyboards.
New leadership always came with sweeping changes.
No one dared to offend Zhou Mei right now.
Knock knock!
Zhou Mei stopped in front of Lin Xiaojin’s desk, tapped the tabletop, and looked at her, saying, “CEO Qin wants to see you. Head to the CEO’s office.”
“Huh?”
Staring at the medical report on her desk, Lin Xiaojin gulped nervously.
“Hurry up,” Zhou Mei urged. Once Lin Xiaojin left, she turned her gaze to the intern who had been shouting earlier.
She beckoned her over and pointed to the desk next to Lin Xiaojin’s, saying, “From now on, you’ll be working at the desk beside Lin Xiaojin.”
Even Zhou Mei didn’t understand why CEO Qin, after reviewing the surveillance footage, first said he wanted to fire that girl, then changed his mind and asked her to stay—specifically assigning her to sit next to Lin Xiaojin.
She was completely baffled.
But she was just a hardworking manager—doing whatever CEO Qin instructed.
…
Knock knock!
Lin Xiaojin knocked on the CEO’s office door. After receiving a response, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.
What had happened the night before felt like a dream to her.
Once she woke up, Qin Ge was still the high-and-mighty CEO, and she was still the Operations intern working nine-to-eight for a paycheck.
“CEO Qin, you wanted to see me?” Lin Xiaojin stood in front of his desk, both hands clasped in front of her stomach, her fingertips pale from how tightly she was pinching them.
Before Qin Ge could say anything, she nervously volunteered, “CEO Qin, my health won’t affect my work. I promise I can complete all assigned tasks on time. Please give me a chance.”
The timing was too suspicious—right after the medical check-up report came out, CEO Qin specifically called for her.
What were the odds?
He probably saw that her results didn’t meet company standards and wanted to fire her.
But she desperately needed this salary.
Even as an intern at Qin Tiancheng Group, she was earning 8,000 yuan. After social security deductions, she still had nearly 7,000 yuan left.
That was 2,000 yuan more than the total she’d earn hustling through part-time jobs every waking hour.
And that wasn’t even counting the raise if she became a full-time employee.
She couldn’t be fired.
She absolutely could not be fired!
Qin Ge stretched, yawned, and said lazily, “I’m a bit tired. Come give me a massage.”
With that, he turned and went into the rest area.
Just like the night before, he lay down in the same position and closed his eyes, urging her, “Don’t just stand there. Do it like last night. Use more strength.”
Lin Xiaojin nodded quickly and hurried over to massage him.
This time, she gave it everything she had—like she was fighting for her life—doing her best to please Qin Ge.
After all, she was already being blackmailed.
And now, her medical report was embarrassingly bad.
If she provoked this unpredictable CEO Qin again, her job would be done for.
For the sake of her salary!
For the chance to become a full-time employee!
She had to make Qin Ge satisfied!
But while the ideal was beautiful, reality was cruel.
With her poor health, Lin Xiaojin barely lasted thirty minutes before her arms became sore and numb—she could barely feel them anymore.
“Slacking off again?”
Qin Ge opened his eyes and asked in annoyance.
Lin Xiaojin shook her head, “CEO Qin, I’m not slacking. I just have no strength left. Can I rest for a moment? I promise I’ll keep going right after, with full strength.”
Qin Ge smirked, “I’m just getting into it, about to enjoy myself, and you want a break? Keep going! If your hands are tired, use your feet. Didn’t you prove last night you don’t have athlete’s foot?”
He flipped over and lay face-down on the Simmons mattress.
Lin Xiaojin hated herself for being so weak.
Why did she have to run out of strength now?
More importantly, she didn’t dare refuse anything Qin Ge asked.
If he got angry and kicked her out of the company, she wouldn’t just lose the chance to go full-time—she might not even get her intern wages.
Thinking of that, she reluctantly took off her flats.
“Wait.” Qin Ge, still lying down, called out. Then he opened the bedside cabinet.
Inside was a whole stash of unopened stockings.
0D, 5D, 10D…
Every denier. Every color.
Black, white, red, gradient…
The variety was overwhelming.
Qin Ge casually grabbed the 10D black pair on top and tossed it in front of her, as if he had planned this all along, “Put these on. Even if you don’t have athlete’s foot, we still need to prevent close contact. After all, men and women should maintain proper boundaries.”