Inside the President's office.
Assistant Liu was reporting on the company's status.
Catching a glimpse of Su Qingqing's unusual demeanor—the notoriously ice-cold President Su currently had reddish rims around her eyes—Assistant Liu paused mid-sentence.
Having worked by Su Qingqing's side for so long, this was the first time she had ever seen Su Qingqing display such girlish vulnerability.
Back when she served as the general manager of the headquarters, she had never seen a smile on Su Qingqing's face.
Very strange.
Assistant Liu pushed up the frames of her glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.
Could the truth be...
!!
A vision of a man in a wrinkled suit flashed through Assistant Liu's mind.
No way!
While this guy was somewhat good-looking, his talent and ability—
"What is it?" Su Qingqing suddenly raised her eyes, the lingering moisture in her gaze stripping the command of any intimidation.
Seeing this, Assistant Liu lowered her head instantly.
"Sorry, President Su, I was spacing out."
Su Qingqing said indifferently, "Keep your focus on the company."
"Understood, President Su."
Su Qingqing nodded, signaling that she could leave.
………………
Lin Ze returned to his workstation.
He heard the System's voice ring in his head.
A surge of heat suddenly shot through his lower back, and he jerked his spine straight.
This feeling was even more intense than pumping iron at the gym back in the day!
His chronically sore shoulders and neck let out a series of popping cracks.
The exhaustion from pulling all-nighters delivering food was swept away in an instant.
Awesome!!!!
He felt like he could sprint up to the sixth floor in one breath without getting winded!
Lin Ze eagerly anticipated what kind of rewards might come next.
Like stamina boosts, or extension perks, or something.
What man wouldn't want that?
………………
For the entire afternoon, Lin Ze lived in constant trepidation.
Fortunately, Su Qingqing didn't come to trouble him for the time being.
Off work! Time to clock out!
The moment Lin Ze saw the quitting time arrive—
Working overtime was out of the question.
He wasn't going to give any opportunity for overtime.
He finally let out a sigh of relief in his heart.
Much more relaxed.
He pulled the yellow delivery vest out of his bag.
Even with a day job, he couldn't let it interfere with his side hustle.
Today, he was going all out with food deliveries!
Gotta make money!
Gotta make money!
Lin Ze accepted over a dozen delivery orders.
Running around until twelve-thirty at night.
He furiously raked in one hundred and twenty yuan.
Then turned around and spent fifteen yuan on a bowl of pork trotter rice.
He carried the pork trotter rice home.
The next morning at work.
Everyone's phones rang at the exact same time.
@All Members:
Starting today, the entire salary structure will be adjusted to match the compensation of the Su Group headquarters.
Wang Jianping at the neighboring workstation suddenly cheered jubilantly, "Long live President Su!"
The whole office was in an uproar!
Lin Ze simply felt that Su Qingqing was humiliating him!
Four years ago.
He had majored in business administration, which practically meant graduating straight into unemployment.
However, Lin Ze—who was still a rich kid back then—didn't care in the least.
Having a degree was enough; his family had money anyway, so he'd just use university to get a gilded credential before heading home after graduation to inherit the company.
He looked down on Su Qingqing for studying so bitterly and diligently.
Unable to drag Su Qingqing away from her classes to skip them, he could only accompany her to class, disrupting her studies.
He mocked Su Qingqing for reading books, calling it useless.
Better off following him—after graduation, he would inherit his family's company and hire Su Qingqing to work for him.
Hearing those words, Su Qingqing had only looked at him with complete sincerity, her voice soft and sweet as she replied:
"Only by studying hard can one gain knowledge and capability..."
Thinking back now, the Su Qingqing of those years had been far too good-tempered, far too obedient.
Now.
Su Qingqing was an absolute witch.
"Putting on the act of a great philanthropist..."
He viciously jabbed at the calculator.
Suddenly, his eyes widened—under the new pay scale, he would take home an extra 2,280 yuan every month.
……………………
Lunchtime had arrived.
Lin Ze fished out the cold steamed bun left over from the morning, getting ready to make do with some hot water.
He hadn't finished what he bought in the morning, and throwing it away would be a terrible waste.
Beside him, Wang Jianping held his lunchbox, eating as he spoke, "President Su said she's treating the whole company to lunch today."
"If President Su hadn't forbidden people from picking up food on behalf of others, I would've grabbed yours for you."
"Hurry up and go get your lunchbox."
Seeing the lobster, braised pork belly, and spare rib soup inside the lunchbox, Lin Ze swallowed hard.
"Okay."
With that, he put down his schoolbag and hurried over to the lobby to collect his share.
The moment he reached the lobby, he saw Su Qingqing handing out lunchboxes.
He never expected Su Qingqing to be right here.
What kind of CEO hands out lunchboxes to employees personally?
What was her objective in doing this?
What was her hidden motive?
Lin Ze instantly lost the desire to collect his meal.
If he took it...
Wouldn't that be walking right into the tiger's mouth?!
Damn it.
He wasn't eating!
Still, it smelled so good!
Catching the wafting aroma of the food, his feet felt too heavy to pull away and return to his workstation.
He sat down at his desk.
So hungry!
Lin Ze hunched halfway over, clutching his stomach.
His stomach felt awful!
His gastritis was acting up.
"Click, clack, click..."
The sound of high heels striking the floor.
A familiar cedarwood fragrance mixed with an elusive sweet scent drifted over.
Without even looking up, Lin Ze knew who it was.
His heart thumped wildly, but he forced himself to lift his head, mustering a smile that looked worse than crying: "P-President Su..."
At that moment, his complexion was ashen, beads of cold sweat beaded on his temples, and his face—paled by stomach pain—looked like rice paper soaked in water, while his pitch-black pupils were veiled with a layer of shattered mist.
Qingwan looked down at his pitiful appearance.
It really... made one brimming with a desire to protect him.
She placed the lunchbox she was holding right on his desk.
"You didn't go get yours."
Staring blankly at the food container, Lin Ze was dumbfounded.
Su Qingqing was being this nice?!
This plot development was all wrong!
Did she turn over a new leaf?
Could there be a "biological weapon" hidden inside?
While his mind was running wild, Qingwan stepped away in her high heels, disappearing from the office.
Wang Jianping at the next desk immediately scurried over like he'd discovered a new continent, wearing a face full of gossip: "Bro, not bad! President Su is giving you special treatment again, and even feeding you personally. Spill! Is something going on between you two?"
"She just has too much money to burn!"
"Oh, so you're admitting to this lunch of love?"
Wang Jianping wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
……………
Lin Ze was choked into speechlessness.
The food was already served right at his mouth; not eating it would be a waste!
Even if it was poisonous, he'd eat it and then extort Qingwan for a hefty sum in emotional damages!
Lin Ze hardened his heart, popped open the lunchbox—oh boy! The sweet and sour spare ribs had a bright red glaze, the steamed prawns were plump, the lobster steamed egg was exceptionally tender, and there were even abalones.
Just looking at it made one's mouth water.
Upon opening it—
Wang Jianping exclaimed in shock from the side, "Your lunchbox is way too luxurious."
Staring at these dishes, Lin Ze suddenly realized: weren't these all the things he used to love eating?
And now...
The lunchbox she gave him happened to have all these exact dishes.
Coincidences don't just happen.
This woman was doing it on purpose.
She actually remembered a detail as trivial as what food he used to like!
That was simply terrifying!!!
Feeding him on the surface.
Dagger to the heart in reality.
Reminding him that he was no longer what he used to be.
Such deep scheming!
At this very moment, Lin Ze only felt that his future was pitch black.
He picked up an abalone with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth.
That familiar sauce aroma, the tender and smooth texture—
Sob, sob, sob, sob!
Good heavens!
Wasn't this precisely the taste of his favorite Michelin-pouched restaurant from back in the day?!
How could it be this delicious?!
How many years had it been since he last ate this?
Ever since going bankrupt, he could no longer bear to afford it.
Sob, sob, sob, sob!
It was still the taste from his memories.
…………………………