Chapter 28: Find A Way To Ask Your Boss For More Money

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5310224
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

For people who go to work, a nap at noon is always not enough.

Half an hour later, Ji Lianxing woke up to the alarm. When she opened her eyes, she saw Jiang Shu also opening her eyes.

Their eyes met. Jiang Shu looked sleepy, and her eyes were a bit confused.

"President Jiang, I have to go. I need to clock in." Ji Lianxing lifted the blanket and got out of bed. She put on her shoes and got ready to leave.

"Mm, don't be late."

After leaving the office, Ji Lianxing fixed her messy hair. She saw the front desk lady already at work. Their eyes met, and they nodded at each other, using their eyes to say hello with understanding.

Ji Lianxing pressed the elevator button. The elevator showed it was going up—26, 27, 28...

When the door opened, she saw a familiar face. It was Li Xiangyan. He really seemed to like coming over here a lot.

She didn’t expect to run into him. It was a bit awkward. Ji Lianxing had to take the lead and say hello, “Brother Li.”

Li Xiangyan nodded and showed a somewhat friendly expression. “Hello.”

One person came in and one went out. Ji Lianxing stood inside the elevator, and her expression still looked a little unnatural.

“Then I’ll go down now?”

“Mm-hmm, goodbye.”

Li Xiangyan stared at the elevator door. He did not turn around until it closed. Then he asked the front desk lady:

“Does she come here often?”

The front desk lady only thought for one second and answered, “Once in a while.”

“Alright.”

Li Xiangyan walked toward Jiang Shu’s office. He walked with the wind, and his shiny leather shoes made crisp sounds as they hit the floor. He stopped in front of the office door. This time, he knocked. Only when someone answered inside did he open the door.

Jiang Shu was on the phone while making coffee. A light coffee smell filled the room.

Right when Li Xiangyan sat down, Jiang Shu finished her call.

“Just in time. Can you make me a cup too?”

“If you want to drink, make it yourself.”

Jiang Shu picked up her cup and took a small sip. The taste of coffee spread wildly in her mouth. The bitterness hit her head hard, helping her wake up a bit in the afternoon.

Li Xiangyan walked over to the coffee machine and changed the filter paper. The machine started buzzing again. He stared at the coffee machine in a daze. His ears had already blocked out the noise by themselves, and he fell into a short daydream…

The coffee got pressed out and dripped into a small white porcelain cup. Steam spread from the cup’s edge. A few minutes later, the machine stopped working. Li Xiangyan turned around, leaned on the counter, and looked at Jiang Shu.

“This weekend is your brother’s death anniversary.”

“I know.” The coffee in Jiang Shu’s mouth tasted even more bitter, but she liked this heavy bitterness.

“Take Jiang Xiaotan with you. I’m not going.”

Li Xiangyan picked up his cup and took a sip. His eyebrows tightened. He forgot the coffee was a bit too hot.

“Why won’t you go? It’s just this one day in the whole year.”

“Haha, going there just makes me sad.” Li Xiangyan put down his cup and walked toward the desk. He sat in the same spot where Ji Lianxing had just been.

“You and that girl aren’t tired of each other yet?”

“Not yet.” Jiang Shu opened her computer and got ready to analyze data. She saw Li Xiangyan still zoning out and did not know what he was thinking about. She added, “Not yet, but soon. The contract is only for two months.”

“Tch.” Li Xiangyan could not stop shaking his head. “Last night I took Jiang Xiaotan home. She said she likes that sister. She also said you think she’s different. I thought she must be really special.”

“She is different.” Jiang Shu looked at the computer screen, and her voice sounded flat without any emotion. “But whether I get tired of her or not has nothing to do with that. Even if she’s different, if I’m supposed to get tired, I still will.”

Jiang Shu’s long fingers moved across the keyboard like she was chatting with someone.

Li Xiangyan stared at her the whole time, watching closely.

Jiang Shu had the kind of looks that belonged to a cold beauty. Her personality wasn’t much different from her appearance. She was a cold person.

Even if she treated you well, it wasn’t from the heart. It was fake. All of it was fake. She was a master at putting on a show. Wrapped in that layer of burning charm on the outside was a frost that could never melt.

“How long are you planning to keep this up?” Li Xiangyan was talking about how she kept finding girls to sleep with her. Actually, Jiang Shu didn’t use to be like this.

“I don’t know.” Jiang Shu looked up at Li Xiangyan and even smiled. “But I’m pretty happy right now.”

“Don’t you plan to have a stable relationship?”

“Not planning to.” Jiang Shu didn’t hesitate at all. “I’ve never thought about it. And I can’t meet anyone I like. For me, keeping things fresh is really hard.”

Li Xiangyan looked like he was thinking. He had known Jiang Shu since they were kids. From what he knew about her, she really had never truly loved anyone. Even if you were her lover, and she treated you gently, it usually didn’t last long. Li Xiangyan quickly did the math in his head—it probably never lasted over a month.

“Looks like your freshness for her won’t even last as long as this fall.” Li Xiangyan laughed, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. For some reason, he thought of the way Ji Lianxing looked when she said hi to him just now after coming out of the elevator.

Among all of Jiang Shu’s lovers, Ji Lianxing was probably the one Li Xiangyan found the most pleasing to the eye. Not just because of her looks, but also because of the feeling she gave off.

Just a few short meetings had already overturned what Li Xiangyan used to think about her before they met: money-hungry, vain, flattering...

It was the opposite. Now Li Xiangyan felt that this girl wasn’t as bad as he had imagined. Of course, how he felt didn’t change anything about Jiang Shu.

“Jiang Shu, don’t you think you’re especially mean sometimes?”

“Hmm?”

“What if your little lover falls for you?”

“No way.” Jiang Shu looked like she couldn’t believe it. “Who would fall for their gold master?”

“You forgot? Your second lover loved you to death.”

Jiang Shu shook her head. “She was pretending. After she got the money, she never came to see me again.”

She looked at Li Xiangyan, and her expression turned serious. “I spend money just to make myself happy. Their feelings don’t really have much to do with me.”

“You’re not wrong.” Li Xiangyan curled his lips and shrugged. “That’s why I said it—you’re a bad woman.”

“That doesn’t matter. Everyone gets what they want.” While talking about this with Li Xiangyan, Jiang Shu suddenly felt a bit of a headache. In just a few moments, Ji Lianxing’s face kept flashing through her mind.

Can a canary fall in love with its gold master? No way, unless that canary is super dumb.

But what if? What if Ji Lianxing really liked her? Just thinking about it made Jiang Shu’s head hurt more. She felt like she was imagining something that could never happen, and the more she thought about it, the more annoyed she got.

“Li Xiangyan, you're thinking too much. Now you got me thinking too. I'm really busy with work.”

Li Xiangyan stood up. He knew Jiang Shu was telling him to leave. Besides, she really did have a lot of work. Now wasn’t the time to chat.

“I’ll go then. Bye-bye.” Li Xiangyan looked at Jiang Shu one more time. “Seriously, if you always walk by the river, your shoes are gonna get wet. I hope one day you fall for some woman hard, and it hurts bad.”

Jiang Shu raised her eyebrows and gave a mocking look. “I’ll be waiting.”

….

Ji Lianxing had just gotten back to her desk for less than half an hour when the team leader messaged her, asking her to switch seats with another coworker.

“Why?” It was Lu Fan who asked, clearly unhappy, there was unwillingness in his eyes.

“What’s it got to do with you? Focus on your work.” The team leader shot him a look. This kid could not stay put—still too young.

Actually, Ji Lianxing also wanted to ask why, but she felt there was something behind the team leader's words. It was not good to ask too much. Besides, she honestly did not want to sit between Mia and Lu Fan anyway.

“Okay, I will pack up now.”

“Come, Lao Liu*, you move over here.” The team leader waved at Lao Liu. He was a man about thirty-five or thirty-six, more laid-back, a veteran in the office.

*Old Liu 

Lao Liu did not mind at all. Isn't it just changing seats, it's no big deal.

“Mia will be your responsibility from now on, Lao Liu.”

Lao Liu frowned, the wrinkles on his forehead forming a clear “三”. Confusion was written all over his face.

“Mia is yours to handle now. Trust me on this, Lao Liu.” The team leader patted Lao Liu’s shoulder and gave him a wink as if trying to send some kind of message with his eyes.

Lao Liu hesitated for two seconds, then nodded. “Alright.”

Ji Lianxing quietly packed her things. A guess formed in her heart—was it Jiang Shu? Other than her, who else would take the initiative to ask for a seat change?

Thinking it over, it seemed like no one else.

At that moment, something seemed to have changed. Ji Lianxing could not quite describe her feelings. She was not sure if what she had done was right. Everything she had said to Jiang Shu at noon came from a need to “vent.” She had never expected Jiang Shu to do anything for her.

But what was Jiang Shu thinking?

As she thought, Ji Lianxing continued to move her things. It only took a short while. Only her computer was left on the desk when Lu Fan offered to help.

“No need. I can do it myself.”

“I will do it. How can I let a girl move things?” Lu Fan had already picked up the monitor and walked toward Lao Liu’s desk. Ji Lianxing said nothing and simply followed beside him.

"Xiao Ji, I’m really gonna miss you," Lu Fan suddenly said. It sounded sincere, but it felt out of place—after all, Ji Lianxing was just switching seats, not quitting.

"It’s fine, I’m right behind you. It’s the same. You’re still my friend." Ji Lianxing hoped Lu Fan would catch her hint. Being coworkers was fine, but anything more was impossible.

Lu Fan forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I get it."

Over on the other side, Mia had already started chatting with Brother Liu. She seemed to slow her speech and sweeten her tone when talking to guys.

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5310224
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

Hearing Mia’s voice, Lu Fan looked annoyed and said to Ji Lianxing, "It’s better that you’re away from her anyway. She’s kind of annoying."

Ji Lianxing had no interest in continuing the conversation. The moment the monitor was set down on the desk, she said, "Thanks," and ended it there.

Now in her new seat, Ji Lianxing felt much more at ease. But just as she relaxed, a call from an unknown number came in.

Ji Lianxing answered the phone and quietly said, "Hello." But the voice on the other side was Ji Siyu’s.

Ji Lianxing wanted to hang up, but his first words shocked her.

"My dad is not doing well. About these past few days, find some time to come back."

The news was too sudden. Ji Lianxing’s face turned pale. She stood up and went to the pantry.

"Not doing well? Didn’t he get better before?"

"This illness, even if it gets better, it’s only temporary. Spending hundreds of thousands won’t give him much more time."

Ji Siyu’s tone lost some of its arrogance. Maybe the little conscience he had was saved for his dad since all his dad could leave him was an old house that might be torn down anytime.

Ji Lianxing stayed silent. She didn’t know what else to say. The feeling of watching a loved one leave was too familiar. No words could change the pain.

"My dad wants you to come back and see him soon."

"Okay."

Ji Siyu didn’t argue. He hung up directly, leaving Ji Lianxing standing there, stunned.

Her phone buzzed with a message:

[If he passes, the funeral will cost money. The 250,000 is already gone. This is the last time. Find a way to ask your boss for more money.]

Sure enough, a dog never stops eating s**t. Ji Siyu still treated her like an ATM.

She replied:

[What makes you so sure you’ve got the right?]

[Have you forgotten how your mom died? Have you forgotten how my dad raised you all those years after she died?]

Looking at the cold words on the phone screen, Ji Lianxing’s eyes turned red. She almost cried. Ji Siyu had no heart. Why did he have to mention her mother?

Her mother's death was a regret she could not stop feeling even now.

Ji Lianxing stared out the window. The city’s splendor stretched far and wide. Tall buildings carried the charm of money and the games of power. But none of it was hers. She did not belong here.

If her mother were still alive, she would want to stay with her in that small town and grow old together.

But sadly, she was gone.

Another message popped up:

[I asked. The funeral service all-in-one costs at least 50,000 yuan.]

Ji Lianxing wiped her tears, and without any hesitation, she blocked the stranger’s number.

Author's Note: 

As usual, if it goes over 200, there will be two updates tomorrow.