AM Chapter 23

23 Being Serious

Chen Mo had already guessed that the company he joined might have some connections or business dealings with Daxing Group. As a result, after checking online, among the three plans Liang Jingren initially gave him, only the company he now worked for had the least entanglement with Daxing Group—just some past project connections.

Chen Mo’s job position belonged to the software development category. The person in charge above him was very young, and although he always called himself “Code Slave No. 1,” he never treated his subordinates as slaves No. 2 or No. 3. On the contrary, he often worked overtime to “correct homework” for his subordinates and looked for newbies like him to “cultivate and improve” whenever he had time, being extremely dedicated and responsible.

Chen Mo had previously read many online articles complaining about the “996 blessing” (working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week), and he had even prepared himself to embrace the life of a corporate drone before joining the company. As a result, after joining, he not only felt the warm care from his supervisor but also enjoyed a relaxed week of onboarding training and the preferential treatment of leaving work early. He even got the independent and spacious workstation he had dreamed of.

He was a little bit disbelieving, feeling that everything he had obtained was planned and arranged by Liang Jingren. He was like a kept man, a “little white face,” unknowingly enjoying all the benefits that came to him.

But now, he realized he was wrong—

Liang Jingren was actually in his supervisor’s supervisor’s office, arguing with his supervisor’s supervisor about whether his tardy clock-in record today could be revoked and modified!

“It’s just this once!”

“Not even once! Not even if he’s your son!”

“You’re saying no? The last time the contract deadline was here, I gave you so many extra days! And now you’re telling me being two hours late is not okay?!”

“You couldn’t have accomplished that without us! You begged us to bring our team and invest in technology!”

…

Oh, so to outsiders, he was still Liang Jingren’s son. He was just being sentimental, thinking of himself as a kept man.

The two bosses’ boring argument attracted the eavesdropping of employees on the same floor. Chen Mo didn’t need to eavesdrop; he was already standing in that office full of calligraphy and paintings, but he silently retreated when he gradually couldn’t bear to listen anymore.

“Chen Mo, don’t overthink it. I hired you because of your resume.” His supervisor appeared at some point, patted his shoulder when he looked dejected, and nodded slightly.

Hearing this, Chen Mo looked at him in slight surprise. “But my resume was rejected by many people.”

“Are you serious?” The supervisor was even more surprised than he was, his eyes widened. “Did you apply to XX, BB, CCC, those big companies? They didn’t give you an interview?”

Chen Mo shook his head. “Too far away.”

The supervisor opened his mouth, gestured up and down with his fingers, and then closed his mouth again.

He thought: Chen Mo’s resume isn’t bad, it’s even very impressive. Being rejected was probably because of his application preferences. The largest company in the nearby cities is Daxing Group, and all other large enterprise groups or medium-to-high enterprise clusters are far away from here. Chen Mo is intent on staying and developing in his hometown city, so it’s naturally difficult to find a job that is suitable in all aspects.

It’s not because those bosses and HR people were blind and rejected Chen Mo, but because they were too self-aware, knowing that the meager salary they offered couldn’t tame this wild horse who had returned from studying abroad.

In fact, Chen Mo also has the option of working online. If someone could recommend him, and after a period of practical work assessment, Chen Mo would definitely be able to stay in a large company. But it’s better not to remind him now.

Chen Mo watched his supervisor suddenly close his eyes for no reason, and then thoughtfully nodded his head while holding up his fingers, completely confused.

However, compared to his supervisor, Chen Mo was more concerned about when those two inside the blinds would reach a conclusion.

In the end, the two bosses resolved the issue amicably and harmoniously.

Liang Jingren came out of the office with an air of victory and a smile on his face. He raised his chin at Chen Mo, who was standing outside the door, and said, “Half a day’s pay deducted, full attendance bonus still awarded.”

Chen Mo swallowed and politely returned a slight smile. At this time, his inner thoughts were as follows:

What to do… What if my alarm clock breaks one day and I’m late again? Will it piss Liang Jingren to death?

The employees on the same floor of the office immediately pretended to be working seriously after the boss came out. The supervisor patted Chen Mo on the shoulder, envied him, and then reminded him to hurry back to his workstation, while Liang Jingren turned and went in another direction.

Chen Mo followed his supervisor towards the corridor, and as he walked, he couldn’t help but look back. Once he looked back, he couldn’t help but run—straight to behind Liang Jingren, who was chatting with his boss.

Before he could reach out, Liang Jingren turned around as if he had noticed something. “What’s wrong? Still dissatisfied?”

Chen Mo’s hand froze in the air, and the expression on his face also seemed very dull and innocent. He subconsciously replied, “I’m not dissatisfied with anything…” Only Liang Jingren was being serious about being dissatisfied with his full attendance bonus. “I just wanted to ask… where are you going?”

Liang Jingren said, “Just taking a walk, looking around.” As he spoke, he raised his head and looked around the office in front of him. “The last time I came here, it wasn’t even renovated yet. It’s really growing bigger and stronger, President Li.”

President Li laughed and said, “Likewise, likewise!”

“I heard you also built a new employee cafeteria?” Liang Jingren asked.

President Li said, “Yes! But the cafeteria food is outsourced, so you still have to pay for your own meals. But I’ve inspected it, and the dishes are quite diverse, and the freshness and quality of the ingredients are guaranteed!”

“What’s the average cost per meal? Is there a meal allowance?”

“Yes! Dinner is free when there’s overtime!”

“Isn’t that how it should be?”

“Hey, look at what you’re saying, the money is still paid by the company…”

…

The two bosses started talking about unimportant cafeteria management issues—which Chen Mo saw as completely unimportant. He tried to insert himself into the conversation several times, but couldn’t make a sound.

His supervisor called him from the end of the corridor, and Chen Mo silently lowered his head.

“Let’s have lunch together.” Liang Jingren suddenly turned around to face him and said.

Chen Mo suddenly looked up at him.

Liang Jingren said, “President Li speaks so highly of this cafeteria, I have to try it.”

Chen Mo smiled and nodded, saying, “It’s really not bad.”

“Then hurry back to work, call me at noon.” Liang Jingren said, patting him on the shoulder.

Chen Mo cheered up, looked at him and nodded again, saying, “I will work hard!”

Chen Mo quickly returned to the corridor and walked forward with his supervisor. During this time, the supervisor asked him what he had just said to President Liang, seeing that he looked quite happy when he came back, his toes seemed to have springs, almost bouncing up.

Chen Mo thought: Is it that exaggerated?

But he really wanted to show off: “He said he’ll wait for me to have lunch at the cafeteria together.”

“Wow!” The supervisor exclaimed, then sighed, “President Liang is really a good father!”

Although he knew that the supervisor didn’t have the slightest hint of sarcasm, Chen Mo heard it and felt more and more childish—being happy because his father came to inspect his workplace and took the time to have lunch with him, it’s really like an elementary school student, so childish.

Chen Mo also found that this time he didn’t even think about refuting the term “father.” He seemed… not that disgusted with being a son.

That’s right, come to think of it, he had always enjoyed Liang Jingren’s father-like care.

No wonder he could easily call out “Dad” to Liang Jingren! Although he mostly called it with bad intentions.

As soon as the lunch break arrived, Chen Mo immediately ran into the cafeteria, panting. At this time, the cafeteria was sparsely populated, and Chen Mo saw at a glance the person sitting next to the most conspicuous green potted plant, looking at his phone.

He adjusted his breathing and slowly walked over to greet Liang Jingren. Liang Jingren looked up from his phone, then stood up and asked him to choose food together at the window, also asking him if he had any recommendations.

In less than five minutes, the two of them were sitting face to face at a square dining table with their plates.

“Aren’t you going back to the company?” Chen Mo asked as soon as he sat down.

Liang Jingren said, “Didn’t I promise to have lunch with you? Saves me from having to run back and forth.”

Chen Mo propped his chin up and smiled at the person across from him. “My work is that important, worth a special trip from a driver, so what about President Liang, or Chairman Liang? Aren’t you working at all today?”

“I’m going back in the afternoon.” Liang Jingren lowered his eyes and aligned his chopsticks.

“Actually, it doesn’t matter if you don’t go back to the company, right? Anyway, you don’t need to clock in, and besides, you’re already the chairman and CEO, the full attendance bonus is not even a drop in the bucket for you~” Chen Mo said, suddenly thinking of a question, and quickly asked, “By the way, what are the full attendance bonus tiers at Daxing Group?”

As a result, Liang Jingren not only didn’t answer his curiosity, but also laughed for no reason:

“Heh heh… Hahaha…”

“What are you laughing at?” Liang Jingren laughed too suddenly and nonsensically, Chen Mo was surprised and a little flustered.

Slowly, Liang Jingren stopped laughing, but the smile on his face remained. He seemed to exhale a breath of emotion, and then smiled with a completely relaxed attitude that Chen Mo had never seen before. “It’s good not to have to worry about money, right?”

The fluster instantly turned into excitement, because it was the first time he had seen Liang Jingren like this.

But after gradually understanding the connotation in the other person’s words, the excitement turned peaceful again, even a little bit silent.

Liang Jingren cares about money, and he became rich after marrying Chen Daxiang.

And he, Chen Mo, has no money.

This is reality.

“Uh… you… eat your food properly, what are you crying about?”

“Waaah, how would I know…”

Liang Jingren hesitated and reached out, Chen Mo blocked his hand, then covered his face with his hands.

“…”

Liang Jingren didn’t say anything, simply buried his head and ate his food.

Chen Mo looked at him through his fingers, unconvinced, and shouted, “Why aren’t you comforting me! I’m crying!”

Liang Jingren’s eyebrow twitched involuntarily, the expression on his face as if to say: Is that my fault?

At this point, Chen Mo didn’t want to cry anymore, but he still had to pretend. “Wuwu…” He put his hands on his eyes and rubbed them, trying hard to act! Afraid that others wouldn’t see that he was acting like a pitiful bug waiting to be comforted!

The number of people entering the cafeteria was slowly increasing, and if this continued, there was a risk of another “accident” or “story.” In order to maintain the reputation of the dead Chen Daxiang, and also to prevent the dead Chen Daxiang from crawling out of hell to scare people, Liang Jingren gritted his teeth, got up, bent over, and then rubbed Chen Mo’s head fiercely. He both comforted and whispered, “Cut it out, will you!”

Chen Mo took advantage and acted cute, wiping away his tears with a smile, pouting, and said, “Why do you always pat my head? Still treating me like a child.”

Liang Jingren coldly “heh”ed, “You are.”

Chen Mo’s eyes curved up, and he sweetly called out, “Dad, I love you.”

Like a bolt from the blue, Liang Jingren felt that he was burnt, dirty.

He thought: When it comes to being serious and not admitting defeat, Chen Mo claims to be second, no one dares to claim to be first, after all, who can be as thick-skinned as him.