AM Chapter 36

36 Storm Warning

Chen Mo finally ushered in his first official overtime moment at his first formal job. The company’s system was well-established, and overtime came with reasonable and generous overtime pay, so Chen Mo had no complaints about it. That is, until he worked overtime for seven consecutive days, he began to suspect that his overtime was secretly arranged by Liang Jingren, who had specifically requested it from his superior’s superior.

After all, his overtime life began the day after he and Liang Jingren had an unpleasant breakup in the underground garage over the dinner issue.

In the seven days of continuous overtime, there was actually a weekend in between. However, Chen Mo didn’t get a good rest at all. On Saturday, he was called back to the company by his boss to team up for double wages. He finally had a chance to relax on Sunday, but Xu Yilin called to invite him to dinner. He ran to the flower shop full of excitement, only to see Xu Yilin standing behind a van, rubbing his hands and smiling as he asked him for a “small favor” – and then he was forced to unload goods for half a day.

“I knew I shouldn’t have come if I had to work!” Chen Mo had specifically put on a neatly ironed white shirt with a casual vest, but now he was rolling up his sleeves and acting as a porter for flowers and plants.

Xu Yilin said with a smile: “Ah, the food is more delicious after labor! I said I’d treat you to dinner, I didn’t make you work for nothing!”

Chen Mo carried the green plants and potted plants from the van into the flower shop time and time again, with sweat all over his forehead and back. The sticky feeling made him uncomfortable, but he didn’t want to stop to wipe his sweat or pull his clothes, after all, his hands were covered in ash and mud from moving the flower pots, and he didn’t want to ruin his face and clothes.

But he agreed to Xu Yilin’s shameless request, defiling his own body, selling cheap labor that was only worth a meal – just because of Xu Yilin’s words: “Aren’t you trying to woo me? Helping out can greatly increase your favorability in my heart, making it easier to succeed~”

After Xu Yilin reassembled the outdoor rolling shelves, Chen Mo also helped to put the potted plants, which had been wiped clean and trimmed, on them one by one.

After the hard work, Chen Mo almost collapsed in the flower shop. He snatched the only chair with a backrest in the store and also occupied the spot directly under the air conditioner vent.

Although Xu Yilin looked about the same size as him, he had to go through such a round of unloading tests every quarter, so his physical strength had long been trained. After finishing, he clapped his hands and was able to run and jump to Zhao’s coffee shop to get the reserved drinks and snacks.

Watching Xu Yilin put the full box of freshly fried, fragrant snacks on the work table away from the air conditioner, Chen Mo could only look and look, filled with gluttonous desires, but without the slightest strength to raise his arms, reach out, or move the stool.

After resting for about ten minutes, Chen Mo slowly recovered and slowly moved himself and the chair to the side of the work table.

Scanning the electronic clock on the table, it was already almost five o’clock in the afternoon, and it would soon be time for dinner.

“This isn’t the meal you’re treating me to, is it?” Chen Mo picked up a plastic fork and poked at the fried taro balls, which already had a tough skin.

Xu Yilin was counting the succulent potted plants in the foam box, not looking at him at all, “If you can fill up on it, then consider it your dinner~ It’ll save me a sum of money!”

“You’re so shrewd, Boss Xu!” Chen Mo gritted his teeth.

Hearing this, Xu Yilin turned his head and confidently replied: “That’s right!”

Later, Xu Yilin still took him out to dinner, but Chen Mo was a little too familiar with the location.

When he walked into the Daxing Group building with Xu Yilin, who had taken off his floral apron, Chen Mo’s face seemed to be tired too, unable to make any expression.

The elevator arrived on the third floor, and the moment the door opened, Chen Mo looked at Xu Yilin faintly, “Why did you bring me to a place like this for dinner…”

Xu Yilin turned to look at him, very sincerely, “It’s clean, hygienic, cheap and delicious, isn’t it good?”

The two walked out of the elevator, and Chen Mo suddenly stopped. He flattened his mouth and said, “I’m tired of eating here.”

Xu Yilin turned back in surprise, “Are you an employee here?”

Chen Mo shook his head.

Xu Yilin thought for a while, and understood, “Oh! You live near here, right! Otherwise, who would be as idle as you, always drilling into my shop when they have nothing to do.”

Chen Mo: … You can analyze it, but why are you scolding me?

“Who’s idle, I have a proper job, okay.” Chen Mo hammered his sore arms with soft fists. Seeing that Xu Yilin ignored him and continued to walk forward, he had no choice but to follow with tired steps.

Besides the cafeteria that offers internal discounts to employees, there is also a snack street on the third floor. Whether it is the cafeteria or the snack street, the food provided here is cheaper and larger than what is sold in the nearby commercial streets.

But ordinary people wouldn’t think of going into someone else’s company building to eat, Chen Mo thought: Xu Yilin is really extraordinary.

“Did Liang Jingren bring you here to eat before?” Chen Mo asked curiously as they walked through the snack street.

Xu Yilin said: “No, my girlfriend brought me here the earliest. She was a store manager at the time, and it’s close here, so she often ate here. I was still a salesperson running outside for others at that time.”

“Oh…”

“Does Liang Jingren also come here to eat? I don’t seem to have seen him much.”

“Well… he usually eats in the cafeteria.”

“That’s no wonder, I don’t sit there much. Most of the people who come to the cafeteria are people from this company. If an outsider sits in the middle and takes up a seat, it will be very obvious. I usually take it somewhere else.” Xu Yilin said with a smile, “And I’m also a little tired of eating in the cafeteria. I’ve been liking to eat some heavy flavors recently, haha~”

“By the way,” Xu Yilin suddenly turned his head and glanced at him, “You said before that your father and Liang Jingren are friends, so you’re very familiar with him, but no matter how familiar you are, you can’t call your elders by their names directly, right?”

Chen Mo didn’t want to talk about this topic any more, so he obediently perfunctorily said, “Yes, you’re right to remind me. I actually usually call him Director Liang or General Manager Liang. I don’t mean to disrespect anyone. I’m just a little relaxed in front of you.”

His last sentence couldn’t flatter Xu Yilin at all, but instead made Xu Yilin roll his eyes.

“Heh, aren’t I several years older than you? I haven’t seen you respect me.” Xu Yilin laughed speechlessly and said, “You’d better not relax in front of me. Be a little more tense, Chen Mo.”

Before long, Xu Yilin took Chen Mo to the front of a spicy and sour rice noodles shop that he often ate at recently and sat down.

Chen Mo looked up at the signboard with speechless eyes, “So, treating me to dinner means just a bowl of noodles?”

Xu Yilin greeted the aunt who was busy in the open kitchen in a cheerful voice, and turned his head to smile at him: “I’ll add a chicken leg for you~”

Chen Mo looked at the bright smiling face in front of him and pursed his lips. He opened his mouth wide like a lion and said, “I want two, big ones.”

Xu Yilin shrugged and picked up his phone to scan the QR code and place an order.

After two bowls of spicy and sour rice noodles were brought up, Chen Mo’s bowl really had two greasy braised chicken legs on it.

He had eaten snacks and drunk coffee before he came, and hadn’t had time to go to the toilet, so now he felt a little full at a glance.

But in order not to be mocked by Xu Yilin, who was treating, he decided to bite the bullet and eat as much as he could.

Although the days of overtime work were a bit bitter, and he couldn’t see Liang Jingren, Chen Mo never relaxed his continuous information harassment of Liang Jingren.

He had already decided to use the money he had painstakingly saved by selling his labor to buy Liang Jingren’s first birthday gift – if the information he had searched online was correct, Liang Jingren’s birthday would be in a little over ten days.

However, Liang Jingren might refuse to accept his gift, so he had to find a way to send the gift to the other party’s heart.

Therefore, Chen Mo’s approach was: after get off work every day, he frantically browsed shopping websites and social platforms, took screenshots of items that he was interested in and that were reasonably priced, sent them to Liang Jingren, and waited for comments.

He told Liang Jingren that he was preparing a birthday gift for his boss, that he was learning the etiquette of interpersonal relationships, that he didn’t want to be overshadowed by the “son of Director Liang” for the rest of his life, and so on. Liang Jingren seemed to be persuaded by him and played this interactive gift appreciation game with him.

That night, Chen Mo sent Liang Jingren a picture of a watch.

Liang Jingren replied: “This watch looks good, but does your boss usually wear a watch?”

Chen Mo replied: “I’ll go back and observe tomorrow morning.”

Liang Jingren: “…”

Just as Chen Mo hesitated to search for the next gift picture, Liang Jingren sent another message: “Your boss seems to be in his forties, right? I remember he’s about the same age as Director Li. Does he have children? If it’s a boy, he should be in junior high or high school, and he can also wear a watch, but don’t buy anything too expensive.”

Chen Mo thought for a while and asked, “How expensive is too expensive?”

Liang Jingren said, “Don’t exceed your one month’s salary.”

Chen Mo asked again, “Does it include the full attendance bonus?”

Liang Jingren: “.”

Chen Mo: “By the way, Brother Ren, do you usually wear a watch when you attend high-end occasions?”

He only knew that Liang Jingren wouldn’t wear a watch when he went to the cafeteria or the gym.

Liang Jingren: “?”

To prevent Liang Jingren from discovering his true purpose, Chen Mo hurriedly sent a new picture to distract him.

However, no matter what he bought or whether it suited Liang Jingren’s wishes, Liang Jingren might refuse to accept it, so Chen Mo had already thought it through: he might as well hide it in the villa! Then give Liang Jingren a surprise he couldn’t refuse!

As long as the villa’s password hadn’t been changed, he could still enter and exit there freely, and as long as he didn’t mess with the things in the villa or cause trouble for Liang Jingren, Liang Jingren would probably spare him even if he learned from the security guard or surveillance that he had entered the villa.

— After all, Liang Jingren didn’t like the police station and thought it was troublesome to call the police.

A few days later, with the right time, place, and people, Chen Mo found a good excuse —

The weather station, radio, and text messages reminded the public on a sunny day: a storm was coming.

That afternoon, Chen Mo was just about to get off work when Xu Yilin suddenly called him.

It was rare for Xu Yilin to take the initiative to call him. The last time he called, he fooled him into being a “porter of nature.”

Chen Mo hesitated for a while and still answered the phone.

As a result, that shameless Boss Xu wanted to trick him into being a coolie again under the pretext of treating him to dinner and considering dating him.

This time, Chen Mo refused very readily, but the next second, Xu Yilin begged him on the phone: “Please, Chen Mo! If my store is flooded, you won’t have a place to pass the time at will!”

However, when Chen Mo put on his gloves and sleeves and rushed to the flower shop to carry sandbags, Xu Yilin ordered him to push the racks full of green plants outside the store into the store, and then put the buckets of fresh flowers that had already been moved out of the store onto a borrowed trolley.

“Where are you going to drag this to?” Chen Mo asked after he had finished with the potted plants and mobile shelves, taking off his gloves and sleeves and walking out of the store.

Xu Yilin, while using a stretchy rope to firmly tie the flower buckets to the trolley, said, “Drag it to Daxing Group.”

“Ah?” Chen Mo was puzzled.

Xu Yilin locked the buckle and breathed a sigh of relief, turned to the handle of the trolley, held the non-slip handle on it with one hand, and put the other hand on his waist and said, “There will be a storm tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, so I’m going to close the store and rest. These flowers are almost in season, and it’s a waste for me to throw them in the store. No one will appreciate them, so I might as well give them to Liang Jingren’s company to decorate the place!”

Chen Mo looked at the sea of brightly blooming flowers piled up on the trolley in front of him, frowned slightly, and asked, “Does Liang Jingren know?”

“I know, I called him and told him.” Xu Yilin said, putting both hands on the non-slip handle and starting to push the trolley.

Chen Mo thought for a while and finally followed and helped to push the trolley together.

That afternoon, he didn’t see Liang Jingren in Daxing Group, he just simply helped Xu Yilin and did a good deed.

Doing good deeds really has good rewards. When he was chatting with Xu Yilin while pushing the trolley, Xu Yilin reminded him of something: “I remember you showed off that you live in a high-rise apartment, right? Don’t show off in this windy and rainy weather. Seal the doors and windows in advance, or simply ask a friend to stay over and avoid it.”

Chen Mo didn’t think of any friends he could stay with. At that time, a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he only thought of one sentence –

I can go back to the villa!