Chapter 73: The Song of Taotie (Thirteen) Sisyphus's Pie. ...

Li Mai was a little absent-minded at work today, and the minister assigned her a task that was supposed to be his personal job. Li Mai felt that he was really about to quit, otherwise he would not order her around so arrogantly.

But Li Mai couldn't refuse. After working overtime for forty minutes, she couldn't sit still any longer. Her phone was very quiet. No one called her, but this silence made people feel a little scared.

Li Mai decided to break her own rules and bring her work home. After packing up her computer, she saw Zhang Deng still there and asked, "You're working overtime?"

"I'm waiting for you," Zhang Deng said, standing up and picking up her bag. "Let's go to your house and play."

Li Mai: "Today?"

"Go see Huang Jingjing." Zhang Deng said.

"Okay," Li Mai said, "but make sure my mom is home."

Zhang Deng said, "Don't worry."

Li Mai was wondering what he was so confident about when, in the taxi, she received a message from her mother: "Did you order fruit? Why order so much?"

The attached picture shows a fruit basket. Li Mai looked at Zhang Deng and asked, "Did you buy this?"

Zhang Deng was a little surprised: "Already here?"

"Why are you so polite?" Li Mai said unhappily. "Where's your husband?"

Zhang Deng said, "Overtime."

"This is how things work in the project department," Li Mai said. "It's very cost-effective to find a husband who works in the project department. There's plenty of time to find another one."

Zhang Deng: "If you have someone suitable, please introduce them to me."

"I know you're joking," Li Mai said, "but I have to say, I won't give it to you unless there's a suitable one."

Zhang Deng: "I know you're joking."

Li Mai said, "I don't have any."

Zhang Deng: "...Okay."

"Actually, I don't need it," Zhang Deng said, "What are you bragging about?"

Li Mai: "It's not your turn whether you need it or not."

They both stopped talking at the same time, and after a while they both laughed out loud.

There was not much traffic at this time and the traffic was very smooth. Li Mai couldn't help but turn on the computer to work in the car. The light from the computer screen shone on her face. Li Mai habitually frowned when she worked and cursed while working.

Li Mai is a very talkative person. Sometimes he curses the minister, sometimes he curses his work, and sometimes he curses the company.

Zhang Deng was acting as her emotional trash can. The driver listened for a moment and couldn't help but ask, "What kind of job do you have? Why are you so busy? Do you make a lot of money?"

These three questions immediately broke down Li Maiwen in the back seat.

Li Mai said: "Brother, you really are..."

Zhang Deng: "Don't ask office workers such questions!"

About twenty minutes later, they arrived at Li Mai's apartment complex. Li Mai had also sent the document to the minister. She turned off her computer and said, "He'll definitely ask me to revise it later."

Zhang Deng said, "If it doesn't work out, why don't you find another job?"

Li Mai said, "Why? I really like this job."

Zhang Deng: “Ah?”

Li Mai said: "I chose this industry because I like it, even though it is very stressful."

Zhang Deng actually looked down on Li Mai. Li Mai saw what he was thinking and said, "It doesn't matter. This is how we ordinary people have to live."

Apart from his weight, Li Mai is very open-minded about other things.

Zhang Deng followed her into the house, and the fragrant smell of rice came from the house.

Huang Jingjing was sitting in the living room playing with her phone. When she saw them coming back, she said, "Oh, your mother invited me to dinner."

Li Mai's mother said from the kitchen: "It will be ready soon."

Li Mai took off her coat. She was wearing a black slim-fitting base shirt today. It could be seen that she had indeed lost some weight, but when her waist and abdomen were relaxed, there was still a circle of very dense flesh flowing between her hips. She seemed to feel a little uncomfortable and pulled up her pants.

She walked into the kitchen and said, "Mom, my friend is here."

The woman came out and said, "Hey, hello..."

She didn't seem to expect that this friend was a man, and immediately said, "You are..."

Li Mai knew she had misunderstood and immediately said, "He doesn't like women."

Huang Jingjing said: "It's obvious."

Zhang Deng was forced to come out, but he didn't care much and just greeted him with a smile.

The woman actually looked very young, perhaps only about thirty-six or thirty-seven years old, and did not look old at all. She did not look as if she had ever experienced any fatigue.

The woman even cooked four dishes and made a soup. The taste was okay. In Zhang Deng's opinion, it was just barely passable, but it was obviously to Li Mai's taste. Li Mai ate two bowls of rice alone.

The woman listened to Li Mai complaining about her minister and taught her that she should learn to be lazy when it is time to be lazy and not be so honest all the time.

Zhang Deng had never thought that Li Mai's mother was this type of person. He had heard Li Mai's story and thought her mother would be a very selfish one. But now it seems that she is a good person to Li Mai.

"Jingjing said she's a model," the woman said, "You should learn how to lose weight from her when you have time."

This question seemed to be a commonplace, causing Li Mai to become a little emotional when she heard it. She frowned and was about to explode, but her mother said, "Okay, okay, I won't say anything more."

Zhang Deng said, "I heard that her father seems to be missing?"

"Ah..." The woman was a little surprised that Li Mai actually told such things to outsiders and tried to evade them.

Li Mai said, "When your husband pushed me down, he was the one who stayed with me in the hospital. He knows everything about our family."

The woman said, "Alas."

She put down her bowl and said, "I know he left. He sent me a message before he left, saying he was going to see your sister."

“He asked your sister to give him money,” the woman said, “and then he was never heard from again.”

Zhang Deng could actually guess how the situation would develop, and he thought his father might have encountered something.

The woman said, "I don't dare tell anyone because I'm afraid it will affect your sister."

"Whatever you want." Li Mai really didn't want to quarrel, nor did she want to worry about that man.

The woman asked, "It doesn't matter if you don't help me."

Li Mai said: "I definitely won't help you. I have to go to work."

Woman: "How much do you make at work?"

"If I can't make money, what will I give you?" Li Mai asked, "Paper money?"

Zhang Deng advised: "Li Mai..."

Huang Jingjing silently put down her bowl and said, "Hey, stop talking."

The woman said, "Giving me a few dollars is enough for you?"

"No, it's better not to take it," Li Mai said. "Why don't you say something like this when you ask for money?"

The woman said, "Shouldn't you give me money?"

"So I work," Li Mai said. "Do you think I'll be rich just by lying down? Like you?"

With a "slap", the woman slapped Li Mai.

The two men looked at each other fiercely, as if they wanted to kill each other.

Zhang Deng was simply dumbfounded by this mother-daughter relationship. He subconsciously stood up to stop them. Huang Jingjing was more familiar with this kind of situation. She quickly helped the woman up and said, "Auntie, let's rest early."

Li Mai was shaking with anger. She looked around for something. Zhang Deng thought she seemed to want to throw something, so he immediately held her hand down and said, "Calm down, calm down."

Li Mai's tears flowed unconsciously. She wiped them away quickly and said, "Let's go."

Walk?

Where are you going?

Isn't this your home?

Zhang Deng had a lot to say, but he didn't ask. Li Mai grabbed her charger, put on her clothes, and strode away. This scene was much more terrifying than Zhang Deng's family war. Zhang Deng quickly followed her footsteps and got into the taxi, asking, "Where are we going?"

Li Mai asked, "Where do you live?"

Zhang Deng: “…”

"This is a long story—" said Zhang Deng.

"Forget it if it's inconvenient."

Zhang Deng said: "If you say so."

Li Mai looked at him and said impatiently, "Don't you have a home? Stay in a hotel."

Half an hour later, Li Mai stood in the hotel room, looking at the room in front of him, feeling extremely mysterious.

Li Mai's eyes widened, and he asked him in disbelief: "You earn 4,000 yuan a month, and you live in a five-star hotel?"

Zhang Deng said, "So, it's a long story."

"I feel like you've betrayed us working people," Li Mai said, feeling dizzy. She fell directly onto the soft bed, the expensive mattress and soft quilt enveloping her body. "This is all fake. I've been deceived."

Zhang Deng said, "Why don't you get up and talk?"

"It's just that there's no suitable place to live here," Zhang Deng said. "I need to live in this business district."

Li Mai propped himself up halfway with resentment, then said, "Tell me, who are you? A rich second-generation?"

Zhang Deng also pretended to be tearful: "It's just marrying a rich man. Do you know how hard my life is?"

"Are you crying if you live in a five-star hotel?" Li Mai said, "Get out of here, you kid."

Zhang Deng: "Okay, enough kidding, I'm actually here to carry out a secret mission."

Li Mai said, "I know. I guessed it a long time ago. You two are both so secretive."

"Is it related to me?"

"Yes," Zhang Deng said, "It has something to do with your sister as well."

Li Mai: "Do you need my cooperation?"

Wei Yuanye pushed the door open at this time and saw the two of them standing in the room in a daze. He stopped his habit of going to the bathroom every time he got home.

Li Mai said, "Hello, rich man."

Wei Yuanye: “?”

"You live here?" Wei Yuanye asked the question that concerned him most among many questions, "Then where should I live?"

Li Mai: "If you are so unwelcome, it's very simple. Just give me a room next door and I will give your wife back to you."

Wei Yuanye put his clothes back on and asked bluntly, "How many days are you staying?"

Li Mai: "You are such a loser."

Wei Yuanye: "Three days?"

Li Mai was a little tired from being burned by the flames of other people's love. She sank back into the big bed and said in a long voice, "Let's open it for three days first."

Wei Yuanye hurried downstairs to get a room.

Li Mai said: "It's better for me to be your third wheel, Huang Jingjing's third wheel. That man will only introduce me to ugly men."

Zhang Deng: "This is simply repaying kindness with enmity."

"Yeah." Li Mai sighed, but his thoughts had drifted away.

The relationship between Zhang Deng and his parents is very simple, that is, no one cares about each other. Although Zhang Deng's parents do not love him, they do not use verbal or physical violence against Zhang Deng, which is different from Li Mai's family.

Li Mai said, "Oh my god, I haven't even picked up my makeup yet. How am I going to work tomorrow?"

Zhang Deng asked, "Do you still have to go to work tomorrow?"

"Of course," Li Mai said matter-of-factly, "we have to make money even if the sky falls."

Zhang Deng said, "Why don't you go see your sister..."

Li Mai: "I can go after get off work. I can't ask for leave anymore."

"The director is going to be transferred," Li Mai said. "The new director might be chosen from the current team members, or maybe transferred from out of town. Last time we attended training, I heard that the most likely choice would be from among us in the training. I'm late, so maybe it will be Sister Hong."

But Li Mai still had some hope in her heart. She said, "Our situations are similar. We are both single, but I am younger than her and have less experience, so I don't have an advantage in this regard."

Zhang Deng said, "But your work attitude is more serious than hers."

Li Mai: "She's also very hardworking and knows the ways of the world. The boss knows her and likes her quite a bit. But I also have an advantage. Do you know what it is?"

Unbeknownst to Zhang Deng, Li Mai whispered, "I'm from another place. I have no support here, so I can only work as hard as I can. Sister Hong's family is from here, and she's well-off, so she doesn't have to work too hard."

Li Mai naturally digested his pain points and regarded them as his strengths.

Zhang Deng said, "Okay."

Li Mai lay down again: "But I also know that I have no chance. However, I still can't ask for leave recently. I must not catch anyone with evidence."

"Damn," Li Mai said, "Do you have anything delicious? I'm craving food again when I talk about work."

Zhang Deng went to look for the small cakes Wei Yuanye had bought for him. Li Mai complained, "Why are there only these fattening things?"

Then he stuffed it into his mouth and said, "Oh my god, this is delicious."

Zhang Deng said, "That's the case you're working on, the one next door. Wei Yuanye has been working overtime there every day lately."

Li Mai raised his hand to stop him: "Stop, no showing of affection allowed."

Zhang Deng readily agreed: "Okay."

But in fact, Zhang Deng was not trying to show off. It was just that Wei Yuanye's traces had completely covered his life. Many times, he had no way to take Wei Yuanye out and narrate a complete story.

Li Mai said, "After this meal, I will really lose weight tomorrow. Don't you want to eat?"

Zhang Deng refused, as he was almost full after eating at Li Mai's house. But Li Mai didn't know the difference between hunger and fullness. She just wanted to fill her stomach. As long as there was room left, she would feel it would be a shame not to eat something.

After Wei Yuanye came back, he gave Li Mai a room card. Li Mai asked, "Handsome guy, you're so rich now, why are you still working?"

"Who has money?" Wei Yuanye glanced at her, then at Zhang Deng, "Me?"

Wei Yuanye has very low material desires and spends all his money on Zhang Deng. He buys him a car, food, small gifts, and takes him to stay in hotels with better environments. In Zhang Deng's eyes, Wei Yuanye is a generous boyfriend who is not stingy with money at all.

But Wei Yuanye said, "I don't have any money."

Li Mai looked unconvinced, but considering that Wei Yuanye didn't seem to have anything particularly valuable on him, Wei Yuanye said, "I'm going to take a shower."

Zhang Deng said, "Actually, I think we're already very rich."

"Maybe he's just particularly good to you," Li Mai said. "To be very rich really means having a lot of money."

Li Mai: "Sometimes I really envy you."

"You seem to be satisfied with just a little, so you always look happy," Li Mai said. "You only eat a little, spend a little, and love a little."

Li Mai sighed. She had been through so much tonight and was exhausted both physically and mentally. She said, "I'm going to rest. Call me when you go to work tomorrow morning."

Zhang Deng actually didn't plan to go to work, but after hearing what she said, there was nothing he could do.

After Li Mai left, Zhang Deng seemed to suddenly have some inspiration and opened his document.

When Wei Yuanye came out, Zhang Deng had already quickly written more than a thousand words. Wei Yuanye asked, "Are you inspired?"

Zhang Deng said, "I think I thought too simply about women."

"?"

"Mothers occupy about 80 percent of their lives," Zhang Deng said. "I've handled this issue too simply."