Chapter 56: Only His Choice Remains
On Tuesday, Lu Ming drafted their employment contract. He knocked on Wen Chu's office door, went in, and placed the contract in front of her: "The contract is ready. On the surface, the salary is based on the standard for normal employees. As for what I promised you privately, I will keep it."
Wen Chu glanced at it briefly. Everything else seemed normal. The employment period was three years, but the penalty for breach of contract was shockingly high, with many zeros.
"Wow, you can't work for any other company that competes with your original employer within a year, and you can't start any business that competes with your original employer..." Wen Chu read the clauses, chuckled, and looked up at Lu Ming, "Are you that afraid I'll switch jobs to another company?"
Lu Ming said matter-of-factly, "Of course I need to prove to the outside world that you are a formally hired technical consultant by Baiyue, and will remain so for a certain period of time. No matter what impact this competition has, our interests and losses must be intertwined. So, think it over before you sign. I will be responsible for my choice, and you must be responsible for yours."
“Fine, I’m upright and honest, unlike some people who are so cunning. I will never breach the contract,” Wen Chu said nonchalantly. “But I also have to add one condition: to prevent you from going back on your word after the competition, if you fire me within 3 years, the compensation you give me must be the same as this.”
Lu Ming nodded: "Okay, provided you don't violate Baiyue Company's employee regulations, I won't fire you after the competition unless you resign voluntarily. Of course, there's another condition: you have to get a valid ranking in this competition."
Wen Chu raised an eyebrow slightly: "What are the valid rankings?"
“Top five,” Lu Ming continued. “Jiang Xing’s level is at least in the top five, so you should be better than him.”
Wen Chu scoffed: "Dare you lower your expectations even further? I'm aiming for first place."
Lu Ming was sometimes really intimidated by this woman's confidence. He looked at her and said helplessly, "Goal and result are two different things."
Wen Chu wasn't in a hurry to prove himself; the outcome would be clear in two weeks anyway: "Deal. However, for such a high penalty to be effective, it needs to be notarized separately."
"Are you sure you want to stay in Baiyue for at least the next year?" Lu Ming asked with some concern.
“It’s not just the next year, it’s three years, isn’t it?” Wen Chu stood up, leaned on the table and moved closer to him, swaying her head from side to side in a flippant manner, and said, “I won’t leave until you admit that you like me.”
Lu Ming seemed to have gotten used to her frivolity. Even when she got so close, he didn't back away or feel awkward at all. He just asked again, "You agree, but Uncle Wen might not agree. Are you sure you've discussed it with him?"
Of course not.
There's no need for it.
That would definitely be better to act first and ask questions later, okay?
Even though Wen Chu felt a genuine sense of warmth every time she saw her parents here, she wasn't so sentimental that she had to pretend to ask for their opinions when it came to dating and career in this virtual world.
That would slow down her progress too much and make her more likely to experience withdrawal symptoms when she leaves.
Besides, isn't her persona just that of a lazy, good-for-nothing? Being lazy for another year won't have much of an impact, and her parents won't care even if they find out.
She replied without batting an eye, "Of course, you don't need to worry about that. They'd love for me to find a place to work honestly. It doesn't matter where it is, as long as I'm not idle."
Lu Ming thought about it carefully and it seemed to make sense, so he finally agreed, "Okay."
Aside from a few absurd incidents involving teasing Lu Ming, Wen Chu spent the next two weeks working diligently in the office, sometimes even going to Jiang Xing to discuss things.
Most people in the company were used to her presence and the occasional displays of affection between her and Lu Ming.
The system seemed to have died and stopped issuing any more difficult tasks, as if it was quite satisfied with her progress and status.
Occasionally, Wen Chu would gaze absently at the azure sky outside the window and the small potted plants on the windowsill.
If her memories also randomly fade, perhaps it won't be long before she starts to believe this is the real world.
She rubbed her eyes, walked to the windowsill, picked up the watering can next to her, and watered the freesia. Luo Wen had brought the plant in, saying that having some greenery in the office was good for the eyes and would freshen the air.
But she had only complained to Lu Ming that her eyes were almost blind from looking at things so much lately.
Something had silently seeped into her heart as time passed, initially without any noticeable signs, but by the time she realized it, it had already taken root and sprouted.
She stretched her limbs, walked to the blinds, knocked once, paused for two seconds, and then knocked twice more. After a while, she heard two knocks in return, indicating that he was busy and she would have to wait.
She didn't know if her affection level had increased in the past two weeks, but the strange codes had increased. One tap followed by two taps meant it was time to eat; two quick taps meant there was work-related business and someone needed to come over; three slow taps were a teasing gesture, meaning "I miss you," and so on.
At first, Lu Ming said she was sick and had nothing better to do than send a text message if she needed anything. But Wen Chu disagreed, saying that he never looked at his phone when he was busy and that physical communication was much faster.
The other party was speechless, but for now, they had no choice but to cooperate. Sometimes, they even preferred to work on the sofa because it was easier to reply to her that way.
This is something Wen Chu learned from relationship sharing posts: creating small habits that only the two of you share can enhance your relationship.
It's true that you're never too old to learn.
She had been posting her sentimental quotes before bed all this time, and finally, last night she posted a sad caption: "[I got the second female lead role, and I'll always see you like someone else]", which earned her Lu Ming's irritable knocking service.
As soon as she opened the door, Wen Chu was met with the man's standard expression of having his arms crossed, speechless, and frowning.
"Can you please stop posting all that nonsense on social media? What, 'You think I like someone else?'" Lu Ming said irritably. "Delete it right now!"
She stood tall and refused: "No! Why should I delete it? I didn't name names, how did you know I was talking about you?"
'Not me? Then who is it? Who else do you have outside?' The man took a step closer to her, his aura becoming even more dangerous.
Wen Chu stepped back, and seeing that the other person was about to step into her room, she quickly tried to morally restrain them, pointing to the threshold on the floor and saying, "Hey! It's eleven o'clock at night. Are you trying to force your way into a young woman's boudoir?"
Lu Ming glanced down in the direction she was pointing, then instead of backing away, he stepped forward, bracing his hand against the door to prevent her from closing it. He said, "This is my house. What can you do to me if I break in?"
Wen Chu's eyes widened, thinking that this person was indeed becoming more and more immoral, and the original moral standards could no longer restrain him.
As she was thinking, someone shoved her on the forehead. 'Did you hear me? Delete it! Posting something like that makes people think I'm fickle.'
Wen Chu grunted, covered her head, and chuckled to herself. "Others? Actually, only you can see this."
She pouted, feigning hurt, and said, "So you actually like someone else? Did I wrong you?"
'You…' Lu Ming paused, a fleeting emotion crossing his eyes, his tone tinged with annoyance: 'Wen Chu, I've noticed that sometimes you—'
He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something, but Wen Chu, impatient, glared at him and asked, "What's wrong with me sometimes?"
'Like a pig.'
Wen Chu opened her mouth, about to explode in anger, when Lu Ming pressed his finger to the center of her forehead, freezing her in place like a spell. He tilted his head and said, "Don't make me say it a third time, delete it now! If I see it still on your homepage within five minutes, I'll take enforcement action."
He withdrew his hand after speaking, glanced at his watch, and said, "Start the timer." Then he turned and walked towards his room, but before leaving, he gave her a threatening look.
"You damn thing!" Wen Chu muttered behind the person's back, and before anyone could react, she slammed the door shut.
She went back to her room to get her phone and saw that the other person had commented "crazy" under that post. She rolled her eyes and, feeling frustrated, made the comment visible only to herself.
Gradually, Wen Chu lost the urge to ask the system about the progress.
If she could, she didn't want to rely on external forces or use cold, hard data to probe and measure Lu Ming's inner thoughts. Besides, she wondered, could a person's emotions really be accurately measured by numbers?
How is the favorability rating calculated?
However, sometimes she couldn't help but secretly hope that the system would suddenly send a notification to remind her that her favorability rating was approaching the critical value.
She was even more curious about the circumstances under which Lu Ming's feelings for her would take a turn for the better this time.
While there was anticipation, there was also some fear and resistance.
The arrival of the next critical value means that Lu Ming will be reset again, and his affection for her will decrease significantly.
The current harmony will be taken back, and she will have to start all over again.
However, Wen Chu remained optimistic, believing that things would only get better as time went on. Memory is the vessel of emotion, and as long as Lu Ming's memory was not lost, she had plenty of ways to make him fall in love with her again.
"If you keep watering it, the flower will die." A voice suddenly came from behind.
Wen Chu snapped out of her daze and quickly stopped spraying water on the flowers.
"What are you thinking about? You seem so lost in thought." Lu Ming glanced at the pile of documents on the table and the code interface still running on the computer. He could tell that the other person had indeed been working a lot lately.
Wen Chu turned around and said naturally, "I miss you. Who else could I miss?"
"Do you think I need to look so serious?"
"Don't I need to? I'm wondering when someone will admit he likes me." Wen Chu sighed, feigning sadness.
Lu Ming's eyes flickered slightly, his thoughts drifting away.
"Mr. Lu, according to the test report, all your indicators are normal. As you requested, we conducted a comprehensive examination of your brain and found nothing that could cause unexplained memory loss. Perhaps you are under too much stress."
"Overwork can indeed lead to poor concentration and forgetting what you said. I suggest you get plenty of rest and do things that help you relax. After all, health is the foundation of everything."
"If you're still worried, you can consciously write down what happened. If memory loss recurs, we'll conduct further examination and research."
The medical examination revealed no problems, and Lu Ming was unsure whether he should breathe a sigh of relief. Initially, he had been worried that the findings might implicate the other person.
Now that this concern is gone, it seems that only one last thing remains... his choice.
He looked away, composed himself, and changed the subject, saying, "I'll take you out to eat today."
Fortunately, Wen Chu was just joking and wasn't upset by his blunt avoidance. "Okay, where to?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to eat hot pot the day before yesterday? I made a reservation at a place."
"That's great?" Wen Chu's eyes lit up, and she tugged at his arm. "Then let's go!"
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