It's a new day, a bright and sunny morning.
Lu Zhe sat at his workstation, talking to his smart speaker while watching programming learning videos. His conversations with the AI mainly revolved around programming and algorithms.
Of course he remembered that his boss, Mao Kai, had said last night that President Xia wanted him to stay and work overtime.
The overtime work starts tonight, but the specifics of the work are unclear. Lu Zhe couldn't help but wonder if it might be something like assessing his self-study progress.
He hadn't forgotten that his promotion exam at the company was personally arranged by General Manager Xia. As for whether the exam would be paper-and-pencil, computer-based, or oral, that was hard to say.
In that case, we should prepare in advance to avoid the embarrassment of being clueless when asked questions.
As noon approached, Lu Zhe picked up his phone and glanced at it, discovering two new messages.
A message from Xue Xiaodie: [I found a place nearby that sells congee and side dishes, shall we try it later?]
Another message from Tang Qi: [I'm downstairs now. What should we eat today?]
Lu Zhe hadn't figured out how to reply yet, but as soon as he stepped out of the office, he realized that a reply wasn't necessary.
Xue Xiaodie had already arrived at the elevator entrance, waiting for him to come over so they could take the elevator downstairs together.
After going downstairs, I saw Tang Qi—today, Miss Tang hadn't even ordered coffee; she was just standing not far from the elevator entrance on the first floor.
The two girls' outfits had changed slightly today; the styles and colors were different, but the overall feel remained the same. Xue Xiaodie was still wearing contact lenses, while Tang Qi was still sporting a short skirt and high socks, creating an unsettling atmosphere for Lu Zhe.
Just like yesterday, the two girls flanked him from the left and right.
However, unlike yesterday, as soon as Lu Zhe stepped out of the office building, he ran into an acquaintance, his boss Mao Kai.
Mao Kai patted his noticeably protruding belly, looking quite satisfied. Clearly, he had already finished lunch before the company's designated lunch break. But then he saw Lu Zhe and the two pretty girls with him, and his relaxed expression instantly froze.
Lu Zhe stopped in his tracks.
Xue Xiaodie also stopped immediately, observed the situation, and noticed Mao Kai, who looked like an ordinary young man.
Tang Qi took a couple more steps before stopping, turning around to look at Lu Zhe, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Lu Zhe glanced at Tang Qi on the left, then at Xue Xiaodie on the right, before looking directly at his superior across from him and forcing a smile. "Brother Mao, you're coming down for dinner too?"
“Yeah, I just finished eating,” Mao Kai scratched the back of his slightly thinning head. “What are you doing…?”
Lu Zhe had already calmed down and explained in a serious tone, "These two are my friends. They came over to visit and also wanted to have lunch with me."
As pedestrians passed by, the two male employees closest to him heard this, glanced at Lu Zhe, and then looked at the two girls next to him, their expressions becoming complicated.
Mao Kai's expression became even more complicated. His eye twitched twice, and he asked, "What's fun to do at the software park?"
He recognized one of the girls; he had met her in the elevator before, while the other was a complete stranger. But they both had something in common: they were both pretty and cute.
These days, is it so easy for young boys to hook up with pretty girls?
Mao Kai suddenly realized that his parents had acted too quickly, giving birth to him too early. And his own decision to get married back then seemed too rash…
Xue Xiaodie smiled and explained, "Hello, boss. We met before. I'm Lu Zhe's good friend. I work nearby, so I'm having lunch with him."
After less than three seconds of silence, Tang Qi said, "I'm also his good friend, and I live nearby. It's normal for me to come over for a meal."
“Good friends…it’s normal…” Mao Kai came to his senses, smiled and sighed, “Alright, you young people enjoy your meal, I’m going upstairs.”
Is this kind of 'good friend' relationship common between boys and girls?
Mao Kai suddenly felt that he was probably born in the wrong era.
————
Ten minutes later, Xia Xiaobing sat in her private office, listening to her subordinate Mao Kai report on the recent project progress.
After listening to a few words, she suddenly interrupted, "Sit down and talk. Aren't you tired of standing there?"
Mao Kai was standing in front of his desk. Upon hearing this, he moved to the sofa and sat down. But he didn't sit down completely; most of his weight was still hanging off the edge of the sofa.
The reason he was being so careful was because he had recently noticed that President Xia's thoughts seemed a bit strange.
Mao Kai, as the manager of the testing department, should have had the easiest job, with only one or two subordinates. However, he didn't know when it started, but General Manager Xia began assigning him a lot of extra tasks. In addition to his original testing work, he was also burdened with tracking project progress. He couldn't help but wonder if he had been too nonchalant in front of his boss, making her think he wasn't getting enough work, which led to these extra assignments?
When did the additional work content begin...? It seems like it started after that ball game?
But no matter how much Mao Kai thought back, he couldn't figure out what mistake he had made in front of his boss that day.
He couldn't help but sigh softly.
Xia Xiaobing raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "What's wrong?"
Mao Kai said, "It's nothing, I just suddenly felt a bit old and couldn't keep up with the young people's ideas about making friends."
Xia Xiaobing: "Your views on making friends?"
Mao Kai: "I just ran into Lu Zhe. That guy had two girls with him, both very pretty..."
Behind the desk, out of his sight, Xia Xiaobing gripped the armrest of her chair tightly.
Mao Kai continued, "I originally thought one of them was that kid's girlfriend, but now it seems she isn't. Sigh, I thought he was a homebody."
Xia Xiaobing gripped the armrests of the chair tightly with both hands, but her expression remained calm and composed. Her tone was equally calm: "This kind of thing has nothing to do with us; as long as it doesn't affect our work, it's fine."
Mao Kai: "Speaking of work, I just remembered. We asked him to stay and work overtime tonight. What exactly was he supposed to do?"
Xia Xiaobing: "There's a very simple little project that I want him to handle the testing work with, and also to test his progress in self-study."
"The assessment has been moved up?" Mao Kai couldn't help but worry. "He's only been studying on his own for less than half a month. Is he up to the task?"
Xia Xiaobing said calmly, "It's an opportunity for him too. If he can seize it, he might be able to get promoted ahead of schedule. If the assessment finds that he still doesn't understand anything, then we can deal with it early."
Mao Kai scratched his head and remained silent, only able to secretly pity Lu Zhe—there was nothing he could do, even Brother Mao couldn't help him, good luck to him.
————
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
