The three young people had congee and side dishes for lunch today.
Century egg and lean pork congee, pumpkin congee, black rice congee, along with cold shredded vegetables, tofu skin, and steamed chicken feet, made for a rather light meal, but it was just right for Xue Xiaodie and Tang Qi.
Compared to the previous meal of maocai (a type of Sichuan hot pot), this meal was much more relaxing for the two girls, and they ate much more heartily.
But as they were finishing their meal, Lu Zhe suddenly remembered something and casually said, "By the way, I have to work overtime tonight, so I definitely can't have dinner. Sorry."
He stared at Tang Qi as he said this.
The young lady was stunned for less than a second before she came to her senses and replied, "It's okay, then you can work overtime."
Xue Xiaodie, standing to the side, seemed to be deep in thought.
Of course, she remembered the 'President Xia' she'd met in the elevator that day. Although she wasn't sure how far things had progressed between Lu Zhe and President Xia, she was certain that President Xia posed a significant threat to her. It was precisely because of this threat that Xue Xiaodie insisted on having lunch with Lu Zhe every day to reduce the risk of her home being raided if she wasn't careful.
But now it seems that Miss Tang is completely unaware of the existence of that CEO Xia?
After thinking for a while, Xue Xiaodie suddenly asked, "Does President Xia know you're working overtime tonight?"
Lu Zhe: "It must have been her arrangement."
Xue Xiaodie gasped, feeling that tonight was becoming increasingly dangerous.
She then asked, "Was General Manager Xia also there when you were working overtime?"
Lu Zhe: "It's not just President Xia, all the programmers in the company, more than twenty of them, should be here. I work overtime occasionally, but they work overtime every day."
"Oh, so many people are working overtime..." Xue Xiaodie blinked, her earlier tension easing considerably.
Tang Qi suddenly asked, "Who is President Xia? Is he your company's boss?"
Lu Zhe nodded: "The company's founder, largest shareholder, and president."
Just then, Xue Xiaodie casually remarked, "President Xia doesn't look much older than us. Such a beautiful older sister, and she even owns her own company. She's really amazing..."
Tang Qi's eyes widened immediately.
Xue Xiaodie glanced at her without making a sound, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, but in the blink of an eye, she suppressed the smile on her face.
Tang Qi couldn't help but ask, "Lu Zhe, is your company's boss... a young and beautiful woman?"
Lu Zhe thought for a moment and said, "She is quite pretty. As for whether she is young or not, she is definitely older than me, but I don't really know her exact age."
Tang Qi: "Has she spoken to you?"
Lu Zhe: "Of course."
Tang Qi: "When you joined the company, was it she who recruited you?"
Lu Zhe: "No, that's not it. When I joined the company, General Manager Xia was still away on a business trip. Hiring me was probably a decision made by Brother Mao and HR. Of course, I don't know exactly how they made the decision; it's just a guess."
Xue Xiaodie listened silently, feeling a surge of relief—it was perfect that Tang Qi was asking the questions she herself had wanted to ask but couldn't bring herself to say. Moreover, letting Miss Tang know about President Xia's existence would help her draw attention away from him, which was undoubtedly a great thing.
However, Tang Qi is just a bit straightforward; she can't bring herself to say anything too outrageous.
She stared at Lu Zhe, hesitated for several seconds, and finally shook her head, picked up her chopsticks, and started eating cold dishes.
Xue Xiaodie guessed that what the young lady wanted to ask was—Does President Xia have no special feelings for you?
Lu Zhe took out his phone to scan the QR code on the table, ready to pay.
Xue Xiaodie quickly said, "You two have already treated us, so it's my turn this time!"
Seeing that she was determined to pay the bill, Lu Zhe put away his phone.
After Xue Xiaodie scanned the code to pay, she suddenly asked, "So, what are you going to do for dinner tonight?"
Lu Zhe: "Order takeout."
Xue Xiaodie nodded, a faint smile still on her face, but she was secretly thinking about her plans for the evening.
Tang Qi hesitated for a few seconds, then unconsciously frowned and stared blankly.
————
Ji Chunqiu's company has a WeChat group with dozens of employees. HR usually posts anything in this group that requires everyone's attention.
This afternoon, HR sent this message: "Everyone has been working very hard lately, and the results have been excellent, so I'd like to remind everyone that our company has a budget for team building activities each quarter. Expired funds cannot be carried over to the next quarter. The algorithm department's team building budget hasn't been used this quarter yet."
The group chat was quiet for a while, but soon, an employee from the algorithm department couldn't help but speak up.
When shall we go out and have some fun?
Where to go? Karaoke?
What do you think, Brother Zhang?
Finally, Zhang, the head of the algorithm department, spoke up: "I just checked with General Manager Xia, and it should be ready tonight. Everyone, finish up your work this afternoon, then we'll grab a bite tonight, and then we'll discuss where to go for some fun."
In an instant, the group chat was filled with joy, overflowing with happy emojis from the algorithm department employees, and a series of:
Long live Brother Zhang!
Long live CEO Xia!
[General Manager Xia and Brother Zhang are brilliant and resourceful!]
Lu Zhe glanced at the WeChat group chat history, then looked up again. He saw that everything in the algorithm department's office area was normal; everyone was still sitting at their workstations, seemingly working diligently. Only, the sound of their typing had become more rapid and louder, and their eyes and brows revealed an undisguised joy.
Compared to working overtime until late at night, having a big meal and playing games is certainly more exciting, especially since this is an unexpected treat.
Lu Zhe opened his boss's WeChat chat and asked a question: "Brother Mao, when are we having a team-building activity?"
Not long after, Mao Kai replied: "Anytime is fine. There are only three people in our department anyway. We can't handle projects with more people, so we can just play cards."
Lu Zhe: [Playing Dou Dizhu...]
Mao Kai: [But you have to work overtime tonight, so it's definitely not possible today. How about the weekend? Are you free this weekend?]
Lu Zhe: [I should be free.]
Mao Kai: [Okay, I'll ask Fu Hanchen. If everyone's free, let's go out for a meal on Friday night. Actually, the company's team-building budget is allocated per person, it's two or three hundred yuan, I think. You can check out the review app and find some options for food, drinks, and entertainment.]
Lu Zhe: [Understood, no problem.]
Then he closed the group chat and started looking at programming exercises.
The people in the algorithm department had an easy time tonight, but for Lu Zhe, it was going to be a night of overtime. And he felt that this overtime wouldn't be easy.
"This question... linked list nodes..."
Lu Zhe quickly threw himself into the new problem.
————
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