Chapter 83 Not Living Well
On Monday morning, Lin Yu was sitting at his workstation, looking down at the project documents in his hand, when the automatic door opened.
Her position was directly opposite the floor entrance, and when she looked up, she saw the dean walk in, followed by a familiar figure.
"Come on, Xiaolin, stop for a moment." The dean's voice carried a slightly polite smile.
"Let me introduce you. This is Chen Guang, the section chief of the Energy Bureau of Linjiang City. He came here specifically to supervise our integrated project. He will be working in our institute for the next period of time."
Behind him, Chen Guang wore a well-tailored dark suit that accentuated his upright posture. He had a perfectly measured smile on his lips and a natural expression, as if the unpleasant conversation at his home a couple of days ago had never happened.
She stood up and extended her hand in a formulaic manner. "Section Chief Chen, hello."
Chen Guang's fingers were slightly cool, and the force was very light when he grasped them, separating them in an instant, leaving no room for criticism.
But Lin Yu hadn't had any physical contact with Chen Guang for a long time, so this sudden touch made her reflexively pull her hand away.
Chen Guang's gaze swept lightly across her face, and just as she was about to completely look away, his fingertip lightly brushed against her palm.
Lin Yu was startled and suddenly looked up.
First, she subconsciously glanced at the dean who was oblivious to everything, then suddenly turned her head and glared at Chen Guang with a hint of anger, only to meet his gaze in those light brown eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling.
"Engineer Lin." He seemed completely oblivious to her anger, nodding slightly, his voice clear and cheerful, behaving as politely as if it were their first meeting. "I've heard so much about you. I'll be troubling you with the upcoming projects."
The dean, oblivious to the strange undercurrent between the two, continued to smooth things over warmly. "Section Chief Chen is young and promising, and Xiao Lin is also a key technical member of our institute."
"With your close cooperation, I am confident that this project will be twice as effective and will proceed smoothly!"
Chen Guang raised the corners of his lips, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping across her face. After lingering for two seconds, he politely withdrew his hand without saying anything more.
Lin Yu watched as the dean led Chen Guang toward the office area, where he exchanged pleasantries with the other group leaders and office administrators.
His composed and witty laughter could be faintly heard; he seemed completely at ease, a far cry from the man who had been secretly plotting against him just moments before.
After the morning meeting, the dean found Chen Guang a private office upstairs as his temporary workstation. Upon hearing this news, Lin Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
I'm glad I don't have to be in the same space with him every day, constantly seeing each other. Unless we deliberately try to avoid each other, we'll probably only run into each other during project meetings and lunch breaks.
Xiao Zhao had just returned from delivering documents to the chief engineer's office. While connecting to the video teaching conference organized by the institute, he couldn't wait to open WeChat and gossip with Lin Yu.
"Sis! Sis! That handsome new supervisor! I just saw him in the leader's office. He's so young! Did the dean just show him to you guys?" The text was followed by a string of excited emojis.
Lin Yu glanced at the pop-up dialog box in the lower right corner of the computer screen, clicked on it, and typed a reply expressionlessly. "What do you mean by 'passing the target'? Do you think this is the White Horse Club? 1880 yuan for the whole day?"
"Wow, team leader, you're quite knowledgeable!"
Xiao Zhao couldn't help but shift his body at his workstation on the other side of the partition, typing away at the keyboard with a grin. "But seriously, I feel like the way he looks at you... um... is a little unusual."
"How is it unusual?" Lin Yu asked casually.
"It's hard to describe, it's just... the way men look at women, it's different from how they look at other people." Xiao Zhao tried hard to recall, but couldn't quite describe that subtle expression. "Did you two know each other before?"
"Yes, we know each other." Although Lin Yu and Xiao Zhao had a good relationship, they were far from being close confidants, and she had no way of talking about Chen Guang's complicated past. So she simply went along with Xiao Zhao's joke and continued to make up stories.
"I once booked a table at his club. He wasn't good at it, so I never patronized his business again."
While we were chatting, the dean suddenly tagged Lin Yu in the work group, asking her to share the gasifier control scheme she had compiled a few days ago in the video conference so that everyone could learn from it.
Lin Yu forwarded the document to Xiao Zhao. "I logged into the meeting on my phone, so screen sharing is inconvenient. Could you please share it for me? Thanks."
Xiao Zhao responded with an "OK" gesture, opened the file, and quickly started working on the computer. After she was ready, she took off her headphones and went to the restroom.
Half a minute later, Lin Yu belatedly looked up at the PPT interface shared by Xiao Zhao on the screen, and his vision went black instantly, and all the blood in his body rushed to his head!
Xiao Zhao left in a hurry, completely forgetting that the chat window between them was still open.
At this moment, those extremely explosive lines of dialogue—"White Horse Club," "1,880 yuan for a day," "I've booked his services," "His skills are not good"—were being displayed word for word to the dozens of people in the entire hospital participating in the video conference!
......
As it approached the end of the workday, Lin Yu felt a chill run down his spine at the thought of possibly running into Chen Guang in the elevator or at the main entrance.
She hesitated for a moment, then decided to stay and work overtime to perfectly avoid the evening rush hour and any unnecessary encounters.
She checked and signed each page of the equipment specifications she was supposed to produce, and then carefully reviewed the drawings submitted by the people under her command, marking the parts that needed to be modified.
However, influenced by what happened during the day and the previous incident involving Jiang Chuan's ex-girlfriend, Lin Yu was unable to concentrate on his work.
She wearily rubbed her aching neck, looked up at the window, and saw that the sky had already completely darkened without her noticing. She simply closed the file window on her computer, got up to pack her things, and prepared to leave work.
The elevator slowly descended from the upper floor, and with a ding, the doors opened on her floor. Chen Guang was leaning lazily against the handrail inside the elevator, one hand in his pocket.
Thinking of the near-socially disastrous screen-projectioning accident that morning, Lin Yu couldn't help but feel his ears burning. He forced himself to step into the elevator and managed to squeeze out a dry, polite remark: "Working overtime, Section Chief Chen."
Chen Guang looked up, his gaze lingering on her obviously uncomfortable face for a few seconds before he slowly spoke, his tone carrying a hint of something unfathomable.
"Yes, after finishing overtime, I still have to rush to do a part-time job. The nights are always exceptionally busy."
"What part-time job?" Lin Yu didn't react for a moment, staring blankly at him, not understanding what he meant.
Just as the elevator doors were about to slowly close, Chen Guang suddenly leaned forward without warning, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into the elevator.
Warm fingertips brushed casually against her bare forearm, then pressed the close button behind her. The elevator doors slowly closed, trapping the two of them completely in this small, enclosed space.
"What do you think?" Chen Guang grinned, his canine teeth peeking out from under his lips, staring intently at him. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down right under Lin Yu's nose, and he lowered his voice.
"Didn't Team Leader Lin already try it all? The top hostess at the club, 1,880 a day?"
He paused deliberately, admiring her instantly flushed cheeks and panicked eyes, then leaned closer, his warm breath almost brushing against her earlobe.
"I've been working out lately, and my stamina and service have improved a lot. They're all regular customers. Next time Team Leader Lin comes to patronize our business, I'll let you inspect the goods first, how about that?"
Lin Yu's heart skipped a beat. She was both embarrassed and angry at his bold and shameless teasing. She pushed him away abruptly and pressed her back tightly against the cold elevator wall.
The elevator continued its descent, and she gritted her teeth and vowed to herself that from now on, if she spoke ill of her boss, she would always use a code name first! Absolutely!
......
The listed company where Lin Yu works appears to have a sound system and keep up with the times, but at its core, it is still a family business that made its fortune by the dividends of the last century and is deeply entrenched in nepotism. It has a strict hierarchy and is permeated with outdated class consciousness and a strong bureaucratic atmosphere.
Chen Guang had been in office as a supervisor for less than a week when the company's senior management started making arrangements to hold a formal welcome banquet for him.
But anyone with a discerning eye knows that this meal is not as simple as it seems on the surface. It's just an attempt to get his help with dealing with the local government, to make things easier for the project approval and timeline, and to turn a blind eye to minor mistakes.
Given Lin Yu's position, he was not qualified to attend such an occasion at all. However, at a dinner table where leaders gather, there always needs to be someone who is thoughtful, quick-witted, and attentive to serving tea and water and managing the situation.
Girls like Lin Yu, who are technically skilled and somewhat attractive, naturally became the first choice. Just before the end of the workday, Dean Li specifically came to her workstation, stopped her, and invited her to have a casual dinner with them that evening.
Although it was described as a casual meal, Director Zhou of the General Affairs Department received a call in the afternoon from the Administrative Director, who said that tonight's banquet should be prepared to the highest standards of hospitality. The largest banquet room on the third floor was even specially reserved for this purpose.
After work, Lin Yu went to the private room early to do a final check. Director Zhou was directing the waiters to adjust the positions of the dishes. When he saw her come in, he handed her a handwritten drinks menu.
"Two bottles of Moutai and three bottles of red wine. Keep an eye on them and make sure they don't mix them."
Just as he finished speaking, he saw Dean Li walk in from outside with his arm around Chen Guang's shoulder, followed by General Manager Zhang from the Marketing Department, the Financial Director, and several middle-level managers.
Each of them was a highly skilled and capable fighter, and each of them had a considerable capacity for alcohol. It was clearly a trap. Thinking of this, Lin Yu couldn't help but feel a chill for Chen Guang.
Dean Li patted Chen Guang on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Section Chief Chen, this meal today is a welcome dinner on behalf of the company for you."
Chen Guang, wearing a neatly pressed white shirt, stood in the halo of the chandelier, his sleeves casually rolled up, revealing his prominent wrist bones.
As everyone took their seats, his gaze swept across the table, pausing briefly when it passed Lin Yu. She was pouring Moutai into a decanter, the amber liquid slowly flowing down the glass into the cup.
"It's a rare opportunity to work together. If there are any oversights in our planning, please bear with us."
Chen Guang's voice was neither humble nor arrogant, carrying a composure honed from years of experience. His words were impeccable, respecting the other party's feelings while also clearly positioning himself.
Lin Yu lowered his eyes, his fingertips brushing the rim of the glass as he poured the wine until it was about seven-tenths full. He walked around the round table, turning to each of the leaders in turn, and only after completing the circle did he sit down by the door, the seat furthest from the head of the table.
The dean was the first to rise, raising his glass with a warm smile and a loud voice. "We are deeply honored that Section Chief Chen could come to our company for supervision! This glass represents the company's gratitude, and we wish us a pleasant cooperation!"
After finishing his drink, everyone at the table immediately followed suit. Several mid-level managers stood up one after another to offer toasts, showering him with compliments and exchanging sips.
Chen Guang didn't eat a single bite, yet he remained calm and composed throughout, accepting all offers without flinching. His drinking capacity had been honed through years of immersion in officialdom, and he was no longer the same as he used to be.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
