Chapter 28: The enemy is plotting

After ten days of recuperation, the large bump on the back of Tong An’yu’s head had almost disappeared.

She was supposed to have gone to the hospital for a follow-up check-up last week, but she figured, for one, it was a bit far, and for another, the company’s annual physical was coming up soon, so she didn’t go.

Sun Han returned to Jing City over the weekend.

Her family was from here, so she didn’t even have to rent a place.

Tong An’yu said she would treat her to a meal after she officially started work on Monday, as she had to take her cat for deworming and a heart check-up this weekend.

Maine Coons are prone to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and besides, Cooper was already over seven years old, which was considered his ‘senior years.’

She didn’t dare to be complacent.

When she got home, she first snuggled up with her parents for a while, then briefly checked in on Si Xu, who was away on a business trip.

“Where’s my brother?”

Tong Miao said, “He went to Zhuhai to attend a gathering for tech bloggers.”

Tong An’yu was a bit speechless.
“Does he count as a tech blogger?”

Tong Miao smiled.

“They sent him an invitation. It might also be to give your dad face.”

Tong An’yu replied, “That’s not it. I know about this conference. Only those with tens of millions of followers across the entire web get invited. Even Dad can’t go.”

The way businesses develop now is different from the past.

Before, as long as you had a hardcore product, you could stand firm in the brutal competition.

But with the rise of short videos, the emphasis has now shifted to the entrepreneur’s personal IP.

The quality assurance of a product is less impactful than the entrepreneur’s credibility.

If the boss has a personable character and is more popular with the public, the value of the entire company will rise accordingly, and the public will be more willing to pay.

That’s why in recent years, many entrepreneurs past their prime have braced themselves to register accounts, forcing themselves to learn what young people like and showcasing their work status in front of the camera.

Si Zhan was still somewhat of a maverick at heart and didn’t like to engage in these pandering activities, so he handed the task over to his son.

Tong An’yu understood a great deal about the technical side of things, but she was truly camera-shy.

The mere thought of speaking eloquently to a camera made her anxious and weary.

So she outsourced the entire task to her brother.

Si Xu, who had studied management, was a complete novice when it came to technology.

The young woman in charge of operations at the company explained the platform rules and the “golden three seconds” of short videos to him in great detail, but he was too lazy to imitate them.

He just pointed the camera at his own face and filmed a greeting: “Hello everyone, I am the son of the founder of the Si Corporation. My name is Si Xu.”

He went viral instantly.

It turned out that top-tier beauty is a scarce resource, capable of overwhelming any rules summarized by humankind.

Si Xu never talked about the professional technology of his family’s company but was still crowned with the title of a tech blogger.

He also never meticulously researched topics; he would just film his work environment and the high-pressure tasks assigned by his father, occasionally lamenting the heartache of being intellectually crushed by his younger sister since childhood.

The comment section would say: [“All that rambling is just a cover for a face that is a showcase of Nüwa’s divine skill.”]

With that face, Si Xu easily amassed tens of millions of followers, successfully achieving the effect of promoting his family’s business and sharing Tong An’yu’s burden of being on camera.

So, it was publicly known that the founder of the Si Corporation had a son and a daughter.

The son was an exceptionally beautiful man with a very good temper, and the daughter was a mystery.

Tong An’yu sent a message to Si Xu—

[Little Tong is taking Cooper for a check-up and deworming. You can relax and have fun out there.]

[OK, I’ll bring you a gift when I get back.]

Fortunately, Cooper had a GPS collar around his neck; otherwise, in a villa this large, Tong An’yu would have had a really hard time finding him.

“Cooper!”

“Meow~”

The large cat leaped down from a Buddhist pine, walked a few steps with reserve to observe Tong An’yu, and upon realizing it was his own mother, he pounced with his tail held high.

The meter-long cat’s pounce made Tong An’yu stagger, but thankfully, she caught him securely.

The clingy cat climbed onto her, thinking he was still that delicate and fragile baby from his youth.

Tong An’yu could only carry the heavy cat and walk into the house.

“Cooper, oh Cooper, have you gained weight again? Why is it getting harder and harder for me to carry you?” Tong An’yu panted.

Cooper paid her no mind, licking his paws on Tong An’yu’s shoulder.

Back then, the vet said the little one would grow very big, but she never expected him to grow this big.

Tong An’yu said with great cunning,

“Cooper, your dad is back in Jing City. I mentioned you to him, and he didn’t reply. So heartless.”

The cat just licked its own paws, then moved on to licking Tong An’yu’s hair, indifferent to the title of ‘dad.’

Tong An’yu was gratified.

‘See, see, the bond of raising him is stronger than the bond of rescuing him. I haven’t raised this child for so many years in vain.’

Tong An’yu said, “No matter how many cats your dad has now, Mom will only ever have you.”

“Meow.”

Cooper gave up on human hair; it stuck to his tongue.

After taking Cooper for his check-up and seeing that everything was healthy, Tong An’yu felt relieved.

On Monday, she went back to work.
Although she was already prepared, she still felt a sense of emptiness when she saw the opposite side of the hall bustling with people.

Lin Huaixu, from now on, they would be working on the same floor.

A new colleague at PetParty quickly dispelled her thought.

Lin would not be staying in the branch office for long.

At most, an office would be kept for him here.

He would still spend most of his time in the PetParty building in Shenzhen-Hong Kong.

Just as the employees of Hexin Technology were secretly discussing, the employees of PetParty were also sneaking peeks at Hexin Technology.

Both sides knew that the office next door belonged to their boss’s rival, so a scent of gunpowder naturally arose between them.

One side was discussing how that Lin Huaixu was very calculating, that he was obviously being passive-aggressive at the symposium, and that he might try to trip them up in the future.

The other side was discussing how Quantum Granule hadn’t acted honorably back in the day, which showed that Hexin Technology was also a company that would stop at nothing.

With such a corporate culture, they had to be on their guard.

But discussion was just discussion.

If a job opportunity with higher pay arose on the other side, everyone would be perfectly willing to switch sides on the spot and defect to the enemy camp.

As noon approached, Tong An’yu sent a message to Sun Han.
[Lin Huaixu didn’t come this time, did he?]

[He’s here. In his office.]

[…Then you should slip out later and avoid him.]

[Don’t worry, I know the drill.]

[Okay, I’m not ready to run into him yet.]

Her nemesis’s attitude was rather strange.
He had added her on WeChat, saying she had to compensate him for the suit, but it had been over ten days now, and he still hadn’t found the receipt.

He also hadn’t reacted at all to the “pats” she had sent him.

‘Is he too lazy to deal with me, or does he just not care about this bit of money anymore?’

‘But if he neither cares nor can be bothered, why did he add me in the first place?’

‘I don’t get it.’

‘Even after curing my slow perception, I still don’t get it.’

[By the way, Little Tong, I have a colleague here who was in the same group as me in Shenzhen-Hong Kong. She doesn’t have any friends in Jing City. Can she eat with us in a bit?]

[I have no problem with it, but don’t tell her about me and Lin Huaixu. I’m afraid it’ll make her uncomfortable.]

[Got it. I’ll say you’re a regular employee at Hexin Technology.]

[Exactly!]

Tong An’yu pocketed her work ID, grabbed her phone, and went out to meet Sun Han.

Before long, Sun Han emerged with a petite girl dressed in a sharp, professional manner.

Sun Han took the initiative to introduce them.

“This is my university roommate, Little Tong. She’s an engineer at Hexin. And this is my friend from Shenzhen-Hong Kong, Xin Rui.”

Xin Rui was outgoing and shook hands with Tong An’yu.

“What a coincidence for you two! Now you’re right across the hall from each other. Why don’t you jump ship and come over to our side, Little Tong? Our company is hiring a lot of people right now.”

Tong An’yu said, “Haha, I think I’ll pass.”
‘That would be a disaster. My resume would be thrown directly into the trash by my nemesis.’

Sun Han smoothed things over.

“She has a PhD in semiconductors, which is a bit different from our internet industry. She can’t come over.”

Xin Rui said, “Oh, is that so… oh my, I forgot to press the elevator button.”

She quickly pressed the button.

If they waited any longer, the whole building would be heading out for lunch, and it would take even more time to get down.

Tong An’yu asked, “What do you guys want to eat?”

Sun Han said, “You’re more familiar with this area. You decide.”

Tong An’yu said, “I know a molecular gastronomy place with a nice atmosphere. How about that one?”

Sun Han said, “Sure.”

Tong An’yu said, “Okay, my treat.”

Xin Rui said, “No, no, no, our company has a meal allowance. Why waste money?”

Oh ho.

They even had a meal allowance.

Sun Han said, “Yeah, ninety for lunch, ninety for dinner if we work past eight at night. So just… let our boss spend a little more money.”

“The benefits are pretty good,” Tong An’yu said sourly.

Xin Rui said, “To be fair, CEO Lin comes from a rich family, after all. He’s really generous. Our afternoon tea is also especially lavish.”

Tong An’yu lowered her eyes, secretly tugging at the strap on her clothes, thinking, ‘You don’t know. There was a time when he couldn’t even bear to drink a caramel latte, a time when his rented apartment was crawling with cockroaches, a time when he wore the same T-shirt for four years.’

‘He’s generous not because he comes from a rich family, but because he himself is very good at being a leader.’

“CEO Lin…”

Tong An’yu didn’t look up, muttering sullenly, “Yes, I know your CEO Lin is rich.”

“CEO Lin, are you also heading out for lunch?” Xin Rui laughed awkwardly.

Sun Han poked Tong An’yu sharply.

Tong An’yu jolted and lifted her head, only to see Lin Huaixu, dressed in a black shirt and black trousers, also waiting for the elevator.

‘Great. I ran into my nemesis on the very first day of work.’

‘I must summon the aura of a Si Corporation princess!’

Tong An’yu held her head high and chest out, her toes unconsciously tapping on the floor.

‘But has this man grown taller again? How is he blocking all the light?’

“Mm,” Lin Huaixu’s reply was polite but not warm.

He wasn’t really the approachable type; it was just that his professional charisma was very convincing.

He glanced past Xin Rui naturally, his gaze landing on Tong An’yu’s face.

He saw that the back of her head was no longer swollen; she should be completely healed.

Seeing him look over, Tong An’yu immediately turned her face to the side.

‘Nope, I’m still guilty, still short of breath, still feel my hands and feet go numb…’

‘My aura is a lost cause. From now on, I should just sneak around and hide from him.’

Xin Rui said politely, “CEO Lin, would you like to have lunch with us?”

This was just workplace etiquette.
The leader would most likely not eat with them.

Not to mention that Lin Huaixu had no impression of her; even if he did, they were not on the same level and had nothing to talk about.

Tong An’yu thought, ‘Hehe, missy, you’ve thought too much.’

‘My nemesis would love nothing more than to eradicate my family. Eat together? As if.’

Sun Han’s smile was stiff.

“Let’s forget it, Xin Rui. CEO Lin is busy.”

“Alright,” Lin Huaixu said. “Whatever you’re having, it’s my treat.”

Huh?

HUH!!!

Tong An’yu stood frozen like a wooden chicken.

‘Nemesis, did you hit your head on a steering wheel too?’

Xin Rui was surprised for a moment, then quickly said, “Little Tong recommended a molecular gastronomy restaurant. She said it’s pretty good.”

The elevator arrived.

Lin Huaixu was the first to step in.

“Let’s go.”

Xin Rui followed in, bewildered, leaving behind a frozen-faced Sun Han and a breathless Tong An’yu.

Sun Han whispered encouragement to Tong An’yu, “Don’t panic. Your sister is here. We’ll handle whatever they throw at us.”

Tong An’yu said, “Hah, who am I? I’m not panicking.”

Her limbs moved in unison.

Sun Han stepped in before her, standing in the middle to unobtrusively block Lin Huaixu.

Just as Tong An’yu was about to enter the elevator, the doors suddenly began to close.

“Hey!”

She quickly flinched her shoulders back.
But instead of getting caught, the elevator was forcefully held open by a hand.

“What are you thinking about,” Lin Huaixu said in a deep voice.

Then, the elevator doors sensed an obstruction and slowly slid back open.

But his hand then moved to grab her shoulder and, with a single pull, tugged her inside.

Sun Han had no choice but to step back.
Tong An’yu was pulled to his side.

He only slowly released his hand after the elevator doors closed again.

Her shoulder felt as if it had been scalded.
There must be some kind of brand left there.

But Tong An’yu didn’t dare to look.

She was very close to Lin Huaixu.
Her arm brushed against his coarse black shirt, and then she smelled that long-missed scent of fresh spring water.

Her physiological liking once again defeated her reason, making her almost lose her mind the moment she saw this man.