Stepping out of the shop with her newly bought plant, Xu Wenqi found a street bench to drop off her bags and take out her phone to call Butler Wang. She didn't want to take a taxi back because if she did, she would have to walk with all her bags through the gated community since only private cars could enter. Soon after the call connected, Butler Wang's amiable voice could be heard from the receiver.
"Hello, miss. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes, sorry to trouble you, but I was just calling to see if any of the drivers are available to pick me up. I remember you said no taxis are allowed in the community and I have a lot of things to carry…"
Butler Wang thought for a second and an idea was birthed in his heart.
He smiled and lied through his teeth without a single change in tone, "Oh, what to do? That's too bad...all the drivers retired for the day and the only driver available is for Shen Yue."
"Oh, that's fine. I'll just take a taxi and walk from the gate. Well, it's good exercise, hahaha," replied Xu Wenqi.
"How can I let Ms. Xu walk all the way? Here, let's do this, I'll give you Shen Yue's number and you call him to give you a ride home. He should be getting off work soon so there's no problem in driving you home. Alright, bye now."
"No-"
Before Xu Wenqi could fully reject, Butler Wang ended the call and sent a message with a number in it. She looked at the number in despair.
'So this is what it means to shoot yourself in the foot,' thought Xu Wenqi depressedly.
She clenched her fist and was determined to not call the big ancestor. However, turning her head to look at the amount of shopping bags on the bench made her iron will collapse immediately.
'Agh, I really don't want to walk all the way with these bags though. They're so heavy...'
The lazy part of her was fighting with her rational side, sparking an internal conflict.
'Ahh, but do you really want to meet the big demon king?' Xu Wenqi thought as she pulled her hair anxiously.
After a few seconds of mental deliberation, Xu Wenqi's laziness overcame her reasoning and gripped her phone tightly. Dialing the string of numbers given by Butler Wang on her phone, Xu Wenqi's heart was tight as she lifted the cell next to her ear. It was a short wait before the call connected and a deep magnetic voice floated from the receiver.
"Hello?"
Hearing Shen Yue's voice made Xu Wenqi let out a subconscious breath she didn't even realize she was holding.
"O-oh, hi."
Damn, why did she stutter embarrassingly?
Xu Wenqi cleared her throat and asked cautiously, "Are you getting off work soon?"
Shen Yue glanced at the hand of his wristwatch and saw that it was the usual company time for employees to clock out. However, he had never once, since the founding of the company, left work on time. He always worked overtime into the late hours of the night. Of course, if the boss didn't leave, how could the employees leave? Everyone knew working at the Shen Group meant never being able to return home at a normal time.
Instead of answering her question, he threw back one.
"Why?"
"I-I asked Butler Wang if there were any drivers because I have a lot of bags to carry home but he said the only one available was for you," she said in a small voice. "I-I was h-hoping for you...I mean...if I could get a ride along the way back to the house? Uhm, o-only if it's not i-inconvenient!"
Xu Wenqi was very flustered and regretted to death calling Shen Yue.
There was a long silence before he spoke up.
"Send me your location."
The call was ended by Shen Yue abruptly and Xu Wenqi breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly messaged him the location in fear that he would change his mind. On the other side, Shen Yue grabbed the coat draped on the back of his leather office chair and took long strides to the door. Riding his personal elevator down to the lobby, Shen Yue's eyes were unfathomable. Exiting the elevator, Shen Yue walked to the doors of the company before he suddenly stopped and spoke calmly without turning back.
"It's time to get off work."
Finishing his piece, he continued to walk out. All the employees in the lobby froze and a strange hush fell over them. Some rubbed their eyes in shock. One spit out the coffee he was drinking. Another who was originally walking to the elevator area tripped and all the documents he was holding scattered to the ground. Those with a semblance of a brain left hurriedly bowed to Shen Yue and greeted him. It wasn't until Shen Yue's figure left that someone spoke up.
"Did I see right? Was that really the president?"
"Forget what you saw, did I hear right? Am I hallucinating? Did he say 'get off work'??"
"Wait, I heard that too…"
Everyone started to speak at once.
"The president actually left at a normal time today? Did the sky actually fall down?"
One of the employees went to check the window.
"No...it's still up there…"
"I thought we were gonna eat before coming back to work. Don't tell me I can actually head home early for once?!"
"Of course not! He's probably going to a meeting..."
"No way! President Shen never attends any company meetings. It's always the vice president. How could he suddenly go today?"
"What if the company is going bankrupt?" someone speculated.
"You're right! He does look more serious than usual!"
"Maybe he's going to an emergency stockholder meeting!"
Hearing this, everyone unanimously agreed that the company was probably going bankrupt and Shen Yue was heading out to deal with it. Otherwise, why would he leave?
Everyone started to panic and brace themselves for the worst.
"Doesn't that mean we're going to lose our jobs?!"
If the employees of the company were just simply shocked, Secretary Chen nearly passed out from hearing the news.
'Shen Yue left early? Is the company really going bankrupt?' reflected Secretary Chen seriously.
Little did Xu Wenqi know that her one phone call would shake up the entire company.
note:
merry christmas everyone !! ʕ≧ᴥ≦ʔ happy holidays !!