Ruan Clothing Company.
"Did you see? The entire East Sea City was filled with floating Haitang petals last night!"
"I’m not blind. I heard the sea of flowers drifted over from Mount Haitang, and the whole mountain was glowing."
"How romantic is that? It’s a shame we weren’t the ones on the mountain."
The female employees of the Ruan company were gossiping excitedly.
Just then, Ruan Tang walked over.
The young women were startled and quickly greeted her, "Good morning, President Ruan!"
Inwardly, however, each of them panicked. Oh no, we’re in for another scolding. This text is hosted at NoveI(F)ire.net
But Ruan Tang didn’t berate them. Instead, she smiled, nodded, and walked right past them. They could even vaguely hear her humming a little tune.
The women were left speechless.
"Why is President Ruan in such a good mood? On this day in previous years, she’s always been as cold as ice," one of them murmured in confusion.
The others exchanged glances, agreeing that today’s President Ruan was indeed acting unusually.
"I know why!" a young woman from the Business Department suddenly exclaimed, clapping her hands.
Under the curious gazes of her colleagues, she mused, "President Ruan might be pregnant again!"
"A second child? Little Shen, how would you know?"
Facing her colleagues’ doubtful looks, Little Shen from the Business Department stood her ground, her confidence unwavering even if her reasoning wasn’t. "I know a little something about physiognomy. Our boss-lady will absolutely have another son, and..."
She paused for a moment before adding mysteriously, "Our boss, Xu Lai, has the countenance of an emperor. To have met the two of them is a blessing we earned in a past life!"
The other women simultaneously curled their lips in disbelief.
Little Shen was annoyed. You bunch of philistines. If you don’t believe me, fine, but why are you curling your lips at me?
She picked up her glass and took a sip of water, the copper coins tied around her wrist clinking softly.
"Perhaps I should give you all an annual leave so you can chat to your heart’s content?" Ruan Tang’s voice, already tinged with coldness, drifted over from her office as she looked out at them.
The women scattered like startled birds, each returning to her workstation to resume her duties.
Ruan Tang felt an inexplicable weariness. At home, her sister Ruan Lan had praised Xu Lai to no end, making him sound like a man without equal, a complete one-eighty from her previous attitude. And now at the company, her employees were gossiping instead of focusing on their work.
I’m going to have another son?
Ruan Tang closed her office door, her soft muttering audible. "No one knows how I’ve survived these past five years. Having one Yiyi... is enough."
Xu Lai also went to work.
As expected, a crowd of elders, including Li Shouzhong, Lin Qiu, and Zheng Ping, was still waiting for him. They had even brought small folding stools and notebooks, looking for all the world like they were there to attend a lecture.
Xu Lai said helplessly, "Everyone, this is an infirmary, not a lecture hall. If you do this, what will happen to the students who get injured?"
"We’ll treat them!" Li Shouzhong replied quickly. "First aid, internal medicine, surgery, otolaryngology, neurology, even obstetrics and gynecology—it’s no problem. We even have a couple of veterinarians. It doesn’t matter if they’re human or animal; we can treat them."
Xu Lai was speechless.
Liu Nanwei was speechless.
Zhou Feng had already admitted his medical skills were inferior to Xu Lai’s and had given up on competing for power. He spoke gravely, "Director Li, our Director Xu is right. You are all disrupting our work."
"Hmm?" Lin Qiu raised her eyebrows and glanced at him.
Zhou Feng immediately wilted. He was just an ordinary psychology expert. How could he dare to speak after being glared at by Lin Qiu, a heavyweight in both the academic and medical worlds?
"Zhou Feng, if I recall correctly, you’ve always wanted to be the director of the infirmary to get a position in Dongli University’s management, correct?" Although Lin Qiu was sitting on a simple stool, she exuded a powerful aura. "I’ll write you a letter of recommendation. You can be the director of the medical office at Qingbei, your choice."
Zhou Feng swallowed hard. "And what would you need in return?"
"I want to be the psychological counselor here at Dongli University!"
Zhou Feng was stunned. Dreams always seemed so out of reach... But no, now his dream was not only within grasp, it had been elevated to a whole new level—and it was all thanks to his former rival, Xu Lai. Still, why did he feel like something was off?
Seeing the group of titans who were desperate to stick to Xu Lai’s side and listen to his every word, Zhou Feng thought it over and refused. It seems... staying here is the better option.
Liu Nanwei spoke up, "However, we still need a night-shift emergency doctor, a nutrition specialist, a gynecologist, and..." She then took out four application forms. "Seniors, if any of you are interested, you can register with me."
"Ridiculous! I am a distinguished figure in the field of medicine! I turned down an offer to be a doctoral advisor at Qingbei, and you want me to work as a doctor in this rundown infirmary? On the night shift, no less?"
"Exactly! This is an insult to us!"
"Right, you’re both absolutely right. So could you please stop crowding the front and let me through?"
"Jiang, aren’t you a veterinarian? They aren’t hiring for that!"
In the end, Director of Emergency Medicine Li Shouzhong, a female gynecologist specializing in traditional Chinese medicine, and two other male doctors were the ones chosen.
This provoked an outcry from the others. "Unfair! This is rigged!"
"Get out, get out! Don’t disturb our work."
Li Shouzhong and the other three paid them no mind, promptly kicking their comrades—who had been their allies just a moment before—out of the infirmary.
It was finally much quieter. The four of them smiled as they surveyed their future workplace, nodding continuously in approval. It was a good place.
The Dragon-slaying Youth had finally become the wicked dragon... The thought suddenly surfaced in Xu Lai’s mind.
Starting from that day, no student at Dongli University could feign sickness to skip class anymore. No matter the ailment, there was a dedicated industry expert to diagnose and treat them, with a level of professionalism on par with the city’s top-tier hospitals.
However, Xu Lai still had to set aside one day a week to explain medical principles to Lin Qiu and the others who hadn’t been hired. Their obsession with medicine was simply madness. Although they no longer barged into the infirmary, they simply moved their little stools and sat right outside the school gates.
The administrators at Dongli University were beside themselves. If word gets out about how Dongli University is treating these esteemed medical elders... and it starts spreading online, who would apply to Dongli next year? How would the university stay profitable?
In the end, the principal sought out Su Daiyi, who in turn appealed to Xu Lai, and the matter was finally resolved.
「At five o’clock in the afternoon.」
Xu Lai went to pick up his daughter, Xu Yiyi, as usual.
The normally cheerful Qian Xiao was sullen, which in turn made Xu Yiyi a little unhappy.
"What’s wrong?" Xu Lai asked with concern.
"Our kindergarten is organizing an outing that requires parents to come along, but my mom and dad don’t have time, so I can’t go," Qian Xiao said with his head hung low, looking utterly dejected.
Xu Lai made two sticks of cotton candy and passed one to him.
Qian Xiao’s gloomy mood vanished in an instant. He took a big, happy bite. "Wow, this is delicious!"
"Go home and have a good talk with your parents. Work is important, but family is important too," Xu Lai said.
"Uncle Xu, you’re so nice! Auntie Ruan must be the happiest person alive being married to you!" Qian Xiao exclaimed, deeply moved.
"I’m not sure if she’s the happiest person alive, but I can confirm your Auntie Ruan is, in fact, still alive."
Qian Xiao was speechless.
Fine. Talking with you adults is exhausting.