The next day, Shu Ya got up early for work and left without even saying goodbye to Hao Jian; she just drove off on her own.
Hao Jian knew that the woman was probably embarrassed about the incident from yesterday, which is why she couldn't face him.
Coming downstairs, Ruo Lan had already prepared breakfast, and upon seeing this, Hao Jian pounced like a hungry wolf and then began to feast to his heart's content.
"Uncle Cheapo, you really can eat!" Tongtong looked at Hao Jian's way of eating, her little mouth twitching, before speaking in a babyish voice.
"Having an appetite is a blessing, hasn't Sister Lan taught you that?" Hao Jian pinched Tongtong's chubby little cheeks, smiling gleefully.
At this moment, Ruo Lan's complexion was somewhat unsightly, and as she watched Hao Jian eat like a pig, her lips pursed, and she said in a plaintive tone,
"Hao Jian, I have something to tell you."
"Okay, Sister Lan, go ahead," Hao Jian said, nodding while continuing to drink his porridge.
"Don't call me Sister Lan!" Ruo Lan said with a dark expression.
Hao Jian sighed helplessly, "Okay, Ruo Lan, what's wrong?"
He didn't understand why Ruo Lan was so angry. Was it just a name? What difference did it make what he called her?
"Shu Ya talked to me today, she wants to set me up with a boyfriend." Ruo Lan's eyes fixed intently on Hao Jian, as if trying to read his expression.
Because of the events from the day before, Shu Ya had come to understand her feelings for Hao Jian. Although he was somewhat frivolous, his character was still decent. Even if it was just pretending, it seemed she wouldn't reject the idea.
Under such circumstances, she did not want any potential threats to emerge, like an extramarital affair or something.
The thoughts of a woman can become deviously cunning when fueled with jealousy.
At this very moment, Hao Jian still didn't notice that there was something off about Ruo Lan's expression and straightforwardly nodded and said,
"Oh? Isn't that good? It's about time there's a man in the house, so you all have someone to rely on, right?"
"You think that's good?" Ruo Lan was visibly frustrated, staring at Hao Jian.
Hao Jian was dumbfounded, what had he said wrong? Indeed, wasn't that a good thing? It was time for Ruo Lan to consider her own needs after five years of widowhood.
Ruo Lan narrowed her eyes and looked at Hao Jian for a while, then coldly said,
"Are you finished eating? Once you're done, I'll clear up!"
Just as Hao Jian was about to speak, Ruo Lan had already taken away his porridge without further discussion.
He was utterly speechless. What was wrong with Ruo Lan today? Had he offended her in some way?
"Hey, Tongtong, is your mom on her 'that time of the month'? Why is she so fiery?"
"What's 'that time'?" Tongtong was confused, scratching her little head, and asked innocently.
Hao Jian grinned, saying cheerfully,
"Is your mom having her period? Has your auntie from your mom's side visited?"
"We don't have an auntie from my mom's side at our house?"
Tongtong felt that Uncle Cheapo was acting weird today, but couldn't quite put her finger on how.
"Your house does have an auntie from your mom's side; your mom's period comes to visit for a few days every month, isn't that your auntie from your mom's side?" Hao Jian's leering smile grew even broader!
At this moment, Sister Lan in the house heard what Hao Jian said and immediately frowned in exasperation!
"Hao Jian, why don't you just go die!!!!!"
With screams, pots, pans, cooking utensils, and even a kitchen knife flew out all at once!
Hao Jian arrived at the company, holding an additional document in his hand that contained feedback on ring designs, which he planned to give to Yuan Shanshan.
Because of Hao Jian's acute insight, Yuan Shanshan consulted his opinions on every detail of her ring designs.
And it was precisely because of his input every time that Yuan Shanshan had her breakthroughs, perfecting her work step by step.
In some sense, the formation of this ring also owed a part of its success to Hao Jian.
Now that the ring had nearly been completed, all that was left was the finishing touches, so he intended to give his final thoughts to Yuan Shanshan.
However, when Hao Jian entered the design department, he found Yuan Shanshan absent. He blinked in surprise— it was working hours, so why hadn't she come to work?
"Hello, is Yuan Shanshan here?" Hao Jian asked one of the female designers.
Upon seeing Hao Jian, the female designer's expression turned somewhat odd as she said, "She just had a fight with the department head and then went up to the rooftop."
"Do you know what they fought about?"
Hao Jian was somewhat startled; considering his understanding of Yuan Shanshan, she shouldn't be someone who lost her temper easily.
"How would I know that? You should probably ask Yuan Shanshan herself," the other's attitude became gradually impatient, seemingly reluctant to discuss the matter further.
Seeing this, Hao Jian just shrugged and smiled. He could tell that this girl was probably wary of their department head, hence her reluctance to talk more about the incident.
When Hao Jian found Yuan Shanshan, he discovered her standing on the edge of the rooftop, hands crossed over her chest, bracing against the cold wind, her face still bearing faint traces of tears—clear signs that she had just been crying.
"What's wrong?" Hao Jian approached and knew something must have happened by the look of Yuan Shanshan.
Yuan Shanshan had already stopped crying, but upon seeing Hao Jian approach, her tears welled up again in victimized defeat, throwing herself onto Hao Jian and starting to sob.
"Tell me everything, what exactly happened? Only then can I help you," Hao Jian comforted her, patting her back.
Yuan Shanshan took a few steps back, still sniffling: "My designs were plagiarized by the department head."
At that moment, she felt utterly wronged. To win appreciation from the company, she had worked day and night on the ring designs. Just when she had successfully created them, her designs were stolen by the department head.
And what made it even more agonizing was that the department head had handled every detail of the design document, leaving her without any proof; it now completely belonged to the department head.
Only now did Yuan Shanshan truly understand the ruthlessness and darkness of the workplace.
Hao Jian's expression darkened slightly, his eyes growing cold: "Is this why you argued with him?"
Yuan Shanshan's eyes, swollen from crying, nodded in grievance:
"He plagiarized my work, and I confronted him about it, but he shamelessly insisted that the design document was his creation. Without any evidence, I had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill."
"What's your department head's name?" Hao Jian asked with a grim expression.
"Our department head is He Runyu, a veteran of the company," Yuan Shanshan shook her head as her eyes reddened once more.
Being a newcomer, going against a veteran department head was like a moth to a flame, utterly hopeless!
"Lead me to him, I'd like to have a word with him," Hao Jian's face grew darker.
This matter couldn't just be dropped; after all, he had contributed half the effort to the design document. If He Runyu plagiarized the design, it was as if he had bullied Hao Jian himself!
It had always been him bullying others, with no one daring to bully him. How could he just let this go?
"It's no use; his power within the company is too great. We can't afford to offend him."
Yuan Shanshan shook her head bitterly. She didn't dare offend He Runyu, fearing that a single displeasure from him could get her fired. With her mother currently in the hospital, and money needed on all fronts, she truly couldn't afford to spend time looking for another job.