The fact that Hu Jin and Xu Sheng disappeared from the company one after another didn't attract anyone's attention.
Recently, everyone's focus has been on the gossip about the boss and the former Secretary Xu having a son.
"Tsk, tsk, this Secretary Xu really went for it. Our boss's age could make her father, right?"
"Alas, but she struck gold. Having a son, the boss will probably make her official. With so many excavators in our company, that's millions upon millions in assets!"
"Paper assets. The cost of buying these excavators was hundreds of thousands to millions each. The longest rental period was only ten years before the client gave it up. In reality, when calculated, the boss's annual profit should be around this figure."
The male employee speaking held up his palm and made a gesture of three.
"Three million? That little? Impossible, right?"
The male employee who was questioned became unhappy.
"Then how much do you think it is!"
As the two were arguing, a female clerk sitting nearby interrupted them.
"What's the use of you guessing? We won't get a raise even if you guess right. If you ask me, you might as well ask when Sister Hu Jin will return from her husband's hometown. I'm waiting for this month's salary to pay off my credit card..."
"Yeah, yeah, it's the twenty-eighth already. We were supposed to get paid on the twenty-second."
One sentence completely crushed the topic of the previous two male colleagues.
The first female clerk who asked couldn't help but suggest to everyone:
"Does anyone have Sister Hu Jin's phone number? Call her?"
"Ah, forget it, forget it. We've waited six days anyway. If we wait for today, she'll probably be back."
"Yeah, yeah."
...
Lately, Liu Chen could drink the nourishing soup warmed on the stove every day after coming home. It was either chicken soup or duck soup, but these weren't made by his mother; they were prepared by Wang Dong every day after picking up his aunt from work and bringing her home.
After school, sitting at the dining table and drinking soup personally made by his former boss, it smelled so good...
And Chen Long, who was unhappy about Wang Dong's presence in the house, now frequently drove his car behind Liu Fang, under the guise of escorting her home.
The two-bedroom apartment, which was already small, was now packed with five people. Even Liu Chen, who returned home the latest, felt a bit crowded.
Thinking of the air purification sachets and soundproofing cotton strips for windows he had drawn before, Liu Chen, while drinking chicken soup, casually suggested hiring a professional formaldehyde removal service for the new house so they could move in earlier.
Wang Dong, who was sitting by the sofa massaging Hu Min's legs, was the first to ask:
"Professional formaldehyde removal? What is that? What is formaldehyde?"
Huh?
Liu Chen blinked. He suddenly realized that perhaps his family members had never been interested in the renovation industry before, so they naturally hadn't heard of formaldehyde removal.
Putting down the chicken soup in his hand and wiping his mouth, Liu Chen then said:
"Formaldehyde is a colorless, pungent, and toxic gas hidden in building materials. It is also a carcinogen."
Wang Dong's face turned pale with shock, and he nodded his head like a rattle drum.
"Then, then Mianmian and I will stay at Sister Liu's house for now? There are so many renovations in our building! How high must the formaldehyde levels be?"
This caution from his former boss was very similar to how he was when he refused to advance payments in his previous life.
"Don't worry, as long as we find a legitimate formaldehyde removal company, and after they're done, we can use machines to test the formaldehyde levels to know if it's safe to move in."
Hu Min nodded while eating grapes,
"Then Wang Dong, can you call Brother Mi Gong?"
What happened next was no longer something Liu Chen needed to guide. He walked into the bedroom, locked the door, and opened his computer to initiate a video call request with Ren Yu.
Almost the moment the request was sent, the video connected.
Liu Chen couldn't help but smile when he noticed this.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing, let's start with the problems."
After saying this, Liu Chen's smile grew more pronounced as he looked at Ren Yu, who had been silent for a moment on the other end.
"In a few days, we'll probably be moving to the new house."
"That Phoenix City?"
"You know this name!"
"Alright, send me photos of the problems."
Ren Yu once again avoided her question and brought up another topic.
"Calculating this month's profit from Penguin Farm, you should receive four hundred thousand next month. Will it be merged into the account as before, directly into the development of the new game?"
"Yes!"
"Because the development cost of this PC game is higher than the farm game, one million can only give you a five percent dividend."
Liu Chen nodded.
"The other three percent is considered a technical dividend because the game idea was yours."
"!! Really??"
Ren Yu, in Beijing, looked at Liu Chen's small face, which was flushed with excitement, and couldn't help but smile.
At this smile, Liu Chen, who was far away on the screen, instinctively began to flatter, just as he would with clients in his previous life.
"Brother Ren Yu, you look very handsome when you smile. Remember to smile more in the future. With your smile, what kind of girl wouldn't you be able to chase?"
Upon hearing this, the smile on Ren Yu's face froze slightly. Clearly, this flattery had hit a nerve.
And Liu Chen's voice from the headset came through, filled with confusion:
"Brother Ren Yu? Is your internet a bit laggy? Why did your face seem to freeze for a second?"
"Maybe. Your problems have been sent, let me see."
Seeing Ren Yu seriously looking at the problems, Liu Chen couldn't help but tilt his head to a corner not visible to the camera and chuckle.
She had deliberately teased Ren Yu just now. Who told him to always have a stern face? When he finally smiled, he stopped smiling after being teased a little.
"Don't shake your shoulders when you're trying not to laugh. I can see it all."
Ren Yu's slightly deep and somewhat helpless reminder came through the headset. Liu Chen then returned to the camera with a smile.
Looking at Ren Yu in the lens, holding a pen and writing down his problem-solving ideas in a notebook, and thinking about the move they had just discussed.
"We'll probably be moving in April. I'll have my own study then."
Ren Yu nodded.
"You like having your own study."
Hearing this meaningless repetition, Liu Chen suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.
"Who doesn't want their own study?"
"Oh, let's stop talking about these irrelevant things. Write down the problem-solving ideas and send them to me?"
And so, one problem after another, interspersed with small events from their lives, they chatted until midnight. After bidding each other goodnight, they got up from their chairs to wash up and go to bed.
Ren Yu, in Beijing, sat in his chair and looked up at the full moon hanging outside the window.
"Remember, you like having your own study."