Chen Xiao leaped into the adjacent flowerbed, narrowly avoiding disaster as the white Mercedes-Benz crashed into the guardrail with a CRUNCH.
Chen Xiao emerged and held out his hands. They were covered in bloody scratches from the branches.
The driver finally revealed herself. She was a woman of about twenty-five, with shoulder-length hair and sunglasses. Slender and tall, around 170cm, she was dressed quite formally. Getting out of the car, she asked Chen Xiao, "Are you okay?"
Chen Xiao, looking disheveled and in a foul mood, replied, "Okay? You mean 'okay' as in you don't need to plan a funeral? Where'd you learn to drive, a monster truck rally? This is a sedan, not an excavator."
The woman said, embarrassed, "I'm so sorry. I mixed up the gas and the brake!"
Chen Xiao glanced at the nearby parking spot. 'It wasn't just mixing up the gas and the brake,' he thought. 'She must've put it in drive instead of reverse, too.'
"Do you even have a license?" Chen Xiao asked doubtfully.
"I do! I've been driving for three years!"
"Miss, let me give you some advice. You should get a different car. Something with self-driving capabilities would suit you better!"
'How savage,' Bai Lu thought. He was indirectly saying she was such a bad driver the car would be better off driving itself. She rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses, where Chen Xiao couldn't see.
"Are you sure you're not hurt? We can go to the hospital to get you checked out. Don't worry, if there's an issue, I'll cover all the medical bills and lost wages!"
'My lost wages? You probably can't afford them,' Chen Xiao thought to himself.
"Forget it, it's just a flesh wound. I have an appointment. You should get your car checked out. And be more careful next time. If you're a rookie, don't play on Hard Mode. And why are you wearing sunglasses? The sun's not even out today!"
Bai Lu knew she was in the wrong, so she could only endure his sarcastic taunts.
"Are you sure you don't need to get checked? I think you should take a few days off to rest. Look, your hands are all cut up!"
'This woman is no saint,' he thought. 'Telling me to rest... Do you have any idea I make 8,000 a day? You've already hurt my body, and now you're trying to hurt my wallet too.'
Of course, he wasn't going to tell her he earned 8,000 a day. If he did, people would just think he was insane.
He declared with righteous indignation, "A minor wound won't keep me from the front lines! How could someone who loves their job so much let a little scratch get in the way of laying bricks? Laying bricks is the greatest joy. Laying bricks cures all ills!"
Bai Lu looked at him with disdain. 'Laying bricks cures all ills? Looks to me like laying bricks has made you crazy!'
"By the way, miss, how do I get to Building 5?"
"Building 5? What a coincidence, I'm going to Building 5 too. Follow me!"
Bai Lu made a call for her insurance, left the car where it was after a word with the gate guard, and then led Chen Xiao toward Building 5.
Following behind her, Chen Xiao noticed her waist was surprisingly slim, which led down to a very exaggerated curve. The delightful combination made Chen Xiao's mind conjure up some rather suggestive imagery.
When they reached Building 5, they discovered they were even going to the same floor.
"Who are you here to see?" Bai Lu asked, curious.
"I'm looking for your Assistant Bai!"
"Huh? You wouldn't happen to be Chen Xiao from Dr. Feng's Robot, would you?"
'No way, what a coincidence.' Chen Xiao nodded in acknowledgment and said, "And you are?"
"Yes, I'm Bai Lu!"
'Crap, it really is her,' Chen Xiao thought. 'I'm screwed. I was just roasting her. Women usually hold a grudge!'
The two walked to Bai Lu's office, each lost in their own thoughts.
She invited Chen Xiao to have a seat. She had been holding a bit of a grudge and was planning to make a few sarcastic remarks, but when she saw the scratches on his hands, she swallowed her words. She had no idea that this guy, Chen Xiao, had intentionally rolled up his sleeves to put his injuries on full display.
"Mr. Chen, please state the purpose of your visit," Bai Lu said, taking off her sunglasses and reverting to her professional demeanor.
Chen Xiao sized her up for a moment. 'What a beautiful face,' he thought. 'Much prettier than with the sunglasses on.'
He concisely explained his purpose, briefly introducing the products from Dr. Feng's Robot. Then he said, "I know that the testing department under the design institute has annual equipment procurement needs, so I came by to see if there might be an opportunity for cooperation."
Bai Lu hummed in acknowledgment, took his product flyer, and flipped through it. After a moment, she said, "This is all standard technology on the market. A few products have some unique features, but there's no strong competitive edge."
Chen Xiao knew he couldn't fool her. He was new to the industry, while she had probably been in it for at least a few years. He wasn't sure, though; she looked so young, she couldn't have been in the business for that long.
But Bai Lu had only commented on his products; she hadn't said that this year's procurement was already complete. That meant there was still a chance.
Chen Xiao began stroking his injured arm back and forth, wincing and grimacing in pain.
The corner of Bai Lu's mouth twitched as she watched him. 'What a weird salesman!'
"How about this, Mr. Chen. I'll keep the materials, we'll discuss it internally, and then we'll contact you by phone later!"
Chen Xiao stared at her resentfully. 'She's already showing me the door? So irresponsible. Isn't this technically a hit-and-run if she doesn't give me a proper resolution?'
Bai Lu had no idea about the wild and ridiculous thoughts running through his head. She explained, "I have an appointment with a friend to get a beauty treatment soon, so for today..."
Chen Xiao couldn't help but ask, his voice slightly raised, "During brick-laying time—I mean, during work hours, you're going for a beauty treatment?"
Bai Lu rolled her eyes, having forgotten he was a brick-laying maniac. "We have flexible work hours!" she said.
Chen Xiao glanced at her chest, then thought back to the view he'd admired from behind. 'Yep, definitely flexible,' he thought wryly.
"Flexible work hours means your schedule is flexible, not that you can go get beauty treatments when you should be laying bricks!"
Chen Xiao placed the back of his injured hand against his chest, as if to say, 'I'm in this state because of you, and you have the nerve to go get a beauty treatment and brush my business aside?'
Bai Lu was extremely annoyed with herself. 'Why did I use that excuse to get rid of him? I should have just said I had a meeting. Ugh, I've never met such a character!'
"Alright, alright! Mr. Chen, let's continue discussing business."
Only then did Chen Xiao say with satisfaction, "See? The moment you think of laying bricks, the world opens up!"
Bai Lu's head was starting to ache. She said, almost pleading, "Sir, can we please stop talking about 'laying bricks'? Those two words completely drain all the joy out of work for me!"
Chen Xiao corrected her with a serious expression, "Assistant Bai, you have to be invested to feel the pleasure. Doing it passively versus doing it actively... the enjoyment is completely different!"
Bai Lu suspected he was making a dirty joke, but he looked so serious, his expression full of righteous integrity, that she felt she might have misjudged him.
"I make so little a month, buried in this pile of work every day. I can't go shopping, I can't get beauty treatments, I can't... How could I be happy?"
"Assistant Bai's income shouldn't be low, right? With your position and abilities, there's no way you're being underpaid!"
Bai Lu rolled her eyes. "20,000 a month. What's that even good for?"
Chen Xiao nodded. "That's not high. Barely enough to get by!"
Bai Lu asked curiously, "What's your base salary?"
"8,000!"
Bai Lu almost bit her tongue. She rubbed her eyes, trying to see if he was joking, but Chen Xiao's expression didn't seem fake at all. Still, how could someone making 8,000 have the audacity to say her 20,000 salary wasn't high?
If she weren't so young, she would have thought her ears were ringing and she'd misheard. From the way he acted, you'd think his 8,000 was more like 80,000.