Chapter 2
Working for an ATM Machine
"Good day, sir."
"Good day, sir."
The employees kept greeting Lei Zhang whenever he walked past them, and he could only nod in response to their greetings.
He walked into his office, settled down, turned on his computer, and began scrolling through messages from different time zones.
There were a lot of them.
His company, Titan Core Games, was the best gaming company in Shanghai, and many companies wanted to partner with him.
His office door opened slightly, almost as if the person behind it first wanted to make sure he was there before opening it fully.
A lady wearing a white collared shirt and a black leather skirt that reached slightly below her thighs walked in.
She was An Mei, a tall and perfectly shaped young woman. Some of the men in the company admired her, but her goal was Lei Zhang.
She walked toward his desk, and he immediately noticed the leather skirt she was wearing, which was against the company's dress code.
"Good morning, sir. How was the funeral yesterday?" she asked in a gentle, sweet voice.
Sadly, she didn't get a reply from Lei Zhang.
His eyes were fixed on the monitor, his fingers dancing across the keyboard.
She stood there staring at him before adjusting her skirt a little higher. Then her hands slowly reached for the chair opposite him, pulling it out.
"I didn't ask you to sit. Why are you here?" Lei Zhang finally said.
Even though he didn't yell, his cold voice still jolted her.
She breathed out, trying to regain her composure, but what annoyed her was that he still wasn't looking at her. His eyes remained fixed on the monitor, his hands now moving to the mouse.
"There'll be an industry event this evening at—"
"I already know about it," Lei Zhang interrupted.
His hand left the mouse and returned to the keyboard.
"Oh," she said, pulling her skirt up a little.
"Anything else?" Lei Zhang asked.
"Uhm, no. But since I'm here, is there anything you need me to do?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied.
"Really? What?" she asked, excitement rushing through her.
"I need you to go clear your desk," he said.
"Right away, sir."
She turned to do as he said, but it suddenly hit her what he meant.
She immediately turned back.
"Wait, sir. Are you firing me?"
She received no reply from Lei Zhang, whose eyes were still fixed on the monitor.
The only response she got was the clacking of the keyboard.
"But, sir, I've been doing my job really well. You can't just fire me," she said as she reached out and touched his hand.
Sadly, that move was all it took to spike his anger.
His cold aura came seeping out as his eyes finally left the monitor and glared at her.
He seriously hated being touched by women.
She immediately let go of his hand and took two steps back.
"S-s-sir, I-I-I'm sorry," she stammered.
"Leave," he said, his voice low but icy.
"Sir, please. I really need this job. You can't fire me. I beg you."
She pleaded as she dropped to her knees, tears rolling down her eyes.
Lei Zhang tapped the telephone and made a quick call to security.
They arrived within seconds, grabbed An Mei, and dragged her away.
"No, sir! Please! Please, I beg you! I'm sorry!" she cried.
Xu Jin walked along the passageway, whistling a song.
When he arrived at the door of Lei Zhang's office, his hand reached for the door handle, but the door was suddenly opened from the other side.
The security guards came out, dragging An Mei as she cried.
Xu Jin stepped aside, watching them drag her away with a raised brow before walking into the office.
He walked up to Lei Zhang, who was back to operating his computer.
"What happened?" Xu Jin asked.
"I fired her," Lei Zhang said.
Xu Jin rolled his eyes.
"I can see that. I meant why?"
"She's unserious," Lei Zhang replied.
Xu Jin heaved a sigh before sitting in the chair opposite him.
"So, are you going to be attending the industry event? A lot of CEOs from different gaming companies will be there, and not all of them will be coming from Shanghai. Some will be coming from Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. It's definitely a nice event," Xu Jin said.
Lei Zhang finally breathed out, turned off his computer, and turned to Xu Jin.
"I'll go, but I'm not bringing many staff. Only you and me."
"Nah, I'll pass."
Xu Jin leaned back in his chair.
"The twins want me to take them to the movie theater tonight to watch a thriller movie. Why don't you go with An Mei?"
He paused.
"Oh, right. You fired her."
Xu Jin grinned.
"I'd advise you to go with someone else. Perhaps get yourself a girlfriend to follow you to events like this and stop dragging me along."
He shook his head.
"You know, rumors are beginning to spread that you might be gay because of your excessive hatred of women, and I don't want to get involved in the gossip. People could start thinking I'm your boyfriend."
Xu Jin's words made Lei Zhang glare at him, but he exhaled, trying to hold back his temper.
He knew Xu Jin just loved seeing him get vexed.
"First, Xu Jun and Xu Yun are seventeen. They can go watch a movie by themselves. Second, you're following me. It's an order," Lei Zhang said.
Xu Jin rolled his eyes.
"Dumbass," he whispered, making sure it was still loud enough for Lei Zhang to hear.
He took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts.
His finger moved between the contact names Xu Jun and Xu Yun, unsure which one to call.
Finally, he tapped Xu Jun.
"Hello, big bro."
Xu Jun's voice came through the phone.
"Xu Jun, I won't be following you two to the theater tonight. I've got something important to do," Xu Jin said.
"Kk. That's not a problem. Just send us five thousand yuan," Xu Jun replied.
"I already bought the tickets. What do you still need money for?" Xu Jin asked, his brows creasing.
"Just some other things we'd like to get," Xu Jun said.
"Well, I've got no money," Xu Jin replied.
"Big bro, why are you so cruel? You work for an ATM machine, and you can't send us five thousand yuan?"
Xu Jun's words immediately caught Lei Zhang's attention.
Xu Jin always had his calls on speaker, and Lei Zhang had clearly heard him being called an ATM machine.
Xu Jin grinned, holding himself back from laughing.
"Xu Jun, you know my calls are always on speaker. Lei Zhang's here with me, and he just heard you call him an ATM machine."
Xu Jin heard Xu Jun gasp from the other end of the phone before the call abruptly ended.
Xu Jin chuckled and put down the phone.
Lei Zhang was still glaring at him.
"What?" Xu Jin said innocently. "Xu Jun said it, not me. If you have a problem with it, go beat him up."
*****************************************
The classroom was quiet as the teacher stepped in to announce the scores from their tests.
"Good day, class. I won't be announcing all your scores because you all did very well on your tests. But only one student completely failed," the teacher, Mrs. Ying, said.
Murmurs immediately filled the classroom.
"It's Xiao Yanran."
"It's definitely Xiao Yanran."
"She's the only dummy in class."
"She's such a loser."
Xiao Yanran lowered her face, feeling ashamed.
She could clearly hear all their murmurs.
"That's enough!" Mrs. Ying said sternly.
The class immediately fell silent.
Mrs. Ying took a deep breath before continuing.
"As I was saying, you all did very well, and I'm impressed. But Xiao Yanran, I'm really disappointed. It's almost as if you've gotten worse. If you don't improve your grades, you won't graduate from high school."
Mrs. Ying left the classroom.
This time, the students started talking even louder.
"I told you it was her."
"I wonder how she even got to high school."
"I heard she's living off the grace of her older sister."
Xiao Yanran immediately left the classroom.
She just couldn't sit there and listen to everything they were saying.
As she walked down the passageway, her eyes began to water, but she forced the tears back, not wanting to cry.
"Yanran."
She suddenly heard a familiar voice call her name.
She turned around and saw Li Wen walking toward her.
They weren't in the same course, so their classrooms were different.
"Xup," Li Wen said as she caught up with her.
"Fine," Xiao Yanran replied in a low voice.
"Is everything okay?" Li Wen asked, noticing her mood.
"Li Wen, I need a home tutor," she said.
Li Wen raised a brow.
"A home tutor? I hope you're not asking me to tutor you because I'm terrible at teaching."
"I know. I'm talking about a real home tutor. A professional."
"A professional?" Li Wen asked. "Yanran,
can you even afford to pay one?"
Xiao Yanran looked down sadly.
Li Wen exhaled, thinking for a while.
Then something clicked.
"Right! There was this anonymous guy who posted his contact information online, saying he was a home tutor and charged low prices."
"Anonymous? Why didn't he reveal himself?" Xiao Yanran asked.
"I don't know. He's probably ashamed of the post or something because he sounded kinda desperate," Li Wen replied.
"Give me his contact. I've got to meet him today," Xiao Yanran said.
"Today? Is it really that urgent?" Li Wen asked.
"Yes. I could meet him after school, so I'll just call him now."
Xiao Yanran said this as Li Wen exhaled and took out her phone.
"Desperate tutor, desperate student. You two fit," Li Wen said as she went through her saved posts.
T.B.C.