Chapter 398 - 399: The Ingrate

Chapter 398: Chapter 399: The Ingrate

Chapter Three Hundred and Ninety-Nine: The Ungrateful Wretch

Firing Zhao Dongliang naturally served as a show of authority, but Zhao Dongliang was indeed a person everyone loved to hate in the company; apart from those who sought to ingratiate themselves with Su Yuanhe by currying favor, no one liked him. With him gone, almost everyone in the company was clapping their hands with glee, especially the female staff—some felt greatly relieved, while others were secretly rejoicing.

With Zhao Dongliang’s dismissal, Su Yuanhe did not make any statement, and other personnel appointments proceeded quite smoothly. The entire company now seemed to be running much more smoothly.

After a busy day, Su Yao finally stopped her work close to the end of the day, and with a pained expression, said to Song Xiaodong, "Manager Song, I think my job as a secretary is far too exhausting. You really are the kind of boss who throws everything at others."

Song Xiaodong chuckled, "Isn’t this an opportunity for you to show your abilities? Anyway, I’m leaving a bit early; I need to buy some groceries. I’m cooking something delicious tonight."

"What?" Su Yao suddenly widened her eyes, then with a mixture of laughter and helplessness, said, "Xiaodong, can’t you take a little responsibility? It’s so busy, and you’re thinking of going home to cook first?"

"Haha, if there’s anything left, just do whatever you can, or if you don’t want to, leave work early too. Work is never done anyway; if not today, there’s always tomorrow."

Song Xiaodong waved his hand and then confidently walked out of the office. Su Yao shook her head repeatedly behind him; in her two years of work, she had never seen such a relaxed leader. Calling him irresponsible seemed unfitting, as the HR department was thriving under him, but when it came to actual work, he seldom did much throughout the day, completely baffling her.

True to his word, Song Xiaodong came home with quite a lot of groceries. As for what motivated him, he didn’t even know himself. Once home, Miao Xuanxuan and Xiao Yingying came over to help, and the three of them cooking in the kitchen was a source of much fun.

When in front of Miao Qingqing, Miao Xuanxuan didn’t dare to act up with Song Xiaodong, but with Xiao Yingying, she was much bolder, particularly when she saw Xiao Yingying clinging to Song Xiaodong. She always had to come over and snatch Song Xiaodong away, ostensibly to keep an eye on him for Miao Qingqing, but actually, it was just an excuse to get closer to Song Xiaodong.

Miao Qingqing and Song Xiaoru returned home quite early today, just in time for dinner as Song Xiaodong finished cooking. They entered the house, and Miao Xuanxuan immediately said with a smile, "Qingqing, look, Xiaodong has become a perfect spouse and parent—oops, I mean, a perfect husband and father, haha."

Song Xiaoru couldn’t help but burst into laughter, "Well said. This brat, I’ve raised him all these years and he has never thought of cooking for me. Now he has a wife, and he’s totally changed."

Miao Qingqing’s face turned red, and she said, "Sister Xiaoru, stop making fun of me."

During the meal, Song Xiaoru said, "Oh, Xiaodong, Second Auntie called me today to say that she is organizing a full-moon celebration for her grandson on the eleventh and has invited us."

"That’s not many days away now," Song Xiaodong casually remarked.

"Yes, I’m asking if you’ll go."

"Let’s go, it’ll be good to relax a bit."

"Great, then I’ll let Second Auntie know, and we can head over."

Song Xiaodong agreed so readily, which made Song Xiaoru rather pleased.

"Qingqing, Xuanxuan, Yingying, if you’ve got nothing else, you can come along for some fun too," offered Song Xiaoru, extending the invitation to them as well.

"Yes, yes, what fun is there?" Miao Xuanxuan promptly asked excitedly.

Song Xiaoru laughed and said, "It’s not particularly exciting, but the place is in a mountainous area. There’s a small mountain with many trees, and there’s a small river at the foot of the mountain whose water isn’t polluted. Overall, the environment is pretty nice."

Miao Xuanxuan immediately said excitedly, "Then let’s go camping! With mountains and water, it must be really fun."

Xiao Yingying quickly said, "Yeah, yeah, that’s a great idea! I’ve never camped before, I want to go."

Miao Qingqing was a bit hesitant and said, "We do have the holiday off for the National Day, and it would be nice to relax, but won’t we be disturbing others by doing this?"

Song Xiaoru laughed and said, "There’s nothing to disturb. You are Dongzi’s girlfriend, after all, and these are his and my relatives. It’s a good opportunity for everyone to meet."

Miao Qingqing blushed but nodded and said, "Alright, then let’s go."

After dinner, everyone sat on the sofa to chat. Xiao Yingying said with a smile, "Sister Qingqing, starting today, are you and Brother Dongzi really going to live together?"

Miao Qingqing immediately became embarrassed and said, "No."

Xiao Yingying said with a grin, "What’s there to be embarrassed about? You’re already like that with Brother Dongzi. It’s only natural to live together."

Miao Qingqing looked at Xiao Yingying and said, "Aren’t you afraid that if he and I live together every day, you won’t have any chance to get close to Dongzi anymore?"

Xiao Yingying said in all seriousness, "That won’t be a problem. You’re the big boss, the chairman, and you’ll be very busy, like going to meetings and such. That’s when I can find a chance to seek out Brother Dongzi. Normally, Brother Dongzi is all yours; I won’t try to compete."

Miao Qingqing’s mouth twitched, feeling that Xiao Yingying was beyond help, and said, "That won’t do either. Recently, I still have a lot of work to do in the evenings."

Xiao Yingying said, "Just work if you need to. After you’re done, you still need to sleep, right? You guys are in that kind of relationship, it’s weird if you don’t live together."

Miao Xuanxuan, on the other hand, twirled her eyes without speaking. She actually didn’t want Song Xiaodong and Miao Qingqing to truly live together either, since that would mean even fewer chances for her and it would be easier for Miao Qingqing to discover things. But she couldn’t say that out loud, so she played dumb on the sidelines.

Song Xiaodong, however, was very comfortable and laughed, "Yingying’s right. Qingqing, why don’t you move into my room today."

"Ah! You..." Miao Qingqing’s face turned beet red in an instant.

Miao Xuanxuan gave Song Xiaodong a covert glare, but he remained smiling, unfazed, which angered her even more. She really wanted to pinch Song Xiaodong, thinking that the jerk really didn’t need anyone else once he had a girlfriend, this heartless guy, this ingrate.

Song Xiaoru also laughed and said, "I think that’s a good idea. Let’s settle on that. Dongzi, go help Qingqing pack up."

Miao Qingqing fled back to her room and pinched the following Song Xiaodong, scolding, "You bad egg, where am I supposed to put my face now?"

"What’s the big deal? Sooner or later this was bound to happen." Song Xiaodong smiled slightly and pulled Miao Qingqing into his arms. Miao Qingqing gave Song Xiaodong a couple of symbolic hits, then leaned into his chest and quieted down.