XR: Also, how do we do the transaction? Do we meet at the Mingde Hospital gate?
Ying: ?
Tao Xinrou couldn't bear to look at it a second time. She threw down her phone and let out a muffled groan.
A colleague leaned over: "Xinrou, you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just kind of want to die."
"Oh? Want me to call 120?"
"No need. I'm already dead."
For the entire morning, Tao Xinrou didn't dare look at her phone. She stayed obediently at her workstation, not daring to stop for a moment.
At lunch, Zheng Shuhui carried her tray over.
"Xinrou, what's wrong with you today? You've been slumped over all morning."
Tao Xinrou looked up with hollow eyes: "Shuhui, let me ask you something."
"What?"
"If you sleepily sent a very embarrassing WeChat message to your boss, what would you do?"
Zheng Shuhui paused, then thought seriously: "Boss? Manager Wei?"
"Something like that."
"Then I'd probably quit and move to another planet."
"Thanks. Very constructive."
She continued to eat her lunch, thinking: Quitting was out of the question, and moving to another planet wasn't possible either. She'd have to face reality.
The question was, how?
*
At 3 PM, her phone buzzed.
Tao Xinrou was afraid to see an unwanted message, but she mustered the courage to open it.
Ying: Your aunt's issue is taken care of. No need for installments.
"..."
He was still teasing her!
Ying: Next time, don't send it to the wrong person. If they actually charged you 5000, you'd be eating instant noodles all month.
Tao Xinrou stared at the screen, her face turning bright red. She carefully began to compose a reply.
XR: President Ying, I was asleep last night and not thinking straight. Those messages were just sleep-talking. Please don't take them to heart. And thank you for helping my mom get the appointment. I owe you one. I'll definitely repay you someday!
Ying: Save the repayment for later. Right now, taking your aunt to see the doctor is what matters.
Repay later?
Tao Xinrou immediately felt uneasy. She hated owing favors. When would she ever get to repay this?
XR: President Ying, can you give me a hint? What do you want?
Ying: Just owe me for now.
Tao Xinrou: ?
Ying: I'll tell you when I've thought of something.
Tao Xinrou stared at those words, her heart skipping a beat.
Tell her when he's thought of something?
What did he want her to do?
Could it be that he wanted her to offer herself to him?
Tao Xinrou shook her head vigorously to dispel those wild thoughts, then replied: Okay, take your time thinking. As long as it's within my ability, I'll do my best!
After sending it, she looked at the screen and added another line: But I won't do anything illegal, immoral, or that involves selling my body. Better keep it simple, hehe.
Ying: ...
Ying: Quite a lot of demands.
Tao Xinrou looked at the reply and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The colleague next to her leaned over again: "Xinrou, are you okay? One minute you want to die, the next you're laughing."
Tao Xinrou waved her hand: "It's nothing, nothing. I just think life is worth living after all."
The colleague gave her a puzzled look, shook her head, and went back to work.
Tao Xinrou put her phone face-down on the desk, rested her chin on her hand, and looked out at the sunlight pouring through the window.
Suddenly, her mood lifted.
*