Chapter 011 Amitabha, what a sin.

  *

  "40 million?" Liang Wenya was so angry she laughed. Given the current market, Anliang had already actively lowered its price, and Japanese clients' demands were always much higher than domestic ones, meaning their profit margin was definitely below the normal level. If Dacheng Construction could still quote 40 million less than that, they weren't crazy—they definitely had another agenda! Logically, a corporate group like Yasuda shouldn't overlook the problem, but now, the internal power struggle among the company's senior management had completely overshadowed the construction issue itself. What could they, as outsiders, do?

  "I'm sorry, General Manager Liang, I didn't have enough insight into Yasuda's upper-management information." Zhao Nanfeng offered a deep apology.

  "Department Head Sato himself was targeted, so how can we blame you?" Although her spirits had sunk to rock bottom, Liang Wenya knew that sometimes things were simply like this: Man proposes, God disposes.

  While the official decision had not yet been announced, they knew it was irreversible. Fortunately, Anliang would still receive a portion of the design fee from Zhao Nanfeng, so it wasn't a complete loss.

  *

  Seeing the 400,000 yuan that was almost in their pockets disappear, Su Xian was heartbroken and in no mood to work. However, she knew Liang Wenya was suffering the most, so she decided to take half of her 10,000 yuan off-road obstacle race prize money and treat her to a night out to cheer her up.

  She knocked on the General Manager's office door.

  "Enter."

  "General Manager Liang, hehe."

  "I'm not in the mood for your clowning."

  "Where's Engineer Zhao?"

  "Probably out for a smoke."

  "Friday night, let's go to Boom Sound KTV. My treat." Su Xian made a money-pinching gesture.

  "Get out of here. We just lost a huge order. You could order me ten host boys and I still wouldn't be happy. Just let me be miserable in peace, okay?"

  "Xiao Lu says he misses you." Su Xian showed her the WeChat chat.

  Xiao Lu sent a video: "Hi, General Manager Liang. Long time no see. I've been practicing a new dance; it's super sexy. When can I dance it for you? Heart hands."

  "Oh, now that I really should see." Liang Wenya could no longer suppress the corner of her mouth.

  **

  At 6 PM on Friday, Liang Wenya touched up her lipstick, waved Su Xian and Wang Jing from the Material and Budget Department to follow her.

  Li Chengshi came out of the pantry and ran right into Xu Shuyi, who was washing her cup. He quickly asked, "Sister Xu, where are they going?"

  "Hmph, looking for host boys."

  "Why aren't you going?"

  "Married women aren't allowed, to avoid affecting family harmony."

  "But Sister Wang is also married, isn't she?" She was the wife of Lao Zhang from the Structural Department, who was also his new team leader.

  "If the husband is an Anliang employee, married women can enjoy the same fun."

  Li Chengshi was confused. He quietly returned to his desk, packing up to go home.

  "Xiao Li, do you have plans tonight?" Lao Zhang asked him.

  "Nothing specific."

  "Then don't leave yet."

  **

  Inside the private room at Boom Sound KTV, the male server Xiao Lu was dancing. Wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a deep V-neck shirt, he was refined, fair, and alluringly graceful.

  Su Xian wasn't into this type, but the dark-skinned jock she preferred had resigned. Last time, Su Xian challenged him to the Madonna 16-count squat, and he even won 500 yuan from her.

  Wang Jing always ordered different people; otherwise, it could cause domestic strife.

  "Hey, there's a foreigner." Su Xian finally scrolled to a new face that caught her eye on the tablet: Lucas, a Spanish exchange student, skilled in Samba and Cha-Cha. Good, she wanted to spar with this newcomer.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The classic dance track "Bailando" was passionate, brisk, and full of vitality. Lucas led the dance. Su Xian was a bit clumsy at first but quickly caught the rhythm. Although she was still wearing the overly corporate white shirt and grey trousers, her soul was completely unleashed.

  *

  A server came in with a fruit platter and drinks, saying there were some new hires not yet on the menu who was available for free, asking if they wanted to see them.

  Free newcomers? They absolutely had to see them.

  Everyone sat down to wait.

  The server pushed the door open and announced loudly, "Welcome the new recruits!"

  In marched Lao Zhang from the Structural Department and several older Anliang employees, wearing flower wreaths on their heads and grass skirts around their waists, followed by a reluctant Li Chengshi.

  They were set up.

  Liang Wenya fought a smile and pointed at Lao Zhang, cursing, "Are you guys crazy?!"

  Lao Zhang selected a song, counted the beats, and shouted, "Dance!"

  Despite their strong momentum, they took two separate steps just to turn around, making fools of themselves throughout the song.

  Midway, Lucas couldn't stand it and voluntarily rose to lead the dance, but even he couldn't save the overall low standard.

  Finally, when the song ended, Liang Wenya yelled, "Get me water, I need to wash my eyes."

  Lao Zhang looked at the hundred-yuan notes Su Xian had left on the table for tips, added his own stack, and said, "Ladies, enjoy yourselves. The new recruits are retreating first."

  "I want to stay and learn," Li Chengshi proactively requested.

  "Hah! Young people have high awareness. Study hard, and in the future, let them spend all that money on us."

  *

  Xiao Lu helped Li Chengshi tousle his hair, dabbed a little shimmering powder high-light on his nose, and tied his loose white T-shirt in a knot to expose a sliver of his waist, instantly giving him a somewhat innocent yet seductive aura. Then, he broke down the movements, teaching him bit by bit: how to twist his hips, how to bend his waist, how to move his hands, and how to use his eyes to allure, holding nothing back.

  "Xiao Li, if your mother found out you were doing this at my place, would she come after me with a knife?"

  "Then don't tell her, please."

  After training for about twenty minutes, Xiao Lu called Lucas and the host boy Wang Jing had requested onto the floor for a four-person joint performance.

  The ladies swayed gently on the sofa with their wine glasses, already slightly tipsy.

  Li Chengshi's movements were far from seductive, but his rawness and sense of shame were absolutely eye-catching. Su Xian felt a flicker of wicked thought stirring inside her when she looked at him.

  Amitabha, what a sin.

  *

  At 11 PM, Xiao Lu and his staff saw them out the front door. Not because they were done having fun, but because they had run out of money.

  Since they had all been drinking, they hailed separate taxis home. Li Chengshi followed Su Xian into her taxi.

  They needed to take a detour, and Su Xian joked that she would deduct 10 yuan from that 100,000 yuan. He said he was ok with that.

  The silence in the car was a little awkward.

  "Is the work in the Structural Department going smoothly?" She had actually already asked Lao Zhang and knew he was doing well.

  "It's alright."

  "That's good." What else could she ask? Su Xian's mind wasn't sharp right now. She pinched her forehead hard.

  "Team Leader, you don't have to force conversation."

  "Okay." Su Xian felt a faint hint of disdain from him, but not having to talk was actually nice.

  **