Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 172 - 170: This Place is Good (Request for Recommendations, Monthly Tickets, and Subscriptions)

Chapter 172: Chapter 170: This Place is Good (Request for Recommendations, Monthly Tickets, and Subscriptions)

As usual, after sharing laughter over their meal, the three of them returned to the office to relax.

Qin Guanglin had decided not to get involved in Sun Wen’s business. No matter what Sun Wen intended to do, it had nothing to do with him. He would just continue working as usual and guiding Yu Le.

One didn’t like trouble, and the other did it for Teacher He.

If he followed Sun Wen’s reckless actions, whether it meant setting up a separate faction or whatever, the early stages would be tiring and busy with little profit.

Moreover, whether the outcome was good or bad, it would likely continue to be busy and tiresome—because Sun Wen was not like Chen Rui, who approached things step by step and had a plan. Sun Wen was impatient and his aspirations were high. Unlike Chen Rui’s childish dreams, he was after money. If he set up his own studio, he would certainly not adopt the laid-back atmosphere of the current one; he would probably introduce something aggressive like a "wolf culture."

Qin Guanglin didn’t like that, and He Fang didn’t want to see that either.

"Boss."

Jiang Lingling came out of Chen Rui’s office beaming, pushed her chair over to Qin Guanglin and said, "The boss just praised me and gave me a raise..." She lowered her voice and waggled two fingers at Qin Guanglin, "...by twenty percent."

"Oh, congratulations." Qin Guanglin leaned back in his chair and saw Jiang Lingling giggling at him. He paused, then added, "You’ve worked hard, you deserve it."

He sighed inwardly, wishing he had known it would be such a hassle; he wouldn’t have drawn that comic... or at least not given it to her, doing a few issues himself would have been better.

"It should all be yours, I feel kind of guilty..." Jiang Lingling pursed her lips, lowered her head slightly, glanced up at him, then diverted her gaze to her own leg and started playing with a hole in her pants. "I feel a bit uneasy holding onto this money..."

Qin Guanglin just looked at her without speaking, waiting to see what she actually wanted to suggest.

If she converted the raise into cash for him, he would accept it without a word, just to end this troublesome matter.

"Boss, just let me properly thank you once, otherwise I’ll keep feeling bad. Let me treat you to a meal some time or... oh yes." Her speech shifted, and she pulled out her phone and swiped through it. "There’s a new grilled fish restaurant at Shengtian Square that a friend of mine tried and said was really good, highly rated. How about I treat you there?"

"Just convert it to cash."

"...Huh?" Jiang Lingling looked confused.

"Um..." Qin Guanglin, lost in thought, had spoken without thinking. Feeling that it might seem inappropriate, he paused and explained, "You see, eating out is both a waste of time and troublesome. If you keep wanting to treat me to meals to show your gratitude, why not simplify it? You give me the money, I go eat by myself. That way, you’ve expressed your gratitude and I’m not troubled. Isn’t that perfect?"

"..."

"..."

"You’re really... straightforward and pragmatic." Jiang Lingling held back a moment before forcing an awkward smile. "Eating grilled fish alone..."

She had expected Qin Guanglin to refuse, but not like this.

Who could have imagined such a situation?

"What’s the exact address?" Qin Guanglin asked curiously.

"It’s right here by the west gate of the square, called ’Meeting Time.’ It’s nicely decorated, perfect for two people. If one person goes, they don’t really have a small enough portion..." Jiang Lingling turned her phone screen to show him. "It’s not just grilled fish; they have a lot of other dishes too, and there’s a discount for the opening."

"It looks pretty good." Qin Guanglin nodded as he looked at the photos in her social circle.

"Right? My friends have all given rave reviews." Jiang Lingling looked at him expectantly.

"Is it really good?"

"Super good."

"I really appreciate this." Qin Guanglin was pleasantly surprised, as he still hadn’t figured out where to take Teacher He for dinner. The place’s name, décor, and flavors all suited perfectly. "I’ll take my girlfriend there tonight."

"..."

"You’ve been really helpful; let’s skip that meal then." Qin Guanglin waved his hand dismissively and pulled out his phone to search the restaurant’s menu to see if it was suitable.

Jiang Lingling opened her mouth to say something, then her shoulders slumped and she hung her head dejectedly. "Okay."

She had picked the perfect place for a date, only to end up making wedding clothes for someone else.

So frustrating!

"Pay attention now."

Chen Rui, having come out of his office sometime earlier, saw that everyone had returned and clapped his hands, ready to address the group.

Everyone who was preparing for a nap or busy with their own tasks stopped and turned their attention to Chen Rui. Jiang Lingling kicked back on her chair and slid smoothly back to her place, while Qin Guanglin also tucked away his phone and turned to look at him.

The boss rarely discussed matters at noon, and when he did, it was always good news. Everyone had expectant expressions on their faces.

"This month, the company is taking everyone to Chou Mountain for two days, Friday and Saturday, one workday and one day off. Any objections?"

Chen Rui smiled as he scanned the group. Although the last day trip to Luobei was fun, it was too short. After some consideration, he added an extra day on Friday, making it two days in total. He thought everyone would be happy about it, but he still wanted to ask and gather opinions.

"Great!"

"No problem!"

"Umm... are we camping overnight?"

"The boss is awesome!"

The atmosphere in the office suddenly livened up.

Chen Rui stretched out his hands and made a calming gesture as the noise slowly diminished. He continued, "In a moment, I’ll have... Lingling collect your opinions, mainly on two things, one, the timing, whether next week or the week after, you guys decide on your own, and secondly, the overnight stay, whether camping or staying in a farmhouse. Everyone please provide your opinions, and we’ll decide based on that."

"All right, you guys go ahead and discuss."

After he finished speaking with a smile, the office immediately buzzed with discussions about the two matters.

Qin Guanglin, less enthusiastic, turned back to prepare for his nap. The company’s benefits were indeed not bad; they had an outing every two months, all expenses paid. Last time was in May, and now in July, it was happening again, but unfortunately, it didn’t have much to do with him.

It was better to spend the weekend with Teacher He. It was boring to think about spending a rest day with a bunch of colleagues he already saw every day at work.

"What, not planning to go again?" Chen Rui hadn’t forgotten Qin Guanglin’s straightforward refusal last time and came over to ask, "Staying with your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, my girlfriend is quite clingy," Qin Guanglin responded with a smile.

"You could bring her along," Chen Rui suggested, waving his hand as he looked around and then cleared his throat to raise his voice,

"Those who have girlfriends or boyfriends can bring them along; those who are married can bring their spouses."

He looked toward Sun Wen, "Sun Wen, did you hear that?"

"I heard," Sun Wen replied with a smile, "I’ll definitely bring her once I have one."

"Huh?"

"He broke up," Qin Guanglin chimed in to explain.

"Uh... okay," Chen Rui said awkwardly, touching his nose, "What about you?"

"I definitely didn’t break up. I’ll go ask her, and if she agrees, I’ll bring her."

Seeing Chen Rui invite him again, Qin Guanglin didn’t refuse outright but mentioned he would first discuss it with He Fang.

"Okay, it’s good to get to know everyone better," Chen Rui patted his shoulder, not saying more as he turned and headed back to his office.

Qin Guanglin watched his retreating figure and hesitated, wanting to remind him to hire more people, lest the whole company come to a halt if Sun Wen suddenly quit.

But on second thoughts, he was just an employee; it wasn’t his place to suggest such things. How could he even bring it up?

The work was so easy now; asking the boss to hire more people wouldn’t be appropriate.

Even if he did muster the courage to suggest it to Chen Rui, he knew Chen Rui wouldn’t listen unless there was a good reason.

He couldn’t outright tell Chen Rui about Sun Wen’s situation, but without that, there was no reason for Chen Rui to hire more staff.

What a headache... he sighed and decided to just rest his head on the desk.

He’d observe the situation for now and deal with it later.

...

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