Chapter 18

At four in the afternoon, Xiao Chen arrived at the president's office.

"President Su, what do you need me for?"

"Xiao Chen, I still have to go to the lab later. You go pick up Xiaomeng and take her home first..."

Su Qing was busy writing something. Hearing Xiao Chen's voice, she looked up and said,

"Okay, what about you?"

"Once I'm done, I'll have another driver take me back."

Xiao Chen looked at Su Qing's slightly tired face, feeling a pang of sympathy: "I don't have anything to do anyway. I'll wait and pick you up later."

"No, I'm a bit worried about leaving Xiaomeng alone at home."

Xiao Chen was taken aback, then suddenly realized that the threat letter and the bug had already made this woman feel very insecure!

Compared to her own safety, she was more concerned about her sister's safety!

"Su Qing, don't worry. I'll take care of the threat letter and the bug as soon as possible! As for Xiaomeng's safety, I think they're targeting you, so she should be fine."

"Okay, I hope so!" Su Qing nodded slowly. "Alright, go pick her up after work. I'll call you once I'm done."

"Okay." Xiao Chen agreed, hesitated for a moment, then said, "Su Qing, don't overwork yourself. Don't you have researchers in the company? You don't have to be on the front lines yourself."

"There's a cosmetic formula that needs my personal attention. This formula is crucial for the company's development strategy over the next few years."

Xiao Chen nodded, not saying anything more. After all, she knew the company's affairs better than he did.

After staying in the office for a while, Xiao Chen left. He had intended to go to Qin Lan's office, but seeing the door locked, he gave up and returned to the security department.

"Brother Chen, I asked the colleagues who were on duty last night, and they didn't notice anything unusual."

As soon as he returned to the office, Ding Li came in from outside.

"Nothing at all?"

Xiao Chen frowned. No footage from the surveillance cameras, no notice from the security guards—this was indeed a tricky situation!

"No."

"Alright, I got it. You can go back to work now!"

"Okay, I'll go on duty then."

"Sure, work hard and set a good example. I won't let you down!"

"I know!" Ding Li nodded forcefully and left.

Xiao Chen took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep puff, his mind racing... Was the bug and the threat letter the work of the same person? What was their purpose? Ordinary business competition? But the bug was a product of the island nation's military, something an ordinary person couldn't get their hands on!

After finishing the cigarette, Xiao Chen still hadn't figured it out. He squinted his eyes, wondering if they could only wait passively.

Around five o'clock, Xiao Chen left the company. As he was about to accelerate, he suddenly noticed a beautiful figure at a nearby bus stop.

Xiao Chen's lips curled into a smile. He gently pressed the brake and rolled down the window: "Tong Yan, are you off work?"

Tong Yan was looking down at her phone. Hearing the voice, she suddenly looked up and saw Xiao Chen, nodding: "Director Xiao, hello."

"Waiting for the bus to go home?"

"Um, yes."

Xiao Chen glanced at the two lecherous young men behind Tong Yan, his heart moved. He smiled and said, "Hehe, let me give you a ride?"

"No need to trouble Director Xiao. I'll just wait for the bus."

Xiao Chen was helpless. The caution in her eyes was truly disheartening. It was hard to be a good person!

"The bus might not come for a while. Get in the car, why are you being so formal with me?"

"Director Xiao, it's not on the way for us. I'll just wait for the bus."

"Hehe, I have some new ideas about the recruitment fair. Let's talk about it?"

Xiao Chen didn't give up because of Tong Yan's refusal. He noticed the two lecherous young men exchanging glances, their eyes full of欲望, clearly up to no good!

Tong Yan hesitated for a moment: "Director Xiao, can we talk about it tomorrow?"

"The recruitment is in three days. It's better to finalize it sooner... The company takes this recruitment very seriously."

"Alright."

Tong Yan, remembering Qin Lan's words, pursed her lips and finally agreed, opening the car door and sitting in the passenger seat.

Xiao Chen smiled, glancing at the two lecherous young men whose faces had turned sour, and stepped on the gas, driving the Maserati away.

"Tong Yan, where do you live?"

"On Bai'nan Road."

"Oh, I don't know the way. You'll have to guide me."

"Okay." Tong Yan nodded. "Director Xiao, what are your new ideas?"

"Huh?"

Xiao Chen was taken aback. He had just said that to get Tong Yan into the car and didn't actually have any new ideas! Now, he was at a loss for words!

Seeing Xiao Chen's reaction, Tong Yan's caution grew. Did he really have some ulterior motive?

Just as Tong Yan was on high alert and anxious, Xiao Chen finally spoke: "When writing the recruitment ad, remember to add a line: prefer veterans, with priority given to them..."

"Okay." Tong Yan listened, but after a long wait, she didn't hear Xiao Chen say anything more. She couldn't help but ask, "Just that one?"

"Yes, I think this is very important. Veterans have strong personal qualities..."

"Alright, I understand." Tong Yan nodded. "Turn left ahead."

About twenty minutes later, following Tong Yan's directions, the Maserati entered a shantytown. The houses were of varying heights, and the environment was chaotic...

Xiao Chen looked around, surprised that Longhai City, an international metropolis, had such a dirty and messy shantytown, and even more surprised that Tong Yan lived there!

"Director Xiao, the road conditions here are poor. Why don't you drop me off here? I can walk the rest."

Tong Yan, noticing Xiao Chen's surprise, said softly.

"No, I'll take you home!" Xiao Chen shook his head and asked, "Do you rent here, or is this your home?"

"I'm from Longhai, and this is my home."

"Oh." Xiao Chen nodded, unable to help but comment, "I never expected that an international metropolis like Longhai would have a shantytown."

Tong Yan's face showed a hint of helplessness. "This shantytown has been around for a long time. As far as I know, there are at least five such shantytowns in Longhai... Several leaders, including the current one, have tried to demolish them, but they've all given up in the end."

"Hehe, shantytown renovation is always a difficult issue." Xiao Chen smiled, not continuing the discussion, as it was pointless.

The car drove a bit further, turning left and right, and finally stopped in front of a dilapidated two-story building.

It was called a two-story building, but it was actually a ground floor with an additional floor on top. The second floor was unusable, purely to get more compensation... This was a common phenomenon in shantytowns, with almost every household adding floors or expanding to get more money.

"Is this your home?"

Xiao Chen looked around. He now understood why Tong Yan valued the salary of a full-time employee so much. This family wasn't well-off.

"Um." Tong Yan nodded. "Director Xiao, thank you for the ride."

"Hehe, no need to be formal. We're colleagues, and friends, right?"

Xiao Chen smiled. He never mentioned the two lecherous young men at the bus stop. Some things were better left unsaid.

"Um." Tong Yan smiled, politely asking, "Would you like to come in for a bit?"

Xiao Chen glanced at his watch, seeing that he still had time, and nodded. "Sure."

"..."

Tong Yan was taken aback. She had asked out of politeness, not expecting Xiao Chen to actually agree!

There was nothing she could do, so she got out of the car and led Xiao Chen into the yard.

As soon as they entered the yard, they heard a woman's voice from inside the house.

"Is your mother home?"

"Um, Director Xiao, please come in." Tong Yan nodded and called out, "Mom, I'm back."

"Ah, Xiaoyan, you're finally back. Pengfei has been waiting for you for a while..." A slightly plump middle-aged woman stood up from her chair. When she saw Xiao Chen following Tong Yan, her face darkened. "Who is he?"

Before Tong Yan could speak, Xiao Chen smiled and greeted her, "Auntie, hello, I'm Tong Yan's friend."

Hearing this, Tong's mother sized up Xiao Chen. He looked good, but his clothes were wrinkled, and he had come empty-handed, clearly a poor guy!

"Friend? Hmph, you want to be friends with Xiaoyan, right?" Tong's mother's voice was sharp and harsh. "Boy, I'm telling you, stay away from my Xiaoyan!"

Yesterday, I was locked in a writing software and couldn't come out all night, so I didn't update last night. I'll try to keep two updates a day for the next few days, and if I miss any, I'll make them up when I return!

I hope everyone understands. If you're worried about not having enough to read, you can check out my WeChat public account (Jimo's Dancer) to read one of my previous books, with at least 10,000 words updated daily... I owe you one chapter from yesterday!

Also, Pengfei, Xiao Pengfei, is a minor character who will start appearing more often.