Chapter 37#

Chapter 37 Side Story — Twelve

“Sis, when is your due date?” Mo Xi was on a video call on his phone, holding a bag of chips in his hand, eating while chatting with Mo Zi.

“November 12th,” Mo Zi stroked her belly, a faint smile on her lips, “I hope she comes out soon. Her dad has already prepared toys, clothes, and milk powder.”

“That’s only a few days away. Don’t go to work recently, stay home and rest well,” Mo Xi urged. The hospital was crowded and full of germs. His sister couldn’t perform surgeries on patients now anyway, so she might as well stay home.

“Right! I agree.” The voice of his brother-in-law, Xiao Jun, drifted over slowly from beside Mo Zi.

“Don’t worry, I’m the treasure of the entire department now. Everyone takes good care of me,” Mo Zi glanced at her husband, her expression calm, “This Friday is my last day.”

Mo Xi stared at his sister’s high, bulging belly, remembering the medical disputes reported in the media, and still felt a bit uneasy: “I think you can start taking leave today. The hospital is too chaotic, and they don’t lack you for these few days.”

“I can’t, the department is short-staffed. Do you remember Dr. Zhang? His father just passed away, and he took a week off. Dr. Chen got into a car accident and is now hospitalized in the orthopedics department. If I leave, the others will be worked to death,” Mo Zi comforted him softly from the other side, “I work at my desk every day now. I don’t do any errands. What could happen?”

“Alright,” Mo Xi agreed reluctantly, still muttering, “Can’t your department recruit more people…”

“Exactly,” Xiao Jun revealed half of his face in the camera, echoing, “Is your department missing just you, a pregnant woman?”

“Alright, alright, I won’t talk to you anymore. We have to go for a prenatal checkup.” Mo Zi interrupted them, placing her hands on the armrests of the chair, preparing to stand up. If they continued chatting, it would turn into a criticism session of their hospital’s system by Mo Xi and Xiao Jun.

Mo Xi nodded, stuffed another chip into his mouth, and said, “Oh right, Sis, I transferred ten thousand to your Alipay. Remember to check it.”

Mo Zi, who was about to stand up, sat back down, looking displeased: “You’re still studying, why are you transferring money?”

“I took on some side jobs recently,” Mo Xi winked at her, “And it’s for my little niece, not for you.”

“You…” Mo Zi wanted to say something more, but the video was cut off directly from the other side, giving her no chance to refuse.

Sigh, her little brother has grown up and has more and more of his own ideas. She can’t out-talk him anymore.

Mo Zi stood up and smiled helplessly at Xiao Jun.

“Xiao Xi cares about you, why do you look so grim?” Xiao Jun was puzzled.

Mo Zi sighed: “I’m afraid he’s too tired. With his temper…”

“It’s okay,” Xiao Jun put his arm around Mo Zi and kissed her cheek, “If you’re worried, we’ll send Mo Xi more money next time and return this ten thousand to him.”

“Mm.” Mo Zi nodded.

The side jobs Mo Xi mentioned were all introduced by Wan Tong. Wan Tong showed great curiosity about him being a coder, often bringing software or programs to ask him if he knew this or that. Mo Xi didn’t find him annoying and answered seriously.

Over time, Wan Tong started introducing him to side jobs. They were relatively simple tasks that wouldn’t take up too much of his time, and the income was decent. At least he had enough for his monthly rent.

Mo Xi had questions. Why could Wan Tong help him find so many side jobs, while the information he posted on various freelance websites went unnoticed?

Wan Tong’s answer was impeccable: Because I have wide connections, I guess.

Mo Xi was choked for a moment, not knowing what to reply. It seemed there was nothing wrong with what Wan Tong said.

He could only blame himself for being too much of a homebody.

Just as he was thinking, Wan Tong sent another message: I have a classmate who wants to confess to the girl he likes. He wants to make a heart shape using code. Can you do it?

Yes, of course he could. He had once wanted to use code to confess to Pei Hao, but he didn’t expect them to establish a relationship before he could send it to Pei Hao. So those dozens of lines of code were forgotten in his computer, buried for many years.

Writing code to show love is a romance unique to programmers. However, it is romantic because the code is written personally by the person confessing. What is the meaning of asking someone else to write the confession code?

Mo Xi felt confused: Is your friend a programmer?

Wan Tong: No.

Mo Xi: Then why must he write code to confess?

Wouldn’t hiring someone to make a video or setting off fireworks in the suburbs be better than this?

Wan Tong: Don’t know.

Mo Xi scratched his head on the other side. Well, since the client asked and it’s not illegal, he had no reason to refuse. As a party B with little say, even if the client asked for “colorful black” code, he would have to do it, right?

Who would say no to money.

Mo Xi asked again: Does he have any special requirements for this “heart”?

Wan Tong: No, just do whatever you want.

What a casual client.

Mo Xi clicked his tongue. Then just do it.

He only spent two nights writing this courtship code. Just as he sent it over to ask if the client was satisfied, Wan Tong transferred the money to him. He opened it and saw 8888 written on the WeChat transfer.

Mo Xi was startled and quickly told Wan Tong: No need for so much money. It didn’t take much time. At most 888.

While speaking, Mo Xi hurriedly transferred 8000 back.

Wan Tong, however, had no intention of accepting the money. He comforted him unhurriedly: Just take it. My friend doesn’t lack money anyway.

Mo Xi was stunned. Did he meet the legendary “stupid person with lots of money”?

One must live up to one’s conscience. Mo Xi replied: Tell your friend first, it really doesn’t cost that much.

Wan Tong didn’t care at all: He said 888 is not worthy of his love.

Alright, rich and willful.

Hearing this sentence, Mo Xi felt he should just let it be. He didn’t understand the world of rich people. He wanted to save money for the client, but the client didn’t care about the price at all.

Then let it be 8888. Anyway, no one loses out. It’s a win-win.

Chen Xu had a bad premonition. He felt that Pei Hao might be in a relationship. Because recently, the frequency of Pei Hao chatting on his phone had increased significantly, and he would stare at the phone screen and giggle from time to time.

Once when he was delivering documents, he found that Pei Hao had changed his computer desktop to a pink heart. He casually remarked, “This heart is quite special.”

Pei Hao, who usually spoke no more than three sentences, took the initiative to chat with him for the first time, the corners of his mouth unable to stop rising: “This was written with code. It will blow bubbles at the end.”

As if it was something amazing. Isn’t it just a very ordinary heart that blows bubbles?

Chen Xu looked at the picture a few more times but still couldn’t see anything special. He thought for a moment and asked in confusion: “Did you write this code?”

“Not me, someone else wrote it.” Pei Hao shook his head, a smile in his voice.

“Oh.” Chen Xu nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite, his heart sinking bit by bit. Pei Hao was definitely in a relationship, otherwise, this spring-breeze-like smile couldn’t be explained.

Before he had time to confess, the guy was already in a relationship. He regretted a little that he hadn’t acted sooner.

Chen Xu sat in his seat, upset, looking down and playing with his fingers, but his ears kept hearing words like “Jinshi Company”.

Today, for their circle, the biggest event was undoubtedly the acquisition of “Jinshi Company” at a low price. Jinshi Company was originally a company with strong strength in City X and even across the country. It had been glorious for a few years but eventually stumbled.

Pei Hao sat in his seat, hearing countless colleagues discussing the Jinshi acquisition case:

“Didn’t the news just come out last month? It was acquired so quickly.”

“Actually, I heard that the major shareholder of Jinshi, Jin Yu, suddenly didn’t want to do it anymore and sold all his shares. Otherwise, Jinshi wouldn’t have been acquired so quickly.”

“It’s not surprising. Family infighting, you know. It’s been self-destructing for a long time.”

“I heard gossip saying that Jin Yu and his brother had an incestuous relationship. Because his brother suddenly disappeared, he gave up the company. I don’t know the specific reasons.”

“Impossible… Even Indian dramas wouldn’t dare to write like this.”

…

Pei Hao couldn’t help but frown when he heard the words “Jinshi Company”. He couldn’t help it. Whenever he heard about Jin Yu and his cousin, he habitually felt physiological disgust.

Pei Hao was not surprised at all that Jinshi was acquired. Since two years ago, the internal situation had been a mess, and the market value had been falling. It was only a matter of time before it couldn’t continue operating.

As for the rumor about Jin Yu and his cousin, Pei Hao felt it wasn’t impossible. When he was grabbing orders from Jin Yu at Pei Yixin’s company, that Cheng Yi specifically came to beg him, begging him to let his brother go.

Pei Hao remembered the look in Cheng Yi’s eyes when he looked at Jin Yu. If there wasn’t something between the two of them, he, Pei Hao, would eat his computer keyboard.

When Chen Xu walked into Pei Hao’s office, he saw him with a stern face, not even noticing that he had knocked several times.

“Brother Hao,” Chen Xu cleared his throat and said, “Sister Fu asked you to go to her office.”

“Mm, okay.” Pei Hao came back to his senses, got up from his chair, and walked towards Fu Bing’s office.

Fu Bing’s office had many green plants and was decorated very freshly. But due to her powerful aura, subordinates who entered often felt pressured.

“Sit,” Fu Bing watched Pei Hao walk in and pointed to the tea set in the room. The water in the teapot was boiling and bubbling. She glanced at Pei Hao and asked, “Tea?”

“No thanks, Sister Fu.” Pei Hao sat on the chair.

“Wu Lin acquired Jinshi. What do you think?” Fu Bing got straight to the point.

“Expected. Wasn’t there gossip reported before? Jinshi has long been poorly managed. Being acquired is already the best outcome.” Pei Hao shrugged, indicating he wasn’t surprised.

“Indeed, but I didn’t expect it to be acquired so quickly.” Fu Bing stood up, walked to the tea set, and brewed a small cup of tea. Instantly, the whole room was filled with fragrance. She lifted the teacup, took a sip, and sighed: “Business is like a battlefield. One careless move and you lose everything.”

Pei Hao didn’t answer. He knew Fu Bing had more to say.

“What I’m thinking now is, what impact will Wu Lin’s acquisition of Jinshi have on our company?” Fu Bing rested her chin on her hand, a sharp light flashing in her eyes.

Jinshi Company was originally in the same industry as Fu Bing’s Qimao Company. Their businesses overlapped slightly, but they didn’t target the same user group. Plus, Jinshi’s performance was weak, so Qimao didn’t pay much attention to it. Now that Wu Lin has acquired Jinshi, it means Wu Lin wants to step into this industry. And Wu Lin is wealthy and powerful. It is only natural for them to want to expand Jinshi’s original user group.

“You mean, Wu Lin will become our competitor in the future?” Pei Hao looked surprised. When he met Fu Bing’s eyes, he saw the coldness in the corners of her eyes.

“Very likely. Wu Lin came to talk to me about acquisition before, and I refused.” Fu Bing was thoughtful, her voice low, “So what they wanted most from the beginning was our business. For the next period, my focus will be on financing. Wu Lin might come to snatch the few clients under you, so you must be fully prepared.” Fu Bing took a sip of tea and continued: “When the company completes the next round of financing, your salary will double.”

Pei Hao nodded, understanding the reason Fu Bing called him today. She wanted him to manage his clients well and not let them be snatched away by other companies.

There was another layer of meaning. Fu Bing didn’t say it, but Pei Hao understood. Fu Bing said his salary would double in the future, on the condition that he could keep the clients. If Pei Hao’s clients slipped away at this time, he wouldn’t be far from leaving. After all, no company is willing to spend so much money to keep a useless person.

Seeing Pei Hao’s understanding look, Fu Bing was very satisfied. She patted Pei Hao on the shoulder and said earnestly: “We are about to start a war.”