NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 225: Work for Me!
Chapter 225: Work for Me!
In fact, Mei Yue had spent a rather pleasant Lunar New Year back in her hometown of Baimei County.
The whole family reunited and returned to the place where she spent her childhood. She witnessed the changes in the small town, saw her parents choose to return to their hometown to live their later years, and watched her younger cousins grow up healthily. In particular, she was pleased to know that her younger cousin had two childhood sweethearts.
The only particularly unpleasant thing was finding out that the person she intended to start a relationship with turned out to be a scumbag. If it hadn’t been for her cousin’s help in exposing him, she might have suffered a great loss.
Sigh…
This streak of bad luck persisted even after the New Year, constantly plagued by various annoying issues. But since she had already agreed to meet her cousin, she couldn’t break the appointment. It was also a chance to relax and spend time with her younger relatives.
Mei Yue drove to Jiangcheng NOHS, parked her car, and soon met Mei Fang and the others walking briskly towards her.
“Sister Yue Yue!”
From afar, Xia Yuan enthusiastically waved and greeted her. Seeing such a sweet and cheerful smile, Mei Yue felt a lot of her pent-up stress melt away.
She quickly walked up, patting Xia Yuan on the shoulder with a big, hearty smile.
“You’ve all grown quite a bit in just a few months!”“By the way, you three are really amazing now, especially you, Yuan Yuan. The promotional video you made for C Site was fantastic. My friends, knowing I know you, even asked for your autograph!”
“Ehehe… an autograph is a bit too much… I’m not at that level yet.”
Xia Yuan twirled her hair sheepishly. Suddenly, Mei Yue leaned in close to Xia Yuan’s ear and whispered, “So, how far have you and Xiaofangzi gotten? You’re already at the level where you can sing love songs together…”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that!”
Xia Yuan, unaware that Mei Yue had seen her and Mei Fang kissing, desperately tried to explain, “Ah Fang and I are just childhood sweethearts.”
“Hehe, ‘childhood sweethearts’ who also happen to kiss?”
“Whoa!”
At this moment, Lin Youxi and Mei Fang also approached. Xia Yuan, flustered, tried to change the subject, “Sister Yue Yue, you must be hungry after driving all this way! Let us treat you to a meal today.”
“Oh, treating me to a meal, are you? Do you guys have enough money for your own expenses?”
Mei Yue patted Mei Fang’s head, and he didn’t dodge, instead, he raised his head and retorted:
“Sister Yue Yue, you’re currently unemployed, practically a vagrant. We definitely need to help you save money.”
“You little…” Mei Yue, being affectionate with Xia Yuan, was not so gentle with Mei Fang and knocked on his head without hesitation, “Even if I’m broke, I’m still an adult, alright? I’m not as down-and-out as you say. Now, go find the most expensive restaurant nearby. Your sister Yue Yue is treating you to a nice meal!”
That being said, Mei Fang and the others still ended up choosing a nearby Sichuan restaurant with decent decor and got a small private room to eat together.
“Go ahead and order,” Mei Yue said, glancing at the menu. Although it was just regular Sichuan cuisine, the prices were not exactly cheap. She handed the menu to Mei Fang with a slight pang of pain. Mei Fang naturally passed the menu to Lin Youxi and Xia Yuan.
The two of them looked at the menu together and quickly ordered a few dishes, then passed it back to Mei Fang, who handed it to Mei Yue without even looking at it.
“Hmm…? Do you come here often?” Mei Yue asked.
Mei Fang, resting his chin on his hand, said, “Not really. We brought Youxi’s mom here for a meal last week. Take a look, Sister Yue Yue, and see if there’s anything else you want to add.”
“No need. Did you order drinks? Sichuan food can be quite spicy.”
“This place isn’t that spicy. We ordered some sour plum juice.”
“Okay, that’s good.”
Mei Yue called the waiter to place the order, and then they started chatting about the process of creating their songs.
“Really? I didn’t know Xiaofangzi could write lyrics and compose music. When did you learn these skills? Your big sister here had no idea.”
“I only started getting into music in eighth grade, and it was all thanks to Yuan Yuan’s support and encouragement.”
Xia Yuan, feeling a bit shy, chuckled, “Actually, two of the songs were birthday presents from Ah Fang to us. Can you guess which two, Sister Yue Yue?”
“Hmm… The one for Youxi must be Remembrance of Lanshan, no doubt about it. As for yours, Yuan Yuan——”
Mei Yue smiled at Xia Yuan. “Is it Bare Face or I’m Willing?”
Both of these songs were sweet love songs. Xia Yuan quickly corrected her:
“No, no, it’s the A not Far Away Place“
“Really? I didn’t think of that one.”
…
Sister Yue Yue seems a bit too affectionate with Xia Yuan.
Did she discover something on her own or hear it from Xiaoya?
Mei Fang, noticing Lin Youxi looking a bit lonely while staring at her phone, activated his balancing skills and went over to talk to her.
“Youxi, what are you doing?”
“Chatting with a guy.”
Lin Youxi’s indifferent response piqued Mei Fang’s curiosity. He quickly leaned in to see her phone screen. But instead of hiding it, she showed it to him directly.
Mei Fang saw that Lin Youxi was privately messaging his account.
【Ah Fang, I’m super hungry.】
This message, with a tone completely different from Lin Youxi’s usual style, seemed to mimic Xia Yuan’s playful manner. Mei Fang found it amusing and decided to continue the conversation with her.
【Then eat something, we have peanuts right here.】
【I don’t want to move. You feed me.】
【Are you gonna pretend Sister Yue Yue isn’t here?】
【If you don’t want to feed me, then forget it. I’m not that hungry anyway.】
Lin Youxi’s private messages had a hint of a tsundere attitude, but outwardly, she remained calm and composed. After playing with her phone, she occasionally joined in the conversation with Mei Yue, as if it wasn’t her who had just sent those messages to Mei Fang.
This girl…
Mei Fang instinctively touched his nose. He picked up a peanut, hesitated for a moment, then popped it into his own mouth, pretending to eat it casually.
Mei Fang glanced at Mei Yue, who was intently listening to Xia Yuan talk about her creative process, then nudged Lin Youxi. He quickly picked up another peanut and swiftly placed it in Lin Youxi’s mouth.
Lin Youxi didn’t make it difficult for Mei Fang. She immediately took the peanut into her mouth. Their coordination was seamless.
…
…
Xia Yuan witnessed the entire scene.
Whoa! Those two are way too blatant!
“What’s wrong?”
Mei Yue, who was resting her chin on her hand while listening to Xia Yuan’s story, seemed unaware of the other two’s little act but was curious about Xia Yuan’s sudden reaction.
“Nothing, nothing…” Xia Yuan scratched her head. “Why aren’t the food here yet? I’ll go check.”
“No need, no need. I’ll do it instead. Today, it’s on me.”
Mei Yue got up to check with the waiter. Xia Yuan took the opportunity to whisper to Lin Youxi and Mei Fang.
“Ah Fang, Youxi, what are you two doing? We have important things to discuss today…”
“Relax, Yuan Yuan,” Mei Fang said, looking quite at ease. “This is just like a family gathering. The work part isn’t difficult. Sister Yue Yue will definitely help us.”
“You’re so sure about our charm? Sister Yue Yue might not want to help us with all these troublesome things.”
“Just trust me.”
Mei Yue came back, and they all started eating. Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi had ordered the restaurant’s signature dishes, which were quite tasty.
“Hah… This spicy boiled beef is amazing. It’s been so long since I’ve had such authentic Sichuan cuisine.”
“That’s why we recommended it, haha! But Sister Yue Yue, it looks like you can’t handle spicy food that well?”
“It’s not that I can’t handle spicy food. Life has just dulled my tastes,” Mei Yue said, looking a bit sad. She sipped her sour plum juice like she was drunk. “I’ve been studying for the CPA exam for so long, preparing for it for so long. I finally got a good job at a nice firm in Jiangcheng, only to be ruined by that scumbag…”
“A scumbag?” Mei Fang was surprised. “Is it the same guy as before? The one who pretended to be a tech company boss?”
“Yeah… He came to meet me near the office for tea once. After the New Year, he showed up at my workplace again, wanting to apologize, saying something about being drunk back then… Such nonsense.”
“He actually followed you to the company? That’s so creepy!” Xia Yuan found it hard to believe.
“His presence made my colleagues see me as a joke. He kept coming every day, annoying both me and my boss. Eventually, I had to quit and move my place to avoid any more trouble with him.”
“Cutting ties early is good,” Mei Fang nodded. “Now you can clearly see his true colors.”
“Yeah… Thankfully, I never let him drive me home, otherwise, it could have been even more troublesome.”
Mei Yue propped her chin on her hand, “Though the guy was a real piece of trash, the job I lost was really good.”
“Sister Yue Yue, how much were you making at that job?”
Mei Yue said proudly, “I have my CPA certification. Even with just two years of experience, I was making 100,000 a year!”
“So, about 8,000 a month? And that’s before taxes.”
Mei Yue felt that Mei Fang’s tone was somewhat dismissive and got annoyed, “You think that’s little? That’s just the base salary. With quarterly bonuses and dividends, I was making around 150,000 to 160,000 a year.”
“It was indeed a good job, a pity to lose it.”
“Exactly! Originally, in just another year, I could have easily switched to any other company as a financial manager. Who knew I’d run into this situation… Now it’s already late April, which is considered the off-season, and suitable jobs are really hard to find…”
“Let me introduce you to a job, Sister Yue Yue. A monthly salary of 20,000 as a financial manager, with meals and accommodation included. You can choose whether or not to work overtime, and you’ll only need to be accountable to the boss. Are you interested?”
Mei Yue was amused, “Haha, if there’s such a good job, forget about overtime, I’d be willing to work all night…”
“Are you that easy to satisfy? Then I won’t give you any year-end bonus. Just kidding, I’ll give you some, otherwise, it wouldn’t look good on the books.”
Xia Yuan kicked Ah Fang, reminding him, “Ah Fang, that’s too high a salary! You could offer Sister Yue Yue a 10,000 starting salary, and give more as a year-end bonus. Why offer 20,000 right off the bat?”
“Sister Yue Yue would also need to be the company’s legal representative and nominal boss. We can’t be too stingy,” Lin Youxi said casually while eating a piece of spicy beef, making Mei Yue even more confused.
“Wait, are you guys seriously offering me a job? Which company? Is it introduced by Uncle (Mei Lijun) or by your dad, Yuan Yuan?”
“Neither,” Mei Fang said with a smile, shaking his head. “We’re inviting you to work for me, Sister Yue Yue.”