C19 I Can Sleep Well Here!

Last month, Chen Qingchuan was still working as a security guard at the company. One rainy night, around ten o'clock, a girl with a small yellow umbrella left the premises. Employees often worked late, and Chen Qingchuan, not one to pry, merely glanced her way before turning his attention elsewhere.

However, shortly after stretching his legs, he noticed the yellow umbrella abandoned in the rain, the girl nowhere in sight. Curiosity piqued, he wondered who would leave their umbrella behind on such a wet night, so he stepped outside to investigate.

It was a good thing he did. His timely intervention prevented a drunken man from harassing the girl. At the time, Chen Qingchuan did little more than give the inebriated man a thrashing. He didn't even take note of the girl's appearance. After she expressed her gratitude, he simply hailed a cab and sent her on her way, too preoccupied with the downpour to pay much attention to anything else.

It wasn't until Huang Nini mentioned it that Chen Qingchuan recalled the incident. He had saved Huang Nini that night. No wonder she had been so eager to assist him earlier; they shared an unexpected connection.

"Alright, you just concentrate on learning the business materials here. I'll go see if I can persuade Elder Zhang on your behalf!" With that, Huang Nini strode off to Zhang Sihai's office, exuding righteousness and confidence.

But she returned only two minutes later, deflated and disheartened like a frostbitten eggplant. Seeing her wilted demeanor, Chen Qingchuan knew her appeal had been unsuccessful. "No worries, it's only 700 users!"

Su Xue's company, Eastern Star Culture, specialized in online media and operated its own app. Zhang Sihai's demand for 700 active users meant getting 700 people to download and register on the app. Although not an easy task—considering people on the street needed incentives like balloons or glittery hair clips just to follow a public account—Chen Qingchuan wasn't daunted. Forget seven hundred; if he put his mind to it, finding seventy thousand effective users would be no trouble at all.

After consoling Huang Nini, she made a face and complained, "It's not seven hundred anymore, it's fourteen hundred now."

Chen Qingchuan chuckled, "Did you go to plead my case? How come after less than two minutes of pleading, the number has doubled?"

"Zhang Sihai said I've been pretty idle lately, taking an interest in your affairs, so he's also assigned me the task of getting 700 new users..."

Hearing Huang Nini's words and seeing her look of distress, Chen Qingchuan couldn't help but laugh heartily.

Huang Nini, frustrated, stamped her foot. "Ugh, you're so annoying! I try to help you out, and I end up in hot water, and here you are, gloating. I'm not going to bother with you anymore!"

Pouting, Huang Nini returned to her desk.

Chen Qingchuan watched her with a grin, finding her more and more endearing. Not only was her baby-faced chubbiness cute, but her way of speaking and acting was charming too. It was nice – having someone like her around would definitely make work less dull.

At noon, after lunch in the company cafeteria, Chen Qingchuan made his way to the security room, not because it was on his route, but because there was a bed there, offering a much more comfortable nap than his office could.

He hadn't fully woken up that morning after being tricked by his elder, and now he was feeling the weight of sleepiness. He needed to catch up on some rest.

The nap was blissful; he even dreamed that he was steering a large ship through tumultuous waves, standing boldly at the prow, unshakable in the face of the storm, his heroic spirit soaring.

"Chen Qingchuan, wake up! It's work hours. Did the company hire you to sleep?" came the scolding.

The bed shook with a series of thuds. Sleeping on the top bunk was precarious enough, but with the added kicking, it felt like he was on a ship, rocking unsteadily back and forth...

Chen Qingchuan opened his bleary eyes to find Zhang Sihai glaring at him with a frosty expression.

"Look at you, first day in my department and you're already off to the security room for a nap in the afternoon. Did you sleep well?"

Chen Qingchuan let out a yawn. "It was alright. Better than this morning, at least. I dozed off on the desk and woke up with a sore back."

Zhang Sihai was livid, nearly choking on his own rage. So, this slacker had been snoozing since the morning!

"I assigned you business materials to review, and you've been asleep all day! You're quite something, aren't you? It seems you've already got an in-depth grasp of our operations. Well, I won't waste any more of your valuable time. Tomorrow, you're hitting the streets to hand out flyers and drum up some real customers!"

"Oh."

Zhang Sihai was fuming at Chen Qingchuan's nonchalant demeanor, tempted to throttle him then and there. But this was a professional setting, not a nightclub where disputes were settled with brawls.

Pointing a finger at Chen Qingchuan, he said, "Excellent, just excellent. I'll be eager to see if you can attract 700 genuine users within a week. If you're even one short, I'll have you out of the business department so fast, not even Director Su's intervention will help you!"

Chen Qingchuan rolled out of bed and stretched. "So, does that mean I can clock out early today?"

Zhang Sihai had had enough, utterly defeated by Chen Qingchuan's indolence. He couldn't fathom how Su Xue saw potential in him. Without another word, he stormed off, convinced that in a week's time, he'd be rid of Chen Qingchuan for good.

Straightening his attire, Chen Qingchuan left the security room, splashed some water on his face from a nearby tap, and prepared to head out. As he reached the company's entrance, he noticed Huang Nini exiting with her bag, her face etched with gloom.

"What's the matter? Did you get docked pay for breaking some rule, or did the company let you go?"

His question earned him a flurry of hits from Nini's bag. "Can't you ever hope for the best? All you think about is misfortune!"

After a few attempts, Huang Nini finally mentioned that Zhang Sihai wanted her to distribute flyers with Chen Qingchuan tomorrow.

"I thought it was something serious. Just hand them out; it's not like I have anything better to do."

With that, Chen Qingchuan casually put his hands in his pockets and walked away, clearly not concerned about the task at hand.

Huang Nini hurried after him, catching his arm and forcefully pulling him toward the company exit. "You might not be ambitious since you have a wife to support you, but I need to work hard; I don't have a husband to rely on. Come on, let's find a place to brainstorm. We have to meet our goal of 1,400 valid users. We, as young people, need to show some spirit and prove to Zhang Sihai what we're capable of!"

Chen Qingchuan glanced at Huang Nini as she dragged him along. He couldn't see any strength, just someone who seemed a bit off-kilter.

Why bother with fighting spirit? It would be so much better to just find a place to sleep. In this world, nothing beats the satisfaction of a good meal followed by a restful sleep. What's the use of fighting spirit? It doesn't fill you up or help you sleep...

In the General Manager's office, Director Su, standing by the window, caught sight of Huang Nini and Chen Qingchuan's tussle. Her expression immediately soured.