Chapter 006 I'm stuck with you.

  *

  Zhao Nanfeng had completed the rental car procedures and no longer needed Su Xian to drive him—a great piece of news for her.

  Su Xian slowly drove out of the company premises behind his car. At the intersection, she saw a Latina beauty open the car door and get into his passenger seat. She sneered, wondering which country this girlfriend was from. Is Zhao Nanfeng, that scumbag, planning to date one from every country on the map?

  Get a disease and you’ll settle down!

  Su Xian was cursing silently when suddenly her car window was tapped. It was Li Chengshi, and before she could fully stop the car, he opened the door and sat in the passenger seat.

  "What is it?" She was not thrilled.

  "The subway broke down, can't move. Team Leader, can you take me home? A taxi usually costs me 25 yuan, you can deduct the money from that 100,000 based on this rate."

  "Seriously, Li Chengshi, that's a bit like blackmail. I only provide money, not service."

  "...Should I get out then?" He put his hand on the door, looking at her pitifully.

  "Ugh, fine, I'm stuck with you. Fasten your seatbelt!"

  *

  The subway shutdown caused a surge in people and traffic on nearby roads, and the car was soon stuck in a standstill.

  I should have stayed to work overtime.

  Su Xian turned on the radio and hummed along to the music. "Do you know this song, Li Chengshi?" She turned up the volume.

  It was Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!", released in 2016. Li Chengshi was in junior high school then, and the school radio played it daily until his ears were calloused.

  "No."

  "That's a shame." Su Xian raised her arms and swayed a few times to the rhythm. 2016 was a period of rapid growth for the real estate industry in China; anyone could make money. This Toyota car was also bought that year. She had planned to trade it for a more expensive one after a few years, but the industry started to decline, and as a person with a sense of crisis, she immediately reduced her spending. She planned to drive this car until it retired. She glanced at Li Chengshi and thought to herself: A new car just slipped away like that.

  "What are you looking at?" Li Chengshi was a little embarrassed.

  "Nothing." Su Xian smiled and swayed back to the music. The traffic started to move, and she gripped the steering wheel, slowly moving forward.

  *

  "Team Leader, those two moves you made last time were impressive. Who taught you?" Li Chengshi mimicked a left hook and a right hook stance.

  "An ex-boyfriend. He won first place in an amateur city-wide competition."

  "Engineer Zhao?"

  "A different one."

  "How many boyfriends have you had?"

  "None of your business. Oh, my bad, my bad, that's a habitual response. Three."

  Li Chengshi took offense to the phrase "None of your business" and asked no further questions.

  Fearing she had hurt his pride, Su Xian proactively sought conversation: "How many girlfriends have you had?" Li Chengshi should reply, "None of your business," and they would be even.

  But he didn't say anything.

  "Oh~" Su Xian recalled that he was a virgin and immediately clammed up.

  Li Chengshi, however, said angrily, "Pull over. I'm getting a taxi." She had grabbed onto his secret, and was using it to mock him again. It was too insulting to his pride.

  "Then how should I charge you for this distance? Is a 5 yuan deduction okay?" Su Xian asked with a serious expression.

  "You!" Li Chengshi was too angry to speak.

  Su Xian burst into laughter. "I'm just teasing you. Look at you, you look like that, uh, an angry Bichon Frise."

  "You're the dog!"

  "I'm the Big Bad Wolf!"

  "Don't flatter yourself. I think you look like a Husky."

  Su Xian's smile instantly vanished. "Li Chengshi, I'm deducting 20 yuan from you."

  "Deduct it, just don't be angry anymore." He realized he had been a bit too disrespectful. She was his leader, and a formidable one at that.

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  She immediately reverted to her bright, sunny expression. "I wasn't angry to begin with, ha ha ha!"

  Isn't she just bullying me? Li Chengshi was speechless.

  Su Xian was thoroughly amused. She didn't own a dog, but she got the fun of teasing one. After all these years, it seemed this was the first time she had truly felt the pleasure of being in a dominant position, ha ha ha!

  **

  Dacheng Construction bragged about having 50 people, but only 27 showed up. The two companies, along with Department Head Sato and his two subordinates, gathered at the designated location. As the time came and the horn sounded, nearly a thousand participants charged onto the seaside avenue like an army heading to war.

  The first stage was a 5-kilometer mountain run. To conserve energy, Su Xian and Liang Wenya followed casually behind Sato. Lao Zhang from the Structural Department led a few men ahead. Department Head Sato was completely surrounded by people from Dacheng.

  After running about 4 kilometers, the slope steepened, and Li Chengshi fell back from the front, running beside Liang Wenya.

  Liang Wenya was already panting and asked Li Chengshi if he wanted to drop out with her.

  "General Manager Liang, I can finish."

  "Get down if you're tired, don't push yourself."

  "Got it."

  Liang Wenya retreated to the roadside and shouted at the backs of her team, "Su Xian, crush them!"

  Su Xian didn't look back, only waved her hand.

  *

  The second stage was a forest obstacle course, featuring fallen large trees, real cliff face climbing, a single-log bridge, and long rope crossings over streams—a rich variety of challenges.

  By this point, the distance between the participants had widened. Five or six people from Dacheng were still following Sato.

  Su Xian decided to sprint ahead of them.

  She agilely climbed the trunk of the large fallen tree blocking the path, ran to the edge, grabbed a flexible branch, and swung forward, landing like a nimble monkey right in front of Department Head Sato. She turned around, smiled brightly, and waved. "Sato-san, ohayou!" She had watched enough Japanese anime in her student days to manage a greeting.

  "Oh, sugoi na! (Oh, you are amazing!)" Department Head Sato was quite surprised.

  Su Xian smiled and accelerated forward.

  "Ganbatte ne! (Good luck!)" Department Head Sato shouted at her.

  Su Xian zipped across the single-log bridge ahead and disappeared from sight.

  Li Chengshi finally managed to climb onto the treetop but didn't dare to swing out like Su Xian, so he carefully climbed down.

  I can't do this. My heart can't take it anymore.

  He moved to the side and sat down on a tree stump to rest.

  The sunlight filtered through the treetop, making him dizzy.

  *

  Clearing the obstacle course, Su Xian ate a piece of chocolate and drank half a bottle of water at the resupply station at the intersection. The next 5 kilometers were relatively flat with excellent scenery, and she ran forward slowly.

  The people from Dacheng, clustering around Department Head Sato, passed her and ran ahead. As they went by, Department Head Sato specially looked back and greeted her.

  Just as she watched them go, she heard someone shout "Team Leader" from behind. She looked back and was surprised to see it was Li Chengshi.

  "Hey, you caught up pretty fast!" Su Xian was pleasantly surprised and patted his shoulder in encouragement.

  Li Chengshi waved his hand, signaling her to quickly chase Department Head Sato.

  "No rush. Appearing and disappearing like this leaves a deeper impression. Hey, why are you panting so hard? Don't push yourself, watch out for sudden death."

  Jinx! So annoying. Li Chengshi wanted to curse at her, but realizing he genuinely had no energy left, he chose to drop out.

  Su Xian instructed him on a few things before slowly running into the distance.

  *