"Sis, what's your due date?" Mo Xi was on a video call, holding a bag of chips and chatting with Mo Zi.
"November 12th," Mo Zi caressed her belly, a faint smile on her lips. "I hope she comes out early. Her dad has already prepared toys, clothes, and formula for her."
"Well, it's not many days left. You shouldn't go to work recently, just rest at home." Mo Xi advised. Hospitals are usually crowded and full of germs. Besides, her sister couldn't perform surgeries for patients now, so she might as well stay at home.
"Yes! I agree." Mo Zi's brother-in-law, Xiao Jun, chimed in with a calm voice.
"Don't worry, now I'm the treasure of the whole department. Everyone takes good care of me," Mo Zi glanced at her brother-in-law, her expression calm. "This Friday is my last day."
Mo Xi stared at her sister's prominently raised belly, reminded of the media's reports on medical disputes. He still felt a bit worried. "I think you can start taking leave today. The hospital is too chaotic, and it won't make much difference for these few days."
"No, I can't. The department is short-staffed. Do you remember Dr. Zhang? His father just passed away, so he took a week off. Dr. Chen had a car accident and is currently hospitalized in the orthopedics department. If I leave, others will be swamped," Mo Zi comforted him softly on the other side. "I'm just working at my desk every day now, not doing any legwork. What could go wrong?"
"Alright," Mo Xi reluctantly agreed, muttering to himself, "Can't your department hire more people..."
"Exactly," Xiao Jun appeared on the screen, showing half of his face, and chimed in, "Does your department only lack one pregnant woman?"
"Alright, forget it. We have to go for a checkup," Mo Zi interrupted their conversation, placing her hand on the chair's armrest, preparing to get up. Continuing the conversation would turn into Mo Xi and Xiao Jun criticizing the hospital's policies.
Mo Xi nodded, stuffed another piece of potato chip into his mouth, and said, "Oh, by the way, sis, I transferred ten thousand to your Alipay. Remember to check."
Mo Zi, who was about to stand up, sat back down again, looking displeased. "You're still a student, why are you transferring money?"
"I've been taking some freelance jobs lately," Mo Xi winked at her, "And it's for my little niece, not for you."
"You..." Mo Zi wanted to say something, but the video call was abruptly cut off on the other end, not giving her a chance to refuse.
Ah, little brother has grown up. He's becoming more and more independent in his thinking. She couldn't argue with him anymore.
Mo Zi stood up and gave a helpless smile to Xiao Jun.
"Xiao Xi cares about you, why do you look so unhappy?" Xiao Jun didn't understand.
Mo Zi sighed. "I'm afraid he'll be too tired. His temper..."
"It's okay," Xiao Jun hugged Mo Zi and kissed her cheek. "If you're worried, next time we'll give Mo Xi more money. Give him back this ten thousand."
"Okay." Mo Zi nodded.
The extra income that Mo Xi mentioned was all introduced by MischievousChild. MischievousChild was quite curious about Mo Xi's role as a coder, often bringing him software or programs and asking if he knew how to do this or that. Mo Xi didn't find it annoying. Instead, he answered quite earnestly.
Over time, MischievousChild began to introduce freelance jobs to him. They were relatively simple tasks that wouldn't take up too much of his time and provided decent income. At the very least, it covered his monthly rent.
Mo Xi had a question. Why could MischievousChild find him so many freelancing opportunities, while the information he put on various freelancing websites received no response at all?
MischievousChild's answer was impeccable: Because I have a wide network.
Mo Xi was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to reply. What MischievousChild said seemed to make sense.
He could only blame himself for being too much of a homebody.
While he was thinking, MischievousChild sent another message: "I have a classmate who wants to confess his feelings to a girl he likes. He wants to use code to create a heart. Can you do it?"
Sure, of course he can. Once upon a time, he also wanted to use code to confess his feelings to Pei Hao, but before he could send those lines of code to Pei Hao, they had already entered a relationship. So, those lines of code were buried in his computer, forgotten for many years.
Writing a love confession in code is a unique kind of romance among programmers. However, the romantic aspect lies in the fact that the person confessing writes the code themselves. What's the significance of asking someone else to write the love confession code?
Mo Xi felt puzzled and didn't understand: "Is your friend a programmer?"
MischievousChild: No.
Mo Xi: Then why does he want to write a love confession in code?
Wouldn't making a video or going out to the countryside to set off fireworks be better?
MischievousChild: I don't know.
Mo Xi scratched his head on his side. Well, since the client brought it up and it's not illegal, he had no reason to refuse. As the less powerful party, even if the client asked for code to display colorful hearts in black, he had to do it, right?
Who would argue with money.
Mo Xi asked again: Does he have any special requirements for this "heart"?
MischievousChild: None, just do whatever.
Such a casual client.
Mo Xi shrugged and got to work.
He only took two nights to write the love confession code. Just after sending it and intending to ask if the client was satisfied, MischievousChild transferred the money to him. Mo Xi clicked on it and saw that the WeChat transfer note read 8888.
Mo Xi was taken aback and quickly messaged MischievousChild: "You don't need to give me so much money. It didn't take much time. At most, 888."
While saying that, Mo Xi hurriedly transferred 8000 back.
However, MischievousChild didn't seem to want the money. He casually reassured, "Just keep it. My friend isn't short on money."
Mo Xi was puzzled for a moment. Did he encounter a case of someone being excessively generous with their money?
One should live up to their conscience, so Mo Xi replied, "Tell your friend that it really doesn't need to be this much."
MischievousChild didn't seem to care on his side. "He said 888 isn't worthy of his love."
Well, rich people can be capricious.
Upon hearing this, Mo Xi felt it was better to leave it at that. He didn't understand the world of wealthy people. He thought about saving the client some money, but they obviously didn't care about the price.
So, 8888 it is. It's a win-win situation, anyway.
Chen Xu had a not-so-good premonition. He felt that Pei Hao might be in love. Because recently, Pei Hao's frequency of chatting on his phone had greatly increased, and he would occasionally stare at the phone screen and smile foolishly.
Once, when he was handing over documents, he noticed that Pei Hao had changed his computer desktop to a pink heart. Chen Xu casually said, "This heart is quite special."
Pei Hao, who usually exchanged only a few words with him, took the initiative to chat with him, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but lift. "This is coded. It even makes bubbles in the end."
As if it were something remarkable. It was just an ordinary heart that could make bubbles.
Chen Xu took another look at the image, but still couldn't see anything special about it. After pondering for a moment, he asked doubtfully, "Could it be that you wrote this code?"
"It's not me, someone else wrote it." Pei Hao shook his head, his voice carrying a smile.
"Oh." Chen Xu nodded seemingly understanding but his heart sank. Pei Hao must be in love, otherwise, that contented smile couldn't be explained.
He hadn't even had a chance to confess, and Pei Hao was already in a relationship. He regretted not taking action earlier.
Chen Xu sat at his desk, feeling frustrated and upset. He lowered his head, fiddling with his fingers, but he kept hearing words like "Golden Times Corporation" in his ears.
For their circle, today's biggest event was undoubtedly the low-cost acquisition of "Golden Times Corporation." The company, which was originally quite strong in X City and even nationwide, had been in the spotlight for a few years but eventually fell flat.
Pei Hao sat at his desk, and he couldn't help but frown when he heard the words "Golden Times Corporation." Unfortunately, every time he heard about Jin Yu, his disgust was triggered.
The acquisition of Golden Times was not surprising to Pei Hao. For the past two years, the company had been in chaos, and its market value had been consistently dropping. It was inevitable that it couldn't survive.
As for the rumor about Jin Yu and his younger cousin, Pei Hao felt that it wasn't entirely impossible. At the time when he and Jin Yu were competing for projects in Pei Yixin's company, someone named Cheng Yi came to him and begged him to spare his brother.
Pei Hao remembered the look Cheng Yi gave Jin Yu; if they weren't involved in something, he'd eat his computer keyboard.
When Chen Xu entered Pei Hao's office, he saw him with a serious expression, not noticing him even after knocking a few times.
"Brother Hao," Chen Xu cleared his throat and said, "Fu Jie wants you to come to her office."
"Sure, alright," Pei Hao snapped out of it, got up from his chair, and headed to Fu Bing's office.
Fu Bing's office was adorned with many potted plants, giving it a fresh atmosphere. However, due to her strong presence, entering her office often made her subordinates feel increased pressure.
"Have a seat," Fu Bing looked at Pei Hao as he entered, gesturing towards the tea set in the room. The teapot was boiling with water that gurgled softly. She looked at Pei Hao and asked, "Would you like some tea?"
"No thanks, Fu Jie," Pei Hao sat down in the chair.
"Wu Lin has acquired Jin Shi, what's your opinion?" Fu Bing got straight to the point.
"It was expected. There were rumors circulating before, and Jin Shi's financial performance has been poor for a while. Being acquired was the best possible outcome," Pei Hao shrugged, indicating that he wasn't surprised.
"Indeed, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly." Fu Bing stood up, walked to the tea set, and poured a small cup of tea. The entire room was soon filled with its fragrant aroma. She lifted the tea cup to her lips and took a sip, sighing, "Business is like a battlefield; a small oversight can lead to great losses."
Pei Hao didn't respond; he knew that Fu Bing had more to say.
"What I'm thinking now is how Wu Lin's acquisition of Jin Shi will impact our company," Fu Bing rested her chin on her hand, a sharp glint passing through her eyes.
Originally, Jin Shi and Fu Bing's Qi Mao Company operated in the same industry, with some overlap in their businesses. However, they targeted different user groups, and coupled with Jin Shi's poor performance, Qi Mao hadn't paid much attention to it. Now that Wu Lin had acquired Jin Shi, it indicated that Wu Lin intended to enter this industry and with its financial strength, it was only natural for them to expand Jin Shi's original user base.
"Are you suggesting that Wu Lin might become our competitor in the future?" Pei Hao's expression changed slightly, and when he met Fu Bing's gaze, he saw a hint of sharpness in her eyes.
"Highly likely. Wu Lin previously approached me about an acquisition, but I declined." Fu Bing seemed lost in thought, her voice low, "So, what they initially wanted was our business. In the coming period, I'll be focusing on fundraising, and Wu Lin might try to poach a few clients from under you. So, you need to be fully prepared." Fu Bing took a sip of tea and continued, "When the company completes the next round of funding, your salary will double."
Pei Hao nodded, understanding why Fu Bing had called him in 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 that Fu Bing didn't mention, but Pei Hao understood. If his clients slipped away during this critical time, despite the promise of a doubled salary, he wouldn't be far from leaving the company. After all, no company would want to spend so much money on someone who wasn't producing results.
Seeing that Pei Hao grasped the situation, Fu Bing was quite satisfied. She patted his shoulder, her tone heavy with meaning, "We're about to start a battle."