It’s Not Okay to Kiss Me as Soon as We Meet (ABO) - Chapter 9

Shen Li inexplicably felt that the sunlight was a bit dazzling, so dazzling that she wanted to cry. She tilted her head up, her voice nasal.

Shen Li: “Thank you for speaking up for me just now.”

She paused, then could not help adding, “But according to the rules, you should call me Director Li. Do not be so casual in the future.”

She said words of reproach, but her tone was soft, unlike the usual cold and aloof Shen Li. Instead, she seemed like a little girl who had been wronged at school.

Lin Huaiyi’s age from her previous life and this life added up to twice Shen Li’s, so seeing Shen Li’s awkward appearance, she naturally knew that the person in front of her was not as strong as she usually appeared. She was still just a fragile little girl.

Considering the difference between Alpha and Omega, Lin Huaiyi held back the impulse to reach out and pat Shen Li’s head. She worried she might not see the sun tomorrow.

So she stretched out her long arms and sat on the conference table without any regard for rules, her feet tapping the ground one after another.

Perhaps influenced by Lin Huaiyi’s relaxed demeanor, Shen Li also released her childlike side and imitated Lin Huaiyi by jumping to sit on the table. But Shen Li’s height did not match Lin Huaiyi’s, so sitting on the tall conference table, her feet could not touch the ground. Her calves dangled from the edge of the table, swinging randomly in the air.

Shen Li quietly pursed her lips. “You have long legs.”

Lin Huaiyi tilted her head and smiled. Such flattery could indeed please an Alpha.

Lin Huaiyi: “Director Li, shall we talk about the next steps?”

Shen Li said self-deprecatingly, “Hah, you saw it too, that arrogant attitude of Luo Wen just now. More than half who follow him are senior employees, and the X1 equipment structure is very complex. It is not that I do not believe in the new hires’ abilities, but our time is limited. More importantly, there is currently no one in the team familiar with the Japanese patent field.”

Shen Li lightly kicked the swivel chair in front of her, as if making a decision in her heart, and continued, “So in summary, three days from now, oh no, it should be two days from now, I will have to pack up and leave.”

“And you.” At this point, Shen Li looked at Lin Huaiyi with apology in her eyes. “You publicly embarrassed Luo Wen in the meeting today. I estimate he will not tolerate you afterward. Sorry, you got dragged down because of me. Later, I will ask friends around me and try to help you with internal recommendations for positions.”

Lin Huaiyi laughed out loud and said, “Mm, thank you Director Li. I do not need internal recommendations for now. And you have someone around you who is familiar with the patent field.”

“Who?” Shen Li asked in confusion.

Lin Huaiyi raised her eyebrows, a faint smile on her lips, and lifted her chin toward Shen Li.

Shen Li sighed. “You? Do not joke. This is not funny.”

Shen Li had seen Lin Huaiyi’s resume. She had studied business for both her bachelor’s and master’s, and she had not participated in any technical research projects in the past. She absolutely did not seem like someone who had studied the patent field.

Lin Huaiyi looked at Shen Li seriously, her tone leaving no room for doubt. “Work matters are not for joking. I am not all that skilled, but I know Japanese and understand patents.”

Time was tight, so Lin Huaiyi and Shen Li rushed to the archives room. Shen Li used the smart query terminal in the archives room to retrieve the storage locations of the relevant materials, while Lin Huaiyi followed the index numbers Shen Li called out to select the file folders from different cabinets. Both held a large stack of folders and returned together to Shen Li’s office.

The two piled all the folders on the desk, one on each side, and buried their heads in work.

This matter was difficult if you said it was, and simple if you said it was.

The product department had checked for almost a day without any leads, partly because Luo Wen and others deliberately slowed down the inspection speed, and partly because the people in the product department understood the X1 equipment but not Japanese patents. The young lady in the legal department understood patents but not Japanese. Of course, the vast majority of people understood neither the product nor patents, and looking at Japanese was like reading a heavenly book.

Everyone just went through the motions checking the steps they had handled, thinking that as long as their own procedures had no problems, everything would be fine.

This perfectly proved that saying: one monk has water to drink, two monks carry water to drink, three monks have no water to drink.

Shen Li had a background in research and design, so technical documents were not difficult for her. She sorted out all the technologies involved in the components used in the X1, and then Lin Huaiyi cross-checked them one by one on the corresponding Japanese patent websites.

Both had high professional levels, and their cooperation was extremely efficient. By ten o’clock at night, they had already eliminated a small half.

Lin Huaiyi stretched lazily and only then realized that it was completely dark outside. They had buried themselves in desk work for nearly six hours without eating or drinking.

When she stretched, Lin Huaiyi could even hear her joints cracking.

Lin Huaiyi looked up at Shen Li across from her. She still looked beautiful, but her complexion was really poor. On the office tea table was the dinner that Special Assistant Yang had brought in the evening, which had now gone completely cold. Special Assistant Yang had mentioned at the time that Shen Li had not eaten all day. Facing the assistant’s reminder, Shen Li always replied with the same “Okay, got it.”

Shen Li often went a whole day without eating or drinking when she worked, as if the dopamine from work could completely offset her hunger.

Lin Huaiyi looked at Shen Li, who was buried in flipping through documents, and said, “Shen Li, let’s go eat. There are still two days of tough battle ahead. If we start fasting today, we might end up in the hospital tomorrow.”

Shen Li shook her head like a female warrior. “No, I am not like someone who faints and ends up in the hospital at the drop of a hat.”

Seeing that verbal persuasion did not work, Lin Huaiyi changed her approach. “I am hungry. No food means I go on strike.”

Their current work required close cooperation, and without Lin Huaiyi, Shen Li’s work could not proceed either. At this moment, the female warrior had no choice but to push aside the folders in her hands and reluctantly let Lin Huaiyi lead her out to eat.

Shen Corporation Group had its own cafeteria, and the food was not bad. In the product R&D department, the researchers were all warriors like Shen Li who lost track of time when working, so the cafeteria operated in three shifts, with food available 24 hours a day.

Lin Huaiyi understood that this was a strategy many large companies used. They tried to improve the comfort of the work environment as much as possible, thereby keeping the workers in the company for longer periods.

What could they do while staying in the company? Work, of course.

Lin Huaiyi filled a full tray of food and came back: roast duck wraps, braised pig brain, a small portion of spicy bl00d curd, and a bowl of wontons.

Lin Huaiyi liked spicy food, and the cuisine in this world was similar to that in her original world. This was one of the few things that comforted her after crossing over.

Shen Li lacked interest and followed behind Lin Huaiyi, her tray still empty.

Seeing this, Lin Huaiyi took the tray from her hands, got her brown sugar glutinous rice dumplings and blueberry yam puree, and stuffed it back into Shen Li’s hands.

Lin Huaiyi: “I know you have no appetite, but you still need to eat something. Here, the dumplings can replenish carbs. Desserts can make you feel better.”

She stuffed the cutlery she had grabbed into Shen Li’s hands and began to eat heartily.

Shen Li stared blankly at the dumplings on her tray. She had loved eating glutinous rice dumplings when she was little. In the past, Shen Li’s mother had always liked to cook her a bowl of dumplings as a midnight snack. After her mother was gone, fearing it would remind her of her and make her miss her, Shen Li had never eaten dumplings again.

Tonight, Lin Huaiyi had accidentally gotten her a serving of dumplings, but she did not feel sad. Instead, she felt that even separated by distant stars, her mother would still give her strength, and a faint nostalgia surged in Shen Li’s heart.

Seeing Lin Huaiyi eat with relish, she also lowered her head and took a bite of the dumpling. The sesame filling flowed out, very sweet.

Even in the hot summer, the temperature in the office building was frighteningly low. After eating a bowl of dumplings, Shen Li felt warm all over.

She looked up at Lin Huaiyi. The four large bowls in front of her had already been eaten clean. Was this the appetite of an Alpha? It was really scary. Lin Huaiyi looked spirited, her beautiful peach blossom eyes shining with delight.

Lin Huaiyi: “To fuel our late-night work session tonight, may I treat Miss Shen to a cup of coffee?”

Shen Li raised her eyebrows. “Hmm? Using the company coffee machine?”

Lin Huaiyi smiled without saying a word, and Shen Li’s feet involuntarily followed Lin Huaiyi out.

The two went downstairs to buy coffee and returned to Shen Li’s office, diving back into hard work.

An Alpha’s physical quality was excellent, and after several hours of high-intensity work in a row, she did not show any fatigue.

Shen Li had not slept well since last night, but she had just formed a temporary mark with Lin Huaiyi, so being near Lin Huaiyi now, smelling her pheromones, made both her body and mind feel relaxed.

Lin Huaiyi occasionally looked up to confirm work progress with Shen Li. “Shen Li, have you checked part number 4126? Give me the materials.”

Hearing no response from Shen Li, Lin Huaiyi looked up and saw that at some point, Shen Li had fallen asleep with her head on the table.

The sleeping Shen Li looked like a frail little kitten, her face only palm-sized.

Lin Huaiyi could not help but hold her breath. She reached out to dim the desk lamp and tiptoed to get Shen Li’s blanket from the break room to cover her.

The dim light fell on Shen Li’s long eyelashes, casting a fan-shaped shadow on her flawless jade-like face.

Lin Huaiyi smiled silently at Shen Li’s sleeping face. The female warrior finally knew to rest.

Lin Huaiyi continued to immerse herself in work.

Having cooperated with Shen Li for a whole night, Lin Huaiyi had learned some tricks for reviewing technical documents. Now, although without Shen Li’s cooperation, it would be a bit more laborious for her to do it alone, the investigation work could still proceed.

“Mm.” Shen Li opened her sore eyes, and the clacking of typing nearby brought her back to her senses. She realized with a start that she had fallen asleep during overtime. Remembering that she had been working overtime with Lin Huaiyi, the typing sound must be… Shen Li tilted her head and looked at the person still working across the table with her chin resting on it.

An Alpha’s hands were very beautiful, with distinct knuckles, slender and elegant, nails neat and rounded without any burrs, the standard for hand modeling.

After working a whole night, there was a faint bluish shadow under the Alpha’s eyes.

Lin Huaiyi had deep eye sockets, a high nose bridge, and arrogant brow bones. When she did not smile, she looked quite fierce.

Feeling the gaze from across, Lin Huaiyi looked back. Seeing Shen Li’s dazed, just-woken-up expression, the serious features on Lin Huaiyi’s face instantly changed. On her deeply contoured face, even a little expression gave a strong visual impact. At this moment, Lin Huaiyi just had a bit of amusement in her eyes, and her whole temperament became very gentle.

Lin Huaiyi: “Awake? You slept pretty soundly with your head on the table, so I did not wake you.”

Shen Li’s voice was nasal and foggy, but her words were still unconvinced. “Why did you not wake me? A whole night could get so much work done.”

Lin Huaiyi pursed her lips and gestured for her to look at the folders on the table.

After Lin Huaiyi’s all-night battle, only the last stack of folders remained to be checked on the table. Next, they just needed to cooperate for one morning, and they could finish checking everything.

Shen Li looked incredulously at the summary table Lin Huaiyi handed over. In one night, Lin Huaiyi had done almost two people’s worth of work, and the joy in Shen Li’s eyes was hard to hide.

According to the results on the current summary table, none of the parts they had checked were the infringing one. This meant that in the last stack of folders, there must be what they were looking for.

Shen Li tightened her little face and quickly took half of the folders, starting to check them together with Lin Huaiyi.

Half an hour later, Shen Li was still immersed in analyzing the materials at hand when she heard a low exclamation from Lin Huaiyi across from her. “Shen Li, I think I found it.”