Chapter 002　Why did that scumbag come back?!

  *

  Li Chengshi's mother, Li Xiao, took the foam box from him, beaming with delight. She asked him solicitously if he had fun and eaten well over the past two days, then carried the box into the kitchen and opened it.

  "Oh, you bought mushrooms too! I was just thinking of making some fresh mushroom soup! What kind of mushroom is this?"

  "Isn't that the little yellow mushroom you used to take me to pick in the mountains? I picked these yesterday in the wooded area near the villa."

  "But these don't look like the little yellow mushrooms." Li Xiao took a picture and sent it to an AI for identification. The AI quickly returned the answer, saying it was Psilocybe, a type of hallucinogenic mushroom. "You silly child, you can't just pick any mushroom. Thank goodness I checked, or you and I would have been getting tripped together after eating it."

  If these mushrooms were thrown into the trash, small animals might accidentally eat them, so Li Xiao chopped them up, flushed them down the toilet, and then thoroughly cleaned the knives and cutting board according to the AI's instructions.

  *

  Hallucinogenic mushrooms?!

  Li Chengshi was shocked. He excused himself to change clothes and immediately consulted the AI about the dangers of hallucinogenic mushrooms. It stated: This species has low toxicity. Eating a small amount may cause hallucinations of varying intensity. The content of the hallucinations varies from person to person, influenced by both the internal state of mind and the external environment at the time.

  Could the accident of last night have been because he served Su Xian the poisonous mushroom soup he made himself?!

  *

  The team-building party ended after 11 PM last night. Since he hadn't eaten much solid food due to the heavy drinking, he woke up hungry around 2 AM and went to the living room fridge for a snack. Unexpectedly, Team Leader Su Xian was still on the terrace, drinking and looking at the stars. She even invited him over, saying the night was beautiful. The fridge only had various kinds of alcohol, so he had no choice but to take a small handful of the mushrooms he had picked and a sausage he had bought at the seaside convenience store, quickly made a simple fresh mushroom soup, divided it into two small bowls, and shared it with her on the terrace.

  About three to five minutes later, Su Xian started getting excited, babbling incoherently at the sky, saying the sky was full of pink little hearts.

  He had thought it was the alcohol kicking in, but it turned out to be the toxin taking effect.

  But those weren't little hearts; they were clearly Ultraman, Spider-Man, and many Kamen Riders.

  Yes, he was also affected at that time.

  They argued for a few moments, and Su Xian got angry, saying that if he didn't behave, she would fail him on his internship.

  So, he behaved... didn't he?

  Yes, later on, he was very obedient—twice.

  Ah! He clutched his head, letting out a silent scream.

  No wonder he woke up with a inexplicable surge of anger in his chest.

  Now he knew that his anger wasn't because of his loss of virginity, but because even in the hallucinatory world, he wasn't a towering hero, but a meek, little white rabbit?!

  *

  After punching the bed and feeling ashamed for a while, Li Chengshi suddenly realized the seriousness of the problem. He was the one who provided the poisonous mushrooms. If Su Xian learned the truth, would she accuse him of date rape?

  That was a criminal case!

  It would be too unfair if his whole life was ruined by an unintentional mistake.

  Fortunately, the mushroom soup had already been drunk, and the mushrooms he brought back had been completely destroyed—no evidence left.

  Therefore, he must remain calm in front of her and stick to his victim stance.

  **

  Getting out of the taxi, Su Xian went to a pharmacy to buy the morning-after pill, took the medication immediately upon returning home, and then stuffed the clothes she had changed out of into the washing machine. With all the rich food, meat, and alcohol over the past two days, her digestive system needed a break, and she wasn't in the mood to eat anyway. After showering, she sprawled on the sofa, remote in hand, constantly flipping through channels. Her eyes skimmed over the shows, but her mind was filled with the accident of last night, which gradually became clearer.

  *

  After the team-building party, she returned to the villa to wash up and rest, but the post-alcohol excitement kept her awake. Eventually, feeling restless, she went to the terrace to look at the stars.

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  The moon hung low over the sea, and the clear starlight was above her head.

  She sat and rocked in the rocking chair, sipping her lychee sparkling wine. The cool breeze of the summer night permeated the hem of her white silk nightgown—the kind of poetry she wanted.

  After some unknown time, the living room light behind her came on, and the starlight suddenly dimmed. Su Xian propped herself up and looked back. It turned out Li Chengshi had woken up hungry in the middle of the night and was looking for food. He made two bowls of mushroom soup and kindly offered her one. He didn't leave immediately after she finished drinking it, but sat there keeping her company, which was very thoughtful.

  She didn't know if it was her romantic feelings being stirred up by looking at the stars and moon, combined with having drunk a considerable amount of alcohol, but she had a hallucination: she saw the entire sky filled with pink little hearts, and Cupid was holding a bow and arrow, shooting both her and Li Chengshi in the heart.

  So, she pulled Li Chengshi over, pushed his head down, and kissed him.

  She even used the classic line she had used when playing role-playing games with her ex-boyfriend: "Don't resist, or I'll fail your internship."

  Oh my god!

  No wonder Li Chengshi said he was propositioned!

  She was utterly indefensible.

  *

  Taking out a chilled face mask and applying it to cool down her face, Su Xian slowly calmed down.

  She could tell that although Li Chengshi had some resentment, his initiative to ride in her taxi on the way back showed that he wasn't angry enough to call the police. That was good; she didn't want to end up in jail for sleeping with a young man ten years her junior who held no sexual attraction for her. The police would probably laugh at her for being so desperate, right? That would be too humiliating! So the focus now was to stabilize his emotions, wait for him to completely drop the matter, and then quietly find a way to get rid of him.

  **

  In the morning, Su Xian strode into the office, greeting her colleagues with an efficient smile: "Good morning."

  Everyone responded warmly.

  When she reached her Design Team 2 area, she saw a man who was both strange and familiar sitting at her workstation.

  Her heart pounded violently. Why did that scumbag come back?!

  The man heard the footsteps, turned his head, and smiled brightly: "Morning, Ex-Girlfriend."

  Su Xian staggered backward as if she had seen a ghost.

  The man swiftly stood up and held her, saying mockingly, "Are you still this excited to see me?"

  Su Xian shook off his hand, turned back, and shouted, "Engineer Zhang, a lunatic has broken in here!"

  Lao Zhang from the structural department walked over, smiling teasingly. "Su Xian, stop fooling around. Nanfeng brought us a big gift this time."

  *

  "General Manager Liang, I'm not capable; I can't do this job. Please find Engineer Han." Su Xian refused flatly.

  "What, now you admit you're not capable? Now you're willing to actively hand the work over to Design Team 1?" Liang Wenya used provocation. "Are you not going to say 'women can't lose' now?"

  "I was wrong. Women can lose."

  "Stop playing the 'quick to change face' game with me. You must do this job. Zhao Nanfeng specifically requested you to cooperate, otherwise, there's no deal."

  "General Manager Liang, have you forgotten how he treated me back then? Asking me to cooperate with him—does my dignity mean nothing to you?"

  "Nothing."

  "General Manager Liang~, when the company needed him most, he resigned and left, causing us to lose a good project. Now he brings a few things back, and you forgive him so easily—does your dignity mean nothing to you?"

  "The preliminary estimate for this project is 400 million yuan."

  Su Xian's heart fluttered a little.

  "The market hasn't been good these past few years; all we've done are small projects. If you can cooperate with him and land this project for the company, I will immediately reward you 400,000 yuan. The bonus is paid upon signing the contract, and it won't be affected even if we don't get paid later or the project gets shelved."

  "Then sign the Project Bonus Commitment Letter now."

  "I'll have my secretary, Xiao Wei, deliver it to you in 10 minutes."

  "Then you need to hire two more people for me, experienced ones. Li Chengshi can't handle the main responsibilities." She subtly disparaged him in passing.

  "Zhao Nanfeng requires us to establish a 10-person project team. You can choose anyone in the entire company, and hire freelancers if needed."

  *