Chu Ge originally wanted to leave the supermarket right after paying for the cigarettes, but to his annoyance, the cashier was a man who immediately lit up upon seeing Tong Yaqi. Although Chu Ge was the first to ask to check out, the cashier processed Tong Yaqi's payment for sanitary pads first, and then attended to him.

Tong Yaqi put the sanitary pads in her bag but didn't leave immediately. She waited until Chu Ge finished paying and then walked out of the supermarket with him.

"Chu Ge, when we have a break on Sunday, I'd like to treat you to dinner," Tong Yaqi whispered as they stepped out of the supermarket.

"Uh, that's not necessary, right?"

"No way, if I don't treat you to this meal, I won't feel at ease."

After saying this, Tong Yaqi slightly quickened her pace, distancing herself from Chu Ge. After all, they were near the company, and there were many people who knew her. If someone saw her with Chu Ge, even if they didn't think they've had a relationship, they might still have other ideas.

And indeed, although she was subtle while speaking to Chu Ge, Ji Songtao happened to see them from a distance. If he had any doubts before about Chu Ge and Tong Yaqi having a relationship, now those doubts were completely erased.

Watching Tong Yaqi and Chu Ge from afar, Ji Songtao silently congratulated himself, grateful for never having played any tricks with Chu Ge; it seemed he was quite wise.

Looking at Tong Yaqi's back, Chu Ge felt a bit speechless. But then he thought, it's just a meal, maybe she genuinely wants to wrap up this matter and has no other intentions.

After all, in the company he was just a small employee, while Tong Yaqi was an Executive Director. The chances of her really having any interest in him were practically zero.

With such thoughts, Chu Ge felt at ease.

Arriving at the office, Chu Ge found that the area around his desk was once again cleaned, and he knew it had to be the work of Lu Gang. Though it left him speechless, since Lu Gang was willing, he didn't say much.

He opened his satchel, placed his phone, cigarettes, and lighter on the desk, and took out the dried fruits given by Chu Shiyao. He invited everyone to share the snacks with him.

For girls, snacks are quite tempting, especially expensive ones like dried fruits. Sharing a bag of dried fruits seemingly brought Chu Ge closer to his colleagues.

A little past nine, Ji Songtao emerged from his minister's office to hold a small meeting, saying that they received a temporary notice; the city's broadcasting leadership might visit this afternoon. He asked everyone to put aside their current tasks and thoroughly clean the office, ensuring that everyone is alert—in case the broadcasting leaders arrive, they must not slip up.

Finally, Ji Songtao turned his gaze to Chu Ge and said, "Chu Ge, I have to go out for a bit, please take care of things in the office."

Clearly, Ji Songtao implied, "While I'm away, you're the boss here. Just direct things, no need to dirty your hands."

If it had been someone else, perhaps not everyone would comply, but when Ji Songtao assigned Chu Ge to oversee, there were no objections.

In just the short span of two days, due to the incident with Mo Xiaoran inspecting the warehouse, Chu Ge had gained the goodwill and respect of everyone in the office. Even Lu Gang, who had initially disliked him, was now genuinely convinced.

After Ji Songtao left the office, Feifei jokingly leaned over, "Vice Minister Chu, please issue your orders?"

Other girls laughed along, even the shy Mo Xiaoran was covering her mouth, chuckling.

Chu Ge felt awkward, "I say, Feifei, don't randomly give titles like that, there's no Vice Minister here in our office. If these words reach other leaders' ears, it won't be good for me."

"I say, Vice Minister Chu, don't be modest. Rest assured, under your wise and mighty leadership, we assure you of our unwavering support for your directives. We'll unite as one, overcome difficulties, never tarnish the reputation of our Operation Management Department, and actively contribute to its glory. Before you, we are bricks, wherever needed, we shall move!"

Initially, Feifei pretended to be serious, but as she spoke, she burst into laughter, and the other girls smiled even brighter.

Seeing the genuine laughter on the girls' faces, feeling the relaxed and joyful environment in the office, Chu Ge couldn't help being in a good mood. Unexpectedly, in just two days, he had fully integrated into this circle, gaining everyone's recognition.

So, Chu Ge cleared his throat and said in a serious tone, "Ahem, comrades, I now announce..."

Facing the smiling eyes, Chu Ge deliberately paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Let's start!"

Feifei rolled her eyes helplessly, "Ugh, Vice Minister Chu, you've been preparing for half a day, and that's all you came up with? It's over? Have you seen any leader who talks like you?"

Chu Ge laughed, "Alright, don't make a fuss, I was never cut out to be a leader. Feifei, you take charge of this. I have no other demands, the tough, dirty, heavy work can be assigned to me and Lu Gang."

Having said this, Chu Ge turned to Lu Gang and smiled, "Lu Gang, I'm speaking on your behalf, any objections?"

Upon hearing Chu Ge still address him as a "senior," Lu Gang quickly nodded in delight, overwhelmed. Without knowing what he was thinking, his voice altered slightly as he said, "I, I accept!"

A girl who was drinking water heard the "As you wish" and sprayed it out on the spot, causing the entire office to burst into laughter.

Just as everyone was happily laughing, the door was suddenly pushed open, and Tong Yaqi stood at the entrance, frowned, and looked inside.

The laughter in the entire office came to an abrupt stop, and Tong Yaqi's strong presence instantly permeated the room.

"Be mindful of the impact; it's working hours."

Unexpectedly to everyone, Tong Yaqi just said this and then closed the door.

Everyone's gaze unanimously returned to Chu Ge, obviously attributing Tong Yaqi's lack of harsh criticism to Chu Ge.

Chu Ge was speechless, but couldn't explain anything, so he smiled wryly, touched his nose, took a broom, and started sweeping.

Seeing Chu Ge begin to work, others stopped playing around, each picked up a tool, and started working as well.

As the saying goes, a man and a woman working together make light work; working with one girl is already nice, but with six girls—say no more.

As a girl wiped the table, she curiously asked Chu Ge, "Vice Minister Chu, where did you work before coming to our Operation Management Department?"

"Oh, before, I was just a freelancer. Near New Year's, I'd sell firecrackers; around Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncakes; and during Dragon Boat Festival, rice dumplings—just messing about. Just call me Chu Ge; don't call me Vice Minister Chu."

Chu Ge broke out in a sweat; these girls called him "Vice Minister Chu" so smoothly? If they kept calling him that, they'd really get used to it, and if someone else heard, it wouldn't be good.

Thinking this, Chu Ge tried to correct the girl, but she just smiled. Seeing Chu Ge's helpless expression, she said, "Don't worry, Vice Minister Chu, I'll only call you that when it's just us at the office; outside, I'll just use your name."

What seemed like a boring task became interesting amid the whispered laughter.

In less than an hour, the office, which wasn't dirty to begin with, became even more spotless. Even in the corners, you couldn't find any dust.

Looking at the freshly cleaned office, everyone was clearly in a good mood, returning to their seats and chatting quietly.

Seeing that there's nothing else to do, Chu Ge picked up the mop and went to the bathroom to wash it; Lu Gang saw Chu Ge leave and quickly followed.

Mo Xiaoran returned to her chair, raised her hand to wipe the sweat gently seeping from her forehead, and caught sight of a small spider web left in an inconspicuous spot on the ceiling.

While everywhere else was clean, that originally subtle spider web just seemed awkward no matter how she looked at it.

Although she was quite tired after working for so long, she still stood up, picked up a cloth, and headed towards the table underneath that spider web.

"Xiaoran, the work's done. What are you doing with the cloth?" Feifei asked curiously as she saw Mo Xiaoran leave her seat with a cloth.

"Oh, there's a spider web in that spot. I'm going to wipe it away," Mo Xiaoran pointed to the corner of the ceiling.

Feifei glanced towards where Mo Xiaoran pointed and said, "Oy, it's such an inconspicuous spot. Why bother with it? Also, if it really bothers you, wait until Lu Gang comes back and let him clean it; he's so tall, who else would you let do it?"

Mo Xiaoran smiled and shook her head, "Lu Gang worked quite hard earlier and is pretty tired, so it's just a small job. Let's not trouble him."

Feifei chuckled and shook her head, "You're too kind-hearted! If you felt sorry for Chu Ge, that would make more sense, but why pity Lu Gang?"

Mo Xiaoran blushed but said no more, placed a newspaper on the table, and also placed a chair on top of the table.

The spot was quite high, so even though Mo Xiaoran was the tallest among the girls, she still needed to stand on the table and step on the chair to reach it.

Seeing Mo Xiaoran insist on wiping it, Feifei chuckled and grumbled a bit, then stood up and went over to help hold the chair steady.

"Be careful, I'll hold it for you."

Mo Xiaoran nodded, said "Thank you," then stepped up onto the table and onto the chair.

However, no one noticed a large black spider hidden in that corner.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.