A L*st at First Sight (Lily Futa) - Chapter 15

In the office, Yu Qianlin thought about what everyone had said. Her fingers tapped on the desk for a while before she finally stood up and walked out.

There was only Xiao C at the front desk. Yu Qianlin looked around. “Where is she?”

“Who? Little Q? She went to the bathroom.”

Yu Qianlin looked at the Xiao C in front of her. The words she had prepared suddenly didn’t know how to come out. After a long pause, she finally managed one sentence: “I haven’t asked yet how you two met.”

“She used to work as a cashier at the supermarket near my house. I fell for her at first sight and pursued her for a long time before she finally agreed to be with me.”

Yu Qianlin touched her nose. “You… you think…” Her fingers tapped rapidly on the desk.

“Master, what’s wrong? Just say it. We’re so close. Actually, I think of you as my older sister. Hehe, don’t be polite with me.”

Yu Qianlin stopped what she was doing and glanced at the entrance to the repair area. “How about this — starting tomorrow, you go help in the back and learn more from everyone. I’ll watch the front with her. It’s better that way, since you two can’t be flirting during work hours anyway.”

Xiao C scratched his head shyly. “Hehe, Master, sorry. We’re in the honeymoon phase and can’t help it. Okay, separating is fine too. We’re still in the same shop anyway.”

“Mm.”

After Little Q came back and learned the news, she sulked for a long time. Xiao C coaxed her for quite a while before she finally calmed down. The two of them whispered beside each other while Yu Qianlin pretended not to see and focused on her work. In the end, Xiao C kissed her on the cheek and happily ran off.

Little Q sauntered over. When she tried to sit down, she discovered her chair was gone. “Where’s my chair?”

“The previous one was too big and took up space, making it inconvenient to move around. This smaller one is fine.” Yu Qianlin was busy with her work and noticed that many files were in a mess. She was frowning as she sorted them. When Little Q asked, she answered casually.

Little Q wanted to say something more, but seeing Yu Qianlin’s intimidating expression, she pouted and didn’t dare speak.

In the following days, Yu Qianlin focused only on work. Apart from assigning her simple tasks like receiving and sending deliveries or delivering tools to the back, she didn’t say a single unnecessary word. Little Q felt like she was being ordered around like a maid. Every day she held in a bellyful of anger. After work, when she returned to Xiao C’s house, she vented all that anger on him.

“Baby, don’t be angry. Master is just very serious and strict at work. She’s actually a very good person.”

“Good my ass! She has a dead-person face every day. Anyone who doesn’t know would think I owe her a lot of money!”

Xiao C sat up straight. “Don’t talk about my Master like that. She’s very good to me and to everyone. You’ll slowly see it.”

“Then you just let her bully me? I’m a girl, yet you make me do the same dirty and tiring work as you smelly men. It’s noisy and hot in the back, and you make me run back and forth all day. It’s been several days already, ordering me around. I’m still wearing high heels! My feet hurt from all the walking.”

Xiao C crawled to the end of the bed and placed her feet on his lap. “It’s okay. I’ll massage them for you.”

Little Q lay on the bed, enjoying his service with peace of mind. After a while, she sighed, “Sigh, if only you could become the store manager. Then she wouldn’t dare give me attitude anymore. At that time, I’d be the one sitting there ordering her around. If I’m not satisfied with one thing, I’d fire her immediately.”

Xiao C laughed. “You’re thinking too much. My Master isn’t just the store manager — she’s our boss. Even if I became the store manager, I’d still have to listen to her.”

Little Q pulled her legs back, sat up in surprise, and asked, “What? Didn’t you say your shop is just a side business of another big company’s boss?”

Xiao C was startled by her reaction. “Yeah. This shop was originally started as a partnership between that boss and my Master. He provided the money, my Master provided the skills. Later when the shop expanded, my Master also put in quite a lot of money. Plus, she handles most of the daily operations. Now she actually owns a bigger share than that boss.”

Little Q suddenly understood. She lay back down, placed her feet on his lap again, and Xiao C obediently continued massaging. Little Q stared thoughtfully at the ceiling, her eyes darting around.

Yu Qianlin didn’t understand why a person could change so much after just one night.

That sentence sounded a little familiar…

A name she had deliberately tried to forget suddenly surfaced in her mind again.

Yu Qianlin spaced out for a while before being interrupted by Little Q’s sweet voice. “Sister Lin, the documents are printed. Here you go!”

Yu Qianlin took them and looked them over. Finding no errors, she gave a soft “Mm” and placed them in the folder. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at Little Q sitting properly. She wondered why the other woman, who had clearly been unwilling about her arrangements yesterday, was not only actively helping with work today but also hadn’t complained at all.

Yu Qianlin only felt puzzled for a moment before letting it go. Maybe the other woman had suddenly come to her senses and decided to work seriously?

The morning passed peacefully. After organizing the front desk, Yu Qianlin went to the changing room. Just as she was taking off her jacket, Little Q also came in.

After that day, Yu Qianlin had still assigned her a locker, but Little Q didn’t like wearing the work uniform because she thought it was ugly, so the locker was basically unused. Yu Qianlin rarely ran into her in the changing room either.

Without thinking much, Yu Qianlin went to the shower stall to change her pants and prepare to leave. Little Q suddenly called out to her.

“Sister Lin,” she said, then gave a shy smile. “I see everyone calls you that. Can I call you that too?”

Yu Qianlin nodded slightly.

“Sister Lin,” Little Q moved closer to her. “I also want to wear the work uniform. Can you find a set for me? Or I can wear yours first.”

Yu Qianlin put her hands in her pockets and glanced at her. “Come to the warehouse this afternoon and look for one.” Then she left.

Little Q stood at the door watching her back and smiled meaningfully.

After lunch, Yu Qianlin took the time to check the warehouse. She only found one new set, but it was medium size. She took it out and had Little Q try it on. When she came out, the jacket was a bit big and the pants were too long.

“Do you need me to order a small size for you?”

“No need, no need,” Little Q rolled up the pants a few times inside, adjusted her clothes, and said happily, “This is fine.”

Xiao C saw her in the uniform and happily came over. “Little Q, you look good in the work uniform too.”

“Of course,” she said proudly, spreading her arms to look at herself. Then she looked up at Yu Qianlin. “Sister Lin, what do you think?”

“Mm.” Yu Qianlin looked at her usual heavy makeup and wanted to say something but held back.

In the afternoon, one car had a rather complicated problem that the employees couldn’t solve, so they came to ask Yu Qianlin for help. She told Little Q to watch the front desk and went to the back. Little Q watched her leave in a hurry, casually tossed the pen aside, leaned back in her chair, and played on her phone, returning to her usual lazy attitude.

Yu Qianlin was busy for several hours. She finally found the problem, gave instructions for the follow-up work, washed her hands, and came out.

Before she even reached the front desk, she heard another commotion. Her heart tightened and she quickened her steps. Sure enough, Little Q was arguing with a customer again. After quickly understanding the whole situation, she told Little Q to go do other tasks and took over the follow-up work herself after apologizing to the customer.

The customer was a regular. Seeing her come over, he gave her face and didn’t pursue it further. After the matter was handled, he kindly offered some advice: “Boss Yu, whoever you hired has a terrible temper. She’s nothing compared to Little Li.”

Yu Qianlin smiled apologetically. “Little Li had a family emergency and took leave. She’s just helping out temporarily. I’ll seriously criticize her afterward. Sorry about that.”

The customer waved his hand. “Don’t be so polite with me. But this is only because we regulars give you face. If it were a first-time customer, they would definitely be driven away by her behavior. For the sake of your business, you really should manage her properly. If it’s really bad, just replace her.”

Yu Qianlin nodded, thanked him again, and saw him out. She let out a heavy breath, returned to the front desk, and saw Little Q coming from the back with an impatient look as she scribbled on the record sheet.

After she finished, Yu Qianlin took the notebook and glanced at it, pointing out a few errors. Little Q casually brushed it off with a few words. Seeing her attitude, Yu Qianlin could no longer hold back and started talking to her seriously.

“We are in the service industry. The customer comes first. You must pay attention to service attitude. Especially the front desk — it’s the customer’s first impression of the shop, so it’s very important.”

Little Q said defiantly, “It was clearly that person just now—”

Yu Qianlin interrupted her. “It’s not just this time. Similar incidents have happened many times before. I’ve already received several complaints in the back. I know exactly what happened. I’m not discussing this with you anymore. Since you’re in this position now, you should meet the requirements of the position.”

Yu Qianlin looked at her increasingly ugly expression and added, “If you can’t do it, I have the right to fire you.”

Little Q opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but finally held it back and reluctantly agreed.

Yu Qianlin stopped looking at her. After working for a while, she suddenly remembered something. “Although the shop doesn’t have strict rules on clothing and appearance, at least your makeup should be appropriate. During work hours, wear the work uniform, don’t leave your post without permission, and don’t be late or leave early.”

Little Q held in her anger and finally pinched the pen in her hand and gave a soft “Mm.”

It was finally time to get off work after enduring the day. Little Q headed straight for the women’s changing room. Yu Qianlin finished her work before going over. When she entered, she saw Little Q sitting on the long bench typing rapidly on her phone. When she saw Yu Qianlin come in, she quickly put her phone away.

Yu Qianlin didn’t pay attention and walked straight to her own locker to unlock it.

Little Q also started undressing slowly beside her. When Yu Qianlin picked up her pants and turned to go to the shower stall, she saw that Little Q’s upper body was only wearing a bra. She quickly looked away and lowered her head as she went in.

When she came out again, her eyes only looked at her own locker. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of white. Pretending not to see it, she folded her dirty work uniform neatly, put it away, and locked the door.

Little Q sat on the chair leisurely putting on her pants. She watched Yu Qianlin walk past her without glancing sideways and smiled smugly.

The next day, Yu Qianlin had just sat at the front desk for a while when Little Q’s angry voice came from the entrance.

“Look at my hair! It’s all blown into a mess!”

Xiao C anxiously tried to smooth it for her but was pushed away. “Sorry, the wind was too strong today. I’ll go buy you a helmet when I get back.”

Little Q took out a mirror from her bag. Seeing her disheveled appearance, she started scolding again. “Look at my makeup — it’s all smudged. Sand kept blowing into my eyes the whole way. It was so uncomfortable!”

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll buy you sunglasses.”

Little Q kicked him. “Buy, buy, buy. That’s all you know how to say. If you had the time, why didn’t you buy a car? I’ve told you so many times, but you always brush it off. You ride that electric scooter every day. My ass hurts from it.”

“Ah, it’s only a ten-minute ride from home to the shop. There’s no need to buy a car…”

“No need?” Little Q instantly exploded. “Look at me right now and you still say there’s no need? When I go out to eat with my friends later and they see me like this, won’t they laugh me to death? Do you still think I’m not embarrassed enough?!”

“But… the cars you liked before were all too expensive.”

“Too expensive? A few days ago my friend’s husband just bought her one. When it comes to you, you say it’s too expensive. Can’t you get a loan? Or do installments? I’ve already suffered so much being with you. When you were chasing me, you said such nice things. Now…”

……

Employees gradually came in through the entrance. Hearing their conversation, they all shook their heads. Some with hot tempers wanted to go over and say something but were pulled back by others.

Xiao C couldn’t keep his face. He pulled her to the side and coaxed her with soft words for a long time before Little Q finally stopped and went to the changing room to tidy up. Xiao C sighed and scratched his head. When he was heading to the men’s changing room, Yu Qianlin called him over.

“You can take my old car.”

Xiao C came back to his senses. “Master, no need. It was just bad weather today with that weird wind. Normally riding the scooter is fine.”

Yu Qianlin saw his dejected look and said tactfully, “At this stage, it’s best not to spend money on unnecessary things.”

Xiao C nodded as if he understood but didn’t really.

Yu Qianlin couldn’t bear to say anything more. In the end, she asked one question: “You two… are you happy right now?”

“Of course I’m happy,” Xiao C said without hesitation. But remembering what had just happened, he defended, “Actually, she’s usually very good to me too. Today it was really my fault for not preparing things properly before leaving. It’s normal for her to be angry.”

Yu Qianlin nodded. “Go get busy.”

“Mm.”

When Little Q came out again, it was already more than an hour into work. Yu Qianlin noticed that her newly reapplied makeup was indeed not as heavy as before. Before she could feel relieved, she saw her top and frowned. “Button up all the way. Pay attention to your appearance.”

Little Q glanced at her own chest nonchalantly and bent down to reach for the cup on her side. “Aiya, I’m not even showing anything. Don’t be so rigid.”

Yu Qianlin saw the cleavage exposed by her movement and scooted her chair backward. “The work uniform is only the outer jacket. It shouldn’t be worn alone.”

Little Q took a sip of water after filling her cup and stared at her. “Wearing two layers is too hot. Your clothes aren’t breathable at all. It’s so uncomfortable.”

Yu Qianlin’s temple throbbed. “The lobby air conditioning is on full blast. Button up your clothes properly, or don’t come out.”

Little Q saw that her expression had turned very bad and decided to stop while she was ahead. “Fine, fine. Why so fierce? I’ll button up.”

Yu Qianlin thought the matter was over, but it was only the beginning.

First it was deliberately leaning into her while reaching for things, then her foot “accidentally” brushing against her leg. In the changing room, while changing clothes, she asked why Yu Qianlin didn’t dare look at her.

Yu Qianlin suddenly thought of a certain figure she had deliberately tried to forget. She shook her head, thinking she was overthinking it, and said coldly, “Don’t be late for work in the afternoon.”

Little Q got angry at her answer and rolled her eyes. With only her bra on her upper body, she stood up directly, leaned against the locker, and looked at her with seductive eyes. “Sister Lin, I need a lunch break. If I oversleep, you have to remember to come wake me up, okay?”

Yu Qianlin locked her locker, put the dirty clothes in the washing machine and started the cycle, then walked out from the other side of the chair without looking sideways.

Before leaving, she added, “Being late means a deduction.”

Little Q stomped her foot and snorted.

In the afternoon, some people went out on jobs and the back was short-handed. Yu Qianlin told Little Q to watch the front desk. Later, not feeling at ease, she called Xiao C over to watch her too.

Before long, Little Q followed over. “Sister Lin, are you tired? You’re sweating. Let me wipe it for you.”

Yu Qianlin blocked her hand and looked toward the front desk. “What are you doing here? Go back to your own spot.”

Little Q made a sound of annoyance and circled to the other side. “There’s someone watching the front. No one’s coming right now. I’m so bored. Let me help you.”

“No need. Go back quickly.” Yu Qianlin buried herself in work and ignored her.

Little Q chattered nonstop beside her, turning here and there. Yu Qianlin pretended not to see her at all. While waiting for the oil to drain, Little Q came over again wanting to wipe her sweat. Yu Qianlin could no longer endure it and directly grabbed her wrist. “What exactly do you want? Don’t think that because you’re Xiao C’s girlfriend I won’t dare do anything to you. Stop pestering me.”

Little Q twisted her wrist in pain. “Sister Lin, you’re hurting me.”

Yu Qianlin flung her hand away and moved to the other side, no longer paying attention to her.

Little Q looked at the dirty smudge on her wrist and angrily held it up for her to see. “Look at what you did. You got me all dirty!”

Yu Qianlin listened to her words full of sexual innuendo, frowned with a headache, glanced at the time, and went to another bay to help the others.

Little Q watched her somewhat helpless back and sneered.

In the women’s changing room, Yu Qianlin had just come out after showering when Little Q pushed the door open and came in. Seeing her drying her hair, Little Q rushed in and snatched the towel. “Sister Lin, let me help you dry it!”

Yu Qianlin stepped back a few paces, pulled her hair behind her head, and asked while suppressing her anger, “No need. What exactly do you want?”

Little Q stepped forward with the towel, her face full of sincerity. “Sister Lin, I like you!”

♀♀♀♀♀♀♀♀♀♀♀♀♀♀♀♀

Why do I get way more comments when I write these frustrating plots than when I write sweet push-and-pull scenes!

I’m about to throw a tantrum!

Is it because I didn’t update for the past two days?

I was worried the conflict wasn’t intense enough, so I kept revising these chapters. But you guys got so angry at the previous chapter already… (you got angry too early)

But the sweet parts were also carefully designed by me [crying]

Can I really not write sweet stories?

Liu Yuelan (resting chin on hand): Watching the show…