Seducing and Flirting with Boss O While Stockpiling in the Apocalypse (GL) - Chapter 7

Nan Shuwan felt unusually constrained sitting on the sofa. Reviewing the situation, she felt perhaps she had been too abrupt today. While Luo Sheng was in the bedroom, she took a moment to observe the layout of the room.

The overall space was large, with excellent natural light and views. However, she wondered why the walls were being fitted with insulating wallpaper?

In this kind of weather, it didn’t seem necessary. Nan Shuwan then glanced at the newly installed glass windows, which looked very thick. A strange feeling crept into her heart—this person’s renovation style looked like she was building some kind of sealed fortress…

She leaned back against the sofa, her weary waist aching. Half-closing her eyes, she decided to rest for a moment. Her mind felt foggy, and the air conditioning was so comfortable she felt she could fall asleep soon.

“You can apply it yourself.”

A voice as clear as jade suddenly cut through her drowsiness. Nan Shuwan slowly opened her eyes and saw Luo Sheng holding a tube of ointment, waving it in front of her. Then she heard her add, “This is medicine for blood circulation and bruising. It works quite well. The cotton swabs are on the table.”

Luo Sheng had spent a long time rummaging in the bedroom. She remembered bringing this kind of ointment with her when she moved. She finally found the tube in the bottom layer of a drawer.

“Okay, thank you.”

Nan Shuwan took the ointment, propped herself up, and sat up. Without any self-consciousness, she lifted her skirt in front of Luo Sheng, revealing her injured ankle.

The typically fair skin was covered in red and purple bruising. Nan Shuwan pulled out two cotton swabs, squeezed on some ointment, and evenly applied it to the injury. There was a slight stinging sensation, and she let out a quiet “hiss.” After applying it, she threw the cotton swabs into the trash.

Luo Sheng sat down at the dining table and said to the person on the sofa, “Whatever you want to discuss can wait until after I finish dinner.”

After a short rest, Nan Shuwan felt much more energetic, and the stomach pain had subsided.

The food smelled delicious. Nan Shuwan, who had also been hungry all day, had her craving instantly triggered. She couldn’t help but steal glances at the table, but she was too embarrassed to say anything. She had finally gotten Luo Sheng to agree to talk about the project; she couldn’t possibly tack on a meal, too, could she?

Luo Sheng, eating her dinner, felt a burning gaze on her back. She couldn’t resist turning her head and, sure enough, met Nan Shuwan’s eager, wide-eyed look.

Caught red-handed, Nan Shuwan immediately shifted her gaze away, but her stomach betrayed her, making several loud “grumbling” noises. The massive signal of hunger was extremely audible in the quiet, empty living room.

She awkwardly half-covered her face, never feeling more humiliated than she did today.

Since the cat was already out of the bag, Nan Shuwan decided not to hide it anymore and stated frankly, “Actually, I haven’t had dinner yet either. If you don’t mind, I’ll order some takeout.”

Luo Sheng was silent for a moment, then went directly to the cabinet and took out an extra set of bowls and chopsticks. Sitting back down, she looked at Nan Shuwan. “Eat together.”

Nan Shuwan blinked a few times. She neither refused nor accepted but honestly scooted closer to the dining table. After sitting down opposite Luo Sheng, she picked up her chopsticks and even added, “I’ll pay you back later.”

That was too polite. Anyone who didn’t know would think Luo Sheng was incredibly stingy. Luo Sheng chewed her rice and replied flatly, “No need.”

Nan Shuwan didn’t maintain her composure any longer. Starving, she grabbed a large piece of fried hairtail fish. Biting into it, her mouth filled with a crispy aroma. The marinated flavor and oiliness largely satisfied her taste buds, especially the crunchy texture, making it hard to stop eating.

After eating two pieces, she picked up a few slices of fried potatoes. The minimal seasoning further enhanced the food’s natural flavor. She mashed the slightly charred potatoes with her chopsticks and mixed them into the white rice—it was incredibly appetizing!

She hadn’t expected this person to be such a good cook?

Nan Shuwan ate mouthfuls of food and rice. In no time, a bowl of white rice was gone. She felt a craving for more and was contemplating a second bowl when she noticed Luo Sheng looking at her with an indescribable expression.

“What, is there something on my face?” Nan Shuwan asked while touching her cheek.

Luo Sheng immediately lowered her head. “Nothing. I’ll get you another bowl.”

Seeing Nan Shuwan eating so openly, Luo Sheng couldn’t help but be a little surprised. She had seen a completely different side of Director Nan today than the one in the office. Normally, she felt Nan Shuwan was lofty and cold-hearted, but in private, she was unexpectedly down-to-earth.

She even narrowed her eyes in bliss when eating something tasty, like a satisfied fox with its tail raised after stealing a piece of meat.

When the second bowl of rice was served, Nan Shuwan belatedly realized that her eating behavior might have been a bit too exaggerated.

But Director Nan didn’t care about such things. It was only natural for a hungry person to eat. She said thank you and continued to devour the remaining dishes. Only after she was full, her stomach slightly bloated, did she feel truly alive again.

She wanted to help Luo Sheng wash the dishes, but after being strongly refused, Nan Shuwan went back to the sofa. She quietly waited for Luo Sheng to finish before thinking about how to bring up the matter of President Liu.

Luo Sheng dried her hands with a towel and brought a cup of ginger and brown sugar water with her. She sat down and directly handed it to Nan Shuwan, who looked slightly confused, as if she didn’t quite understand.

“You have a stomach ache, don’t you? You can drink some of this.” Luo Sheng’s tone was flat, without much inflection.

Nan Shuwan hesitated for a moment. Her eyebrows slightly raised, and she even felt a sense of being honored. This person could be aloof and push people away, yet underneath her cold exterior, she was unexpectedly thoughtful. No wonder she was the top performer in the department—her attention to detail was certainly on point.

She took the steaming ginger and sugar water and took a few small sips. The hot liquid warmed her stomach, and the initial bad impression of Luo Sheng slightly improved.

It was quite late now, and Nan Shuwan didn’t want to drag things out. Seeing that both of them were seated, she spoke candidly, “Luo Sheng, you know I’m looking for you because of the client. You remember Liu Xue, right? He’s the person in charge of a major project the company is currently negotiating, and he’s a big client of yours. I hope you can come back and help facilitate the collaboration.”

Luo Sheng’s expression was neutral. “I apologize, but my decision to resign is final. I will not be coming back.”

Nan Shuwan was completely baffled. “Why? Your performance in the company is excellent, and you have a lot of room for future development. If you’re not satisfied with the commission, I guarantee you, if you come back to help, your salary will double, and you’ll get a thirty percent commission. How about that?”

Luo Sheng remained silent.

Seeing this, Nan Shuwan continued to raise the stakes. “Then how about triple the salary and five…”

“Director Nan, it’s not about the money.” Luo Sheng interrupted suddenly, her tone still firm. “This is due to force majeure. In any case, please leave.”

Hearing the person’s hard-line attitude, Nan Shuwan suddenly felt a sense of defeat. She had talked endlessly, but not only did she fail to sway the other person, but Luo Sheng didn’t even relax her expression. And what did “force majeure” even mean?

She didn’t even give a proper reason for refusing, just confusing, vague words. She believed that the conditions she offered would tempt anyone working alone in a big city, so why was this happening?

Having been rebuffed by Luo Sheng multiple times, Nan Shuwan was so frustrated that she didn’t know what to say for a moment. She knew she definitely wouldn’t be able to persuade this person today.

She remembered her appointment with Liu Xue was next week, so she still had a few days to find a solution. She wouldn’t give up on persuading Luo Sheng immediately, but she wouldn’t rely solely on her either. A backup plan was necessary; she couldn’t leave herself without options.

This was a habit Nan Shuwan had developed from years of working—if Plan A failed, there was always Plan B to fall back on. She didn’t want anything to go wrong, no matter what she was doing.

Since that was the case, Nan Shuwan didn’t want to keep bothering Luo Sheng. It was getting late, so she said no more, offered a simple goodbye, and prepared to leave. However, before she walked out the door, Luo Sheng suddenly asked her, “Director Nan, does everyone at the company know my new address?”

That tone of suspicion made Nan Shuwan uncomfortable. Why did this person always treat her like a villain? She replied with a distinct coldness, “Believe it or not, my finding this place today was purely by chance, and I have not disclosed your address to anyone.” With that, she left.

Soon, the house returned to silence.

Luo Sheng felt much more relaxed because of Nan Shuwan’s last words. She had already showered in the space before coming home, which saved her some time. Luo Sheng simply washed her face and mouth, then lay down on the bed, exhausted, and fell asleep.

…

The next day, the workers all arrived on time and began another day of hard installation work.

Luo Sheng went to a more distant coal factory this time. In the later stages of the apocalypse, all households would definitely lose water and electricity. Although she had installed insulating wallpaper at home, its effect would likely be minimal in that extreme weather, so tools for heating were also incredibly important.

Therefore, Luo Sheng directly contacted a manufacturer and bought one ton of smokeless coal. It was transported in batches to the abandoned factory she had rented. She then purchased hundreds of smokeless coal stoves. She bought a large quantity and paid for it all at once, so the factory owner readily gave Luo Sheng an eighty percent discount, which saved a considerable amount of money.

Small mountains of coal quickly piled up in the abandoned factory. To save space, Luo Sheng transferred some of the inflatable rafts and coal stoves into the space ring she wore.

The labor costs for transportation, plus the money spent on buying supplies, amounted to another couple of hundred thousand yuan. Furthermore, the temperature today was even hotter than the previous days. Luo Sheng’s phone also received a high-temperature warning: “It is expected that the maximum temperature in most areas of our city today will reach above 40°C. Please take precautions against heatstroke and cool down…”

With temperatures exceeding forty degrees, regular companies would offer high-temperature subsidies, but companies that were unwilling to pay would just grant a few days off, advising employees to take precautions against the heat. Luo Sheng’s company belonged to the latter.

Luo Sheng wiped the sweat off her face and retreated to her air-conditioned car to cool down. She thought: It seems like many places will start granting days off in the next few days.