The Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Alpha Decides to Go On Strike (GL) - Chapter 6

Su Li put away her phone and returned the way she came, and Chen Yue and her group, who had been eavesdropping around the corner, also prepared to retreat.

Having squatted for too long, Lu Lu’s legs were numb. She twisted her ankle when she stood up and fell right onto her backside in the main walkway: “Ouch! Ouch, ouch, ouch!!!”

As she stood up, rubbing her waist, she unexpectedly met eyes with the sullen-faced Fang Huo.

“Heh, heh-heh,” Lu Lu was quick-witted for once. “Shh, good buddy, don’t say you saw me, okay?” With that, she immediately took off.

After getting away from that corner, Chen Yue immediately rushed over to Su Li.

“Who was that? Who were you video-calling with?”

Su Li held up her phone, and Shen Mo’s face flashed across the screen.

“Holy cow!” Chen Yue’s throat choked up. “Where did this great beauty come from?”

Su Li glanced at her: “That’s President Shen of the S.G. Group.” Then, she leaned into Chen Yue’s ear: “My biggest potential client recently.”

Chen Yue realized, and quickly adjusted her expression.

She greeted the camera: “Hello, President Shen~ Please feel free to come to the bar for a casual meal sometime~”

Su Li felt a little awkward.

She didn’t think she and Shen Mo were close enough to be casually inviting each other to dinner, so she quickly gave Shen Mo an out: “President Shen is very busy, she might not have time.”

The moment she finished speaking, she heard Shen Mo on the screen say: “Okay.”

Her good intentions seemed to have resulted in an awkward situation, and Su Li’s cheeks immediately flushed.

Chen Yue nudged Su Li with her elbow: “President Shen is young and promising, and surprisingly down-to-earth.

“You’ll have to take good care of our Su Li.”

To her surprise, Shen Mo actually nodded: “I will.”

Her friends let out well-meaning cheers and jeers, and Su Li’s entire face had turned beet red.

She opened her mouth to say something, but unfortunately, Shen Mo’s secretary suddenly entered the frame, leaned down, and whispered something in Shen Mo’s ear. Shen Mo nodded after listening, picked up her phone, said goodbye to Su Li, and then ended the video call.

Lu Lu was a step behind them. By the time she returned to the table, rubbing her backside, everyone was already seated.

She didn’t have time to complain about her friends’ disloyalty, raising her eyes to see Su Li’s monkey-butt-red face: “What’s going on?”

Chen Yue casually teased: “Su Li was video-calling with a great beauty and was so flushed and excited by her.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Su Li argued. “I was anxious, afraid you guys would be rude and offend President Shen.”

No one took her seriously. Lu Lu sat on the cushion: “We just dealt with one Qiao Mumu, and now another little temptress has popped up? When will our Su Li’s path of being a sycophant ever end?”

Chen Yue pushed her: “Don’t compare that ridiculous Qiao Mumu with President Shen.” She cupped her face: “Tsk, tsk, tsk. If I had the chance, I’d want to be President Shen’s sycophant too!”

Su Li subconsciously nodded.

A friend beside her widened her eyes: “Why are you nodding?”

“Huh?” Su Li was dizzy. “Me?” She countered, “Did I nod?”

“You practically broke your neck nodding,” the friend laughed and collapsed onto the sofa. “What do you mean by that? Do you think being a sycophant is glorious?”

Su Li lifted her chin: “Shen Mo and I are business partners—ahem—we haven’t even confirmed the cooperation yet. Stop making up stories.”

She spoke with an air of righteous formality, but the blush on her face had already spread to her earlobes.

If it were pursuing Shen Mo…

The next moment, Su Li vigorously shook her head, forcing the inappropriate thought out of her mind.

After the gathering ended, Su Li called a designated driver to take her home.

She quickly washed up and started working—in the past, she was so crazily in love with Qiao Mumu that she wouldn’t let her do much work, instead taking it all upon herself to secretly work overtime at home. The only reason she gave Qiao Mumu the promotional document for Shen Mo was because she wanted her to achieve some significant results to enhance her resume.

It was nearly midnight when she closed her laptop. Su Li rubbed her temples and instinctively picked up her phone to open the communication app.

Suddenly, her finger hovered in the air.

Just one second more, and she would have sent the word “Goodnight” to Qiao Mumu in the dialogue box.

Habit was truly terrifying. Su Li steadied herself, pressed the delete button, and removed the text.

She scrolled up the conversation interface, which was densely packed with her own attempts to show affection to Qiao Mumu.

【Do you want breakfast? I brought your favorite seafood congee. You can come to my office to have it.】

【Don’t go to the cafeteria for lunch. I’ll take you to check out the new restaurant nearby.】

【Goodnight, you worked hard today. Get some rest early.】

【…】

Qiao Mumu’s attitude was cold. Recently, she would only reply with a [1] when she received a message.

Su Li smiled as she scrolled.

She felt a strong sense of detachment, as if she were reading someone else’s sycophant diary, completely unrelated to herself.

“Beep-beep—” Her phone vibrated lightly; it was a message from a specially designated contact.

Su Li exited the interface and saw a small red dot appear on the dialogue box labeled “Shen Mo.”

She was slightly surprised but clicked into it immediately.

【It must be late night in your country. Are you asleep?】

Su Li quickly sat up straight, even smoothing out the wrinkles on her clothes.

Even though Shen Mo couldn’t see anything, she was somehow inexplicably concerned about her appearance every time she faced her.

【Not yet. Is there anything you need, President Shen?】

Shen Mo sent a video call invitation.

Su Li’s eyes widened.

She couldn’t sit still anymore. The ringing urged her on. She only had time to take out her hair clip, letting her long hair fall loose. After slightly tidying her bangs, Su Li carefully pressed the connect button.

Shen Mo was sitting in a car.

“Nothing,” she glanced at Su Li, then suddenly looked away, revealing the pale pink side of her neck. “I just realized I should say ‘goodnight’ to you.”

Su Li blinked.

Shen Mo was saying goodnight to her?

Her brain felt a bit slow, and she responded instinctively: “Y-You should also get some rest early.”

Shen Mo: “I’ll be at the hotel in half an hour.”

Su Li nodded.

She didn’t know what to say, and the atmosphere suddenly became dull.

“Oh, right,” Shen Mo broke the deadlock, “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Su Li immediately perked up—she knew there must be something important for Shen Mo to call her late at night! How could a busy person like President Shen, who juggled several small objectives a minute, call her just to say goodnight!

“Go ahead,” she even opened her laptop again.

Shen Mo: “Don’t call me ‘President Shen’ anymore.”

Su Li’s hand on the keyboard paused: “Huh?”

She rubbed her temples, lamenting that she was so tired she was hearing things. She said sheepishly, “President Shen, what did you say just now?”

“Don’t call me President Shen,” Shen Mo’s voice was rich as wine, carrying a strangely intoxicating charm. “Use a… more casual form of address.”

Su Li half-covered her lips with her hand.

Feeling the temperature on her face slowly rising, she thought for a moment and asked: “What should I change it to?”

Shen Mo: “Just call me by my name?”

Su Li held the two words “Shen Mo” on her tongue, licking and rotating them several times, finally letting out a whisper that even she couldn’t hear: “Shen Mo…”

Shen Mo only saw her lips moving: “Hmm?”

“President Shen…” Su Li tried to resist. “Calling you by your name feels a bit unfamiliar.”

Shen Mo was puzzled: “Unfamiliar?”

Her slender finger tapped her cheek: “I’m three years older than you. Should you call me ‘Sister’?”

“Bang clang—”

Shen Mo stared in surprise at the black screen.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Su Li clumsily retrieved her phone, checking urgently that the video hadn’t disconnected before patting her chest in relief.

She explained: “My hand slipped just now, and the phone fell.”

Shen Mo nodded, then asked: “Why is the camera pointed at the carpet?”

“I, I…” Su Li tried to keep her voice steady. “I’m too sleepy. I want to go to bed.”

“Mhm,” Shen Mo said considerately. “You should rest.”

“Okay.” Su Li waited and waited but didn’t hear the disconnect tone for a long time.

Finally, she couldn’t help it and looked at her phone, meeting Shen Mo’s brightly shining eyes on the other end.

She closed her eyes, quickly pressed the disconnect button, threw her phone aside, and rushed into the bathroom.

She splashed several handfuls of cold water onto her face, but when she looked up at the mirror, Su Li could still see her face, red like a sunset.

Her heart was still pounding fiercely. She pressed her chest, feeling flustered and embarrassed: “Why are you so excited? What’s wrong with ‘Sister’? She, she…”

In the mirror, the corner of Su Li’s mouth involuntarily curled up.

She froze for a moment, then plunged her head entirely into the sink filled with water.

“Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—”

Back in the bedroom, Su Li was much calmer.

She got into bed, ready to sleep, when she noticed an unread message on her phone and picked it up to check.

Shen Mo: 【Goodnight.】

Shen Mo: 【Sweet sleeping cat.jpg】

Su Li pressed her lips together, turned off the screen, and closed her eyes.

2:00 AM.

【Goodnight.】【Sweet sleeping cat.jpg】

“Have mercy on me!” Su Li wailed, putting down her phone for the nth time.

She closed her eyes, and Shen Mo’s unreasonably beautiful face appeared in her mind again.

Su Li barely managed to fall asleep sometime after two. In her dream, Shen Mo was disheveled, smiling charmingly, and teasing her to call her “Sister.”

Su Li couldn’t wake up from her erotic dream and was late the next day, earning eight hundred side-eyes from her father at the morning meeting.