Chapter 11 – The Little Pinecone Working Hard at “Overtime”

When the afternoon tea arrived, Xu Mengyan—the department’s gofer—was responsible for distributing it. Therefore, no one noticed the extra order.

Once everyone became absorbed in eating, Xu Mengyan pretended to carry a document and used it to conceal the savory waffle. She knocked on Director Bai’s office door, hurried inside after receiving permission, and immediately closed the door behind her.

She took quick little steps toward the desk and placed the waffle beside Bai Jingbing’s hand.

“Director Bai, I ordered a waffle for you. It isn’t sweet—it’s savory.”

Bai Jingbing stopped drawing and glanced at the beautifully presented waffle.

“Didn’t I tell Su Quanfeng that I wasn’t eating?”

“I… I noticed you didn’t eat much at lunch either. If you don’t want it, I’ll take it outside.”

Xu Mengyan awkwardly scratched her nose and reached for the waffle.

Her hand was lightly slapped away.

She drew it back with a pained sound and stared at Director Bai in confusion, her large, moist eyes as innocent as a young deer’s.

“Let me ask you something. Did you order this especially for me even though you knew I said I wasn’t eating?”

Dark clouds, thunder, and lightning had continued gathering [stolen content]above the iceberg all afternoon. Now, the drifting fragrance of pinecones scattered some of the gloom and revealed a trace of gentle sunlight.

Bai Jingbing’s gloomy mood improved slightly.

“Mmm… I suppose so…”

Xu Mengyan suddenly realized that secretly ordering afternoon tea for her superior might resemble an attempt to seduce her.

She had not noticed anything strange earlier, but now that Bai Jingbing had pointed it out, her face immediately grew several degrees warmer.

The pinecone fragrance blew even harder and chased away the remaining bad weather above the iceberg.

A rare trace of softness appeared on Bai Jingbing’s face. She smiled gently and pulled the waffle toward herself, guarding it as though afraid the little pinecone might take it away.

“At least you possess a little conscience. I forgive you. If there’s nothing else, leave. Don’t run away after work—wait for me.”

Displaying the great Director Bai’s magnanimity, she waved her hand like an ancient emperor dismissing her subjects.

Xu Mengyan returned to her desk in bewilderment and opened her mille crêpe cake. She cut off a small piece and placed it in her mouth.

Forgive her?

When had she offended Director Bai?

Even more absurdly, she did not know what crime she had committed, yet a single waffle had earned the great Director Bai’s forgiveness.

At precisely six o’clock, the department’s gofer—normally the first person to turn off her computer, gather her belongings, and leave—was unusually still sitting at her desk.

She slowly touched a document here and fiddled with her computer there. Her abnormal behavior confused the others, who normally followed her example and rushed home particularly quickly every Friday.

“Xiao Xu, are you staying to work overtime? It’s Friday!”

Even department manager Su Quanfeng intended to leave on time. He had arranged to have dinner and watch a movie with his partner.

“The cake was so delicious that I took my time savoring every bite, so I still have a little data entry to finish. I’m almost done—probably another ten minutes. You and everyone else can leave first, Brother Feng. Have a wonderful weekend!”

Pretending to remain calm, Xu Mengyan gave the colleagues gathered around her desk a sweet smile.

Those who had ordered cakes from the same shop understood completely.

The cakes tasted exceptionally refined. Each tiny slice cost more than a hundred yuan! None of them knew when Director Bai might treat them to afternoon tea again, so they had eaten slowly and treasured every bite.

They assumed Xiao Xu had cherished hers even more and therefore taken longer to finish it.

After all, she earned the lowest salary in the entire department. She normally could not bear to purchase a slice of cake costing over a hundred yuan.

Once the department was completely empty, Xu Mengyan exhaled in relief. She swiftly locked the documents inside her drawer and shut down her computer.

She had finished all her work half an hour before the end of her shift.

As an ordinary worker, even Xu Mengyan could hardly believe the thought that appeared in her mind:

Pretending to be busy is surprisingly exhausting.

As for the great Director Bai inside her office, she did not need to pretend.

She remained genuinely busy until the alarm she had set rang at 6:15. Only then did she stop.

Bai Jingbing carefully tidied her desk, as was her habit. Organizing everything took another ten minutes. She then carried her cropped jacket and handbag outside.

The first sight that greeted her was the little pinecone obediently sitting at her desk and scrolling through her phone while waiting.

Excellent.

The little pinecone might lack Omega virtue, but at least she listened to Bai Jingbing.

“Little Pinecone, I’m taking you to dinner.”

“Oh.”

Xu Mengyan picked up her handbag and hurried after Director Bai, whose long strides had already carried her some distance ahead.

After climbing into the car and fastening her seat belt, Xu Mengyan finally collected herself enough to ask timidly, “Where unauthorized copyare we eating? Is it far away?”

Internally, she added that she needed to return home early and finish her commissions.

“We’re having Japanese food. A friend recently opened a restaurant and has repeatedly asked me to sample the menu, but I’ve never had time. Since you’re here, I’ll bring you along. I’m indifferent toward Japanese cuisine, so I can’t tell whether it’s particularly good.”

Bai Jingbing started the engine. Her movements were clean and efficient, without any unnecessary, affected swagger.

The last time she rode in Director Bai’s car, Xu Mengyan had already thought that her superior looked exceptionally attractive while driving.

How did that saying go again?

An Alpha was most captivating when driving seriously.

Xu Mengyan studied Bai Jingbing’s beautiful profile. Without realizing it, her gaze traveled down the Alpha’s arm and settled on the hands gripping the steering wheel.

Her ten fingers were long and elegant. The skin was pale, smooth, and tender, revealing how carefully she maintained them.

Director Bai’s appearance was virtually flawless.

If Bai Jingbing were not an Alpha shameless enough to demand that Xu Mengyan “take responsibility,” Xu Mengyan would have been extremely attracted to her.

They arrived at a Japanese restaurant in one of the capital’s most expensive districts.

Considerable money had clearly been spent on the interior design. Xu Mengyan [stolen content]initially assumed it was an ordinary Japanese restaurant, but after opening the menu, she discovered that a single sashimi boat cost one-third of her monthly salary.

This was not a restaurant an ordinary worker could afford!

“Director Bai… May I ask whether all your friends are people like President Han?”

Xu Mengyan held the menu high enough to conceal most of her face, leaving only the upper half visible as she looked at Bai Jingbing, who was studying her own menu with equal seriousness.

“People like Zhuzhu? In what way? Promiscuous?” Bai Jingbing asked. “Not particularly. Zhuzhu is the only one who constantly changes partners. The others ended their relationships only because serious problems arose.”

At that moment, Han Shu—who was spending her Friday evening at a banquet flirting with several B- and C-list actresses—sneezed.

Z-Zhuzhu?

Was she talking about President Han?

“Is Zhuzhu President Han’s nickname? That’s such an adorable nickname.”

“Do you like her?”

Bai Jingbing immediately raised her eyes, her gaze turning exceptionally cold.

She suddenly remembered that during their four university years, every Omega who initially circled around Bai Jingbing had eventually fallen into Han Shu’s clutches without exception.

At the time, Bai Jingbing had not considered it a problem. She found those Omegas irritating because they constantly interrupted her inspiration. [bailiantales.com]Having Han Shu remove them had been beneficial.

But what about now?

Could the little pinecone have taken an interest in Zhuzhu?

Was she attracted to Zhuzhu’s wealthy family background or her glamorous, flirtatious appearance?

“No! I don’t like President Han!”

Xu Mengyan had no idea why Bai Jingbing had suddenly become angry. Relying on an Omega’s desperate survival instincts, she quickly ended the misunderstanding.

“I was asking whether your friends are all wealthy second-generation heirs like President Han.”

The clarification worked.

Bai Jingbing’s attention immediately shifted away from the possibility of Han Shu stealing the little pinecone.

Searching through her memories, she realized that after Han Shu “targeted” her at university, most of the friends around her had been introduced through Han Shu.

Therefore, the majority were indeed wealthy heirs. A smaller portion consisted of exceptionally talented professionals from various fields.

Bai Jingbing was probably one of the latter herself.

She had grown up in an ordinary family but possessed exceptional talent Read on BaiLianTalesfor jewelry design. During university, she had already won numerous international championships in youth divisions.

That was also why Han Shu—who had too much money and nowhere to spend it—noticed her.

Han Shu approached Bai Jingbing and commissioned a necklace for some older female student she intended to confess to. She had been extraordinarily generous with her payment.

Bai Jingbing’s family had financed her education through loans from relatives and banks. Hoping to reduce her parents’ burden, she accepted the first paid commission of her life.

She never imagined that Han Shu would cling to her from that moment onward.

Being pestered by Han Shu was still manageable.

At the time, Han Shu even claimed that she would establish a jewelry brand for Bai Jingbing and appoint her as design director.

Everyone had been young once. Bai Jingbing possessed great ambitions, but she did not take Han Shu’s extravagant declaration seriously.

Then, more than a year ago, Han Shu contacted her and announced that the brand had been established. She ordered Bai Jingbing to resign immediately, return home, and become Palm Pearl’s design director.

Apart from her wealthy friends, Bai Jingbing also had several close friends from her university’s design faculty.

She remained in contact with her former roommates. When they recently learned that she had returned, they began arranging a reunion dinner.

“Not all of them. Some come from ordinary families,” Bai Jingbing answered. “Still, I won’t deny that because of Zhuzhu, many of my friends are wealthy heirs.”

She set down the menu. Japanese cuisine read the original at bailiantales.com did not particularly interest her, so she had selected the few dishes whose photographs looked suitable to her tastes.

The little pinecone could choose everything else.

“Oh… I assumed that because of your profession, everyone you knew would be wealthy.”

Before Director Bai joined Palm Pearl, she had been Xu Mengyan’s goal. Xu Mengyan had watched several interviews with her and knew that Bai Jingbing came from an ordinary dual-income family and had a younger Alpha sister.

“Whether someone has money isn’t a condition for my friendship. I primarily consider their character. Zhuzhu is somewhat promiscuous and therefore slightly unqualified, but she isn’t a bad person.”

Bai Jingbing had been successfully distracted, but she had not forgotten the earlier matter.

“Why? Now that I’ve said that, are you even more interested in Zhuzhu?”

That did it.

Xu Mengyan boldly rolled her eyes at the great Director Bai before returning her attention to the menu.

There were several dishes she desperately wanted to try. After receiving permission from her “financial sponsor,” she confidently called the server over and ordered enthusiastically.

When the dishes arrived, Bai Jingbing needed proof for her friend that she had actually sampled the food. She asked the little pinecone to photograph everything and send the pictures to her.

She also assigned Xu Mengyan a restaurant-review task, promising a two-hundred-yuan red packet after she finished.

Money was the weakness of countless workers.

Once Xu Mengyan received the red packet, she became energetic despite the meal suddenly feeling like work.

She tasted every dish with exceptional seriousness. After each first bite, she recorded her initial impression and description of the flavor on her phone.

A server who entered to refill their tea nearly mistook them for mystery diners or Michelin reviewers!

The server reported the situation to the manager, who immediately became even stricter about the quality of every dish sent to their table. He refused to release a single plate without inspecting it twice.

When Bai Jingbing paid the bill, the manager gave her a strange wink.

“I already have an Omega. Don’t get any ideas.”

The manager happened to be a handsome, delicate-looking male Omega.

Mistaking his expression for flirtation, Bai Jingbing took back her credit card and wrapped an arm around the little pinecone’s waist, pulling her into her embrace.

Xu Mengyan stiffened in alarm. She shrank against Bai Jingbing and blinked her doe-like eyes at the male Omega.

“No, you’ve misunderstood, ma’am… I’m married.”

The male Omega blushed as he clarified.

“You’re married, yet you’re ​bailiantales.com​winking at another Alpha? That won’t do. I need to warn Xiao Du to be more careful when hiring employees.”

Xiao Du?

The owner’s surname was Du!

Did this Alpha-Omega pair know the owner?

Oh no. This might have become an enormous misunderstanding!

“Please don’t! This is a misunderstanding. I thought the two of you were mystery diners or something…”

The male Omega immediately stopped Bai Jingbing from making the call.

Bai Jingbing narrowed her eyes skeptically.

Only after he repeatedly assured her that it had genuinely been a misunderstanding did she put away her phone. Still holding Xu Mengyan around the waist, she left the restaurant.

A full stomach made Xu Mengyan exceptionally sleepy.

Once she comfortably settled into the car and fastened her seat belt, she could no longer resist. Her head tilted to the side, and she fell asleep.

When someone finally woke her, she collected herself and looked outside.

The parking garage appeared noticeably familiar…

“Director Bai… This doesn’t look like my home.”

A terrible premonition arose within Xu Mengyan.

“Did you think you could eat such an expensive Japanese meal for free? There are still plenty of sketches from last time that haven’t been converted into line art. They’re waiting for you.”

Bai Jingbing unfastened Xu Mengyan’s seat belt and tapped her forehead.

“You slept throughout the drive, so you should have plenty of energy for overtime.”

On the verge of tears, Xu Mengyan grabbed her sleeve.

“If I make myself vomit and return the meal now, would it still be in time?”

“What do you think?”

Bai Jingbing smiled meaningfully.

Without warning, she leaned over and pinned Xu Mengyan against the car window. She sucked briefly on the Omega’s vividly red, slightly pouting lips before moving toward her ear and whispering like a ghost.

“I didn’t fuck you enough in the office today. You still need to handle the follow-up.”

Making the little pinecone work on line art was only a secondary objective.

The important matter was doing something pleasurable with her.

With an earth-shattering crash, Xu Mengyan’s entire world collapsed.

Being deceived into working overtime on line art was already miserable enough.

Now she had to perform even more “overtime” and handle the follow-up too?

At that moment, she profoundly understood the saying:

What was destined to happen could never be avoided.