Chapter 211 - 187: I’m Not Doing This Anymore! I Quit

Chapter 211: Chapter 187: I’m Not Doing This Anymore! I Quit

Liu Zhaowen slept until a little past one in the afternoon before groggily waking up. His eyes weren’t even open yet when his nose caught the foul stench of alcohol that had been fermenting in his stomach all night. Even though the smell was coming from him, it didn’t stop Liu Zhaowen from being disgusted with himself.

After grabbing a change of clothes from the closet and washing up, he opened the doors and windows to air out the room. As he carried his dirty clothes and the stripped-off duvet cover and pillowcases to the balcony, he saw his cousin, Liu Xiaoyan, lounging on the sofa, playing on her phone and eating snacks.

"Xiaoyan, how come school is starting so early this year? I thought last year it didn’t start until mid-September," Liu Zhaowen asked casually.

"Yeah, it’s starting super early this year. I wonder if winter break will start early too." Liu Xiaoyan reached for the snack dish on the table, but her hand came up empty. Then, as if remembering something, she looked up at Liu Zhaowen and said, "Hey, Zhaowen, lunch is in the pot. Second Aunt said to just heat it up yourself when you get hungry."

"Okay, I’ll leave it for now. I’m not that hungry anyway." Seeing Liu Xiaoyan’s hand come up empty, Liu Zhaowen added casually, "I brought back some marinated snacks last night and put them in the fridge. You can have some."

Hearing the words "marinated snacks," Liu Xiaoyan’s eyes lit up. She walked straight to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and rummaged inside until she found a container with the Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant logo on it. She glanced at the packaging and couldn’t help but mutter, "Why’d you buy it from a fast-food place? Is it any good? There are a few shops near my school that specialize in marinated foods, and none of them are that great."

The effects of the alcohol hadn’t completely worn off, and Liu Zhaowen didn’t have much of an appetite for a full meal. He was just craving something salty and spicy. Just then, Liu Xiaoyan came out with the marinated snacks, so he asked, "What flavor are they?"

"Spicy, I think. I saw chili peppers in it." She casually placed the container on the coffee table, pulled a few disposable gloves out of the TV stand, and handed one to Liu Zhaowen. "Zhaowen, you just started working, and you’re already coming home dead drunk at night? When I walked past your room this morning, that smell... it was something else. It almost killed me. You’re too young to be drinking so much. Watch out, or you’ll get a beer belly!"

Hearing his cousin say they were spicy, and seeing that his absolute favorite—marinated duck feet—were right on top, Liu Zhaowen’s appetite suddenly returned with a vengeance. He took the disposable glove, put it on, and reached straight for a duck foot. Grasping it in his hand, he turned to his cousin, who hadn’t even sat down yet, and ordered without a hint of politeness, "There’s still milk in the fridge, right? Grab one for me."

"You couldn’t have said so earlier? Now I have to make another trip. Honestly." Although Liu Xiaoyan complained, she obediently went and brought back two cartons of milk. Finally, she could sit down, put on her gloves, and start eating.

Liu Xiaoyan’s first target was the plump little mushrooms. Not only were they perfectly round and chubby, but they also looked incredibly full and juicy. ’Isn’t this just tempting me to sin? Can I resist? Absolutely not.’

The marinated mushrooms were all bite-sized. She picked one up with her fingers and popped it into her mouth. She didn’t even need to chew. With a gentle press of her tongue, the marinade, which had slightly congealed from the cold, instantly melted, and its unique, rich flavor exploded in her mouth. Almost subconsciously, her tongue pushed the mushroom to her back teeth. As her jaws clamped down, a cool burst of broth squirted out from inside the mushroom, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine...

Delicious!

’It’s such a shame my roommates can’t taste something this delicious... But that’s okay, I can just take pictures and show them! Hehe!’

A wicked smile spread across Liu Xiaoyan’s lips as she pulled out her phone and started snapping pictures of the food. SNAP, SNAP, SNAP. The weather was great, the lighting was perfect, the composition was flawless, and the marinated snacks were incredibly photogenic. Every casual shot looked like a professional masterpiece, no editing required.

Just as the two cousins were chatting and laughing while eating the marinated snacks, Liu Zhaowen’s phone, which he had left in his bedroom, started to ring.

’I’m screwed!’

Hearing that ringtone, alarm bells went off in Liu Zhaowen’s head. He had received a message from his boss right after leaving the office last night. He’d planned to reply after the event, but once it was over, he went out for a second round with Liu Tong and didn’t get back until two or three in the morning. He’d crashed the moment he got home and had only just woken up, his head still fuzzy and aching...

In short, ever since the event started, Liu Zhaowen had completely forgotten about replying to his boss. So this phone call now was definitely his boss calling to chew him out.

Liu Zhaowen hurried back to his bedroom. Just as his hand grasped the phone, the ringing stopped. The screen showed: Missed Call (1). ’Since I missed it, I might as well check the situation first,’ he thought. His fingers flew across the screen. First, he checked his QQ email. Seeing no unread messages, he let out a sigh of relief. Then, he opened the chat with his boss. Unread Messages: 43+...

’So many messages... Is it something urgent?’ Liu Zhaowen’s heart tightened. He quickly opened the chat and scrolled up to the first unread message.

"How’s the project coming along?"

"Not done yet? This proposal has to be sent to the client tonight!"

"Did you go to dinner?"

"..."

"You haven’t replied for a full twelve hours. What is going on?!"

"Call me the second you see this."

After reading all forty-three messages, Liu Zhaowen felt his forehead darken, and he could almost hear a flock of crows cawing overhead. Seriously, even his clingiest, most high-maintenance ex-girlfriend had never spammed him with so many messages. It would be one thing if it were something urgent, but this was all just a bunch of damn nonsense!