Chapter 83: If you don’t come out, don’t blame me for being ruthless

Song Wuli had been working for a while, slowly drinking his yogurt.

After finishing it, he got up and headed to his supervisor’s office.

Closing the door behind him, he stood before his supervisor.

“Sit down, Old Song.” The supervisor stood up himself and brought over a chair for Song Wuli.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Song Wuli sat down.

Only then did the supervisor return to his seat and look at him.

He asked, “Old Song, how many years have you been with the company?”

Song Wuli felt uneasy, furrowing his brows as he replied, “About 13 years.”

The supervisor seemed to recall something and quickly explained, “Don’t worry, this isn’t about layoffs. If it were layoffs, HR would have come looking for you.”

He stood up again, opened the mini fridge, and asked, “Want something to drink? Coffee? Juice? There’s beer too.”

Song Wuli didn’t hesitate. “Coffee, please.”

The supervisor handed him two small bottles of ready-made coffee.

Returning to his chair, he started discussing the main issue. “Old Song, your recent overtime hours have gone a bit overboard.”

Song Wuli asked back, “Is that a problem?”

The supervisor answered, “It’s not good. No matter what, our company respects labor laws. Doing this puts the company in a passive position.”

Song Wuli remained silent, sensing there was more to it.

Sure enough, the supervisor continued, “Someone inside reported us to the Relevant Department, claiming the company is forcing labor and extreme overtime. Recently, plainclothes personnel will be coming to investigate. If they confirm it, the company will face heavy fines.”

Now understanding the situation, Song Wuli asked, “So? What do I need to do?”

The supervisor replied, “Here’s the plan. We’ll give you a few days off, paid leave. Take a good rest. You’ve contributed a lot to the company, and we won’t forget that. I’ll also write a note stating you’re on a field assignment during this time, so it won’t affect any layoff evaluations.”

Song Wuli nodded.

Leaving the office, he sat at his workstation briefly before finally heading out.

From today onward, he was officially on vacation.

Once outside the company, with nothing pressing to do, he thought of a place and walked down the street.

By the time he arrived, drenched in sweat, he reached the familiar No. 8 Milk Tea Shop.

There was no line at the entrance, and the shop was sparsely occupied—only two customers were sipping milk tea inside.

Song Wuli stepped in and found a seat. “One milk tea, no pearls, half ice.”

The shop manager glanced at him without a word, printed the order ticket, and began making the milk tea.

Song Wuli stared blankly at the door, gradually zoning out, his gaze drifting away.

Unlike other customers who would scroll on their phones to pass the time, he simply sat quietly.

After a few minutes, the door opened and a customer came in, picked a seat, and called out, “I’d like to order.”

“Coming.” Song Wuli instinctively stood up but stopped after a single step.

The new customer looked at Old Song, and the manager did too.

Realizing what was happening, Song Wuli hurriedly asked the manager, “Is my milk tea ready yet?”

“Not yet, still needs a moment.”

“Oh.” Song Wuli nodded and sat back down, then returned to his daze.

A few minutes later, the manager called several times, “Your milk tea’s ready.”

The voice was almost a soft shout, and Song Wuli finally snapped out of it.

He went to pick up the milk tea, then, out of habit, carried it over to the recently arrived customer.

Suddenly, he froze. The customer and the manager both looked at him again.

Realizing his mistake, Song Wuli said, “Sorry, wrong table.”

He returned to his seat.

Sipping slowly, he took his time; even after the milk tea cooled down, he’d only finished about a third.

Another customer arrived—an old regular of the shop, the same one who had once advised the manager to hire a COS girl to help out.

But today, he was just here for milk tea, nothing special. He chatted with the manager, reminiscing about the glory days from a few days ago.

Back then, the shop had been packed wall-to-wall, with not even a spot to stand.

But how long had it been since then? Now it was so empty.

It wasn’t that the street was deserted; plenty of Pilgrims still came to this Holy Land to visit the places once bombed by Magical Girl Silver Lin.

It was just that the milk tea shop had become ordinary, so fewer people came.

Most folks preferred going to the Barbecue Restaurant across the street, which at least still shouted its Slogan.

Here, the milk tea shop had lost everything.

“So, haven’t reached her yet?” the old customer asked the manager.

“Not yet. No idea where she’s gone, and she’s not replying. Maybe she thinks this salary is too low?” The manager wondered aloud.

“Not likely—1200 an hour is decent, but…” The old customer took a sip of lemon water to clear his throat before continuing, “Such a pretty young lady has plenty of ways to make money. It’s normal if she looks down on your 1200.”

“Manager, we thought maybe you stopped hiring Xiao Yao.” Another customer nearby offered their opinion.

“No way, I really like having Xiao Yao work here,” the manager said, wiping the table and recalling the time when Xiao Yao was still around. “If Xiao Yao worked here until the shop went bankrupt, I’d still be happy.”

They continued chatting, while Song Wuli drifted further away in thought, lost until noon.

Zheng Fatty seemed to have finished class and came in with his classmates. They were on familiar terms with the manager and ordered, “Same as usual.”

Zheng Fatty pulled out a Tablet and started chatting with his classmates.

“Let me tell you about what happened last night—it was amazing.” Zheng Fatty played a recorded video for his friends.

Several classmates leaned over to watch the content on the Tablet.

“Don’t turn off the camera!” A familiar voice snapped Song Wuli back to reality.

Looking around, he realized the voice was coming from Zheng Fatty’s Tablet.

He quietly sipped his milk tea while sneaking glances at the screen.

It was true—on the screen was the woman, Jin Luan.

She forcibly barged into the Television Station’s studio, driving away the experts and hosts.

The cameraman tried to switch the shot, but the director stopped him; this was a rare explosive scene and needed to be recorded.

Thus, Jin Luan’s actions were broadcast from the station.

Standing before the camera, she first introduced herself: “I am Magical Girl Jin Luan, no fake.”

After speaking, she deliberately flew up to a certain height to prove her identity.

Still floating, she said, “I’m here today to look for someone—a good friend of ours, one of my most important people, and everyone’s protector. The one who saved this city and spared humanity from Extinction Crisis: Silver Lin.”

The director kept passing messages to the host, who only responded after a long pause.

He quickly grabbed the microphone and asked Jin Luan, “Hello, may I ask how old you are?”

“17 years old.” Jin Luan answered, then changed the subject: “I know you lost your closest companion in that battle, you lost Diamond. And right now, we’re just like how you feel—we’re afraid of losing you too.”

The host hurriedly asked another question, “May I ask, what happens when a Magical Girl turns 18? Can she still be called a Magical Girl?”

“I can answer that next year.” Jin Luan dodged again, “Let’s move on. We have to look forward; living in the past is painful. I understand how you feel. If you don’t come back soon, I’ll expose the fact that you left the house wearing a band-aid.”