Bai Qi was amused by Rui Mengmeng's reaction and waved his hand, saying, "You're overthinking it. Why would I report you?"
"Sir, you're really not... going to report me?"
Hearing Bai Qi's words, Rui Mengmeng asked with a mix of disbelief and doubt.
It wasn't surprising that Rui Mengmeng was so anxious. So many people had reported her recently. Her monthly salary wasn't high to begin with, and each report meant a deduction of money. If this continued, she might not only not receive any wages but also have to pay a considerable amount.
Rui Mengmeng came from a poor family. Her parents had low incomes, and she had two younger brothers who were still in school. As the elder sister, she had no choice but to drop out of school to work and earn money. However, in this day and age, even university and master's graduates struggled to find good jobs, let alone someone with her junior high school education.
Seeing the flustered Rui Mengmeng, Bai Qi took out a palm-sized golden dragon and placed it on the table. "Your boss and I are old acquaintances. Give this to him and tell him I'm here."
Rui Mengmeng stared blankly for a moment before reacting. She picked up the golden dragon from the table and ran quickly towards the back.
As she reached the back, she bumped into a colleague who was slacking off. The woman had been leaning against the wall, scrolling through her phone. Seeing the hurried Rui Mengmeng, she became instantly interested. She stopped Rui Mengmeng and asked, "Mengmeng, why are you rushing around instead of serving customers out front? Did someone report you again?"
Rui Mengmeng, being naive, didn't detect the teasing in the other woman's words. She thought the woman was genuinely concerned.
"No, Sister Wang. A customer just said he's an old friend of the boss and asked me to give this to him."
As she spoke, Rui Mengmeng, without any guard, took out the golden dragon Bai Qi had given her.
The moment she saw the golden dragon, the woman called Sister Wang's eyes lit up. She reached out to take the golden dragon from Rui Mengmeng's hand.
Fortunately, Rui Mengmeng was quick-witted and quickly put the golden dragon away.
The woman, having failed to grab it, felt a bit awkward but put on a show of blaming Rui Mengmeng, saying, "Tsk, it's just a golden dragon. Why are you being so stingy?"
Anyone with a discerning eye could detect the sourness in the woman's tone.
However, Rui Mengmeng was too naive and thought she had upset the other woman. She began to explain incessantly.
"Alright, alright. Just tell me, which table is the customer who gave you the golden dragon sitting at?"
"Number seven."
"Okay, okay. Hurry up and go find the boss."
With that, the woman strode out.
Rui Mengmeng, on the other hand, quickly came to her senses and dared not delay, rushing to find the boss.
The boss's office was on the second floor. As she reached the office door, Rui Mengmeng intended to knock. However, she misjudged her strength and ended up smashing the door open with a single punch.
The boss inside, seeing Rui Mengmeng standing at the doorway in a daze, felt his head spin. He asked helplessly, "What is it?"
Rui Mengmeng hurried to the desk, placed the golden dragon on it, and said, "There's a customer outside who says he's an old friend of yours, sir, and asked me to give this to you."
Seeing the golden dragon on the table, the boss's eyes widened. He looked at Rui Mengmeng and asked, "Where is that customer now?"
"He's outside, at table seven."
Perhaps sensing his emotional fluctuation, the boss quickly composed himself and said, "That person is indeed an old friend of mine. Here's what you do, bring him over. I haven't seen him in a long time."
"Yes, sir."
Soon, Rui Mengmeng brought Bai Qi to the office.
"Alright, you can go now."
"Hey."
Just as Rui Mengmeng turned to leave, Bai Qi suddenly called out to her.
Rui Mengmeng turned around, and a golden dragon landed in her hand.
"This..."
Bai Qi smiled at the flustered Rui Mengmeng and said, "It's for you. Take it."
"No, I can't. This is too valuable. I can't accept it." Rui Mengmeng quickly stepped forward and tried to return the golden dragon to Bai Qi.
The boss, looking at the two of them, interjected, "Mengmeng, don't you have a younger brother who needs to go to school? And your parents? It's a time when you need money. This golden dragon can help your family solve a lot of troubles. Just accept it."
Hearing the boss say this, Bai Qi glanced at Rui Mengmeng again and pouted, "Oh, right. This golden dragon needs to be taken to the jewelry store to be exchanged for cash, which is too much trouble. How about this, I won't give you the golden dragon, but I'll give you this."
Saying that, he handed a black bag to Rui Mengmeng.
Rui Mengmeng initially wanted to say something more, but the words caught in her throat. In a daze, she walked out of the office.
As the office door closed, Rui Mengmeng turned around and saw the shifty-eyed Sister Wang lurking nearby.
"Sister Wang, what are you doing?"
Seeing Rui Mengmeng emerge, the woman was momentarily stunned. Then she pointed at the bag in Rui Mengmeng's hand and asked, "What's in there?"
Before Rui Mengmeng could answer, the woman had already leaned in. Under the light, she saw bundles of red banknotes inside.
"Oh my god, Mengmeng, this is more than your salary for three months, isn't it?"
Seeing that the bag contained money, Rui Mengmeng turned to go back into the office, but the woman quickly stopped her.
"What are you going back in for?"
"This money is too much. I can't accept it."
The woman rolled her eyes at Rui Mengmeng and said irritably, "Mengmeng, are you really stupid or pretending to be? With so much money, and he's giving it to you, and you don't want it? Besides, who is he? This small amount of money might not even cover the cost of one meal. If you return the money now, wouldn't you be offending him? The boss would surely fire you."
"Ah!" Hearing the woman's words, Rui Mengmeng panicked instantly and quickly asked, "Then what should I do?"
The woman was getting annoyed. She waved her hand and said, "If you want it, keep it. If you don't, when he leaves, find a deserted place and return the money, then it'll be fine."
Rui Mengmeng still wanted to say something, but the woman pushed her and hurried her away.
It was a joke. The moment the woman saw the golden dragon in Rui Mengmeng's hand, she was certain that Bai Qi was the target she had been looking for. Now that Rui Mengmeng had received so much money just for delivering a message, her conviction only grew stronger. She was determined to get close to this man, and then she would soar to the heavens, no longer having to force smiles in front of those people.
Meanwhile, in the office.
After sending Rui Mengmeng out, the boss's expression changed instantly. He took three quick steps towards Bai Qi and, without a word, knelt down.
"My Lord, your subordinate knows his mistake."
"You know your mistake? What mistake do you know?"
"Your subordinate shouldn't have spoken to My Lord like that just now."
"That's enough, that's enough." Bai Qi sat down on the sofa and waved his hand at the boss kneeling before him.
"Do you think I am such a narrow-minded person? Would I hold a grudge against you over such a small matter?"
Seeing that the other party remained silent, Bai Qi's lips curled into a smile. "Get up, Master Mimic. You did a good job this time."