34: Chapter 34: A Hard-Hitting Start on the First Day of Work!

At the headquarters of Guanghui Technology, the glass curtain walls refracted cold, harsh light in the morning sun.

Every pane of glass seemed to be etched with the code for "996" and "involution."

A black business car glided to a stop.

Lu Li climbed out of the vehicle and stretched towards the morning sun, his bones cracking audibly.

"What a sin," he muttered.

To be reborn and still be unable to escape the fate of punching the clock for work—this rebirth was not even as good as being reincarnated as a cat.

Su Qingxue walked at the front in seven-centimeter red-bottomed high heels, wearing a black suit, her fair skin cold, and her aura sufficient to freeze the air for ten miles around.

Inside the lobby, the morning rush, which had been noisy, instantly went silent.

Countless gazes passed over the icy female CEO, focusing like searchlights on the lazy figure at the end of the line.

"Is that the Lu Li?"

"He looks decent enough, but it's a pity he's a kept man."

"I heard Su Qingxue has been keeping him at home for two years. Did she drag him to the company just to make up the numbers because she had no other choice?"

The male employees' eyes were filled with jealousy, while the female employees sighed in their hearts at the waste.

Lu Li had his hands in his pockets, ignoring the pointing and whispering, treating it as if he were walking a red carpet, even wanting to wave in acknowledgement.

In front of the elevator, Su Qingxue pressed the top floor button and said coldly, turning her head: "Shuyu, take him to complete the onboarding process, register him as a product manager, and take him to that empty office on the 32nd floor."

"Very well, Ms. Su." The elevator doors closed, cutting off that unapproachable silhouette.

Human Resources Department. Manager Wang was in her early thirties, her professional fake smile seemingly permanently tattooed onto her face.

"Mr. Lu, the procedure is complete. Regarding your office setup..."

Lu Li sprawled into the leather swivel chair, sinking halfway in, adjusting to an angle most conducive to spinal relaxation.

"I heard there are Herman Miller chairs?"

Manager Wang puffed out her chest, looking proud: "Of course, they are ergonomic..."

"Get rid of it." Lu Li waved his hand, interrupting her as if swatting away a fly.

"Replace it with a Cheers first-class sofa, the kind that can lay flat. Also, take note of this list."

He counted on his fingers, his expression as serious as if he were deploying strategic missiles: "A latest model Sony TV, 85 inches, connected to a PS5. I need two controllers in case one runs out of battery. Also, add a karaoke setup, and put three layers of soundproofing foam on the walls—I'm tone-deaf, I don't want to scare the colleagues to death."

The pen in Manager Wang's hand clattered onto the table. She had been in the industry for fifteen years. She had seen people ask for stock options, luxury cars, and residency permits. But asking for a PS5 and a KTV suite on the first day? Was he here to work? He was treating Guanghui Technology like a nursing home!

"Mr. Lu, this is a serious violation of administrative regulations..." Manager Wang looked at Chen Shuyu for help.

Chen Shuyu pressed her throbbing temple and gritted her teeth: "Do as he says, and charge it to Ms. Su's personal account."

Manager Wang picked up her pen, recorded it quickly, and dashed toward the pantry as if fleeing. She was afraid that if she stayed one second longer, this master would ask her to buy an automatic mahjong table.

The onlookers dispersed. Just as Lu Li was about to plan his game playlist in his mind, an electronic sound abruptly exploded.

[Warning! The host is deeply involved in business operations, deviating from the core principle of "eating soft rice hard"!]

[Soft rice progress bar: Frozen.]

Lu Li rolled his eyes. This damn system would throw a fit whenever he showed even a little bit of diligence.

Immediately after, a mission pop-up forcibly covered his retina. [Triggered Side Mission: Clean House] [Background: Tianqiong Technology is pressing in step by step, and Director Gu Yang intends to touch the host's long-term meal ticket.] [Objective: Completely crush Tianqiong Technology and kick them out of the tech circle.] [Reward: Full process for T lithography chips x1, Neural Weave Virtual Reality helmet (prototype) x1]

Lu Li looked at the reward list, his mouth twitching slightly. 3nm process? Neural Weave? The last set of EUV Lithography Machine blueprints was still gathering dust on his hard drive, and this time they were giving him the finished process directly? If this were discovered again, would he ever be able to retire?

"Why is it so hard to just be a good-for-nothing who eats and waits for death?" Lu Li sighed and took out his phone.

As soon as he unlocked the screen, Chen Shuyu answered a call, her expression changing abruptly. After hanging up, she looked at Lu Li with eyes full of sympathy: "It was a call from Su Qingxue's mother. Director Gu Yang has arrived, parachuted in as the Technical Director."

"Oh." Lu Li lowered his head to scroll through short videos, his fingers swiping past various long-legged special effects. "Let's go, let's go see my game room... no, my office."

32nd floor, R&D Department. As soon as the elevator doors opened, a deafening renovation noise rushed toward them. "80! 80! 80!" Workers were swinging sledgehammers, frantically dismantling the floor-to-ceiling window wall with the best natural light.

Amidst the flying dust, a man in a navy blue high-end tailored suit stood with his hands behind his back. His hair was combed meticulously, and the Patek Philippe on his wrist seemed out of place in the dust.

"Tear it all down." The man gestured grandly, his tone filled with a not-so-clever sense of superiority. "Replace that wall with smart atomizing glass. The carpet is too low-class; I want to replace it with a handmade Turkish wool one. And that corner over there, build me a display cabinet; I want to put the ACM Gold Award trophy I won in Silicon Valley there."

Chen Shuyu's face turned black instantly. This was Director Gu Yang.

"Director Gu Yang!" She stepped forward quickly and shouted sternly, "What are you doing?"

Director Gu Yang turned around. Gold-rimmed glasses rested on his high nose bridge, hiding the shrewdness and calculation in his eyes. When he saw Chen Shuyu, a curve appeared at the corners of his mouth: "Shuyu, long time no see. What's the matter, still acting as a maid for that woman?"

Before Chen Shuyu could erupt, Director Gu Yang's gaze passed over her and landed on Lu Li. His gaze lingered for three seconds. It was the look one gives to trash.

Director Gu Yang pulled out a silk handkerchief to wipe his fingers: "Is this the legendary Mr. Lu who makes a living off his looks?"

The surrounding workers and programmers stopped what they were doing, their gossip radars fully activated.

Lu Li picked his ear and turned his head to ask Chen Shuyu: "Who is this? The renovation team foreman? He's dressed quite formally."

"Pfft." A programmer in the corner spat out water.

The smile at the corners of Director Gu Yang's mouth stiffened for a moment, then he resumed his high-and-mighty elite demeanor.

He walked up to Lu Li, looking down from above. "I want this office. As for you..." Director Gu Yang pointed to the utility room at the end of the hallway, "That place is close to the restroom, suitable for someone like you who doesn't need to use their brain. Guanghui Technology values strength, not who eats soft rice better."

Lu Li was expressionless. This kind of wealthy family drama was really quite boring, just like those damn female-oriented novels.

Just as he was about to speak, Chen Shuyu in front of him suddenly bristled. "Director Gu Yang, shut up!" This usually mild-mannered girl stood in front of Lu Li like a mother hen protecting her chicks: "This is the office Ms. Su approved for Manager Lu! The appointment letter has already taken effect! By what right are you moving things?"

Director Gu Yang was stunned for a moment. That tag-along Chen Shuyu from his childhood memories was now yelling at him for a kept man? A sense of shame and anger welled up in his heart.

"I am the Technical Director! I have the right to allocate resources here!" Director Gu Yang's face was gloomy, "Take your people and get out."

"You..." Chen Shuyu was trembling with anger.

"That's enough." A hand rested on Chen Shuyu's shoulder, pulling her behind him. Lu Li looked down at his phone without even lifting his eyelids: "Don't tear down the sofa over there, leave it."

Director Gu Yang sneered: "What? Want to beg for mercy?"

"No." Lu Li finally looked up at him, his eyes as calm as if he were looking at empty air, "I just think moving things back and forth is a hassle. Anyway, when you get kicked out in two days, I'll have to move it back."

The whole room was dead silent. Director Gu Yang seemed to have heard some huge joke, laughing in extreme anger: "Good, very good. All you can do is hide behind a woman's skirt and talk tough."

He straightened his collar and glared fiercely at Lu Li: "Let's wait and see." Director Gu Yang waved his hand to dismiss the workers and strode away, full of anger.

Chen Shuyu breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Lu Li with some worry: "Are you okay? He has a very sharp tongue, and he was forced in by Su Qingxue's mother."

"I'm fine." Lu Li held up his phone, "What do you think of this massage chair? I saw reviews saying lying on it feels like being on a cloud."

Chen Shuyu: "..." So, that whole drama just now, you didn't take it to heart at all.

Just then, Chen Shuyu's phone rang, and Su Qingxue's voice was as cold as ice. "Everyone at the manager level and above, come to Conference Room 1 in 10 minutes. We're discussing the product launch proposal. Also, have Lu Li come over too."

Conference Room 1. The air was suffocatingly stagnant. Lu Li sat at the end of the table, the seat belonging to the product manager. In his previous life, he usually sat at the head of the table for such meetings, listening to people below report on plans that, in his view, were full of loopholes. Now, changing perspectives was actually quite fresh.

Opposite him, Director Gu Yang was staring at him intensely, with a thick stack of all-English materials by his hand, his face written with "Wait until you die."

The doors swung open with a bang. Su Qingxue, in a black professional suit, strode in, carrying a biting cold wind with her. She slammed a folder heavily onto the mahogany conference table. "Bang!" The loud noise made all the executives' hearts shrink.

Su Qingxue braced her hands on the table, her sharp gaze sweeping across the room like a blade, finally fixing on Director Gu Yang. There was not a shred of friendship for him in those eyes. Only the indifference of someone who couldn't help but want to kill him. Her mother hadn't asked for her opinion before forcing this annoying guy into the company, and thinking about it made her feel exhausted. If it really came to it, she would just take back her mother's 23% of the shares and take full control of Guanghui Technology herself.