AWDC Chapter 36
by Volare“You also know I haven’t done anything wrong, so why are you treating me like this?” Lin Xi seized on one of his questions, boldly retorting, “I can’t stay here anymore, can’t you see that?”
“Since you dislike me so much, why do you care if I ruin myself? Does it affect you? Or are you deliberately punishing me, I’m unhappy every day, so you’re happy every day, is that it?”
If it were any other time, Mu Chuang would have surely said that he was especially good at talking, but he wasn’t in the mood right now. If they weren’t in the workshop, he would really want to beat someone.
“I said no, and that’s that. Why so many whys?” He crumpled Lin Xi’s resignation application into a ball and threw it in the trash. “Go back to work, or you’ll be fined.”
He didn’t want to nag anymore. After saying this, he ignored Lin Xi and opened his computer to start working.
Although Lin Xi looked harmless, he could be quite stubborn when his temper flared. He just stood there without moving, neither following Mu Chuang’s instructions to go to work nor leaving. At worst, he would be fired directly, which would achieve his goal.
He wasn’t completely ignorant. He knew that being absent from work without permission would lead to dismissal, and dismissal meant that wages had to be paid. Failure to pay wages would violate the legitimate rights of the worker, and he could sue.
So he stood there sulking, his little temper as stubborn as could be, waiting to see what Mu Chuang would do to him.
Mu Chuang opened his computer, checked the production report from yesterday, and then reviewed today’s tasks. After finishing, he saw that Lin Xi still hadn’t left, and he immediately got angry. “Didn’t you hear me telling you to go to work?”
His voice wasn’t restrained, so the employees nearby all heard him, and they all pricked up their ears, gathering information for gossip after work.
“Not going.” Lin Xi pouted, with an indifferent attitude. “I’m just not going to work every day, waiting for you to fire me.”
“…!” Mu Chuang’s face turned green. He hadn’t expected Lin Xi to say that, nor had he expected him to actually do it. He was instantly filled with anger.
“Don’t think I can’t do anything about you. Believe it or not, I’ll deduct all your wages?” He hardened his heart, speaking in a threatening tone.
“Whatever,” Lin Xi also retorted stubbornly, “I’m not even afraid of death, do you think I care about this little bit of money?”
After he finished speaking, he went straight out of the workshop and returned to the dormitory alone, covering himself with the blanket and crying loudly inside.
Mu Chuang sat at his desk, his face ashen with anger.
Fu Xiaoling witnessed the whole process and understood what was happening. After work, she went to Mu Chuang’s residence and subtly suggested that he get married soon, for fear that these two would continue to be entangled and spark something real.
Mu Chuang hesitated for a moment, and finally agreed, deciding to go back home next month and get the wedding done.
Lin Xi didn’t go to work for several days in a row, causing Mu Chuang great distress. Every day, in addition to occasionally covering for him at his workstation, he also had to face recommendations from his subordinates.
“If he really doesn’t want to do it, just let him resign.” Li Chun tentatively said to Mu Chuang, because she wanted her fellow villager to take over the position. “Mu Manager, it’s tiring for you to do his work every day. There’s no end in sight.”
“Li Yan is skilled and dexterous. I believe she can do this job as soon as she comes. Mu Manager, why don’t you consider it?” She was careful on the surface, but little did she know that this behavior was too presumptuous for Mu Chuang.
He, as the supervisor, hadn’t even spoken yet, how could a subordinate like her tell him what to do? And she even picked out the person for him! The thought of it made him angry.
“No rush,” he said, suppressing his temper. “I’ll go ask him later. If he really doesn’t want to do it, it’s not too late to resign.”
“Okay.” Li Chun squeezed out a word from between her teeth, only hoping that Lin Xi would be even more stubborn and not be persuaded by Mu Chuang.
In the afternoon, during work hours, Mu Chuang had some free time, so he took advantage of the fact that the employees were all working and quietly went to dormitory 304, because there were some things he couldn’t say in front of other employees. It was best to say them in private.
For the past few days, Lin Xi had been covering himself in the blanket except when he was eating or going to the bathroom. He liked the feeling of being able to sleep during work hours without being disturbed.
But today, right at the start of work, footsteps suddenly sounded in the dormitory, scaring him badly.
He peeked through the crack in the bed curtains and saw someone coming in, a tall and upright man. He didn’t even need to see his face to know who it was.
“Mu Chuang?” He felt uneasy. “Why is he coming in at this time?”
Out of some kind of psychological impulse, he quietly shrunk his head into the blanket, pretending to be sound asleep.
Mu Chuang stopped beside his bed and deliberately coughed. Seeing that there was no response from inside, he pulled back the curtain.
A human figure was arched up under the blanket, a slightly small and thin lump to him, not moving at all.
“Haven’t you had enough sleep after sleeping for so many days?” Perhaps it was because the dormitory was too quiet, and quietness calmed the heart. Mu Chuang didn’t even lose his temper; his words were somewhat gentle.
At this moment, Lin Xi had the illusion that the Chuang-ge who used to dote on him had returned.
The blanket moved a little, and Mu Chuang knew that he was pretending to be asleep. He patiently waited for him to get up, but he didn’t expect him to stop after moving a few times, and he didn’t respond. He was directly ignoring him, which made him angry.
He reached out and lifted the blanket directly, exposing Lin Xi’s upper body, and then stared down at the person who always made him angry, with a ball of fire burning in his heart.
Lin Xi covered himself with the blanket again, showing no intention of getting up and talking to him face to face.
After sleeping for these few days, he felt somewhat stuffy, becoming unwilling to interact with people, even feeling a bit resistant to the outside world. He felt that only this small world on the bed was the most suitable place for him.
He hid inside all day without saying a word. At first, the other roommates would discuss him a few times, but later they simply ignored him, even giving the feeling that he didn’t exist.
This was a good thing for Lin Xi, because in the past two days he hadn’t heard anyone gossiping about him behind his back, finally getting some peace and quiet.
“Get up.” The peace and quiet were broken by Mu Chuang, who once again lifted his blanket. “If you don’t get up, I’m really going to deduct your wages.”
“Don’t think that position is indispensable to you. People are lining up to do it. Only you don’t know what’s good for you, not doing such an easy job, and hiding here to sulk with me. Do you really think I don’t dare to do anything to you?”
“Do whatever you want. I’ve said it before, you don’t need to care about me. Since so many people want to do it, you can just fire me. I’ll go far away, out of your sight, why bother making things difficult for me?” Lin Xi suddenly sat up, recklessly losing his temper.
His eyes were tinged with red, but he stubbornly refused to cry. He didn’t understand why Mu Chuang wouldn’t let him go, even after he had retreated to this point. Why did he have to dislike him and insist on keeping him here? Was he not going to rest until he forced him to his death?