My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

Su Ming smiled but didn't reply, a hint of anticipation rising in his heart. He thought, if what this woman said was true, then working hard in the warehouse wouldn't be so bad!

Just then, Lin Shumei suddenly slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a slow stop on the side of the road. It was a quiet suburban road with few vehicles. She unbuckled her seatbelt, turned around, and gave Su Ming a charming smile.

"Come on, Xiao Su, I'll teach you how to drive. After work tonight, go sign up for driving school. Once you get your license, you can drive when you go on business trips."

Upon hearing this, Su Ming was overjoyed. He had long wanted to learn to drive, but had been hampered by a lack of money and opportunity. He immediately and enthusiastically sat in the driver's seat.

Under Lin Shumei's patient guidance, Su Ming practiced for more than an hour and was able to drive the car erratically.

It was already afternoon when the two returned to the company. The car first stopped in front of a tobacco and liquor store in town. Lin Shumei smiled, opened the trunk, took out two bottles of Moutai and one bottle of Wuliangye, handed them to Su Ming, and instructed him, "Go, give these liquors to them. Give them my name, and they will give you a reasonable price."

"Okay!" Su Ming responded and carried the three bottles of liquor to the tobacco and liquor store. He gave the store owner Lin Shumei's name, and the owner readily accepted the liquor and gave him nine hundred yuan.

It was indeed hard currency. Su Ming took the money and happily returned to his car.

He handed the money back to Lin Shumei, who smiled and pushed it back, giving him a charming wink and saying, "This is your reward. You had a good time on this business trip with me, didn't you?"

"Yes! I'm happy." Su Ming nodded sincerely.

"I'm glad you're happy!" Lin Shumei said with a sweet smile. "I'm happy too. I'll take you on another business trip next time."

They smiled at each other, a sweet feeling welling up inside them. Recalling their passionate encounters at the hotel the previous noon and evening, Su Ming felt a surge of fervor, while Lin Shumei was filled with joy and lingering pleasure. She had found unprecedented happiness in this robust eighteen-year-old young man before her.

The car started again and soon stopped at the factory gate. Lin Shumei's smile vanished instantly. She turned to Su Ming with a serious expression and instructed him, "Remember, pretend our business trip never happened. At the company, I'm still your boss, and you're still my subordinate, understand? If your colleagues ask, just say you were doing inventory at the supplier's place yesterday, and you were so tired you could barely straighten your back. Usually, I take Wu Yumin and a warehouse clerk to do the inventory, and it takes all day, plus overtime at night. It's really tiring. So, usually when Wu Yumin suggests a business trip, most people don't want to go with him. Of course, yesterday we only symbolically inspected some of the valuable materials, not the whole thing, so it wasn't tiring. I arranged for Wu Yumin to take people, so naturally, they won't have an easy time, and they'll receive different treatment. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Understood!" Su Ming nodded slightly. This woman really knows how to act. She leaves the hard and tiring work to Wu Yumin, while she goes herself, getting food and pay, and having company. What's worse, none of the people actually working in the warehouse will know the truth.

This woman had mastered the art of power struggles in the factory and the charades of business dealings. She was far more complex and terrifying than he had imagined!

When Su Ming returned to the factory, although he tried his best to appear energetic, the deep-seated fatigue still made his steps somewhat unsteady. He couldn't help it; he'd had too much of a blast with Lin Meinu the day before.

Just as Lin Shumei had predicted, in the eyes of the warehouse men, accompanying the aloof and beautiful Manager Lin on a business trip was definitely a chore. The male colleagues who had previously accompanied Lin Shumei on inventory trips invariably returned complaining endlessly, all groaning about how exhausted they were. Of course, their exhaustion was different from Su Ming's. Su Ming was exhausted because he had slept with the beautiful Lin, while they were exhausted from doing dirty and strenuous work, moving goods and taking inventory in the warehouse.

Warehouse staff who have traveled with Manager Lin all say that Manager Lin is extremely strict. Not only do they have to move and check documents, but they also have to stay up all night to check documents.

That's why few people are willing to go on business trips. No one knew that Su Ming would be an exception.

As soon as Su Ming entered the receiving area, he bumped into Xu Baoqian picking his teeth and bragging. Xu Baoqian looked up and saw Su Ming's unsteady gait and slightly tired eyes. He immediately burst into laughter and started mocking him at the top of his lungs.

"Hey, isn't this our 'star' Su Ming? What's up? Did you stay up late doing inventory at the manufacturers' place yesterday?" Xu Baoqian said with a sarcastic smile, his eyes sweeping over Su Ming's waist. "Look at your gait, you can't even straighten your back, can you? Tsk tsk, the work under Manager Lin isn't easy."

Hearing this, Su Ming felt a strange unease and almost burst out laughing. Damn it, this kid had actually guessed right by accident. His back did ache, but it wasn't from carrying goods. Yesterday at noon, the frenzy at the hotel, plus the all-night passion—that vixen Lin Shumei seemed to have drained him completely. Adding the two times during the day, that made four times. Even a tough guy would shudder, let alone a virgin like him who had just tasted the forbidden fruit.

However, Su Ming had no intention of arguing with Xu Baoqian. Instead, he took advantage of the situation, showing a bitter face and replying with a smile, "Brother Xu, you're absolutely right. Manager Lin's job... is indeed a real physical job. Most people really can't handle it."

Seeing Su Ming's discomfiture, Xu Baoqian grew even more smug, snorting arrogantly, "Haha, now you know what's what happens when you offend me! Let me tell you the truth, I'm related to Manager Lin, and I know her temper best. Next time you dare to be a troublemaker with me, I'll take you on 'business trips' every day until you're too tired to get out of bed!"

Su Ming deliberately shrank his neck, pretending to be very scared, and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Forget it, Brother Xu, you're so magnanimous, please don't mess with me anymore. From now on, my legs will go weak whenever I see Manager Lin on a business trip. Yesterday I was so tired that I couldn't even straighten my back, and it still aches!"

As he said this, he deliberately touched his lower back, and sure enough, it really hurt.

Su Ming's words were meant to tease Xu Baoqian, but he didn't notice that Tian Jing from the receiving area was walking out from behind the shelves and had overheard the conversation.

After Su Ming returned to his workstation, Tian Jing frowned and approached him with a concerned expression. She first looked at Su Ming's slightly pale face with pity, then lowered her voice and asked, "Su Ming, tell me the truth, did Lin Shumei deliberately make things difficult for you?"

Su Ming was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding: "Huh? No."

Tian Jing glared at him and said irritably, "Still trying to speak well of her! I heard everything just now. I've figured it out now. That damned woman deliberately gave you a box of cookies before, like a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken—she had no good intentions! She just wanted you to lower your guard and think she hadn't held a grudge, but then she turned around and used the excuse of a business trip to settle personal scores."

"Really, no, Manager Lin is actually quite nice," Su Ming explained.

"Come on!" Tian Jing got angrier as she spoke, her chest heaving slightly. "This is too much! In the past, when she handled such a large volume of inventory, she would always bring at least two people. This time, she only brought you, a newbie. Isn't this just trying to exhaust you? Come with me and sit down in that corner over there. I'll give you a good back massage."

Upon hearing this, Su Ming was both amused and exasperated. His back was indeed sore, but he couldn't possibly tell Tian Jing the reason. He couldn't very well tell her it was from a night of passion with the manager at the hotel, could he?

"It's alright, Sister Jing. I was just rambling on with Xu Baoqian. I'm not tired," Su Ming quickly waved his hand and declined.