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

Su Ming stood in the bathroom, phone in hand, listening to the monotonous, resolute busy tone from the receiver, utterly bewildered. He glanced down at the phone screen, then looked up at his blank face in the mirror, and sighed helplessly, "She's angry about this? Looks like this beauty is jealous!"

He pushed open the bathroom door and walked back to the bed, thinking that he was doomed and would have to find Lin Shumei to arrange for the materials to be delivered. He had just sat on the bed and picked up his phone to send a message to Lin Shumei when the screen lit up first. Tian Jing's message had come in again.

"Go to sleep peacefully. I'll take care of your work. Also, don't work so hard in the future. I know you like Yang Tian, ​​but you need to take care of your health! Do you think you're made of iron? No more three times a night, understand?"

Su Ming stared at the message, a deep frown forming on his brow. This was his mother! She was meddling way too much! Wait, even a mother wouldn't interfere with how many times she and her husband slept together in one night! What kind of nonsense was this?!

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, then opened it again, completely at a loss for words. This woman, who had just angrily hung up on him, was now arranging work for him and even setting a rule that he could not do it more than a few times a night.

Su Ming stared at the screen in silence for a long time, typing a few words on the keyboard and then deleting them, typing again and again, but he just couldn't find a suitable reply.

Tian Jing sent a second message right after, as if afraid he was playing dead: "Reply to me!"

Su Ming could only reply, "I heard you."

Tian Jing immediately replied, her tone suddenly softening, like the sea after a storm, leaving only a gentle ripple: "Okay, go to sleep. I won't be angry with you, I just care about your health."

Upon seeing this sentence, Su Ming's heart inexplicably clenched.

He gripped his phone, a bittersweet feeling welling up in his chest.

He owes Sister Jing too much. From the first day he entered the warehouse, this woman has been by his side, teaching him to identify materials, teaching him to follow procedures, and helping him with his problems. Now she even has to worry about his bed.

He had never given her anything, yet she gave him more and more. This sense of indebtedness was like a fine needle, pricking him from time to time, making him feel increasingly guilty.

Just as he was holding his phone in a daze, a soft, warm arm reached out from behind and rested on his shoulder.

Yang Tian rolled over, groggily pressing her face against his back, and mumbled sleepily, "Darling, sleep!"

Su Ming hummed in agreement, put his phone back on the bedside table, and turned to look at Yang Tian.

She was fast asleep, her long, thick eyelashes casting a small fan-shaped shadow in the morning light, her lips moving slightly, like a cat nestled in a warm place.

He thought, Yang Tian is a good girl too! She is simple, clean, and stubborn. When she loves someone, she gives her whole heart, clumsily, forcefully, and without reservation.

This is tough! On one hand, there's Jingjie's gentleness and thoughtfulness; on the other, Yang Tian's purity and kindness; then there's Lin Shumei's tolerance and generosity; Xiao Mei's thoughtfulness; and his cousin-in-law's stunning beauty and powerful backing. Every woman around him is so outstanding and so wonderful. He's got so many women in his life, it's almost unbearable!

He didn't know how long these beautiful and sweet days could last. Yang Tian didn't know about Lin Shumei, nor about Xiao Mei. If one day she found out, would she still lie in his arms like this, calling him "darling" in that unguarded voice? He didn't know. He didn't dare to think about it. He gave a bitter smile, pushed those chaotic thoughts aside, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

When Su Ming woke up again, it was already past nine in the morning. Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, casting a bright band of light on the floor. The room was quiet, with only the steady hum of the air conditioner vents. Just as Su Ming turned over, Yang Tian's phone suddenly rang sharply, the ringtone shrill and piercing, like a needle puncturing a bubble of tranquility.

Yang Tian was startled awake. Still half asleep, she reached for her phone, glanced at the caller ID, and her expression instantly changed.

She hurriedly answered the phone, her voice still hoarse and flustered from just waking up: "Hello, manager..."

On the other end of the phone, Zhao Fang's stern reprimand boomed through the receiver, clearly reaching Su Ming's ears: "Yang Tian! What are you up to? You didn't even come to work today! Do you even want to keep your job as a human resources specialist?"

Yang Tian trembled with fear, her shoulders hunched, and her voice was filled with panic, on the verge of tears: "Manager, I've already sent you a message to ask for leave..."

"Does sending a text message count as asking for leave?" Zhao Fang snapped coldly, her voice sharp and piercing like a knife. "I haven't even agreed to your request yet, and you're already not coming? I think this is absenteeism! According to regulations, one day of absence results in a deduction of three days' wages and a demerit, do you understand?"

Yang Tian's eyes immediately reddened. She gripped her phone tightly, her voice trembling, but she still tried her best to explain, with trepidation: "Manager, I was wrong. I'll never do it again. Please listen to me… Last night, my sister-in-law went into labor in the middle of the night, and I took her to the hospital to give birth. I didn't get back until dawn. I was so tired, so I texted you to ask for leave. I really didn't mean to skip work without your permission. I figured you'd see my leave request once you were at work…"

Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Fang launched into a tirade, her voice sharper and colder than before, as if she had finally found a legitimate outlet to lash out: "Don't try to use your sister-in-law's childbirth as an excuse! Let me tell you, don't think I don't know. You were out fooling around with that Su Ming! Don't ask me how I know, I've already received Su Ming's leave slip. You two have been having an affair for a while now, don't pretend I don't know anything. Did you two go to a hotel last night?"

Yang Tian's face flushed red, and shame and grievance welled up at the same time, making her lips turn white.

She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. She had never been the type of girl to argue with anyone. Faced with Zhao Fang's blatant humiliation and questioning, her mind went blank. She could only hold her phone stiffly, her breathing becoming increasingly rapid, and tears welling up in her eyes, ready to spill over.

Su Ming simply couldn't stand it anymore.

He reached out and took the phone from Yang Tian, ​​then spoke into the receiver, his voice as cold as an iron plate just pulled from an icebox: "Zhao Fang, aren't you being a little too nosy?"

Zhao Fang on the other end of the phone was clearly surprised that Su Ming would suddenly answer. She paused for a moment, but quickly resumed her condescending and cold tone: "Su Ming, you're here too? Good. I knew it. You two actually went to a hotel..."

"Damn it! You want to meddle in my relationship with Yang Tian?" Su Ming interrupted her, his tone undisguisedly cold and contemptuous. "Do you think you're the Empress Dowager? Let me tell you, I'm with Yang Tian, ​​and that's none of your business."

Zhao Fang was furious on the other end of the phone, her voice trembling with rage, high-pitched and shrill like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: "You, Su Ming, how dare you provoke me like this! You wait, Yang Tian is definitely absent today! And don't even think about the cafeteria vote!"

Su Ming sneered, his voice even lower, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying an undeniable certainty and a nonchalant contempt: "You can vote for whoever you want in the cafeteria, I don't care. But if you dare to record Yang Tian's absence as absenteeism, I will definitely complain about you when we get back to the company. Even if it goes all the way to the general manager, I'm not afraid of you."

After saying that, he hung up the phone.