— Knives, guns.
Yes, she had not only trained with guns but also with knife-like weapons.
Her identity was not merely that of a hacker.
"It’s just ten million, it doesn’t entice me much," Angelina pursed her lips, a smile playing at the corners.
Lin Chuan laughed wryly.
Indeed, with her capabilities, having established herself firmly in the hacker community for many years, a mere ten million US dollars really wasn’t attractive.
The hotpot was boiling.
Lin Chuan swished a piece of beef through it: "You surprise me a bit."
Angelina was not very skilled with chopsticks. While picking up vegetables, she laughed and said, "You turned out to be more formidable than I had anticipated."
"Really?"
Lin Chuan raised an eyebrow.
Angelina smiled faintly: "Because you can even tell fortune."
Lin Chuan looked up.
The two shared a smile.
The steaming heat, carrying the fragrance of the beef broth, permeated the small space, and Angelina, like a fairy descending to the mundane world, seemed to pick up a bit of the human hustle under Lin Chuan’s influence.
Hmm, her high-neck sweater was steeped with the scent of hotpot.
Angelina did not put on airs because of her beauty; rather, she was more relaxed, pulling up her collar and sniffing, letting out a few phrases in her hometown dialect.
Lin Chuan asked what she meant.
She only said they were words of praise, then lifted her glass of vodka, took a swig, and asked Lin Chuan if he wanted a drink.
Lin Chuan gently waved his hand.
He was indeed tempted to try, but as an idol, getting drunk would be embarrassing.
And of course, no drinking when driving!
Having hotpot with Angelina, Lin Chuan found that she was not just the elf he first met.
She loved drinking and highly praised the hotpot.
In front of Lin Chuan, she seemed quite innocent, without any pretense.
Because she regarded Lin Chuan as a true friend.
And Lin Chuan regarded her as a true friend too.
She was a hacker, and Lin Chuan’s main profession was a web novel writer; fundamentally, they had one thing in common.
— Both were people active online.
Such people often had few friends in reality.
Thus, transitioning from the web to reality and becoming friends gave them a peculiar feeling.
It was not about gender or romance, but rather like finding a kindred spirit.
The winter sun always sets early, the setting sun like blood, reflecting on the mountains and rivers, displaying a hazy brilliance, light golden and pale yellow, seemingly enveloped with a thin layer of mist.
The hotpot was finished.
Both of them scented with the aroma of life, Angelina also with a trace of alcohol, they left the building, walked beside the riverbank, blowing in the evening breeze, airing out the smell.
Dusk to nightfall seemed to happen in an instant.
Walking along, they soon saw lights shining brilliantly from the opposite shore.
On the riverbank, despite it being a winter night, the number of people walking after work gradually increased.
Quite by coincidence.
Lin Chuan saw an acquaintance.
"Good evening, Chairman!"
The HR Manager, Zhou Xiaoying, dressed casually, greeted Lin Chuan warmly as she approached.
Lin Chuan smiled in response, surprised, "Manager Zhou, you’re walking too."
"Yes, I take a walk around here every evening to count my WeChat steps."
Manager Zhou’s face was brimming with a smile, showing a bit of awe towards Lin Chuan and also trying to make a good impression in front of her superior to become more familiar.
"Does anyone else in the company count steps?" Lin Chuan joked.
He glanced at Manager Zhou.
Her face, unmade-up and clearly visible in the brilliant light by the shore, indeed looked a bit aged, somewhat slack, with a few freckles on the right cheekbone.
"Director Li always ranks first in daily steps," Manager Zhou said with a laugh.
Lin Chuan looked at his wrist, where there was no watch: "Manager Zhou, you should walk a bit more too, try to surpass Li Qing today and become the first."
"Alright!"
Zhou Xiaoying nodded vigorously, then passed by Lin Chuan, disappearing into the night along the riverbank.
Pfft.
Angelina chuckled.
"What are you laughing at?" Lin Chuan turned his head to ask.
"You don’t really interact much with your employees, do you?" Angelina smiled gently.
"I’ve been busy writing books," Lin Chuan said.
"That explains it."
Angelina revealed the reason, "This Manager Zhou, we’ve met twice, and you’ve forgotten something both times."
"What’s that?" Lin Chuan asked blankly.
"I have already received the employment notification from the HR department. I start work tomorrow. Shouldn’t you introduce me?" Angelina blinked, her pretty face radiating with beauty.
Lin Chuan smacked his forehead and chuckled, "I’ve had so much going on recently, my brain can’t keep up. I keep forgetting lots of things, mostly because I’ve been preoccupied with Morgan and Baisheng."
Regarding Morgan and Baisheng, Lin Chuan regarded them as top priorities.
Even while having hotpot with Angelina, he hadn’t forgotten about them. Instead, he took the opportunity to reply to messages and coordinate with Hao and Hou for the next steps.
At Little Landlady’s side, Lin Chuan cautioned her well while informing her of his schedule.
New Year’s was fast approaching.
Yu Qin from the Morgan Group was arriving soon.
"Do you need my help?" Angelina asked seriously.
Lin Chuan shook his head, "Just do well as the manager of the technical department. I’ll handle the rest."
He didn’t want to get Angelina involved yet.
Angelina was a core member of the North Bear HK Hacker Organization. There were countless eyes watching behind her, and her connections were undoubtedly extensive.
If she were involved, how muddled would things get?
Lin Chuan dared not imagine.
It wasn’t long before Lin Chuan dropped Angelina off at her hotel, then he went home.
The next day.
Angelina officially took up her role as the temporary manager of the technical department at 720 Network Security Ltd.
The reason for the "temporary" was because Lin Chuan knew she wouldn’t stay long, and her status complicated many procedures.
Angelina’s employment caused quite a stir within 720, with some single guys taking the time to stop by the technical department to catch a glimpse.
Little Landlady was no less attractive than Angelina.
But as the boss’s wife, Little Landlady carried an authority around her. Plus, with Angelina being from North Bear Mo City, she brought a sense of novelty.
Soon, even the security guards in their fifties downstairs at Zhongcheng Building knew about Angelina, the beautiful woman from North Bear.
Famous far and wide!
Three days later, the hype about Angelina died down. Except for employees in the technical department occasionally taking extra glances, everything returned to normal.
"Hello, Angelina," Manager Zhou of the HR department personally delivered the onboarding documents for Angelina to sign.
Sitting in her office, Angelina smiled, "Thank you, Manager Zhou."
Manager Zhou sat down, seemingly aware that Lin Chuan and Angelina were good friends, and intentionally tried to get closer to Angelina, "You look very young. May I call you Lena?"
"Of course," Angelina nodded as she continued signing the documents.
"Lena, I hope you don’t mind me asking how you know our chairman?" Manager Zhou was curious.
"I’m a fan of his writing," Angelina admitted.
Zhou Xiaoying opened her mouth in realization, then nodded, "I’ve heard that the chairman is an influent author, but I haven’t read much of his work."
Pausing her writing, Angelina looked up at Zhou Xiaoying and smiled, "I think his books might not really suit you."
"Really?"
Zhou Xiaoying asked blankly, "I heard that even two very pretty police officers are his loyal readers. If police officers are reading them, maybe I could try too? Lena, do you have any recommendations?"
Angelina leaned forward and whispered, "Our chairman writes crime novels."
Zhou Xiaoying sat upright instinctively, leaning back, her face surprised and she stammered, "This, this..."
"You might try reading our landlady’s novels. They’re quite good." Angelina had met the Little Landlady, and they had discussed their writing.
Enjoy more content from empire
"The landlady writes novels too?" Zhou Xiaoying suddenly felt like she had gained a lot of information from her chat with Angelina.
"Of course," Angelina nodded. "’I Am Not the Medicine God’ is very popular in Southeast Asia!"
"Then I definitely have to check out the landlady’s novels!" Zhou Xiaoying showed a satisfied smile.
Then, she got up to leave.
Angelina watched her leave, frowning slightly.
Something was a bit off about her.

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