I Quit Being This Female Lead (GL) - Chapter 42

The first day passed in a daze here. Mang Ke was not woken up by warm sunlight or the sweet scent of breakfast, but by the clamorous, chattering early-morning sounds of her whole family.

Mang Ke sat up in bed. Her hair was a mess from sleeping, sticking out wildly and aggressively atop her head, making her look like a grumpy little lion.

Xiao Zhe had to get up at 6:00 AM to prepare for school. The elementary school morning reading class started at 7:50 AM, and factoring in the long commute, her elder sister was getting ready to take him to school before 7:00 AM.

The elderly couple, speaking with a bit of a Southern accent, were also fussing about how much money they had earned from their stall the previous night and how they needed to deposit it in the bank before setting up today.

From brushing her teeth and washing up to sitting at the breakfast table, Mang Ke remained listless.

Was this family always so energetic first thing in the morning?

At this moment, the actress playing Mang Ke’s mother in the plot saw her tired look and asked, “Xiao Ke, how is your job going?”

Mang Ke scooped a spoonful of porridge: “It’s fine, just the usual.”

“If you ask me, you should change jobs,” her father said, looking at Mang Ke with concern. “We know about your situation with your General Manager. It’s normal for their family to object to people from our background. You shouldn’t constantly try to find ways to approach wealthy people.”

Mang Ke: “…”

So, she was a gold digger here?

It seemed female leads in early romance novels often had some degree of materialism. Mang Ke scratched her fluffy head and said helplessly, “I like her, and it’s not because she’s rich.”

“We know you genuinely like that girl, but there’s nothing you can do if she doesn’t like you,” her mother said.

“Who says she doesn’t like me?”

Mang Ke retorted stubbornly: “She definitely likes me in her heart; otherwise, she wouldn’t try to stop me from seeking her out.”

Her parents frowned slightly: “Xiao Ke, you have to understand that it’s impossible for the two of you to be together.”

“I don’t care. What I’ve decided to do, I must do.”

Mang Ke rose from the dining table and said to the two middle-aged people, “I’m going to be late for work. I’m heading out.”

The wobbling bus, carrying a full load of early-rising suburban residents into the city, made Mang Ke feel like a sardine packed tightly in a can, waiting to be delivered to a retail store.

She got off the bus and braced herself against the wall.

Mang Ke threw up what she had eaten for breakfast, clinging to the trash can with firm determination in her heart!

As soon as she got her first month’s salary, she was buying an electric scooter!

She would definitely die if she continued riding this bus!

After finally managing herself, Mang Ke hurried into the company building with her bag.

Perhaps because she was early, there were only three to five people queuing in the lobby. An elevator opened and carried all of them up.

Mang Ke was in no rush, so she leisurely walked to the elevator entrance, watching another car slowly descend from the top floor.

One floor, two floors.

Mang Ke clutched her stomach, feeling the unpleasant churning in her gut. She decided to check upstairs for snacks later, or she would have to order takeout.

Just as Mang Ke was pondering whether to order steamed buns or pot stickers for takeout, she felt someone standing behind her.

She instinctively turned around and saw that the person was a refined-looking woman with long, straight black hair neatly draped behind her. Dressed in a black leather jacket, jeans, and knee-high boots, she highlighted her already slender legs.

Mang Ke was startled, her eyes meeting the woman’s.

The woman’s dark eyes calmly stared at the person in front of her, showing no sign of impatience.

After three seconds of staring, Mang Ke suddenly realized her lapse in etiquette. Her face flushed, she quickly retracted her head and turned back, so ashamed she wanted to sink into the tiled floor.

Damn it! Why did she get so engrossed looking at a beautiful woman?

Mang Ke tapped her head with her fingers, secretly complaining to herself: I can’t just stare at people like this because she looks somewhat familiar. What if they think I’m a pervert?

The thought of being considered a pervert at her peak age made Mang Ke nearly jump up in embarrassment.

“Ding—”

Fortunately, the sound of the elevator bell broke the awkward silence.

Mang Ke quickly stepped inside. After pressing her floor, she retreated two steps and huddled in the furthest corner of the elevator, staring down at her canvas shoes, afraid to look up.

As the elevator doors closed, Mang Ke realized she was the only one in the elevator with the woman from earlier.

Standing behind the woman, Mang Ke could even see every strand of her black hair—dark, shiny, and straight—which looked exceptionally beautiful.

In fact, Mang Ke had always envied such glossy black hair. Her own frizzy, chestnut hair occasionally led the Dean of Students to catch her and lecture her. God knows she never tampered with her hair and never even curled it.

In her mind, elegant beauties always had this kind of long, black, straight hair.

Thinking this, Mang Ke suddenly wondered if her affection for Xun Fangyun was due to her beautiful black, wavy hair?

Just as Mang Ke was distracted, staring at the other woman’s hair, the red button panel on the elevator suddenly went dark. The ascending floor numbers also flickered out, and then the entire elevator plunged into darkness!

Mang Ke: “!!!”

If she hadn’t misread it, the last floor number she saw was the 13th floor!!!!

Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!

Before Mang Ke could scream, the woman in front of her anxiously slapped the elevator buttons, only to find they were completely unresponsive!

“Is the elevator broken!” Mang Ke’s face turned pale with fear. She had never experienced anything like this in her life. She rushed forward, looking at the blacked-out buttons and screen, with only the elevator’s emergency light emitting a faint glow.

The woman frowned, leaning one hand against the elevator wall. Her complexion was even worse than Mang Ke’s.

Seeing the woman’s distressed face, Mang Ke instinctively asked, “Are you okay? Don’t worry, it’s almost time for work, and everyone will find us soon.”

The woman looked up at Mang Ke mournfully, and said with pale lips, “I… have claustrophobia…”

With that, she rolled her eyes and fell straight down!

Mang Ke: “!!!!!”

She hurriedly reached out to catch the woman in her arms, then collapsed onto the elevator floor. The woman’s warm body and weight pressed down on her, making it hard for Mang Ke to breathe.

What on earth is happening!!!

Mang Ke pulled out her phone from her pocket, looked at the emergency phone number in the elevator, and started dialing while slapping the woman’s face.

“Hello, hello, we’re trapped in the elevator, and someone has fainted! Hurry and save us, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!!”

In the General Manager’s office, Xun Fangyun took off her white jacket and casually hung it on the nearby clothes rack.

She subconsciously glanced outside. People were coming and going inside the company; everyone was working diligently, including the occasional employee secretly slacking off.

But none of that mattered. Xun Fangyun searched for a long time but couldn’t find Mang Ke.

Strange, why isn’t she coming to work today?

Xun Fangyun felt annoyed and asked, “What time is it now?”

The assistant, who was constantly monitoring the boss’s movements, immediately replied, “It’s 9:40 AM, General Manager Yu.”

Xun Fangyun frowned: “What is the company policy for people who are late?”

The assistant thought for a moment and said, “10 minutes late is a 10 yuan deduction, 30 minutes late is a 50 yuan deduction, and over 30 minutes is considered absence without leave, resulting in a deduction of that day’s salary, the full attendance bonus, and performance pay.”

“Good,” Xun Fangyun turned to the assistant and said, “Bring the staff roster. I’m going to check who is late today.”

The assistant: “…”

What was wrong with the boss today? It’s 9:40 AM; isn’t it a bit late to check for tardiness?

But since she was the boss, the assistant quickly gathered the secretary and the head of the HR department, and the group set off on a grand inspection.

During the check, they found several people who were secretly slacking off, chatting during work, eating breakfast, or catching up on sleep.

Xun Fangyun also made a note of the few who were absent due to leave.

Suddenly, all the employees felt their scalps prickle, unable to understand what was going on with Xun Fangyun today.

When they arrived at Mang Ke’s department, Xun Fangyun openly surveyed the area and said to the assistant, “Call roll.”

The assistant took out the roster and called out the names one by one.

“Chi Yuanyuan.”

“Here.”

“Fang Xiaoya.”

“Present!”

“Hu Kexin.”

“Here.”

“Mang Ke.”

The assistant looked up and continued the roll call: “Mang Ke. Did Mang Ke come in?”

Seeing no response, the assistant asked, “Why isn’t she here? Did she go to the restroom?”

The supervisor stood up at this point and said, “No, she hasn’t come in today. We’re not sure what happened, and no one is answering her phone.”

Xun Fangyun frowned and quickly walked to Mang Ke’s cubicle.

Mang Ke’s desk was very simple: a computer, a keyboard, and aside from a company calendar, a tissue box, and a mug, there was nothing else.

Suddenly, Xun Fangyun felt that something was amiss. She reached out and pulled open Mang Ke’s drawer—

Inside, scattered clumps of black soil with a foul, earthy smell were visible, with several earthworms wriggling around, a sight that made one’s scalp crawl.

Xun Fangyun’s expression turned grim. She looked up and scanned the surroundings, asking, “Who did this?”

Not a single person in the office dared to make a sound.

Xun Fangyun scoffed: “No one is saying anything, right? An entire department that engages in this kind of behavior clearly has a systemic problem.”

“I’ll give you one minute,” Xun Fangyun said with a cold face. “Confess yourselves. If no one speaks up…”

She continued: “The entire department can be downsized. None of you will remain here.”

To bully anyone else, but to bully Mang Ke?

Xun Fangyun was practically exploding with rage. What were these plot NPCs, daring to bully her Mang Ke?

Did they truly think she had a good temper?

A short while later, a short-haired girl quietly raised her hand, then quickly pointed at another girl next to her and said, “It was her! It was her who put the painted cloth doll and the earthworm soil in Mang Ke’s drawer! It has nothing to do with the rest of us!”

The accused girl’s face instantly went pale, and she quickly stammered, “I, I didn’t mean to bully her! Who, who told her to compete with Sister Yun for you? I was just letting off some steam for her!”

Xun Fangyun frowned, and a feeling of unease suddenly struck her.