Chapter 119: Give a Chance

The next day, Li Xue's expression turned strange whenever she saw Mu Lin.

She would instinctively walk away, even avoiding his gaze during meals.

She even deliberately kept Mu Lin out of her line of sight.

Mrs. Li found this rather strange. She glanced at Mu Lin and saw nothing unusual about him, figuring the problem must be with Li Xue herself.

She decided she would find Li Xue for a private chat later to see if she could solve whatever the problem was.

On the way to work, Li Xue quickly took the front passenger seat, not wanting to sit with Mu Lin.

Li Yinhe shot Mu Lin a sidelong glance, suspecting he had done something to upset Li Xue.

Mu Lin felt completely wronged. 'I didn't do anything!'

He swore on his conscience.

After arriving at the company and reaching his department, he saw Xue Yang walking toward him.

"Brother Lin! Xi'Er is back to normal now. She's planning to go back to school after a couple more days of rest!"

Xue Yang called out warmly, having picked up the form of address from Chen Xi and his group.

"That form of address raises my seniority. You're the leader here, don't put me in an awkward position."

Xue Yang quickly said, "You saved my sister, I can't thank you enough! It's perfectly normal for me to call you 'Brother'! At worst, I'll just act formal in front of President Li."

Mu Lin said, "Aren't you afraid President Li will chew you out?"

Xue Yang thought for a moment, then said, "It's fine. She's cold on the outside but warm on the inside. The worst she can do is dock my pay! She'll just add it back to my bonus later anyway."

Mu Lin was surprised. 'There are bonuses?'

His two hundred thousand package was pure salary, with no mention of a bonus.

Besides, the Special Projects Group had no performance metrics, so where would bonuses come from?

So, Xue Yang's experience wasn't applicable to him!

Tragic. So tragic.

Xue Yang then asked seriously:

"Brother Lin, my sister is cured, but didn't you say I was affected by her too? Is there anything I need to do?"

Mu Lin chuckled. "You're young and strong; you can resist it on your own. At worst, just drink some goji berry tea."

'Goji berries…' Xue Yang thought. 'I'm so young and I already have to start drinking goji tea.'

But to save his own skin, he had to accept reality.

"How long do I have to drink it for?" Xue Yang asked cautiously. If he had to drink it for a long time, his life would be over.

Mu Lin thought for a moment. "Half a month should do it. If you think it's bad for your image, just steep some before bed, then drink it all when you wake up. Chew and swallow the berries, and you'll be fine."

Xue Yang looked thoughtful, feeling that this plan was more acceptable.

"I understand. Thank you, Brother Lin!"

Mu Lin turned and went back to the office. Chen Xi was slumped over his desk, completely devoid of enthusiasm, without even the motivation to read the materials.

Mu Lin walked over to Chen Xi's side. "Why are you so down?"

Chen Xi sighed dramatically. "I went along with you and told that outrageous lie. Sister Xue must hate my guts now."

"The next time I see Sister Xue smile will probably be at my funeral!"

'Wow, you've really thought this through,' Mu Lin mused. 'All the way to your funeral.'

Mu Lin patted his shoulder. "Don't overthink it. She's not the type to hold a grudge. Just say I forced you to do it. I'll take the fall for you."

Chen Xi, a mess of snot and tears, lunged over to hug Mu Lin. "Brother Lin, you're the best!"

Mu Lin sat for a while, then sauntered over to the president's office.

The young secretary saw Mu Lin and remembered her grudge from when he had pushed her aside. "What are you doing here? We let it slide when you forced your way into the president's office yesterday. Are you trying to do it again today?"

Mu Lin smiled faintly. "Miss, could you please let me pass?"

As if the secretary would let him. "In your dreams!"

Suddenly, the office door opened. Mu Lin and Li Xue's eyes met. Li Xue quickly averted her gaze.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to say a few words on Chen Xi's behalf. It wasn't his fault. I was the one who told him to do it, so please don't take it out on him anymore."

The corner of Li Xue's mouth twitched. In reality, she wasn't that angry. She just wanted to knock Chen Xi down a peg so he wouldn't get too cocky.

But now, seeing Mu Lin speak up for Chen Xi, she felt a little displeased.

She would still have to discipline him later. Chen Xi needed to learn whose side he was supposed to be on.

"This is none of your business! Go back!" Li Xue said.

Mu Lin sighed. "Then at least give the Special Projects Group some work to do. They've been reading materials for a long time."

"Isn't the City South Plot 6 job enough?" Li Xue said with a sidelong glance.

"Not enough!" Mu Lin said seriously. "After all, work hasn't even started on it yet. And although it's officially a Special Projects Group job, it really only relies on my personal relationship with Boss Qiao. How can you call that a project for the whole group?"

"Why not take a small project from Team One and give it to the Special Projects Group to practice on? The Lu Family has lost its power, so Cui Chun is probably in no mood to work anyway. Giving the job to them... I don't see a problem with it."

Li Xue's expression changed. "Who do you think you are to touch someone else's cheese? The Lu Family may look like they're gone, but their influence is still there. If they rebound, even I won't be able to suppress them!"

"Then what about Team Three? They should be a neutral party, right?"

"This isn't a question of neutrality! Building houses is a serious business. If something goes wrong, people can die! There's no room for even the slightest carelessness!"

Li Xue's tone was extremely stern.

The young secretary was dumbfounded. What was up with Mu Lin? A mere deputy group leader was bargaining with the president, and the president was even patiently explaining things to him.

Based on Li Xue's past behavior, she would have probably just waved him away and dismissed him long ago.

"Don't worry about that. They've read through all the relevant materials. Especially Chen Xi—he's no idiot. He was only sent to the Special Projects Group because he offended Lu Yi. Now that the Lu Family is gone, isn't it time to let him do something?"

"At the very least, you should see what they can do with your own eyes," Mu Lin said. "How about coming with me to the Special Projects Group?"

The corners of Li Xue's mouth moved slightly. She was starting to soften.

Not for Mu Lin's sake, but because of Chen Xi's situation.

There was really nothing good to say about that messy affair between Lu Yi and Chen Xi.

It was just a heap of bad blood.

It started with some petty jealousy at a reception and spiraled into an all-out professional conflict.

The result was that it escalated to a battle of shares at the board of directors. And, as one would expect, the Lu Family had more shares, and Chen Quan had fewer.

Lu Yi was promoted to Chief Financial Officer, while Chen Xi was exiled to the Special Projects Group to fool around with the rich heirs, his ambitions completely stifled.

Back then, Li Xue could have actually spoken up for Chen Xi. She wasn't the president yet, but she was on good terms with all the directors on the board.

If she had stepped in, many of the directors would have chosen to help Chen Xi.

But she didn't, because she felt that all the back-and-forth would be too much trouble, so she refrained from speaking.

As a result, she had hindered Chen Xi's future prospects.

That little bit of guilt had always been there, but after becoming president, she had to consider the bigger picture. She could only compensate Chen Xi in small ways but could never give him the most crucial thing: power.

Now that Mu Lin had said this, the softest part of her heart was moved.

'The Lu Family is going to cause trouble for the company no matter what. Whether I keep Chen Xi down or not, they've never stopped their scheming.'

'So why not give Chen Xi a chance?'

"Well, let's go!" Li Xue said. "To the Special Projects Group."

The secretary was completely dumbfounded. What on earth was happening?

'All Mu Lin had to do was say a few words, and President Li listened to him?'

Mu Lin and Li Xue walked in front, with the secretary clutching a small notebook and hurrying after them.

Pushing the door open, Chen Xi was startled to see Li Xue. "Sis... Sister Xue, you're here?"

He quickly stood up, moved his own leather chair in front of Li Xue, and carefully set it down.

He had bought this leather chair to suck up to Mu Lin, but Mu Lin had found it too soft and unstable to sit on and refused it.

In the end, Chen Xi was the only one who got to enjoy it.

Li Xue didn't seem to care. She plopped down and crossed her legs:

"Do you want to take on a project?"

Chen Xi's eyes lit up. He said decisively, "Yes!"

"But do you think you're worthy?" Li Xue's icy gaze swept over Chen Xi.

Chen Xi's excitement was instantly extinguished.

'Worthy? Of course I'm not.'

'Everyone knows the Special Projects Group is full of washouts. Who would dare entrust a project to us?'

'If we messed up, it would be a huge disaster.'

Li Xue said, "Mu Lin says you've all been preparing for a long time and are hoping for a chance?"

Chen Xi glanced at Mu Lin excitedly. 'Did Brother Lin go and fight for this chance for us?'

Mu Lin returned his glance, looking very calm.

An irrepressible excitement burst forth from Chen Xi's eyes:

"Sister Xue, please, ask me anything! As long as it's written in the group's documents, I can answer it!"