Movie: Get Alpha Dog at the start

Chapter 1557 Pure Ox and Horse

At the same time, Li Dongming opened the door with great interest. He had drunk quite a bit that night; his cheeks were flushed, and his steps were slightly unsteady, but he was in good spirits. Although he had only made an appearance in front of Puyol tonight, and Puyol might even forget his name by tomorrow, leaving an impression on Puyol would still be very helpful for his future promotion.

"Why did you drink so much today?" Zhao Mei had just finished showering and was drying her hair in the living room. She was wearing a silk nightgown, her hair still wet and disheveled. Hearing the door open, she came out to check. Seeing Li Dongming's drunken state, she frowned, but still went over to help him up.

Li Dongming let out a burp, chuckled, and put his arm around Zhao Mei's waist.

“It’s more useful than securing a major client.” He then recounted what happened at the party that evening. He started by talking about Helen’s social media posts, how he got the invitation, and how he toasted and chatted with Puyol, embellishing the story to make himself sound like the main character.

Zhao Mei's eyes lit up: "So, you have a good chance of taking it a step further."

"That's right, don't you even know who your husband is?" Li Dongming waved his hand smugly, letting out a loud burp. "Old Fan wants to compete with me? He's no match for me!"

The "Old Fan" he mentioned is another senior partner at Ruijing Consulting. His performance is far inferior to his, but he has more seniority and is Li Dongming's main competitor.

"Alright, stop showing off, you reek of alcohol." Zhao Mei laughed and dodged Li Dongming's attempt to kiss her, giving him a push: "Go take a shower quickly, I'll make you a cup of hangover tea, otherwise you'll feel awful when you wake up tomorrow."

Li Dongming stretched out his hands, waiting to be served like a child. Zhao Mei rolled her eyes at him, but still stepped forward, took off his coat, hung it on the hanger, and loosened his tie, casually draping it over the back of the chair.

After Li Dongming went into the bathroom to shower, the sound of running water filled the air. Zhao Mei gathered up the clothes scattered at the bathroom door, checking the pockets of each piece before throwing them into the washing machine. While reaching into her trouser pocket, she felt Li Dongming's phone; the screen lit up briefly, displaying a WeChat message.

A thought suddenly struck her. She knew she shouldn't look—even married couples need privacy. But she still turned on the screen and entered the password. Li Dongming's password was his birthday, which he had never changed.

There was a red number on the WeChat icon. She tapped it and immediately spotted Qiao Hailun. She knew all the other men on WeChat, but she'd never seen Qiao Hailun before.

She clicked in; the chat history wasn't extensive. Most were work-related, occasionally interspersed with phrases like "Thank you for your hard work" or "Thank you." But one message caught her attention—"Mr. Li, the invitation has been placed at the front desk. Just give your name when you arrive." It was sent last night, before the party started.

Zhao Mei scrolled through Qiao Hailun's WeChat Moments. She recognized Qin Hao at a glance.

Fifteen minutes later, Li Dongming came out of the bathroom, his hair still wet and wearing a bathrobe. He saw Zhao Mei sitting on the sofa, his phone on the washing machine, the screen still lit. He immediately realized that Zhao Mei had touched his phone.

However, he was certain he hadn't done anything to betray Zhao Mei, and his expression remained perfectly calm. He walked over, drying his hair, glanced at his phone, and then sat down.

"Did you find anything?" he asked calmly.

"Is this Qiao Hailun Qin Hao's new girlfriend?" Zhao Mei's voice was muffled, tinged with resentment. She leaned back on the sofa, hugging a cushion, her gaze fixed on the television, but not watching anything.

Li Dongming frowned: "Didn't you see it on WeChat Moments?"

"I'm asking you a question." Zhao Mei turned her head and stared at him.

"Yes." Li Dongming nodded: "Qin Hao's new girlfriend. An employee of Ruijing Consulting, one of my subordinates."

Zhao Mei asked quietly, "In what way does she compare to Liang Danning?"

Li Dongming was taken aback. He knew that Zhao Mei and Liang Danning had been best friends for ten years. Now that Liang Danning had broken up with Qin Hao, and Qin Hao had turned around and approached one of his employees, Zhao Mei must be feeling terrible.

He patiently persuaded her, "I don't know about other things, but in terms of obedience, Qiao Hailun is miles ahead of Liang Danning." He paused, then put his arm around Zhao Mei's shoulder, "Liang Danning is a thing of the past for Qin Hao. But we still need to look forward. Especially you, if you can get Qin Hao's support, Xu Yuntian's position will be yours for the taking."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Mei shook off his hand, her tone somewhat sharp. "I will fight for Xu Yuntian's position myself; I don't need him. With your help, didn't we resolve the crisis last time?"

Li Dongming felt like he'd shot himself in the foot. He'd already made his boast, and he couldn't very well tell Zhao Mei that her reinstatement was solely due to Qin Hao's hole-in-one bet against Bai Ruide from 250 yards out, could he?

"Darling, you'll help me, right?" Zhao Mei suddenly turned around, hugged his neck, and her voice softened.

Looking into her expectant eyes, Li Dongming couldn't refuse. He nodded and put his arm around her waist. Zhao Mei leaned into his embrace, the silk fabric of her pajamas gleaming softly under the light.

Soon, their passion ignited, and the sofa cushions were pushed to the floor, while the TV remote was kicked under the coffee table. The living room lights stayed on all night.

The next day, Qiao Hailun clocked in right on time again. At nine o'clock sharp, she walked into the office, strolled to her workstation, put down her bag, took off her coat, and hung it on the back of her chair. Then she went to the tea room, got a cup of hot water, tore open a packet of instant coffee, poured it in, and stirred it slowly with a spoon.

Although it was instant coffee, she made it feel very special. She carried a steaming cup of coffee back to her desk, sat down, crossed her legs, and took a small sip. Then she frowned, added a little milk, took another sip, and nodded in satisfaction.

Several colleagues nearby stared in disbelief at the scene.

Sasha couldn't stand it anymore. She put down the documents in her hand, turned around, and said angrily to Qiao Hailun, "Since you have such a rich boyfriend, why are you still coming to work? You might as well go home and be a rich housewife."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Hailun calmly picked up her coffee cup and took another sip. Her movements were slow, as if she were savoring something precious.

“It’s quite boring to be home alone.” She put down her cup, speaking casually: “Besides, going to work is much better. I have a regular schedule, and he doesn’t have to worry about me flirting with other women outside. We also have common topics to talk about when we get home.”

Sasha never expected Qiao Hailun to be so "shameless." Her eyes widened, and her voice rose several octaves: "But you took up one of our group's spots! You're always slacking off, and you're leaving all the work on us!"

Helen took a sip of her coffee, her brow furrowing slightly, before adding a little more milk. She slowly put down her cup, looked at Sasha, and spoke as calmly as if discussing the weather.

"You think I've taken up a spot, but have you ever considered that even without me, you'd still be the ones doing the work in the end?"

Sasha froze instantly. Her mouth hung open, wanting to retort, but she couldn't find the words. The colleagues around her who were watching the commotion all had expressions of "heartache"—some lowered their heads, some pretended to look at their computers, and some picked up their water glasses to drink and hide their embarrassment.

An eerie silence fell over the entire office.

It wasn't until Li Dongming walked over from the other end of the corridor that everyone came to their senses and quickly buried themselves in their work, the keyboards clattering loudly, afraid of following in Tao Ling's footsteps.

As Li Dongming passed Qiao Hailun's workstation, he saw her holding a cup of coffee, leaning leisurely back in her chair, while Sasha next to her stared at the computer screen with a livid expression. His lips twitched, but he said nothing and quickened his pace toward his office.

He was just about to pretend he hadn't seen it, go back to his office, close the door, and out of sight, out of mind. But then Helen followed him in, still holding that cup of coffee.

"You... needed something?" Li Dongming stood behind his desk, trying to keep his tone calm. He took off his suit jacket, hung it on a hanger, then sat down, picked up a few files from the desk, and flipped through a couple of pages, pretending to be busy.

Qiao Hailun slapped a leave request in front of him.

Li Dongming glanced down—he had requested a month's leave, and the reason he gave was: "The world is so big, I want to go see it."

His brows furrowed deeply: "Well... my colleagues at work have been having a lot of complaints about you lately, and this is putting me in a really difficult position..."

Before Li Dongming could finish speaking, Qiao Hailun impatiently took out her phone, opened the chat history from the previous night, and showed him the screen: "Mr. Li, last night you said 'there will be a generous reward.' Is this the generous reward you were talking about?"

Li Dongming was so angry his nose almost twisted. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, thinking that he might need Qiao Hailun in the future.

In the end, I gritted my teeth and signed the leave request.

Qiao Hailun picked up the leave slip, looked at the signature on it, and smiled with satisfaction. "Thank you, Mr. Li."

She turned and walked out of the office with light steps.

Li Dongming sat in the chair, watching her figure disappear through the door, his back teeth almost grinding to powder.

Qiao Hailun returned to her workstation, tidied up her things, and then took out her phone to send Qin Hao a WeChat message: "I got the leave I needed."

A few seconds later, Qin Hao replied, "Okay, I'll have my assistant buy you a plane ticket."

Sasha secretly watched all of this from the side, her eyes filled with complex emotions. She watched as Qiao Hailun picked up her bag, shut down her laptop, stood up, glanced around the office, and then walked away in her high heels, each step seeming to proclaim something.

For the next week, Qiao Hailun posted numerous photos on her WeChat Moments of her vacation in the Maldives with Qin Hao. Blue skies, white clouds, turquoise seas, white sand beaches, an infinity pool, and seaplanes. She wore a bikini, a large straw hat, and held a cocktail in her hand, her smile as radiant as the sun.

My colleagues saw these photos on their phones in the office and were green with envy. They're working overtime every day, while these people are enjoying sunshine, beaches, yachts, and seafood. How can the difference in their lives be so vast?

But that wasn't all. For the next two weeks, while the Maldives' sun and beaches were gone, the allure of medieval European castles, fine wines, and Paris Fashion Week was even more overwhelming. In the castle photos, Helen Joel stood before a floor-to-ceiling window in a long red dress, overlooking endless vineyards. In the Paris Fashion Week photos, she sat in the front row, surrounded by several household names, with flashbulbs popping everywhere.

"Sigh, look at them, this is what life is all about." A colleague leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling. "What kind of life do we live? It's like being a beast of burden."

"There's nothing we can do, we just don't have the charm that Helen Qiao has when it comes to seducing people," another colleague said sourly.

"Hmph, those who rely on their looks to please others will find their favor waning as their beauty fades." A female colleague sitting in the corner pushed up her glasses and said disdainfully, "Maybe in a year or two they'll get tired of her, and then we'll see how she'll still be laughing."

Sasha listened to her colleagues' discussions but didn't join in. She sat at her workstation, her fingers tapping and pausing on the keyboard, her gaze occasionally drifting towards Li Dongming's office.

Through Qiao Hailun, she realized a truth—it's better to find a rich boyfriend than to bury yourself in hard work.

She began to re-evaluate the people around her. Colleagues? No, too poor. Friends? No, too ordinary. Clients? Some were decent, but too old. She mentally went through all the men she knew, and finally focused her attention on Li Dongming.

Although Li Dongming is far less wealthy than Qin Hao, he is still one of the few wealthy people in her circle—a senior partner, earning a million-dollar annual salary, owning a car and a house, and with parents who are both highly educated intellectuals. As for Li Dongming being married? With enough effort, no corner is too difficult to dig up.

So, for the next period of time, Sasha began to frequently contact Li Dongming. She would sit next to him during meetings, chat with him a bit more when they bumped into each other in the break room, and "coincidentally" stay behind when he worked overtime. She wore clothes that were more fitted than usual, put on more elaborate makeup, and spoke in a gentler voice than usual.

However, the result was not as she hoped. Li Dongming clearly sensed her intentions, but he didn't make any substantial contact with her, and even deliberately avoided contacting her privately. Every time she went to see him alone, he would send her away with excuses such as "I have a meeting," "I have a phone call," or "I have something to do."

Sasha had initially worried that Li Dongming might retaliate against her because of this, but nothing happened for several days. She had some idea of ​​what Li Dongming was thinking, so she tried to avoid being alone with him in public, only sending him ambiguous messages on WeChat. An emoji, a sentence, a photo—she left it at that.

Li Dongming was also in turmoil. A promotion opportunity was right in front of him; if he missed it, years of hard work would be wasted. He was under immense pressure, suffering from insomnia night after night, waking up with dark circles under his eyes, and spacing out during meetings. Even Zhao Mei noticed something was wrong.

"What's wrong with you lately? Are you working too hard?" Zhao Mei asked.

"It's nothing, I just have a lot of projects lately," he said dismissively.

He finds it difficult to confide in his wife. He's always maintained a superior, instructive attitude towards her, and after so long, it's hard for him to let go of that. He needs an outlet, someone who won't judge him, won't offer advice, but simply listen quietly.

Sasha's appearance gave Li Dongming a way to release stress.

After struggling for a while, Li Dongming finally sent a message to Sasha.

"I'm going to a meeting in Shanghai next week, so get ready."

Sasha was organizing files at her workstation when she received the message. Staring at the line of text on the screen, her heart raced, and her fingers trembled slightly. She took a deep breath, trying to appear calm, and replied with a single word: "Okay."

Over the weekend, she went to the mall and bought several sexy outfits: a black slip dress, a lace nightgown, and a pair of red high heels. She spent a long time looking at herself in the mirror in the fitting room, making sure every detail was perfect, before swiping her card to pay.

It was a month later when Qiao Hailun returned to work at Ruijing Consulting. She was a bit tanned, but she looked radiant, like a fruit nourished by sunshine and rain. She wore a white dress, her hair was loose with slightly curled ends, and she wore flat sandals. She looked even more beautiful than before she left.

On her first day back at work, she heard some rumors among her colleagues. For example, Li Dongming always took Sasha with him on business trips; Sasha was one of the outstanding employees this month; and Sasha, whose performance was originally average, was able to get through the layoffs smoothly.

"Really?" Qiao Hailun asked her colleague next to her.

"How could it be fake?" The colleague lowered his voice: "Last week, General Manager Li went to Shanghai for a meeting with Sasha. The two stayed at the same hotel, and someone saw them having dinner together, and they ate very late."

Qiao Hailun's first reaction was "office gossip"—she was all too familiar with it, having heard countless unfounded rumors. But when she saw the unintentional exchange of glances between Sasha and Li Dongming, her intuition told her that there was definitely something going on between the two. There was tacit understanding, ambiguity, and something else entirely in those eyes.

However, Qiao Hailun didn't care at all who Li Dongming was having an office romance with. She just treated it as a topic of conversation, complaining about it to Qin Hao on the sofa at night.

"I just can't understand how Sasha could be so foolish as to get involved with Li Dongming." She leaned against Qin Hao, tracing circles on his chest with her finger. "Would Li Dongming give her money? Would he let her skip writing a report or a PowerPoint presentation?"

The reason she went to such lengths to please Qin Hao was because he was incredibly generous. Before dating him, she could only afford a cramped, damp apartment in a village within the city, where water seeped through the walls during the rainy season and the air was always musty. Now she had a spacious apartment, and after their recent trip, Qin Hao even bought her a BMW X5. Her wardrobe was overflowing with designer clothes and bags, some still with the tags on. These were things she never dared to dream of before.

"Is this all you wanted to tell me in this long night?" Qin Hao wasn't interested in Li Dongming's gossip. He leaned back on the sofa, one arm around Qiao Hailun's waist.

Helen gave him a coquettish glare, then reached out and hooked her arm around his neck, pressing her body against his: "So, what do you want to do?"

Her voice was soft and sweet, her eyes sparkling, and her lips slightly pouting. Qin Hao put down his phone, looking at the little wildcat in his arms who was actively flirting with him, a slight smile playing on his lips. This was unacceptable; he had to teach her a lesson!

He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Helen hugged his neck, buried her head in his shoulder, and giggled.

Nothing more was said that night… (End of Chapter)