Volume 1, Chapter 167: The Year-End Bonus for the Wife

"Sister Sang, good morning!"
"Sister Sang, congratulations on winning the championship!"
"Engineer Sang, Happy New Year in advance!"
"..."

When getting out of the car early in the morning, there was a feeling as if the waist didn't belong to oneself, and the legs didn't belong to oneself either.
However, upon walking into the elevator lobby and being greeted frequently by familiar faces, Sang Wan instantly came back to life with full health.

The 31st, the very last day of the year.
And the Lou Group had a somewhat unconventional yet deeply popular big boss.
Just past ten o'clock, a highlighted notification flashed in bright red on the company's internal network.
Leaving work at 12:00 noon.
New Year gifts, year-end bonuses, and various lucky draws specially prepared by the Lou Group for its employees.

Throughout the entire morning, nobody had their heart in work. Everyone was immersed in the bubbling excitement of the approaching New Year, which was shaping up to be another bountiful and auspicious one.
Sang Wan received her pay slip from Cheng Jingran.
Compared to the previous few months, this month's entries featured several more items.
Department rewards after winning the competition, company rewards.
Year-end bonuses.
Various welfare subsidies for the promotion from junior to senior rank.

Adding everything up, what she earned this month was several times more than the total of the previous few months combined.
Sang Wan: `!!!`

Like every usual Friday, half an hour before off-duty time, people began to punch out and leave one after another.
Her phone chimed softly, and she received a WeChat message from Lou Ye: [Come upstairs!]

Sang Wan looked around, then turned her gaze to Xiaobai.
Anticipating Sang Wan's question, Xiaobai smiled and said, "I'll wait until after lunch before leaving."
Xiaobai even thoughtfully advised Sang Wan, "Sister Wan, you should hurry and go! If you don't go now, the big boss is going to turn into a statue for watching out for his wife."

She inexplicably felt as though she had come to the company today without doing a single thing, other than collecting a massive pay slip and signing a promotion notice.
Sang Wan finally understood why Lou Ye had told her she didn't need to come in today when she was lingering in bed this morning.

The elevator traveled all the way up, and Sang Wan pushed open the door to Lou Ye's office.
Lou Ye looked up, immediately straightened his body, and tossed his pen aside. "Come here and let me hug you for a while!"
Sang Wan swiftly closed the door behind her with a backhand motion.
She wanted to say that he wasn't even afraid of being overheard, which would ruin his image and demeanor as a brilliant and mighty big boss.

Only upon walking closer and seeing the thick stack of documents on Lou Ye's desk did Sang Wan's grievance dissipate into thin air.
"So many documents to sign?"
Sang Wan gently stroked the back of his head. "Doesn't that mean you won't be able to leave work at 12 o'clock?"
Lou Ye laughed. "So, you know now, right? All your peaceful and quiet days are due to me, your boss, carrying the heavy load behind the scenes."

Heh.
Sang Wan would never show empathy toward a capitalist. She patted his shoulder and said, "Boss, keep it up! I'm rooting for you!"
"I need a kiss from my wife to keep it up!"
Lou Ye tilted his head up and looked at Sang Wan with a solemn expression.
Even knowing that this was the office and nobody dared to push the door open without his permission, Sang Wan still blushed.
Yet, meeting Lou Ye's warm and smiling eyes when she lowered her gaze, it felt as though even rejecting him would be a grave sin.

Sang Wan slowly lowered her head.
Fraid that he might pester her further, Sang Wan swiftly pecked him on the lips.
As if completely satisfied, Lou Ye released her, turned around to take a card from the drawer, and shoved it into Sang Wan's hand.
A black card.
Sang Wan paused slightly.
She used to have a card just like this.
Given to her by Lu Jinnian.
However, the primary card was in his hands, and she held a supplementary one.
Yet the card in her hand was not a supplementary one.

"What is... this?" Sang Wan asked Lou Ye.
Lou Ye wrapped his arms around Sang Wan's waist, his smile bright. "Your year-end bonus as my wife!"
"But I'm not..."
The word "wife" felt a bit too scalding on her tongue, and Sang Wan couldn't bring herself to say it.
Lou Ye didn't mind at all. "You will be very soon!"
"..."
As if scorched by his bright and burning gaze, Sang Wan deliberately changed the subject. "How much money is in here?"
Lou Ye shook his head. "I don't know. Anyway... all my net worth is in it."

`???`
Sang Wan was stunned.
Lou Ye smiled and, like a magician, produced another supplementary card with a flick of his wrist. "From now on, all my expenses will go through the supplementary card, making it convenient for you to audit the accounts!"

She felt as though she wasn't holding a bank card, but a hot potato.
Sang Wan tucked the card back into his suit pocket and turned to run.
She was dragged back into his embrace by Lou Ye's lightning-fast reflexes.
"I've already received the year-end bonus you gave me."
"That was from President Lou to Engineer Sang."
"But..."
"There are no 'buts'. Unless you are still hesitating, still harboring reservations, and still want to leave an opening for some lingering, ghost-like ex-husband..."
"I don't!"
"Since you don't, then why can't you accept it? What's mine is yours; what are you hesitating and dodging for?"
"I..."
What?
Sang Wan didn't know either.
She only felt that this card was extraordinarily heavy at this moment, making her unable to pick it up, and leaving her clueless as to where she should put it down.

*Knock, knock!*
The office door was knocked upon.
Sang Wan struggled to stand up.
Lou Ye refused to let go, turned his head, and shouted toward the door, "Wait a few minutes!"
The area outside the door fell silent.
Sang Wan froze, her face flushing crimson.
Clearly, if he had released her, the next second could have been "Please come in."
Why wait a few minutes?
What would Rong Jing or Yang Yan think?
Would they think that they were inside the office doing...

"Take the card back, and I'll let go!"
Just by looking at Sang Wan's huffy yet helpless expression, one could imagine the mental journey she had just gone through in those few seconds.
Lou Ye had nothing to fear and even leaned closer to her audaciously.
His handsome face was right before her eyes, leaving Sang Wan with no other recourse.
With a hardening of her heart, she pulled the card out of his pocket.
Lou Ye kept his word.
The restriction around her waist was subsequently released.
Sang Wan stood up.
Lou Ye leisurely spoke up, "Come in!"

After a brief few seconds, the office door pushed open, and Rong Jing walked in holding a stack of documents.
She thought Lou Ye would sigh and ask Rong Jing to look at what time it was.
Yet Lou Ye didn't utter a single word; he picked up his signature pen, scanned the documents at a glance, and signed them with a flurry of sweeping strokes.

When Rong Jing was about to leave, he even glanced at his wristwatch and reminded him, "Come pick these up in half an hour. Once you've sorted and summarized them, you can all leave for the day!"
"Understood!"
Rong Jing nodded and turned to leave.
Sang Wan also stood up, saying, "I'll go to the cafeteria to get some food and bring it back. Once you're done signing, we can eat together, alright?"
"No need!"
Lou Ye raised his eyes and winked at Sang Wan. "I'll do a magic trick for you!"

There was more?
Sang Wan was taken aback.
Lou Ye looked into her eyes and began a countdown. "Three... two... one!"

*Knock, knock!*
The sound of knocking rang out.
Sang Wan was right by the door and casually pulled it open.
Outside the door, Yang Yan, holding takeout boxes in bags of all sizes, nodded with a smile. "Madam, I'm here to deliver the meal!"

Mada... Madam???
While Sang Wan was still in a daze, Yang Yan walked into the office, neatly arranged the takeout dishes on the coffee table, and then turned to leave.
Before closing the door, Yang Yan looked back and nodded at Lou Ye. "Wishing the Boss and Madam a Happy New Year in advance!"
"Thank you!" Lou Ye acknowledged. "Happy New Year!"

The door clicked shut.
A low chuckle sounded, and Sang Wan turned back to glare at Lou Ye. "What are you laughing at?"
"Laughing at how foolish Lu Jinnian is, is that alright?"
Lou Ye tossed his pen aside, stood up, walked around the desk, took Sang Wan's hand, and led her over to the coffee table to sit down. "Letting me pick up such a massive bargain for free!"
Sang Wan: "..."