Chapter 120: Still Not Leaving After Work

Tang Xiao had no objections to this arrangement. After all, the work was there regardless, and it didn't matter who did it. She nodded and said, "That works. I’ve already handed the task that came in earlier to Youyou. Next time there’s a similar data retrieval request, I’ll post it in the group chat. Whoever is free can pick it up."

As soon as Tang Xiao said this, it brought joy to some and grief to others.

"Sure, no problem!" Cheng Li’s smile was impossible to hide upon hearing this.

Lin Luoyou, however, felt immense pressure. As an amateur in this field, how could she compete with someone who had studied programming professionally? Just take the task Tang Xiao had given her earlier—she had only just finished debugging the program to stop it from throwing errors. As for whether the results would be what she needed, that would likely take another ten minutes.

Just as Lin Luoyou was thinking this, Tang Xiao turned her gaze toward her.

"Youyou, how is your progress?"

"It's running right now. I expect the data will take a little while longer to come out."

"All right, just take it step by step. No need to rush."

Although Tang Xiao wasn't pressuring her, Lin Luoyou felt anxious herself. Fortunately, after modifying the code twice, she finally obtained the data she needed.

***

Past three o'clock, Cheng Li, who was also on the morning shift, packed her things, ready to head home. But after returning from a trip to the restroom, she noticed Lin Luoyou was still sitting at her desk. She couldn't help but speculate:

*No way, is she trying that hard to show off? Staying late after work just to make herself look more diligent than me?*

With that thought, Cheng Li decided not to leave. She reopened her computer and continued working on the files she hadn't finished that morning.

"Hey, why haven't you two clocked out yet?"

As the team leader, Chen Xujia naturally had to oversee the entire day on weekends. She returned with afternoon tea, only to be surprised to find the two younger staff members still at their desks.

Lin Luoyou turned around and explained with a sheepish smile, "My advisor is pressuring me for my thesis proposal, so I’m just using the company’s internet to look up some research. It saves me from having to fight the underclassmen for a spot at the library when I get back."

The company’s intranet allowed access to Google, which was incredibly convenient for Lin Luoyou, who needed to consult a mountain of international literature.

"Writing a graduation thesis? That certainly requires focus," Chen Xujia said with a look of concern, her tone turning nostalgic and sentimental. "I don’t even remember how many years ago it was when I wrote mine. It’s good to be young!"

"Rare to see! You actually have a sentimental side, Xujia?" Liao Yingying walked over at that moment, clutching her mug with a playful expression on her face. "Let me tell you, don’t try to borrow any of my people! I won’t give them up, even if you ask! I’m short-handed as it is!"

Seeing it was Liao Yingying, Chen Xujia’s first reaction was to eye her warily, terrified that her next sentence would be a request to borrow staff.

"Relax, I’m not here to poach your people. You’re so jumpy. We have an optimization plan for product tags, and I was thinking of having you sit in and listen to it."

"Alright, I’ll be right there!"

Chen Xujia set down her afternoon tea snacks, grabbed her laptop, and followed Liao Yingying toward the conference room. After taking two steps, she turned back and placed the snacks, which she had barely touched, on the communal cabinet in the center of the office area.

"I’ve barely touched these. Tian Qi, Zhenzhen, if either of you is hungry, help yourselves! You need to be well-fed to have the energy to keep working!"

"In that case, we won't hold back!"

Su Zhenxin’s foodie instincts were immediately ignited. She set aside her work, stepped forward, and grabbed a skewer of takoyaki.