Side Story: We Are Family! part 2

Note: I put the side story here, the side story should have been in the previous chapter, but I was lazy and procrastinated again

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Luo Mo had just returned from the bathroom and was hoping to join the group for lunch. He walked into the room and saw them sitting around a table, munching on sandwiches and drinks that Theresa had brought.

He felt his stomach growl and looked for his share, but he couldn't find it. He turned to Theresa and asked, "Theresa, did you forget about me? Where's my lunch?"

Kiana, who had stuffed her mouth with a big bite, tried to say something, "Mm… Luo, your…" But before she could finish, she felt a sharp pain on her foot. Theresa had stomped on it, silencing her.

"You can go to the canteen and get your own food." Theresa said coldly, glaring at Luo.

Luo felt a chill in the air and looked around. He saw the others giving him awkward looks, as if they didn't want to get involved. He sighed and decided to leave the room, heading to the cafeteria to find something to eat.

"Theresa, what's wrong with you?" Cecilia asked, puzzled by her behavior. "Why are you so mean to Luo?"

"Uh, it's nothing. I just… remembered something." Theresa lied, turning her head away. She didn't want Cecilia to see her face, which was flushed with embarrassment.

Cecilia raised an eyebrow and whispered, "Hmm…" She sneaked a peek at the basket, when Theresa wasn't looking. She chuckled when see that.

...

Luo Mo felt full and satisfied after eating a hearty meal at the canteen. He wondered who was the chef behind the delicious food. He thought to himself, "Whoever cooked this deserves a raise. I'll make sure to reward them later." He patted his bloated stomach and walked back to the recording room, where he hoped to find the others.

He opened the door and was greeted by an empty and messy room. He frowned and said, "Oh, come on. Where did they all go?"

He looked around and saw the table covered with crumbs, wrappers, and empty bottles. He shook his head and muttered, "This is why I don't want anyone to eat here. But Kiana is so stubborn. She always does what she wants."

As a good captain you must have the ability to clean and mop the deck of your ship.

Luo finally went out to get some cleaning tools and came back.

It's not that he doesn't want to call the janitor to clean this room, it's just that this feels natural to him. 

He started to sweep the floor and wipe the table, throwing away the trash. He noticed a basket on the table, that looked familiar. He said, "Huh, isn't this Theresa's basket? What is it doing here?"

He lifted the basket and felt that it was heavier than he expected. He was curious and opened it, hoping to find something interesting.

He was surprised to see a box of food that looked appetizing and a paper on top of it. The food was a variety of sandwiches, salads, fruits, and desserts, all neatly arranged and wrapped. The paper had a note written on it.

[Luo Mo, thank you for healing Himeko injury]

Luo Mo read the note and chuckled, "That tsundere shorty."

"but.." 

He said, "But she told me to eat in the cafeteria. And now she left me this? What does she want me to do?"

He looked at his big belly and felt a dilemma.

...

Su Lu stared at Luo Mo, who was snoring on the office sofa. He looked so peaceful and relaxed, as if he was sleeping on a cloud.

The sofa was one of the many perks that Mihoyo had provided for its employees, after receiving a huge funding from Schicksal.

Mihoyo wanted to make the most of its resources, and that included its human capital. It knew that increasing the working hours and salaries of its employees was not enough to keep them [motivated and productive].

It also had to create a comfortable and fun environment for them, where they could feel at home and 'enjoy' their work.

That's why Mihoyo had renovated the office with all kinds of recreational facilities, such as a gym, a library, a karaoke room, and a spa. It had also hired five-star chefs to cook delicious and healthy food for the canteen, such as sushi, pasta, salads, and desserts.

It had even added a "happy gaming room", where the employees could play games and relax. Of course, the main game there was Honkai Impact 3. Mihoyo was still a capitalist company, after all, and it wanted to get some 'free' feedback and bug reports from its own staff.

But Su Lu was not interested in any of those things right now. her attention was focused on her boss, Luo Mo, who was lying on the sofa with a big pot belly. She wondered what had happened to him, and why he was sleeping in the middle of the day.

Luo Mo blinked his eyes and saw Su Lu standing near him. He called out her name, "Su Lu."

Su Lu heard her boss and came closer, "Yes, boss??"

Luo Mo decided to share a story with him, hoping to explain his situation. He said, "You know, I once met a fat uncle in China, when I visited his house. He had a photo on the wall, that showed how different he used to be."

Su Lu was puzzled by Luo Mo's story, but she listened anyway. Luo Mo went on, "In the photo, he was a bodybuilder with a muscular body. He looked handsome and strong, like a movie star. But in reality, he was a fat uncle who liked to watch birds in front of his house, while drinking coffee and like talk about Feng shui all day."

Luo Mo paused and said, "I asked him why he changed so much, and he gave me a surprising answer. He said,

'You will understand when you get married. A fat married man is a happy married man. It means he has a good wife who cooks well and loves him. It also means he has no worries or troubles in life. He can enjoy the simple pleasures of nature and harmony.' "

Luo went on, "Now I get what Uncle was trying to say, because I'm in the same boat as him."

He smiled and closed his eyes, feeling content and sleepy.

Su Lu waited for him to say more, but he didn't. She wondered what Luo meant by that. She asked, "Boss…?"

She got no reply. She looked at Luo and saw that he was fast asleep, snoring softly.

Su Lu shook her head and said to herself, "Sleeping? Maybe I should do a background check on the new chefs in the canteen, maybe they added strange things to the canteen food, we already have one victim here."