Second Male Lead to One, Male Lead to Another (Part 2)

363 One Lucky Guy

The next morning, Li Ming came to work early for his shift. Instead of going to change his clothes, he simply greeted everyone else and then went to knock on manager Quan's door. Anyway, for this matter with Zhu Yi to work, the prerequisite was still that Manager Quan was on board with switching the schedule around.

Actually, Li Ming wasn't too sure of this. Even though manager Quan tried to make a lot of things possible, that was usually for cases where you had something on a specific date like a birthday or an anniversary or a wedding. So while it might still not be a problem to get off for the course next week, it was likely he would say no to this becoming a regular thing. And if that was the case ... he didn't think Zhu Yi would agree.

Li Ming sighed to himself. He had no idea how to even bring this up. He wanted to give it a try and for it to work out but he didn't have a single good argument for this. Not to mention that even if it was only supposed to be a thing he did at the side, it was obvious that it become more. Would the manager in charge of him really want to give him an opportunity to get a different job and just switch? He doubted it.

Manager Quan's first responsibility was to the hotel. Even though he treated the staff nicely, there were limits. This was definitely one of them. But even though Li Ming was very much aware of this, he still went ahead.

Manager Quan was surprised to see him but still waved for him to come over and sit down. "Brother Li, what's the matter? It's rare for you to come in." He didn't have the type of staff members who would come to complain often but some were more chatty than others. He definitely had a few that would just walk in every now and then to have a cup of tea or coffee after work or before their shift started. Li Ming wasn't one of them though so he was indeed surprised to see him.

Li Ming forced himself to give a smile and sat down. "Actually, it's a bit complicated. I don't even know where to start."

Manager Quan raised his brows, getting serious. He had expected there would be more to it if the person in question was Li Ming but this sounded like it was something grave. "Is there some kind of problem?"

Li Ming shook his head. "Not quite like that. It's just ..." He thought for a moment and finally sighed deeply. "I feel a bit bad about bringing this up. You see, yesterday, I got a call from a friend. A business client of his is looking for somebody to help out with a fitness course he is giving and my friend happened to recommend me."

Manager Quan raised his brows. This was something he wouldn't have expected but he could see where it was going. "And I assume the timing is a problem?"

Li Ming's smile turned even more stagnant. "Well, you could say that. Right now, I don't even know if I could do it. He offered for me to just try it out next week. If it were to work though, this would be a thing that is supposed to happen twice a week. I know this would be a problem with our shift schedules."

Manager Quan gave a hum and nodded slowly. After a moment, he scratched his head and then laughed with a shake of his head. "You know, I'm not surprised you're this reluctant to bring it up. You know you're making trouble."

Li Ming hung his head. "Yes, I know. I'm sorry. I ..." He shook his head. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

Yes, what had he even thought? Of course, his manager wouldn't be alright with this. There was simply no way this could work out in any way. Not if it was supposed to be happening for any length of time.

Manager Quan clicked his tongue and leaned back, grabbing the pen that was lying to the side, and motioning at Li Ming with the tip. "You're one lucky guy."

Li Ming looked back up, faintly raising his brows. Lucky that he wasn't getting fired for asking this?

His manager simply chuckled again at his expression. "You know what happened three days ago?"

Li Ming shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not." He tried to remember if there had been any big news but couldn't come up with anything. He hadn't even heard any type of gossip.

Manager Quan kept quiet for a moment, actually having some fun with how Li Ming was squirming on his seat. "Well, I'll tell you then: Three days ago, one of your co-workers came in here with almost exactly the same expression you are currently having. And why was that? Because he wanted me to adjust his schedule. He doesn't want to work shifts any longer."

Li Ming's brows raised higher. "No shifts?"

Manager Quan gave another hum. "Yes, you heard that right. I also couldn't believe it at first. But then, he had a really good excuse: His girlfriend and he are having a child and it's going to be a lot of work. With the shifts, it's going to be difficult to structure everything so he was hoping I could arrange something."

Li Ming's mind turned. "And ... that's a problem because you would need other people to do the same but nobody is willing to take certain shifts all the time."

Manager Quan smiled at him. "You're smart. And now, what does that tell you?"

"If I and that co-worker can work something out, then there would be a way to make this possible for both of us?"

"Yep!" Manager Quan smacker his lips and turned to look at the schedule. "Well, you're in luck. He has the shift right after you today. I'll call him to come in a bit earlier, you stay for a moment, and then we can talk it through. How does that sound?"

Li Ming could only smile. "Naturally, that sounds very good."