Even though Lina was still upset, she had no intention of making a big scene.
Besides, what Zhao Panpan said had struck a nerve.
Aiying had seven branches in the city. Their North Ring branch had always been stuck in second place. The top branch had only been open for a little over half a year, yet with all its promotions and discounts, it still outperformed them. Lina had never been okay with that.
If she had a few strong salespeople under her, she was confident she could stand on that stage at the year-end meeting, shining as the one receiving the award.
Lijuan didn’t expect her sister to accept Zhao Panpan so quickly. She quietly let out a breath of relief.
Putting everything else aside, she genuinely thought Zhao Panpan would be a great help—quick to learn, with a sharp memory, naturally approachable, and careful in the way she handled things. Someone like that could avoid a lot of trouble and bring in good results. A positive team made everything smoother: fewer small frustrations, fewer chain reactions.
The employees before this? Lijuan had been constantly cleaning up after them.
Back then, she’d honestly thought about quitting more than once.
In a spot where no one else could see, Lemon quietly gave Zhao Panpan a thumbs-up.
Compared to Lina and Lijuan, who were nearing forty, Lemon and Zhao Panpan—twenty-five and twenty-eight—naturally had more in common.
Lemon had been through enough under Lina to know better. If she hadn’t spent years in this industry, if she didn’t understand how things really worked, she might have been manipulated into staying naive.
She’d had her deals taken before too. At the time, she didn’t want to make trouble, so she let it go. After that, she became more cautious when handling clients. Even when Lina offered to “help,” she learned to refuse.
After enough refusals, everyone quietly understood each other’s boundaries. Things didn’t go any further than that.
But someone like Zhao Panpan—who could say things so directly and still make Lina swallow her pride and smooth things over—that was something Lemon wouldn’t dare to do.
After all, in this store, the manager held absolute authority. Challenging her felt like throwing yourself into a fire, knowing exactly how it would end.
Lemon muttered, still annoyed, “I’ve already decided—when I finally quit, I’m going to give her a proper scolding.”
Zhao Panpan couldn’t help but laugh. “No need for that. You still have to wait until next month to get your last paycheck, remember?”
Lemon stomped her foot. Sometimes, she really felt like she was about to lose it.
By the third day of training, everyone at Aiying had accepted Zhao Panpan. She was officially staying.
Lina seemed completely unfazed, as if nothing had happened the day before. She even welcomed Zhao Panpan with a calm, composed attitude.
Zhao Panpan didn’t feel flattered or surprised. After all, that deal yesterday was worth fifty thousand.
If she had insisted on taking that deal back, she could have easily pushed her monthly performance past one hundred twenty thousand without even trying too hard.
Once she hit the target, she would pass probation. And only after that would she start earning tiered commissions.
Still, for Zhao Panpan, money wasn’t the main thing right now.
It was her first time getting hands-on with baby massage and postpartum recovery services. It felt like a whole new world had opened up, and she found herself completely drawn in.
And since she had chosen to work in sales, she knew getting deals taken was bound to happen sooner or later. Some places were ruthless about it; others had at least a bit of fairness.
Lina’s team leaned toward the latter.
Normally, both online and walk-in clients were distributed evenly among the staff.
Otherwise, if Lina and her sister monopolized all the leads, Lemon wouldn’t even have enough to get by—she would have quit long ago.
Because of that small incident, Lemon and Zhao Panpan grew closer. Without really saying it, they started looking out for each other.
Lina still wasn’t entirely happy, but Zhao Panpan and Lemon kept to themselves and handled their work so well that there was nothing to criticize. For now, Lina could only keep her feelings in check.
As the manager, she had bigger problems to deal with.
The store had expanded from a small setup to a much larger one, and every department was short on staff. As more mothers checked in, the little details started slipping, and complaints kept piling up.
Lijuan helped Lina handle customer complaints, but the backlog of client data and contract records grew day by day. They couldn’t finish everything on time, so overtime became unavoidable.
That evening, after work, Zhao Panpan stayed behind in the nursery to help. A baby had spit up on her, so by the time she cleaned up and came downstairs, she had already missed the official end of her shift.
At the front desk, Lina and Lijuan were still working overtime, organizing client data. Zhao Panpan went to the office to grab her bag. “Sis, I’m heading out.”
Lijuan smiled. “Take care on your way home.”
Zhao Panpan smiled back, but before she could say anything else, Lina spoke up. “You and Lemon really get along. Both of you leave right on time. But honestly, who works without doing overtime?”
Lijuan tugged at her sleeve, trying to stop her.
Zhao Panpan didn’t let it slide. “People who are capable don’t need overtime to prove themselves. Lina, I’ve already finished my work. And—”
She pointed at the clock on the wall. “It’s already seven. I’ve worked an extra hour. Is there overtime pay?”
Lina clearly hadn’t expected that. “We might be working until ten tonight. You’re leaving at seven and still asking for overtime pay? I should be the one asking for it.”
Zhao Panpan’s tone remained calm. “As the manager, you’re juggling a lot and sacrificing your personal time for work—that’s not easy. You should ask the boss for a raise or apply for bonuses and overtime compensation. But asking an employee who’s finished her work to stay and work overtime with you… that’s not the right priority.”
Zhao Panpan hadn’t expected things to escalate again so soon. It had only been two quiet days since the issue with the stolen deal.
But dealing with someone like Lina—someone who couldn’t stand seeing others at ease while she struggled—was something Zhao Panpan was very familiar with.
Her grandmother had been exactly the same.
Whenever her grandmother cooked, Zhao Panpan had to be there washing vegetables or tending the fire. When her grandmother cleaned, she had to wipe tables and sweep floors.
If she tried to do her own thing, she would be scolded for being ungrateful.
“You all only care about yourselves. Can’t you see how hard I’m working?”
“I raised you for nothing. I’m exhausted every day—do I owe you this?”
“You heartless lot, you might as well let me die from all this work!”
In her grandmother’s eyes, everyone—grandfather, aunts, parents, siblings—was ungrateful.
But those same people would quietly enjoy everything she did without ever stepping in to help.
Zhao Panpan used to feel sorry for her, so she took on more of the housework.
But no matter how much she did, she never received praise or warmth. Instead, her grandmother only criticized her—never enough, never good enough.
After pouring all her frustration onto Zhao Panpan, her grandmother would turn right around and devote herself to the others, full of energy, like a willing servant.
And she would drag Zhao Panpan along with her.
More than once, Zhao Panpan doubted herself. Why was it that she did so much, yet those who did nothing were loved more?
Was it because she really wasn’t good enough?
Those thoughts followed her through her teenage years, heavy and suffocating.
Thankfully, later on, she saw more of the world. She read more, met more people, and heard more stories. Slowly, she came to understand—
It wasn’t that she wasn’t good enough.
It was that some people would never see her worth.
So she stopped giving so much of herself away.
Just like now, with Lina. If Zhao Panpan had started out by helping her with the PPT, giving up her deal without complaint, and even staying late to finish Lina’s work, then sooner or later, Lina would keep pushing—crossing her boundaries again and again—until Zhao Panpan finally snapped.
And when that happened, Lina would stand on the moral high ground and say she was only doing it for Zhao Panpan’s own good.
And in the end, it would all turn into Zhao Panpan being the one who “didn’t appreciate it.”