Shen Mianmian had experienced what she herself considered a surreal evening. The company's usually hands-off, almost mascot-like boss had unexpectedly intervened in her affairs.
And his approach had been quite surprising.
Shen Mianmian began to think that the company might not be as bad as she had anticipated.
Those parasites within the company might truly have succeeded in "deceiving both superiors and subordinates," especially considering that Manager Jiang…
A new day arrived, and Shen Mianmian came to the office.
As soon as she reached the entrance, she saw several colleagues huddled together gossiping.
Upon noticing her, they immediately scattered, pretending as if nothing had happened.
It didn't take a genius to guess that they had been talking behind her back again.
The small amount of joy she had managed to accumulate from the previous night instantly vanished.
She walked to her workstation and sat down.
The young woman at the adjacent desk immediately leaned over, lowering her voice to console her.
"Don't pay attention to those gossipers. Last night, Zhou Tu called you over to help—it was all because he had ulterior motives. It's not like you were trying to climb the social ladder… You didn't suffer any losses, did you?"
As the only colleague who showed her kindness, Shen Mianmian forced a smile despite her foul mood.
"It's fine. Zhou… the supervisor was busy buttering up President Pei all night. He didn't have time for anything else."
"Phew, that's good. Last night, my mom dragged me to a blind date. You wouldn't believe the scene—I really learned something new…"
As the two young women chatted away, a stout figure suddenly appeared like a shadow at the office door in their peripheral vision.
"Mian, Pikachu is here."
The young woman coughed lightly and immediately straightened her posture.
Shen Mianmian glanced over and immediately noticed the team leader, Pi Qiu, entering with his beer belly.
Her mood instantly worsened.
As expected, Pi Qiu headed straight for Shen Mianmian's workstation.
"Shen Mianmian, come out for a moment."
The middle-aged man, his face oily and shiny, tapped the desk of his young, attractive subordinate and gestured with his chin.
Day after day.
Shen Mianmian was truly fed up. Were these pot-bellied middle-aged men here to work or specifically to flirt?
"Team Leader Pi, if there's something to discuss, you can say it here. Work-related matters shouldn't require avoiding other colleagues, right?"
Shen Mianmian felt she must have been somewhat influenced by the big boss from last night. Otherwise, how could she have forgotten about next month's rent and her younger sister's living expenses, losing her "common sense" like this?
Shen Mianmian was beautiful, fair-skinned, and delicate, with skin as flawless as fine jade. When she first came for the interview, she had already caused a stir in the company.
Many men had taken a liking to her.
As the team leader of Shen Mianmian's group, Pi Qiu had been kicking himself ever since meeting her, regretting why he had married so young.
What if the beauty had taken a fancy to him? Wouldn't that have been a huge loss?
Thus, while feeling sorry for the young woman, Pi Qiu would often wander over to her, striking up conversations.
In his own words, his actions were truly an act of great kindness. Even if they were destined not to be together, he believed he was offering the young woman some comfort.
Fortunately, Shen Mianmian didn't hear these words, or she might have vomited up everything she'd eaten for the past year.
Over here, Shen Mianmian thought she had already delivered a very blunt retort, but Pi Qiu just chuckled there, thinking he was being humorous.
"That's not necessarily true, Mianmian. We still have many private matters we can't let everyone know about, right?"
As he spoke, he even winked, thinking it was charming.
Ugh~
Shen Mianmian's face flushed red with anger. "Team Leader Pi, just call me Xiao Shen!"
Hearing the word "Mianmian" come out of this greasy man's mouth made her want to change her name overnight.
"Hehehe." Pi Qiu reached out to pat Shen Mianmian's shoulder. "What are you saying, Mianmian? Calling you Xiao Shen sounds so distant. We've been colleagues for so long… with feelings. Just call you Mianmian… Mianmian, why is your face so red? Are you shy?"
Before that restless hand could land on her shoulder, Shen Mianmian stepped aside, putting more than half a meter of distance between them.
Pi Qiu's hand landed on empty air, but he didn't feel embarrassed. Instead, he took another step toward Shen Mianmian.
This was no longer just verbal harassment; it had escalated to physical advances.
Even the colleagues who had gossiped about Shen Mianmian behind her back couldn't stand it anymore.
Shen Mianmian's attitude had been made very clear.
Besides, among the new female employees who had joined the company, more than one or two had been harassed like this.
However, there were still a few men—whether they usually got along well with Pi Qiu or simply wanted to flatter their leader—who egged him on and teased.
"That's right, Mianmian. You've been in the company for so long. Shouldn't some feelings have developed by now? Why are you still so shy?"
"Don't be so serious. Relax a bit. We're all colleagues, working together all day. Creating a good atmosphere improves work efficiency. You know, men and women working together makes the job easier."
"Hahaha, exactly. Mianmian, who would you most like to work with?"
Shen Mianmian: "…"
I'd most like to smash your stupid heads!
As Pei Ran passed by the office, he saw this scene clearly.
How on earth did the original owner recruit such people for this company? It was full of these lecherous scoundrels. Even if you went out on the street specifically looking for them, you wouldn't find so many.
In his memory, the original owner's employees should have been decent enough.
"Shen Mianmian, come here for a moment."
Pei Ran called out to the young girl whose face couldn't possibly get any redder.
With the big boss suddenly appearing, even if these people didn't fall silent like mice seeing a cat, they all shut their mouths.
Their expressions instantly turned serious.
A one-second face change.
Shen Mianmian's nearly explosive anger was finally suppressed at the last moment.
"President Pei."
She walked over, her face still flushed with lingering anger, the corners of her eyes tinged red.
Pei Ran called her over to his side but didn't speak to her. Instead, he randomly pointed to a female employee nearby and asked about their team's current workload.
The named female employee was somewhat surprised, but she answered without hesitation and with clear logic.
After she finished speaking, she looked at Pei Ran.
Pei Ran nodded, then pointed to two more female staff members, asking about their responsibilities and the progress of their current tasks.
No one knew what had come over the big boss today, calling on them to answer questions like a teacher conducting a pop quiz.
But they soon found out.
After questioning the female staff, he began calling on the male employees, especially those who had been joking around the most earlier.
"Well, um… my part…"
The first one stammered, as if he still had breakfast stuck in his throat.
Pei Ran stared at him with a faint, ambiguous smile, which was even more terrifying than a blank expression.
In the end, the more flustered the male employee became, the less he could articulate.
His pale, sickly expression was so painful to watch that Pei Ran simply moved on to the next person.
Even though the questions were all similar, and the female colleagues had answered them with ease earlier, when it was their turn, it felt like a failing student entering an exam hall—nothing they said seemed right.
They could only sense the big boss's gaze growing increasingly grim.
When someone tried to crack a joke to show off their social skills, Pei Ran shot them a sharp glare.
As someone who had climbed the corporate ladder purely on merit, without any connections, Pei Ran detested these "colleagues" who flattered and slacked off, earning the same salary while potentially stealing credit for others' work.
If they had talent in that area, they should find a suitable position!
They shouldn't be here taking credit for others' efforts.
After questioning everyone in the circle, he finally came to Pi Qiu.
The team leader was already sweating on his forehead.
The waiting time itself felt like torture. Pi Qiu thought the boss must have been possessed today—otherwise, why would he suddenly decide to check their work like this?
When Pei Ran finally questioned him, Pi Qiu's mind was still filled with chaotic thoughts, and he had no idea about the progress of his recent work.
Pei Ran asked him, "You don't even know the answers to the questions your team members just answered?"
Pi Qiu: "Well, uh…"
Pei Ran: "Pack your things. The company doesn't keep idle people like you."
Was he being fired?
Even if Pi Qiu had checked his horoscope before leaving home today, he never expected such a disaster waiting for him.
Naturally, he wasn't willing to lose a perfectly good job just like that.
Pi Qiu protested, "President Pei, I just arrived at the office today and haven't had time to get progress reports from my team yet. What I mentioned earlier was yesterday's data—this really isn't a mistake in my work."
Pei Ran didn't bother arguing with him. Instead, he turned and asked Shen Mianmian the same questions.
Though surprised, Shen Mianmian answered each one flawlessly.
After questioning Shen Mianmian, Pei Ran turned back to Pi Qiu. Even after hearing the correct answers twice, the man who had protested his innocence still couldn't answer.
Pei Ran shook his head and sighed, "You can't even copy the answers? Am I running a charity with the salary you receive every month? For your position, I could find anyone who would do a better job than you. Shen Mianmian, from now on, you'll be responsible for your team's work."
Shen Mianmian: "??"
Pi Qiu: "!!"
Others: "…"
The twist had come far too quickly!
Pei Ran looked at Shen Mianmian. This young woman, fresh out of school, still carried a hint of youthful innocence on her face. When such sudden "luck" fell upon her, she wasn't immediately overwhelmed by joy.
Today's incident had thoroughly offended Pi Qiu.
Moreover, given her qualifications, if she were to become a team leader, the people under her would definitely not respect her and would only assume she had some unsavory relationship with the boss.
But—
She needed money to support herself and her younger sister.
Such a good opportunity—if she missed it this time, who knew if there would be another chance?
No matter how terrible the company was, it still paid her salary every month.
Besides, judging by the boss’s demeanor, she felt confident she could handle the job.
And even if she refused now, would that mean she hadn’t already offended someone?
Certainly not.
In just a few seconds, countless thoughts flashed through Shen Mianmian’s mind.
"Thank you, President Pei. I will work hard."
Pei Ran smiled with satisfaction. "Good, I look forward to your performance… Also, Team Leader Shen, please gather all the evidence of Mr. Pi Qiu’s harassment of female employees during his tenure at our company and submit it to the police along with Mr. Zhou Guoren’s case. We will handle this matter by reporting it to the authorities."
Not only that, he intended to thoroughly investigate this unhealthy trend within the company. All those involved would be dismissed, and their names would be publicly disclosed on the company’s official social media accounts.
[Author’s Note]
Why isn’t Pi Qiu called "Pi Qiu" (literally "leather ball")? Because he always thinks he’s charming…