Chi Ruanli had just finished using the restroom. She was still inside a stall and was about to push the door open when she heard two women gossiping by the sinks.
The subject of their gossip was her.
“Who knows what kind of luck Chi Ruanli stumbled into. A wet-behind-the-ears intern suddenly got promoted overnight. Even we have to give her some face now.”
From the voice alone, Chi Ruanli recognized the speaker as Liu Lixuan from the President’s Office. Liu Lixuan had been with the company for two years and had even supervised Chi Ruanli for a few weeks when she first joined.
“Exactly. She’s got a little bit of looks, that’s all. Why should she get special treatment?”
“We’re the honest ones. We work ourselves to death with overtime, and what do we get? A few extra wrinkles.”
…
The conversation went on and on, repeating the same tired insults.
Chi Ruanli had already grown numb to it and was about to turn the doorknob when she heard another remark.
“Maybe she has some skills we don’t. Just look at her chest—it’s so big. No way she grew that herself.”
“Exactly. She has that seductive fox-like look. Whenever she looks at people, her eyes are practically hooked onto them.”
The two women burst into laughter.
Soon their footsteps gradually faded away.
Inside the stall, Chi Ruanli’s eyes had already turned red.
Tears pooled in her deer-like eyes, and she could only barely stop them from falling.
Chi Ruanli had a gentle temperament and had never been good at arguing. She could only bottle everything up inside.
For several days afterward, she remained listless.
When she brought Sheng Yanqing his lunch at noon, he had even asked with concern whether she was feeling unwell and whether she wanted to take some time off.
Perhaps the emotions had been building up for too long.
During lunch break, Chi Ruanli lay facedown on her desk and silently cried.
The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt.
Eventually, soft sobs escaped her.
Yang Yang, who sat beside her, was startled.
“Sweet Pear, what’s wrong? What happened?”
She immediately wrapped her arms around Chi Ruanli and frantically grabbed tissues to wipe away her tears.
Like comforting a child, she coaxed gently,
“Oh, come on. If you keep crying, you won’t be pretty anymore. Tell your big sister what happened. Who bullied you?”
Chi Ruanli cried on Yang Yang’s shoulder for quite a while before she finally managed to explain everything through hiccupping sobs.
Yang Yang’s fiery temper exploded the moment she heard the story.
She slammed a hand onto the desk.
To hell with being at work.
She immediately went looking for trouble.
Not only did she verbally confront Liu Lixuan, but the two women eventually ended up physically fighting.
No one could pull them apart.
The commotion attracted employees from other departments, who gathered around to watch the spectacle.
Before long, the entire company knew about the incident.
Naturally, the news also reached Sheng Yanqing.
Inside a small conference room.
Sheng Yanqing sat at one side of the table, his sharp brows tightly furrowed.
His attitude was clear.
The matter would be handled seriously.
Jing Xun sat to his right, looking equally troubled.
The impact of the incident had been far too severe.
As the department head, Zhao Linda was the first to be held accountable.
Sheng Yanqing directly criticized her for failing to manage her subordinates properly and docked six months’ worth of her bonuses.
Zhao Linda accepted the punishment without complaint.
Compared to being fired, this was already lenient.
As for Chi Ruanli, Yang Yang, and Liu Lixuan, none of them dared to speak after entering the conference room.
Whether from fear or nervousness, all three kept their heads lowered.
Looking at the swirl of hair atop Chi Ruanli’s head, Sheng Yanqing let out a quiet sigh.
“Secretary Chi.”
Hearing her name, Chi Ruanli looked up.
Her deer-like eyes were still swollen from crying, glistening with tears and appearing even more pitiful than usual.
Seeing that, Sheng Yanqing’s voice softened slightly.
“Although the incident started because of you, considering that you were also a victim in this matter, I won’t pursue any responsibility on your part.”
Chi Ruanli sniffled twice.
Sheng Yanqing’s tone grew even gentler, almost as though he were coaxing her.
“Stop crying. Wipe your tears.”
As he spoke, he handed her two tissues.
Beside him, Jing Xun let out a quiet scoff.
He had never seen Old Sheng act this gently toward anyone before.
The iron tree had truly blossomed.
Noticing that Sheng Yanqing’s attention was entirely focused on Chi Ruanli, Jing Xun naturally took over.
After all, there were still two other people who needed to be dealt with.
Frowning, he looked toward Yang Yang.
Her big wavy hair was practically standing on end.
He wondered whether she had any injuries on her face.
Back then, she had been scared of even a caterpillar.
Now she was brave enough to get into a fistfight.
What progress.
“Yang Yang…”
The moment she heard that familiar voice, Yang Yang looked up in disbelief.
When she realized that the person before her really was the man she had thought about day and night for the past five years, her eyes gradually reddened.
Yet she did not want him to see it.
Stubbornly, she lowered her head.
Tears slipped down her cheeks along with the movement.
Jing Xun sighed almost imperceptibly.
He had wanted to find her long ago.
But he had never been able to gather the courage.
He had been afraid she already had a boyfriend.
Even though they had only been separated by a single floor in the same building, he had never dared take that final step.
He was afraid she would run away.
Just like now.
“Yang Yang… Yang’er…”
Jing Xun hurried after her as she rushed out of the room.
Only the remaining people in the conference room were left staring at one another in bewilderment.