The group forgot all about their earlier quarrel and immediately turned around, heading toward Tianlin Road. That was their usual hangout spot—they knew plenty of cheap and delicious eateries there. Once they arrived at Tianlin Road, they picked a favorite little shop and started chattering away as they ordered. Milia noticed a few young guys loitering on the street. Judging by their clothes, clean and high-end, they clearly looked well-off. She perked up: "We've got some big spenders!"
Spotting a new target, Milia turned to the younger girls and asked, "Who's going to go add them on WeChat?"
The younger girls said, "Same rules as always—rock, paper, scissors. Whoever loses has to go ask."
The dyed-haired boys could never get the WeChat of big spenders or old men, and Zhu Ling wasn't short on money, so she never bothered either. That meant only Milia and the younger girls played rock, paper, scissors.
Zhu Ling had been part of the alternative scene since sophomore year of high school, but she rarely ever ran short on cash. The only time she'd added a "big spender" was earlier this year when she'd planned to become financially independent but hadn't found a part-time job yet—and he was the only one in her entire alternative-life career. That big spender was top-tier quality, worth a hundred others combined. She never had to initiate anything; every few days, he'd proactively send her a big red envelope of a few hundred yuan, then remind her: "Baby, got any new photos?"
No matter how ugly the photos were, how dark the makeup, or how alternative the styling, the big spender would happily praise her for looking great. He was sweet-tongued and loaded, and all the younger girls were green with envy.
Then one time, the big spender got drunk and sent her a voice message: "It's girls like you—still in school, caking your face with makeup to look like adults—that are the cutest. That rawness that heavy makeup can't hide is what's most attractive."
After that, she never bothered with that high-quality big spender again.
Milia lost the rock-paper-scissors, so she went up to intercept the boys, saying something about making friends. The boys, with nothing better to do, were delighted to be approached by a loli-style girl. Without a shred of caution, they all added her. Milia was loyal—not only did she add them herself, but she also led them into the malatang shop and told the younger girls to add them too. The whole point was: money earned together, old men scammed together.
The boys walked over, and the one in front widened his eyes, giving Zhu Ling a thorough once-over before suddenly breaking into a grin. He called out to her, a little uncertainly: "Senior, is that you?"
Zhu Ling didn't recognize him at first and looked him up and down too, until she spotted the sunglasses hanging from his pocket. Finally, she remembered—he was a freshman who'd transferred in not long ago, and she'd volunteered to give him a campus tour. She greeted him: "What are you doing here?" She took in his outfit today—nothing remarkable about it. For a moment, she had nothing to say.
Du Song saw that the younger guys and girls were all part of Zhu Ling's crew, so he handed his phone to Milia and let them add themselves freely, saying, "Afternoon class was boring, so I slipped out. Last time you told me there was a lively food street around here, so today I had a classmate bring me. Didn't expect to run into you." He looked Zhu Ling up and down, taking in her dejected yet flashy getup, then lowered his voice and asked, "Tonight—your place or mine?"
Zhu Ling was startled: "Huh?"
Du Song stepped forward and said, "If we go to your place, I can bring a bottle of wine."
Zhu Ling was even more startled: "Huh?"
Du Song lowered his voice further: "What time works for you tonight? I can match your schedule."
Zhu Ling finally snapped back to reality and shot him a warning glare: "Watch your mouth."
Du Song burst out laughing: "Just kidding—testing you, that's all. Don't be mad. I'm not that casual, don't worry."
"Testing me for what?"
"With that outfit and that makeup, the contrast with how you look at school is huge—you look like you run with the streets. So I deliberately said those things to test you. Who knew one sentence would get you this riled up, face all red. What kind of street girl is this fragile, sensitive, and quick to anger?"
"Go stand over there."
Du Song leaned in again: "Seriously though, your look right now—calling it a 360-degree transformation wouldn't be an overstatement. I almost didn't recognize you."
"A 360-degree transformation geometrically means spinning a full circle and ending up right back where you started, you idiot."
Du Song said, "The makeup, the outfit, the dyed-haired underlings, the alternative girls—all the basic setup is there, but you're still lacking in skill, Senior. From now on, you might as well just follow my lead."
Zhu Ling got annoyed, lit up a menthol cigarette, and blew a puff of smoke right in his face: "Idiot, go enjoy your food street."
"Hey, Senior, I'm being serious. Are you free tomorrow? I'll take you to practice taekwondo. My brother runs a dojo, also in Xujiahui, not far—just past Wukang Mansion. My brother and a few of the coaches all say I've got potential, and I'm planning to keep at it and earn a red belt by the end of the year. Hey, have you ever been to Wukang Mansion?"
The younger guys and girls found this hilarious, giggling as they chimed in together: "Our boss Zhu Ling's home and company are right next to Wukang Mansion, duh—it's a five-minute walk!"
Du Song continued, "After we finish training, I'll take you to my brother's place to play games. It's not far—just on West Jianguo Road. He has a super luxurious therapy room, so we can play games while enjoying a sauna."
Zhu Ling grew impatient and waved him off. "Scram, scram, go away." She didn't want to deal with him, so she simply walked a few steps away.
Du Song remained as unflappable as a capybara, not the least bit offended. Instead, he offered to treat everyone, telling the younger guys and girls to order whatever they wanted. They were overjoyed and cheered, "Now we can splurge!" They tossed aside the cabbage, seaweed, and frozen tofu they'd picked and went for sausages, fatty beef, and shrimp paste instead.
After finishing the spicy malatang hotpot, Zhu Ling needed to head back to get her living allowance from her dad. Milia had locked eyes with one of Du Song's slacker friends and was deep in lively conversation, but when she heard Zhu Ling was leaving, she set aside her new acquaintance and quickly said, "I'll go with you to the zoo!"
"Aren't you supposed to have a date?"
"I moved all my meetings up to yesterday so I'd be free for today's fight. The old guys already got their share of drama. Come on, let's go. I've got nothing else to do—if I don't go with you, I'll just be wandering the streets anyway."
Zhu Ling was indifferent. "Suit yourself."
Half an hour later, Zhu Ling returned to the office. She sat down at her workstation, turned on her computer, and checked her emails. She wasn't an employee of the company—she only came in for half a day each week—but at General Manager Zhu Zhangyang's request, everyone copied her on non-confidential emails. Most of the time she couldn't be bothered to read them and just bulk-marked them as read. But today, among the pile of unread messages, one subject line stood out with alarming intensity: "Yao Bingxin's Malicious Defamation on WeChat Moments." She clicked it open, and Milia, who had squeezed in beside her and spotted it earlier, quickly leaned in to look too.
The email was from logistics supervisor Qian Xinyi, accusing and condemning a young saleswoman.
"Yao Bingxin, regarding the malicious defamatory image you sent via your WeChat Moments at 1:30 PM today, I find it strange that among so many colleagues, I alone received this 'special gift.' Thinking back to your entire time at this company, you've never once shared your Moments with me—what an honor today! And as if that weren't enough, earlier today during the lunch delivery, your failure to confirm caused a drop in work efficiency. Old Zhang and two other clients were present at the time. As a supervisor and senior colleague, I merely offered you two words of guidance. Was that worth retaliating with such an indecent image? Don't tell me you're 'fitting yourself to the accusation'!
Even in my own personal Moments, I have never seen such filthy language. I'm sorry, but I absolutely cannot accept your behavior! I demand a face-to-face confirmation and a thorough investigation of this matter! And I reserve the right to defend myself through other channels!"
Following Qian Xinyi's accusatory email was the salesgirl Yao Bingxin's reply: "I'm very sorry, but what I posted on my Moments has nothing to do with you at all. It's about something from my personal interests. I apologize for not separating my personal and work accounts, which caused a misunderstanding. Of course, if you'd like to hear what it was specifically about, I can explain. Please don't overthink it or fit yourself to the accusation. Thank you. Also, I'd like to clarify yesterday's bento situation…"
Zhu Ling skimmed through it in a blur, her head buzzing. She quickly dug out her earphones to listen to music and mentally shut down her brain to block out the toxic atmosphere around her. Milia, however, had stars in her eyes, her breathing quickening with excitement as she whispered, "Hey, I wonder what filthy things Sister Xiao Yao said?"
Milia and Zhu Ling were close, and she often tagged along to the office. She knew everyone at Santa Trading Company, even the old nanny from Zhu Ling's family. The salesgirl Yao was a post-90s kid who kept to herself—never joined group chats, never socialized, always ate alone, worked alone, quiet and unassuming, barely leaving a trace. So Milia was curious, dying to know what this Tao Yuanming-style sister had said to piss off Qian Xinyi.
Zhu Ling only showed up at the company because her dad forced her to, just to collect her living allowance. She'd rather avoid all this office drama, so she didn't bother investigating. A few minutes later, she went to the restroom, where two people were in the stalls. One was Qian Xinyi; the other was someone unknown, presumably another female employee, because Qian Xinyi was talking to her.
Through gritted teeth, Qian Xinyi's voice trembled as she said to the listener in the next stall: "…That wild child actually dared to call me a stupid bitch—how dare she! Just watch, just wait! See how I deal with her! See how I deal with that wild child!"
"…" The female employee in the next stall listened in silence, saying nothing.
A minute later, the door to the next stall opened, and the finance lady stepped out, her face a mask of shock, her eyes gleaming with panic.
Qian Xinyi finished her business, returned to the office, and sought out a junior supervisor surnamed Li from the cold storage department to confirm a piece of data. It wasn't within Xiao Li's scope of duties, but Xiao Li was a smooth operator—he neither flat-out refused nor gave a yes or no, just played a game of verbal ping-pong with her.
Qian Xinyi insisted that Xiao Li give her a definitive answer on the spot. Xiao Li, at his wit's end, said, "Miss Qian, as the office manager yourself, you should have your own judgment." Remembering that this woman was the most favored person in front of the boss, Zhu Zhangyang, Xiao Li added, "I'll come to the office in a few days. If there are any issues then, we can take a look together."
The moment Qian Xinyi heard this, her blood rushed to her head: "You're coming to the office? That sounds like you're looking to pick a fight with me, doesn't it?"
"…"
While she was arguing with Xiao Li from the cold storage over the phone, the sales lady glanced up at her from across the room. Because of Xiao Yao's "idiot" comment, Qian Xinyi was currently on high alert, and she felt that the sales lady's look was problematic—seemingly laced with provocation. Her face flushed red, she straightened her back, and turned to confront her: "Did you just give me a sidelong glance?"
The sales lady let out a "ha" of a laugh and replied slowly, "I personally don't have the bad habit of looking at people sideways. The word 'sidelong' gives off a very aggressive feeling. When it comes to words like aggressive and sharp-tongued, I don't think anyone in the office would associate them with me." With that, she smiled again, meaningfully.
Qian Xinyi's communication with those around her was going poorly, hitting walls everywhere. Suppressing a surge of anger, she turned to check her emails. The fire drill organized by the property management originally required everyone to participate, but aside from herself, everyone else had replied "not attending." They were ganging up on her—it must be to target her, to harm her. Suddenly, the anger she had barely managed to suppress flared up again, and she went to confront Old Zhang, the sales rep across from her: "Did all of you plan not to attend behind my back?"
The newly hired finance lady, seated next to Qian Xinyi, couldn't help but tremble. She felt that this small trading company was like a dense jungle inside, full of the unknown and danger. She sighed inwardly, lamenting her bad luck at running into such a handful.
The atmosphere in the office was bizarre, with a suffocating sense of oppression hanging in the air. Zhu Ling refused to stay any longer. She grabbed her laptop and went with Milia to the empty small conference room to listen to music and play mobile games. At six in the evening, she clocked out and shut down her phone. Now that Qian Xinyi was holding down the fort at the office, Zhu Zhangyang spent most of his time out on business or seeking entertainment, rarely coming into the company unless something came up. So she took a photo of her clock-out time and sent it over. When her dad saw it, he transferred two thousand yuan to her.
Leaving the office, Zhu Ling remembered that the season was changing and it might get colder in a few days, so she went home to pick up some clothes. The Zhu family home was nearby, just a short walk away. After grabbing clothes at home, on her way to the subway station, she ran into Qian Xinyi, who was leaving the office late. Qian Xinyi had a large woven bag slung over her shoulder, bulging and stuffed full—so much stuff that the opening couldn't close and gaped wide.
Seeing Zhu Ling and her companion, Qian Xinyi froze for a second, then pushed the large woven bag behind her, and strode briskly and proudly toward the parking lot.
Milia whispered, "Hey, what did she carry back from the company?"
The bag's opening was wide open, and Zhu Ling saw it clearly at a glance. She smiled and said, "The company's labor protection supplies. When the flu broke out early this year, my dad asked his friend to help mail back a bunch of Japanese masks from Japan."
"Haha, impressive. Back then she was handing out masks to everyone in the company—one per person per day, right!"
"…"
"Hey, tell me, what exactly does your dad see in this woman?"
"They're the same kind of people at heart, and they deeply appreciate each other."
"From what I can see, it's a match made in heaven—one pot with one lid, perfectly fitted. All her skills can be fully utilized at Santa Trading Company, and through her, your dad keeps his employees terrified into silence, not daring to say a word."
"Pretty much."
After a moment of silence, Milia brought up the old topic again: "That said, the things she's done—you should still mention them to your dad."
Zhu Ling looked indifferent: "None of my business. Besides, two people with the same values who admire each other should be allowed to stay together for the long haul."
Milia laughed: "The reason your dad values this woman—I've thought about it, and there might be one more."
She deliberately held back, so Zhu Ling asked, "What reason?"
"Her lower regions are worth plundering."
"What does that mean?"
"It's the reason Concubine Zhao in Dream of the Red Chamber bewitched Jia Zheng!"
"…"