“Ding-ling-ling, ding-ling-ling—”
At 5:30 in the morning, the alarm on the bedside phone rang on time. The woman, sprawled messily on the bed, frowned irritably and turned it off while still half-asleep.
She even wiped away nonexistent drool.
She had been dreaming about eating hot pot!
Lin Xiyun, still young but looking utterly numb, got up and walked out of her cramped bedroom filled with cardboard boxes.
She moved mechanically through each action.
Getting up, washing up, putting on makeup…
Only when the cold tap water hit her face did she become a little clearer.
Looking at herself in the mirror—clearly still very young but already worn down like an old woman—Lin Xiyun forced a difficult smile to encourage herself.
“It’s okay. Even though you’re working like a corporate mule every day, even though you’re seriously sleep-deprived, your three-month internship is finally ending today. Go, Lin Xiyun!”
Lin Xiyun was a liberal arts graduate from a non-elite university. She had just received her diploma two days ago. In a second- or third-tier city, it wasn’t easy to find a high-paying job, but luckily she had secured one during her senior year.
However, it came with an internship period.
Three months of internship, three thousand per month, with her bank balance basically emptied every month.
After hyping herself up, Lin Xiyun put on her work clothes, applied light makeup, went out to buy two buns for breakfast, then pedaled a shared bike while panting, and finally squeezed onto a bus, barely managing to clock in before eight.
She let out a sigh of relief.
Finding some comfort in hardship, she thought: at least I didn’t get fined for absence today.
Life was tough, so she could only rely on comforting herself.
“Xiyun, the supervisor wants you in her office.”
Before she could even catch her breath at her desk, she was called away.
She quickly stuffed a few bites of bun into her mouth and agreed, “Okay, sis.”
Is it about signing the permanent contract?!
Full of anticipation, she knocked on the supervisor’s office door.
“Come in.”
She stepped inside, closed the door behind her, and stood smiling in front of the supervisor. “Supervisor Hu, you were looking for me?”
Supervisor Hu was a heavily made-up, shrewd middle-aged woman. She first sized up Lin Xiyun. Fresh graduates in work clothes still looked somewhat inexperienced.
This girl was pretty, had a good temperament, and was hardworking in the procurement department.
What a pity.
New graduates were still too green.
Her expression turned cold, and Lin Xiyun immediately sensed something was wrong.
Then Supervisor Hu slammed a file onto the desk in front of her and shouted sharply, “Take a look at what you did! This batch of equipment clearly had quality issues and you still signed the contract. If the sales department hadn’t reported it, I wouldn’t even know you caused such a huge mess!”
Her chest rose and fell heavily. She turned her face away and waved her hand. “Enough. You don’t need to compensate. Just pack your things and leave!”
Lin Xiyun was stunned by the sudden scolding.
Quality issues with the equipment?
“That’s impossible, Supervisor. I showed you the contract back then, and you said it was fine.”
Besides, she was just an intern and couldn’t possibly negotiate contracts alone—she was just doing odd tasks. How could a quality issue be blamed on her?
She panicked slightly and picked up the file from the floor to check it carefully.
There was nothing wrong with it.
Supervisor Hu remained firm and harsh. “What do you mean? Are you saying it’s someone else’s fault and not yours?” She rolled her eyes in disgust. “Young graduates these days are really arrogant. They only know how to argue with their superiors and have no humility at all!”
Lin Xiyun, suddenly scapegoated: “……”
So angry her teeth itched.
Oh, she saw it now. They hired interns as cheap labor and never intended to give them full-time contracts. It was all a scam!
Then what were her months of self-motivation even for?!
Six insurances and two housing funds after conversion, base salary starting at 6,000 guaranteed—were all lies!
Scammers. All scammers.
Her money—her salary!
Furious, Lin Xiyun slammed the file onto Supervisor Hu’s desk with a loud “bang,” startling her.
Her once gentle demeanor vanished completely.
Supervisor Hu nervously swallowed, then thought of the background check she had seen—Lin Xiyun’s parents were just low-income workers from a small county with no connections.
Her unease faded.
“What are you going to do? Do you want to hit me?” she snapped. “You only worked three weeks this month anyway. I won’t pursue your mistakes—just have payroll pay you half a month’s salary, alright?”
Such generous mercy.
Lin Xiyun laughed coldly. “Framing me, violating the internship agreement, and now trying to withhold my salary?”
“Hu Youmei, are you out of your mind?!”
Still wearing sneakers, she kicked the desk in front of Supervisor Hu. The force nearly knocked her out of her chair.
Bracing herself on the desk, she trembled and pointed at Lin Xiyun. “Y-you—”
“Me what?!” Lin Xiyun slapped away the fat finger pointing at her.
Before, Hu Youmei had always insulted her at will because she was a subordinate. She had endured it for the sake of becoming full-time.
But not anymore.
Her finger turned red from the slap, and Hu Youmei widened her eyes in disbelief.
She actually dared to hit her in broad daylight?!
This woman looked soft and weak—how was she so strong?
“Security! Security—!” Hu Youmei shouted in anger.
Lin Xiyun smirked and opened the office door wide. “Go ahead and call them. Let’s see if your rotten company exploiting interns and withholding wages can survive going viral!”
“Lin Xiyun!” Hu Youmei roared, seeing the curious and shocked looks from outside employees.
Lin Xiyun clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention, and took out her phone to start recording. “Everyone come look! This company tricks interns with fake promises of full-time positions, uses us as cheap labor, and then casually frames us for mistakes and deducts wages!”
“Working hours are worse than cattle, sleeping later than dogs, overtime until midnight, and they still brag like they’re kings issuing orders! I might as well tour every department today—ask sales whether the goods were even sold, and ask headquarters whether they want to end up trending online!”
Everyone outside the procurement department stared in shock at the young woman with a low ponytail furiously shouting without fear.
Brave.
Even a young girl who had just come out of Supervisor Hu’s office crying was stunned, forgetting to wipe her tears.
At the same time, suspicious glances from all directions fell on Hu Youmei, who was gasping behind the desk.
Whether it was education or performance, there was no reason to say Lin Xiyun wasn’t qualified.
This was clearly unfair.
Besides, if one suffers, all suffer.
Hu Youmei’s face turned red with rage. She couldn’t refute a single word, only shouting, “Security! Get her out!”
Lin Xiyun kicked the door shut with a clang and locked it from inside. She walked toward Hu Youmei with a cold smile. “Call security?”
Now there were only the two of them in the office. Hu Youmei had already experienced her terrifying strength and felt her legs weaken.
She forced herself to stay stern. “What do you want to do?”
“Tell me,” she said, “what are you going to do?”