When I returned to the dormitory, I was still in a daze. Yin Jie snatched the hard drive from my hands and eagerly plugged it into her computer. As she watched, she complained, “Why were you so slow?”

I responded with a distant tone, “While I was downloading in the office, a man suddenly appeared and then mysteriously left.”

Yin Jie immediately paused the video and turned around, asking the crucial question: “A romantic encounter? Was he handsome?”

Fortunately, Yu Hua’s reaction was more sensible. She worriedly asked, “Did you get caught? Who was it? Which department? They won’t report to the leadership, will they?”

“I don’t know who he was. He probably wasn’t from our company.” Otherwise, with such striking features, I couldn’t possibly have no impression of him.

“Never mind, let’s watch the show.” I shook my head, deciding to put this strange incident behind me.

The next day, as soon as I started work, I received a text from Yin Jie: “Oh my god, Xiguang, our Deputy General Manager is here. He’s devastatingly handsome! Come see!”

Yin Jie always exaggerated things tenfold, but my curiosity was still intensely piqued. As a poor accountant whose head was spinning from dealing with loans, I felt entitled to take ten minutes to check out this handsome guy. So I grabbed some documents, pretending I had business in the Administrative Department, and rushed over to Yin Jie’s area…

I first put on a show of standing near Yin Jie’s cubicle for a while, exchanging a few words. Then, following her suggestive winks, I looked towards the Deputy General Manager’s office…

And that’s when I fell into despair.

Through the transparent glass window of the Deputy General Manager’s office, that imposing figure, commanding even while seated, was unmistakably the man I had encountered in the office last night.

I slowly turned my head back and said gravely, resting my hand on Yin Jie’s shoulder, “I’m doomed.”

“What’s wrong, what’s wrong?” Yin Jie was still immersed in the joy of having such an incredibly handsome superior: “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love with Deputy Manager Lin at first sight and are now completely beyond salvation?”

I was stunned by her response and decided not to tell her that Deputy Manager Lin was the man I had seen last night. Given her tendency to gossip, I’d probably hear some kind of rumor by the afternoon.

I stumbled out of her office… leaving such a first impression on my superior – I felt my career path had just become significantly more challenging…

I have to say, my premonition was depressingly accurate. A week later, I encountered my first career crisis – I had signed off on an accounts payable where USD was mistaken for RMB.

Although I had signed it, this account wasn’t processed by me. As a new hire still in the learning phase, the actual work was done by experienced staff, with new people just observing and then signing and stamping documents. But under these circumstances, I certainly couldn’t be so disloyal as to point that out.

Ou Qiqi, the senior employee mentoring me, was so anxious her eyes turned red. She helped me investigate the cause, and we quickly discovered that the purchase order from the Procurement Department was in USD, and the computer system also showed USD. Although the attached contract copy specified RMB, according to company regulations, we should have carefully verified everything. But the reality was, with the Finance Department processing so many transactions daily, who had time to check every attached document?

This kind of mistake should have been highly unlikely to occur, as the Procurement Department required one person to process and another to review, while our Finance Department needed one person to process and another to verify, and finally the cashier would check as well… But it happened anyway.

The key now was how to resolve this issue.

However, it became apparent that everyone’s main concern was – how to shift responsibility. People from the Procurement Department came directly to our department, and while the conversation started civilly enough, it quickly devolved into loud accusations being hurled back and forth.

Later, somehow, a male employee from the Procurement Department said, “Ou Qiqi, you didn’t even process this transaction, why are you so worked up?”

Whether attempting to sow discord or deflect responsibility, this procurement employee suddenly turned his attention to me, pointing at my signature and saying, “Whoever processed it should be responsible.”

Though anxious, I wasn’t panicked, feeling I could handle taking responsibility for this. But their attitude was truly unpleasant. Just as I was about to speak, Ou Qiqi jumped in before me saying, “I processed it, Xiao Nie only stamped it.”

I felt somewhat touched. I thought about how those TV shows and novels that portrayed workplace intrigue might not be entirely accurate – after all, this world is mostly filled with ordinary people, not so many schemes and machinations.

I raised my hand and said, “I’ll take responsibility for the Finance Department’s part, but I won’t accept responsibility for others.”

Ou Qiqi was at a crucial point for promotion to senior accountant, and upon hearing this, she gave me a grateful look. Still, she defended me, saying, “She’s just a newcomer who doesn’t understand these things. I think right now we shouldn’t focus on who’s responsible – the key is how to recover the money. Our section chief is on a business trip and won’t be back until tomorrow.”

While everyone was at a loss, Ou Qiqi received a phone call. After hanging up, she said with a pale face, “Deputy Manager Lin knows about it.”

Now that upper management knew, this matter was probably out of our hands. The Procurement Department people left, and half an hour later, Ou Qiqi received another call from the cashier. After a brief conversation, she told me, “The cashier says they’ve agreed to refund today.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, and so did Ou Qiqi, though her face showed no joy. Understandably so – leaving such an impression on the new Deputy Manager certainly cast a shadow over prospects.

She had always been very kind and patient with me, so I volunteered, “Qiqi, if the Deputy Manager asks about this, just say I did it.”

Ou Qiqi, clinging to hope, said, “Maybe the Deputy Manager won’t ask about it anymore, since it’s already resolved.”

However, such hope proved futile. Before the end of the day, relevant personnel from all three departments were summoned to the Deputy Manager’s office.

When we entered, Deputy Manager Lin was reviewing documents, his movements notably fluid. It reminded me of his signature I’d once seen on an important accounts payable document – the three characters “Lin Yusen” written with that same flowing yet slightly casual style.

“Please sit.”

His tone was quite gentle.

We exchanged glances, surprised to receive such courteous treatment when being called in for a mistake. Everyone hesitated before sitting down on the sofa.

After finishing with the documents, Deputy Manager Lin looked up, and his gaze immediately met mine. That look… was completely at odds with his previous gentle tone.

I froze, wanting to look more carefully, but he had already shifted his attention to others, his voice maintaining that gentle and composed manner: “I hope this will be the only time.”

His voice was neither loud nor soft, perfectly even, yet it left no room for discussion. Then he picked up the account book nearby, his gaze falling on the signature area.

“Miss Nie, I feel you’re unsuited for work in finance.”

What was he planning? Given his tone, he couldn’t be planning to fire me, could he? I was startled, then saw him lower his gaze and say impassively, “Effective immediately, you’ll be transferred to the Administrative Department.”

This time I wasn’t the only one surprised – shocked looks from everyone else in the office shot toward me.

Transferred to the Administrative Department?

What… was going on? The Administrative Department reported directly to the Deputy General Manager – wouldn’t my transfer essentially make me his direct subordinate?

Was this punishment? The others’ gazes were filled with questions and speculation…

I couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”

“Why?” His gaze finally turned gentle as he looked at me, then said, “Miss Nie, you’re still in your probation period.”