After losing in a two-person workplace competition, Xun Xun regrouped and went for her interview at the previously agreed time.
The company was located in a well-known office building in the city, which wasn’t hard to find. Upon arrival, she discovered she wasn’t the only interviewee, which inevitably added to her anxiety. Being a weekend, the company was mostly empty except for HR staff and job candidates. When it was finally Xun Xun’s turn, she entered the small conference room. The person in charge was a fair-skinned middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with delicate features, though unfortunately with a slightly receding hairline.
When Xun Xun entered, he was buried in reviewing the resume before him. Upon seeing her, he asked her to sit down, and his gaze kept shifting between her face and the photo on her resume. Xun Xun felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny, unsure if there was something wrong with her appearance or if she had encountered yet another sleazy office worker. However, after a while, he routinely asked a few simple questions before inquiring about the three-year gap in her career. Xun Xun could only tell the truth, after which he coolly told her to wait for their response.
Xun Xun felt disappointed, as such a response during interviews typically meant a polite rejection. She thought of many possible reasons for failure, the most likely being that she didn’t meet their expectations. She hadn’t taken a formal photo in a long time, and the one on her resume was from several years ago. She probably looked much more haggard now, creating a significant disparity for the interviewer. Combined with being a housewife for three years, another failure seemed reasonable. Just as she was dejectedly preparing to enter a new round of job hunting, she suddenly received a call from the company saying she had passed the interview and could start work officially tomorrow if there were no issues.
Though puzzled, this was good news for the desperate Xun Xun, and she couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity. To show her commitment, the next day, before leaving home, Xun Xun deliberately styled her shoulder-length hair into a neat bun, making her appear more capable and better matching the image of an experienced accountant they might expect. She arrived at work half an hour early, entering the main lobby where hurried office workers filled her view. Her luck was quite good, as she managed to catch an elevator just before its doors closed. However, just as she squeezed in, her vision suddenly went dark. She quickly reached out to hold the elevator doors and hastily retreated, shaking her head, praying that what she saw was just an illusion.
Something wasn’t right, very wrong indeed. This was an ordinary, normal workday morning, her first day reporting to her new position. How could she see that familiar face in the elevator?
Another person squeezed out just before the elevator doors closed again.
“What exactly do you want?” Xun Xun was indignantly bewildered. She’d seen persistent people before, but she could hardly believe someone could be as clingy as a tick.
Chi Cheng raised his briefcase and answered decisively, “Same as you, going to work!”
Xun Xun recalled her new company’s business scope and blamed herself for being foolish. Wasn’t it written as Yao Kai Technology, primarily dealing in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals? He had also explicitly told her that his family was in the pharmaceutical industry, and he stayed here to expand his local business. Though there were countless pharmaceutical companies in the world, she couldn’t forget that anything associated with him couldn’t be trusted to mere luck or coincidence.
Looking at Chi Cheng’s expression, he wasn’t at all surprised by her presence here. Needless to say, this was another show he had orchestrated, just waiting for her to foolishly walk into his trap.
“You’ve certainly gone to great lengths,” Xun Xun wasn’t sure if she should feel flattered that in this world, being so meticulously calculated by someone could be considered a rare “honor.”
“It wasn’t much effort,” Chi Cheng stood opposite her and said, “We were bound to run into each other eventually. I knew you’d say everything was arranged by me.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Since we know each other so well, I won’t waste words. Honestly, it’s half and half – you submitted the resume yourself, I just made the final decision. The office needs an accountant, and recruitment isn’t my responsibility. Nobody was waiting around hoping you’d apply. Jobs aren’t easy to come by these days. Once the recruitment notice was posted, we received over thirty resumes for this position alone, and you were just one of them. I only discovered you were among them when HR showed me the shortlisted candidates, and I decided on the spot. If you say it’s wrong that I chose a familiar face from equally qualified candidates to be our accountant, then I have nothing more to say. That’s all the explanation I’ll give – whether you accept it is up to you. You’re completely free to change your mind now.”
He pointed toward the main entrance. “I’ll be frank with you – selfishly, I hope to see you every day, but nobody can force this. I’m prepared for you to quit as soon as you see me.”
Xun Xun couldn’t immediately recover from her initial surprise, unsure whether to believe him or not. She had been desperate for a job, scattering resumes like flower petals to any remotely reliable company hiring for finance-related positions, with Yao Kai being just one of many. It was indeed her who had actively submitted her job application, only to end up in his crosshairs. While calling it a coincidence left her unconvinced, calling it a conspiracy lacked evidence. Chi Cheng’s words were delivered with such grace that her questioning seemed petty in comparison.
Fine, if she lacked grace, so be it. Xun Xun only knew she couldn’t work with him day and night, especially under his authority – it was simply unimaginable. Without another word, she walked in the direction he had pointed.
Chi Cheng followed for a couple of steps and said coldly, “You underestimate me. I never force women to be with me. I like you, that’s my freedom, and if you’re not interested, just reject me. Do you think I’d force myself on you? You’re working to make a living – do you think working for others would be easier than watching my face? I’ll say this now: unless you, Zhao Xun Xun, come running to me, I won’t lay a finger on you. I’ve said what needs to be said; if you leave now, I won’t stop you.”
True to his word, he didn’t follow her further. Xun Xun walked out of the building with a knot in her chest. As the cold wind hit her, she wasn’t sure if she had awakened or become more confused. She had come here focused on her new job. Yao Kai offered excellent benefits, and both the office location and working hours were ideal. Although turning down this job didn’t mean she couldn’t find another, how long would that take, and what situation would she face then?
Xun Xun didn’t want to use her “nothing left fund,” and the money given to Sister Yan Li had been completely spent before Professor Zeng’s death. The house was not for sale, and liquidating stocks and insurance would mean taking a big loss. Although Sister Yan Li had a considerable pension, that was her lifeline. Despite their mother-daughter relationship and the fact that she would never throw Xun Xun out if she didn’t plug her mouth with some living expenses soon, who knew what kind of criticism she’d face in the future?
Xun Xun wanted to stand tall and be strong, but what would she use to address her urgent needs after showing such backbone? Chi Cheng wasn’t easy to deal with, but though his thoughts were hard to fathom, he wouldn’t stoop too low. Fantasizing about a pursuer moving heaven and earth persistently for oneself was a dream from my girlhood days. Although Xun Xun hadn’t figured out exactly what she meant to him, as he said, if she remained firm in her stance, he couldn’t do anything. Perhaps with time, those feelings would fade, and she could win some time to find a more suitable job while riding this donkey to look for a horse.
She wandered around the building for a while before finally choosing to return to Yao Kai. By now, it was nearly ten minutes past starting time. Because of Chi Cheng, Xun Xun hadn’t thought too much about it, perhaps subconsciously considering this office under his playboy management as just a shell company to pass the time.
Who knew that when she walked into the office area, she would find nearly twenty people seated in an orderly fashion, either in cubicles as internal staff or anxiously waiting outside a small office? Xun Xun approached under everyone’s gaze, her scalp tingling, only to discover that the busy office’s nameplate read three words: Finance Department.
The middle-aged man who had interviewed Xun Xun also came out of his office and greeted her, saying, “I thought you weren’t coming. Was there traffic? Come on, we’re quite busy today, we’ll familiarize you with the environment later. Let me first show you to your workspace.”
He seemed quite pleasant, and Xun Xun wasn’t sure if, as HR manager, he knew about her connection with Chi Cheng, and if so, to what extent. She obediently followed him into the finance department, where a man and a woman were already seated. The man was around fifty, small and efficient-looking, while the woman was in her mid-thirties, slightly plump, wearing black-rimmed glasses.
“Let me introduce your new colleague, this is our new accountant Zhao Xun Xun. Get to know each other,” the middle-aged HR manager said to the other two.
“Who has time for that now!” the woman with black-rimmed glasses responded irritably. “So you’re Zhao Xun Xun. Late on your first day of work – I thought with so many people coming back to process expenses today, we’d have an extra pair of helping hands.”
Xun Xun blushed, repeatedly bowing in apology, and regardless of whether she could help or not, quickly stood behind the woman who appeared to be the finance department head, ready to take orders, afraid of making another mistake.
Chi Cheng appeared from somewhere, standing at their office door, chatting familiarly with several people holding receipts, without even glancing at Xun Xun. The HR manager also approached and smiled at him, saying, “Director Chi, this is our newly hired accountant.”
Though he had made the decision himself, he still had to put on this act. Xun Xun, now understanding the middle-aged man’s expression, knew he was deliberately doing this and had no choice but to bow respectfully to “Director Chi.”
The Director nodded perfunctorily at the new employee. Xun Xun lowered her head to look at the expense report her female superior had just handed her, avoiding his gaze. In her distraction, a loosely attached invoice fell from her hands. As she hurried to catch it, she knocked over her superior’s calculator.
Her female superior let out a sigh of despair. As Xun Xun fumbled to pick things up, someone else had already bent down and retrieved both the invoice and calculator – it was a colleague who was closest to them, waiting to process expenses.
He handed the items back to Xun Xun with a smile. Xun Xun thanked him repeatedly, blushing to her neck. She wasn’t usually so clumsy, but clearly, having something to hide made her prone to mistakes.
“Your HR department is getting more and more unreliable. Knowing we need people urgently right now, even if you’re picking based on looks next time, at least find someone with a sense of time,” Xun Xun’s female superior expressed her dissatisfaction without any restraint.
Xun Xun felt even more embarrassed, feeling like there were landmines everywhere, and she had somehow stepped on one.
Chi Cheng whispered something to the HR manager and walked away. The middle-aged man made a placating gesture and announced in front of everyone, “Zhao Xun Xun, you were late today. Although it’s your first day, we still have to follow company rules – fifty yuan fine… in cash!”
Xun Xun could only comply, taking out her wallet under everyone’s watchful eyes. She never imagined her new job would begin in such an embarrassing way.
During lunch, since she was considered the least busy as she hadn’t gotten up to speed with work yet, Xun Xun was assigned by her colleagues to order takeout. She knocked on Director Chi’s office and respectfully asked what he wanted for lunch.
Chi Cheng didn’t look up from his computer, “Pork cutlet with egg rice, the cutlet should be pan-fried not deep-fried, and the egg fully cooked.”
“Alright, I’ve noted that down.” As she turned to leave, he suddenly called out to her with a smile. “Hey, are you satisfied with how professional I’m being? You were fined a hefty fifty yuan – want me to lend you money for lunch?”
With no one around, Xun Xun gave him a “you’re so childish” side-eye.
“Oh right, I forgot, you must have emergency backup money.” He leaned back in his chair, twirling his pen, and commented, “Your hair looks ugly today, like the Big Bad Wolf’s grandmother.”
Xun Xun said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go now.”
“Wait.”
The “Wolf Grandmother” stood patiently at the door with her back to him.
“Next time for small matters like ordering food, just ask my assistant, don’t casually come to my office. You know, Director Chi is very busy.”
If it weren’t for thinking about her yet-to-be-received salary, Xun Xun would have wanted to stab that guy’s face with the pen in her hand – he was certainly busy, busy playing Plants vs. Zombies. But when under someone’s roof, one must bow their head, even if that roof not only leaked but dripped with contempt.