Tang Xin had the intuition that if she dragged the investigation out until tomorrow, she might suffer immediate dismissal. Efficiency was forced out of people. By evening, she knocked on Chen An’s office door with the results.
What surprised her was that the boss was smoking by the window. She’d never known the boss was a smoker. In the workplace, he’d never smoked, didn’t have the habit of carrying a lighter, and she’d never smelled smoke on him. Clients who came to the office generally knew the boss’s habits and wouldn’t smoke in front of him, so the ashtray in the office was just a decoration that had sat there for years, never serving its actual purpose.
Seeing her enter, Chen An quickly stubbed out the cigarette: “Sorry, I know smoking is prohibited here. Do you have results from the investigation?”
Tang Xin said: “There wasn’t time to investigate further back, but I found out the direct reason Manager Cheng came to Taixi. Let me report to you first.”
Chen An nodded.
Tang Xin handed Chen An a resume: “This matter starts with a person named Tong Zhe.”
“Tong Zhe?” Chen An recalled that on the first day he met Cheng Lele, this person had kept calling her, and she’d hung up on him.
“Tong Zhe, 23 years old, graduated from Peking University. His family circumstances were difficult, and he applied for student loans all four years of college. After graduating last year, he worked as an assistant at a film and television company. He just entered Tongda Cinema Chain this May, working under Huang Tiangou, making him Manager Cheng’s departmental colleague. This person is rather solitary, not good at socializing, has few friends, and wasn’t notable at Tongda. If not for the incident a while ago, no one would have noticed this person.”
Chen An made an acknowledging sound, indicating she should continue.
“On the day Tong Zhe became a regular employee, Huang Tiangou, as the department head, took the employees out for a small gathering meal. When settling the bill, he claimed he hadn’t brought money and had Tong Zhe advance over a thousand yuan. He also had Tong Zhe issue an invoice, saying that after reimbursement, he’d have finance transfer it directly to his card. Later, finance reviewed it and denied the reimbursement. Huang Tiangou also didn’t return the money. The two had a dispute. Huang Tiangou believed that since that day the department colleagues were celebrating Tong Zhe’s becoming a regular employee, the money should be paid by Tong Zhe. But Tong Zhe insisted it was team building. In a fit of anger, he brought this matter to the cinema chain general manager’s office. Over a thousand yuan, he wanted President Shen—Shen Liming—to adjudicate. President Shen was pushed to the limit and summoned everyone who had participated in that meal, requiring them to take a stance on the spot. He asked those who had clearly heard Director Huang say the words ‘team building’ to raise their hands.”
Tang Xin paused for a few seconds to let the boss appreciate the deeper meaning of this method of taking a stance.
Some things seemed fair and just, but the scales had long since tipped.
“Everyone’s shrewd. With just that one sentence from President Shen, everyone understood what the big boss meant. No one at the scene raised their hands, except for one female colleague—Cheng Lele.”
Chen An lowered his eyes. Cheng Lele was also shrewd and wouldn’t fail to understand the boss’s hint, but she still raised her hand. This indicated that Huang Tiangou had indeed distorted the truth.
“With one person raising their hand, the matter became difficult. They still had to distinguish whether Manager Cheng was covering for Tong Zhe or whether the majority who didn’t raise their hands had concealed the truth. President Shen was too lazy to play cop anymore and transferred it to the HR department to follow up. Originally it would take some time, but before the HR department could make a move, the next day brought a reversal. Early the next morning, Tong Zhe sent an apology letter in the company group chat, saying he had been presumptuous to treat everyone and regretted it afterward, which led to the fuss. The company, in view of his good attitude in admitting his mistake, gave him a salary reduction. But Manager Cheng refused to admit wrongdoing and was demoted to Taixi.”
Tang Xin said all this in one breath and concluded: “The above is the bloodshed caused by a thousand yuan.”
While listening, Chen An had been rubbing his temples. He didn’t comment on the whole matter and asked: “Does the company have headache medicine?”
Tang Xin was stunned for a moment and said: “There’s a pharmacy nearby. I’ll have someone go buy some. Or should I arrange for a doctor to examine you?”
“No need. Continue investigating Huang Tiangou. Tell me when you have results.”
After Tang Xin left, Chen An pulled out another cigarette.
Nicotine could temporarily numb the headache. He stood by the window looking out. The weather was very good today. The sky was like evenly spread paint, and the clouds were gloriously white.
Chen An suddenly understood why Cheng Lele liked taking photos of blue skies and white clouds. These were very pure, very bright, very beautiful things—not like the workplace, which harbored filth and was unbearable to look at. It simply wasn’t worth her fighting so desperately for.
Because he coveted that sentence she said, “Until the cinema improves, I’ll stay with you,” coveted her “earning money to support the family,” coveted the way she trained him like a drill sergeant, even managing when he sent red envelopes—so very petty-mindedly and very self-righteously, he let Cheng Lele bear the cinema’s pressure alone. He wanted her, even after being wronged and demoted by the company, to still carry on so nonchalantly, strong and fearless. Because in her eyes, the person who should have been protecting her had a career hanging by a thread.
Chen An opened WeChat and clicked on Cheng Lele’s chat window. The message above was a “keep going” emoji Cheng Lele had sent him.
Ever since Chen An had lied about looking for investors when he went to the Northwest, whenever he left Taixi, Cheng Lele assumed he was going out to seek opportunities for the cinema.
Cheng Lele had many “keep going” emojis. Whenever he left, she would send him a new one.
Chen An thought, could it be because Cheng Lele needed to cheer herself on so many times daily that she’d collected so many?
Chen An’s head still hurt badly. Tang Xin brought the headache medicine. After taking it, he grabbed his car keys and drove toward Taixi.
He decided to confess the truth to Cheng Lele, so she wouldn’t have to endure it, wouldn’t have to feel wronged, wouldn’t have to keep cheering herself on. She’d always lacked grand ambitions, was innocent and carefree. He could arrange for her to casually pursue a graduate degree in the provincial capital, living her days easily and happily.