At nine in the morning, the front desk clerk Xiao Wang tidied her outfit and hair, neat and meticulous, sitting at her workstation, registering visiting foreign business partners one by one.
She was a graduate of a top local university with dual bachelor's degrees in small languages. By chance, she came to her current company as a receptionist.
A sweet smile appeared on her face, her voice clear and pleasant: "Good morning, Director Qi!"
A woman in a dark gray professional suit turned around, her short hair soft and resting on her shoulders, her face fair and delicate, exuding a capable and confident feminine power.
"Good morning, Xiao Wang. Has my work card been reissued?"
"Of course," Xiao Wang handed her the work card with both hands, "It was processed yesterday. Vice Chairman Xiang instructed me to add three months of allowance for you. It's already loaded. Remember to activate your card."
Xiao Wang watched the slender woman walk away, finally relaxing her expression.
A new colleague next to her nudged her arm and asked curiously, "Sister Wang, who was that?"
Almost forgot—in her fifth year as a receptionist at Xiangshu Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Xiao Wang had successfully been promoted to Sister Wang.
She entered the visitor list into the computer system, then warned the newbies with a stern tone, "That's the head of the Product Planning Department, Qi Sui. Call her Director Qi or Sister Qi."
"Director Qi joined the company three years ago and was promoted to director in just half a year."
Seeing the "wisdom" gleaming in the eyes of the newcomers, Xiao Wang stopped their wild thoughts with annoyance: "Don't guess. Although Product Planning is a small department carved out of our Product Department, she climbed up through strength. It has nothing to do with the messy ideas in your heads."
That said, Xiao Wang added, "But don't be too nervous. Apart from work, Director Qi is easy to get along with."
Before she could finish, a hand knocked on the front desk. The man looked down at them, with slight dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't rested well.
Despite his poor complexion, his tone remained friendly and calm, "Xiao Wang, did you process Director Qi's work card again?"
"Of course, of course."
Xiao Wang quickly stood up, this time with a nervous attitude.
"Mm," Xiang Yu nodded, "If it's not enough, draw from my account."
"Alright."
Xiao Wang looked respectful on the surface, but inwardly thought: Do you two really need to haggle over such a small amount of money?
She recalled the rumors spreading in the company—
Perhaps, in the eyes of the involved parties, it wasn't a big deal.
It all started half a month ago, when Vice Chairman Xiang, who never ate in the company cafeteria, began frequenting it.
Recently, the company was busy; even the vice chairman had to work overtime all night. Plus, year-end was approaching, and the company's annual settlement was imminent. Eating in the cafeteria was becoming common.
It wasn't until another time, when Vice Chairman Xiang and Director Qi of Product Planning sat across from each other at a table having lunch, that people realized—maybe that wasn't the case.
The company had strict office rules—meaning office romances were not allowed. So their meeting in the cafeteria was simply thought to be discussing important matters.
Until such scenes became more and more frequent. In just half a month, Vice Chairman Xiang and Director Qi attended the company cafeteria every single day. Then people noticed—
Oh no.
Are my boss and my boss's boss going to start an office romance?
Should I bless them, bless them, or bless them?
Xiao Wang felt this deeply.
It was you who enacted the office rules, and now you're breaking them yourselves?
And you're showing off your love right in front of me—is that appropriate?
But things took a new turn within less than half a month.
While tallying the year-end commendation stats, an employee from Director Qi's department discovered that Director Qi had previously worked at a subsidiary under Xiangshu, and during that period, Vice Chairman Xiang was also dispatched to that subsidiary to oversee a project.
All in all, they had known each other for four years.
Digging deeper, he also found that Director Qi and Vice Chairman Xiang were alumni of the same university, though Vice Chairman Xiang went to Germany for graduate studies after graduation, while Director Qi had a four-year career gap.
But no matter how curious they were, they couldn't use their superiors' private affairs to satisfy their curiosity. So some employees with wider social circles thought of Director Qi's previous employer.
There was a deputy director in the Product Planning Department whose cousin was named Guan Guan.
He was quite dissatisfied with Director Qi being above him. But what could he do? She pushed projects forward well, and the company even split planning from the product department just to promote her as director. The deputy director had no choice but to swallow his resentment.
Recently, that resentment had only grown.
His cousin Guan Guan was fired. The ostensible reason was that her workload didn't meet standards and she had a poor work attitude. But both he and Guan Guan knew she simply didn't want to work there anymore. She was arrogant and had repeatedly stirred up conflicts in the office. Older colleagues could tolerate her, but the new interns couldn't.
After being harassed once more, an intern directly compiled Guan Guan's three-month attendance records and sent them to the director, then quit cleanly, leaving Guan Guan stunned.
By the time Guan Guan reacted, it was too late to turn to anyone. The company was determined to fire her.
The deputy director rubbed his temples and patiently comforted Guan Guan.
But it was only verbal comfort. As for Guan Guan's request—to recommend her for a position at headquarters—
He wasn't a god. How could he do that?
She wanted to use him as a stepping stone. Did she really think she could be the next Qi Sui?
Even the subsidiary wasn't that strict in management. But headquarters? Every employee underwent a basic background check before joining. Your identity, experience—solid or hollow— was clear at a glance.
Besides, he was no longer a director but a sidelined deputy director. He had to report upward for anything he wanted to do.