When the two took a seat, Yan immediately commended, “I’ve heard about what took place in the conference room. Qi, you’re so impressive!”
As it was the first time Yan complimented her, it made Shen Qi rather shy as she denied awkwardly, “There’s nothing impressive about that. I’ve done nothing much, actually.”
“I thought you would have been bullied to tears but surprisingly, you actually fought back even though it was your first day there. On top of that, you did it amazingly! I bet the supervisor and those people who waited to see how you would make a fool out of yourself are sulking right now.”
Shen Qi did not reply to her right away but instead added with some concern, “Right now, many in the company can’t wait to see how I’m going to embarrass myself. If you continue to stick with me, you might get implicated.”
Yan said in a happy-go-lucky manner, “It doesn’t matter. I work in the finance department in which my father is the head. I bet they wouldn’t dare to do anything out of bounds to me.”
Shen Qi asked, “I’ve never thought of this. Will it work?”
“Of course. Do you know I’m involved in the issuance of everyone’s salary? Ha ha.”
Shen Qi got the idea—it turned out that Yan had some control over their livelihoods.
“Although I can’t deduct their salary according to my wish, I can delay giving it to them! Do you know that many of those living in big cities are living from paycheck to paycheck? Every month, they wait desperately for the day they receive their salaries. If I make some effort to delay pay out for one or two days, their lives would become very miserable.”
Shen Qi was impressed. “Splendid!”
“With me backing you up, you don’t have to be so worried.”
After the two had lunch, Shen Qi returned to her seat. As her computer was rather aged, she had to spend some time tinkering with it.
Sitting on the chair, she heard footsteps coming from behind.
She turned around with a frown and saw Xu Liao walking toward her with a cup of coffee in his hand. He placed the coffee in front of Shen Qi and asked, “Hmm… What is your name again?”
Xu Liao wanted to talk to her but he found that he actually had no idea what her name was. Because she was demoted, she was placed in his department without going through the formal procedure. Therefore, it was not recorded in the system yet.
Shen Qi glanced at him icily, ignored his question and took a look at the cup of coffee.
“Supervisor, how can I help you?”
Rubbing his palms together, Xu Liao answered with a grin, “It’s okay if you don’t feel like revealing your name. Since you’re new to the department, I’ll just call you Ni.”
Shen Qi was speechless. Did the name Ni had anything to do with the fact that she was new?
“Supervisor, you can call me Shen.”
She did not feel like revealing her name to this man standing in front of her who looked hostile and who tried to sabotage her in the morning.
“Shen? Shen is marvelous!” Xu Liao took a step forward, grinning as he pointed at the cup of coffee. “I bought it specially for you, so drink it while it’s hot.”
Shen Qi snapped, “Supervisor, what exactly do you need me for?
“It’s actually nothing much.” Rubbing his hands together, Xu Liao got closer to her once again. The expression on Shen Qi changed slightly and she immediately took several steps back to maintain the distance between them. When she took a glimpse at the lewdness in his eyes, she suddenly realized something.
Rooted to the spot, she snarled icily, “Don’t you get any closer!”
Following her howl, Xu Liao actually did stop moving. He did not look angry but he kept peeking at her smooth arm and slender neck lustily.
“To be honest, Shen, you’re here because you got demoted and prior to this, I suppose you have offended many in the company, right? Everyone can’t wait to see how you will embarrass yourself, and many are keen to sabotage you. Do you know Qiangwei from the design department? Before you were transferred here, she had specially asked me to do her a favor by giving you some special treatment. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Shen Qi remained quiet.
Xu Liao continued, “However, I thought what she did was outright inappropriate. How could they sabotage such an adorable young lady like you? Was it just because they couldn’t get close to President Yu despite being smitten by him while you could? Their behavior is totally unacceptable.”
What he said put a frown on Shen Qi’s face. “What on earth are you trying to say?”
“I just want to protect you. I didn’t follow what Qiangwei asked me to do and what happened this morning was purely an accident. Shen, I promise such a thing will never happen again.”
As he was talking, he inched closer to Shen Qi. Knowing well what he had in mind, Shen Qi let out a sneer, “Don’t you dare take one more step toward me.”
Xu Liao’s pace came to a halt as he persuaded with a fake smile on his face, “Shen, do you know that a wise man will choose his actions according to the circumstances he is in? Right now, you’ve already been demoted to my department. As long as I’m willing to back you up, you’ll be bullied less and you’ll have fewer obstacles in your road ahead. Don’t you think that’s great?”
Seeing that Shen Qi was not responding to him, Xu Liao continued to convince her. “Although I’m not as good as the president, hasn’t he already dumped you after all? Why don’t you just be with me? Although I might not be as powerful and rich as him, I promise you I will not abandon you for no valid reason. What do you think?”
Shen Qi was wordless.
It never occurred to her that this was actually what he was going after.
“Shen, give it a thought. A wise man knows what to do according to the circumstances, but I won’t force you into doing anything you don’t want. I’ll give you two days.”
With that, Xu Liao turned around and left without waiting for Shen Qi to speak.
After he left, Shen Qi secretly rolled her eyes instinctively. Was that man a freak? She didn’t even feel like being Ye Moxuan’s lover. How was it impossible that she would be willing to be his lover?
As Xu Liao had lingered at her desk for too long a time, Shen Qi suddenly had the feeling that the surrounding air had been contaminated.
Not feeling like staying, she sorted out her things before walking away.
Because the working hour had not yet begun, she intended to visit Yan and have a chat with her.
Shen Qi went directly to the finance department but received a message from Han Xueyou on her way there. Han Xueyou asked her to make her way to one of the roadsides of the office tower as she had brought her some gifts and she would be passing by the company later.
Seeing that Yan had yet to come out from her office, Shen Qi made her way down first.
Thereafter, she waited for a short while before Han Xueyou’s car drove up.
The car door was opened and a bag was handed over to her by Han Xueyou.
“Qi, I’ve bought this specially for you. Open it later at night when you’re home.”
“Why are you giving me this all of a sudden?” Shen Qi stared at the bag in puzzlement. She had no idea what was inside but it looked like it cost a bomb.
Han Xueyou’s eyes were slightly dodgy as she let out an awkward chuckle. “Why can’t I do that? When I bought one for myself, I thought of you, so I got one for you too. You don’t dislike me, do you?”
“Of course not.” Shen Qi rolled her eyes at her before continuing. “You know me. Why would I dislike you? What’s more, you made a trip just to give me this!”
“It’s nothing. I’ll do my best and treat you well from now on, Qi!”
Shen Qi was puzzled. “Why do you have to do that? Have you done something bad behind my back?”
Han Xueyou’s face turned pale as she quickly clarified, “What nonsense are you talking about? When have I ever done something bad behind your back? Qi, you’re getting better and better at making fun of me. Humph.”
“That’s not the case. Thank you so much for this.”
“Humph, who needs your appreciation. I’ve got to go.”
“Qi!”
Yan’s voice came from behind. Shen Qi turned around to take a look and found that she was walking toward her.
“Is that your friend?” asked Han Xueyou after taking a look at Yan who was far away from them.
Shen Qi nodded before answering, “She’s a colleague who treats me rather nicely in the office.”
“Okay. I’ll visit you in two days.”
As Han Xueyou drove away, Yan happened to reach Shen Qi’s side. Craning her neck to look in the direction where Han Xueyou had just left, she commented with disgust, “Yucks, is that b*tchy woman the one I came across on social media?”
