Shine on Me

Back in the dorm, I was still a bit dazed. Yin Jie snatched the hard drive from my hands and eagerly plugged it into the computer to watch, complaining as she did, "Why are you so slow?"

I answered her in a somewhat distracted tone, "I was downloading in the office when suddenly a man came in and then left just as mysteriously."

Yin Jie immediately hit pause and turned to ask the crucial question, "A romantic encounter? Was he handsome?"

Thankfully, Yu Hua's reaction was more normal, expressing concern, "Did you get caught? Who was it? Which department? He won’t report you to the higher-ups, will he?"

"I don’t know who he was. Probably not from our company." Otherwise, with such striking looks, I definitely would have remembered him.

"Never mind, let’s just watch the show." I shook my head, deciding to put this bizarre incident behind me.

The next day, as soon as I got to work, I received a text from Yin Jie: "OMG, Xiguang, our vice president is here—earth-shatteringly, tear-jerkingly handsome! Come see for yourself!"

Yin Jie always exaggerated things tenfold, but my curiosity was piqued nonetheless. As a poor finance employee drowning in debt, I felt entitled to take ten minutes to ogle a handsome man. So I grabbed a random document, pretending I had business in the management department, and hurried over to Yin Jie’s desk...

First, I stood by Yin Jie’s cubicle for a while, exchanging a few words, before finally following her exaggerated hints to glance toward the vice president’s office...

And then my heart sank.

Through the transparent glass window of the vice president’s office, the upright figure sitting inside was unmistakably the man I’d encountered in the office the night before.

Slowly turning back, I placed a solemn hand on Yin Jie’s shoulder and said, "I’m doomed."

"What? What’s wrong?" Yin Jie was still basking in the joy of having an impossibly handsome boss. "Did you fall for Vice President Lin at first sight, doomed for all eternity?"

Her melodrama floored me, and I decided not to tell her that Vice President Lin was the man I’d seen last night. Given her gossipy nature, by afternoon, there’d probably be rumors flying around.

I staggered out of her office... With that kind of first impression left on my superior, I knew my career path was going to be an uphill battle from here on out...

Unfortunately, my premonition turned out to be depressingly accurate. A week later, I faced my first professional crisis—I’d signed off on a payable, mistakenly paying out in USD instead of RMB.

Though my signature was on it, I hadn’t actually processed the transaction. As a new hire, I was still in the learning phase, where experienced staff handled the actual work while newcomers observed and then signed off. But in this situation, I couldn’t just shirk responsibility.

The senior employee mentoring me, Ou Qiqi, was frantic, her eyes red as we traced the error. We quickly discovered that the purchase order from the procurement department had listed the amount in USD, and the system had automatically reflected the same. Though the attached contract copy specified RMB, company policy required us to cross-check. But the reality was, with the finance department processing so many transactions daily, who had time to scrutinize every supporting document?The probability of such an incident occurring should have been very low, because the purchasing department requires at least one person to handle and another to review the documents, while our finance department also needs one person to process and another to audit the accounts. Finally, the cashier would take a look as well... Yet, it still happened.

The key now was how to resolve this issue.

However, it was clear that everyone’s priority was—how to shift the blame. People from the purchasing department came directly to our department. At first, the conversation was civil, but after a disagreement, they started loudly accusing each other.

Somehow, a male employee from the purchasing department ended up saying, "Ou Qiqi, it wasn’t you who handled this account, so why are you so worked up?"

Whether it was an attempt to sow discord or deflect responsibility, one of the male employees from the purchasing department pointed the finger at me, tapping on my signature above and saying, "Whoever did it should take responsibility."

Though I was anxious, I wasn’t panicked. I felt I could take the fall for this, but their attitude was truly unpleasant. Just as I was about to speak, Ou Qiqi cut in before me, saying, "I was the one who did it. Xiao Nie just stamped it."

I couldn’t help but feel touched. I thought to myself that the workplace scheming and backstabbing depicted in TV shows and novels might not be entirely true. After all, most people in the world are ordinary—there aren’t that many conspiracies and deceitful tactics.

I raised my hand and said, "I’ll take responsibility for the finance department’s part, but I won’t take the blame for others."

Ou Qiqi, who was in the critical phase of being promoted to chief accountant, gave me a grateful look but still defended me, saying, "She’s just a newcomer and doesn’t understand these things. I think we shouldn’t focus on assigning blame right now—the priority is how to recover the money. Our section chief is away on a business trip and won’t be back until tomorrow."

Just as everyone was at a loss, Ou Qiqi received a phone call. After hanging up, she turned pale and said, "Vice President Lin knows about it."

Now that the higher-ups were aware, this matter probably wasn’t our responsibility anymore. The purchasing department staff left, and half an hour later, Ou Qiqi got another call from the cashier. After a brief conversation, she hung up and told me, "The cashier said the other party promised to refund the money today."

I breathed a sigh of relief, and so did Ou Qiqi, but there wasn’t a trace of joy on her face. Understandably, leaving such an impression on the new vice president would cast a shadow over her future prospects.

Since she had always been kind and patient with me, I took the initiative and said, "Qiqi, if the vice president asks about this, just say I was the one who handled it."

Ou Qiqi, clinging to a sliver of hope, replied, "Maybe the vice president won’t even ask, since it’s already resolved."

But wishful thinking was unreliable. Before the end of the workday, the relevant personnel from all three departments were summoned to the vice president’s office.

When we entered, Vice President Lin was reviewing documents, his movements smooth and effortless. It reminded me of his signature I’d once seen on an important payable document—the three characters "Lin Yusen" carried the same fluid yet slightly careless flair.

"Please, have a seat."

His tone was quite gentle.

We exchanged glances, surprised that we were being treated so politely despite being called in for a mistake. After a moment’s hesitation, we sat down on the sofa.

Once he finished signing the documents, Vice President Lin looked up—and his gaze locked directly onto mine. It was... a look that didn’t match his earlier warm tone at all.I froze, wanting to take a closer look, but he had already shifted his gaze to someone else, his tone still gentle and composed: "I hope this will be the only time."

His voice was neither loud nor soft, utterly plain, yet it left no room for further discussion. Then he picked up the account book beside him, his eyes settling on the signature section.

"Miss Nie, I believe you are clearly unsuited for any financial-related profession."

What was he trying to do? That tone—was he planning to fire me? I was startled when he lowered his gaze and said calmly, "Effective immediately, you are transferred to the Management Department."

This shocked not just me—the astonished gazes of everyone else in the office also turned toward me.

Transferred to the Management Department?

What... was going on? The Management Department reported directly to the Deputy General Manager. If I were transferred there, wouldn't that mean I'd effectively become his direct subordinate?

Was this a punishment? The others' eyes were filled with doubt and speculation...

I couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

"Why?" His gaze finally warmed as he looked at me, then he said, "Miss Nie, you're still in your probationary period."