Shine on Me

Dizzy and disoriented, I went to report to the Administration Department.

Which happened to be Yin Jie's department.

The head of the department, Wang Qi, was a slightly overweight middle-aged man who gave off a completely different vibe from the head of the Finance Department—extremely talkative and sociable. After introducing me to the department's affairs, he spotted Vice President Lin entering through the main doors and immediately led me over to greet him.

"President Lin, Xiao Nie has officially reported for duty. How would you like to arrange her work?"

Without even lifting his eyes, Vice President Lin said, "You handle it."

Wang Qi probed tentatively, "Should we start by having Xiao Nie organize the archives room?"

Vice President Lin gave an indifferent nod before walking into his office...

And so, I was assigned to organize the archives.

Only after starting did I realize what a nightmare of a task this was. The company's archives hadn't been properly sorted in who knows how long—"chaotic" didn't even begin to describe it. By the end of the day, I was covered in dust and grime.

The next day, seeing how overwhelmed I was, Yin Jie and Yu Hua stayed behind after work to help me out.

Human adaptability is truly remarkable. On the first day, I had been disgusted by the dirt, but by now, I was completely unfazed by the dust. While Yin Jie and Yu Hua went to the convenience store to buy drinks, I sat unceremoniously on the floor, humming a tune as I bound the files—ah, that viral song Jiang Rui had taught me

Hearing the door open, I stopped humming and, without looking up, said, "We're out of file covers again. Can you grab that stack by the door for me?"

No response.

Puzzled, I looked up—only to find Vice President Lin standing by the door.

I scrambled to my feet. "Vice President Lin... sorry, I thought it was Yin Jie coming back."

He glanced at me, then reached for a file on the shelf. Just as I thought he would leave without a word, he suddenly spoke in a low voice, "You seem happy?"

After being caught downloading dramas before and then messing up the accounts—forcing him to fix my mistakes—this was a rare chance to improve his impression of me. I immediately put on an enthusiastic tone. "It's alright. It's a bit tiring, but once you get the hang of it, the sorting goes pretty fast."

That same suffocating silence descended again.

Then I heard a soft "Hmph"—a faint chuckle—before he turned and walked out...

Not long after, Yin Jie and Yu Hua cheerfully pushed the door open, chatting as they entered. "Vice President Lin is really such a nice person! Did you see? He actually smiled when we greeted him just now. Ah, now I finally understand what 'as refreshing as a spring breeze' means."

Yu Hua said, "I actually think he's not that easy to approach. Look at Jiang Ya from your department—she jokes around with General Manager Zhang, but she doesn’t dare act like that with President Lin at all."

"Ah, now that you mention it, that's true. But he’s still very gentlemanly and mild-mannered."

I paused my work, seriously pondering for a moment—was the Vice President Lin they were discussing the same person I knew?

Three days later, I reached a conclusion: not only was he not the same person, he wasn’t even human!

Just as I thought the archives work was over and I could finally relax, Vice President Lin seemed to suddenly notice my existence. From barely acknowledging me before, he had now escalated to "utilizing me to the fullest"...

I was the one working overtime every day. I was the one running up and down, doing all the errands. "Refreshing as a spring breeze"? "Mild-mannered"? Did they think I didn’t know what those words meant?!As it happened, just as a female colleague had taken leave today, I was immediately summoned into his office...

“The data in this report is incorrect. Redo it.”

Taking the report, I flipped through it, somewhat puzzled. Wasn’t this the budget report Jiang Ya had prepared? She had just finished it before taking leave, and it had only been submitted about ten minutes ago...

Had he already spotted an issue that quickly?

“The expense section is wrong. Recheck the data submitted by each department.”

“Vice President Lin, this seems to be Jiang Ya’s responsibility,” I said hesitantly. “I’ve never worked on this kind of report before.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.” I nodded emphatically.

“Then learn how to do it,” he said with utter nonchalance. “I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly.”

At lunch, I deliberately grabbed an extra serving.

Yu Hua stared at me in shock. “Xiguang, aren’t you afraid of gaining weight?”

“More work means more food. I’m definitely working overtime today—gotta stock up on energy!”

Yin Jie suddenly leaned in, gossip gleaming in her eyes. “Xiguang, Jiang Ya looked really upset when she left at noon... But since she was in a hurry to go, it’s only natural Vice President Lin handed the task to you, right?”

I lifted my head from my bowl. “It’s not just today, though. I feel like she’s...”

“Targeting you, right? Heh, well, you were personally assigned by Vice President Lin. Of course she’d have thoughts about that.”

Yu Hua chimed in, “Yeah, Xiguang. When Vice President Lin suddenly transferred you from Finance to Management, a lot of people had... opinions.”

“...”

Truthfully, I hadn’t been oblivious to the speculative, ambiguous looks from colleagues at first. But after being locked in a tiny room organizing archives upon arriving in Management, followed by endless overtime shifts, those looks had long since turned into either sympathy or schadenfreude.

I sighed. “I work like a beast of burden every day. Surely no one still thinks that way now?”

“Don’t be so sure. At the very least, Jiang Ya definitely does. Why else would Vice President Lin only ever call you for overtime? And he’s there too—just the two of you in that huge office...”

“...Get a grip. That office houses multiple departments. There are people working overtime every day.”

But Yin Jie had already retreated into her own little world, eyes sparkling as she ignored my rebuttal. “Ohhh, now that I think about it, Xiguang—could Vice President Lin actually have feelings for you?”

She scrutinized me with newfound fascination. “You are really pretty, you know. You just never dress up, always buried in work clothes.”

I poked at my rice, silent for a moment, then said, “If a man asks what you want to eat and cooks for you, would you think he might like you?”

Yin Jie nodded vigorously. “Cooking for someone is the ultimate act of love!”

Yeah... That summer, I’d thought the same. I’d believed he must have liked me, at least a little. Only later did I realize it was just because he didn’t want to eat takeout with me at the hotel—didn’t want to “share the spotlight.”

“So, wishful thinking is a disease. It has to be treated.”

A sudden, inexplicable bitterness welled up inside me. I grabbed a piece of sweet-and-sour pork, forcefully suppressing the sour ache, then put down my chopsticks and declared solemnly, “I’ve decided!”

Yin Jie and Yu Hua both turned to look at me."I also need to take leave!"