Shine on Me

Luckily, the pirate ship captain was probably just joking.

On our way back to Suzhou, there was an extra person in our car.

A tall young man who looked vaguely familiar. Lin Yusheng introduced him as the newly appointed deputy general manager, surnamed Dai.

The tall young man smiled at me and said, "Miss Nie, you can just call me Xiao Dai."

...Should I call you Xiao Dai at the company too? You outrank me.

"Xiao Dai is my junior from the neighboring university," Lin Yusheng explained.

"Neighboring university counts as junior?" I asked in surprise.

Lin Yusheng smiled and clarified, "Their management program ranks top three nationally. When I was in college, I audited some classes there and made some friends. You met some of them when you visited my home last time—Xiao Dai was there too."

No wonder he looked familiar.

Lin Yusheng said, "After the New Year, General Manager Zhang will retire to Shanghai. I've been promoted, but I'm also planning to retire. Xiao Dai will take over some of the day-to-day operations. Xiguang, keep an eye on him."

I don’t care if you retire, but what do you mean by "keep an eye on him"?

I asked uncertainly, "He’s the deputy general manager—isn’t he my superior?"

"But you’re the boss’s wife," Xiao Dai chimed in from the back seat, teasing.

I glanced at Lin Yusheng, whose smile deepened. Hmph, he wants to slack off and still take advantage of me? Not happening.

So I cleared my throat and turned to Xiao Dai. "Call me boss."

Xiao Dai froze. I solemnly informed him, "Your General Manager Lin is just a figurehead now. He’s going to rely on me to support him."

Xiao Dai was momentarily speechless, while Lin Yusheng, who was driving, burst into hearty laughter.

At the company, of course, we still called him Deputy General Manager Dai.

The arrival of the new deputy general manager caused quite a stir. Yin Jie excitedly called me right away, providing a mix of useful and useless information. For instance, I already knew about his alma mater and his previous role as a senior executive at a major foreign company in Shanghai. What I didn’t know—Deputy General Manager Dai was 32 and currently single.

After sharing the scoop, Yin Jie sighed dramatically, "I was a little sad when General Manager Zhang left, but now we get another handsome deputy general manager? What a bargain!"

...Your nostalgia is worthless.

After hanging up, I texted Lin Yusheng, "Neighboring university aside, Xiao Dai is older than you. How did you trick him into calling you senior?"

He replied after a while, "By enrollment year. When it comes to seniority, you take whatever advantage you can."

Ah, that sounds like you.

Just as I was about to mock his shamelessness, another message quickly followed: "You can’t tell I’m much younger than him?"

Me: "To me, it’s about the same."

With a smirk, I swiftly typed another message, "Get back to work—no more replies! See you at dinner!"

Snapping my phone shut, I got back to work.

I was still in the finance department. Lin Yusheng had asked if I wanted to transfer back to the management department, but I immediately refused. Come on, I just moved back to finance—returning after the New Year would be way too unserious.

It’d make us look way too clingy!Although it's a little bit like that, how could I let my colleagues see through it? At the company, I must maintain that upright and impartial image! Besides, I haven't fully grasped the financial aspects yet, so there's no rush to return to the management core. In short, I came up with all sorts of excuses not to go back—I'd rather stay in the finance department as a happy little accountant for now.

However, my peaceful and happy days as a small accountant didn't even last a week before someone ruined them—and that someone was our newly appointed deputy general manager.

It was a perfectly ordinary afternoon. Snowflakes drifted outside, but inside the company, it was as warm as spring. I was carrying a huge stack of last year's financial records to the archives for filing when I ran into Vice President Dai.

The moment Vice President Dai saw me, his eyes lit up. "Oh my!" he exclaimed. "What's going on? Boss, how can you carry such heavy documents?"

I froze. So did Qiqi, who had been following behind me with another stack of records—though for different reasons. I coughed and tried hard to remind him, "Vice President Dai, we're employees of the finance department. I only started working here in the second half of last year—I'm a new employee."

Vice President Dai's face lit up with sudden understanding. "Boss, so you're still just a small accountant now?"

...

I swear, beneath his feigned ignorance, I could see a thousand hidden smirks in his heart!

Could I resist reporting him to his senior brother? Of course not! And I was going to make a big deal out of it too!

On our way to dinner after work, before Lin Yusen's car had even driven a hundred meters from the company, I had already complained for what felt like thousands of words.

"This is a very serious matter, you know?" I started with a definitive tone. "Although Qiqi said she wouldn't spread it, what if it wasn't Qiqi today? What if it got out? If he acts like this, people will think I got my position because of you—that I'm arrogant and domineering, to the point where even the new deputy general manager has to bow his head and call me 'Boss.'"

"Didn't you tell him to call you that?"

...Whose side are you on?

"That was a joke!"

"If it gets out, it's fine," Lin Yusen reassured me. "You'll take over the company sooner or later anyway. Then everyone will know it's me who got my position because of you."

Whether I have the ability to take over is another matter...

I reminded him, "Grandpa Sheng gave you the company shares. You have more than my family does."

"Then it's because of you that I got those shares."

...How does he come up with new rumors without even thinking? And after a moment's consideration, it actually made some sense.

Just as I was left speechless, Lin Yusen added, "But since Vice President Dai genuinely sees you as the boss, you shouldn't slack off anymore. I happen to be showing him around the company these days—you should join us."

Wait, from which part of the conversation did you conclude that Vice President Dai genuinely sees me as the boss?

Help! What kind of development is this?

I tried to complain, only to shoot myself in the foot?

Lin Yusen acted swiftly and immediately called Xiao Dai to join us for dinner.

The moment Xiao Dai arrived, he gave me a thumbs-up. "The Boss has great magnanimity."

He sat down, took a sip of water, and continued showering me with praise. "I thought after teasing you this afternoon, you'd definitely complain to Senior Brother. I never expected you'd treat me to dinner instead."

Me: "..."

I did complain—it's just that the outcome was a little unexpected.

Lin Yusen scolded him with a straight face. "Our little President Nie would never complain. But keep it low-key—don't call her 'Boss' in front of others."Xiao Dai nodded repeatedly, "Got it, got it. It's mainly because I didn't see anyone else at first today. After shouting, I got too excited and couldn't hold back, especially since I haven't seen the boss... oh, I mean Xiao Nie from finance, for several days."

Are you all ganging up to tease me?

General Manager Lin said, "You'll see each other every day from now on. It's a good time to familiarize you with the company's operations, and Xiao Nie can join too."

"Great, great. Teaching one is teaching, teaching two is also teaching," Xiao Dai enthusiastically raised his glass to welcome me. "Come on, cheers! Welcome to my study group. Don't forget, tomorrow morning is the briefing, and in the afternoon, we're going to the workshop."

As if I'd cheers with you.

I made a last-ditch effort: "What's so great about this? Stop joking around. Director Dai is, after all, a senior executive. I'm just a small employee in the finance department. Attending senior meetings and going to the workshop with you—none of this makes sense. People will talk."

"Hmm, you're very considerate." Lin Yusen stroked his chin thoughtfully, then smiled brightly. "Don't worry, I'll arrange it."

So the next day, all major departments received a notice from the management department—to cultivate young talent, senior executives could bring one or two young employees to observe high-level meetings from now on.

Section Chief Wu didn't hesitate to bring me along.

Soon, another notice was issued—to promote collaboration between management and production departments, management staff would visit workshops to understand production processes. Department heads could bring one or two employees.

Of course, Section Chief Wu brought me again.

I wonder if he was secretly instructed or just acting on his own...

I didn't dare ask.

Thus, in addition to my regular duties, I had to attend various high-level meetings with Section Chief Wu and visit workshops to learn about production equipment, processes, and technical standards. Honestly, I didn’t mind. Though I got much busier, I also learned a lot of new things. Plus, watching General Manager Lin confidently lead meetings was quite enjoyable. Section Chief Wu, however, wasn’t faring as well...

After another trip back from the workshop, Section Chief Wu walked stiffly, legs sore, and called out to me gravely, "Xiao Nie"

"Here!"

He frowned deeply. "This past half-month since work resumed, why do I feel like there are more meetings than before?"

I felt a bit guilty.

"And when General Manager Lin takes the new Director Dai to familiarize himself with production, does the finance department really need to tag along?"

I didn’t dare respond.

"We never had to work overtime before, but it looks like we’ll have to again today. Last time, my 'Heavenly Lord' got so mad she suspected I was up to no good and even came to the office to catch me."

I felt deeply remorseful.

But... Heavenly Lord? Section Chief, are you sure your wife was only angry about the overtime?

"Well... Section Chief, you really were working overtime, so it should be fine, right?"

"Of course it's fine." Section Chief Wu said indignantly, "But when she saw I really was working overtime, she told me to work more since it’s double pay—but she didn’t even bring me any food."

Uh... that’s not on me, is it?

"And everyone thinks I’m just brown-nosing General Manager Lin by always bringing you along... Xiao Nie!" Section Chief Wu suddenly raised his voice, looking at me hopefully. "How about next time, we have Section Chief Hu take you to the workshop?""I... I wouldn't know about that..." I stammered evasively, but when I met Section Chief Wu's pitiful gaze, I quietly changed my tune. "I suppose it's possible..."

Section Chief Wu's face instantly lit up, his hunched posture straightening as his steps became lighter. With renewed vigor, he said, "Come on, let's head back and work overtime together. Xiao Nie, you really have it tough—handling finance department duties, attending so many meetings, and even going to the factory for training. With such a great boyfriend like President Lin, how come your workload has only increased?"

This question...

I glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then whispered to Section Chief Wu, "President Lin said he plans to groom me to take over the entire company someday."

The lightness in the chief's steps froze instantly. He turned his stiffened neck to look at me, his shocked face slowly spelling out four silent words—you actually believe that?

His steps were no longer light.

"Xiao Nie..."

"Yes?"

A minute passed.

"You believe him?"

"Of course."

The section chief fell completely silent.

When we reached the office, I waved and was about to dash to my workstation when the chief called out to me.

He stood rooted in place, his face a picture of inner conflict.

"Xiao Nie, it's not about anyone in particular, just... just..."

After several false starts, Section Chief Wu finally steeled himself and blurted out with the determination of a doomed man, "Don't believe what men say when they're in love."