The Epoch of Miyu

Making a firm resolution didn't necessarily mean work would become any smoother.

Luo Qingping became Xu Miyu's biggest obstacle.

In modern youth slang, Xu Miyu felt Luo Qingping was like her top anti-fan.

Sometimes, with people you have no direct conflict with, even if you dislike them or find them disagreeable, these feelings tend to fade over time.

But if during this process, someone constantly reinforces these feelings of dislike and disapproval, they not only fail to fade but become more persistent and intense. Eventually, no one even needs to remember the original reason for disliking her—they just remember that they dislike her.

Now, Luo Qingping was that person constantly reinforcing these feelings. Filled with anger and resentment, she rallied everyone to oppose Xu Miyu, continuously inciting resistance and advising them on how to defy Xu Miyu's work arrangements.

She even assured them, "Don't worry. Even if she has connections upstairs, it's not necessarily someone willing to go out of their way for her. Otherwise, they would've already gotten her an office job. Why would she still be slaving away as a service staff?"

She further encouraged them, "Trust me, if none of us listen to her, she won't be able to handle the workload at the executive level. Sooner or later, she'll leave on her own! Don't forget, she just got her probation passed and is already lording it over us. What gives her the right?"

The others might not necessarily want Luo Qingping as the team leader either. But Luo Qingping wasn't wrong—Xu Miyu was new, hadn't even familiarized herself with people from other hotel departments, so why should she be their leader?

Thus, when it came to Xu Miyu's work assignments, they followed Luo Qingping's commands and incitement, feigning compliance while secretly resisting.

Xu Miyu had now switched to the team leader's uniform: a black suit with a white shirt underneath and tailored trousers. With her slender waist and long legs, the new uniform accentuated her figure, making her look elegant and poised.

She no longer drifted through each day like the living dead, as she had before. She began taking care of her skin again.

Dressed in the new uniform and with her complexion glowing, she looked like a completely different person from before.

She had already grasped the overall responsibilities of a team leader; what she lacked was comprehensive hands-on experience and the ability to handle emergencies swiftly.

But she took it slowly, believing she could eventually make up for these shortcomings.

In the morning, like the previous team leader, Xu Miyu filled out the room assignment sheet and distributed the work orders printed from it to everyone.

Although the team didn't respect her leadership, fortunately, after receiving their work orders, they still carried out their tasks as assigned.

The only issue was that Xu Miyu was still inexperienced, and minor oversights occasionally occurred during room assignments.

That morning, two room attendants called her over the walkie-talkie simultaneously.

"Hey, Team Leader Xu, how come this suite at the end of the floor is on both my work order and Xiao Du's? Whose workload does it count as?"

Xu Miyu pressed the walkie-talkie and replied, "Xiao Geng, sorry about that. Could you please take care of it?"

Xiao Geng's voice suddenly rose an octave: "Why should I? I already have more rooms assigned to me than Xiao Du!"

Xu Miyu had no choice but to say, "Then, Xiao Du, could you please handle it?"Xiao Du's voice suddenly rose higher, as if competing with the previous person to hit the highest note—whoever's pitch dropped first would lose: "Why should I take on extra work? My total room count is less than hers, but I have more dirty rooms! Why should I clean this one? Besides, it wasn't me who filled out the room assignment form wrong. Whoever made the mistake should take responsibility. I don't care—I'm not cleaning this room!"

Xiao Du's reply was resolute. Xiao Geng refused to yield an inch.

Xu Miyu had no choice but to let them continue with the other rooms on their work lists. As for the dirty room that had been double-assigned, she had to clean it herself.

While she was cleaning that room, several housekeeping staff found excuses to come see her, though none had any substantial reason.

Xu Miyu knew they were actually there to watch her embarrassment—to see how, despite having been promoted to supervisor, she couldn't get anyone to follow her orders and had to clean rooms herself.

As she took off her suit jacket, rolled up her sleeves, and knelt to scrub the bathroom tub, Luo Qingping walked in.

Holding a water cup, Luo Qingping took a sip and exclaimed, "Oh my, Supervisor Xu, still doing manual labor yourself?"

Xu Miyu didn't respond, focusing intensely on scrubbing the tub. The grime lost its shape under the brush, dissolving into the cleaning solution. This was the therapeutic satisfaction cleaning brought Xu Miyu—as long as she put her heart into it, all filth could be washed away.

Getting no response, Luo Qingping lost interest and left with her water cup.

Passing by the doorway, another staff member greeted her.

"Qingping, so relaxed already? Finished all your rooms?"

Luo Qingping replied, "All done."

The other person praised her, "So fast—you're really amazing."

Luo Qingping boasted, "I work efficiently—can't help it."

They walked away together, leaving the room behind.

After finishing the tub, Xu Miyu moved on to scrubbing the floor.

Then her walkie-talkie crackled to life again.

It was the front desk asking, "What's going on with the executive level? I checked a guest into their room, and they immediately complained the bed wasn't made and trash wasn't taken out—it's clearly a dirty room. How could the room status report show it as clean? How did such a mix-up happen? I've calmed the guest down for now—they're having coffee in the lobby. Supervisor, send someone to clean it immediately!"

Xu Miyu's heart sank.

No matter who had changed the room status, this would ultimately count as her oversight.

She asked the front desk, "Can we move this guest to another clean room that's ready?"

The front desk replied, "No, this guest always requests this specific room whenever they stay."

Xu Miyu had no choice but to assign someone to clean it.

She quickly pressed her walkie-talkie and called Luo Qingping: "Luo Qingping, Luo Qingping, if you've finished your rooms, go clean this one now." She provided the room number.

But after calling several times, she received no response.

She tried calling others, but everyone claimed they were still busy with their current tasks and couldn't break away.

In the end, Xu Miyu had to clean that room herself too.

Handling everything alone—with no one willing to lend a hand—she ended her shift exhausted, feeling several times more worn out than before.

The next day, Manager Yang Ling called Xu Miyu in for a talk.

Her tone remained as condescending as ever."Xu Miyu, what's been going on lately? I've been hearing many people report that both management and cleanliness on our executive level aren't up to standard. Are you facing any difficulties in your work?"

Xu Miyu felt ashamed that her work was being questioned, while simultaneously hesitating about whether to tell Yang Ling the truth - that her subordinates weren't really following her lead.

While hesitating, she heard Yang Ling ask further: "Are they being negligent and not listening to you?" At this point, Yang Ling's expression turned serious, and her tone became stern. "Xu Miyu, give it to me straight - can you manage them or not? Do you have the capability to properly oversee this floor? You need to be clear-headed about this - this is the executive level, not those standard rooms downstairs. Our guests are of a different caliber. We can't let your ineffective management of the service staff affect our guests' stay experience. Do you understand how crucial this is?"

Xu Miyu immediately stopped herself from telling Yang Ling about her subordinates' disobedience.

So this is how it works in the workplace - showing weakness is useless. Showing weakness means handing your vulnerabilities to others, making it easier for them to eliminate you faster.

She quickly responded to Yang Ling: "Manager Yang, please rest assured. Just give me a bit more time, and I will definitely get our floor's work properly managed."

Xu Miyu silently added in her heart that these words weren't empty promises - she just needed some time to lay low. When she emerged from this period of laying low, everything would be different.

The next morning, two people checked into the executive level together, each taking a room.

But they seemed to have some urgent business - they only stayed in their rooms for about half an hour before checking out.

Xu Miyu assigned both rooms to attendant Li Wan, instructing her to clean them thoroughly.

Yet within two minutes, Xu Miyu saw that both rooms' status had changed from "dirty" to "clean."

Xu Miyu immediately found Li Wan and asked: "Have you cleaned both rooms properly?"

Li Wan replied: "Of course I have."

Xu Miyu went to inspect and discovered that Li Wan's so-called "cleaning" consisted of merely smoothing out the wrinkles on the bed sheets where guests had sat and rearranging the disturbed bedcovers.

Xu Miyu called Li Wan over and asked: "Xiao Li, didn't you change the bedsheets and duvet covers? You didn't scrub the toilet and bathtub either, did you? You just rearranged the bedding, right? Xiao Li, this doesn't comply with the hotel's sanitation regulations. Even if guests only stayed for half an hour, everything that should be changed or cleaned needs to be properly addressed."

Li Wan suddenly laughed: "Team Leader Xu, no offense, but how long have you been at Siwei Hotel? Do you really know more about actual hotel practices than I do? What you're talking about are just written regulations. Nobody's actually that foolish - when guests only stay for half an hour, to change all the bedsheets and duvet covers, scrub the toilet and bathtub - that would just be idle work." She paused, realizing her words might have been too harsh, and tried to soften them: "Team Leader Xu, trust me, this is how our hotel has always operated. If they didn't stay overnight, we don't need to change anything."Xu Miyu smiled amiably but stood her ground: "Then let's not do that from now on." She wasn't skilled at arguing or refusing others, yet she reminded herself it was time to learn these skills. Still unaccustomed to such assertiveness, she offered to share half of Li Wan's workload after contradicting her.

"Here's the plan: two rooms. You handle one, I'll help with the other. Let's thoroughly redo the cleaning for both together."

Li Wan reluctantly agreed.

Xu Miyu entered one room, removed her outer jacket, rolled up her shirt sleeves, and began working diligently.

After meticulously cleaning the room and bathroom, she locked the door and went to check on Li Wan. To her surprise, Li Wan had only stripped the bed linens—the new sheets remained unfolded, and the room was otherwise untouched. Li Wan sat on the bare mattress, watching television.

Xu Miyu felt a surge of irritation but suppressed it.

She sensed it wasn't the right moment to assert authority. Instinctively, she knew that wielding influence required timing—like saving strength for a decisive strike.

Calmly, she asked Li Wan why the bed hadn't been made.

Li Wan raised a hand, explaining, "Foreman, I twisted my wrist while removing the sheets earlier—it hurts terribly. I thought I'd wait until it felt better to make the bed. Oh, and I'm watching TV to distract myself from the pain!"

Xu Miyu nodded silently and began making the bed herself.

Li Wan stood by, observing as Xu Miyu deftly pulled the mattress, spread the sheet, and tucked it neatly—creating crisp, hospital-corners with seamless efficiency. Impressed, Li Wan started praising Xu Miyu's bed-making skills.

Xu Miyu turned and flashed her a cheerful smile.

As if enlightened, Li Wan continued lavishing compliments on Xu Miyu's efficiency and clever techniques. Flattered and beaming, Xu Miyu became so engrossed in the praise that she didn't question whether Li Wan's hand had recovered or if she could resume work. Instead, she proceeded to clean the bathroom for her.

By the time Xu Miyu finished, locked the door, and stepped out, she seemed unaware that Li Wan's responsibilities had entirely shifted onto her shoulders—all unfolding amid a stream of relentless flattery.

That evening, Xu Miyu stayed behind for night duty at the hotel.

After 9 PM, the weather abruptly shifted, unleashing a torrential downpour.

Sitting in the office, Xu Miyu listened to the rain and thought how perfect such weather was for curling up under blankets to sleep.

But clearly, that luxury wasn't in her cards tonight.

Around midnight, Zhao Kele, a mid-shift attendant, came to the office seeking her.

Zhao held a man's suit jacket—drenched and disheveled from the rain, with a torn, frayed sleeve cuff, likely snagged during the stormy walk.

"Foreman Xu, a guest just checked in—soaked through. He handed me his suit jacket, insisting I dry and press it, even mend this tear. His dress shoes are caked in mud, and he demands I clean and polish them too. He says he needs everything first thing tomorrow morning, then shoved the clothes and shoes at me, shut his door, and turned on the TV!"

Only then did Xu Miyu notice the pair of mud-caked shoes in Zhao Kele's other hand."In the middle of the night, even the laundry room is closed. Where am I supposed to find someone to iron his suit, mend it, and polish his shoes?" Zhao Kele grumbled discontentedly.

Xu Miyu knew that even if a guest wanted their suit ironed, they would indeed have to wait until the next morning. The Sway Hotel truly didn't offer overnight urgent laundry or ironing services.

She thought for a moment. Since the guest was watching TV, it meant they hadn't gone to bed yet. She quickly dialed the guest's room phone and explained that the hotel didn't provide laundry, ironing, mending, or shoe polishing services at night, hoping they could wait until the next morning when everyone was on duty.

But the guest said to Xu Miyu, "But I have an important business meeting early tomorrow morning. This suit and these shoes are like my lucky battle gear—I can only succeed in negotiations when I'm wearing them. So please, I'm begging you, can you find a way to help? As for the tear on the sleeve, please try your best to mend it so it doesn't look too obvious, I'm counting on you! You're a five-star hotel—isn't the whole point of a five-star hotel to address guests' urgent needs and find ways to satisfy them? Whether I can close the deal tomorrow depends entirely on you! I'll be waiting! Just bring the clothes and shoes to me when they're ready—I won't sleep until I receive them."

After the guest hung up, Xu Miyu sighed helplessly.

She felt frustrated that in the service industry, one didn't have the right to say no to guests.

She turned to Zhao Kele and said, "Then we have no choice but to find a way to help this guest."

Zhao Kele immediately started complaining nonstop.

Xu Miyu asked Zhao Kele to go to the laundry room and dry the clothes first while she took care of cleaning the guest's shoes.

She removed the mud from the leather shoes, dried them thoroughly, and carefully applied a layer of polish. What had been a pair of shoes soaked in mud moments ago now looked as good as new.

Once the shoes were done, Zhao Kele returned with the dried suit.

Xu Miyu asked her to iron it, but Zhao Kele demurred, "How about you mend the tear on the sleeve first, Supervisor? Once you're done, I'll iron it. My sewing skills are nowhere near good enough—I'm afraid the guest will wake up tomorrow and demand I pay for a new suit."

Xu Miyu chuckled at this and took the suit jacket. She found a needle and thread and began mending the tear.

Thankfully, her six years as a housewife hadn't been in vain—her sewing skills were passable. Back when she used to mend Nie Yucheng's suits, she had specifically learned how to hide stitches when repairing clothes. Now, those mending techniques came in handy.

As she carefully threaded the needle and repaired the tear, Zhao Kele watched her skillful stitching and couldn't help but praise her craftsmanship.

Pleased by the compliments, Xu Miyu looked up and smiled at Zhao Kele, thanking her.

Encouraged, Zhao Kele praised her even more enthusiastically.

Eventually, Zhao Kele said to Xu Miyu, "Supervisor, your mending skills are absolutely superb! If you're this good at sewing, you must be great at ironing too. How about you iron the suit, and I'll watch and learn from you?"

Xu Miyu nodded in agreement and, amid Zhao Kele's continued praise, began ironing the suit herself.

After ironing, she and Zhao Kele delivered the clothes and shoes to the guest's room together.

The guest was still awake. Seeing the suit and shoes restored to their pristine condition, he was utterly delighted. When he examined the torn sleeve, he found that one had to look very closely to even notice it had been mended.He was utterly astonished and repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Xu Miyu and Zhao Kele.

Hearing these thanks, Xu Miyu felt that even if she had worked a little harder that night, it was all worth it. She smiled brightly.

Zhao Kele, standing beside her, seemed lost in thought.

Two days later, in the afternoon, after everyone had finished their tasks, they gathered in the guest services department to chat and joke around.

As the conversation went on, the topic turned to Xu Miyu.

Li Wan said, "Hey, I’ve noticed something about Xu Miyu—she really can’t handle compliments. Just praise her a little, and she gets so happy!"

Zhao Kele quickly chimed in with a sly grin, "Exactly, I’ve noticed that too! Xu Miyu is the type who can’t resist flattery. A few compliments and she gets all giddy—at that point, she’ll do anything you ask!"

Li Wan immediately grew excited, agreeing wholeheartedly.

They then went to confirm with Ke Wenxue and Yin Xiang, "Isn’t it true that Xu Miyu can’t handle compliments at all?"

Ke Wenxue and Yin Xiang nodded, confirming this trait of Xu Miyu.

"She really enjoys being praised and affirmed. In the past, whenever I wanted to trick her into cleaning my room, I’d sweet-talk her and praise her until she was happy. Then, no matter what I asked, she’d agree to it," Yin Xiang explained clearly to everyone.

Luo Qingping, standing nearby, remarked, "So from now on, you all know what to do, right?"

Spurred on by Luo Qingping, everyone quickly caught on.

From that moment on, they all seized upon Xu Miyu’s weakness for compliments.

They lavished praise on Xu Miyu to her face, complimenting her on how capable she was. Flattered and beaming, Xu Miyu ended up taking on all the tasks herself—even the work that required coordination with other departments, she handled personally.

Behind her back, however, they treated Xu Miyu like a fool, eagerly sharing jokes about her.

Gradually, they not only confirmed that Xu Miyu couldn’t handle compliments but also uncovered other secrets about her life.

When it was time for Xu Mibao’s mortgage payment again, Jiao Xiumei’s call came right on schedule. Xu Miyu had just finished a small meeting in the guest services department and had stepped out to the restroom, leaving her phone behind on the desk.

When the phone rang, a girl nearby found the noise annoying and tried to mute the call. But by accident, she not only answered the call but also switched it to speakerphone.

Jiao Xiumei’s loud, aggressive voice blared through the speaker: "Third Daughter, your brother’s mortgage payment is due this month. Make sure you send the money over soon. Your eldest and second sisters already gave me their shares yesterday—you’re the only one left. If your brother’s mortgage payment gets delayed because of you, I’ll skin you alive…"

The rest of the threat was cut short. Xu Miyu rushed back in, her face pale and her voice trembling as she asked, "Who told you to answer my phone in private?"

No one answered her.

Clutching her phone, Xu Miyu walked out of the guest services department.

Her retreating figure looked fragile and wounded. But the girls in the room exchanged glances, silently debating whether to feel more sympathy for her or to mock her. In the end, they all chose to ridicule her.Hating someone seems to gradually strip away one's sense of fairness and compassion. Constantly reminded by Luo Qingping, they thought Xu Miyu was utterly detestable and foolish—how could someone like her possibly become a team leader?

Their dislike then overwhelmed everything else. Such tragic favoritism towards sons over daughters happening to others would normally make them sigh with pity and sympathy. But when it happened to Xu Miyu, they suppressed the subconscious urge to rise pity and sympathy, looking around to find everyone else mocking her. Wouldn't sympathizing with her make me out of place? So I'll mock her too.

Thus, in the housekeeping department after Xu Miyu left, everyone was laughing at how pathetically she had lived in her maternal home.

The gossip about Xu Miyu from the executive level quickly spread through Ke Wenxue's rumor network and reached Xue Rui's ears.

While Ji Feng was having afternoon tea, Xue Rui first reported to him about Duan Aoxiang's situation.

"Boss, according to your arrangements, we've intercepted several of Duan Aoxiang's business deals in Thailand. He's now basically in a situation where all his years of effort there have come to nothing. He's already been angrily summoned back to Xingcheng by his family patriarch after being severely scolded. You've really dealt him quite a blow recently."

After a pause, Xue Rui continued: "Additionally, as per your previous instructions, we've found Duan Aoxiang's former assistant A Ni and also obtained evidence of his regulatory violations during project handling. Just yesterday, your personal lawyer initiated legal proceedings to have him taken in for investigation. He'll likely be sentenced."

This news pleased Ji Feng greatly. He contentedly sipped his tea. Since he had confirmed that A Ni was the most direct instigator leading to that night's loss of control, he couldn't possibly let him off.

Anyone who had crossed Ji Feng - whether Duan Aoxiang or A Ni - he wouldn't let any of them off easily.

Xue Rui looked at Ji Feng, his curiosity making him restless all over.

So he ventured to ask: "Boss, I understand you dealing with Director Duan since he came looking for trouble with you from the start. But that assistant A Ni who had already been fired by Duan Aoxiang - was he really worth you taking him so seriously?" What exactly had happened between them? Xue Rui was practically racking his brains trying to figure it out.

Ji Feng gave him a cold glance and shut down his curiosity with one sentence: "Don't ask about things you shouldn't. Those who ask too many questions die young."

"..." Xue Rui swallowed his curiosity back.

But immediately, another piece of gossip that came to his lips made him itch to speak, feeling uncomfortable if he didn't share it.

It was gossip about that Xu Miyu.

So taking advantage of this most relaxed moment of Ji Feng's day, he couldn't help but express some thoughts related to that woman.