Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 005

Chapter 5 ☆, Workplace Hatred: A Long History.

When you’re on top, everyone in the world is your friend. When you’re down and out, everyone in the world is your enemy.

The first half of this statement applied to Xin Xin. The second half applied to Ashley.

Xin Xin had never expected Ashley to resign. Ashley and Chen Lisha had been fighting for over twenty years. Despite their different styles, they were both exceptionally capable individuals, renowned not only within the company but also at headquarters and other sister organizations.

Xin Xin still remembered how both Ashley and Chen Lisha had trained her as a new employee when she first arrived. She sat in the audience, diligently taking notes, while Mary whispered quietly to her nearby.

“They definitely don’t get along.”

Xin Xin, wearing large black-framed glasses, looked bewildered. “Huh? No way. How can you tell that?”

Mary glanced at her, her expression aloof. “It’s obvious. Look at other people handing over their session during training. One person steps down, smiling and making way for the other, while the other steps up and bows slightly, also smiling. But look at the two of them. When Ashley finished her speech and was about to leave, she didn’t even glance her way. While LisaChen came up, glanced down at her, and then sat down without any courtesy.”

Xin Xin couldn’t see the connection and even thought Mary was being paranoid.

Mary rolled her eyes. “Your emotional intelligence and IQ are truly out of sync. Just think about it: if you can’t even maintain a sense of balance in the workplace, how bad would your relationships be?”

To this day, Xin Xin has to admit that Mary is not interested in seeking a better career. Otherwise, a woman like Mary would not be able to get anything.

The hand, the heart with seven orifices, was nothing more than this.

This time, as soon as Chen Lisha took the stage, Ashley took her leave. She said she was exhausted after so many years and needed to take a break. As soon as her leave ended, she handed in her resignation.

When she left, none of her former followers showed up. From the huge CEO office, only a single cardboard box was left. Ashley was three years older than Chen Lisha, not young anymore. She could retire if she just held out.

Xin Xin felt a sense of regret. If it were her, she wouldn’t have the nerve to do that. Winners win, losers lose. The worst that could happen was to just stay put. Why bother fighting for supremacy?

Ashley’s place was deserted, while hers was bustling with activity. The kids who had been cursing her behind her back a few days ago were now trembling with fear, bringing her coffee one day and snacks the next. How could they have happily gossiped about her the other day? Now they were hushed, as if under a silencing spell.

Xin Xin was at a loss for words. She wasn’t the type to hold grudges over such things. In the workplace, you gossip about me, and I gossip about you. What new could there be under the sun?

Even someone as powerful as Ashley couldn’t avoid such tragedies. Back when she and Lisa Chen were at the height of their success, countless people eagerly followed her. Ashley was considered upright, but she had a rather assertive personality, treating both superiors and subordinates equally, and being humiliated was common. However, at work, her expertise in compliance helped the company avoid numerous fines.

In contrast, Lisa Chen was more subdued, impeccable, and unexpressive.

In fact, Xin Xin believed that both were fundamentally upright and on different paths. It was unusual for their relationship to deteriorate to this point, with one rising while the other was driven out.

Everyone says women shouldn’t be obsessed with love, but the reality is that being obsessed with work doesn’t necessarily translate well either. Years of hard work can be wasted in a single day.

Xin Xin and Ashley had never interacted outside of work, but seeing her end like this, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness.

She was doing okay now, but everyone in the workplace lived under the veil of danger. Now that she had managed to survive under Fu Meng’s watchful eyes, who could guarantee that the Ashley of today won’t be the same Ashley of the future?

Everyone in the company was saying that Ashley didn’t resign voluntarily but rather left because she was bullied and couldn’t bear the humiliation.

Xixi, the Deputy Manager of Risk Management Department, was always at Ashley’s beck and call. Xin Xin once saw Xixi leaving the company at 11:30 p.m. just to pick up a package for Ashley that was due the next day.

Ashley had promoted her, but the day after Chen Lisha took over, she skipped over her supervisor to report to her, still acting with the same cautious, obsequious demeanor.

These past few days, Xin Xin had been horrified to see her coming to work early every day to clean Chen Lisha’s office and make tea.

“General Manager Chen likes to drink rose tea on Wednesdays. Our cleaning staff is good, but they’re not meticulous enough.”

Xixi had been filling in for the Risk Management Department since Ashley’s leave. Xin Xin knew she was also seeking a promotion, but when she heard her say this, she was so surprised she held her mouthful of water in her mouth for a long time.

It was common to flatter someone when under someone’s roof. But it was rare to see someone like Xixi flattering someone so naturally, with such complete disregard for their former employer.

She looked up, and even someone as worldly-wise as Fu Meng had a look of astonishment.

Chen Lisha, on the other hand, was as usual. “Xixi is meticulous. My secretary doesn’t even know I drink flower tea on Wednesdays.”

Xin Xin thought to herself, Chen Lisha was truly a master at keeping a low profile. She realized that Chen Lisha’s words and actions were completely incomprehensible. She simply stated facts, her attitude completely invisible.

No, Xin Xin thought, maybe everyone else could see it, but she couldn’t. Xixi and Xin Xin were about the same age. Mary had repeatedly warned Xin Xin to be extremely careful with Xixi, as she harbored ill intentions towards her. Xixi looked like the petite, girl-next-door type. At first, she’d often tell Xin Xin, “I envy you! You look good in anything since you’re tall.”

Xin Xin didn’t comment, not taking it seriously.

Mary smiled quietly, deeply impressed by Xin Xin. “You’re truly a green tea killer.”

Xin Xin’s inability to understand the politeness between girls had earned her a certain popularity, and Mary appreciated her belated approach.

“She’s waiting for you to say, ‘No, I envy you for being so petite, cute, and endearing.'”

At first, Xin Xin didn’t quite believe Mary’s words. She figured they were just colleagues, and with so many women in the office, she and Xixi were completely different. How could they be compared?

Later, Xin Xin accidentally noticed that when the water dispenser near Xixi ran out of water, a male colleague would help her replace it. But Xin Xin always changed the water in her water dispenser herself. One time, a male colleague came to help and jokingly complimented her, saying, “Tall people are really strong. No wonder Xixi envied you.”

Xin Xin was curious. “What did she envy me about?”

“She asked me to help her change the water, saying she couldn’t lift it and that she wished she was taller and stronger like you.”

Mary nearly died of laughter when Xin Xin told her about this, with an expression like, “See what I said.”

Xin Xin hadn’t taken these things personally, but then something convinced her that Xixi was more than just comparing herself to her.

Xixi practically hated her.

At the time, they hadn’t yet been assigned to specific departments and were rotating between them. She and Xixi had worked together on a project, with her doing the first half and Xixi doing the second.

Xin Xin handed Xixi the finished half the day before the agreed time. Xixi happily took the work, bought her milk tea, and invited her to go shopping together when she had time. But later, because of this work, Xin Xin heard that Ashley had singled her out for criticism at a company-wide meeting of middle and senior management.

No one told Xin Xin about this at the time, and soon after, Xixi was assigned to a department, and Xin Xin was asked to leave by Ashley. Xin Xin was later assigned to the Finance Department. The then-head of Finance, Ethan, had always disliked Xin Xin and was critical of all her work.

Xin Xin was never able to grasp the key until much later, when Ethan criticized her for something she hadn’t done well. Xin Xin then learned that Xixi had been working overtime until 11 a.m. every day on the project they were collaborating on, and Ashley had seen her doing it. When asked why, she explained that Xin Xin hadn’t given her the work they were collaborating on, causing delays.

Ashley hated delays, so she took a liking to Xixi, who appeared to be working tirelessly every day. Furthermore, Xixi might have been trying to show her that Xin Xin was beautiful and capable and that everyone liked her. She, on the other hand, was unattractive and clumsy, which led her to feel wronged.

For two whole years, she remained oblivious to these events. Mary’s assessment of the incident was, “Killing without being seen is the most vicious.”

Xin Xin had been ensnared from the start, unable to defend herself. Everything Xixi did and said were half-truths, impossible to verify. Through subtle praise and subtle criticism, and a cleverly constructed persona, she was transformed into a capable, down-to-earth, struggling young woman, while Xin Xin became a socialite who procrastinated on work and relied on her looks to make a living.

This incident taught Xin Xin a lesson, and she also began to believe that people can truly harbor hatred for no reason.

At that time, Mary comforted her, “She’s jealous of you.”

Xin Xin was deeply depressed and gave a wry smile.

Mary said, “But she also truly loves you, to a certain extent.”

In her second year in the Risk Management Department, Xixi changed her English name. From then on, everyone called her Xixi, and no one remembered her real name, Zhao Jing.

Almost everyone in the unit had an English name, and Xin Xin was no exception. She was just too embarrassed to tell anyone her English name; it was Star. It was a complete misunderstanding and was ironic, especially considering her name was a double character. Over the years, most people have lost their names, but she was the only one lucky enough to still have her original one.

Mary commented on this incident, “It seems Xixi truly has a mixture of love and hate for you. She even copied your name. You’re in for it.”

Over the years, they each lived their own lives, relatively peacefully.

Xin Xin always thought these things were in the past, long gone.

But unexpectedly, right after the meeting of middle and senior management, Chen Lisha asked her to stay again and got straight to the point. “People say I forced Ashley out. You’ve heard that, right?”

Xin Xin nodded honestly. “Yes.”

Chen Lisha smiled. “Guess who said that?”

Xin Xin was curious. “Who said that?”

Chen Lisha glanced at her. “You.”

Xin Xin was shocked. “Why me?”