Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 014

Chapter 14 ☆, Do You Know I’m Waiting for You to Break Up?

A large group of people went to a dinner party, drinking and chatting away, and in a short while, they all looked like close friends.

Mary thrived in social circles, never getting drunk. Xin Xin wasn’t bad at drinking, but considering she might have to escort a bunch of drunks home today, she opted for sparkling water instead.

A singer played under the dim lights. Xin Xin poked her head out the private room window. “A guest requested a song: ‘Do you know I’m waiting for you to break up?’ It’s for a mysterious lady here.”

Xin Xin smiled, not knowing who it was, but it was both funny and poignant.

Thinking this, she responded with a toast and a glass of sparkling water. Across the bustling crowd of faces toasting each other, Xin Xin spotted Zhang Qiao, sitting quietly in a corner.

His eyes were deep and sorrowful, fixed intently in one direction.

Xin Xin followed that gaze, and something struck her. Over there, Yang Manman and Mary were leaning against each other, sharing their innermost feelings. Xin Xin wasn’t sure who Zhang Qiao was looking at, but perhaps she already knew the answer.

That look—even a blind man could understand its meaning. This made Xin Xin extremely uncomfortable. Knowing a secret someone else didn’t want to reveal was undoubtedly an inhuman torture.

One more word would reveal someone else’s secret. One less word could potentially cause a couple to miss each other.

The dinner ended almost at midnight, and Xin Xin packed up and sent everyone from the department away. Worried about Mary’s heavy mood and excessive drinking, Xin Xin decided to take her home.

Mary, when she was drunk, looked calm. But once the party ended, she was completely terrified. As Xin Xin was grabbing her keys, Mary lost her balance. Just as she was about to reach for her, a pair of hands grabbed Mary before she could.

Zhang Qiao had quietly followed.

Xin Xin sighed softly, “Please come with us. I’m afraid she’ll fall asleep, and I won’t be able to get her inside.”

Zhang Qiao silently got into the car. Xin Xin glanced at them through the rearview mirror.

Mary had indeed fallen asleep, slumped in the chair. Zhang Qiao carefully placed her head on his shoulder, and as if worried she might be uncomfortable, he held his body straight.

Xin Xin couldn’t help but wonder, “Han Canghai, Han Canghai, do you realize that someone you casually break up with is someone others crave?”

“Zhang Qiao, where’s your home? How about I give you my car and you drive to work tomorrow?”

Zhang Qiao hadn’t drunk alcohol, reportedly because he was allergic to it. But at this moment, he seemed even more obedient than usual.

“Sister Xin, that’s okay. I’ll take you and Mary upstairs, and I’ll call a taxi myself. I’m a man; I’m not afraid.”

Xin Xin smiled. “You only call me sister, never Mary.”

Zhang Qiao also smiled. “Yes, before Mary told me to come over, I was very scared of you.”

“Why?”

“I heard you and Mary are very strong-willed, like two witches in the company, running rampant.”

These days of spending time together had brought them closer. Zhang Qiao was more talkative than usual, rambling on about the rumors he’d heard.

According to rumors, Xin Xin was the most scheming woman in the Haining branch, currying favor with superiors and trampling over subordinates. She used the beautiful and flamboyant Mary as a pawn and then got away with it herself.

In fact, even without him saying it, Xin Xin knew that the “rumors” were mostly started by Xixi.

While waiting at a red light, Xin Xin glanced at Zhang Qiao and started gossiping, “How did you get to know Mary?”

Zhang Qiao was silent for a long moment before softly saying, “Mary helped me.”

The incident began when Xixi took Zhang Qiao to meet a senior executive from a higher-level company. According to regulations, alcohol wasn’t allowed, but Xixi brought some at her own expense. Zhang Qiao couldn’t recall the exact cost of the meal that day, but he had definitely paid for it.

When he later went to Mary to claim reimbursement, he discovered the amount far exceeded the reimbursement limit.

Zhang Qiao approached Xixi, who feigned innocence, saying she had previously told Zhang Qiao the reimbursement limit and that she wouldn’t cover any overages.

Zhang Qiao pondered the matter at home for a long time; no matter how he calculated it, the meal didn’t seem that expensive. He went to the restaurant to check the bill, but they said their system was down and they didn’t have the details.

This was a mystery, and Zhang Qiao, new to the job and inexperienced, had to suffer this loss.

When he went to Mary to claim the portion of the reimbursement he had requested, Mary immediately saw what was going on. It wasn’t necessarily out of kindness to help Zhang Qiao, but she had always disliked Xixi, so she was wary and forced Zhang Qiao to find out the truth.

Disgusted by Xixi’s behavior, Mary took the initiative and called the hotel. The hotel had been working with the Haining branch for many years and was undoubtedly more familiar with Mary from the finance department than Xixi, who worked in risk management. Mary found an excuse and quickly demanded the detailed account.

Xixi had given a few extra bottles of wine as a favor, and since she didn’t want to pay, she decided to let Zhang Qiao pick up the tab.

After clarifying the situation, Mary called Xixi directly and addressed the reimbursement issue directly. She didn’t claim that Zhang Qiao had complained but simply said that she had realized she had overpaid when she filed the claim and was worried the hotel had made a mistake, so she checked the detailed account.

Xixi’s face turned pale, and fearing Mary might hold her responsible, she gave Zhang Qiao the extra money.

The two became familiar with each other because of this incident. Mary, observing Zhang Qiao’s predicament and recalling Xixi’s plot against Xin Xin, would occasionally call on Zhang Qiao.

For Mary, it was a way to suppress a workplace rival while also defending him.

For Zhang Qiao, it was a beautiful and loyal sister who always protected him.

Xin Xin sighed, “It’s clear that beautiful women never need a reason to fall into romantic relationships; they often succeed by accident.”

Zhang Qiao helped drive Mary home. Xin Xin dropped him off at the entrance to the residential complex, watched him get a taxi, and then returned home. After all this, she only slept a few hours.

Mary was full of energy the next day, but Xin Xin felt like she was going to die.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. As soon as she got to work, she heard that her superiors were coming to inspect. As luck would have it, the person coming was Zhao Xi.

However, the situation was quite delicate. Zhao Xi, the General Manager of the Risk Department, was not the leader of the inspection team.

Xin Xin sensed a subtle whiff of something.

After some time, if Xin Xin had once harbored any resentment towards Zhao Xi, it had vanished with her increasingly smooth work and life.

But once an inspection was due, it was inevitable that the top would say a word and the bottom would run around like crazy.

When Zhao Xi left, he had undergone a clean bill of health audit. But a few months later, he was inspected again at an unscheduled time. It seemed something had gone wrong. He was implicated, but he probably wasn’t responsible.

Unable to fathom the emperor’s intentions, Xin Xin obediently prepared the documents as instructed.

She worked until nine in the evening. Many people in the department had gone to a dinner party the day before, only to find themselves in a tragic situation the next day. After a day of torment, everyone looked haggard by the time they left work.

Xin Xin dragged her exhausted body into the elevator and checked her phone to order takeout to keep her vital signs up.

“Xin Xin.”

“Ah!”

Xin Xin was so frightened that her phone rolled several times before she saw a squatting figure standing up outside her house. The neighborhood was an old school district, and the lighting wasn’t very bright, but Xin Xin could see the man was wearing a well-ironed suit.

She recognized the voice.

“Zheng Zaochuan, be careful or I’ll hit you.”

Zheng Zaochuan smiled, as if he’d been waiting outside her door for a long time, his hair a mess. He rubbed his eyes dazedly, irritated by Xin Xin’s snarl.

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Xin Xin softened, opened the door, and let Zheng Zaochuan in. “Why didn’t you call?”

“I guessed you were busy.”

Zheng Zaochuan was truly foresighted. He’d known about the personnel changes at their company before, and now he even foresaw her busy schedule.

“Have you eaten yet?”

Zheng Zaochuan shook his head obediently. “Can I eat with you?”

This guy was surly and had no sense of boundaries. He never cared about other people’s inconvenience or happiness. But somehow, he always found a way to make Xin Xin compromise.

The first time he came to Xin Xin’s house to look for her, it was just like today.

It was clearly all his fault, but he just sat at Xin Xin’s door and asked her aggrievedly, “Star, I don’t want to go home. They’re watching me.”

At the time, he was caught up in his complicated love triangle, and Xin Xin sharply criticized him, “Scumbag. A complete scumbag. Even the recycling station wouldn’t want you.”

But she still took him in and later disguised herself as the heroine in this complex love drama, helping him solve his problems.

Generally speaking, Zheng Zaochuan only came to Xin Xin’s place to act like a puppy when he was in trouble or feeling down.

“Xin Xin, will you help Zhao Xi?”

Xin Xin handed her chopsticks to Zheng Zaochuan and asked in confusion, “What happened to Zhao Xi?”

“You don’t know?”

Xin Xin was taken aback. “I don’t know. What happened?”

Zheng Zaochuan said to her while eating noodles, “You’ll probably know soon. The boss of Chengjing is under investigation. It’s a serious matter.”

Xin Xin was stunned. Chengjing was a state-owned enterprise, and Zhao Xi had been responsible for some of their earliest debt projects at the head office. Later, when Zhao Xi came to Haining, the relevant business of Chengjing’s branch office also moved here because of Zhao Xi’s connections. Chengjing’s boss and Zhao Xi had always had a good personal relationship.

When the incident really happened, Xin Xin realized that she hadn’t wanted Zhao Xi to get into trouble at all.

Time has beautified the conflicts between people. Xin Xin was grateful to Zhao Xi for his kindness.

Xin Xin quickly recalled that no matter what the head office’s business had been like before, she had been more or less involved in all capital operations since Zhao Xi came to Haining. She could guarantee Zhao Xi was fine.

But as for whether he’d violated any rules privately, she truly had no idea.

“I’ll do my best to prepare the information for the inspection, within my responsibilities. Chengjing doesn’t have many projects in Haining, and none are particularly complex. I think Zhao Xi is fine.”

Zheng Zaochuan glanced at Xin Xin. “Do you still like Zhao Xi?”

Xin Xin was most annoyed by his speculation about her and Zhao Xi’s relationship and replied unhappily, “Yes, yes, love is unrequited, okay?”

Zheng Zaochuan ignored her attitude and abruptly changed the subject. “Do you have a boyfriend?”