Chapter Thirty-Seven: Not Easy Either

Yuan Zhong never thought she had any special connections. It was said that her parents had asked friends, and those friends had asked other friends, but she herself had only met a middle-aged man during her interview—a process that could hardly be called a proper interview.

She found it odd that in these past two days, she hadn’t seen that uncle again. In the company, apart from the editor-in-chief, there seemed to be no other leaders.

Naturally, these were things Yuan Zhong would never mention to Chen Yue.

The subway arrived at their stop. The two emerged from the station and then walked for another ten minutes or so, arriving at a Sam’s Club.

Upon entering, Chen Yue headed straight for the small café, “I want the beef wrap. It’s the best here.”

Yuan Zhong wanted to finish the shopping first, but seeing Chen Yue’s expectant face, she checked the time and followed. “You like this? I’ll go buy it. I won’t have any, though—I had a big breakfast and I’m still full.” As she spoke, she scanned the code and placed the order.

“Oh, you really don’t have to,” Chen Yue said.

“Thank you for telling me about this, and for coming with me,” Yuan Zhong replied with a smile.

When they got the beef wrap, Chen Yue sat down happily and devoured it with gusto.

“I’ll go inside and start shopping; we’ll meet at the checkout later,” Yuan Zhong said.

“I’ll be quick,” Chen Yue promised.

“It’s fine, take your time. If there’s any problem, I’ll call you.”

“Alright then.”

Yuan Zhong could tell that if she dragged Chen Yue along to shop, they’d never get done quickly.

Soon, she’d found everything on her list and went to check out. Looking around, there was still no sign of Chen Yue, so she sent her a WeChat message: “I’m at checkout number five, almost done. Where are you?”

After paying and packing her items, a WeChat notification popped up.

Chen Yue: I’m inside tasting free samples—do you want to try some glutinous corn? There’s also ginseng soup.

Alright then. Yuan Zhong looked at the time—there’d still be another thirty or forty minutes on the road, so she urged: Let’s head back.

Chen Yue: Coming.

This “coming” left Yuan Zhong waiting for another fifteen minutes.

“I shouldn’t have had the beef wrap just now, otherwise I could’ve gotten two more servings of corn. It was so good. Whole grains are healthy, you know,” Chen Yue said.

Yuan Zhong sighed inwardly but kept a smile on her face, “Let’s go—we still need to stop by the counter.”

Perhaps because she was full, Chen Yue seemed sleepy on the subway ride back, closing her eyes to rest. Yuan Zhong was relieved to finally have some peace and quiet.

At the counter, Chen Yue demanded more samples from the sales assistant and insisted on getting an extra set.

Yuan Zhong glanced at her watch, growing a little anxious.

“We’re regular customers—you can check our company name,” Chen Yue said.

The assistant replied, “We know, but the samples are gifts based on your purchase amount. We’ve given you all we can. There’s nothing more I can do.”

“How much more would we need to spend to get another sample?” Yuan Zhong asked.

Chen Yue tugged at her sleeve and whispered, “Are you going to buy more? For yourself?”

Yuan Zhong nodded, “Face wash and things like that run out quickly; buying an extra one or two isn’t a big deal.”

“I wouldn’t have taken you for someone with money,” Chen Yue said.

Yuan Zhong felt a little awkward, “It’s not that. I just don’t want to be late getting back. You seem to like the sample a lot. How about we leave it today, and if there’s another chance, I’ll keep an eye out for you?”

“Oh, I only wanted another set so we could split them. But if you don’t want them, one is enough for me.” She lowered her voice, “This sales assistant is so stingy. The samples are worthless anyway.”

Yuan Zhong smiled and said nothing, thinking to herself, If they’re so worthless, why are you so determined to get them?

They returned to the office at 11:10, and Yuan Zhong finally felt at ease. She thought to herself that it would really be more convenient to go alone next time.

She handed the items to Wang Shanshan, who glanced over them and said, “I’ll take these with me later. As for these, mail them out individually—the names and addresses are already in your inbox.”

“Should I send them out randomly or…” Yuan Zhong began to ask.

Wang Shanshan replied, “Read the email and you’ll understand.”

“Okay,” Yuan Zhong quickly shut her mouth.

“By the way, I was going to have you book a table, but you were taking so long that I did it myself,” Wang Shanshan said.

“Oh, I’ll be quicker next time, or you could let me know a day in advance,” Yuan Zhong offered.

Wang Shanshan shot her a cold look, “So, are you my assistant, or am I supposed to work around your schedule?”

Yuan Zhong wanted to say that the two weren’t mutually exclusive—if she understood the requirements in advance, she could serve better—but seeing Wang Shanshan’s unfriendly expression, she lowered her head and said nothing more.

“Hmph, young women these days—no real skill but plenty of demands, even trying to direct my work,” Wang Shanshan muttered. “Going out and dawdling—who knows what you were really up to! It’s bad enough to love freebies, but not doing your job properly is just too much!”

Yuan Zhong heard every word and felt a wave of grievance.

After Wang Shanshan left, Yuan Zhong went to the restroom and sat alone in a stall, going over the morning’s events.

She’d received the task at nine-thirty and returned at eleven-ten. True, Chen Yue had delayed her a bit, but to be fair, without Chen Yue’s guidance, she would have spent even longer running around and might not have been any quicker.

The real problem was that Wang Shanshan gave her tasks but no help at all. Shopping was a small matter, but what if it were something more complicated?

And accusing her of being greedy for freebies? That was just baseless! Yuan Zhong checked the receipts—had she overpaid? Everything was clearly marked. Was it about the samples? But she hadn’t taken them, and those gifts were random, impossible to track.

She managed to calm herself, and as she washed her hands, Chen Yue came in.

Chen Yue, quick-eyed, immediately asked, “What’s wrong? Your eyes are red.”

Yuan Zhong hurriedly lowered her head, “It’s nothing, just some grit in my eye.”

“Who are you fooling? Where would there be grit in the office?” Chen Yue frowned, glanced around, then lowered her voice, “Did Shanshan bully you?”

Yuan Zhong shook her head.

“She must have. What did she say?”

Yuan Zhong sighed, “She said I’m too slow and held up other work, and… that I’m greedy for freebies.”

“Nonsense! I can vouch for you—you didn’t take anything.” Chen Yue washed her hands vigorously. “Too slow? Let her run errands for once and see! Don’t mind her, that’s just how she is. None of us actually like her. If she brings it up again, just tell her I took the samples—I’m not afraid. The company buys so much, we never turn in the samples, and anyway, who knows if the counter will even give them out? Don’t take it to heart. Come on, let’s have lunch.”

“I brought my own today, so I’ll just stay in,” Yuan Zhong said, pressing a damp paper towel to her eyes, hoping to compose herself.

“You need to spend time with everyone, especially as a newcomer—don’t isolate yourself. Bring your lunch and join us,” Chen Yue suggested.

Yuan Zhong thought she had a point, but was still worried about how complicated Wang Shanshan’s mailing task might be.

“You have to eat, let’s go,” Chen Yue insisted, pulling her along.

Eating with everyone was indeed pleasant, and listening to the casual chatter lifted Yuan Zhong’s mood considerably.

Someone asked how Wang Shanshan treated her, but Chen Yue immediately interjected, “Hey, don’t bully the newbie—she’s already pitiful enough as it is.”

Everyone understood right away.

Yuan Zhong smiled awkwardly, “I’m still learning.”

“Take your time, there’s no rush,” someone said.

“Exactly. If you don’t understand, just ask. If she won’t answer, ask someone else—there’s always someone willing to help,” Chen Yue added.

Others agreed.

“Thank you,” Yuan Zhong said.

After lunch, Yuan Zhong checked her email. There was a list matching gifts to clients—it wasn’t just random. She didn’t quite understand why, as the prices and items were all similar, but she followed Wang Shanshan’s instructions to the letter.

By two in the afternoon, Wang Shanshan returned, glanced at Yuan Zhong, who was still packing and labeling, and asked, “Not done yet?”

“Almost, just five or six to go,” Yuan Zhong replied quickly.

“Hmph, is it that you’re just slow, or did you slack off during lunch?” Wang Shanshan said, not waiting for an answer.

Yuan Zhong opened her mouth but said nothing, only speeding up her work.

After a while, Wang Shanshan said, “Prepare the meeting room for me—tea, snacks, projector. I have a meeting.”

“Right now? Can I finish what I’m doing first…?” Yuan Zhong asked.

“If you’d been more diligent, you’d have finished by now. My meeting is in twenty minutes,” Wang Shanshan rolled her eyes.

“Okay, understood.” Yuan Zhong set aside her work, worried about making mistakes later and marked where she left off.

She had to fetch supplies from the small storeroom, for which Chen Yue kept the key. Yuan Zhong trotted off to find her, and Chen Yue helped her carry everything and set up the meeting room.

Yuan Zhong switched on the projector and tried connecting her laptop, but it wouldn’t work.

“I can’t fix this either. Go find Cong Wenbin,” Chen Yue advised.

Cong Wenbin was easygoing—he came as soon as they called, checked the setup, and pointed to a cable.

“Oh, I forgot to plug in the connector, sorry,” Yuan Zhong was frustrated with herself for being so careless.

Cong Wenbin just shook his head, saw the projector was working, and left.

When everything was ready, Yuan Zhong went to report to Wang Shanshan.

Wang Shanshan didn’t reply, her fingers still tapping on her phone.

Afraid her voice hadn’t carried, Yuan Zhong repeated herself, “Ma’am, the meeting room is ready.”

“I heard you! For things like this, once is enough—do you need to report back over and over? What, do you want a gold star for a reward?” Wang Shanshan scowled at her.

Teased into silence, Yuan Zhong sat down and quietly returned to packing parcels.

As the workday drew to a close, Chen Yue hurried over to remind her, “The courier’s here. Are you done?”

“Almost,” Yuan Zhong answered, double-checking every address. She was so anxious about making mistakes she went through everything again from start to finish.

“No rush, I’ll ask the courier to wait for a bit. Keep going,” Chen Yue encouraged.

“Thanks, just five more minutes.” Yuan Zhong ran her finger down the addresses, confirming that nothing was amiss before taking the parcels to the front desk.

Chen Yue was chatting with the courier and came over to help when she saw Yuan Zhong.

“All the orders are in the app—will they be shipped out today?” Yuan Zhong asked the courier.

“Yes, don’t worry. You can track the status,” he replied.

They helped load the packages onto the trolley, and Yuan Zhong said to Chen Yue, “Thank you for waiting after hours—go ahead and head home.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind staying late after work. Mornings are tougher for me,” Chen Yue laughed. “If you’re ever swamped, just ask me. The courier comes around four-thirty every day, and he’s a nice guy—he doesn’t mind waiting.”

“Thank you, really,” Yuan Zhong said again.

“No need to thank me. I just want you to know, so you don’t get…” Chen Yue cut herself off and gave Yuan Zhong a meaningful look.

Yuan Zhong heard the sound of high heels—it was Wang Shanshan.

Wang Shanshan didn’t even glance at them as she walked out.

“Hmph, what’s she got to be so smug about?” Chen Yue scoffed.

“You should head out—I’ll just tidy up and leave too,” Yuan Zhong said.

“Okay, see you tomorrow.” Chen Yue grabbed her bag, took off her name badge, and left as well.

Yuan Zhong went to the meeting room, turned off the projector, threw the trash into the bin, set the untouched sodas and water aside on the coffee table, then turned off the lights and locked the door.

Back at her desk, the office was already empty. Yuan Zhong packed up her things, noticed her water cup was still full—apart from her morning coffee, she hadn’t even had a sip of plain water all day—and sighed.

Ah, the second day wasn’t any easier.