Chapter 29.2

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A promotion. A fast-track promotion.

For anyone else, this would be cause for a grand celebration, a milestone worthy of a banquet. But right now, Qiao Ziman couldn’t bring herself to feel any joy. At this point, she had no choice but to suspect that Chi Yin had pulled some strings to secure this opportunity for her.

This is bad. The situation has escalated!

There was no more time to delay. Qiao Ziman quickly reached out to stop Chi Yin, speaking seriously, “President Chi, I need to talk to you!”

Chi Yin fixed her with a steady gaze. “Come to my office.”

With her heart racing, Qiao Ziman followed behind, nerves bubbling up with every step. She silently prayed, Please, God, let her not fire me when she finds out the truth.

And just like that, she found herself back at the same familiar spot.

Qiao Ziman sat nervously on the sofa, trying to gather her thoughts and prepare how to speak. “Chi Yin, about that day, what you actually heard was me—”

Chi Yin interrupted her, “It’s work hours right now.”

Oh, the little white flower really has double standards, Qiao Ziman thought. When you kissed me earlier, you didn’t mention it was work hours, did you?

Fine.

Qiao Ziman cut straight to the point, “Why was I chosen as the project lead? Was there any favoritism involved?”

“Favoritism?” Chi Yin’s face darkened suddenly. “Do you really think I mix personal and professional matters like that? Or do you just not have confidence in your own abilities?”

Chi Yin pulled open a drawer, took out a stack of documents, and placed them in front of her. “The good news I wanted to share with you before was this—at the time, we were still just friends.”

Qiao Ziman glanced down at the top document, which was an evaluation form filled with detailed scores. She fell silent.

Suddenly, she felt a pang of guilt.

Chi Yin had always been strict and professional at work. Even when they were friends, she never let personal feelings interfere with business. What was wrong with her? How could she have been so malicious in her assumptions about Chi Yin? She felt awful.

Qiao Ziman stood up and said, “I’m sorry.”

After she left Chi Yin’s office, she felt a mix of relief and lingering guilt.

Qiao Ziman slapped her thigh, realization dawning on her.

Wait a minute! What did she mean by “back then we were friends”? They were still friends now! She had totally confused herself.

Her second attempt at confronting Chi Yin had failed miserably!

But after these two failed attempts, Qiao Ziman had grown. She became more composed and thoughtful. Determined to resolve this once and for all, she sat down at her desk and wrote a 5,000-word essay for Chi Yin. In it, she carefully explained the entire situation, detailing her thoughts and emotions throughout the ordeal. At the end, she added a note: My first kiss, your first kiss, let’s call it even. No one’s at a loss.

With everything prepared, she braced herself for a third attempt to talk to Chi Yin.

Just as she was about to get up, her phone rang.

It was her mother.

A sense of dread washed over Qiao Ziman, her intuition telling her her mother was about to stir up trouble again. Nervously, she answered the call.

As expected, her mother said, “I’m coming to visit tomorrow. I’ll stay with you for a couple of days.”

“And I’ll get to meet your girlfriend while I’m at it.”

“Aren’t you two living together? So, how’s your life together? Don’t worry, I go to bed early. After 9 p.m., I can’t hear a thing. I definitely won’t disturb you two.”

Qiao Ziman: “!!!”

“How did things end up like this!” Qiao Ziman exclaimed anxiously. “No way, you can’t come.” As if things weren’t already chaotic enough!

Her mother’s tone immediately darkened on the other end of the phone. “Qiao Ziman, you weren’t lying about having a girlfriend, were you? Trying to fool your mother?”

Qiao Ziman: “!!!”

“You know what the consequences will be.”

It took Qiao Ziman less than a second to decide between being beaten to death and borrowing Chi Yin once again. She chose the latter without hesitation.

With a sigh, she grabbed the 5,000-word essay she had painstakingly written and tore it into tiny shreds, scattering the pieces into the trash can. Sorry, little white flower, but my life is on the line here.

However, maybe her mom’s visit wasn’t such a bad thing. After all, her mother was even more unpredictable than she was. There was a chance Chi Yin and her mom might hate each other on sight. The scenario played out vividly in her mind:

Chi Yin and He Cuizhen get into an argument.

Chi Yin demands, “If your mom and I fell into the water, who would you save first?”

He Cuizhen retorts, “It’s either her or me. You choose!”

Then Chi Yin says, “Qiao Ziman, if you don’t sort out your mother’s issues, we’ll just stay friends.”

Qiao Ziman would happily nod, “Yes, yes, let’s just be friends!”

But just then, her mother’s voice came through the phone, snapping her back to reality. “What are you laughing about, silly?”

Qiao Ziman started coming up with bad ideas. “Mom, tomorrow, just take the shuttle bus here. Dress plainly, and make sure you bring a big fertilizer sack. Pull a couple of cabbages straight from the field, preferably with dirt still on them. Also, bring a few chunks of greasy cured pork, the kind dripping with oil. Then, just stand in the most prominent spot outside my company. Chi Yin and I will come to pick you up.”

Is that noticeable enough? Unique enough? Qiao Ziman thought triumphantly. With Chi Yin’s cleanliness obsession, she’d surely run for the hills. Qiao Ziman felt like a genius.

Before hanging up, she added one last instruction to her mom. “Oh, and when you see Chi Yin, do not mention the words ‘girlfriend’.”

“Why?”

At that moment, Chi Yin just happened to walk out of her office. Thinking quickly, Qiao Ziman replied, “She’s not ready to meet the family.”

Chi Yin glanced over at her, locking eyes, then casually lifted a hand and rubbed her thumb against the corner of her lips, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

Qiao Ziman slapped the table, gritting her teeth. “She’s shy!!!”

Author’s Note:

Classic quotes from Sister Qiao:

1. “Avoiding problems may be shameful, but it works!”
2. “The more you tolerate, the angrier you get. The more you retreat, the more your dignity suffers!”