Chapter 5

Back at the apartment, Wei Xiaolu immediately launched into her full evening routine: close the bedroom door, turn on the AC, take off her clothes, get into bed. Blissful night hours began.

First on the agenda was the novel she hadn’t finished reading last night.

After the two leads got together, it was so sweet she practically burrowed into the bed, utterly obsessed and floating on air. Then, all at once, a flood of WeChat messages popped up.

[Ai Jin: What’s going on with the back-end data? The customer invoice amounts are all messed up.]

Several website screenshots with red warning banners came attached, and coworkers from the optimization team chimed in below, saying they’d already received several complaints about incorrect amounts.

Wei Xiaolu jolted upright on the bed like a zombie returning from the dead. Not even her high school entrance exam sit-ups had been this fast.

Her legs felt weak; before her heart could even start racing, her breathing was already out of whack.

Rubbing her temples, Wei Xiaolu remembered that when she imported the data today, in order to save time, she’d used the system’s shortcut for data mapping.

After using it, she’d checked it over herself and not found any mistakes, so she’d simply ignored the system’s “double confirmation” button and clicked confirm.

Could it be... that she was the one who’d screwed up?

Before her wildly flailing emotions had even settled, Wei Xiaolu saw Wang Chen’s reply in the group.

[Wang Chen: The intern helped import it. Let me ask.]

At this point, Wei Xiaolu still had a sliver of hope that she wouldn’t end up on her coworkers’ blacklist two days after arriving.

But when Wang Chen came over and compared notes with her, it was confirmed outright: to save trouble, she’d used an undocumented feature that wasn’t fully mature, which caused the data to get scrambled during import.

[Wang Chen: Reimport it. Don’t click that data mapping option.]

The moment Wei Xiaolu read that line, her vision went dark, as if the end of the world had arrived.

She suddenly lost all appetite for the novel’s exciting ending. Her whole body even felt a little hot; her consciousness seemed to be tugged back and forth in midair, and she was like a soft mass of fluid being pinched into some bizarre shape.

Just as she was depressed, miserable, and dragging herself out of bed like a machine obeying orders, Shen Siyan’s voice sounded from outside the door.

"Xiaolu."

Wei Xiaolu’s throat suddenly went bitter. The instant she answered, the tip of her nose stung too.

"CEO Shen." Opening the door, Wei Xiaolu lowered her head; her eyes fell on the hem of Shen Siyan’s skirt.

"Bring your computer out," Shen Siyan said, then turned and sat down at the table in the living room.

Wei Xiaolu lifted her gaze and saw the laptop already laid out in front of Shen Siyan.

All at once, her chest turned prickly and hot; she couldn’t quite describe what that feeling was.

This wasn’t the time to deal with emotions. The problem came first.

Without time to think, Wei Xiaolu carried her laptop out and took a seat beside Shen Siyan.

"Do you know where the problem is?" Shen Siyan asked.

Wei Xiaolu took a light breath. "Mm... I think I used a shortcut I shouldn’t have, and I skipped a confirmation step."

Shen Siyan turned her own computer toward her and pointed at the screen. "Not think; you did."

Her eyes burning, Wei Xiaolu couldn’t even focus on what was on the screen. All she could see was Shen Siyan’s reproachful finger: so long, so straight, aimed at the screen, yet somehow it felt like it was poking at her instead, making her hurt and feel wronged.

"I thought that one could be used..." Wei Xiaolu couldn’t go on.

"In the workplace, ‘I thought’ and ‘I feel’ are both very dangerous ideas," Shen Siyan said, turning the laptop back around. "If you’re not sure, verify it first."

Wei Xiaolu’s vision started to blur.

It wasn’t as if she was someone whose pride soared to heaven and sank to the earth, unmoved even when Zhang Jixia had pointed at her nose and scolded her every day during her last internship. So why was it that when she made a mistake in front of Shen Siyan, just hearing a couple of words made her want to cry?

"I know I was wrong, CEO Shen," she murmured.

"There’s nothing right or wrong about it. Just know where the problem was, and pay attention next time." Shen Siyan was already clicking away at the mouse.

"I definitely will next time." Wei Xiaolu rubbed her fingers together as she answered.

"Don’t put any pressure on yourself," Shen Siyan glanced at her. "We’ll get it done as quickly as possible."

"Okay, CEO Shen." Wei Xiaolu got moving too.

Logging into the system, Wei Xiaolu saw that some of the data in the back end had already been reimported.

Sneaking a glance at Shen Siyan, she was surprised to discover that the department head was doing exactly the same work as her!

Just after being lectured, the sour ache in her heart hadn’t even had time to fade when it was replaced by an even stranger feeling.

Was Shen Siyan helping her?

Or did she just think Wei Xiaolu was too slow and worry it would affect users, so she’d come over purely to push the progress along?

A leader’s thoughts were suddenly hard to guess again.

Still, Wei Xiaolu had no spare attention for that. She threw herself fully into the task at hand and, following the documentation, carefully entered the remaining data step by step.

Before the final submission, Shen Siyan checked it once more. After confirming everything was correct, she began notifying the rest of the department teams and, at the same time, settled a few project details, handling the aftermath of the matter with great steadiness.

Although Wei Xiaolu had already gotten used to Shen Siyan’s ability to multitask and keep several things running at once over the past two days, she still couldn’t help but marvel when Shen Siyan, while bargaining with someone on the phone, also found time to grab some snacks and yogurt for herself—and, by the way, hand Wei Xiaolu a portion too.

"You worked hard, little sister."

At that moment, Wei Xiaolu still had to once again sigh inwardly that this woman, Shen Siyan, was formidable.

Wei Xiaolu sat with her legs tucked up on the chair, scooping yogurt one spoonful at a time with a plastic spoon. By the time she’d nearly finished it, Shen Siyan had finally ended the phone call.

"Thanks, gorgeous," Wei Xiaolu said, shaking the empty yogurt box in her hand.

Shen Siyan’s hand, which had just been about to close the laptop, paused for a beat. Looking into Wei Xiaolu’s eyes, she stopped for two seconds. "Would having to redo it make you uncomfortable?"

Wasn’t that obvious? Anyone would be uncomfortable having to do the same work twice.

But Wei Xiaolu still said, "Not at all. Practice makes perfect, and I learned a lot from following you the second time."

Shen Siyan shut the computer with ease, her expression relaxing quite a bit. Even what she said had returned to her usual gentle tone.

"You’re already very good. When I was your age, I didn’t understand anything. You even know how to learn while you work."

Wei Xiaolu knew very well that this was just a casual comfort, but her mood really did brighten a little.

"Thank you, CEO Shen," Wei Xiaolu said with a smile. "I’ll keep learning."

Once she’d come out of that tense, hurried state, Wei Xiaolu could also notice some things outside work.

For example, the osmanthus fragrance drifting from Shen Siyan’s hair, her well-cared-for fair skin, and the fingertips adorned with exquisite nail art.

How did she manage to take such good care of herself even while working so busily?

Wei Xiaolu thought about that question all the way until bedtime, but she still didn’t come up with an answer.

Anyway, Wei Xiaolu definitely hadn’t taken good care of herself. During the past three years at university, she’d basically just been getting by.

When she was in elementary and middle school, her parents took care of her; she only had to worry about studying.

She could also be considered someone who’d grown up in a greenhouse, spoiled by nature, so after starting university she was uncomfortable in every way. And the worst part was that her first dormitory assignment had been with a crazy roommate, and her first internship had landed her with an idiotic mentor.

Did people from happy families have to suffer in their original dorms and original workplaces?

Wei Xiaolu couldn’t figure it out.

So she stopped thinking about it and just fell asleep in a haze.

The next day, she got up unusually early. After washing up and getting ready for work, Shen Siyan was also about to leave, so Wei Xiaolu went downstairs with her.

Shen Siyan was driving, so Wei Xiaolu didn’t join the rush; she quietly turned and, with firm resolve, walked toward the bus stop.

Who would have thought that after only a few steps, that woman’s voice would ring out behind her: "Xiaolu, where are you going?"

Wei Xiaolu stopped and looked back—

Shen Siyan was standing behind the open car door, one hand resting on the window frame, the other elbow propped on the sunroof, watching her with an unhurried smile.

Wei Xiaolu mentally admired how beautiful she was and thought she’d wasted two seconds of her life before she finally reacted and said, "I’m taking the bus, CEO Shen."

"Is riding with me less convenient than the bus?" Shen Siyan narrowed her eyes.

Huh?

Wei Xiaolu was surprised to find that joy actually welled up in her heart. That was strange, but since she was being looked at like this, she couldn’t show it too obviously. She quickly adjusted her expression and walked back toward Shen Siyan.

"I’m just afraid that if I ride your car every day, I’ll get spoiled," Wei Xiaolu said with a bright laugh. "Then I won’t even look at buses anymore."

"Then get spoiled. I approve," Shen Siyan said, tilting her head. "Get in."

"Yes, gorgeous." Wei Xiaolu darted into the passenger seat.

Shen Siyan seemed to have learned a painful lesson from yesterday as well. Today, when they left, the sun still hadn’t risen; Wei Xiaolu arrived at the company a full half hour earlier than usual with her.

Shen Siyan ate her own meal replacement for breakfast, and while eating, she also had to reply to some accumulated unread messages.

Having to work while eating was enough to make Wei Xiaolu feel short of breath just looking at it, so she ran off alone to the cafeteria to get food and happily settled down to enjoy breakfast.

Wei Xiaolu was sitting not far from the payment machine.

While she was eating, a girl discovered there wasn’t any money left in her account at checkout. Seeing someone in trouble, Wei Xiaolu stepped up to help and paid for her first.

The girl still wanted to scan and transfer the money back, but it was only one yuan, and asking for it back felt a little silly. Wei Xiaolu was about to wave it off when she glanced at the girl’s badge.

Product Interaction Department; Tao Wei.

A coworker. Wei Xiaolu immediately changed her tune. "Just WeChat transfer it. I’ll add you."

When it came to making friends, Wei Xiaolu was definitely in the first tier. The two of them sat facing each other and ate for less than five minutes, and Tao Wei was already treating her like a friend.

"Honestly, the biggest impression I’ve had these past two days is that our department has a pretty good atmosphere; it’s just busy," Wei Xiaolu said with feeling.

"You just got here, so as for the atmosphere..." Tao Wei gave a wry smile. "That’s hard to say. Our department has a lot of people and a lot of things; there are plenty of places where you have to be careful."

"Oh? Hearing you say that, my nerves are all tensed up. Then I’ll have to be more careful in the future," Wei Xiaolu replied.

"I can’t say too much, I’m just giving you a heads-up," Tao Wei lowered her voice. "Anything that gets passed around verbally inside the department—unless you saw it with your own eyes, don’t believe it."

"Huh?" Wei Xiaolu found it unbelievable. "There’s even that kind of thing?"

"Mm-hm," Tao Wei clicked her tongue. "A lot of people look like they’re in our department, but their hearts are actually somewhere else."

Wei Xiaolu froze.

She’d just come to work; she wasn’t entering the palace, so why did it feel like she had to get involved in all this infighting?

But clearly, she was already in the palace now.

Wei Xiaolu swallowed the porridge in her mouth and asked softly, "We’re all earning a dead salary, so why would their hearts be somewhere else?"

"Because General Manager Chen went somewhere else, of course."

After blurting that out, Tao Wei suddenly clamped her mouth shut. After a brief pause, she added, "I didn’t say anything, okay?"

Wei Xiaolu quickly gave a bright little laugh. "Got it; information encrypted."