1.
For an entire month, my best friend, Diệp Mộng Hoan, and I drank until we threw up. In the end, we finally landed a contract worth millions.
We worked through the night for a whole week, obsessing over every last detail until we were ready to go crazy, before finally completing the design proposal the client wanted.
When we submitted the proposal for approval, we were told the project had nothing to do with us anymore.
“Ôn Ninh, Mộng Hoan, there’ll be plenty of other orders. Ms. Bạch was just transferred here from headquarters, and she needs a good project to solidify her position as project manager. This order can only go to her.”
“To make it up to you, Ms. Bạch and I have decided to give each of you thirty thousand.”
The company vice president, Vương Minh Tân, said it as if it were only natural, as though that thirty thousand were some kind of favor to us.
Oh! How generous!
Thirty thousand was equivalent to five months of our base pay, after all.
But this huge order had a contract worth millions!
The commission alone would come to hundreds of millions!
Did they think sixty thousand was enough to get rid of us?
“Mr. Vương, we just graduated—we’re not newborn calves! Could you stop treating us like idiots?”
But no matter how loudly we protested or how much of a scene we made, the decision was already set in stone.
As our other colleagues put it, you can’t fight city hall. Getting thirty thousand was better than nothing.
Besides, we were still on probation, so it was reasonable for the company not to pay us commission.
But it wasn’t the hundreds of millions we cared about. It was getting our names on the project and being able to follow through and see it carried out!
We’d poured our hearts into it for a whole month. The project we’d raised with our own hands had become someone else’s in the blink of an eye.
Besides, who knew what would become of the project in Ms. Bạch’s hands? There was no way we weren’t furious.
2
Before we could go confront Ms. Bạch, the parachute hire, she came looking for us:
“Some people may be pretty and capable, but in the end, they’re still just here to make me look good.”
“You young people have never been knocked around by the real world. Take a few hits and you’ll get used to it. That’s just how the workplace works.”
“So what if you make a scene and the whole company finds out? What good will it do? You don’t know your place.”
To hell with workplace rules. I couldn’t take it anymore.
I went straight at that two-faced woman, grabbed the half-finished bottle of green plum tea on the table, and splashed it in her face, cursing her out.
The two-faced woman flew into a rage, shouting that she’d get us fired, then charged straight into Mr. Vương’s office in ten-centimeter heels.
Ugh, she was over thirty and that fragile? Talk about being unstable.
Diệp Mộng Hoan and I exchanged a look, then headed for the break room.
With a cup of coffee each, we leaned close and started whispering:
“Hoan Hoan, this company is awful. I’m thinking of quitting. What do you think?”
Diệp Mộng Hoan took a sip of coffee and replied calmly, “I’m fine with that. If you quit, I’ll quit too.”
I nodded solemnly. “Mm. The next place will be better. We’ll have to keep our eyes open and do our research before we find new jobs.”
“If nothing else works out, we can open our own studio.”
“With our abilities, we can shine anywhere!”
Of one mind, we drained our cups of coffee.
We hurried back to our desks, put our hands on the keyboards, and started writing our resignation letters.
Reason for resigning: This company is a stupid, hopeless mess. Go screw yourselves, and I hope you go bankrupt soon!
We weren’t afraid they’d make things difficult for us, since we could take or leave this job anyway.
After all, during our four years in college, I’d followed Diệp Mộng Hoan into investing and made quite a bit of money. My annual dividends were always at least six figures.
I’d only gotten a job because I’d just graduated and didn’t want to lie around and become a good-for-nothing.
Besides, we wanted some work experience, a chance to improve ourselves and find out what the workplace was really like.
3
Diệp Mộng Hoan and I had been college roommates and were the kind of friends who’d stick together through thick and thin.
On her first day of college, a perverted upperclassman confessed to her in public and even groped her in front of a crowd.
In the struggle, he yanked the strap tucked inside her miniskirt out into the open, and passersby all stopped to gawk.
“A girl this pretty, dressed so provocatively—what else is she doing but trying to tempt men? Why pretend to be shy? You’re into it, so why act embarrassed?”
I was the only one stubborn enough to take off my sun-protective jacket and cover her with it, then charge in and punch and kick that perverted upperclassman.
I stood in front of her, cursing that perverted upperclassman out, and threw in a few “colorful” words for the onlookers, too.
After we were separated, we ran into each other again in the dorm. The way she looked at me had changed, and she kept sighing:
“This must be fate…”
I scratched my head and gave a foolish grin.
Later, when that perverted upperclassman spread nasty rumors about her, how could I possibly stand by and do nothing?
So I took action again. With my silver tongue and easygoing nature, I dug up his “heroic exploits.”
The perverted upperclassman quickly became notorious, despised by everyone on campus.
From then on, the friendship between Diệp Mộng Hoan and me became unbreakable.
She was always clinging to me, and I was always clinging to her. We were as close as childhood friends.
Throughout our four years of college, we were never apart for more than three days.
Her parents were always abroad. I heard they didn’t keep much of an eye on her, but they gave her plenty of money—more than she could spend.
So during every holiday and winter break, we either traveled all over the world together or she came home with me.
After graduation, neither of us wanted to be apart, so we found a company that suited us both, not too close to or too far from my parents’ home.
We didn’t want to intrude on my parents’ private lives, so we decided to move out.
We planned to rent a place, but after looking at a few, they were either too small or too old, and we weren’t allowed to renovate them.
After getting fed up with searching, Diệp Mộng Hoan waved her hand and bought a fully furnished three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment near the company.
The interior design firm we joined was a major, well-known company in this small town.
She studied marketing in college, so she went straight into the sales department.
I studied interior design, so I joined the project department.
We hadn't even made it to the battlefield before we were already dead. We were still imagining all the great things we'd do, never realizing we'd underestimated just how devious people in the workplace could be.
4
After finishing our resignation letters, we passed them to each other to look over. They said more or less the same thing.
“Are you going?”
“If you go, I’m going too.”
We ran into each other again outside Mr. Vương’s office. Just as we were about to knock, we noticed the door wasn’t fully shut, and sounds definitely not suitable for anyone under eighteen were coming from inside.
Our passion for juicy gossip never dies!
One of us crouched while the other stood, and we peered inside through the crack in the door.
Hmph!
Outrageous!
Horrifying!
Scandalous!
So this was an office affair? Were we all just part of their little game?
Then, as a thought occurred to me, I lowered my head and looked at Diệp Mộng Hoan.
As expected of my closest friend—she looked up at me at the same time. We exchanged a knowing glance and smiled.
Mr. Vương already had a wife and kids, and yet…
A wicked thrill rose inside me. I patted Diệp Mộng Hoan, signaling her to stand up straight.
Then I shoved the office door open.
The two of them were still wrapped around each other. They looked over in alarm and hurriedly fumbled with their clothes.
“What are you two doing in here? Don’t you know how to knock?”
Diệp Mộng Hoan and I folded our arms across our chests, each leaning against one side of the doorway. We silently stared them down and said in unison, dripping with sarcasm:
“Mr. Vương, who knew you still had such a wild side at your age?”
“And Ms. Bạch, things stolen from someone else’s hands really do taste a little sweeter, don’t they?”
Their faces turned as red as liver.
“Lục Ôn Ninh, Diệp Mộng Hoan, I’ll give each of you another thirty thousand—no, fifty thousand! You have to keep what happened today buried for the rest of your lives!”
Wow. We work ourselves to the bone, and all we get is thirty thousand.
Catch someone cheating once, and it’s fifty thousand.
Turns out secrets are still worth more.
“Sorry, Mr. Vương. I accidentally recorded what just happened and sent it to the company-wide group chat~”
“Also, we came to submit our resignation letters. We’re done with this awful job!”
I slapped the resignation letters down on the desk. Ignoring their ugly expressions, Diệp Mộng Hoan and I linked arms and walked out.
6
The company-wide group chat exploded. Before long, a group of men in suits arrived at the company, their expressions grim.
Vương Minh Tân and Bạch Tuyết Anh were called in and questioned for a long time.
When they came out, their faces looked as if they'd just eaten shit.
One of the men walked straight over to us and tapped my desk.
“Lục Ôn Ninh? You’re the one who posted the video in the group, right? Come with me.”
I followed him and obediently took a seat in the conference room.
He poured me a glass of water, then looked at me for several seconds, making me uneasy.
“Ms. Lục, you’re fired.”
“But don’t worry. The company will pay you everything you’re owed, down to the last cent, including the fifty million in commission for the First City project.”
“Delete the video from your phone. Once your departure paperwork is complete, your salary and bonus will be transferred to you immediately.”
Me: ?
I stared at him for several seconds, fury surging to the top of my head.
Although I was prepared to quit, resigning meant I was firing the company. That was different from being fired by the company—it wasn’t the same thing at all!
I was so angry that I didn't even stop to wonder why he was saying we were fired when we’d already submitted our resignation letters.
Anger surged through me. My mouth moved faster than my brain, and I shot back, “On what grounds? What did I do wrong?”
“They’re the ones who did something that damaged the company’s image and violated moral standards. Why am I the one getting fired?”
“And what’s with that self-righteous tone? The commission for the First City project was mine to begin with, wasn’t it?”
“Or are you on their side? Are you trying to cover for them and bully me because I’m new to the workforce?”
“This is workplace bullying!”
The man frowned, his voice growing sterner. “Ms. Lục, I suggest you learn your place and stop coveting things that don’t belong to you.”
“The company’s decision is already more than generous.”
I laughed in anger and was just about to speak when the conference room door was kicked open.
Diệp Mộng Hoan stormed in like a gale, radiating fury. “Who the hell are you to bully my Ôn Ninh?”
The man’s expression grew even uglier. Before he could speak, Diệp Mộng Hoan flung two resignation letters at him, smacking him in the face.
“Get this straight: we’re firing this lousy company, not the other way around!”
“Who wants your lousy severance pay?”
The man stared at Diệp Mộng Hoan blankly. After a long moment, he finally managed to ask, “Who are you?”
Diệp Mộng Hoan swept back her long, wavy hair and sneered. “Diệp Mộng Hoan, sales department. You know—that million-dollar contract? I brought it in.”
The man’s expression turned grave. He hesitated for a few seconds before finally speaking:
“Ms. Diệp, the company isn’t firing you.”
Diệp Mộng Hoan looked at him as if he were an idiot. “Right. We’re firing the company.”