Sister Bai

Tao Yiyi arrived at the company just in time.

After all, she had gone wild at a bar the entire night before. If her alarm hadn’t gone off several times, she would have taken the day off altogether.

As soon as she entered the department, Tao Yiyi sensed something strange. The colleagues who had been chatting moments earlier all fell silent and looked in her direction with odd expressions. For a moment, she even wondered whether something was wrong with her appearance.

“Strange. Is it because I didn’t put on makeup today?” Tao Yiyi touched her face. Since she had gotten up late, she had only quickly drawn her eyebrows and put on some lipstick before leaving. She hadn’t taken the time to do her makeup properly.

After sitting down, Tao Yiyi began tidying her appearance. Once she had confirmed that nothing was wrong, she spotted a few colleagues she was relatively close to and was just about to ask them what looked strange about her when they all lowered their heads toward their workstations the instant their eyes met hers, as though they were afraid of something.

“What’s wrong with everyone? I’m not some kind of plague.” Tao Yiyi immediately became annoyed. Her colleagues seemed to be acting crazy today.

Just then, a friend she usually got along with happened to walk past, so Tao Yiyi quickly grabbed her.

“Hey, hey, take a look at me. What’s wrong with me today? Why does everyone seem so afraid of me?”

The woman shuddered instinctively. She looked at Tao Yiyi, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating. However, the moment she noticed someone entering through the doorway, she hurried toward her workstation in fright, even leaving Tao Yiyi with a look that clearly said, Good luck—you’re on your own.

“Hm?” Tao Yiyi followed the woman’s gaze toward the entrance and happened to see Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke walking in with cups of milk in their hands. It seemed they had just come back from the pantry.

The next second, Tao Yiyi seemed to understand.

Could it be that this new girl had completely botched the materials she’d handed over to her yesterday?!

“I’m seriously speechless.” Tao Yiyi immediately figured it out and slapped her forehead. Even something that simple had been ruined. The department head would definitely blow her top, and Tao Yiyi would probably get dragged into it as well.

At the thought of this, Tao Yiyi immediately raised her hand.

“Hey, newbie!”

Bai Yuyou and Keke, who were passing by, stopped in surprise.

“The materials I gave you yesterday—you didn’t do anything with them, did you?” Tao Yiyi asked.

At her question, Bai Yuyou exchanged a glance with Tang Keke. Seeing the demanding look in Tao Yiyi’s eyes, Bai Yuyou simply said slowly, “Sister Yiyi, Director Liu is looking for you.”

“I knew it! You completely messed things up and even sold me out!” Tao Yiyi pointed at her angrily. “You’re really hopeless! Wait here! Don’t move until I get back!”

She gave Bai Yuyou a push before storming into the department head’s office nearby.

The surrounding colleagues witnessed the entire scene. For a moment, they seemed to want to say something, but in the end, they all lowered their heads, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.

Tao Yiyi knocked on the office door.

“Come in.”

Tao Yiyi pushed the door open and put on an ingratiating smile. “Department Head, you wanted to see me?”

When Liu Mei saw Tao Yiyi, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. The next second—

Bang!

She slammed a cup onto the floor. The crisp sound startled Tao Yiyi so badly that she nearly jumped.

Calm down? Not a chance. Damn it!

Liu Mei shot to her feet, her high heels striking the floor with sharp clicks.

“Tao—Yi—yi!”

Her voice sounded as if she wanted to swallow Tao Yiyi alive.

“Y-Yes?”

“Do you know what you’ve done?!” Liu Mei glared at Tao Yiyi. If this were not a society governed by law, she truly wanted to whip the other woman across the face with her high heel!

“I…” Tao Yiyi felt that Liu Mei was overreacting. “I-I only assigned some work to the new girl.”

“Some? You mean the work that had been piling up for several days?”

“Even if that’s the case…” Tao Yiyi was still confused about why Liu Mei was so furious. “So what?”

“So what?” Liu Mei laughed in exasperation. “Do you know who that new girl is?”

“The new girl…” Tao Yiyi wasn’t stupid. She seemed to realize something. “Is she related to one of the executives?”

“That girl usually commutes to work with President Ye,” Liu Mei said.

“President Ye? Is there an executive named Ye in our HR department? There isn’t one at the level above us either. Is he from another department?” Tao Yiyi asked.

“What if you go up one level, and then a few more levels after that?”

“A few more levels?”

Tao Yiyi thought about it. Suddenly, a certain figure appeared in her mind. She spoke in disbelief.

“Th-That man?”

“Who else could it be? President Ye helped finish your work yesterday—and you’re really something, getting the company president to do your job for you.” After Liu Mei finished speaking, Tao Yiyi felt as though the sky had collapsed on top of her.

“Sister Liu, what should I do? I didn’t mean it like that! How was I supposed to know? I only asked the new girl to help with some work, and she agreed!”

Seeing the pleading look on Tao Yiyi’s face, Liu Mei didn’t know what to say either.

“I don’t know. Don’t ask me. If you have any sense, submit your resignation yourself,” Liu Mei said flatly.

“If I resign voluntarily, I won’t get any severance at all, will I? No way! I’m not doing that!”

“Tao Yiyi, I’m not trying to criticize you, but if we fire you, do you know what being blacklisted means?” Liu Mei pulled out a stack of documents. “If I hadn’t looked into it, I wouldn’t have known you’d made so many mistakes.”

“President Ye hasn’t said anything yet, but if he really decides to come after you, your entire career will be over.”

“This…” Tao Yiyi hesitated, then seemed to understand something. “If I beg that young lady, she’ll forgive me, right?”

“I don’t know.”

Tao Yiyi immediately opened the office door and noticed Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke at their workstations.

At that moment, Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke looked over as well.

“Th-That… Sister Bai.” Tao Yiyi glanced at the name tag on the other woman’s chest and quickly spoke in a flattering tone. “Why are you still standing here?”

“Wasn’t it you who told me to stand here? You even said you’d teach me a lesson when you came back.” Bai Yuyou spoke softly, making Tao Yiyi’s expression turn awkward.

“Please, Sister Bai, I really didn’t know about your relationship with President Ye. Surely someone as magnanimous as you won’t hold it against someone as insignificant as me…” Tao Yiyi spoke bluntly, and by then, she no longer cared about the gazes of the surrounding colleagues.

Looking at Tao Yiyi’s smile, which was more miserable than a cry, Bai Yuyou still showed no expression. She merely said, “I need to get back to work.”

“W-Wait, Sister Bai.”