Chapter 362: Who Gave You Permission To Simply Refer Her As Xiao Ruan
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Since Ruan Danchen and Qi Chenglin worked together in the same company and in the same office building, and he was on the twenty-fifth floor, she had to fight the urge to get up there and kiss him for what he had done for her.
“Yes, it’s my first day of work today. I’m here to register for my employment,” Ruan Danchen said as she snapped out of her thoughts.
Both of the managers knew her identity, though she did not show nor did she try to hide it.
However, Manage Zou tried to signal Manager He to tell her that she was quite obvious in her actions. It would have been fine if Ruan Danchen figured out their intentions, but what if the staff noticed it too?
The general manager had only given them instructions and not the other general staff, and he had explicitly told them to be low profile. Unfortunately, their actions depicted otherwise.
Manager He realized her mistake, and so she instructed one of her subordinates to complete the employment registration procedure.
Ruan Danchen filled in her personal information on the form, and she managed to complete the procedure ten minutes before work was due to start.
Manager Zou then brought Ruan Danchen to the purchasing department to get her office supplies. Luo Yushu, the manager, was there to greet and welcome her personally. They had many kinds of office supplies, and so he filled the box with stationeries regardless of whether Ruan Danchen had a use for them or not.
“If you need anything else, just call us, and I’ll get someone to send it to you,” Luo Yushu whispered to Ruan Danchen when he determined that no one was watching them.
Ruan Danchen finally knew what it was like to have the superiors’ favor. Everyone tried to kiss-up to her wherever she went, and no one dared to bully her or talk behind her back.
Ruan Danchen politely accepted Luo Yushu’s offer. He then instructed one of his subordinates to carry Ruan Danchen’s box of office supplies to the design department because he thought that he should not ask General Manager Qi’s wife to carry the box herself. He also knew that he could not ask Manager Zou to help Ruan Danchen with the box because she wore a casual office outfit, and it was inappropriate to let Manager Zou carry a box for a ‘general staff.’
Everyone thought that it was unusual for Manager Luo to be so kind toward a general staff, but they could not disobey him. Xiao Zhang had the misfortune to be singled out, so he quickly took the box from Ruan Danchen and followed her and Manager Zou to the design department.
Luo Yushu did not return to his office. Instead, he stood at the large open bay outside of the department when Xiao Zhan, who thought that it was rather peculiar, returned.
Then, Luo Yushu asked, “Have you delivered the supplies?”
“Yes, I put the box of supplies right on Xiao Ruan’s desk.” Xiao Zhang nodded with curiosity.
Luo Yushu’s small eyes widened in surprise even though the sizes of his eyes remained the same as before. Then, he said dourly, “Who gave you permission to refer her as Xiao Ruan?”
“She… she told me to. She said that we’re all colleagues, and she’s two years younger than me, so I can just call her Xiao Ruan,” Xiao Zhang answered innocently.
Luo Yushu pursed his lips and asked, “Did you help her tidy up the desk before coming back here?”
“…” Xiao Zhang was dumbfounded.
Xiao Zhang leaned forward, rubbed his hands in anticipation and asked cautiously, “Manager, who is Xiao… Miss Ruan? Is she a relative or a friend of someone from the company’s higher management level?”
Luo Yushu rolled his eyes in response to his question and said, “What do you mean? Ruan… Xiao Ruan is my best friend’s daughter. She has just started working here, so naturally, I have to take good care of her.”
Xiao Zhang did not believe a word of that because of how respectful Manager Luo was toward Ruan Danchen.
Since Manager Luo kept his mouth shut, Xiao Zhang gave up his attempt to satisfy his curiosity.
…
…
Work had officially started, and the staff in the design department had already reported for duty. Yao Jingfei had also arrived, and she was already seated at her desk.
There was nothing on her desk, not a pen or a piece of paper, except for a lonely computer.
However, there was a huge box full of office supplies on Ruan Danchen’s desk, and that had surprised all the staff in the design department. They did not receive that many office supplies when they started their jobs there, and it was a luxury to hope that someone would deliver those supplies to them too.
Did Xiao Zhang from the purchasing department have a crush on Ruan Danchen?
That was a possibility because their new colleague was a pretty and graceful woman. Even though she did not have stunning looks, something radiated from within her that everyone found irresistible when they looked at her. It was as if they could not direct their gaze elsewhere if they were to do that.
Ruan Danchen had fair and bright skin, and she had purposely worn only light makeup so that she would appear more intellectual. A heavy and overemphasized makeup would induce antipathy in her female colleagues and bosses as they might think that she had a tendency for misconduct and would be difficult to manage.
Even then, her innocent appearance made her look younger, like a fresh university graduate who radiated a pure aura from within her. She did not appear old or mature in the way she dressed.
Ruan Danchen looked young because of her pure and bright temperament, and not because she was blessed with a babyface. If one were to put it simply, Ruan Danchen’s beauty was young and pure, and it was the kind of beauty that would not get snubbed by the same gender.
Some female colleagues, especially those who were in a relationship or married, stared at Ruan Danchen and thought that perhaps Xiao Zhang was interested in her and had wanted to court her. The gossip had started to spread like wildfire.
It was Luo Yushu who had instructed Xiao Zhang to carry the box for General Manager Qi’s wife. Still, everyone misunderstood that as an attempt to court a young lady.
Coincidentally, Yao Jingfei saw Xiao Zhang as he followed behind Manager Zou and Ruan Danchen with a box in his hands when she arrived.
Yao Jingfei had also just reached the office, and she had not completed her employment registration yet. She stood up immediately when she saw Manager Zou accompanied Ruan Danchen to the design department. She tried to walk between them to subtly push Ruan Danchen away from Manager Zou.
Ruan Danchen did not care about that, and she even moved aside to make space for Yao Jingfei to squeeze her way in.
Ruan Danchen was quite surprised when she saw Yao Jingfei in the design department. She recalled that there was only one vacancy left in the design department. If her guess was correct, Qi Chenglin had added the extra vacancy slot specifically for her, so she did not expect to see Yao Jingfei there too.
After she thought about it, she realized what had happened. She assumed that Yao Qingzhi did not give up after she took the new vacancy slot. He probably forced them to create another vacancy in the design department for Yao Jingfei.
However, Yao Jingfei was as surprised as Ruan Danchen. Yao Qingzhi had told Yao Jingfei that the designer vacancy slot was given to a woman named Ruan Danchen. Still, Yao Jingfei did not expect that Ruan Danchen was accepted for the job.
The conversation between Ruan Danchen and Qi Chenglin during the interview the other day left a significant impression on Yao Qingzhi.
Yao Jingfei was exasperated when she heard the news at that moment. They promised her the new designer job, but that vacancy slot was then given to Ruan Danchen.
Yao Jingfei even showed off confidently in front of Ruan Danchen that the job was hers. How Ruan Danchen must have mocked her then!
However, Yao Qingzhi told her that Qi Chenglin had agreed to add a new vacancy slot for an assistant designer after he discussed it with him. Since Ruan Danchen already had a few years of work experience, it was unsuitable and illogical for a fresh graduate like Yao Jingfei to take up the helm as a designer in Qilin.
Even so, Yao Jingfei was not satisfied. She wanted to be a designer, how could they simply dismiss her with an assistant designer job?
However, she really wanted to work in Qilin, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and agreed with her new position. She had her father’s support in the company, and it would be a shame if she still lost to Ruan Danchen, who had no background or any title to her name.
Yao Jingfei had made up her mind. She would cause enough trouble for Ruan Danchen so that not only she would resign, but she would be too disgusted to work in Qilin, and she would leave in tears too.
Yao Jingfei still remembered how Ruan Danchen and her son humiliated her. She had not forgotten about that. She wanted to exact sweet revenge on her, and it started with an unsightly action that morning.
Yao Jingfei thought that no one would say anything if she bullied Ruan Danchen openly.
Manager Zou noticed that Yao Jingfei tried to push Ruan Danchen to the side, and his expression darkened as he was quite unhappy about that. The general manager’s instructions were already embedded in his mind.
Manager Zou clapped his hands to attract the staff’s attention, even though the staff had already fixated their gazes on the two female newcomers as they walked in.
“I think all of you know that we have two new female staff today, so let me introduce them to you,” Manager Zou said before he introduced Ruan Danchen. However, he skipped over Yao Jingfei, who stood right beside him.
“This is Ruan Danchen, our new designer in the design department. Since she’s new here, so let’s try to take care of her,” Manager Zou said with a smile.
All the colleagues in the design department had heard of the name ‘Ruan Danchen’ from the incident where she sued Mu Sisi. That occasion was a hot issue, and since they were all in the same profession, that sort of gossip got around efficiently.
However, they had heard about Mu Sisi’s attitude and behavior too. Furthermore, there was also gossip about Mu Sisi’s naked photos and pornographic videos that revealed her indecent attempts to win Qi Chengzhi’s affection. Anyone with a brain could guess who was at fault when Ruan Danchen sued Mu Sisi.
So, the staff in the design department had no comments about Ruan Danchen on that particular matter.
After he introduced Ruan Danchen, Manager Zou then briefly said, “This is Yao Jingfei, our new assistant designer. I know all of you are usually busy with work, so we’ve added this position specifically to lessen your burdens. Let Xiao Yao help if you have anything needed doing.”
Manager Zou did not try to hide his aloofness, unlike how he introduced Ruan Danchen with a gentle smile and a soft tone. The statement he made only lacked another sentence. “You can give any chores to Xiao Yao, and she’ll do it for you.”
Yao Jingfei was slightly stunned and stared at Manager Zou in disbelief. Did he not know her true identity?
Yao Jingfei could still work in Qilin’s design department after the designer position was given to Ruan Danchen. If Manager Zou was a smart man, he should know that she was not to be offended, and he needed to please her.
However, Manager Zou had meant for Yao Jingfei to do chores there and then!
All the staff stared at Yao Jingfei. Unlike Ruan Danchen, Yao Jingfei wore a high-profile outfit as she feared the public would not be able to tell that she was from a much higher status than the rest of them.
Yao Jingfei’s outfit was bright and colorful. Her shirt and floral trousers were bright yellow, and she also wore an overcoat that almost reached her calves. Her makeup was exquisite but exaggerated, and it made her appear wicked and manipulative.
Thus, they did not have a good first impression of Yao Jingfei.
Manager Zou clapped his hands again. “Alright, folks, let’s head back to work. Xiao Ruan, even though you already have work experience, you can just ask the staff if you encounter any issues since this is a new environment for you. If the staff is busy, then feel free to ask me too.”
All the staff stared at Manager Zou in shock. Since when did Deadly Comet Reminder Zou become so nice and kind?
Ruan Danchen showed her appreciation with a node and a smile. Yao Jingfei just stood there and waited for Manager Zou to say a few kind words to her too.
However, Manager Zou turned around unexpectedly to go back to his office as if he had forgotten about Yao Jingfei’s presence. He walked for a few steps before something came to his mind. Then he turned toward Yao Jingfei and said flatly, “You just came, and you haven’t registered for your employment, right? Go and register quickly and take your office supplies so that you can start your work.”
Manager Zou walked toward his office after he said that.
Yao Jingfei was frozen to the spot. Was it necessary for Manager Zou to have such a massive contrast in his attitude?
However, all the staff there felt that it was normal for Manager Zou to behave like that.
Ruan Danchen ignored Yao Jingfei and went back to her desk to start to tidy her belongings.
Yao Jingfei noticed it too, and so she walked toward Ruan Danchen in her high heels. She peeked at Ruan Danchen’s full box of office supplies and then demanded arrogantly, “I’m going to register for my employment now. I’m taking this box of supplies, so you can go to the purchasing department again to get another box.”
She needed to register for the employment herself, or else she would have been too lazy to go to the human resources department. It would just be too troublesome if she had to go to the purchasing department too.
Ruan Danchen turned around and stared at Yao Jingfei like she was an idiot. “Why should I give my supplies to you?”
Yao Jingfei smiled coldly and mocked her as she said, “Let me make things clear to you. These are not your supplies. These are the company’s properties that were distributed to you. My father is the company’s board member, so my family had investments in the properties that you’re holding right now. You can think of it as you’re using my supplies right now.”
Ruan Danchen pursed her lips and gave Yao Jingfei a cold stare. She did not bother to argue with Yao Jingfei during the interview session, but Yao Jingfei had intensified her attacks. Ruan Danchen had not caused any troubles to Yao Jingfei, but she kept trying to harass her.
Ruan Danchen was not one to resign herself to adversity. She tolerated Yao Jingfei’s troublesome attitude last time, but things had worsened. She was the type of person who would ask for a mile if you were to give her an inch.
Ruan Danchen’s voice was not loud, but it was stern with a hint of gentleness. “You just said that they were the company’s properties, and then they became your supplies. Do you mean you own Qilin? This is the first time that I’ve heard about it. If I’m not mistaken, your father is just a board member, not a chairman of Qilin. This company belongs to the Qi family and not to the Yao family. I requested for these supplies, and I have a use for them later. If you need them, you can ask for them from the purchasing department and then get them yourself. We’re all colleagues here, and I think it’s for the best if we can work in peace and harmony. Your father is just a board member with a small part of Qilin’s share. He is not part of Qilin’s conglomerate. I think even the members of the Qi family wouldn’t have acted this way, so I suggest that Miss Yao maintain a lower profile.”
Only then did the rest of the staff there realize that Yao Jingfei was the daughter of the company’s board member. That was probably the reason she was so arrogant.
There was only one board member whose surname was Yao, and that was Yao Qingzhi. They disliked that board member due to his tendency to show off and it was no surprise that Yao Jingfei had the same attitude as well. Like father, like daughter.
“Ruan Danchen, have care of what you speak! What’s wrong with my Dad being a board member of the company? You should show some respect since you already knew my identity. This company may not belong to the Yao family, but trust me, it’ll be as easy as lifting my hand to fire an employee.” Yao Jingfei’s expression paled with anger.
Yao Jingfei did not bother to remain low profile, so she threatened Ruan Danchen arrogantly in front of all of their colleagues in the office.
Even though it was ridiculous for such a bicker to occur in the office, none of the other staff tried to step in to break their argument as they feared that they would get fired since Yao Jingfei was the precious daughter of the company’s board member.
However, Ruan Danchen remained fearless at Yao Jingfei’s threat. If Yao Qingzhi wanted to fire Ruan Danchen, would Qi Chenglin agree to that?
All the personnel from the middle to higher management levels knew Ruan Danchen’s identity by then. Who would dare to listen to Yao Qingzhi?
Thus, Ruan Danchen treated Yao Jingfei like a young and mischievous child. She smiled as if she did not give a damn about what Yao Jingfei had just said. As she tidied her office supplies, Ruan Danchen remarked, “Go ahead and run to Board Member Yao to ask him to fire me now.”
Ruan Danchen assembled the file shelves with efficiency, and then she placed a few folders on the table. Next, she placed the pen holder somewhere she could easily reach and put the erasers, rulers, crayons, marker pens, pencils, gel pens, and many other miscellaneous things into it. Soon, the pen holder was full of stationeries.
Luo Yushu gave a lot of crayons of different kinds and qualities to Ruan Danchen when they were in the purchasing department. The pen holder was not big enough to store all those crayons, so she had no choice but to put the extra crayons in the drawer temporarily.
Ruan Danchen was extremely confident then, and she relished the benefits of being protected by superiors. She became fearless as she did not need to care about any threats or bullies.
She wanted to maintain a low profile, but it did not mean that she would keep quiet whenever Yao Jingfei bullied and threatened her arrogantly, or else she would not be able to get her work done normally and in peace. It was like the saying, ‘give Yao Jingfei an inch, and she will take a mile.’
“Ruan Danchen, stop pretending to be confident here. You said this yourself, so don’t cry if you are fired on your first day of work here!” Yao Jingfei raised her voice unconsciously as she was not very confident when she said that.
Yao Jingfei was unsure if Yao Qingzhi could even fire Ruan Danchen if she had requested it.
“Yes, I said it, so go ahead. If Qilin is unable to distinguish between public and private matters, and any board members can simply fire an employee with just a request, then you’ll be the one in my current position instead of just being an assistant designer. By the way, Miss Yao, you’re just an assistant designer, whereas I’m the designer, so to sum it up, your position is lower than mine. If I were to ask you to take some stuff for me, then you have no choice but to take it for me. There’s no such thing as me taking some stuff to you. You keep saying that you’re Board Member Yao’s daughter, so I don’t know whether you’re here to work or to brag. I suggest that you request Board Member Yao to build a company specifically for you so that you can enjoy special privileges at work, and no one will bat an eye on your arrogance,” Ruan Danchen said as she nodded earnestly.
Yao Jingfei’s expression paled with anger when she heard Ruan Danchen’s statement, who then ignored her and turned to her computer instead.
“Ruan Danchen, who do you think you are to give me such comments on the first day of work?” Yao Jingfei raised her voice further in response to Ruan Danchen’s mockery. What Ruan Danchen had meant was that the company did not belong to the Yao family, so Yao Jingfei should just drop her pretense.
Du Jieshu was the head of the design department. She noticed that the situation had spiraled out of control, and she needed to step in soon, but she was unsure which side to stand on. Absolute justice was impossible, but she must choose a side for mediation.
Senior Du did not want to step in earlier due to Yao Jingfei’s identity. So, she had no choice but to stealthily instruct Chen Siyu to summon the manager before she walked toward the sources of the argument.
“Both of you stop arguing and calm down. This constant bickering is ridiculous, especially since it’s working hours now. If the boss were to come down now, the whole department would be punished for this.” Senior Du’s tone was not stern, and she had advised instead of scolded them.
However, Yao Jingfei was unsatisfied, and just when she was about to yell again, Manager Zou rushed toward them. Chen Siyu quickly returned to her seat in fear that Yao Jingfei might remember that it was her who called Manager Zou.
“What’s going on? What’s with all these arguments on the first day of work?” Manager Zou walked toward them, but his stern expression and questions were directed at Yao Jingfei.
Yao Jingfei remained silent. Perhaps she knew that she did not have the upper hand in the situation.
Initially, Ruan Danchen did not want to offer any explanation. However, it was apparent that Senior Du did not wish to offend Yao Jingfei either, so she had no choice but to explain everything from the start. She did not exaggerate or add any personal opinions in her account of what had happened.
