Volume 1, Chapter 31: Move Again, and You Won't Be Sleeping Tonight

Lin Lanxing looked at her with eyes full of mockery. Song Qinian ignored her, and once the traffic light changed, she started her scooter.

Lin Lanxing let out a soft scoff and turned to Shen Chiyan. "Brother Chiyan, Song Qinian riding such a pathetic thing to work is clearly a slap in your face."

Suddenly struck by a thought, Lin Lanxing exclaimed, "Wait, she did it on purpose! If the old lady finds out she’s riding an electric scooter to work, she’ll think you’re mistreating her. Damn this woman, I never realized she was so calculating."

As she spoke, Lin Lanxing caught sight of Song Qinian again. She leaned out the window and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Song Qinian, I hope you get drenched by the heavy rain and look like a drowned rat!"

Not long after Lin Lanxing shouted those words, a traffic accident occurred ahead, causing a jam.

Song Qinian, on her petite electric scooter, easily wove through the stalled vehicles, leaving behind a graceful silhouette.

The moment Song Qinian arrived home, the downpour began.

Lin Lanxing and Shen Chiyan were stuck on the overpass, their car pelted by the torrential rain.

Shen Chiyan had not returned home for a long time, and Song Qinian did not expect him to do so now.

With Lin Lanxing in the car, they were surely going to visit Lin Qiutong; Shen Chiyan would likely spend the entire night by her side.

After finishing her work, Song Qinian went to sleep.

In the middle of the night, in a daze, a heavy arm suddenly pulled her into an embrace.

Smelling the scent of alcohol, Song Qinian woke up with a start. She instinctively reached for the light, but Shen Chiyan’s cold, threatening voice suddenly rang out, "Move again, and you won't be getting any sleep tonight!"

Recalling the torture she had endured in his office during the day, Song Qinian dared not move.

Before long, Shen Chiyan seemed to have fallen asleep, but Song Qinian lay there with her eyes open, sleep having deserted her.

Why... why did he come to her room? And why was he holding her while he slept?

The next morning, Song Qinian woke up with dark circles under her eyes, feeling incredibly gloomy.

It was rare for Shen Chiyan to eat breakfast with her, and Zhang Qiaoqiao had prepared both Chinese and Western options.

Song Qinian did not dare disturb Shen Chiyan, acting as docile as could be while she ate.

Shen Chiyan shot her a cold glance. Seeing that she wasn't fawning over him as she usually did, his brows furrowed slightly.

After the meal, they left together. Once in the car, Shen Chiyan gave Gao Kunlun a look. Understanding, Gao Kunlun smiled at Song Qinian, who was in the middle of putting on her helmet. "Madam, get in. It’s on the way; I can give you a lift."

Song Qinian looked at Gao Kunlun, her expression full of wariness.

Gao Kunlun wouldn't have dared to invite her into the car without Shen Chiyan’s instruction.

But Shen Chiyan used to be most annoyed by her getting too close to him—why would he suddenly offer her a ride?

When things go against the norm, there must be a hidden motive.

Right!

She had written "Shen Chiyan is a big jerk" on a piece of paper yesterday; he must have seen it.

Although he hadn't come to settle the score last night, it didn't mean he wouldn't do it today.

Thinking of this, Song Qinian quickly put on her helmet and shook her head with a smile. "No need, it's more convenient for me to ride my own bike, and I won't get stuck in traffic."

"The weather is so hot..."

"The natural breeze is quite cool."

Without waiting for Gao Kunlun to say anything else, Song Qinian had already ridden off.

Having failed his task, Gao Kunlun didn't even dare look at Shen Chiyan’s face.

Sure enough, Shen Chiyan’s expression was grim.

Song Qinian used to be so clingy; why was she suddenly being so obedient?

Was she playing hard to get?

Or did he hurt her in the office yesterday?

Hmph... whatever it was, what did it have to do with him?

Song Qinian arrived at the Planning Department right on the dot. As expected, she saw Xie Xueyi waiting anxiously at the door.

"Oh my, why are you so slow! The proposal? Is it done?"

Song Qinian walked to her desk at a leisurely pace and took out a document folder.

Xie Xueyi snatched it, opened it, and upon seeing that Song Qinian had finished it, she smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "Well done, keep up the hard work in the future."

When it was time for the meeting, Xie Xueyi took the proposal to the conference room without even checking it.

Song Qinian watched her smug retreating figure and curled her lips slightly.

An hour later, Xie Xueyi stormed over to Song Qinian’s desk. "Song Qinian, come with me."

Song Qinian said nothing and followed her to a corner.

Xie Xueyi reached out to slap her, but Song Qinian, seemingly having anticipated this, caught her hand.

Xie Xueyi had not expected Song Qinian to resist and angrily shook her hand off.

"You wretch, Song Qinian! I let you handle the proposal, and you mess it up, causing me to get yelled at by Mr. Shen!"

Song Qinian stared at Xie Xueyi with a smile, her eyes full of disdain, as if to say that Xie Xueyi deserved it.

Only then did Xie Xueyi realize, and pointing at Song Qinian, she asked in disbelief, "You... you did it on purpose?"

Song Qinian continued to smile.

"Ah..."

Xie Xueyi let out a frustrated scream and lunged at Song Qinian.

She couldn't believe that after all these years in the workplace, she had been outmaneuvered by a mute.

The commotion was significant enough to attract many onlookers.

With the situation escalating, it was impossible for the manager, Yang Hongbin, to remain unaware.

Soon, Song Qinian and Xie Xueyi were summoned to Yang Hongbin’s office.

"What is going on with you two? You are colleagues; shouldn't you be helping each other instead of fighting? If Mr. Shen finds out about this, none of you will have a good time."

Xie Xueyi immediately started crying, acting aggrieved. "Manager Yang, I was too busy yesterday and didn't have time to check the copy after it was finished, so I let Song Qinian check it for me. I never expected her to alter my work, causing me to be scolded by Mr. Shen."

Song Qinian finally witnessed what it meant to confuse right and wrong.

She handed the note she had written to Yang Hongbin.

It read: "Xie Xueyi is bullying me in the workplace. Every day she dumps her work on me. She didn't change a single word of that proposal; I did it all."

Xie Xueyi saw what was written on the paper.

"She’s lying! That proposal was so important, how could I possibly hand it over to a newcomer? I..."

Before Xie Xueyi could finish, Yang Hongbin cut her off. "Enough, enough! I have a general idea of what happened. Xie Xueyi, you must complete your own work diligently and rigorously. Knowing that the proposal was important and still handing it off for someone else to check was your mistake."

Xie Xueyi wanted to say more, but a look from Yang Hongbin stopped her.

Afterward, Yang Hongbin looked at Song Qinian. "And you, Song Qinian, how can petty squabbles between colleagues be called workplace bullying?"

Song Qinian frowned tightly, and just as she was about to write something, Yang Hongbin said impatiently, "Let this matter end here. Work hard from now on and serve Dingsheng Group together. You may both leave."

Song Qinian had not expected such a major issue to be resolved in two sentences by Yang Hongbin.

It was clear that Yang Hongbin was favoring Xie Xueyi.

Seeing the eye contact between the two, Song Qinian finally understood what Miao Ziai meant by having "backing."

Xie Xueyi sneered and left the office triumphantly.

Knowing that further talk was useless, Song Qinian also stepped out.

As soon as she walked out, she saw Xie Xueyi at the door. Xie Xueyi folded her arms and stared at her with disdain. "Song Qinian, you're still too green to try and mess with me! As for you, now that you've angered me, don't expect to have an easy life in the Planning Department."