What is Fan Mingxu trying to do? Is he playing “Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors”?
Is he trying to get rid of department heads? Or is he trying to get rid of her?
Shen Yan was extremely anxious.
She quickly opened WeChat and sent a message to Fan Mingxu.
She needed to clarify what exactly Fan was implying.
Shen Yan: Director Fan, there are six people in charge of the centralized office group.
Who are the five leaders you ordered coffee for? Please provide me with the exact list to avoid any misunderstanding.
Shen Yan was both anxious and prone to typos.
She was also afraid that her wording might sound too aggressive and upset Fan Mingxu.
She revised and rewrote her message several times before finally sending it.
After sending it, she nervously waited for Fan Mingxu’s response.
Perhaps it was because she was in the elevator with a weak signal, but she still hadn’t received a reply from Fan.
She watched impatiently as the elevator descended floor by floor, feeling as if time had slowed down.
Fortunately, by the time she reached the delivery rack, Fan Mingxu’s message had finally arrived.
Shen Yan had never anticipated a WeChat notification this much before.
She quickly opened the app and saw
Fan Mingxu: Yes, just five cups.
Shen Yan: …Here we go again.
Another “Yes, that’s correct.”
She started to wonder if her overly respectful tone and long message made it difficult for him to understand.
She had specifically asked for the names, so why did he give such a vague response?
And he even said “Yes”? Yes to what?!
At this point, it would have been better if he hadn’t replied at all.
If he hadn’t responded, Shen Yan could at least assume that he had made a mistake perhaps because he wasn’t very familiar with modern technology (referring to food delivery apps) and accidentally ordered one less cup.
But now…
Shen Yan shook her head.
He was clearly trying to put her in a difficult position.
She couldn’t help but suspect that her boss was intentionally making things hard for her.
Luckily, among the six department heads, one of them was her direct supervisor.
And, more importantly, she knew exactly where he was.
This seemingly tricky situation was instantly resolved by Shen Yan selling out her own boss.
Suddenly, she realized that workplace survival was just this simple.
“Oh well, I guess I have no choice,” she muttered to herself.
“No choice about what?”
A voice suddenly spoke up, startling Shen Yan.
She turned around to see none other than her “easy to locate” direct supervisor.
Shen Yan: …So people really can’t talk behind their boss’s back, huh?
“Assistant Zhou, why do you walk so quietly?” Shen Yan tried to shift the blame.
Zhou Xing defended himself, “You were just too focused on your own thoughts.”
Shen Yan: …
Zhou Xing glanced at the rack.
“Are you here to pick up a delivery?”
Shen Yan reached for the two coffee bags labeled with Fan Mingxu’s phone number.
“Yes.”
“Only this much?” Zhou Xing reached out, seemingly intending to take the coffee from her.
Shen Yan instinctively pulled the bag back his share wasn’t in there!
Zhou Xing: ?
Feeling a bit awkward, Shen Yan explained, “Oh, Fan asked me to pick them up for the project team leaders, but there are only five cups.”
Zhou Xing did some quick mental math.
“Five cups? Did he order the wrong amount?”
Shen Yan showed him her chat history with Fan.
Zhou Xing glanced at it and immediately saw the message: “Yes, just five cups.”
“He did that on purpose, didn’t he?” Zhou Xing’s tone was more of a statement than a question.
Shen Yan completely agreed.
“I think he’s trying to make things difficult for me giving me the problem of distributing five drinks among six leaders.”
Zhou Xing was amused.
“You have quite the sense of humor.”
“Just give them to the other five department heads,” Zhou Xing said, showing no interest in drinking Fan’s coffee.
But then he suddenly recalled Shen Yan’s earlier words “I have no choice” and how she pulled the coffee away from him.
Zhou Xing’s realization hit him. “…You were planning to leave me out from the start, weren’t you?”
Busted.
Shen Yan awkwardly scratched her nose and avoided eye contact.
Feeling guilty, she offered, “I’ll make you a fresh cup in our office’s break room later.
The milk there is definitely better.”
Zhou Xing: …What a loyal subordinate.
After thinking for a moment, he added, “The coffee beans are probably better too.”
Shen Yan: …
She followed his train of thought and had to agree.
The first time she had used the office coffee machine, she had noticed that the coffee tasted richer and smoother, likely due to better beans and equipment.
That was why, when she found out the milk in the fridge was privately bought by President Lu, she had felt guilty and started buying milk herself for everyone to use.
Zhou Xing said, “It’s President Lu’s private stash.”
He then added, “From now on, just drink his.”
After a brief pause, they exchanged glances and struggled to hold back their laughter.
Shen Yan had some moral reservations, but taking advantage of the boss’s stash really did feel nice.
Zhou Xing: “Where’s the cake?”
Shen Yan snapped back to reality and checked her order details.
“The delivery guy is only 500 meters away, should be here soon.”
Zhou Xing: “Alright.”
As they waited near the rack, Zhou Xing made small talk.
“Who do you think Fan left out?”
“Could be you,” Shen Yan guessed.
“When Fan gossips about you, he often includes Manager Qian from Finance.
If he was getting you coffee, Qian probably wouldn’t get one either.”
She thought about the six department heads, mentally calculating who stood out from the rest.
“It must be the operations manager from Shenyu Technology, right?”
Zhou Xing nodded and let out a cold chuckle.
“I figured.
Those old guys don’t understand financial reports and still don’t know who’s keeping the company afloat.”
Shen Yan’s mind reeled. This was getting intense was she even supposed to be hearing this?
Despite her hesitation, she couldn’t help but ask, “So who is keeping the company afloat?”
She was genuinely curious.
Was President Lu relying on outside funding? Were there deeper corporate secrets she wasn’t aware of?
Zhou Xing, not treating her as an outsider, answered bluntly, “Shenyu Technology.”
Shen Yan: …Instantly lost interest in gossip.
She had reviewed two months’ worth of departmental summaries and plans.
With the struggling economy, commercial real estate was also declining.
Among all of Lu Corporation’s properties, only one luxury shopping mall was profitable.
For most other malls, only their food courts had positive revenue growth.
Just as she was about to voice her opinion, the delivery guy arrived with her fruit and cake.