Water and Fire~Chapter 70.1: Almost Me

 

Chapter 70.1: Almost Me

Ren Yan announced the new reimbursement rules and adjourned the meeting. He stood up and returned to his office, raised his hand and pointed at Qin Qianyu, saying, "Xiao Qin, come to my office for a moment."

He hand-picked Qin Qianyu to leave.

The others filed out of the conference room and returned to their workstations. Chu Qianmiao walked last. She could clearly feel Liu Lifeng's sudden rise, causing his chair to stumble backward.

Cui Xijie walked beside him, patting him on the back as if to soothe him. The two of them turned into the hallway. As Liu Lifeng reached the hallway, he turned back and called out to Yan Yunqiang, Sun Yi, and the others. "Come on, let's have a cigarette together and get rid of the bad luck," he said. He glanced at Chu Qianmiao as he said the word "unlucky."

Chu Qianmiao returned to her workstation and continued on with her usual business, as if she hadn't received Liu Lifeng's disapproving signal.

She knew how to deal with someone as emotional as Liu Lifeng. She didn't need to retaliate against his grumbles and bad tempers; simply pretending she didn't get them was enough to piss him off to death.

After a while, several people returned, all of them smelling faintly of cigarette smoke.

It was already the end of the year, and Litong stipulated that invoices for the current year could only be reimbursed within that year. Everyone was usually away on projects and had only returned to Beijing for this meeting. With the exception of Chu Qianmiao, everyone else quickly affixed the invoices they had on hand.

As they affixed and wrote the reimbursement instructions, Chu Qianmiao sensed the anxiety of the small group that had just gone out for a smoke break.

Yan Yunqiang sorted through the invoices and grumbled, "This is so annoying! I've never had to affix invoices like this before. Why do I have to write down who I ate with? I can't even remember." Sun Yi, Lu Zhong'er, and Wang Sian also complained, "Hey, writing weekly project reports is already busy enough, and now we have to write detailed expense reports. It's another heavy workload."

Cui Xijie tried to smooth things over, "Just write it. Since it's the leader's instruction, we'll just follow his lead and complete it." "

His attempt at smoothing things over was fine, but once he did, Liu Lifeng was completely livid.

Liu Lifeng threw the glue stick onto the table, stood up, and turned to Chu Qianmiao, who was working behind him. "Everyone has had their reimbursements overdue. If they don't have the reimbursement limit, they can just wait. Why do some people have to run to their bosses and complain after just one overdue payment? Are they just trying to look good?"

Chu Qianmiao had initially wanted to ignore Liu Lifeng and let him get angry on his own. But since he confronted her like that in the office, ignoring him seemed impossible.

Besides, she wasn't someone who could tolerate things endlessly. If the other party had stopped when they saw the good going, she would have tolerated it for a while. But now that he was pushing it too far, why would she tolerate it? She wasn't someone to be trifled with.

Chu Qianmiao sighed, put her hand on the table, and stood up.

She turned, stood face to face with Liu Lifeng, and gave him a calm smile. "Manager Liu, may I ask, whose expense reports are on hold this time?"

Liu Lifeng glared at her with drooping eyelids, sneering, "It's you, isn't it?"

Chu Qianmiao continued to smile. "Am I the only one?" She turned to look at Cui Xijie, who was working at the next desk to Liu Lifeng. He was facing them, looking ready, like a good-natured person, ready to rush out and mediate.

"Isn't Brother Cui also on hold?" Chu Qianmiao glanced at Cui Xijie again, smiled at him, and asked, "Brother Cui, did you go to the boss to complain? We're the only ones on hold. I didn't go to the boss to complain, so if you follow Manager Liu's explanation, then it's you, not me." "

Cui Xijie was stunned by her words. "Oh, it definitely wasn't me."

Chu Qianmiao turned back to Liu Yifeng and raised her chin. "Look, we both said we didn't cry to the leadership. I don't know where you got this inference, Manager Liu, or who told you that." "

Cui Xijie tried to smooth things over, "Forget it, forget it. We're all in the same department. Why are we so confrontational? Don't let the neighboring departments see us as a laughingstock."

Liu Lifeng wasn't appeased by this nagging; instead, it fueled his righteous indignation. He sneered, "Chu Qianmiao, I tell you, you're really no pushover. You're such a liar! Even after all this, you still want to drag Brother Cui down with you. You're capable, you're truly capable. Just wait and see."

Chu Qianmiao wanted to ask, what are you waiting for? Why are you waiting? When are you waiting? Just explain it clearly. Investment bankers should be thorough when making harsh statements, not so vaguely, or she won't be afraid anymore.

Meanwhile, Qin Qianyu was released from Ren Yan's office.

He returned to his workstation and observed Liu Lifeng's aggressive approach to Chu Qianmiao. He immediately lowered his voice and half-snarled, "What are you doing? We're in the same department. What are you doing?"

He was a little angry.

It was rare for him to get angry, and he immediately calmed the situation.

Chu Qianmiao noticed that although Cui Xijie was a quasi-security employee and had a higher rank than Qin Qianyu in the department, Qin Qianyu held greater authority and persuasive power in everyone's eyes.

"Get back to work!" Qin Qianyu growled again.

Chu Qianmiao felt she had to give Qin Qianyu face, even if she didn't give him any face. He was a man who never disagreed with her. She turned around and sat back down at her workstation.

Liu Lifeng also sat down. But within a minute, he suddenly stood up, yanked his chair back with force, and with a thud, rushed straight to Ren Yan's office.

Cui Xijie called from behind, "Old Liu, Old Liu, what are you doing? Come back!"

But Liu Lifeng ignored him and rushed into Ren Yan's office without a backward glance.

Chu Qianmiao turned to look. When she returned, her eyes met Cui Xijie's.

Cui Xijie gave her a good-natured smile and said, "Qian Miao, I think there might be a misunderstanding between us. Don't overthink it. I haven't actually said anything to Lao Liu."

Chu Qianmiao smiled back, "Brother Cui, don't misunderstand me either. I've never said anything to the boss or anyone else. "

They exchanged pleasantries, laughter and a peaceful, quiet life.

But Chu Qianmiao knew she didn't believe Cui Xijie's words, and neither would he. Cui Xijie must have said something to Liu Lifeng, leading him to further hostility towards her. Perhaps, over the course of a cigarette, he had even ignited a sense of shared hatred within the small smoking community, isolating her. She could sense that even Sun Yi, Lu Zhonger, and Wang Sian, after finishing their cigarettes, had some complaints about the invoices and explanations.

Since no one trusted anyone else, that was fine. They could keep their distance and go about their business. She simply wanted to maintain a clear conscience.

Her and Cui Xijie's friendly conversation had just concluded when Qin Qianyu was summoned to Ren Yan's office by a phone call.

A moment later, Qin Qianyu half-dragged, half-kicked Liu Lifeng out of Ren Yan's office and into the hallway, saying something incoherent.

When Liu Lifeng returned, the look he gave Chu Qianmiao was as cold as ice, a gaze that seemed to originate from the North and South Poles.

As Chu Qianmiao felt Liu Lifeng's icy gaze bathe her, she heard her phone ring. She looked up and saw it was Qin Qianyu, who told her to meet him in the hallway.

As soon as Chu Qianmiao met Qin Qianyu in the hallway, he comforted her, saying, "Qianmiao, don't take today's events personally. Old Liu isn't a bad person, as I just said. Actually, I'm really happy about the new reimbursement system. I used to always have to go on the hook because I ran out of credit. Now, with the reimbursement details clearly stated, no one can try to take advantage of the situation and over-reimburse others, preventing them from claiming their normal expenses." "

Chu Qianmiao was truly grateful to Qin Qianyu. When everyone else was complaining or expressing resistance towards her, Qin Qianyu was the only one who stood up for her.

She thought for a moment and asked Qin Qianyu, "What happened to Liu Lifeng just now?"

When Qin Qianyu heard this question, his face immediately turned into a headache. "This brainless idiot!" He rushed back to General Manager Ren's office to question his boss. He asked General Manager Ren why they would change the rules just for a new employee like you. You only made a single mistake. Everyone in the department has made mistakes. Why did they change the rules just because you made a mistake? He said General Manager Ren was favoring you, which was unfair to everyone else. "

Chu Qianmiao felt bad hearing this. She hated hearing anyone bring up her and Ren Yan's personal relationship at work.

She asked Qin Qianyu, "What did President Ren say?"

Qin Qianyu replied, "President Ren asked him how he knew someone was on the hook. How did you know I changed the system because of that person? Did that person tell you?"

Chu Qianmiao wanted to applaud Ren Yan. His rhetorical questions were as powerful as a nuclear bomb and never disappointed.

"President Ren also told him that Cui Xijie was not the only one on the hook this time. How can you be sure I changed the reimbursement system for Chu Qianmiao and not Cui Xijie?"

Chu's heart skipped a beat. Did she and Ren Yan have the same brain circuits? Why were they always saying the same thing? But this was bad news. Just as she finished saying this, Ren Yan said it again. Liu Lifeng would definitely have more room to maneuver.

Sure enough, Qin Qianyu's subsequent retelling confirmed her bad feeling.

Qin Qianyu said, "And that little idiot Liu Lifeng actually said that President Ren's explanation was similar to what you just said in the office. They both used the unpaid bills, but they also talked about this and that. So this must be a set of excuses you prepared to brainwash President Ren."

Chu Qianmiao: ""

She thought the nickname "little idiot" given to Liu Lifeng was truly well-deserved.

Qin Qianyu paused, took a breath, and continued, "President Ren finally told Old Liu that I'm not partial to anyone. If you think I'm partial, then you're targeting someone. Also, I told you last time: if you question your leader without any basis again, you're out. This is the second time, and I won't pursue it again. But if it happens a third time, Liu Lifeng, you're out right now. Ah, Qianmiao, don't have that expression. President Ren must tell us, his hired hands, to get out eight hundred times a year, and none of us have left." "

Chu Qianmiao wondered if she had just made that expression.

She heard Qin Qianyu continue, "I think President Ren's face is about to be lashed with anger. I quickly kicked and beat Old Liu out."

Chu Qianmiao studied the plaster on the corridor wall for a moment, then turned to Qin Qianyu and asked, "Brother Qin, why do you think President Ren suddenly changed the reimbursement system?"

Qin Qianyu narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, then looked at her and asked, "Qianmiao, you don't know?"

Chu Qianmiao shook her head. "I don't know." "

A sloth-like smile gradually spread across Qin Qianyu's face. "Is that so? Then I've got you beat this time. Mr. Ren told me he didn't tell you. Hahahahahahahaha. It seems I'm still his number one confidant."

He smiled with joy and pride.

Chu Qianmiao: "Okay, as long as you're happy, my naive big brother."

Qin Qianyu wiped his face after laughing, trying to contain his pride. Then he told Chu Qianmiao, "Here's what happened. Mr. Ren recently went to Finance to check everyone's expense reports. He found that looking at the individual projects alone, there were no problems with the reports. But when he combined all the reports for the Shanghai project, Cui Xijie's expenses were the highest."

"So Mr. Ren carefully examined the invoices attached to each of Cui Xijie's expense reports and discovered that Cui Xijie's meal expenses were far in excess of the budget. With the way Cui Xijie was eating, even an elephant would be stuffed to death. So, Mr. Ren deduced that Cui Xijie had bought invoices. As for buying invoices, I know some people have done it, but it wasn't excessive. It was fine if they bought too many. It would be a bit boring. Wouldn't it be like everyone else's normal reimbursement limit was taken up by his invoices? "Hey, how come you weren't surprised or enlightened after hearing my revelation?"

Chu Qianmiao thought to herself, "Oh my god, I saw Cui Xijie buying invoices with my own eyes. I really can't act surprised or enlightened."

She changed the subject, "Brother Qin, how did Cui Xijie get to our department? How can he be so bold and daring?"

Qin Qianyu glanced around to make sure no one was passing by. Then, lowering his voice, he told Chu Qianmiao, "Cui Xijie was actually assigned to our department by a leader at headquarters. He wasn't personally recruited by Mr. Ren. He had already passed the insurance agent exam when he arrived, and wanted to sign as a project co-sponsor on Mr. Ren's IPO project so he could register as an official insurance agent. Considering Cui Xijie was referred by headquarters, President Ren didn't want to confront him directly. That would be a slap in the face to the higher-ups, so he resorted to this tactic, a warning shot. "Wait, I shouldn't be telling you this. I'm the only one in the department who knows this secret, but why did I tell you just a second ago? You've got me hypnotized!"

Chu Qianmiao was genuinely amused by the adorable Qin Qianyu. "Brother Qin, don't worry. If I tell anyone what you told me, I'll never be able to get rid of you, and I'll never be able to become President Ren's most trusted confidant."

Qin Qianyu was relieved. "That's a damn strong oath. I'm relieved."