Confessing To An Annoying Boss

Nightfall cloaked the sky. The office building of TOC was brightly lit.

“Qiao Jie.”

A shadow fell over her, and Qiao Ziman lifted her head from a state of exhaustion. Intern Xiao Jing neatly placed the documents on the desk. “Qiao Jie, I’ve organized everything.”

Qiao Ziman rubbed her stiff neck, her clear eyes now a bit misty. “Okay.”

Xiao Jing stood there, seemingly hesitating to speak.

Qiao Ziman saw right through Xiao Jing’s thoughts. Recently, she had been assigned an outsourced original artwork design for the company, and the client was notoriously picky. Even this small intern had been working extra hours alongside her, and even the most resilient person couldn’t keep up. Qiao Ziman gave a soft smile, revealing two dimples at the corners of her lips. “You’ve worked hard. You can head home now.”

Her delicate features and gentle eyes, combined with her smile, felt like a spring breeze, making Xiao Jing momentarily lose her focus.

When Xiao Jing was first assigned to work under Qiao Ziman, she was quite anxious. There were rumors in the company that her boss, despite her seemingly mild appearance, had a fiery temper and was like a ticking time bomb—capable of causing havoc with a single word, leaving others bruised and battered.

However, after spending some time with her, Xiao Jing’s perception changed completely. Her boss had a straightforward personality, with no workplace pretenses. She was tough only when it came to dealing with people who bullied her interns.

Xiao Jing noticed the undeniable dark circles under Qiao Ziman’s eyes and, genuinely concerned, said, “Qiao Jie, you should head home and get some rest too.”

“Good luck, good luck,” Qiao Ziman’s unique ringtone interrupted Xiao Jing.

Qiao Ziman glanced at the name on the screen and suddenly sprang from her chair, her fatigue forgotten. The caller was Qiao Xuan, her cousin. A week ago, they had planned to go to a newly opened trendy restaurant together. This morning, Qiao Xuan had even reminded her, and she had completely forgotten. Her memory seemed to be getting worse.

She needed to come up with a reason to brush off her cousin, who was also her mom’s informant. Otherwise, her mom would complain again.

“At 26 years old, always forgetting things and acting so disorganized. No wonder you don’t have a partner!”

Qiao Ziman shivered, her eyelids twitching. She shook her head vigorously to banish the image of her mom from her mind. Clearing her throat, she answered the call and signaled Xiao Jing to be quiet. “Hello, Xuan Xuan Jie, what’s up? Oh, you’re almost there? I’m on my way, but there’s traffic. I’m not sure—probably about an hour. I’m really sorry. Just order when you get there; this meal’s on me.”

Qiao Xuan on the other end didn’t hold back. “Have you even left yet? Did you forget about me again?”

Without missing a beat, Qiao Ziman lied smoothly. “Of course not, I didn’t forget! I’m really on my way. What? Oh, it’s normal for taxis to have bad soundproofing. If you don’t believe me, let me put the driver on.”

She shoved the phone towards Xiao Jing, who was bewildered. “Hello?”

The phone was snatched away quickly. “Hello, hello? Signal’s bad, gotta go, bye bye bye bye.” Qiao Ziman hung up swiftly, sighing in relief, and turned to Xiao Jing. “Thanks for your help. Sorry about that.”

Xiao Jing replied, “It’s… it’s fine.”

Buzz.

Qiao Xuan sent her a message: [Chunsheng Restaurant Location] Reservation Number 59.

Qiao Ziman checked the navigation and estimated the travel time. She reluctantly chose to take a taxi instead of dealing with the subway, bus, and shortcuts, even though it was more expensive. After hailing a taxi downstairs, she headed straight to her destination. The taxi wove through the congested main roads and finally stopped in front of Chunsheng Restaurant after about half an hour.

“Miss, we’ve arrived.”

Qiao Ziman, still groggy, winced at the 49 yuan fare displayed on the meter. She scanned the QR code, paid, and got out of the car. A receptionist with keen eyes approached her. “Hello, miss, do you have a reservation?”

Qiao Ziman checked her chat history and confirmed, “Yes, reservation number 59.”

The receptionist led her to a table and checked the information. “The reservation is under Mr. Wang, ending in 4888, correct?”

Mr. Wang? The unfamiliar name rang alarm bells in Qiao Ziman’s mind. She suddenly realized she might have been tricked again. She had fallen for her mom’s scheme, who had conspired with her cousin to set her up on a blind date! Despite all her precautions, she hadn’t anticipated that her cousin and mom would join forces.

Qiao Ziman looked at the message from ten minutes ago and fumed.

Qiao Xuan: [Sorry, something came up last minute. I called a friend to keep you company. 185, rich, and handsome!]

What a scam! And a “friend”!

Qiao Ziman furiously typed: [Traitor!]

[So, did you meet him? Handsome, right?]

See him? Forget it. Qiao Ziman was too annoyed to respond. She exited WeChat and, growing angrier by the second, called her mom, “He Cuizhen!!!”

As the city lights began to glow, the restaurant was packed. Her shout attracted the attention of nearby diners. This restaurant had a high-end clientele, mostly white-collar workers who valued quality of life, so the atmosphere wasn’t the usual noisy chaos. Seeing the disapproving looks from nearby patrons, Qiao Ziman lowered her voice and grit her teeth. “Ms. He Cuizhen, you are truly insidious!”

He Cuizhen responded with an extremely smug smile, “Ms. Qiao Ziman, thank you for the compliment.”

“Mom!!!”

“Ah, my eldest daughter.”

Qiao Ziman’s temples throbbed. She chugged the lemon water from the table, trying to calm herself. “How can I get you to stop this?” She had been set up on countless blind dates, most of them with weirdos. The few normal ones were always about weighing pros and cons—who would choose someone from a family with debt to lower their living standards?

He Cuizhen clicked her tongue. “Then find someone to marry. Once you’re married, I won’t bother you.”