Confessing To An Annoying Boss

“Oh, so you want to hook up with President Chi, huh? My dear, you’ve found the shortcut to life,” Ji Yun was preparing for a meeting when she received a call from Qiao Ziman. She thought it was something urgent, but instead, she was hit with this absurd joke early in the morning.

“Who wants to hook up with her!” Qiao Ziman ducked away from the cleaning lady’s gaze, moving to a corner, and hissed into the phone, “I said it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, who knew she’d take it seriously?” 

Her voice grew softer, tinged with a bit of guilt she didn’t want to admit.

Ji Yun kept teasing, “Be honest, my dear, are you secretly into women?” Given Qiao Ziman’s looks and job status, there was no reason she should be constantly pressured into blind dates. Besides, there were plenty of men chasing her, yet she never seemed interested in any of them.

“Qiaoqiao, it’s the modern age now; liking the same sex is completely normal. Your girl gang will support you no matter what, or are you afraid your mom won’t approve?” Ji Yun speculated.

“Stop, stop, stop!” Qiao Ziman hurriedly interrupted her; this train of thought was even more off track than her supposed sexual orientation. “Do I really need to hide anything from you?”

“True, so…” Ji Yun’s gossipy curiosity was now unstoppable.

Qiao Ziman knew what was coming and explained first, “Dating gets in the way of making money.” 

It wasn’t like she hadn’t dated in college; there was a pretty decent guy who was good-looking and had solid grades. He pursued her for half a semester, and she agreed. But that short-lived relationship only lasted three days, and before they even held hands, Qiao Ziman unilaterally ended it. The reasons? On one hand, she was too busy with work-study programs; on the other, she just didn’t feel anything.

No spark, no feelings.

“I feel even less for women!” Qiao Ziman added quickly, fearing her quirky friend might circle back to the topic of her sexual orientation.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line.

“I’m asking you to help me analyze this, can you take it seriously?” Qiao Ziman angrily walked to the window, opened it, and let in a gust of hot, stifling air, making her feel even more frustrated. “Do you think I’m beyond saving?”

Ji Yun cleared her throat but couldn’t resist teasing, “She asked you out, why did you refuse?” She analyzed, “First, if you had gone, you wouldn’t be the only one feeling awkward right now. Second, between making money and getting into a relationship, whether you choose to make money from a relationship or get into one with someone rich, you can’t lose.”

Gotta admit, that made a lot of sense.

Qiao Ziman was starting to feel a bit regretful.

“And look at how fated you two are! Almost had a one-night stand, then you meet again under different circumstances, and now she’s your boss. Even the plot of a novel wouldn’t be this exaggerated,” Ji Yun couldn’t help but laugh as she said this.

Qiao Ziman finally snapped out of it, gritting her teeth, “Bad friend! Is this really the time for jokes like this?”

“Alright, alright, calm down,” Ji Yun reassured her.

Qiao Ziman’s legs were starting to go numb from standing, so she stretched a bit, still feeling a bit worried, “Really?”

“Of course not.”

Qiao Ziman’s breath caught in her throat.

Ji Yun continued, “You flirted with her, then bragged about how you were just playing around. And you seriously believed she wouldn’t take it to heart? If you were her, wouldn’t you be mad? Not to mention, she was your driver and then you left her out in the cold, making her late.”

Just imagining the scene made Qiao Ziman feel like she was about to explode. Isn’t this classic scumbag behavior?

Ji Yun’s laughter rang through the phone, making Qiao Ziman’s ears ache. She finally realized she’d fallen for her friend’s trick again.

“We’re done, we’re done, we’re done!” she said, ready to hang up the phone.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Ji Yun quickly composed herself. “Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to be fearless? Why are you chickening out now?”

“Who’s chickening out?” Qiao Ziman retorted, “It’s just awkward, we see each other all the time.”

Alright, time to cut her some slack. Ji Yun seriously reassured her, “Honestly, this isn’t a big deal. It’s all just a misunderstanding. Explain things clearly to her, treat her to a meal, and apologize. It’ll blow over. You think she’s going to hold a grudge?”

“True.”

Maybe she was just overreacting, and who knows, the person might have already forgotten who she is.

Qiao Ziman, already carefree by nature, felt completely relieved after Ji Yun’s advice. After hanging up, she slipped back to her workstation and returned to her enthusiastic work mode. As Qiao Ziman was intently sketching, an irritating male voice suddenly came from behind, “Little Qiao, busy?”

Without even turning around, Qiao Ziman knew it was Liu Dahai.

The whole company knew the two of them didn’t get along, yet Liu Dahai insisted on pretending otherwise, always dropping by to call her “sister” with fake affection. In an industry focused on creativity, interruptions during work were especially frustrating for Qiao Ziman, and having her creative flow disrupted halfway through made her furious.

The anger shot straight to her head, and she was about to explode. She whipped her chair around and shot back, “Are we that close?”

“A Bi Luo Chun come to life, how unlucky.” Qiao Ziman was truly witnessing the diversity of species.

“Spit it out if you’ve got something to say, don’t just hang around here. Stop being an eyesore.”

Liu Dahai was a bit chubby, with squinty eyes, and always had a sycophantic smile plastered on his face, which only made him seem incredibly insincere. He didn’t get angry, “You’re still as fiery as ever, Little Qiao. If your skills matched your temper, your promotion application wouldn’t have been rejected.”

This happened just a few days ago. Right after Ji Yun gave her a heads-up, Liu Dahai made his move. Somehow, he managed to get the senior manager of the planning department to vote for him. Not only that, but he also sabotaged her work behind the scenes, blocking several of her projects.

Everyone has a temper, and for someone as easily angered as Qiao Ziman, she snapped back, “You know I have a bad temper, and you still dare to provoke me? Have you been a sycophant for so long that you’ve developed a masochistic streak?”

Liu Dahai’s face stiffened, his smile frozen awkwardly, his mouth twitching as he struggled to find words but failed. Bored with his provocation, Qiao Ziman decided to ignore Liu Dahai and turned back to her work, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed an unmistakable figure at the doorway.

When did President Chi get here?