Chapter 2: Full of Mishaps - Is Driving a Car Something to Be Amazing? ...

The heavy rain lasted all day without any sign of stopping.

Just before the end of the workday, the door to the finance office was pushed open, and Zhuang Xiaoqian walked in, full of complaints.

Zhu Liushuang asked in surprise, "Why are you back at this hour? It's almost time to get off work..."

The meaning was crystal clear, and Zhuang Xiaoqian understood instantly. She frowned and brushed the water stains off her skirt: "If I hadn't known the general manager was in the office today, I wouldn't have come back!"

"President Guo is here. When did he arrive?" Zhu Liushuang glanced at the door subconsciously. "I think I only saw him once this week."

Zhuang Xiaoqian sat down, tidying up the receipts on the table as she replied, "I bumped into him when I went out at noon. He was here for a meeting, I heard the municipal government has some kind of subsidy policy for high-tech enterprises..."

"Does our company need to submit an application?"

Zhuang Xiaoqian nodded mysteriously, then held up a few fingers to indicate, "There's a subsidy, this amount."

"Eighty thousand?" Zhu Liushuang pressed.

"Young lady, you're too naive. How could our CEO Guo possibly be interested in 80,000? It's 800,000!" Zhuang Xiaoqian said, squinting her eyes.

Ruixin Technology Co., Ltd., established just three years ago, is a subsidiary of Yunzhou Group, a leading enterprise in Gucheng, and is actually not short of money. However, for enterprises, government subsidies are naturally always welcome.

General Manager Guo Yang is a graduate of a prestigious university and originally worked at the group headquarters. After the new company was established, he came here to gain experience. He is a rare talent, possessing both management and technical expertise.

The key is that he's young, only in his thirties. Most importantly, he's unmarried. The single women in the company are all, to varying degrees, eyeing him.

However, Zhu Liushuang is an exception.

Listening to Zhuang Xiaoqian's gossip, what she was thinking at the moment was: if the company is going to apply for high-tech enterprise status, then as the finance person, she will definitely have a lot of tasks to handle.

In that case, she might have to work overtime even on Sundays, since she already only gets one day off a week? Then she won't be able to set up a stall to earn extra money.

My mother's health has been deteriorating lately; her limbs are severely stiff in the mornings, and she needs someone to take care of her. If she works overtime frequently and something unexpected happens, who will take care of her mother?

Thinking of this, Zhu Liushuang's already complicated thoughts became even more chaotic.

She initially planned to pursue postgraduate studies with her roommate, but unfortunately, considering her mother's increasingly severe rheumatoid arthritis and the lack of caregivers at home, she resolutely returned to her hometown to find work.

Jobs are hard to find in small cities, and most jobs don't offer the full range of benefits (five insurances and one housing fund). Even if you finally find a job related to your major, it usually only offers one day off a week.

After searching for a while, Zhu Liushuang stopped being picky. To be honest, as a college student from a non-prestigious university with little experience, she didn't have many options at all.

Ruixin offers relatively good benefits. Work hours are from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, with no mandatory clocking in. There's a 1.5-hour lunch break, and the office environment is very comfortable.

When she first joined the company, she was mentored by a dedicated person. Her mentor was a kind-hearted older sister who taught her step by step. In addition, Liu Shuang herself was ambitious, willing to learn and ask questions, and she grasped things quickly, so her work was relatively easy.

Every day after get off work, Zhu Liushuang helps her mother cook, clean, and massage her limbs. She then sits in front of the computer screen to listen to online classes and practice bookkeeping.

A year and a half passed in the blink of an eye. Her mentor changed jobs and left, leaving her to "shoulder the burden alone," and suddenly she had a lot more work to do.

"Knock knock knock," the urgent knocking pulled her out of her memories.

"Come in—" Zhuang Xiaoqian called lazily to the door from her lounging on the sofa.

The visitor was none other than Wang Yizheng from the technical department.

"Zhu Liushuang, why did you underreport my travel expenses last time!" Wang Yizheng, who had been fawning over him just a few days ago, was now furious, as if he had swallowed a dynamite.

Zhuang Xiaoqian wanted to smooth things over, but seeing Wang Yizheng's angry expression, she kept quiet. She shrugged, indicating that she couldn't help him.

Zhu Liushuang's emotions were not affected. She remained seated, her eyes calmly fixed on Wang Yizheng, waiting for him to continue.

Wang Yizheng saw this as irrefutable proof that she looked down on him.

The arrogant young man couldn't stand such contempt and said in a very unfriendly tone, "You better calculate it for me..." As he spoke, he threw a large stack of receipts onto the desk.

The atmosphere in the finance office was extremely awkward. Zhuang Xiaoqian thought Zhu Liushuang would retort, but she didn't.

She slowly picked up the scattered receipts one by one and carefully checked them. After checking them, she picked up the calculator on the table and recalculated them.

After finishing the calculation, Zhu Liushuang helplessly looked up at Wang Yizheng and said, "Master Wang, I just calculated it in front of you, and it's correct. Where exactly did I shortchange you?"

Wang Yizheng argued unreasonably: "When I went on a business trip to Haishi before, it was also a four-day trip, so why was I reimbursed more than this time? I don't care, you must have underreported my expenses!"

"Where did you go on this business trip?" Zhu Liushuang asked, suppressing her anger.

"Rongcheng," Wang Yizheng said curtly.

Zhu Liushuang put down the receipts in her hand, gave him a meaningful look, and then threw the topic to Zhuang Xiaoqian: "Sister Zhuang, I remember you told everyone a long time ago that the business trip allowance is different depending on the city's level?"

Zhuang Xiaoqian, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, chuckled and said, "Yes, I've said it several times. Maybe Wang Shi hasn't been with our company long, so he's not very familiar with the various systems yet..." She racked her brains to make excuses for Wang Yizheng.

Zhu Liushuang glanced at Wang Yizheng's flushed face and inwardly mocked his lack of composure. However, out of consideration for their professional relationship, she showed no sign of it. Instead, she softened her voice and patiently explained it to Wang Yizheng again.

"Master Wang, Haishi and Rongcheng are several levels apart in terms of administrative level, so the daily meal and transportation allowances are different. Next time you submit your expense report, you can ask Sister Zhuang for information on the travel allowance standards for each city."

Zhuang Xiaoqian echoed, "Yes, yes, Liu Shuang is right."

"Besides, we're all colleagues. In the future, let's communicate rationally when something happens, so as not to... hurt our harmony." With a change of tone, Zhu Liushuang's gaze fell directly on Wang Yizheng's face, with a hint of warning.

Wang Yi, feeling rebuffed, remained silent for a long time, but still stubbornly said, "It's because you didn't explain things clearly in the first place."

Seeing that the two people in the room ignored him, he got angry and left the finance office without even taking the invoice.

After all that commotion, it was already past the time to leave work.

As Zhuang Xiaoqian packed her things, she said, "Liu Shuang, you were really calm just now. I think that Wang Yi was clearly looking for trouble! Look at how arrogant he was..."

"There are too many people in the company, so it's better to avoid trouble. Besides... their technical department is highly sought after, and we can't afford to offend them." These words, spoken by Zhu Liushuang, carried a composure beyond her years.

Zhuang Xiaoqian got up and walked to the window, glancing at the gloomy sky: "I wonder when this plum rain will stop. You've been riding your electric scooter lately, haven't you?"

"Mmm." The voice was very soft.

"It's safer to take the bus on rainy days. The area around Zhijiang Road was quite wet yesterday..."

Zhu Liushuang made an excuse, saying, "It's okay, my home isn't far from the company. The buses are too crowded, I'm not used to them."

"Then be careful on the road. If you get caught in the rain, make some ginger soup when you get back..." Zhuang Xiaoqian's voice gradually faded into the distance.

By the time she finished speaking, Zhu Liushuang had already packed up and locked the door, ready to leave work.

My phone suddenly rang.

"Hello, what's up?" The caller was Lü Feng, Zhu Liushuang's neighbor and classmate.

"Xiaoshuang, your mother tripped and fell downstairs," Lü Feng explained. "Don't worry, I've already taken her to the hospital."

"What did the doctor say?" Zhu Liushuang asked, rubbing her temples.

"It's just a scratch, it's already been bandaged... However, the doctor said that Aunt Gu's joints are severely deformed, and she needs to go to the rheumatology and immunology department for a proper check-up."

“Thank you, Lü Feng,” Zhu Liushuang replied hesitantly, “Then I need to go now…”

She was interrupted halfway through her sentence by Lü Feng. He comforted her, saying, "Rheumatism is a chronic disease, and it can be controlled with regular treatment, so don't worry. After you get off work, go home and cook dinner. I'll bring Aunt Gu back safely after I'm done here."

"Okay." Zhu Liushuang, who had been rubbing her temples, lowered her hand and thanked her again. "Thank you for your help. I'll make some tiramisu for you and Aunt Qiu on Sunday."

"Why are you being so polite with me..."

After hanging up the phone, that inexplicable feeling of unease from noon surged back into her heart. Zhu Liushuang let out a long sigh, then jogged to the elevator.

She was a little delayed, so she got off work later than usual today. Being late has its advantages; she didn't have to squeeze into the stuffy elevator with a bunch of colleagues.

With a "ding," the elevator doors opened, and Zhu Liushuang, fiddling with her backpack, stepped inside. Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a hand reached in.

"Wait a moment."

Zhu Liushuang looked up at the sound of the voice and her gaze froze. She greeted the person respectfully, "Hello, President Guo."

Guo Yang, dressed in a striped suit, showed no signs of fatigue. He nodded and asked, "How's work been lately?"

"It went smoothly," Zhu Liushuang replied with her eyes lowered.

“I have a project to apply for soon, so I might be quite busy then.” Guo Yang glanced down at Zhu Liushuang’s fair and delicate profile. “If you have any difficulties at home, let me know in advance. You can take non-essential work home to do.”

Guo Yang was aware of Zhu Liushuang's family situation.

When she interviewed Ruixin, Guo Yang asked her a question: "I see that you participated in many competitions during your school years and achieved very good results. Why didn't you ever think about taking the postgraduate entrance exam or staying in a big city to try your luck?"

At that time, Zhu Liushuang was simple-minded and, adhering to the principle of sincerity, told everyone about her family situation.

Whether it was her sincerity that moved people or out of sympathy, she ultimately beat out several other graduate students and was hired by Ruixin.

The elevator was extremely quiet. Watching the numbers constantly changing on the display screen, Zhu Liushuang politely said "Okay." After a moment's thought, she added, "Thank you, Mr. Guo."

Guo Yang didn't speak again. His sharp eyes swept over Zhu Liushuang's head and landed on the slender profile reflected in the reflector.

"We've arrived at the first floor."

As the notification tone sounded, Zhu Liushuang breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly stepped out of the elevator and said goodbye to Guo Yang: "Goodbye, Mr. Guo."

As the elevator doors slowly closed, Guo Yang chuckled as he watched the figure running faster than a rabbit: Am I that scary?

————

Zhu Liushuang, who was eager to go home, had no time to figure out what her boss was thinking.

She ran towards the bike shed with her umbrella, and in just a short while, half of her trouser leg was soaked.

To make matters worse, because the rain had been falling for so long, the water on the path next to the carport was already ankle-deep, and her sneakers were unsurprisingly soaked as well.

Zhu Liushuang took out her raincoat and put it on, then put on her helmet. The rain had lessened slightly, so she quickened her pace, started the car, and drove off quickly.

It takes her about twenty minutes to get from the company to home on her electric scooter. She has been doing this every day since she started working, regardless of the weather.

Her family is facing financial difficulties, and she cannot afford to buy a car on her own at the moment.

Although the small city doesn't have a subway, its public transportation system is quite comprehensive. There are several direct buses from home to the office, but Zhu Liushuang has never taken one.

Or rather, she has never boarded a bus since her father passed away.

When the electric scooter reached a traffic light, Zhu Liu braked and stopped. One foot, already soaked, was braced on the road.

Even though she was wearing a helmet, rain still got into her eyes. She wiped them haphazardly with her hand.

The next second, the green light turned on.

The roar of the car engine, accompanied by a splash of rain, hit her.

Before Zhu Liushuang could react, the other half of her trouser leg was also soaked. She stared angrily at the departing white Tesla, her anger finding no outlet.

"Does driving make you superior? Don't you have any sense of public decency?"

The sound of rain drowned out her dissatisfaction.

She only managed to compose herself and continue on her way after the electric bikes behind her honked their horns and drove past her one by one.

At the front of the road, a young man sitting in the passenger seat stared intently at the side mirror for a long time.

A hint of displeasure lingered in her beautiful phoenix eyes.

The young man in the driver's seat was still laughing and singing along with the music, completely unaware of the emotional changes in the person next to him.

A long, strong hand reached to the center console and turned off the stereo. In an instant, only the young man's off-key singing filled the car.

"Hey? Teacher He, why did you turn off the sound?" Lin Hui asked, puzzled.

He Ming glanced out the window, his voice cold and stern: "Lin Hui, be more careful when you drive next time. Especially when you start, go slower."

"We're not in a rush. The director said we have a meeting tonight."

"You started too fast just now, and the water you splashed up all over the non-motorized vehicle lane," He Ming pointed out his problem calmly.

But Lin Hui didn't care at all. "On a rainy day, those riding electric bikes would probably be soaked long ago, so my splash won't make a difference."

Before she could finish speaking, she was startled back by He Ming's icy gaze.

Lin Hui glanced at He Ming nervously, "Teacher He, I was wrong. I will be more careful when driving next time."

He Ming's gaze fell on the side mirror again, but the disheveled figure from before had already disappeared.

After a long while, he hummed in agreement and then closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

A note from the author:

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The female protagonist is an accountant. All the profession-related information in this article comes from the internet. If there are any errors, please feel free to point them out.

Unlike Teacher Yu in the previous book, our lives are quite difficult.

However, life will not let down those who work hard.

The male protagonist finally appeared at the end of this chapter! Hooray!