27. Hide and Seek

[Master, I just realized that you didn’t go to work either.]

It’s Duan Xingche.

Chi Jin, who were you expecting just now?

She replied with a fainting emoji and said, "I'm getting old, I really can't drink like this anymore. I've already apologized to Editor-in-Chief Chen today. This is truly inappropriate and makes the rest of the editorial department laugh at us."

Duan Xingche replied with a crying puppy, and then thanked his master for admitting his mistake and not forgetting to take him, his little disciple, with him.

Chi Jin chuckled twice, ignoring his flattery. She lay in bed, bored, scrolling through her phone, her fingertips flicking across social media platforms. Suddenly, a push notification from the Jinghua University Career Guidance Center's official account caught her eye—it was one she had been following since school, and it was a review of the weekend's autumn recruitment fair.

My eyes subconsciously searched the images, but I didn't find the person I was looking for. Instead, I saw a photo of myself from the Journalism School's informational presentation. It was a beautiful photo, with perfect lighting and angles. It was obvious that I had specifically asked the junior student in charge of publicity at the Journalism School to help me edit it. It seemed that this girl was quite honest.

She suddenly had an idea and searched the official account of the School of Literature. Sure enough, she found the photo of Chen Yisheng that day.

He was dressed in a well-tailored dark suit, his posture erect, the lighting highlighting his sharp silhouette. The photo captured his spirit, perfectly capturing his calm and focused aura as he delivered his speech.

He's quite photogenic, the thought came to me naturally.

Chi Jin's fingertips hovered over the screen, and she almost unconsciously pressed and held it—save. Suddenly, she curled her fingertips as if they were burned by the screen... What was she doing?

Wait, didn't Chen Yisheng take a picture of himself? What was he doing?

It's so annoying, I really want to ask for clarification.

She held the phone against her chest in annoyance, trying to shake off the disturbing thoughts.

…

The next day at work, she found that Duan Xingche's workstation had been moved to the one next to hers. Before she could ask, she heard Jiang Xuhuan approaching in high heels: "Did you rest well yesterday? Is your head still hurting?"

Jiang Xuhuan was quite observant and attentive. She actually knew that Chi Jin had asked for leave yesterday and didn't say it was because he was drinking. The two people who had been drinking didn't come to work.

"Much better, thank you Sister Huanhuan."

"I calculated your annual leave in the system yesterday, but I have to remind you about the leave application process. According to company regulations, annual leave applications must be submitted to the OA system at least two days in advance and will take effect after approval by your immediate superior. Special circumstances require additional processing after the fact, and this also needs to be done in the system. Requesting leave verbally or privately via chat is strictly not in compliance with the process."

"I'm sorry, Sister Huanhuan, for causing you trouble. I definitely won't do it again next time!"

"A process is a process, and all necessary procedures must be followed." Jiang Xuhuan leaned forward slightly and whispered softly, "However, I've already communicated with HR. This situation is special and will not affect attendance records. I haven't mentioned the specific reasons to other colleagues, including the three editors-in-chief, so don't worry."

In Chi Jin's eyes, Jiang Xuhuan at this moment was simply a fairy who came down to earth to save people from suffering. She was filled with gratitude: "Sister Huanhuan! You are so kind! Thank you so much!"

"When Xiao Duan comes back from the bathroom, tell him too."

Chi Jin nodded repeatedly. After Jiang Xuhuan left, she immediately opened the food delivery app and ordered three cups of coffee: the most expensive mocha for Jiang Xuhuan, thanking her for saving the day and ensuring her perfect attendance; the second most expensive latte for Duan Xingche, thanking him for trying his best to stop the drinking last night (although he failed); and the cheapest American coffee for herself, to refresh herself.

A relaxed, pre-holiday atmosphere permeated the editorial office. Group A, responsible for print publications, was relatively unaffected by the holidays. Fresh off the busy autumn recruitment season, the editors had granted them a nine-day break, creating a cheerful atmosphere throughout the area. Meanwhile, the workstations of Group B (New Media) remained on high alert, with holidays arranged on a rotating basis.

During lunch, Qin Xiancheng counted on his fingers miserably, "Xiao Chi, you have nine days off, Sister Yuan, you have six, and the remaining three days are spent working from home. As for me, I've been working non-stop since last Monday, not to mention the weekends, and I only have two days off for National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival. Is this even fair?"

"Those who are capable should do more work."

"You're really tired from the weekend. You gave yourself a day off yesterday."

"I heard him say yesterday that you drank quite a bit of alcohol?" Ouyang Yuan asked. "No wonder you usually drink beer like it's water. Turns out you're an expert."

"Brother Qin, who told you that?"

"Before the regular meeting, Sister Huan reminded us that King Chen was in a bad mood because something seemed to have happened at the dinner table. But King Chen didn't say anything during the meeting. Was it because he had been drinking too?"

"He didn't drink." Chi Jin immediately clarified, his heart full of doubts, "Sister Huan...how did you know about the drinking table?"

Qin Xiancheng waved his hands, his expression as if he was completely insecure. "Hey, who is Sister Huan? She's the only one who can keep any news about the editorial department secret. As for how she knew everything, I really don't know."

Chi Jin was suspicious, but he didn't ask any more questions and lowered his head to eat.

…

Time flashed by, and it was Thursday afternoon, the last half of the shift before the holidays. Chi Jin had come to the office early to clock in, just so he could sneak his small suitcase under his workstation.

Everything was calm until 3:30 in the afternoon, when Du Yanni suddenly notified all members in the group that all editors in Group A should go to the small conference room for a meeting immediately.

She had been hiding from Chen Yisheng like a mouse playing hide-and-seek for the past two days, and now they had to face each other face to face.

Fang Tang announced that Group A needed to be revitalized. First, they would follow Group B's example and select two team leaders. While still regular editors, they would occupy a position somewhere between a general editor and a responsible editor. Their primary responsibilities would be spearheading key column projects or periodic special projects, coordinating team resources, and ensuring timely and high-quality delivery. In return, the team leaders would receive a monthly stipend of 500 yuan, and their resumes would be considered important for annual performance appraisals and internal promotions.

Chi Jin quickly glanced at her colleagues in the conference room. Group A, including the newly appointed Duan Xingche, had a total of seven full-time editors. In terms of seniority, Duan Xingche was last, and she herself was second to last. Looking at the others: one experienced, veteran editor nearing retirement, a calm and uncompetitive person; the remaining four, all mid-career professionals in their thirties, had varying levels of performance, but their eyes lit up at that moment—clearly, the perks and resume bonuses were quite attractive.

Since it had nothing to do with her anyway, Chi Jin listened to the discussion with little interest. She also didn't pay much attention to the questions from the other editors.

The palm of his hand vibrated, and Chi Jin secretly glanced at his phone. It was Duan Xingche: [Master, do you want to be one?]

Chi Jin replied: [Just watch the show, there's no place for us.]

[Haha! You won’t know unless you try~]

[If you want to try it, I'll vote for you, even though zero people care what I think.]

Before he could read Duan Xingche's reply, Chen Yisheng, who had caught the two people flirting with each other, suddenly asked, much like a teacher who caught a student slacking off.

"Editor Chi, what do you think?"

Chi Jin was so frightened that he almost dropped his phone. He quickly pinned it to his thigh, sat up straight, and answered as calmly as possible, "Editor-in-Chief Chen, I believe that Group A has many experienced and capable senior editors. They have a deeper understanding of the operational processes and reader needs of print publications. They should be able to play a more leading role as group leaders. I personally have little experience and don't have any special ideas."

"Oh?" Du Yanni, who had always had a bad relationship with her, suddenly asked, "Then, in your opinion, do you have any recommendations for suitable candidates?"

Chi Jin internally groaned. She'd only been assigned to Team A for six months, and her interactions with the editors were limited to work, not personal. She quickly scanned the faces of the candidates and said, "Editor-in-Chief Du, with my qualifications, I really don't have the right to recommend anyone. I just heard everyone's discussion, and everyone expressed their own opinions. If I really had to recommend someone..."

She steeled herself and glanced to the side, thinking it would be better to offend her apprentice than to offend these veterans: "How about giving Duan Xingche a try? Young people are full of energy, so it would be good for them to get some exercise."

Duan Xingche was flattered and a wry smile appeared on his face. He didn't expect his master to be serious.

He was more like a bad student who had been caught, and he stood up reflexively: "If you all trust me, I'll give it a try."

"Sit down!" Du Yanni scolded, "In terms of qualifications and strength, do you think you can have a say?"

Duan Xingche sat down in disappointment, and the atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly became tense.

Fang Tang took over at the right moment, smoothing things over. "Editor-in-Chief Du is right. We will consider several factors when selecting a project leader: first, the quantity, quality, and impact of past columns; second, project coordination and problem-solving skills; and third, teamwork. In the print publication industry, accumulated experience is truly a valuable asset. There's no need to rush to express your opinions or nominate someone. After the meeting, interested colleagues can contact our three editors individually and submit a brief statement of intent and a summary of past project highlights."

Her words gave everyone a way out, but Chi Jin groaned in his heart. If it was such an important matter, why did she have to choose to talk about it in the afternoon before the holiday?

She looked down at the time. There were still fifteen minutes before the end of the shift. She wondered if she could finish the story.

"What's wrong, Editor Chi? What's going on?" Chen Yisheng saw that she was absent-minded and said, "If you have something to say, you can leave."

Chi Jin was startled and even looked at him with guilt, shaking his head.

"If you are interested, you can contact us after the meeting." Fang Tang emphasized again.

But in fact, everyone knows clearly that Fang Tang is more in charge of Group A, while Du Yanni is more in charge of Group B. If someone has to make the final decision on this matter, it might not be the editor-in-chief Chen Yisheng, but the deputy editor-in-chief Fang Tang.

The meeting finally drew to a close amidst the agonizing atmosphere. The three editors-in-chief each gave a brief summary before finally adjourning the meeting.

Chi Jin was eager to go home. He walked out of the meeting room and went straight to his workstation to quickly pack up his things. Within three minutes, he had clocked in and reached the elevator.

"Hey, Editor Chi is going home for the holidays." a colleague asked.

Chi Jin nodded: "There's nothing to do here anyway, go home and spend time with mom."

"I remember Editor Chi is from L City, right? There are quite a few people from L City in our editorial department. Don't you fellow villagers get together sometimes?"

Aside from a junior editor who had been transferred to another department, she didn't really remember anyone else from her hometown. However, she vaguely remembered someone mentioning this at the welcome party.

"Haha, no, no," she smiled perfunctorily, "I'm quite the homebody. When I'm not working, I like to stay at home and don't like to go out."

The only thing on her mind now was to catch a ride home as soon as possible.

Fortunately, there was no traffic jam and the carpooling went smoothly. At 11:20 pm, she finally stood at the door of her familiar home, dragging her tired body and the small suitcase, and raised her hand to knock on the door.

But she seemed to have completely forgotten something that should have been completed before leaving Jing City.