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Ward 415, Third People's Hospital of H City.
You stand at the door of the ward with a fruit basket, repeatedly checking the information on your phone.
After confirming that it was the right person, I knocked on the door.
"Please come in."
After receiving a reply from the person inside, you push the door open and enter.
Who is it?
Assistant Li leaned out of his hospital bed, wanting to see who had come to see him at this hour.
He had been lying in the hospital bed for five days, during which time all his friends and colleagues had come to visit him. He could only recall the many faces in his mind and couldn't think of anyone he had missed.
Judging from my condition, I'll probably have to take a few more days off tomorrow. Luckily, I've already finished all my work before I got sick, and tomorrow is the weekend, so I can rest for two days.
He was surprised when he saw you show up with the fruit basket.
"Mr. Chen, what brings you here?"
You see him sitting on the bed, looking at you with a blank and surprised expression. You walk into the ward, put the fruit basket on his bedside, and smile.
"What, are you surprised to see me? Your assistant is sick and hospitalized. As the boss, it's only right that I come and visit the injured employee. Don't worry, I'm not here to urge you to go back to work."
When Xiao Li saw you coming, he quickly tried to sit up. When you saw this, you took out a pillow and placed it behind him so that he could sit comfortably. This action startled him so much that he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.
"Ahem, no, Mr. Chen, that's not what I meant. Mr. Chen is a very good boss, everyone can see that. I'm just... I'm just a little flustered to see you here. How did you know I was hospitalized, Mr. Chen? My reason for taking leave was..."
After he sat down, he immediately began to explain when he heard what you said, while glancing at your expression to see if you were angry.
You sit on the family chair next to the hospital bed and see his hands gripping the blanket tightly in front of him, as if he wanted to tear it to shreds. He is clearly very nervous.
"Well, I'm a little surprised. Assistant Li's reason for requesting leave was that he had an urgent matter to attend to at home. I didn't expect that Assistant Li would take a week off. I also didn't expect that Assistant Li's hometown is the Third People's Hospital of H City."
You paused there, deliberately scanning him up and down, and after he felt uncomfortable under your gaze, you continued what you hadn't finished saying.
"I was quite curious to see him lying in the hospital room looking like this, so I took the liberty of coming to visit Assistant Li."
Xiao Li blushed with embarrassment after you said that, looking like he wanted to disappear into the ground.
It's truly shameful to lie and be caught red-handed while still joking around, especially when that person is the boss; it's a social disaster.
"No, no, boss, I didn't lie on purpose. I didn't want you to worry. Yes, if I told you the truth, you definitely wouldn't have let me take these few days off. I also want to get back to work as soon as possible."
That's true. If I told you he was hospitalized, I might have given him half a month to a month's leave to rest properly.
"Besides, my salary can't afford to keep hiring like this."
Xiao Li glanced at you and mumbled the rest of the sentence.
Actually, the last sentence didn't need to be said: "You miser."
You hear the first half of his sentence and feel a surge of pride, wanting to praise him as a hardworking and dedicated employee. But as soon as you hear the second half, your face darkens and you stare at him with a face full of displeasure.
You are heartbroken by this; it is truly heartbreaking.
You're such a loving and caring boss, yet you never imagined that all your employees care about is their salary. I'm afraid that one day, if a competitor offers a better salary, they'll abandon you and run off to their new company without a second thought.
You picture your employee secretly going to a rival company, excitedly signing a contract, then a group of them gathering together, laughing maniacally, while you desperately reach out to stop them from a distance.
You suddenly felt a chill; the scene was terrifying.
Xiao Li watched your ever-changing face with surprise and suspicion. One moment you were happy, the next you were relieved, then you were sullen, then you were heartbroken. It was amazing that such a variety of emotions could appear on one person's face at the same time. Your beautiful face soon became distorted. Although he knew that his boss usually had a lot of inner monologues, he didn't know that you were thinking so much at this moment.
He watched your ever-changing emotions cautiously, not daring to utter a sound. His gaze shifted and he noticed that the table was completely filled with fruit baskets and water bottles, but there was no water cup for the boss. The boss had been there for so long, yet he hadn't poured any water.
He was thinking of going out to get his boss a glass of water, but he had no intention of going out for some fresh air at all.
Xiao Li slowly lifted the cup, quietly shifting his body while glancing at the boss, who was looking down, seemingly lost in thought.
"Xiao Li, where are you going? Are you thinking of going to the rival company?"
As soon as Xiao Li's foot touched the ground, he heard a voice like a demon whispering in his ear, which startled him.
He turned around shakily, forced a smile at you, and pointed tremblingly at the table.
"Mr. Chen, what are you talking about? What rival company? I don't understand. I just wanted to get you a glass of water."
Ms. Chen's face was terrifying. What? What rival company? Her eyes were like those of a vicious wolf eyeing a hopping deer, waiting in the shadows for the moment it would relax before pouncing and killing it.
Xiao Li was so frightened by his own thought that he dared not move, fearing that Xiao Chen would really pounce on him and bite him to death the next second, just as he imagined.
To be honest, the striking similarity in the imaginations of the master and servant in certain aspects is perhaps another kind of tacit understanding.
"Oh, it's alright, Xiao Li. I'll just ask you a few questions and then I'll be leaving. You don't need to go to all that trouble to pour me water."
You spoke softly, your eyes still fixed on Xiao Li's stiff back.
"Mr. Chen, is it about work?"
Hearing your words, Xiao Li had no choice but to return to his hospital bed, looking at you longingly.
"How did you get all these injuries, Xiao Li?"
Look at this: the right hand is bandaged, and the right foot is in a cast. It's symmetrical.
"Mr. Chen, I accidentally fell down the stairs."
Xiao Li has heard countless people ask the same question and has answered them with the same words countless times.
Ironically, he had only known that he was physically weak before, and had never thought about changing anything. But after being easily pushed away at the last banquet and twisting his ankle, which took almost half a month to recover, he became acutely aware of his own weakness.
But is that really the case? A voice inside him asked. Wasn't it Chen Peiyuan's words that struck a nerve?
Admit it, Assistant Li, Chen Peiyuan was right. You are a cowardly and weak person who is unwilling to change and content with the status quo.
What Mr. Chen said to him stirred up his rebellious streak, forcing him to buy a gym membership before his injury had even healed.
Just a few days later, he fell down the stairs and fractured his right hand and right leg. He became deeply withdrawn, both because of his fragile body and because of his already limited courage.
"Then I only asked if Chen Peiyuan came to see you, and what he wanted to talk to you about that night."
"Mr. Chen, Mr. Chen didn't come to see me."
Xiao Li paused for a moment, but then immediately relaxed and quickly refuted my words.
You guessed right. You saw him looking down at you. When someone lies, they unconsciously make small movements to calm their fluctuating emotions. Xiao Li probably doesn't realize that he can't look people in the eye when he lies. This applies to business, work, and life. It's really easy to understand.
It seems that the man you saw that day was him. He followed you right after you were about to leave. Could it have been just a coincidence that he was tracking you? You sneered.
"What did he say to you? Did he beat you up? Or is there some personal conflict between you that I don't know about?"
"No, no, Mr. Chen, I really didn't see you that day." Xiao Li was dumbfounded, and seeing that Mr. Chen was starting to make wild guesses and was heading in a bad direction, he hurriedly denied it.
Why is Mr. Chen so adamant that he saw Mr. Chen that night? Did he reveal something he didn't realize was a slip-up?
"Assistant Li, do you know what your biggest weakness is?"
What is it? Xiao Li looked at you in fear, not knowing why you suddenly spoke so formally. His injured brain couldn't function properly for a moment and couldn't accept so many questions and information. He felt that what you were about to say was not what he wanted to hear.
You exhale slightly, as if trying to expel any excess air from your chest. Little did you know that you would be the one to teach the first lesson in this special position of Assistant Li.
"Xiao Li, if I remember correctly, you've been working at the company since right after graduation, starting as the president's special assistant. It's been about five or six years now, I think. How does this job feel to you?"
"It's good, it's good."
Xiao Li gripped the blanket tightly, trying to relax. He didn't know why you suddenly said these things. In everyone's eyes, your job was certainly good—high salary, little fieldwork, little overtime, and plenty of rest. He had no complaints. Others might not be able to do as well as him. Many people would tell him in front of him that they envied his job. He just... just...
"You're not reconciled."
"I've been exposed to very little for five or six years. I can't use any of the professional knowledge I learned in college. I feel frustrated and annoyed. Every day when I walk into the company and see everyone working hard, all I can do is take other people's documents and ask me to sign them. I can't offer any opinions or accept new projects. Although everyone is used to relying on me and the benefits I bring, who will really remember my past participation?"
He immediately looked up and stared at you. He didn't know when you were standing by the window, your back to him. The setting sun outside the window was gradually sinking, leaving only the last rays of the setting sun shining on your face. The setting sun divided your face in two, one half of which was hidden in shadow, and only your small chin bathed in the red sunset could be seen. Your red lips were opening and closing. As the last ray of light disappeared, you were also plunged into darkness. Li did not turn on the light in the ward. When he looked at you like that, he felt dizzy for a moment. It was as if you had turned around, but it was also as if you had not. In his eyes, your red lips gradually turned into the face of another person. He seemed to be back to that night, the night he had escaped death.
For some reason, the night felt unsettling to him. There was no sound of insects or birds chirping all around, only the echo of President Chen's voice. He thought to himself, perhaps some truths are finally coming to light, and it's time to speak out the thoughts that have been suppressed for so long.
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