Episode 36 Heart and Trace
At Wang Duo's request, Lin Ying rested at home for almost a week, and Shanghai also entered the height of summer.
When her sick leave was about to end, she responded to Jiang Shu's urging and chose a time to go for a follow-up visit. Dr. Hu said that her condition was temporarily stable and she did not need to be hospitalized, but he still recommended that she maintain her current healthy lifestyle habits for the time being and not overwork.
Lin Ying finally felt relieved and returned to work as scheduled before Pierre's painting exhibition. However, what awaited her were the dual challenges of love and work.
Early Monday morning, just as she sat down in the office, Ms. Zhang from the finance department knocked on the door, and the news she brought was even more surprising.
"Boss Lin, did you know that Xiao Xie, the administrator, resigned?"
"When did it happen?"
"She emailed you last week, but you were on vacation. I heard her family introduced her to someone and forced her to come home and get married."
Summer vacation is here, and the gallery has a plethora of exhibitions lined up, with publicity efforts in full swing. We've just negotiated Pierre's agency rights, and now we're just about to start implementing them. Seeing the large and small packages piled up in the front hall, with barely enough space to step, Lin Ying instructed...
"Let Xiao Cen push her up first and let him help open the package."
Sister Zhang pursed her lips and said evasively:
"Didn't he tell you about Xiao Cen?"
Lin Ying's scalp tingled, and she took the opportunity to check WeChat - ever since the rift between them, Cen Shuo would bombard her with messages from time to time. She was annoyed by it, so she turned on the Do Not Disturb feature for him.
The latest news is an official statement:
"Thank you, Mr. Lin, for your care and concern for me over the past six months. Due to your ill health, I submitted my application to Mr. Wang last Friday to conclude my internship and not renew my formal contract. I wish Mr. Lin good health and a bright future."
Before, Lin Ying would have chased over and said a few words, but Pierre's works were about to be exhibited, and trivial matters were at hand. It was not the right time to argue about such things, so she locked her phone and immediately summoned all the on-duty employees of the gallery to arrange the work first.
The gallery itself wasn't large, with only a dozen or so people in total. Taking away the marketing and publicity staff, only the administration and interns were being bossed around. Sister Zhang, who was in charge of finance, was reduced to a laborer, being urged on by Lin Ying, unpacking a package, and grumbling constantly.
"It's hard to recruit administrative staff right now. Those with suitable qualifications can't retain them even with the salary they offer, and those with lesser qualifications don't understand the job..."
“Hasn’t the new roll-up banner arrived yet?”
Lin Ying didn't respond and personally counted the categories of newly arrived materials.
"I don't know. These were ordered by Xiao Xie before, right? I approved the payment as usual."
"Do you still have the deposit slips for the category you reported? Let me check."
Sister Zhang rummaged through the drawer at her workstation for a while and slowly pulled out the previously approved receipt for payment - as expected, there was no "roll-up banner" item on it.
"It seems she missed the order."
"Really? I've been talking about this Xiao Xie before. He's always been careless about his work. He's been here for half a year and can't even report invoices properly. It's better for him to leave."
"Pierre's painting exhibition will begin the day after tomorrow. Let's deal with the current situation first. I remember there are some old stocks in the warehouse. How about you go and see if they can still be used, Sister Zhang?"
"Oh my, I'm just an accountant, how would I understand that? This was all done by young people before..."
Only after becoming a director did I realize that these experienced veterans are the most unruly.
Given the overall situation, Lin Ying didn't bother to argue with her. "Then I'll go check the supplies. You can unpack and sort out the remaining packages."
After saying that, she turned around and walked quickly towards the warehouse, not giving Sister Zhang any chance to talk nonsense - she had been working in finance for so long, not for promotion or personal value, but just to make more money from the company.
The warehouse had not been cleaned for a long time, and there was a cloud of dust as soon as she entered the room. Lin Ying gathered her hair and casually tied it behind her head. Under the flickering incandescent light, she went to the corner and opened the dusty roll-up bag.
She struggled to pull it out from among the other debris, but was met with disappointment. The pull ring was indeed broken. Her hand was in a hurry, and the base of her thumb shrank in pain. Blood soon oozed from the three-centimeter cut...
Fortunately, Sister Zhang was not asked to check, otherwise I would have cried out in pain.
"Sister Zhang, can you please get me a band-aid?!"
Lin Ying took advantage of the situation and shouted outside the warehouse - he didn't know if anyone could hear him.
She subconsciously held the injured finger in her mouth, freed her other hand, and was about to drag the waste out of the warehouse when she turned around and bumped into an unexpected face - Wang Duo.
Lin Ying quickly pulled her finger out of her mouth and looked surprised. "Mr. Wang, why are you here?"
The man had a band-aid and a tissue in his hand. She immediately took the band-aid and thanked him.
But Wang Duo didn't answer the question directly. He pointed to the waste behind her and asked, "What are you going to do with this?"
"The roll-up banner is broken, so get ready to throw it away."
Hearing this, Wang Duo leaned over and urged her to leave. As soon as he left the warehouse, he bumped into Sister Zhang, who was carrying a medicine box and had arrived late...
Seeing the two of them about to leave, her eyes lit up and she quickly asked, "Boss Lin, I've got the medicine box. How about I help you disinfect it?"
Before Lin Ying could refuse, Wang Duo immediately agreed on her behalf.
"The light inside is poor, so it's better to come out and check. Be careful not to let old things rust, so as to avoid tetanus."
"Oh, yes, yes."
As a veteran in the workplace, Sister Zhang always has a sensitive pheromone radar - she had long noticed the boss's special care for Lin Ying, otherwise why would he hand over the gallery to her to run?
Just like that, Lin Ying was reluctantly dragged aside by her and became a tool for her to show her courtesy. Fortunately, she knew what she was doing and allowed her to take care of her while not forgetting to tell her:
"Sister Zhang, the old roll-up banner is no longer usable. I'll personally approve the payment for you to order a decent one. Time is tight, so we'll have it delivered to you directly at the exhibition site the same day."
As she was talking, a transfer message with both round numbers and decimals popped up on Sister Zhang's WeChat, and the amount was obviously worth making.
"The gallery is short on staff lately, so please take good care of it, Sister Zhang. Since the opening is imminent, I won't be recording this amount for now. Consider the remaining amount a graduation gift from your students."
Upon hearing this, Sister Zhang blushed and immediately responded politely, "Oh, Mr. Lin, you are too polite. This is also my responsibility. I thank you on behalf of my daughter."
After getting the explanation, Sister Zhang went back to her workstation complacently to busy herself with purchasing.
In recent years, the gallery has separated its business and publicity departments, that is, the financial and administrative modules. Previously, these two were mixed together, but Sister Zhang always complained about the heavy workload on the grounds of rapid business expansion.
Lin Yingcai agreed to recruit an assistant specifically for the administrative department. To put it bluntly, it was just a handyman, and she also had to be a punching bag, walking between the boss, the agent and the finance department. No wonder Xiao Xie couldn't continue. Sister Zhang was so harsh in reimbursement, and the agent made all kinds of demands based on Tuoye's performance. How could a young girl bear it?
With this salary and this job content, I should just stay put.
But the hemp rope always breaks at the thinnest point. Some resigned, some slacked off, and when it came time to hire, no one was willing to take the blame. As the overall director, Lin Ying could only temporarily commit to the task, but this was not a long-term solution...
"I'll go back and get some people to help you."
After returning to the office, Wang Duo took the initiative to suggest, but Lin Ying had other ideas -
"Actually, the work itself is a minor matter, while operations are a major one. I think, rather than robbing Peter to pay Paul, we should take this opportunity to hire a full-time administrator, ideally completely separate from Ms. Zhang's finance department. Even if it's just chores, the work should be focused on the gallery's core business. Otherwise, responsibilities will be unclear, and employees won't see much room for advancement, so no one will stay in such a position long."
"You want reform?"
"Not really, but a clear framework and well-defined job roles benefit both employees and employers. Administrative coordination may seem simple and straightforward, like anyone can do it, but when done well, it ripples down the hierarchy, acting like a lubricant. Otherwise, it becomes like an emotionless messaging machine. When emergencies arise, as we're seeing now... even procurement items can be missed."
Wang Duo nodded in agreement. "I have no objection, but you should already know that Cen Shuo doesn't plan to become a regular employee, so this hole won't be filled anytime soon."
He was serious and his glasses flickered.
But Lin Ying didn't hide it and said directly:
"Speaking of Cen Shuo, I've been on sick leave at home lately, and I only found out about this today when I went to work. He said he submitted his resignation to you. Did President Wang say anything to him?"
After the gallery was handed over to actress Lin, the two had fewer opportunities to meet and interact on a daily basis, but Wang Duo always knew everything about her. He was familiar with the gallery's projects and art agency, as well as the background and movements of every employee, although he didn't need to be so clear.
"What? You think I forced him to leave?"
"I know you have some complaints about him, so even if you don't try to persuade him to quit, you won't try to keep him, right?"
Her words were full of accusations, but Wang Duo just stared at her for a while, took a sip of tea, and said calmly:
"I didn't try to persuade him to stay, but I did seriously ask him why. Unfortunately, young people don't always mean what they say. He just said some polite things to me, about the cost of living and the pressure... I had no reason to ask him to stay. If you don't believe me, you can ask him privately. After all, you two are more than just colleagues, right?"
Lin Ying sneered, feigning indifference. "Is there any question of whether or not to believe something like this? Besides, I promised you last time that I wouldn't let personal feelings affect my work. Didn't you promise to trust me?"
"Lin Ying, I've always trusted you as the gallery's coordinator. But in the workplace, everyone says 'don't act on your emotions,' but many still knowingly do it. I just hope you... don't let me down."
Hearing this warning, Lin Ying tactfully stopped asking questions and took a sip of tea thoughtfully, only to discover it was Tieguanyin. Due to ovarian inflammation, her doctor had recently advised her to drink less cold drinks, including green tea. However, she calmly pushed the teacup away...
"Are you feeling better now? If you feel unwell again, I'll grant you a few more days of leave so you can fully recuperate before coming back."
Wang Duo is used to using both kindness and force.
His attitude was well-balanced and his behavior was reasonable, but it was this pertinent care that always reminded Lin Ying of the saying "A gentleman is judged by his deeds, not his heart."
This metaphor may be a bit exaggerated, but she has always been perceptive, especially in recent years - she can recognize other people's malice, kindness, and even love towards her.
But she could never clearly see Wang Duo's "intention". Perhaps he was too good at hiding his true intention, so she had never mentioned it to anyone, not even to Cheng Xinran, who was closest to her.
I remember that one time when she came home from get off work to pick up her child, Wang Duo walked downstairs with her and her daughter, and they happened to be seen by Cheng Xinran on the balcony. According to her description, although it was only a quick glimpse, it was already a stunning sight.
Although Wang Duo is almost 40 years old, he has maintained himself well. When he stands there, he has a figure like a bamboo and a face like Pan An. With a pair of gold-wire glasses as warm as jade, he looks like a gentleman with a rich style. Isn't he Mr. Darcy in "Pride and Prejudice"?
That day, Cheng Xinran even teased, "After you went upstairs, he stood there staring at you for a long time."
It was after that day that Lin Ying finally realized how much Wang Duo valued her. He would always find opportunities to send her personal invitations, and she would discern and reject them. Cheng Xinran once joked:
"To be more worldly-wise, he's more reliable than Cen Shuo. He's mature, steady, respectable, wealthy, and emotionally stable. He doesn't need you to accompany him as he grows up, just picking up ready-made meals."
Yes, be emotionally stable and pick up what is available.
People like him don't seem to need to change at all when they are with anyone, because they are already the best version of themselves - in the secular sense, the best version that is suitable for all kinds of partners.
But she still wouldn't take the risk.
He was so cunning, so cunning that she dared not even stare at him. She was where she was today thanks to him, and her life now didn't allow her much time for trial and error.
So in terms of her deeds, she is also beyond reproach.
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Wang. I've been recuperating for a week and should be fine. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to come to work today."
She rubbed her fingers, stood up, picked up the teacup, set aside the tea leaves, and poured the remaining tea into the tuberose potted plant in full bloom on the windowsill...
"That's good. If you need a follow-up appointment, remind me and I'll have Dr. Hu make time for you."
He left a few words of instruction and was about to leave when Lin Ying told him without hesitation:
"Actually, I already had a follow-up visit the day before yesterday, thanks to my brother's connections. Mr. Wang, please put yourself in my shoes. I hope you won't mix personal feelings with work."
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