Chapter 27 [VIP]
Chapter Summary: "If I hadn't come, who would have handed you tissues when you were crying?"
The car window closed, and the smile that had lasted all night vanished. Ni Zhenzhen slumped into her seat, looking listless and lacking energy.
This is so obvious.
Xu Tianzhou believed he knew Ni Zhenzhen very well. He could discern what she was thinking from even the slightest expression, let alone her current dejected and utterly dejected state.
However, Xu Tianzhou clearly saw through it, but said nothing.
The car drove out of the underground parking garage, like a small fish, wobbling and merging into the surging traffic. The neon lights on both sides of the road flickered, reflecting on Ni Zhenzhen's face like a revolving lantern, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, making her look even more lonely.
Whether he forgot or sensed that Ni Zhenzhen had something to say, Xu Tianzhou didn't turn on the music as usual.
The car was extremely quiet. Ni Zhenzhen's subconscious sigh seemed to be magnified countless times, landing heavily on Xu Tianzhou's heart.
Ni Zhenzhen: "I thought you wouldn't come." She sounded a little aggrieved, which made people's hearts itch.
Xu Tianzhou chuckled lightly, then casually pulled out a tissue and handed it to Ni Zhenzhen. "If I hadn't come, who would have given you a tissue when you were crying?"
Ni Zhenzhen's eyes were already red, but she stubbornly turned her head away. She stared at Xu Tianzhou's profile and asked knowingly, "Why should I cry?"
"..." The next second, Xu Tianzhou withdrew his hand and said somewhat flippantly, "Okay, you won't cry. I misunderstood."
Ni Zhenzhen covered her face with her hand and did not argue with Xu Tianzhou.
It wasn't that she didn't want to, but rather that there was simply no need; her earlier rhetorical question had already betrayed her. Even if she had spoken with conviction, her trembling voice couldn't lie.
Ni Zhenzhen closed her eyes. She didn't eat much that night, but she did finish both cups of milk tea.
At this moment, the bitterness that even milk tea couldn't wash away surged up, forcing a tear to be squeezed from the corner of her eye. The tear rolled down her cheek and disappeared into her collar.
After an unknown amount of time, Ni Zhenzhen continued to ask in a tearful voice, "Am I very bad?"
Rong Xiaodan has been transferred to a different position, and she should be happy for her. But Ni Zhenzhen can fool others, but she can't fool herself.
No matter how elegant, proper, and impeccable she appeared, there was always a fire burning in her heart that could not be driven away or extinguished, and it was still raging now, which even Xu Tianzhou could see.
Yes, she was jealous, or rather, resentful. She had worked so hard, yet this was the result.
Ni Zhenzhen looked at Xu Tianzhou, her eyes filled with a misty haze, like the thin fog on distant mountains, as if it might well up with tears at any moment. She asked cautiously, like a person on their deathbed desperately searching for something that could save their life.
For example, a word of comfort from Xu Tianzhou.
It's normal for you to have this thought.
"Disappointments are only temporary; things will get better in the future."
However, no, Xu Tianzhou actually agreed with it very seriously.
“It’s very bad,” Xu Tianzhou said.
"..."
A red light appeared ahead, and Xu Tianzhou stopped the car. He turned to the side, reached out and pinched Ni Zhenzhen's cheek before saying the rest of his sentence, "But she's adorably bad."
The car was dark, bathed in the soft moonlight, which made Xu Tianzhou's expression inscrutable, except for his dark, deep eyes that radiated a burning light.
Ni Zhenzhen didn't understand why he said that, because in her mind, "bad" was "bad" and could not be associated with "cute".
Seemingly sensing her confusion, Xu Tianzhou leaned over and placed a comforting kiss on Ni Zhenzhen's lips.
He wanted Ni Zhenzhen to know that he wasn't lying, that "bad" and "cute" weren't contradictory; on the contrary, he liked her "badness." Only at this moment would Xu Tianzhou feel that Ni Zhenzhen wasn't so unattainable.
The kiss, as light as a dragonfly skimming the water, lasted only a second. Xu Tianzhou pulled away, but their breaths seemed to carry emotion, lingering and intertwining with reluctance.
Xu Tianzhou stared at her for a while, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.
It was this smile that not only failed to extinguish the fire in Ni Zhenzhen's heart, but instead made it burn even more fiercely.
...
After Rong Xiaodan was transferred to another position, one less window could be opened in the branch, which meant that the workload for others had to increase significantly compared to before.
However, no matter how many people were queuing outside, Qian Lina always maintained her own rhythm, neither too fast nor too slow.
Ni Zhenzhen was still the same as before, doing things as quickly as possible and handling as many cases as possible. Sometimes, when she was really busy, she would eat a meal in five minutes and come back immediately.
As the year draws to a close, a variety of things come up. At the morning meeting, the director mentioned that the bank is going to hold an annual meeting and asked everyone to sign up. "The branch is putting on a dance performance and we need to send one person. Who of you will go?"
"..."
The men looked at the women, who all lowered their heads and remained silent.
Qian Lina remained silent on the surface, but in her mind she had already written a short essay of 1,800 words.
Are you kidding me?
I'm here to sell my body, not my skills!
Working is tiring enough, and now we have to put on a show too?
Is that one of those awkward, embarrassing dances? Does she even want to be seen in public anymore?
Other companies either hire outside performers or have their leaders put on shows to entertain their employees. Why is it that when they come here, they have to put on their own shows?
In the ensuing silence, the director looked at Ni Zhenzhen and said in an ordinary tone, "Xiao Ni, you can go now."
Seemingly having anticipated this outcome, Ni Zhenzhen nodded and said, "Okay."
Seeing that Ni Zhenzhen did not refuse, Qian Lina breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully Ni Zhenzhen was there to support her.
After the meeting, Qian Lina grabbed Ni Zhenzhen's arm and said righteously, "The director went too far. He knows you're easy to talk to, so he just takes advantage of you."
Ni Zhenzhen smiled and said, "It's okay, just consider it a way to lose weight."
"That's true."
Before they could finish speaking, the boy who had been following behind them suddenly interjected, "You're already so thin, why are you trying to lose weight? If anyone should lose weight, it should be Sister Qian."
Qian Lina turned around. "What did you say?"
The boy wasn't afraid of her. He met her gaze and loudly repeated, "I told you you should lose weight!"
One sentence made Qian Lina furious, but she couldn't do anything about it. She could only complain to Ni Zhenzhen, "How can new people be so rude these days?"
The boy is a new recruit named Song Likun. He can't work independently at the counter yet, so he sits next to Ni Zhenzhen like a figurine every day, learning how to do the business from her.
Song Likun didn't have any clothes yet, so he had to buy a suit himself, which cost him almost a month's salary.
Song Likun is over 1.9 meters tall, and because he works out regularly, he doesn't look out of place in a suit like a child wearing adult clothes. Instead, he looks incredibly stylish, almost like a fashion model.
He had an arrogant demeanor from birth. When he sat behind the counter during work hours, he neither smiled nor spoke. Customers who came to do business did not believe that he was a newcomer. Some even thought he was the bank manager and would ask him to make decisions whenever something happened, which made people both laugh and cry.
Ni Zhenzhen advised him to smile more, saying, "You'll definitely get complaints if you keep doing that."
"Let them complain then," Song Likun said nonchalantly.
"Childish temper," Ni Zhenzhen commented, then half-jokingly adopted her masterly authority and commanded, "Come on, give me a smile."
Song Likun sighed, reluctantly raising the corners of his mouth. His comical and strange appearance made Ni Zhenzhen unable to help but laugh.
Ni Zhenzhen's smile was especially beautiful; her curved eyebrows and eyes were like a gentle breeze, sweeping away all unhappiness. Song Likun was slightly taken aback, and unconsciously a smile appeared on his face.
Ni Zhenzhen said with satisfaction, "That's better."
Unfortunately, Song Likun's smile didn't last long, and it was quickly wiped away by a customer who cut in line.
Before he could even tell the person to join the queue, Ni Zhenzhen said to them with some surprise, "What brings you here?"
Rong Xiaodan smiled mischievously: "Of course I miss you."
Unlike bank tellers, account managers don't have to work fixed hours. As long as they complete their tasks on time, no one cares what they do on a regular basis.
Ni Zhenzhen certainly wasn't naive enough to think that Rong Xiaodan had come at this time simply because she missed her. "You came here because..."
"Help my client transfer some money."
"..."
Ni Zhenzhen paused for a moment, neither saying yes nor no. Just as she habitually brushed the stray hairs behind her ear, Song Likun spoke up, pointing and saying, "Go over there and get a number."
Rong Xiaodan immediately looked over, her smile unchanged, still appearing harmless. "Handsome, you're new here, right? I was sitting here with you this time last year, but I've been transferred to the loan department now. Good luck!"
"Oh..." Song Likun suddenly realized, and his gaze towards Rong Xiaodan immediately changed.
Before Rong Xiaodan could even feel smug, a bucket of cold water was poured over her.
Song Likun said, "Oh, we're colleagues. I was just being nosy. You definitely know where to get a number."
"..." Rong Xiaodan glanced at Ni Zhenzhen and saw that she was keeping her head down and not speaking, so she knew that she meant the same thing. Rong Xiaodan had run into a snag, so she had to find a way out for herself, "It's my fault, it's my fault, I was too anxious and forgot to get a number."
After Rong Xiaodan finished speaking, she stood up and left.
Ni Zhenzhen watched her retreating figure and whispered, "Thank you."
There was no one else around, so the "thank you" was naturally meant for Song Likun. But Song Likun looked completely bewildered and asked, "Thank you for what?"
Ni Zhenzhen turned her head and met Song Likun's probing gaze, clear and deep, clearly filled with confusion. Song Likun pretended not to know, and Ni Zhenzhen didn't say anything, but she knew very well that if it weren't for Song Likun, she really wouldn't know how to refuse.
However, Rong Xiaodan returned not long after. She waved the VIP number she had just received from the lobby manager and said boastfully, "Handsome, we meet again."
Ni Zhenzhen took the number and asked, "Where are your clients?"
"I'm parking. I'll be right back."
After a few minutes of staring at each other, Rong Xiaodan's client finally arrived.
This business was a bit complicated; one transaction had to be broken down into ten separate steps, each requiring a password, signature, and stamp. One mistake meant starting all over again. Ni Zhenzhen worked for an hour before finally finishing.
The customer was very grateful to Rong Xiaodan, saying, "It's a good thing you were here, otherwise I would have had to pay two yuan in handling fees."
"It's nothing, it's what I should do." After saying that, Rong Xiaodan waved to Ni Zhenzhen and said with a smile, "Thank you, let's have dinner together in a couple of days."
“Okay…” Ni Zhenzhen said, and without wasting a second, she quickly called the next customer.
This takes some courage, because no matter what she says or does, a storm is bound to follow.
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