Chapter 28 [VIP]
Chapter summary: "You should seize this opportunity to rise to power."
He was a man with a scar near his eye. Due to years of heavy drinking, his eyes were exceptionally red, and his face was particularly ferocious.
He was already impatient, having just had a fight with the lobby manager. Now that it was his turn to handle his business, he naturally vented his anger on Ni Zhenzhen. "Isn't it supposed to be done by number? How come someone cuts in line as soon as it's my turn? Are you all just good for nothing? You can't even finish one person's business in half a day? I think you're doing this on purpose. If you make me unhappy, you won't have an easy time either!"
The scarred man's words became increasingly offensive. Just as Song Likun was about to retort, "What's the point of showing off here? If you don't want to wait in line, go deposit a million and get a VIP membership. Then people will naturally rush around and kneel down to call you 'Dad'."
But the person next to him seemed to have a premonition. He had only leaned forward slightly when, before he could even open his mouth, his sleeve was tugged twice.
Song Likun lowered his eyes and met Ni Zhenzhen's gaze, which was cautious and pleading, making her look quite pitiful. She shook her head almost imperceptibly at him, signaling him not to act rashly.
Song Likun had no choice but to endure it.
He's not immune to being yelled at. These past few days, sitting here, people have been pointing their fingers at him and yelling, "Are you fucking dead? Just sitting there doing nothing!"
Song Likun has never suffered such injustice in his life.
In the past, he would have definitely cursed back, but now, he can't do anything and can only silently endure it like a dead man.
However, Ni Zhenzhen would always step in to defend him at these times.
She explained to the customer in a soft voice, "He's here to help; two people working together will prevent mistakes."
Ni Zhenzhen spoke softly and smiled gently. Most people, even if they were unhappy, wouldn't care too much about what she saw, except for the scarred man.
He continued to curse, and the more Ni Zhenzhen was kind and gentle, the more he became aggressive, clearly taking Ni Zhenzhen's tolerance and forbearance as a license to act domineeringly.
Song Likun was about to lose his temper.
Today's events weren't Ni Zhenzhen's fault. It was clearly some people who broke the rules and used connections to get things done, so why should she have to bear the consequences?
He clenched his fist, then clenched it again, turning his face away, forcing himself not to look. But he could only not see it; the scarred man's cursing voice still pierced his ears.
Song Likun never knew that he could be so patient.
Ni Zhenzhen didn't explain to the scarred man why she had to wait so long. She just kept apologizing, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. What kind of business do you need?"
The scarred man threw in two bundles of banknotes, shouting, "Deposit!"
Those were brand new banknotes, just withdrawn from another bank, as sharp as knives. Ni Zhenzhen accidentally cut her hand.
“Ah…” Ni Zhenzhen exclaimed softly, and Song Likun immediately looked over.
On Ni Zhenzhen's index finger, a tiny drop of blood clung, like a mermaid's tear.
"You're bleeding!" Song Likun stood up in a panic.
Just as Ni Zhenzhen was about to say "It's nothing," Song Likun spun around twice and hurriedly ran out.
"Hello!"
Ni Zhenzhen didn't bother with him and continued to deposit money for her clients.
Before the transaction was completed, Song Likun returned. He came in panting, holding a box of Band-Aids, which were clearly newly bought.
He took one out and handed it to Ni Zhenzhen, saying, "Wrap it up quickly, don't get infected."
"It's not that serious." Ni Zhenzhen was amused by his exaggerated reaction. She had been scratched countless times, but she had never actually gotten infected.
Song Likun's expression was serious; he insisted that she wrap it up.
Ni Zhenzhen couldn't refuse, so after the customer left, she took advantage of the break between calls to bandage her wound and then showed it to Song Likun, asking, "Is it alright now?"
Ni Zhenzhen originally just wanted to make a joke, but she didn't expect Song Likun to actually read it.
He bent down, his expression focused and serious, examining the object very carefully.
If Ni Zhenzhen hadn't been certain that the bandage wrapped around her finger was just an ordinary band-aid, she would have really thought there was something shocking written on it.
Time ticked by, and only when the customer whose number was called came over did Song Likun look away and give a nonchalant "hmm".
Sitting outside the glass was an elderly man with a cane. He had come to collect his pension, but Ni Zhenzhen did not give him the money because he had another business to handle to pay off his son's credit card.
In just a few days, Song Likun met several elderly people paying off their sons' credit card debts, to the point that he was afraid to have children, lest he give birth to a debt collector who would have to pay off his children's debts when he got old.
It was precisely because of this that Song Likun felt this job was increasingly depressing.
On one hand, they were being verbally abused, and on the other hand, they witnessed all sorts of human tragedies: people receiving welfare, being scammed, family members turning against each other, investment failures, and this elderly person who had a pension of 2,500 but owed 2,600 on their credit card.
They used all their retirement savings to pay off debts, and I don't know how they make a living otherwise.
Ni Zhenzhen quickly finished the paperwork, handed the passbook to the old man, smiled and said goodbye, leaving Song Likun dumbfounded.
He immediately reminded her, "You're still short by one hundred."
The old man heard this and asked nervously, "What?"
“No, he was talking about something else,” Ni Zhenzhen said with a smile. “You’ll be able to pay it off in a few more months.”
A glimmer of light appeared on the old man's timid and weathered face as he repeatedly muttered, "Yes, yes, it's all paid off..."
"No..." Song Likun wanted to say something, but Ni Zhenzhen stopped him with a look.
Song Likun looked puzzled, but Ni Zhenzhen was oblivious and continued to smile at the old man.
Song Likun understood; Ni Zhenzhen really wanted him to make up the hundred yuan himself.
After the customer left, Song Likun said indignantly, "Why did you help him? He has a son, but he didn't raise him well and he's raised a freeloader."
As Ni Zhenzhen sorted through the receipts, she sighed and said, "His son died in a car accident."
Song Likun was suddenly stunned. The bank was chaotic, with all sorts of noises mingling, but he felt as if he were in a vast wilderness, where the world seemed to stand still.
After a long while, Song Likun also sighed, "If there is no inheritance, you don't have to pay it back."
"That's what I said too."
Ni Zhenzhen will never forget that bright, sunny morning when the old man sat outside the window, weeping bitterly. She even forgot her own position and advised the old man not to return the money.
"But the old man insisted on paying it back, saying that once the debt was paid off, his son could live in peace over there."
"..." Song Likun was speechless.
The cold wind of the wilderness swept in, trampling everything underfoot, but it was not all dead. At least a small blade of grass hid in the crack of the stone, showing vigorous vitality.
Song Likun disliked this job at all. His family told him that working at a bank was stable and respectable, and urged him to stick with it, but he felt that this job was no different from being in prison.
Perhaps it would be better to go to jail. Being scolded by customers is bad enough, but being stabbed in the back by one's own people is even worse. However, whenever he falls into despair, Ni Zhenzhen brings him a little hope.
He also remembered Ni Zhenzhen saying that she liked distributing pensions the most because everyone who received the money was all smiles. "You can experience the joy of receiving money without spending your own money. Is there a better job in the world?"
If someone else had said something like that, he would have thought they were joking or being sarcastic. But when Ni Zhenzhen said it, he firmly believed that she really meant it.
The little grass in his heart slowly raised its head, and Song Likun asked, "What do you want to eat for lunch? Let me treat you to lunch."
"I brought my own lunch."
Song Likun paused for a moment, forced a smile, and said, "Okay."
On her day off, Ni Zhenzhen got up early, washed up, and started putting on makeup.
Xu Tianzhou opened his eyes, still seemingly half asleep, and said lazily, "Isn't it a bit too early?"
Ni Zhenzhen knew he had misunderstood. Xu Tianzhou had mentioned to her that they would go out for dinner together after he had rested. She apologized and said, "The bank is holding its annual meeting, and I have to go and rehearse the performances."
Xu Tianzhou snorted without thinking, closed his eyes again, and said coldly, "No need to ask, no one will go." Otherwise, it wouldn't have fallen to her.
The person in the mirror was startled, and their eyes darkened.
Honestly, he guessed it right again!
Ni Zhenzhen didn't want Xu Tianzhou to feel bullied, so she put down her eyebrow pencil and exclaimed dramatically, "You guessed wrong! Everyone was scrambling to go, but the director gave me this opportunity."
Ni Zhenzhen held her head high, looking incredibly smug.
"Really?" Xu Tianzhou lay on his side, propping his head up with his hand, and looked her up and down for a while.
What a terrible acting! He didn't doubt it at all. Instead, he nodded thoughtfully and said meaningfully, "Then you should make good use of this opportunity to rise to the top."
"An opportunity to rise to a higher position? What do you mean?"
Xu Tianzhou subconsciously narrowed his eyes. As far as he could see, Ni Zhenzhen looked puzzled, as if she really knew nothing.
Does she really not know?
Xu Tianzhou kindly explained: "It's very simple. What's the use of being a teller if you can do the job well? No matter how well you do, the boss won't personally go to withdraw money. Only dancing, giving speeches, writing articles, and making PPTs can get you noticed by the boss the fastest. If you become familiar to the boss this time, he will remember you among the crowd when it comes to promotion."
So that's what it meant.
Ni Zhenzhen shook her head helplessly, her gaze towards Xu Tianzhou filled with resentment.
Why does he always think of others in such a pragmatic way?
“How is that possible?” Ni Zhenzhen picked up her eyebrow pencil again and pointed out the inconsistencies directly. “If it were really an opportunity to climb the social ladder, wouldn’t everyone be scrambling for it?”
"..."
Her hand, which was drawing her eyebrows, suddenly stopped. At the same time, Xu Tianzhou stared at her without moving and slowly uttered a sound, "Hmm?"
Ni Zhenzhen was so angry at her own stupidity that she cried!
She had just told Xu Tianzhou that "everyone is eager to go," so how could she have confessed so quickly?
Ni Zhenzhen's expression changed from arrogant to extremely embarrassed, and then she closed her eyes in despair.
"Oh dear..." Ni Zhenzhen smiled ingratiatingly. She took a few steps to Xu Tianzhou and waved her hands up and down, left and right in front of him, as if a witch were casting a spell.
She kept swaying and muttering, "Didn't you hear me? Didn't you hear me..."
Xu Tianzhou frowned, looking at Ni Zhenzhen's "performance" with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.
Perhaps it was magic at work, because soon, Xu Tianzhou couldn't help but laugh, and as if he had really lost his memory, he didn't mention the matter again.
"Where's the address?" Xu Tianzhou stood up, preparing to change his clothes. "I'll take you there."
The branch was on the first floor of a building. Ni Zhenzhen entered through the entrance next to it, which was marked with the name of a certain building, and found an activity room at the end of the second floor.
The line dance teacher was from the branch's public relations department; he was in his forties but didn't look his age at all.
Ni Zhenzhen was rehearsing a Chinese-style dance called "Mangzhong," and she was having a great time. Especially after seeing the ethereal costume, she had even higher expectations for the performance.
On her way to work, Ni Zhenzhen hummed a song while thinking about the new dance moves she had learned. Upon entering the dressing room, she suddenly noticed something unusual.
Qian Lina, who had already changed into her uniform, paced back and forth in the dressing room with her arms crossed, looking preoccupied, as if she had something to say.
“Zhenzhen…” Qian Lina saw her arrive, immediately lowered her hand, hesitated, and then said, “Um…”
"What's wrong?"
"Can I go dancing?"
"..."
Ni Zhenzhen didn't ask why, because she remembered Xu Tianzhou's words, "This is an opportunity to rise to power."
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