Chapter 9 Fever "Send me your location, I'll come find you"...
"I only notified you in the group at 7:30 that we would arrive at 8:30. I thought you wouldn't make it. After all, you've been working at our company for three months, so your dedication is commendable."
Zhao Yi glanced at Jiang Shan and Xu Qing's faces, then gestured with her chin towards Jiang Shan: "Jiang Shan, have you had breakfast yet?"
Jiang Shan was taken aback: "Not yet."
She has to get to the company in an hour. It takes her forty minutes to get there by subway, and it takes her another ten minutes to get dressed and wash up. With such a tight schedule, how can she possibly have time for breakfast?
Besides, if she's not the one who stays... she'll have plenty of time to eat breakfast.
"I have a small bread roll here, have something to eat first." Zhao Yi reached out and patted her shoulder. Her face, which always had a smile that Jiang Shan couldn't understand, actually showed a hint of caring for a younger person. "Your health is the most important thing."
"...Thank you, Sister Zhao."
Jiang Shan tore open the packaging, swallowed the small bread in a few bites, and chewed it fiercely and enthusiastically. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she wolfed it down, but her eyes were bright, like stars.
"It's probably just the light reflecting off the conference room," Zhao Yi thought to herself as she looked away.
"I asked you guys before, if you weren't the one who ended up staying, would you have any objections?
Zhao Yi's words were drawn out, and Jiang Shan's heart jumped into his throat. The half-eaten piece of bread got stuck in his throat, choking him.
"Cough, cough!" She covered her mouth and turned her head. After a few seconds, she calmed down and apologized in a low voice, "I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I shouldn't have said that while you were eating. But what I'm about to say is mainly to Xiao Xu."
Zhao Yi turned to Xu Qing: "Xiao Xu, you need to broaden your mind. Yesterday's report was just a small one. What really determines who stays is the work results over the next three months... There are plenty of big companies in the field of artificial intelligence. Why be so fixated on Anson? Don't you think so?"
The three people present were all intelligent. Although Zhao Yi's words were rather tactful, her implication that Xu Qing should seek another woman was crystal clear.
"I refuse to accept this!"
Yesterday, Xu Qing was given the cold shoulder by Zhu Meng and didn't dare to utter a sound. He just cried to his parents while holding his phone in the audience. Now, however, he's red-faced and visibly angry, clearly a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong.
His voice is usually a gentle, youthful tone, but now that he's in a hurry, it's turned into a hoarse, croaky voice.
"Sister Zhao, didn't you promise me you would...?"
"Hey, don't talk nonsense!" Zhao Yi sat in the seat of honor, arms crossed, her expression as cold as the perfume she wore today. "When did I ever promise you anything? What did I promise you?"
"You, you!..."
Xu Qing was panting heavily. He looked at Zhao Yi, who was distancing herself from the situation, and then at Jiang Shan, who seemed completely unaffected. His eyes, which had never stayed up all night for work before, were now bloodshot. He looked like an enraged ox, seemingly considering whether to tear off the last layer of pretense.
Jiang Shan sat opposite Xu Qing, unscrewed the thermos, and rinsed his dry throat with warm water, using all his self-control to keep from laughing out loud.
It's truly satisfying to see someone who blatantly slacked off and even impersonated another person get kicked out.
Is this what they mean by "what goes around comes around"?
Since joining the company, the grief and anger that had been building up inside me have flowed away like a river whose ice has melted in the spring.
"Jiang Shan." Jiang Shan was secretly pleased with himself when Xu Qing suddenly called out to him. His heart skipped a beat, and when he looked up, Xu Qing's eyes were sinister: "What methods did you use to get this position?"
"It's just fair competition."
Jiang Shan shrugged. The thought of Xu Qing, who thought he had secured his position, being given a rude awakening, made her lips curl into a sarcastic smile: "Xu Qing, don't assume that just because you used your own methods, everyone else is like you, relying on gifts and backdoors to get a job."
"Impossible!" Xu Qing slammed his hand on the table. "If it were an open competition, you wouldn't be the one chosen!"
"oh?"
Jiang Shan was startled by his sudden violence and felt a pang of pain in her chest, but she didn't panic. She simply asked him, drawing out each syllable: "Then why are you so sure that the person who stayed behind won't be me?"
She didn't rush to prove her worth with her work results; instead, she subtly provoked Xu Qing.
It's a sneaky tactic, a way to lure the snake out of its hole.
Xu Qing's face turned bright red as she never expected to be outdone by this ordinary, honest colleague.
He tried to speak several times, but for some reason didn't. Despite being provoked like this, Xu Qing managed to maintain his last shred of rationality, only gritting his teeth and issuing threats.
"Fine, Jiang Shan! You just wait!"
He sprang up from the chair and slammed the door shut with a loud thud, as if he no longer wanted to stay there and continue to be humiliated by the country.
Jiang Shan calmly placed her fingers on her heart and gently pressed it. She wasn't interested in the harsh words Xu Qing had said before leaving; she just found it strange that someone as proud as him could grit his teeth and not explode.
It's a real shame; she had originally planned to get information out of Xu Qing to find out if he still had any trump cards up his sleeve.
"Ignore him and just focus on your own thing."
Zhao Yi appeared calm and collected, as if she wasn't the one who had previously been so close to Xu Qing: "Taking crooked paths certainly won't last long, but following the right people will make things twice as effective. In this respect, you are better than him."
What does it mean to "follow the right person"?
She never took sides.
Ignoring the bewilderment on Jiang Shan's face, Zhao Yi patted her shoulder heavily with her palm: "Do a good job, I believe in you."
On the way back from the conference room, Jiang Shan felt as if he were walking on soft clouds floating in the sky, drifting lightly as if riding the wind.
The one who stayed behind was indeed her.
Although it was unexpected, it was also reasonable.
The words "probation period" were removed, and the new employee badge hung on his chest, like the blazing sun rising high in the sky, dispelling the cloud of doubt in Jiang Shan's heart called "unreality".
After a busy day, she looked out at the setting sun and let out a long sigh of relief.
She did find a stable job in this big city, giving her the confidence to make a living.
When she arrived at the subway station, she took out her Alipay subway pass and suddenly realized that she had forgotten to tell her parents the good news.
Although they may not necessarily show the joy she desires, they asked her yesterday, so they definitely want an answer today.
She simply couldn't hide it anymore.
Jiang Shan initially wanted to share the good news in the family group chat, but then felt it was strange that their family of four's affairs would always alarm the entire family, so she ultimately shared it in their family's private group chat.
"I successfully got my job today! @Mom @Dad @Sister"
Jiang Hai, the younger sister, reacted the fastest. She was only in elementary school and hadn't fully learned to read yet, so she sent a voice message in a childish but earnest voice: "Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations~ Sister is so amazing!"
Jiang Shan's lips involuntarily curved into a smile. Before she could even type "thank you," a message from her father popped up in the chat box: "You've been promoted to a permanent position! What about your salary? Did it go up from six thousand to nine thousand?"
Why bring up money?
My stomach suddenly cramped.
Jiang Shan looked up and saw the train pulling into the station.
With inexplicably heavy steps, she struggled to squeeze onto the subway with the crowd, leaning against a corner near the carriage door, her two thumbs typing on the screen: "Yes."
Almost the instant Jiang Shan sent the message, his father's second message arrived: "You used to have six thousand a month, which was pretty enough for living in S City, right? Looking at your occasional posts on WeChat Moments, it's all about delicious food. Now that you have three thousand more, you should have more money to spare! [Grinning face]"
Then came a message from her mother: "You've grown up, darling. When are you going to start taking on more responsibility at home?"
A feeling of nausea suddenly welled up inside me.
With his extensive experience battling motion sickness, Jiang Shan quickly locked his phone, closed his eyes, and quietly felt the swaying subway car moving forward.
What happened? Did she get dizzy on the subway?
Jiang Shan endured it for a while, but his mouth felt increasingly sour.
Oh no, she didn't have a plastic bag.
The arrival bell on the loudspeaker sounded like heavenly music. Jiang Shan didn't care that there were still three stops before he arrived at his rented house. He stumbled and squeezed out of the narrow train door with the crowd, and with a "whoosh," he spat out the resentment that had been buried in his heart for many years into the trash can.
Being chosen was a rare opportunity, and she was filled with excitement all day, with a good appetite.
Unfortunately, most of them perished here.
Jiang Shan leaned against the wall and moved slowly. With her pale face, she found an empty seat on the bustling subway platform. She took out her thermos and rinsed her mouth. Weakly, she moved her fingers and sent a three-person red envelope totaling 500 yuan in the group chat.
That's true. As the saying goes, "raising children is for old age security." Now that she has some financial means, she should do something for the family.
Two red envelopes were snatched away in an instant.
Jiang Shan glanced at the record; it was from his mother and father.
A minute later, Jiang Hai also received a red envelope. She sent a "thank you" cat emoji followed by a long voice message: "Sister, you've worked hard. Remember to rest. Did you eat dinner on time?"
Jiang Shan looked listless and gave a weak twitch at the corner of his mouth.
...She had ordered her favorite three-delicacy rice noodles for takeout tonight to celebrate, but now she has no appetite or desire to eat them at all.
"Thank you for your concern, Xiao Hai. I've already eaten."
Jiangshan had just posted the message when her father tagged her again: "September is coming soon, your sister's tuition is due, what's up?"
Jiang Shan pursed his lips.
What else can I say? It just means I want her to pay for it.
As if they had planned it beforehand, Mom also tagged her: "Your cousin worked part-time during the summer vacation and gave half of her wages to her family."
Jiang Shan felt dizzy again.
This time it wasn't on the subway, so it probably wasn't subway sickness.
She wasn't coughing or sneezing, so it probably wasn't a cold.
This dizziness, this alternating chills and fever, could it be...?
Jiang Shan reached out to touch his forehead and didn't feel any heat, but when he touched the iron armrests on either side of the seat, he shivered from the cold, and his dizzy mind finally came to its senses.
She suffers from blood deficiency and her hands and feet are always cold. She just got off the subway car with the air conditioning blowing. Logically speaking, her hands should be as cold as the iron handrails. Why should they get to be frozen by the iron handrails that have been exposed to the cold air from the air conditioning?
Jiang Shan's consciousness began to scatter without him realizing it, and he involuntarily frowned.
Oh no! I've caught a fever in an unfamiliar subway station. I'm dizzy, nauseous, and my legs are weak. Most importantly, I have to go to work tomorrow.
Jiang Shan forced herself to stay awake and opened the group-buying app, wanting to buy some fever reducers and have them delivered to the subway station entrance. However, after paying, she realized that she had forgotten to change the address and had selected her most frequently used company.
Sigh, how come when someone is down on their luck, everything seems to fall like a toppling domino, one wrong step leads to another?
It's truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly.
Jiang Shan frowned, about to unsubscribe, when a message suddenly popped up on her phone screen. It was from Gao Ming: "Excuse me, Ms. Jiang, could you please send me the link to your coat? I'll place the order for you."
Jiang Shan paused for a few seconds before remembering.
Oh, she saw Gao Ming ask yesterday, and originally wanted to find a coat on a shopping app, but she was tricked away by Meng who was adding extra chapters halfway there.
While Jiang Shan was still reminiscing, Gao Ming sent another message.
"Or do you like these three? [Images] [Images] [Images] I found them roughly according to the style you mentioned. If there's anything wrong, just let me know."
Jiang Shan was so dizzy he could hardly process what was happening.
She opened the keyboard, intending to type "OK", but when she typed it using the kyd pinyin input method, it became "Hurry up".
Looking at the nonsensical dialogue on the screen, Jiang Shan was both annoyed and amused.
What on earth is she posting?
Gao Ming was probably confused by her obviously off-color reply. After three seconds of typing, he sent a trembling message: "You seem to have made a typo."
Jiang Shan felt dizzy and lightheaded, and even his breath was hot.
Afraid that she couldn't see the keyboard clearly and might make a typo that would cause Gao Ming to misunderstand, she simply pressed the voice button and sent him a voice message.
"Sorry, I have a slight fever and made a typo."
"I see. Do you need help?" Gao Ming's question was still polite at first, but his next sentence suddenly turned into a commanding tone full of actions, as if a different person was sending the message on the other end of the phone: "Send me your location, I'm coming to find you."
A note from the author:
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