Volume One, Chapter 20: Giving Her the Bank Card

After work, Xia Xiyin waited around the corner of the company for Zhang Yaqi to come out. About five minutes later, Zhang Yaqi appeared.

“Sis.” Zhang Yaqi’s face was a little flushed, as if she had just finished some heavy work.

Earlier that afternoon, Zhang Yaqi had told Xia Xiyin that the HR department had summoned her. The Vice President had ordered that she be transferred from the front desk to the cleaning department to do janitorial work.

Xia Xiyin didn't understand why the Vice President would disregard Zhou Yian’s authority like this. She couldn’t confront the Vice President either, so she had no choice but to accept the reassignment. Zhang Yaqi went to the cleaning department first.

“Why is your face so red?” Xia Xiyin asked, puzzled.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Zhang Yaqi said, “I moved a few cabinets just before leaving.”

“Tired, huh? Come on, I’ll take you out to eat,” Xia Xiyin said, taking her hand and heading toward the subway entrance.

They ended up at a hot pot restaurant.

“Your brother-in-law is on a business trip,” Xia Xiyin said as she dipped meat into the boiling broth, cooking it before placing it on Zhang Yaqi’s plate. “Don’t worry about work for now. When your brother-in-law comes back, we’ll deal with it. You shouldn’t be stuck in the cleaning department all the time.”

Zhang Yaqi ate the meat thoughtfully and said, “Sis, I know that working in a big company is like palace intrigue. Some people might be using me as a pawn to trip up my brother-in-law. That’s possible. I don’t want to make things difficult for him or be used to control him.”

She smiled self-mockingly. “Saying ‘to control’ overestimates me. You know what I mean. I don’t mind which position I’m in. I won’t feel wronged. Just being able to work at Tianyu Group makes me grateful.”

Xia Xiyin knew her cousin was sensible, but she hadn’t expected her to be this thoughtful and complex. It was something she hadn’t realized before.

Unhappily, Xia Xiyin said, “Cleaning work isn’t something a young girl like you should be doing. No matter what, you shouldn’t be in that position. The Vice President is really going too far.”

Zhang Yaqi replied, “Sis, don’t be angry. I used to work part-time at a supermarket and did cleaning jobs before. This won’t be hard for me. As long as I can earn money, it’s fine.”

Xia Xiyin looked at her quietly for a moment, then said with relief, “Yaqi, you really are sensible. There’s nothing I can do about this now. We’ll wait until your brother-in-law returns to handle it.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you,” she said, then passed a piece of meat to her sister.

After dinner, the two parted ways in front of the restaurant and went home.

Xia Xiyin opened the door; the living room was still dark. She didn’t turn on the light either, feeling a bit tired, and lay down on the sofa.

Closing her eyes to rest, she thought about everything that had happened today. She couldn’t understand why the Vice President had done this. Did he have a grudge against Zhou Yian? Was this why he was undermining him?

Or maybe, was he connected to Shen Wei? She thought about it but found it unlikely. The Vice President was very proud, and someone like Shen Wei wouldn’t be in his league.

After much thought, she concluded that the Vice President was deliberately embarrassing Zhou Yian, which caused an uproar in the company chat group.

She sighed deeply, feeling that her own involvement had brought trouble to Zhou Yian.

Slowly sitting up, she went to her room to change clothes. As she took off her suit jacket, something fell out of the pocket.

Startled, Xia Xiyin bent down and picked it up. It was a bank card.

She looked it over carefully. She didn’t have a card from this bank.

Could it be that Zhou Yian had secretly slipped it into her pocket when she wasn’t paying attention? She couldn’t think of any other explanation.

After changing, she sat on the bed, checking the time. It seemed about right for him to call.

About seven or eight minutes later, a WeChat video message popped up. It was Zhou Yian.

“Back home? What did you have for dinner?” Zhou Yian’s smiling face appeared on the screen, his eyes full of concern.

Xia Xiyin said, “After work, I went to eat hot pot with Yaqi. I just got home.”

“Oh, by the way,” she said, holding the bank card, “the bank card in my pocket—is that from you?”

Zhou Yian chuckled, not denying it. “When did you find it? I’ve been away these days. I was worried you wouldn’t eat well, so keep this card for yourself.”

Knowing Xia Xiyin well, Zhou Yian understood that if he simply transferred money or sent a red envelope, she would refuse to accept it.

“I still owe you money. How can I use your card? I earn enough for myself. I don’t need this card,” Xia Xiyin refused.

“It’s Xiao Man who owes me money, not you,” Zhou Yian corrected her. “You’re my girlfriend. I want to spend on you. Don’t refuse my kindness, okay?”

He continued, “Also, haven’t you forgotten what Grandma told you? Even when you’re by my side, you have to improve yourself. In every way, you have to invest in yourself, right? This card is my investment sponsorship for you.”

“Thank you, Yian,” Xia Xiyin said, deeply touched by his consideration and genuine care.

“If you really want to thank me, then spend this money on me. Don’t let it just sit in the card unused.”

“Alright, I got it. I’ll spend it—I’ll spend it wildly,” Xia Xiyin said mockingly, then giggled.

Two days later, Xia Xiyin went on a business trip with her team to Country C.

Busy with work during the day and working late into the night for meetings, she was even busier than when at the office. Her calls with Zhou Yian were brief and only happened before she went to sleep.

On the third day of her trip, Zhou Yian finished his business trip and returned to Ning City. After deplaning, he went straight to the company.

Back at the office, he thought about Zhang Yaqi’s onboarding and asked Secretary Chen.

“President Zhou, you mean that front desk girl with only a vocational diploma? She worked just half a day before the Vice President transferred her to the cleaning department.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yian’s face darkened immediately. Coldly, he asked, “What? He transferred her to the cleaning department?”

“Yes. Everyone in the company knows the new front desk girl only has a vocational diploma. There are all kinds of gossip in the group chat. Then the Vice President transferred her away.”

“Bring the Vice President to my office.”

“Yes, sir,” Secretary Chen replied and left the office.

Zhou Yian was angry—not because he cared about Xia Xiyin’s family, but because the Vice President was openly provoking him.

The Vice President of Tianyu Group, Cheng Chaoyang, was the son of the senior shareholder Cheng Feng. Talented and ambitious, he was constantly scheming how to unseat Zhou Yian from the presidency.

The matter with Zhang Yaqi was a slap in Zhou Yian’s face, and he wouldn’t swallow this insult.

After more than twenty minutes, Cheng Chaoyang arrived.

“President Zhou, what can I do for you?” he asked.

Zhou Yian didn’t mention Zhang Yaqi’s situation. Instead, he brought up an incident he encountered during his visit to the Imperial Capital branch.

After talking for a while, Zhou Yian shifted the topic. “Vice President Cheng, there’s another issue with the branch office. Recently, there’s been a trend of people bypassing the chain of command, completely disregarding the rules. What do you think about this?”