Chapter 40: Evil Plans
It was time for everyone to leave the resort. Everyone waited patiently for their respective tour buses to bring them back to Tai Chen Group's building.
Feng Jiu anxiously looked around, trying to see if Dong Hua was around so that she could avoid him. She was too embarrassed to face him now.
"I heard he left the resort earlier on." Si Ming whispered to Feng Jiu, as he could guess that Feng Jiu was looking around for Dong Hua.
"Phew. Luckily." Feng Jiu felt a sense of relief, knowing that Dong Hua had already left
"Luckily...?" Si Ming asked curiously.
"Oh, it's nothing! I'm just glad that I don't have to see him. I guess I won't be seeing him around once we go back to work too."
"That's true. It will be easier for you to move on then."
"You're absolutely right, Si Ming! Once I'm back at work, I'll just focus on my work and earning more money. I won't let such things bother me anymore."
Si Ming smiled at Feng Jiu, and he replied, "That's the strong-minded Feng Jiu that I know."
Then the buses arrived, and everyone started to board.
"It's finally time for me to face reality." Feng Jiu thought to herself.
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It was Feng Jiu's first day at work. She met up with Xiao Yan and Si Ming at the entrance of the building.
"Finally! My dream job!" Feng Jiu exclaimed excitedly. She had told herself to let go of the past, and create new happy memories in Tai Chen Group.
"You're early, Feng Jiu." Si Ming said, and Xiao Yan also arrived at this time.
Then they headed into the building and went up to their office. Feng Jiu and Xiao Yan went to check out their assigned work stations, and it turns that they were sitting right next to each other. Si Ming was assigned to his own personal office.
"I already love my new job in Tai Chen group!" Feng Jiu said to Xiao Yan.
"Yeah. Our work stations are beautiful! They really do treat their staff well."
Feng Jiu then started her day at work. According to her wishes, she didn't see Dong Hua at all for the whole day.
As she was leaving the office building, she thought to herself, "That's the way it should be. It's better not to see him so that I can truly focus on my work!" Then she smiled, bid goodbye to Xiao Yan and Si Ming, and headed home.
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Dong Hua was buried in his work, ever since he came back from the resort. Lian Song was away on a business trip for quite some time, dealing with a client overseas. But the client was being difficult, and Dong Hua had to make a business trip there to settle it personally.
Dong Hua was home and packing his luggage, preparing to fly over to meet Lian Song later on.
Then he video-called Lian Song.
Dong Hua: I'm leaving for the airport in a few hours. Prepare all the documents as we will be meeting the client for dinner tomorrow.
Lian Song: Don't worry, I prepared everything. Work aside; I have something to ask you. So... I heard there some rumours going on, about you and a beauty spending time together at the resort. I didn't believe it but... I mean, I'm just curious.
Dong Hua: Rumours?
Lian Song: Yeah. Even though I'm so far away, I still have my ways to get the "latest news." So... Is it true?"
Dong Hua: A beauty? Do they think she's beautiful? They have good taste.
Lian Song: Wait. So you really did spend time with a girl at the resort?!
Dong Hua: Don't you have better things to do?
Dong Hua then cut Lian Song off and ended the call. Then he called Chong Lin to come over to his place, before leaving for the airport.
Chong Lin arrived at Dong Hua's place shortly after.
"I'll probably be gone for a while, so make sure you handle things properly during my absence. Call me immediately if anything urgent comes up." Dong Hua instructed Chong Lin.
"Don't worry, Sir. You can leave those small matters to me to handle, and you can fully focus on handling the client there." Chong Lin reassured Dong Hua.
"Oh. And one more thing, keep me updated about that girl named Feng Jiu. The one hired through the internship program."
"Sure. But may I ask, is there something wrong with her? Or is there anything that I have to watch out for?"
"No. I'm just asking because she's the only one hired through the internship program this year."
"But sir... you never used to care about the internship program."
Chong Lin felt confused because it was unlike for Dong Hua to care about others' wellbeing.
Dong Hua then replied with a cold and stern voice, "You talk too much today, Chong Lin."
"I'm sorry, Sir. I'll get down to it, and keep you updated."
Chong Lin then called for the driver to come over, and they left for the airport.
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The next day, Ji Heng heard that Dong Hua was gone for a business trip, and he wouldn't be returning anytime soon. Then she thought to herself, that now is a good time for her to start her plans to get Feng Jiu fired.
Initially, Ji Heng wanted to torture her at work, so that she would quit on her own accord. Unfortunately, she didn't have any chance to do so, because Feng Jiu was working under Si Ming.
Then she finally found an opportunity to do so. Ji Heng had an assistant, Zhi He. One night, she found Zhi He embezzling the petty cash, and she wanted to fire Zhi He immediately. Zhi He then begged Ji Heng to give her another chance, and that she would do anything if she didn't fire her.
Then Ji Heng came up with an evil plan.
"I want you to help me so that I can get Feng Jiu fired." Ji Heng said to Zhi He.
"But why?" Zhi He asked.
"You don't need to know the reason. If you want to keep your job, then you make sure that she loses hers." Ji Heng replied sternly.
"I'll do it. Just tell me what to do."
Ji Heng then discussed her plans with Zhi He. Their team was busy for the past few weeks due to a project from the company 'Ren Jian LLP'. The deadline to submit their final proposal would be coming up on this Friday.
Then Ji Heng remembered that Si Ming would be away from the office for two days, starting Thursday. Si Ming had to attend an important meeting with a client, and Xiao Yan would be going with him too.
It was the best time to get Feng Jiu fired. Then Ji Heng hatched a plan to get Feng Jiu involved in their project and create trouble for her. Then they would find a valid reason to get her fired. They decided to carry on with their plan, once Si Ming leaves the office for his meeting.
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Thursday arrived. After Si Ming and Xiao Yan left the office, Ji Heng immediately called for Feng Jiu to come into her office.
She faked nice and politely asked Feng Jiu, "Would you mind helping me sort out some important documents for the Ren Jian LLP's project? Usually, I'll get Zhi He to do it, but she had her hands tied down as well. The deadline is tomorrow, so I really need some help."
Feng Jiu wasn't stupid, and she found it a little weird that Ji Heng was treating her so nicely. But she gave her the benefit of the doubt and thought maybe Ji Heng didn't have any other choices, so she had to seek her help. Then Feng Jiu took the bait and agreed to help Ji Heng out.
Ji Heng told Feng Jiu, to leave the documents at her table after she was done with it. She also reminded Feng Jiu that it was very important, and to not lose it. But Ji Heng had already secretly made an extra copy of the final proposal. "Don't worry; I'll handle it." Feng Jiu said, and she left Ji Heng's office.
Ji Heng then told Zhi He to come into her office, to discuss their evil plan. Ji Heng told Zhi He to try to steal the final proposal file and hide it somewhere so that Feng Jiu would get into trouble for losing such an important document.
Soon, it was time to go home. Feng Jiu stayed behind in the office because she had to finish sorting the documents by today. Everyone started leaving the office one by one, and soon Feng Jiu was the only one left in the office.
After an hour passed, Feng Jiu was finally done with it, and she walked into Ji Heng's office. She also double-checked that she got all the documents ready, and then she left it on Ji Heng's table. After that, she left the office to head home.
Zhi He had been waiting outside the building for Feng Jiu to leave the office. After noticing Feng Jiu leaving and she got onto her bus, Zhi He went back into the building.
She sneaked into the empty office, but she also noticed that there were surveillance cameras in the office. Feeling smart, she turned off all the power supply in the office, and then she makes sure that the surveillance cameras were turned off. Afterwards, she started executing her plan to steal the documents.
Zhi He took out her phone and turned on the flashlight on it. She slowly crept towards Ji Heng's office, and then she found the proposal file. She double-checked to see if it was the correct documents, then she hid the file in her bag and sneaked back out.
She was feeling satisfied because their plan succeeded, and there wouldn't be any evidence against her as well. She then quickly texted Ji Heng, updating her about their plan.
"You did well." Ji Heng replied.
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The next day at work, Ji Heng pretended to look around her table, trying to find the proposal file. She knew Zhi He stole it, but she had to keep her with the act before confronting Feng Jiu.
Then she walked towards Feng Jiu's workstation and confronted her loudly, making sure that everyone in the office heard it.
"Feng Jiu. Where is the final proposal file that I told you to leave on my table?"
Feng Jiu casually replied, "Oh. I left it on your table, so it should be there."
"I searched for my whole office, but I still don't see it anywhere. Are you sure that you left it in my office?"
Then Feng Jiu stood up and said, "Let's go to your office now. I'll show you where I left it." Then they both walked towards Ji Heng's office.
"It can't be! I left it right at this spot last night! I even double-checked that I got the right documents." Feng Jiu anxiously tried to explain herself.
Ji Heng then raised her voice, and replied, "Are you sure about that? Or did you lose the proposal file? Didn't I told you that it was important?"
Her loud voice attracted the attention of their colleagues, and everyone started to gather outside her office. It was going accordingly to Ji Heng's plan, and she wanted to make sure that everyone knows about what Feng Jiu did.
Feng Jiu felt embarrassed, and she couldn't figure out why the proposal file was missing. "It doesn't make sense, and it should be here!" Feng Jiu panicked and started to search around Ji Heng's table.
"Stop searching for it, I already told you that it's not here! You should just own up to your mistakes if you lost the proposal file. I have to attend the meeting with Ren Jian LLP in an hour, and we will have nothing to submit for the project. At this point, you should just pack up your stuff, and prepare to lose your job." Ji Heng yelled.
"I'm so sorry, Ji Heng! Please give me a chance, and I'll try to find it again. Or I can make a new one since I know what's in it. Please." Feng Jiu pleaded, and Ji Heng was gloating inside.
Then Ji Heng replied smugly, "Don't beg me because I won't be able to help you. Even gods can't save you now. But if you really want to beg, you should go beg Ren Jian LLP instead."
Then she picked up her work bag and headed out for her meeting with Ren Jian LLP. In reality, Ji Heng already had a copy of the final proposal, in her bag. Even though she wanted to get Feng Jiu into trouble, she didn't forget to safeguard herself too.
Feng Jiu felt distressed, and she thought to herself, "No, I can't lose my job now! I still have to take care of Ye Qingti. I would do everything to keep my job." She also didn't want to bother Si Ming because she knew that it was her own fault, so she kept it to herself.
Out of desperation, she thought of an extreme plan. She heeded Ji Heng's advice, and she decided to beg Ren Jian LLP so that they would extend the deadline for the project. She didn't know if that would work, but she was determined to try everything so that she could keep her job.
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Feng Jiu waited outside Ren Jian LLP's building because only authorized personnel were allowed entry into the building. She was waiting for Ji Heng and Ren Jian LLP's management team to leave the building after their meeting.
She waited for a while before it started to rain heavily. Feng Jiu looked around, but there weren't any sheltered areas nearby. Then she stood in the heavy rain and waited, as she didn't want to miss out on her chance to see them.
Finally, after waiting for almost an hour under the heavy rain, Feng Jiu noticed Ji Heng walking out of the building with a group of people.
Feng Jiu immediately ran towards them and tried to explain, "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I...." Before she could finish her sentence, Ji Heng pulled her to the side and whispered to her "Shh! Don't make things worse. I'm already working on it."
Ji Heng was afraid that her plan would be exposed, so she quickly shut Feng Jiu's mouth. Then she turned over to their management team, and apologized, "I'm sorry for the behaviour of my staff, and it's just a misunderstanding. You guys can head off first, and we will see each other again soon."
Then the management team went their own way. After they left, Ji Heng walked towards Feng Jiu and said, "What are you doing here, and why are you drenched from head to toe?"
"Well. I'm here to beg Ren Jian LLP to extend their deadline for the project." Feng Jiu replied.
"You don't have to, because I had already settled it. But Tai Chen Group won't tolerate any mistakes, as stated according to the employment contract. So today will be your last day of work." Ji Heng coldly replied as she turned her back and left.
Feng Jiu stood there and felt helpless. "Is there really no way to keep my job?" She also shed a few tears, and then she started to sneeze."I better head home now, I think I might have caught a cold from standing in the rain." She thought to herself, and she quickly took a taxi home.
At this point, she still didn't want to let Si Ming and Xiao Yan know about it, as she felt that it was her own fault and she shouldn't drag them down. She also didn't want to seek Dong Hua's help, mainly because she wanted nothing to do with him, and also she didn't want to appear incompetent.
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Feng Jiu immediately took a shower after she reached home. Then she broke down in tears in the shower. "What should I do now? I just barely started my job, and now I'm jobless again! I'm so stupid, why can't I do anything right?"
Although it was Ji Heng who set her up for this trap, Feng Jiu wasn't the type to blame others for her mistakes. She was way too kind, and this was also the reason why people often took advantage of her.
She cried out loud, and then she felt slightly better. She got out of the shower and started to look for a new job. She knew that she couldn't return to Tai Chen group, so she decided just to move on and find a new job as soon as possible.
Feng Jiu then called Cha Cha and Cheng Yu, to tell them about what happened. But she also made them promise to keep it a secret, and not to let Lian Song or Si Ming know about it first.
The next day, Feng Jiu caught a cold due to her standing in the rain for a long period of time. Then she spent the next few days in bed, snuggled up in her thick blanket. She kept minimal contact with everyone, and she just focused on recovering from the cold. At the same time, she also continued to apply for jobs online.
On the other side, Si Ming and Xiao Yan were back to the office. They noticed Feng Jiu's table was left vacant."Where is Feng Jiu? Why is her table empty?" Si Ming asked one of the employees.
"You didn't hear what happened?" She replied.
"No, I don't know anything. Tell me now." Si Ming was visibly angered.
"Ji Heng fired her."
"What?! Feng Jiu is my staff, how dare she do that without my permission?!" Si Ming was infuriated, and he stormed into Ji Heng's office.
"Don't worry; I'll protect you Feng Jiu! - Si Ming"
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