[OP] Randomly register an account. Posted on Fabruary 18, 2017, 16:01:29
My sister was very angry that I didn't tell her about my leg fracture. She scolded me in the car, while my brother-in-law was driving and trying to plead on my behalf. But I know that if it were my sister with a broken leg, she wouldn't have told me either. After all, we are siblings, cut from the same cloth, equally stubborn, and neither of us wants to burden the other.
After I returned to X City, my sister wanted me to stay at her and her husband's place, but I found it inconvenient. Besides, I had the cast removed from my leg, and my foot was recovering well, so I insisted on living alone in the house our mother left us. My sister understood that she couldn't persuade me and could only suggest that I come over to her place for meals on weekends.
The company didn't give me much time to recover. As soon as I settled in, I had to get back to work. Even though it was the same company, all the colleagues were new, and it took a bit of getting used to. The manager in X City somehow got wind of some information and during the Monday morning meeting, he praised me excessively, saying all sorts of things about me from head to toe, which felt a bit exaggerated, and I noticed some strange expressions from the others.
I was assigned to the first group, which I heard had the heaviest workload. The team leader, who looked to be around 40 years old, was a man, and his stern appearance gave away his seriousness. Let's just call him Lao Wang. After the meeting, Lao Wang called me into his office. He started by asking about my background and ended with some cryptic words:
"In our group, work ability comes first. It doesn't matter how well connected you are, or where you graduated from. If your work isn't up to par, I'll eventually let you go."
Me: ???
Honestly, I didn't feel welcomed at all during our conversation, and it felt more like I was an unwanted burden placed into the group. Did Lao Wang think I got in through connections? I didn't bother to explain much; just like how you know a donkey when you take it out for a walk, you'd know soon enough. However, I was disappointed by a leader who questioned an employee's ability without reason.
My colleagues in the group were relatively polite to me, but on the first day, they didn't assign me any substantial tasks. All day long, I was copying documents and replying to emails.
To put it straight, I'm a programmer – what people commonly refer to as a "coder." Our company develops programs for other companies' websites, and our products are various types of software. I knew Lao Wang's group was working on a game program, which piqued my interest. However, they didn't call me for the team meeting on Monday afternoon...
Just when I was eagerly looking forward to starting a new life, life blindsided me unexpectedly. That's how it is, isn't it? Destiny, that little rascal, wouldn't make things easy for you.
All in all, my first day at the new company involved me being inexplicably isolated by my superiors.
After work, my mood wasn't great. I was contemplating how to gain my superiors' approval when the phone rang. It was an unknown number, and without much thought, I answered it.
"Xiao Xi, where are you?" came Pei Hao's anxious voice from the other end of the line. He hadn't called me since I blocked him. I completely forgot that he could call me from an unfamiliar number.
Already agitated by work, receiving his call made me feel even more disheveled: "You don't need to know."
"Did you quit your job? Did you move?" Pei Hao cautiously inquired.
In a cold tone, I responded, "Is this how you want to communicate?"
"Sorry, Xiao Xi, I can't let go." Pei Hao's tone turned a bit sour, and then he decisively continued, "You know that I will find you no matter what."
"Well, take your time finding me," I said, then hung up the phone and promptly blocked that number too. If he really wanted to find me, it wouldn't take him long. I hadn't hidden away in Africa. But right now, I had no interest in dealing with Pei Hao, and I wasn't going to change my life's path just to avoid him.
The next day, Egg Brother also called me. It was obvious he was fishing for information on behalf of Pei Hao. I persisted in not revealing my location, and Egg Brother eventually gave up in frustration, hanging up the call.
The week went by agonizingly slow, as Lao Wang truly treated me like I didn't belong to his group. He never informed me about anything significant happening within the team. My daily tasks consisted of copying documents, replying to emails, and at most, assisting my colleagues with some basic programming. I guessed that Lao Wang was looking for an excuse to kick me out of his group after some time. I couldn't fathom how the attitude towards me could change so drastically within the same company over just two weeks.
I felt it was necessary to have a serious talk with Lao Wang. On Friday, right before lunchtime, I knocked on his door to find him inspecting some program. He asked me to wait for a moment while he finished up, which ended up taking over an hour.
In reality, it would only take a few minutes to have a proper conversation, but he was probably intentionally dragging it out to discourage me. To be honest, I was a bit annoyed. I couldn't understand what I had done to earn such disfavor from my superior, nor could I fathom how someone so arbitrary could become a leader.
Over an hour later, when Lao Wang finally noticed I was still there, he put down his work and spoke to me.
Lao Wang: "Are you adjusting to things these days?"
Me: "It's okay. I just don't understand why I can't be involved in the game project."
Lao Wang: "Newcomers should start with the basics. Any problem with that?"
Me: "No problem, but I already have over a year of work experience in Y City, and I feel..."
Lao Wang: "That's different. What you did before is completely different from making games. You newcomers can't settle down to study; you're too restless."
Me: "..."
How can I learn if you won't let me get involved?
After the conversation, there was still no resolution. I realized that Lao Wang simply didn't care about my abilities; he just didn't like me as a person, and he held some unexplainable and deep-seated bias against me.
I felt that the situation was more complicated than I had initially thought, so on Friday afternoon, I had a talk with the manager. To my surprise, the manager didn't seem shocked at all and agreed to transfer me to the third group next week.
When I got home that evening, I saw Pei Hao's car parked downstairs. I suddenly had a very bad feeling – it wasn't going to be as easy as I thought to sever
ties with him completely. Perhaps, he cared about me a little more than I had anticipated.
Pei Hao saw me and hurriedly got out of the car. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his arms with excitement, paying no attention to the pedestrians around us. The more I struggled, the tighter he held me.
"Xiao Xi, can you please stop leaving without a word?" Pei Hao held onto me as if holding onto a cherished toy, his voice trembling. "I'm really afraid that one day I won't be able to find you again."
My heart felt complicated. If he had said these words the first time I left, maybe our outcome would have been different. But the perfect moment had passed, and no matter how much he tried to make up for it later, it would all be in vain.
"No one will wait for you indefinitely," I lowered my gaze, staring ahead with empty eyes, and said lightly, "Once it's missed, it's missed."
Pei Hao nuzzled his face against my shoulder, his voice hoarse, "You don't have to wait for me in one place. I'll find you no matter where you go."
"Suit yourself," I sighed helplessly, looking at the curious glances from the people around us, and said, "How long are you planning to keep hugging me?"
Pei Hao finally loosened his grip on me, but his gaze remained fixed on me, as if afraid I would disappear suddenly.
I walked leisurely toward my home, with Pei Hao following closely behind. When we reached my doorstep, I prepared to close the door without letting him in, but Pei Hao grabbed the door, attempting to slip inside. He looked at me with a pitiable expression and said, "I have nowhere else to go."
There were hotels all over X city, and I didn't believe his words. I reached out to shut the door, but Pei Hao extended his hand into the door gap, as if testing whether I would really close the door on his hand.
Me: "............"
Me: "Do you realize how childish you're being?"
Pei Hao: "Let me stay at your place for the night, and I'll leave tomorrow."
Me: "Behaving like this will only make me even more annoyed with you."
Pei Hao: "But no matter what I do, you won't pay attention to me, will you?"
Me: "............"
He had a point.
Taking advantage of my distraction, Pei Hao decisively pushed the door open and walked in, wearing a pitiable expression. He looked at me and said softly, "Have dinner with me, and then I'll let you go."
"Not hungry," I tried to exert force to pry his hands off me, but he held on too tightly.
"You eat a little, then I'll let you go," he whispered gently in my ear, "Or else I'll keep holding onto you."
After a brief standoff, I felt that Pei Hao was quite content with his current position. It seemed as if he really believed he could keep hugging me like this forever. I had no choice but to compromise and agreed to eat a bit if he would let go.
"Okay," Pei Hao happily served me a plate of food, his eyes filled with hope as he watched me, "I learned a few new dishes these days, I'm not sure if they'll suit your taste."
I finished the food in my bowl calmly. To be honest, his culinary skills had improved quite a bit since before. When I was ready to leave, Pei Hao put on a more serious expression and hesitated as he asked, "Xiao Xi, will you ever come back to Y city?"
"What do you think?" I found his question amusing. He clearly knew the answer, yet he couldn't resist asking again. Let him go back and chase after his "cinnabar mole" in peace. I had no name in their movie, and I had no interest in continuing to act in it.
"Alright, I understand," Pei Hao nodded thoughtfully.
[1st Comment] Heartless Sponge: After the breakup, you became Pei Hao's cinnabar mole. People really can be foolish sometimes. (Goodbye.jpg)
[2nd Comment] That Flower, That Person, That Dog: Don't be soft-hearted, Xiao Xi. Take it as a lesson, scumbags don't change, and you'll never know how to cherish what you have!
[3rd Comment] Meow Maoo: Why do I feel a bit sorry for Pei Hao... he's like a puppy...
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[8th Comment] ●▂●: Xiao Xi, what show are you binge-watching? (Odd focus)
[9th Comment ] [OP] Randomly register an account: Our Life, a heartwarming TV show.
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[14th Comment] Avant-Garde Cat: Xiao Xi, is that guy, Old Wang, mentally unstable? How dare he bully our Xiao Xi?!
[15th Comment] Don't Give Me an SSR, I'll Get Angry: Wow, that Old Wang really makes me angry. Hug for Xiao Xi, should new employees be bullied right after joining?
[16th Comment] Remix.: Xiao Xi, when you talked to the manager, he didn't seem surprised at all. I feel like this isn't the first time Old Wang treated new employees like this.