Chapter 6

Only after checking everything did Finance let me go.

Xu Yanshuang had vanished long since. I had no attention to spare for her.

The kickoff meeting was about to begin.

There were plenty of people attending.

Because of my strong performance on previous projects, Haili had specifically put me in charge of this fashion magazine account.

Several editors in chief from major fashion publications were waiting in the meeting room.

I couldn't afford a slip. I walked up to present with a smile firmly in place.

Afraid they'd look down on me, I didn't dare show even a hint of nerves.

Then I opened the PowerPoint file.

My mind went blank.

The proposal I'd spent night after night revising was gone.

The entire file was empty. Nothing remained but a default slide.

[Blank Presentation]

[Click to add subtitle]

I reacted quickly, explaining the main points from memory.

But there were no reference images. No mock-ups. No examples of our previous successful work.

You can imagine how disastrous the kickoff was.

Funding was cut on the spot. I was called in to account for myself.

Eventually, the company announced its decision: Haili would take over my project. As the person who had recommended me, she would lose her year-end bonus and be demoted.

I would be fired immediately.

After a mistake that serious, my punishment didn't surprise me.

But why did Haili have to suffer for it?

I was about to find Jiang Chenghuai and demand an explanation when Qiao Xue tugged my sleeve.

“Nuonuo,” she whispered, “I know who messed with your slides!”

08

The name she gave me was no surprise.

While I'd been summoned to Finance, Xu Yanshuang had come by my desk.

She'd said she was helping me find an electronic receipt and used my computer.

Nobody else had touched anything on my desk.

Qiao Xue told me it wasn't even the first time Xu Yanshuang had targeted me.

She'd tried all sorts of excuses to lower my performance scores and hold up my expense reimbursements.

But Haili always stood up for her staff, so she'd never succeeded.

That made me feel even worse.

I went straight to the top floor and burst into Jiang Chenghuai's office.

He was reading a document. Without looking up at the sound of the door, he snapped, “Get out!”

I ignored him and walked up to his desk.

“Jiang Chenghuai, what happened at the kickoff was my responsibility. It had nothing to do with Haili.”

Hearing my voice, he relaxed and raised his head.

“Ye Nuonuo, we're already being lenient by only firing you. Otherwise, you'd have to compensate the company for its losses. As for Yan Haili, we're simply following company policy.”

“And if I told you someone sabotaged me? Shouldn't you investigate and hold the person responsible?”

He gave a contemptuous laugh.

“Ye Nuonuo, the minimum qualification for a job at the Jiang Group is a master's from a Project 985 university. You're the only person here with just a bachelor's degree. Everyone is more capable than you. Why would they need to sabotage you?”

“Because someone is jealous of my relationship with you.”

After that encounter outside her building, she had probably guessed at least something about us.

Several times, supposedly in passing, she'd made sure I knew Jiang Chenghuai had bought her new jewelry or was personally driving her to and from work every day.

I'd ignored her completely.

I still had so much to learn, and work was piling up. Where was I supposed to find time for that nonsense?

His brows drew tight.

“Ye Nuonuo, own up when you make a mistake. Don't let jealousy turn into slander.”

“I'm not slandering anyone. There's an activity history on my computer. I'd already sent the slides to Haili, so we both have backups. I was checking them right up until Finance called me away. After that, Xu Yanshuang was the only person who used my computer. If you still think that isn't convincing enough, check the security footage.”

I laid it out calmly.

Jiang Chenghuai had started working at eighteen and managed the company while finishing his studies.

There was no way he didn't understand office scheming.

Once I explained it clearly, he would understand.