I am not a literary giant

Gou Yingbiao's eyes were bloodshot, and he was panting heavily. He was so badly scolded by Wang Zixu that he felt like he had suddenly woken up from a nightmare in the middle of the night. His whole body was trembling, and his heart ached as if it were being squeezed tightly. His temples were also throbbing.

Wang Zixu clenched his fists, his whole body tense, standing as straight as a flagpole. He appeared refined and cultured, but from a distance, he seemed ready to punch Gou Yingbiao at any moment, putting Gou Yingbiao under immense psychological pressure.

When an honest and kind person becomes ruthless, it's like a fishbone hidden in plain rice—an unexpected and devastating blow. Caught off guard, Gou Yingbiao was cornered in his office; he hadn't anticipated this situation at all, which caused his tone to soften somewhat.

"The evaluation is an organizational decision. If you have any objections, you can raise them through proper channels, not by throwing a tantrum and banging on the table here! Let me tell you, Wang Zixu, based on your behavior, you won't be getting the award this year!"

Wang Zixu smiled contemptuously: "If this hadn't happened today, would I have gotten the award? Gou Yingbiao, your skill in making empty promises is still as masterful as ever, but you can keep it for your mother! Let me tell you, I haven't even thought about the award for three years!"

"Organizational decisions, my foot! Every time, isn't it just a formality where you've already chosen the candidates? Everyone in our unit knows 'no lobbying, no bribes, no promotions' applies here. Are you really hypnotizing yourself into thinking you're so impartial?"

Gou Yingbiao pointed at Wang Zixu's nose: "Explain yourself! What do you mean by 'pre-arranged'? What do you mean by 'no lobbying, no bribes, no promotion'? Which year's performance evaluation wasn't the result of collective discussion by the leadership team? Which year's outstanding individuals weren't the popular choice? Which year didn't have meeting minutes and records? Explain yourself!"

"As expected by all?" Wang Zixu sneered. "Gou Yingbiao, do you want me to help you recall that you were arranging to forge meeting minutes at the last meeting?"

"Let me help you recall. In 2017, the award was given to veteran comrade Zhao Xichun. You talked to me and said that Zhao Lao was retiring in two years and that we needed to go through a process to give him a recommendation before he retired. Do you remember?"

"But damn it, ask the old comrades, who has ever seen Zhao Xichun in the office? I've worked here for seven or eight years, and I don't even know what he looks like! He's drawing a salary without working! Is this what you call the people's wish?!"

"In 2018, the unit was going to transfer a staff position to another public institution. At that time, you selected Zhang Mengwen as the person. This young man only wanted to take the civil service exam as soon as he joined the unit. He never did the assigned tasks. Whenever there was a busy time, he would have an upset stomach and ask for leave. You wanted to get rid of him."

"He ended up arguing with you for three days straight. You promised him the annual outstanding performance award so he could leave with the honor, and only then did he stop. He went to his new workplace, joined the leadership team the following year, and still didn't do anything. Is this what you call being the most popular choice?!"

"2019..."

"Old Wang, what's wrong with you? Can't you talk things out after get off work? This is making a bad impression!"

Xiang Zhiqiang interrupted him, squeezed in from outside the door, and dragged Wang Zixu out by the arm.

"Let go!"

"Calm down! I'm doing this for your own good!"

Prince Xu struggled to be dragged to the door, and was startled by the scene in the corridor.

The corridor was packed with people. Zhang Cangnian stood at the office door, holding a teacup in his hand, his lips pressed tightly together, not uttering a word; Xu Shichao stared in disbelief, and Diao Yiwen looked horrified.

Many colleagues peeked into the hallway, but they just listened silently, not a single person uttering a sound. The silence was eerily quiet, eerily terrifying.

Wang Zixu broke free from Xiang Zhiqiang, turned around, and pointed at him:

"Xiang Zhiqiang, I'm warning you, I'm dealing with a personal grudge between me and Gou Yingbiao right now. I have no grudge against you, but if you try to stop me, I'll deal with you! I can give up this job, but can you give it up? Think carefully before you try to mediate!"

Xiang Zhiqiang was so frightened that he let go of her hand, and someone pulled him away as a way to save face. No one dared to get involved in this mess anymore.

Wang Zixu turned around and stormed back to Director Gou's desk, then said:

"In 2019, our city experienced a once-in-a-century flood. Most of our staff were deployed to the river embankment for flood control. You gave Hu Xiaoping the commendation that year, saying she was an advanced worker in flood control. But she stayed behind and never went to the embankment!"

"Back then, many colleagues didn't go home for a week, risking schistosomiasis infection, eating, sleeping, and getting countless mosquito and flea bites. Yet you gave the award to someone who didn't even go to the embankment! Wasn't it just because you could get free gas at her husband's gas station?!"

"Gou Yingbiao, let me tell you, since that year, I've never thought about being promoted again! I'm still working diligently, not for promotion, but because I want to do my job well. Don't think you're just making empty promises! My throat is too weak to handle such hard-earned money!"

Gou Yingbiao trembled with anger, pointing out the window and saying, "Fine, then go ahead and report me! Go ahead and report me to the Discipline Inspection Commission! Let's see if the Commission believes me or you, this troublemaker who slams his fist on the table with the leaders at work, curses at them to their faces, and swears all the time!"

Wang Zixu said, "I swear? If it weren't for your high blood pressure, I'd probably beat you up instead of you dying here!"

Gou Yingbiao took two steps back: "Wang Zixu! What the hell do you want? I told you, if you really want this 'outstanding' award, I might consider you next year! You can't think that just because you're tough, you can get the award. This is a government office, not the mafia!"

Wang Zixu stepped forward and said, "Shut up! I'm not good enough! I came here today specifically to scold you! It's because of corrupt officials like you that the whole unit is in such a mess!"

"Without principles, discipline, or bottom lines, everyone in the unit wants to push their work away. The more diligent you are, the more work you have; the less you do, the more idle you are. They take pride in not lifting a finger and are ashamed of being hardworking!"

"Those who work hard get no rewards, while those who slack off get promoted. Everyone is a master of formalism, treating flattery and currying favor as skills. The unit is rotten! The root of the problem lies with you, a rotten person with a rotten heart, liver, and lungs!"

"Let me tell you, Gou Yingbiao, I don't want to be outstanding, I never want to be outstanding in my entire life. You have no right to rate me as outstanding, you fucking don't deserve it!"

Gou Yingbiao clutched his chest and coughed violently, his chest reverberating. His face turned red as if he was about to collapse. He pointed at Wang Zixu, like a victim in a suspense film pointing out his killer before he dies. He looked pained but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

He couldn't understand when Prince Xu had become so audacious. He used to be able to rub him however he pleased without complaint, as easy as an automatic sensor light. Who knew that today's sudden malfunction would cause such terrible consequences?

"Wang Zixu, let me tell you, as long as I'm in this unit, you'll never have a good day! Promotion? Forget about it! I'm the director, you think I can't fire you or do anything to you? I have a million ways to get rid of you! I'll make you quit on your own! You just wait and see!"

"What are you waiting to see?"

A deep voice interrupted their argument, as if a dam gate had slowly lowered to shut down a rushing river. People crowded in the corridor held their breath and retreated like a tide, their eyes fixed on the man's tightly closed lips.

A large figure entered from outside the door, exuding an aura of authority that instantly chilled the air in the office.

"Gou Yingbiao, how did your work discussion turn into an argument? What happened?"

Gou Yingbiao, who had been panting, quickly composed himself upon seeing the newcomer and greeted him, "Director Mei, what brings you here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

The person who arrived was Mei Rucheng.

Wang Zixu raised his eyebrows, looking equally astonished. He saw that behind Director Mei, Section Chief Liu winked at him.