The pushover offended a top-tier boss

Ye Zhenzhen felt that the habit of "getting up at dawn" was too torturous. She had never understood why she couldn't sleep until she naturally woke up on the first day of the Lunar New Year, why she had to get up in the dark, and why she had to endure this torture on the first day of the new year.

"The dumplings are all in the pot, hurry up and get up to wash your face!" Her mother's voice rang in her ears, full of energy.

Ye Zhenzhen rolled around on the bed a couple of times, hummed a couple of times, and didn't move.

"Do you still want the red envelope?" Ye's mother's voice rose eight octaves, and then she tried to pull off her blankets to force her out of bed.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Ye Zhenzhen yawned widely and slowly turned on the camera.

I put on my clothes, rushed into the bathroom, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and casually tied my hair into a ponytail.

When she arrived in the living room, her parents were already seated at the dining table. Her father was wearing a new dark red sweater, his hair neatly combed, and he looked very energetic. Her mother had also changed into the new clothes she had bought for her, and a gold bracelet was on her wrist.

Three large plates of steaming dumplings were laid out on the table.

Ye Zhenzhen ran over and hugged one of them in each arm.

"Happy New Year, Mom and Dad! Wishing our whole family good health, all the best, happiness, and peace in the new year!"

Ye Zhenzhen said a long string of auspicious words.

The elderly couple each took out a red envelope.

Although the red envelopes are usually given to children, in the eyes of parents, their own daughters are always children, no matter how old they are.

Ye Zhenzhen happily accepted the red envelope.

I sat down at the table, picked up the bowl of dumplings, and grabbed my chopsticks. I had no appetite at all; it felt like the sunflower seeds, tangerines, and all those nuts from last night hadn't been digested yet, and my stomach was still full.

But she still persistently searches for dumplings with coins inside every year. It's a family tradition; whoever finds a dumpling with a coin is the luckiest person of the year. She's had one every year since she was a child, and this year is no exception.

She picked up a dumpling and took a bite. It was filled with cabbage and pork, tender and juicy, but there was no coin. She took another bite—this time with mushrooms and chicken, still no coin. Then another—this time with chives and shrimp, still no coin.

She tried seven or eight in a row but came up empty-handed, and she really didn't want to eat anymore.

Seeing this, Ye's father casually picked up a dumpling and put it in her bowl, saying, "This one definitely has some, it's got a big belly."

Ye Zhenzhen looked at the dumpling; it was indeed a size larger than the others. She picked it up and carefully took a bite.

"Bang" sound.

The coin hit his tooth, and his eyes lit up immediately: "Yay! It's me again this year!"

Mother Ye smiled and shook her head, while Father Ye lowered his head to drink his dumpling soup, his smile impossible to hide.

After eating dumplings, people started coming in to visit and offer New Year's greetings. The process is pretty much the same every year: relatives bring gift boxes and fruit, greet everyone with "Happy New Year" as they enter, and then sit down to eat melon seeds, drink tea, and chat.

The conversations always revolve around: whose child got into which school, whose child got what job, whose child got married and had kids.

This year, the Ye couple are quite different; they stand up straight.

"This is a big gold bracelet that Zhenzhen bought. Oh, I said I didn't want it, but she insisted on buying it—" Mother Ye stretched out her wrist, enjoying the envious gazes of the crowd.

"You know what, this gold really brings good fortune. I've been winning at cards every time I wear it."

"This car is great. It's cheap to charge, comfortable to ride in, and very smart. You can even control it with your phone." Mr. Ye took out his phone and demonstrated it to a few relatives.

"Our Zhenzhen is now the secretary of the district party secretary. Oh, and that secretary even came to my house for dinner."

Ye's mother regretted it at this moment. She should have taken a photo with the leaders; otherwise, these people would definitely think she was bragging.

Ye Zhenzhen felt a little guilty.

He sat to the side, cracking sunflower seeds and forcing a smile.

Auntie Ye, cracking sunflower seeds, glanced at Ye Zhenzhen and grinned, "Zhenzhen, your cousin's child is already in kindergarten this year. When are you planning to get married?"

"I'm not trying to criticize you, but women start to lose value after 25, and by 30 they're practically on sale."

"We're family, I'm only saying this for your own good. You're 27 this year, almost 28, right? If you keep delaying, you'll end up marrying someone who's been married before."

Auntie San chimed in, not wanting to be outdone: "Yes, once you're over thirty, you're considered an older mother. When we were her age, our kids were already in school. I'm not trying to be mean, but don't be too picky; nobody's perfect."

"For a woman, it's better to marry well than to be born well."

"We've known for a long time that your ex-boyfriend wasn't a good match, but we're not afraid of offending you, so we dare not say it."

"Look at this, they've taken advantage of us for five years, we're losing money hand over fist."

Ye Zhenzhen was furious from the very first sentence.

When they were dating Meng Chen before, they would envy her for finding someone with a high level of education, while also making sarcastic remarks.

"Oh dear, all that studying still means you end up working for someone else. Your cousin has a bunch of college graduates working for him."

Now, seeing her being filial to her parents, I'm starting to feel sour and jealous.

Ye Zhenzhen put down the melon seeds in her hand, looked up at her second aunt and third aunt, and had an innocent smile on her face.

"Second Aunt, Third Aunt, I appreciate your kindness."

"But the fortune teller said that if I get married before I turn thirty, it will bring bad luck to two relatives."

His words landed on the ground.

The living room fell silent.

"Hey kid, what do you mean?!" the two men exclaimed anxiously.

Mother Ye tried to suppress a smile, patted her daughter, and said reproachfully:

"That child, why does he tell everyone everything?"

Then he turned to comfort his second aunt and third aunt:

"Second sister, third sister-in-law, don't take it personally. The fortune teller is just talking nonsense."

The two were so angry they couldn't speak.

Mother Ye pressed her advantage and attacked again:

"I heard that with his father-in-law's help, Ah Chen's business is booming. He's even spending the New Year at his father-in-law's house. He's so filial."

Auntie's face instantly fell.

My cousin found a well-off woman as his wife, and he lives with her family year-round, becoming a live-in son-in-law.

"I heard that Xiaoli had another son. She's so lucky. Zhenzhen, your aunt has even taken on a housekeeping job so that she can give all her earnings to her grandson. She's such a happy grandma."

My aunt and uncle's retirement pensions were all used to subsidize their son, and now they have two grandsons. They don't even have time to hang themselves.

Ye Zhenzhen nodded in agreement: "Yes, 60 is the perfect time to work hard."

Mother Ye chimed in, "Unlike us, Zhenzhen earns her own money and always buys us things. She won't listen if we tell her not to spend it!"

The second aunt and the third aunt exchanged a glance, their teeth itching with anger.

He made up an excuse and left.

Ye Zhenzhen sat beside her, silently cracking open a sunflower seed, and mentally giving her mother a thumbs up. Her mother was truly amazing.

Beijing.

After getting up and getting ready, Zhou Huaijin first wished his parents a Happy New Year.

As usual, the father said some words of encouragement.

After having dumplings with my parents, I went out to pay New Year's visits to several elders.

I met up with some childhood friends this afternoon. It's rare for us to get together. Some of them came back from abroad, and some rushed back from other places. We sat in a private room, drank tea, chatted, and played a few rounds of cards.

There are fewer and fewer pictures of Ye Zhenzhen on my phone.

It's clear that my quality of life has significantly decreased these past few days.

Leftover dumplings at noon on the first day of the Lunar New Year

Leftovers from the 30th of the month

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, we continued to eat leftovers.

Ye Zhenzhen couldn't help but ask him, "Boss, what are you eating?"

He sent me a photo. It was from a dinner party, and the table was even more lavish than last time. King crab lay sprawled in the center of the plate, surrounded by steamed lobster with garlic, steamed egg with black truffle, braised pork belly with abalone, and conch in clear soup.

Damn it. Why is she the only one constantly eating leftovers?

She's so annoyed. Lin Zhi isn't there either. She said she's still working overtime with her boss, from New Year's Eve to the first day of the Lunar New Year, and from the first day to the second day of the Lunar New Year. It's so miserable.

According to the statutory holidays, I have to go back to work after the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. If I were still in school, it would be past the fifteenth day at the earliest, or even a few more days. As for the counselor, since the students aren't coming, when she goes to work, she just sits in the office scrolling through her phone.

Now things are much better. I've been temporarily transferred to the district committee, so I have to keep up with the pace of government agencies. I have to be on duty on the eighth day of the new year, not a single day less.

Ye Zhenzhen grew angrier the more she thought about it.

Zhou Huaijin also noticed that Ye Zhenzhen was becoming increasingly perfunctory towards him.

For example, photos: I used to take dozens a day, now it's just one. Leftovers from the same angle.

"Boss, when can I be transferred back to the school?" She finally couldn't hold back and sent a message.

"What's wrong? Tired of the secretariat?" Zhou Huaijin asked her.

Ye Zhenzhen hurriedly replied, feigning nonchalance: "Of course I want to continue learning under the leadership's guidance and improve my abilities."

Finally, she cautiously added a heartfelt comment: "It's just... there aren't enough holidays..."

The fragrance of summer and winter vacations used to be so sweet, now it can only be reminisced about.

Zhou Huaijin sent him a voice call.

"What, you think you don't have enough vacation time?" he asked him.

Ye Zhenzhen said pitifully:

"All the other teachers have gone on vacation, but I have to go back to work in a few days..."

She added cautiously,

"Sir, actually, I feel my abilities aren't suited for the district committee. Could you transfer me back as soon as possible?"

Although the work at the district party committee secretariat seemed prestigious, she always felt like a newbie and couldn't integrate with the other staff.

Relatively speaking, she still prefers student work. Although the leaders are difficult to get along with, she won't lose her job unless she makes a major mistake.

She wasn't a person with great ambitions, and besides, she was never eligible for promotions or awards.

She thought Zhou Huaijin would soften his heart and say, "Okay, I'll talk to the school after the New Year."

Unexpectedly, he replied without hesitation, "My professional skills are far from sufficient, so I cannot be transferred back for the time being."

Ye Zhenzhen was furious when she heard that.

What does she need such high professional skills for? She's a counselor; her job is just to manage the students.

Why would she learn report writing, tea making, reception, meeting management, and official document writing? She's not going to take the civil service exam, so why would she need to know these things?

"Then transfer me to an administrative position!" she blurted out in anger.

"Ye Zhenzhen." He called her name in a deep voice, his tone stern, "Even if there were such a possibility, I would never abuse my power for your sake."

It's impossible for him to break his principles to help her. She's becoming increasingly spoiled and arrogant, as if she thinks he'll agree to anything and fulfill any request.

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhenzhen became even angrier.

So, was what they said a few days ago about transferring him back to Nanjing as a section chief just a joke?

What a waste of my time to dream of becoming Section Chief Ye!

Can't one abuse their power for personal gain?

"Then why did you transfer me here in the first place? Wasn't that abusing your power for personal gain?" she questioned him with dissatisfaction.

Zhou Huaijin remained silent for a long time.

"It's just a normal temporary job transfer. It doesn't take away other people's opportunities, nor does it treat others unfairly."

"You're the leader, so of course whatever you say goes."

Ye Zhenzhen responded neither forcefully nor softly, and gave a snort.

The atmosphere was tense.

Zhou Huaijin rubbed his temples, his tone softening slightly:

"Don't worry about what will happen in the future."

Could he possibly wrong her? He needs to make some achievements during this temporary assignment so he can have confidence when he returns.

Ye Zhenzhen remained silent. She didn't mean for him to violate principles and transfer her to the district committee's staff; it was just that the conversation had gotten a bit out of hand.

It's as if anyone really wants to work with him. Although it might be a highly coveted job in other people's eyes, she'd rather go back to being her own junior tutor. Being around that group of high-and-mighty people in the secretariat made her feel out of place every single moment.

The phone call ended unpleasantly.

Ye Zhenzhen stopped calling him proactively.

That's how the Lunar New Year goes—busy and boring. In previous years, she could make plans with Lin Zhiyue to travel to nearby or even more distant cities, relax, take lots of photos, eat until they were stuffed, and shop until their legs were sore.

Two days later, Zhou Huaijin suddenly notified her.

"Pack your luggage and bring some summer clothes."

Ye Zhenzhen was puzzled:

"Huh? Why?"

"Didn't you want to go on vacation?"

A few days ago, she threw a tantrum and looked aggrieved, which annoyed him greatly.

They complain about not having enough holidays, about eating leftovers, and about not making phone calls or sending WeChat messages.

They're becoming increasingly lawless.

"Someone will pick you up this afternoon." He hung up after saying that, without giving her a chance to ask any questions.