Xiao Fu, since the establishment of the company, joined "Food & Fashion" magazine. Both Can Can and I used to make fun of her, joking that Xiao Fu had turned into an old lady while we were still in our youthful years. She was calm, sharp, generous, and wise. Her thinking was more mature than ours, and her observations were more meticulous. Most importantly, she never made things difficult for us, the younger colleagues, at any time. Despite her cold demeanor, she always lent a helping hand and offered guidance to newcomers who were in distress.
Once, when I couldn't find a client's contact information, I was deeply moved when I saw the screenshot come in from Xiao Fu.
Once, Can Can had a heated argument with Xiao Fu over a theme disagreement, but in the blink of an eye, they both forgot about it.
Once, to trick our penny-pinching Xiao Zhi, into treating us to a meal, Xiao Fu planned a trap that led Xiao Zhi to fall right into it.
Never did we imagine that we would meet Xiao Fu again in this way.
It was a few months later, and it felt like a dream.
According to Xiao Fu herself, she left "Food & Fashion" magazine when she was already two months pregnant. Now, after several months, her belly should have shown signs of pregnancy, but as I looked at her flat abdomen, my heart skipped a beat.
In the spacious meeting room, only Xiao Fu and I remained. I felt uneasy and finally came straight to the point, "Xiao Fu, did you have an abortion? Or were you never pregnant at all?"
Upon hearing these words, Xiao Fu was not surprised. She smirked and said, "The child was just a prop. Once it served its purpose, it naturally bowed out."
I took a deep breath and forced out a smile uglier than crying, "What about us then? Xiao Fu, Can Can, Xiao Wei, Xiao Zhi, and the boss. Are we all just disposable props to you? Once you're done using us, you can simply ignore us as props?"
I admit that the big boss had shown a somewhat unpleasant attitude towards Xiao Fu's promotion and pregnancy, but I never expected that Xiao Fu would respond with such a method of "using force to counter force." Furthermore, I never imagined what roles we, the colleagues, played in this theatrical performance.
While we were worried about Xiao Fu and felt regretful about her departure, she never mentioned her future plans, including keeping the real existence of the child hidden. At this moment, I couldn't help but feel that we were more like a group of monkeys, accompanying Xiao Fu in her act and being toyed with by her.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Fu calmly spun the paper cup, raising her eyelids and saying, "Ning Ning, you, Can Can, and Xiao Wei are all good kids, especially you. You've had such a smooth journey, so you believe in the idea that hard work will be rewarded. Ah! But I'm different."
Pausing for a moment, Xiao Fu slightly lifted her head and locked eyes with me, saying, "Do you know why I never invited you, Can Can, and Xiao Wei to my house? Why you've never seen my husband picking me up after work? It's because my husband is the chief editor of 'Ya Feng' magazine. We met and fell in love while working in the industry, and we've always kept it a secret. Why? Because we're industry rivals, and we wanted to avoid suspicion. But even so, Boss Liu also guards against me, avoids me, and worries that I might be a spy!"
"What aspect of my abilities is inferior to Li Ziru? What is wrong with me? Just because of my identity, I haven't even become a department head. The big boss has long wanted to find a reason to fire me, and this was the perfect opportunity. Since I'm leaving, I naturally want to leave with some value."
Conspiracy, it's all a conspiracy!
Seeing Xiao Fu's cold smile, I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up and walked straight to the door.
I can understand Xiao Fu's feelings, I can understand her situation, but I cannot comprehend her traps and schemes, and I certainly can't comprehend her deception towards all of us.
Xiao Fu, how could you, in front of us, your friends with trusting hearts, come out with a cold smile?
As I reached the door, I paused for a moment, pondered for a while, and then turned back to look at my once respected senior, gritting my teeth. "Xiao Fu, you don't deserve us calling you 'jiejie.' Maybe you think I'm naive, maybe you think I'm impulsive, but I still have to say it: you have disappointed me!"
After saying that, Xiao Fu was momentarily stunned, but soon regained her composure and smiled faintly. "Ning Ning, I've said it before, you've had it too easy, both in your career and in love. But this may not necessarily be a good thing. Your current happiness will only make the future hardships you encounter more painful. You have no ability to withstand them."
"What do you mean?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Fu laughed even more recklessly, shaking her head and exhaling, "Ning Ning, you only think that I'm cunning and deceitful, using the child to deceive all of your emotions. But do you know the real reason why I was kicked out of the magazine this time? Because... I accidentally stumbled upon a big secret of the magazine, hehe."
Not fully satisfied with her words, Xiao Fu picked up the invitation letter from the coffee table, casually walked past me, and took the initiative to hold the doorknob, opening the door. She said, "But I also have to thank this secret. Otherwise, that damn old man, Boss Liu, wouldn't have been willing to spend so much money to silence me. I believe you will soon know about this secret."
"Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention, Ning Ning, your boyfriend, Ren Han, has never been a good person. Compared to my little tricks and schemes, I truly admire him!"
"Goodbye, press conference. I will attend on time!" With that, Xiao Fu slammed the door and left, leaving me alone in the empty reception room.
-------------------------------------Dividing Line of Conspiracy-------------------------------------
Regarding the matter of seeing Xiao Fu, I didn't mention a word about it to Ren Han.
It's not that I wanted to deliberately hide anything, but I felt it wasn't necessary anymore. I no longer consider this person as my former jiejie or friend, so there's naturally no need to let such a boring person and topic invade the time between Demon King Ren and me.
Staring at Demon King Ren, who was standing opposite with arms crossed and a displeased look on his face, I howled and pounded the table, "Will you agree or not?"
Demon King Ren snorted coldly and turned his head aside. "I won't go as long as you invite Jiao Jiao to attend the press conference."
I clenched my fist, resisting the urge to hit someone, and my veins bulged with anger. In fact, inviting Jiao Jiao to the Ren family's press conference had nothing to do with me. Jiao Jiao, as the new top actress signed by the Ren Entertainment Company, it was only natural for her to make an appearance and create publicity at the press conference.
But it seemed that Grandma Lucy thought there was some kind of misunderstanding and specifically asked me to Jiao Jiao the invitation letter, so someone started throwing a tantrum.
Upon hearing Demon King Ren's words, I sneered, "Fine, if you don't come, that's perfect. I'll go with Jiao Jiao--" I paused mid-sentence and found myself stunned. What could Jiao Jiao and I do together? As I imagined the scene of the two women appearing in the hall in magnificent wedding gowns at the same time, I was immediately at a loss.
As I hesitated, Demon King Ren gnashed his teeth and chuckled, "What do you want?"
Imitating his posture, I crossed my arms and hmphed, "What's wrong with inviting Jiao Jiao? After all, she's been my playmate since we were kids. I heard that someone's first love in England is also coming back." With that, I glared fiercely at someone to vent my anger. Back then, when Ren Han solemnly showed me the invitation list from England, introducing this as a little cousin and that as a big uncle, he conveniently failed to mention the existence of a little beauty called the "first love."
In the end, it was all thanks to Qiqi and Chongzi that I became aware of it.
Seeing the situation, Demon King Ren sneered without shame, pinching my cheeks and saying, "Are you jealous?"
I slapped away Demon King Ren's pig-like hand and couldn't help but sigh. Mentioning the first love made me think of Demon King Ren's past crazy pursuers, which led me to think of Li Ziru's sister, and then to Li Ziru himself...
I was conflicted and said, "Ren Han, do you think it will be awkward if we invite 'Gourmet Navigator' to the press conference?"
'Gourmet Navigator' was a recently emerged new magazine, and the editor-in-chief of the magazine happened to be Li Ziru. Just a few days ago, right after the Xiao Fu incident had settled down, the boss suddenly submitted a resignation letter, stating the reason as "failure to manage the subordinate staff properly" and left the magazine in a stylish and dashing manner. Along with the boss, a group of people, including Xiao Zhi and the journalism department, also left. Not long after, 'Gourmet Navigator' appeared before everyone's eyes, and anyone could see that Li Ziru had planned it for a long time.
For a while, there was animosity among the employees, and the big boss was furious. However, as the organizer of the press conference, 'Gourmet Style' magazine couldn't possibly not attend. This made me go crazy about whether to invite the boss and others to the meeting or not.
I said, "Ahem, Ren Han, although we agreed that you can choose what to report about work, and I won't inquire about the secrets of your higher-ups, don't you think you should give your dear wife a little bit of information about the boss leaving?"
To be honest, this time, with the boss leaving with a large number of elites, not only was the boss in a slump, but as I looked at the empty editing department, I, the clumsy and lazy rookie, also felt a bit overwhelmed. Initially, I was the one clamoring to leave, but it turned out that others left first.
The boss and Xiao Zhi leaving was too sudden, and they took away a large portion of the company's human resources and client resources. Saying it was like "cutting off the source of income" was not an exaggeration. Now, the company is in a state of panic, but the one who remained, the big leader Demon King Ren, seemed as steady as Mount Tai. It was as if he didn't have the slightest intention of being taken advantage of by his former friends and hesitated to add Li Ziru's name to the guest list.
Demon King Ren touched my head and narrowed his eyes, "The workplace is like a battlefield. Today, they are comrades; tomorrow, they might become enemies. What's so strange about it? Didn't I tell you that Boss Liu also came out with a group of people from the * * magazine and started anew, gradually leading to the success of 'Gourmet Style' today?"
Upon hearing this, I was greatly shocked, my mouth forming an 'O' shape as I said, "So, does the current situation fall under...?"
"Reaping what you sow?"
I choked for a moment. Demon King Ren was indeed straightforward, but could he really have no grievances in his heart after his subordinates were suddenly taken away by the boss? I poked my finger and said, "Don't lie to me. There must be an affair going on here!"
I wasn't a fool; I could naturally see that ever since Sister Xiao Fu left the company, there had been a force stirring within the company. Although Xiao Fu used all her scheming methods and wasn't sincere with her friends, I still kept her advice in mind – the company had undisclosed secrets. Xiao Zhi, as the director of the administration department, was the person the boss trusted the most. Despite our previous playful banter and complaints about the company's flaws and how stingy the boss was, she never uttered a word about it.
And that day, she suddenly said those words in the group chat. I felt something was off at the time, but I hadn't figured it out yet, and she followed the boss and left. It just seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
Upon hearing this, Demon King Ren raised his eyelids and softly uttered a thoughtful "hmm," which surprised me greatly. Due to his position as the vice president, there were many company matters that I couldn't inquire about openly. But now, with his casual confirmation, it seemed to confirm that there were indeed significant changes happening in the company recently Demon King Ren said, "For now, I can't tell you much, just focus on guiding the new recruits this month and come home to prepare for the wedding."
I replied with a simple "Oh" and remained silent. However, my mind couldn't help but recall Xiao Fu's words: "Ren Han has never been a good person."
Demon King Ren, in this chaotic workplace battle, what role are you playing? Why... are you so eager for me to leave the company?