After taking paternity leave when my wife gave birth, I returned to the company to find my desk occupied by my apprentice, Lily. My sales champion trophy had been destroyed, and my personal poster on the publicity board was torn down. She clung tightly to the resources and connections I had given her, and mocked me in front of the whole company: “Which would you choose – sales performance or family? Rather than being laid off, why don’t you just quit on your own?” She didn’t know that with just one word from me, even the CEO would give up his seat for me! “Employee information not detected. Please scan again.” Just as I was about to enter, my access card wouldn’t work no matter how I tried to swipe it. I had always kept this access card in good condition. How could it suddenly stop working for no reason? As I was puzzling over this, Jenny, my former work buddy, happened to pass by. Seeing me, her eyes lit up with surprise: “Jack! What brings you back to the office today? How’s your wife recovering after giving birth?” “Everything’s good. I just couldn’t stop worrying about work, so I thought I’d come back and check things out.” After exchanging a few pleasantries with her, I prepared to return to my familiar desk. But she stopped me, stammering: “Um, your desk… Lily’s taken it over.” Just then, a shout came from the nearby meeting room: “I’ve told you, do everything exactly as I say! Jack’s old methods are outdated!” Jenny was startled, her expression turning unnatural. She told me that since I went on leave, Lily had become the company’s second top salesperson. She had even taken over my former desk, saying I didn’t deserve the position. Vice President Harris saw her outstanding performance and had her mentor the new hires to help them quickly adapt to the work environment. Relying on her newly elevated status, she berated and even hit the new employees, calling it “pressure training” and “failure education”. How else would they learn to handle customers if they weren’t toughened up first? After hearing this, I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: “What a case of nurturing a tiger that will turn on you! She’s even trying to ride roughshod over me now!”
Lily was a new hire I had originally brought in. At the time, I saw she was struggling to make it on her own in the big city. My heart softened, and I decided to mentor her hands-on. When I was pursuing sales leads, she would observe and learn from the side. Afterwards, she would review with me the little tricks for winning over clients. She learned quickly and acted very obedient in front of others. She was the most promising new hire I had ever seen. Before I went on paternity leave, I wanted to try handing over my resources to her temporarily, giving her space to work independently. She could always return them to me later. But when I came back, she was no longer willing. She even tried to turn the tables on me. Thinking of this, I couldn’t help but clench my fists. Just then, the half-closed meeting room door suddenly opened. Lily walked out holding an iced Americano, followed by a group of ashen-faced new hires. I took a good look – she was completely unrecognizable from before. Where had that fresh-faced young girl gone? Now she wore bright red lipstick, earrings bigger than her cheeks, with an oily sheen on her face. It was more nauseating than eating greasy pork knuckles for days on end. Seeing me, her jaw nearly dropped to the floor: “Jack! When did you get here? I’ve missed you so much!” Before I could speak, she pounced on me in a bear hug, clinging so tightly I could barely breathe. I peeled her off and smiled back: “Well Lily, you’ve certainly grown into your role in just a few days!” “You’ve even taken over my desk now. Talk about making yourself at home.” Hearing my words, a flash of embarrassment crossed her face, quickly replaced by fawning: “Oh Jack, I just wanted to bask in your aura a bit. Besides, a desk is just a desk, right?” She led me to a rather secluded corner where there was a workstation. I reached out to wipe it, and my fingers were covered in a visible layer of dust. The desk was also cluttered with random junk, making my mood just as messy. “You mean for me to sit here?” I asked. She blinked her big innocent eyes at me and said: “Yes, Jack. Is there a problem? It’s nice and quiet here.” I laughed bitterly to myself. Not only was it isolated, the air conditioning didn’t even reach this spot. This was clearly an attempt to sideline me. Suppressing the anger about to erupt, I said to her sternly: “Lily dear, I only took a short leave. No need to be so… accommodating. Those big client accounts I handed over to you – I’ll be taking those back to follow up on myself.” But she suddenly shrieked: “What’s wrong with you? Are you insane?”
I was stunned by her words, momentarily at a loss. Seeing my reaction, her voice suddenly took on a tearful tone: “Jack, you never said that before! You want to have your cake and eat it too! What’s wrong with letting me take on all your resources to gain experience?” “Jack, I know you’re not what you used to be. Don’t worry, you don’t need to fear me taking your position.” I was dumbfounded by this blatant twisting of the facts. I hadn’t expected her to be capable of such shameless behavior. Before I could respond, she ran downstairs crying, losing a shoe in the process. The words died on my lips. I couldn’t find a way to voice them. I could only start tidying up the desk, taking out a cloth to wipe down the drawers inside and out. But when I opened the bottom drawer, my gaze froze. Inside lay my sales champion trophy. But now the trophy was just an empty base, The trophy shape on top no longer intact. My heart felt like it was blocked by a huge stone, the ripples of emotion dissipating as they hit it. Just then I heard snippets of gossip from somewhere nearby: “I can’t believe Jack is that kind of person. No wonder he’s always been the top salesman – turns out he’s been monopolizing all the resources!” “Coming back to the office so soon, and already fighting with his star pupil! He must be worried about losing his position since he can’t devote as much energy to work now!” I said nothing. People’s preconceptions are like a mountain – once they come crashing down on you, there’s no moving them. Afterwards, I went downstairs for a bit. When I came back, I was carrying several large bags of bubble tea. I had ordered them on my phone earlier, thinking of treating my former colleagues to a cool drink. I didn’t disturb anyone, just quietly delivered the drinks to each person’s desk with a nod and smile before leaving. When I got to the gossipers, they finally shut their big mouths when they saw me, pretending to work while sneaking glances. I paused for a moment, then placed a few bubble teas in front of them. At first they pretended not to notice, but when they couldn’t keep up the act any longer, they turned to me and said: “Oh Jack! Sorry, I was so focused on work! Thanks!” I smiled and gave them each a firm pat on the shoulder. They cried out in pain, drawing stares and a few snickers from everyone. I walked away without looking back, feeling quite pleased with myself. At some point, Lily had returned to her desk and was touching up her makeup in a small mirror. Seeing an opportunity, I quietly walked up beside her. When she finally noticed, she nearly jumped out of her chair. I waved a bubble tea in front of her face: “Lily dear, I was inconsiderate earlier. Let me make it up to you!” Her eyes lit up, clearly not expecting this gesture from me. I quickly pulled out the drink, twirled it around, and said in a puzzled tone: “Oh no, I accidentally ordered you a full sugar black sugar milk tea! I forgot you’re watching your figure. We salespeople need to maintain our image after all!” Seeing this, she quickly waved her hands for me to take it away. But I moved in closer, suddenly jamming the straw into her mouth: “Come on, it’s the thought that counts! Do me a favor!” This made her choke, her hands instinctively grasping the cup as her face turned red. But somehow, I “accidentally” let go, and the tea spilled all over her designer outfit. She immediately flew into a rage, screaming: “What the hell is wrong with you? What are you trying to do?” I firmly pushed her back down as she tried to stand, leaning in to whisper in her ear: “Sit tight! Don’t let a little bubble tea inflate you like a balloon. You might float away and fall to your death!” With that, I strode off, heading to the restroom to wash my hands. Her shouts of anger followed me. Hmm, with that high pitch she’d be wasted not trying out for a singing competition. But before long, Jenny informed me that Vice President Harris was calling a meeting in 5 minutes and told me to prepare. After gathering my materials, I entered the meeting room first. This home court advantage would be mine again sooner or later! But just then, the phone I’d left at my desk suddenly lit up with a message from a contact labeled: (Flashy Bro) CEO.
By the time the meeting room was almost full, Lily finally rushed in. She had clearly found another outfit to change into somewhere. But there were still traces of milk tea in her hair, making a few new hires snicker at the comical sight. She glared at them, and the room fell silent again. Vice President Harris glanced at her before clearing his throat and addressing us: “As you can see, after Lily, we’ve brought in another batch of new hires. Now that Jack is back, why don’t we have the two of them each lead a team, dividing up the work to tackle the tasks from above.” “If there are no objections, I’ll announce the team assignments…” Before he could finish, a new hire stood up and said quietly: “Mr. Harris, could I request to be on Jack’s team instead?” Harris looked displeased, just staring at her without speaking. But soon after, more people started requesting to join my team. Seeing this, Lily immediately blew up: “What’s the meaning of this? Is working under me a death sentence or something? The market changes in the blink of an eye – are you sure Jack understands the current situation better than me?” She turned to glare at me, her face twisted with anger. Perhaps intimidated by her intensity, a few of the women were struck speechless. Seeing they had something to say, I gestured for them to come whisper in my ear. From what they told me, I realized Lily was a complete fraud. She claimed to be mentoring her team, but in reality she just used them as errand runners – fetching tea, delivering packages, doing all sorts of menial tasks. When she finally deigned to share some so-called “experience”, it was all theoretical knowledge she had never actually put into practice. Whether any of it was actually useful, no one knew. The young women had no choice but to forge ahead with her methods. They managed to close a few small deals with great difficulty, only to have Lily snatch the credit for herself. In the end, all their efforts were for nothing. By this point, the women’s faces were filled with barely concealed resentment. Lily acted like she was drunk, pointing at them and yelling: “I’m going to steal all of you away to my team no matter what! How dare you rebel like this!” I turned to look at Harris. He just sat there with his legs crossed, watching the drama unfold with great interest. I said to him coldly: “Mr. Harris, Lily is my apprentice after all. Her poor people skills can’t be blamed on me! If you have any insights, I’m all ears.” Seeing this, Lily suddenly walked up to Harris. She clung to his arm, a hint of something unsavory flashing in her eyes: “Jack! Surely you don’t think Mr. Harris would just stand by and do nothing? Given my relationship with him, leaving you to struggle alone wouldn’t be a problem!” As she spoke, she clung even tighter. Her gaze flickered to me, clearly eager to see my reaction. Suddenly, Harris’ phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and immediately sat up straighter. After stepping out for a few minutes, he returned to the meeting room looking frazzled and rubbing his eyes: “Why did the CEO have to choose today of all days for a surprise inspection? Talk about bad timing.” Hearing his words, my eyebrows involuntarily raised. I had to admit, the timing was impeccable.
Once the room quieted down again, Harris opened his laptop to share his screen. A large face suddenly appeared before us. It was CEO Leo. At that moment, he was overseas developing new business. He was dressed in a loud, colorful outfit. Seeing us, he opened with: “What’s up, bros?” Us: “…” Seeing we didn’t react, he wisely shut his mouth and said sternly: “Ahem… I happened to have some free time today. I heard from Harris that you’re launching a new product and assigning tasks, so I thought I’d check in.” With that, he gestured for Harris to continue, though his gaze seemed to drift towards me. Harris’ face darkened, but he had no choice but to start his introduction from the beginning. However, when he got to the team assignments, he suddenly paused. He said to CEO Leo: “Sir, Jack is our company’s top salesman. So his team only needs one or two people. As for Lily’s team…” Leo listened silently for a moment after Harris finished. After confirming the situation with Harris, he ordered all the new hires to join Lily’s team, then picked out a few “star players” from the roster to assign to my team. Lily immediately objected: “CEO, isn’t this rather unfair? My team is all newbies while Jack’s team is full of experienced salespeople. No matter how you look at it…” The CEO spoke up: “Lily dear, wasn’t Jack so good to you before precisely to give you a chance to prove yourself? Now if you can outperform Jack while leading a team of newbies, wouldn’t that be the perfect demonstration of your abilities?” “But Jack, he…” The CEO’s patience was clearly wearing thin. He slammed his hand on the desk and barked: “Are you trying to tell me how to do my job? Follow orders! If you can handle it, great. If not, get out!” With that, he turned off his camera and left the online meeting, leaving a sweating Harris behind. Lily hurriedly chased after Harris as he rushed out the door, grabbing his arm to ask: “Mr. Harris, how can you bear to see me like this? You know that Jack is so…” But Harris shook her off violently, his eyes bulging as he yelled at her: “The CEO has spoken. What else can I do? Even if I had incredible powers, do you think I’d risk my neck for you?” The meeting room door slammed shut with a “bang”. Lily was left kneeling on the floor alone, rubbing her reddened foot from the fall as tears streamed down her face. The sight was truly pitiful. But I only wanted to rip off her mask and expose her true face for all to see. As I stepped out of the meeting room, she let out a shrill cry with reddened eyes: “Jack, you think you’re so clever? I’ll make you regret this!” I paused for a moment, then turned to say: “Okay, noted.”
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