Chapter 80

That evening, Chu Tianshu visited Bai Yunduo at the Yunqing Beauty Salon again.

Before he could even mention his business trip to Linjiang City, he learned from Xiang Wanqing about the hospital's handling of Bai Yunduo's case: suspension for investigation, and a compensation of 100,000 yuan. According to the rules, the hospital would bear 50%, the department 30%, and the doctor 20%. This meant Bai Yunduo had to pay 20,000 yuan.

She had been beaten and disciplined for no reason and now had to pay money as well. This was both unjust and humiliating. What was even more infuriating was that Zhu Wangcai called and bluntly threatened her: "If you listen to me, everything can be forgiven. Otherwise, you'll never get back on the operating table."

Bai Yunduo immediately gave Zhu Wangcai a scathing rebuke over the phone. But Zhu Wangcai shamelessly said, "My greatest strength is that I don't like to force women. Little Doudou, think about it. When you've made up your mind, you can call me. I'll be waiting."

Bai Yunduo was so angry that she trembled all over. She hid in the Yunqing Beauty Salon, locked herself in the office, and refused to eat or drink, sulking alone. No one could persuade her.

Chu Tianshu noticed that Bai Yunduo had lost a lot of weight in just a few days. Although the swelling on her face had almost gone down and her external injuries were mostly healed, her haggard and sad appearance made his heart ache.

He didn't dare to say much, just silently looked at her, feeling extremely heartbroken. Bai Yunduo didn't ask anything, but repeated the same words: "Chu Tianshu, I'm determined to be your mistress for life. Don't forget the vow you made to me. If you don't deal with Zhu Wangcai, I'll haunt you even in death."

Chu Tianshu's eyes were almost on fire. He said, "Yunduo, rest assured, I can do what I say. Once I finish my current work, I won't let Zhu Wangcai off."

Bai Yunduo didn't even lift her eyelids.

"Yunduo, I know you're upset, but let me be honest. I'm busy with the instrument factory's restructuring, which involves the future of thousands of people. I..."

"I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it," Bai Yunduo suddenly covered her ears and shouted, "Chu Tianshu, if you're thinking about your promotion and wealth, just say it. Don't use these grand words to敷衍 me."

"Yunduo, can you calm down a bit?"

"I... can't calm down. Unless you go and deal with Zhu Wangcai right now."

"Yunduo, don't push me."

"How am I pushing you? If you want to go, go. If not, forget it," Bai Yunduo said, tears streaming down her face. She slapped her own face and said pitifully, "I, Bai Yunduo, must have been blind to insist on being a mistress to a coward."

Chu Tianshu grabbed Bai Yunduo's hand and said angrily, "Fine, Yunduo, wait here. I'll go and settle the score with Zhu Wangcai right now."

Chu Tianshu turned to leave, but Xiang Wanqing held him back tightly, shouting, "Yunduo, it was just a joke. Don't take it seriously."

Bai Yunduo said casually, "If he takes it seriously, so be it. If not, it's fine."

Chu Tianshu roared, "Wanqing, let go of me. I'll risk my life to settle this."

Xiang Wanqing held onto Chu Tianshu, shouting at Bai Yunduo, "Yunduo, we all know you're upset, but can you bear to see Tianshu risk his life for you?... Yunduo, Yunduo, say something."

Bai Yunduo was in tears, crying uncontrollably. Xiang Wanqing's strength was no match for Chu Tianshu's, and she was quickly overpowered.

Seeing Chu Tianshu about to leave, Xiang Wanqing cried and opened the window, standing on the sill with one leg outside, shouting, "Chu Tianshu, if you take another step, I'll jump."

"Wanqing, Wanqing," Bai Yunduo shouted, rushing over and grabbing Xiang Wanqing's leg that was still inside, crying, "Chu Tianshu, are you dead? Hurry up and pull her back."

Chu Tianshu stomped his foot and rushed into the room, hugging Xiang Wanqing and pulling her down from the window.

Bai Yunduo and Xiang Wanqing hugged and cried together. Chu Tianshu's eyes also welled up with tears.

With Xiang Wanqing's persuasion, Chu Tianshu finally calmed down the agitated Bai Yunduo.

He had to help Jian Ruoming navigate the political landscape, plot revenge for Bai Yunduo, and worry about Zheng Xiaomin's work and life. These consecutive troubles were exhausting, but he believed that as long as he got through this difficult period, everything would be better.

The next morning, Chu Tianshu called Wu Mengdie and took Zheng Xiaomin to Linjiang City.

Around 10:00 AM, they arrived at the headquarters of Lingyun Group, a high-rise office building in the city center.

It was working hours, and Chu Tianshu and Zheng Xiaomin looked around after getting off the elevator.

Several young employees, wearing ID badges, passed by them with the air of white-collar workers in a large company, their eyes straight ahead, exuding a sense of professionalism that Zheng Xiaomin envied.

Chu Tianshu found out that this floor was the office area, and the president's office was on the floor above.

So, they went up another floor through the fire escape, and as soon as they pushed open the emergency door, they noticed that the decoration on this floor was even more luxurious.

The door to the president's office was open, and as they entered, they saw a reception desk with a secretary sitting there. Behind her, the name "Lingyun Group" in gold letters shone brightly.

The secretary stood up gracefully, looked at the computer screen, and said softly, "May I ask who you are looking for?"

"I'm looking for President Wu."

"May I ask if you have an appointment?"

Chu Tianshu thought for a moment and hesitantly said, "I called President Wu before coming. Oh, I'm here to register her."

The secretary looked them over and said, "Please wait a moment. President Wu and the department heads are in a meeting." She then picked up a phone and said, "Human Resources? A lady has come to register. Please receive her." She hung up and said, "Can you take her to the Human Resources Department downstairs to wait?"

Her politeness was purely professional, and her beautiful smile had a coldness that kept people at a distance.

Chu Tianshu quickly said goodbye and went downstairs, thinking about calling Wu Mengdie but decided not to disturb her since she was in a meeting.

The administrative staff of Lingyun Group worked in a spacious office, each with their own cubicle. The computer screens on the desks were flickering, and the phones were ringing one after another. The employees were uniformly dressed and well-mannered, with none of the leisurely atmosphere of government offices.

The manager of the Human Resources Department was in a meeting, so Chu Tianshu and Zheng Xiaomin were asked to wait on the sofa in the adjacent document processing room.

Zheng Xiaomin was curiously observing the work environment of the large company.

Through the glass, they could see everyone either busy moving around or working hard.

Chu Tianshu glanced at Zheng Xiaomin and noticed that she was both curious and nervous about the orderly work atmosphere.

At the nearest workstation, a girl with glasses got up and filled two cups of water from the water dispenser. She tilted her head and asked Zheng Xiaomin curiously, "Hey, are you here to register? Which school did you graduate from? Are you a graduate student or a returnee?"

Her voice was loud, and several girls in the document processing room turned to look.

Zheng Xiaomin's face turned red under everyone's gaze, and she kept shaking her head, saying in a low voice that she was neither a graduate student nor a returnee.

Some girls giggled and turned back to their work.

At this moment, a young man came in and called the girl with glasses, handing her two technical files and saying, "Xiao Wen, please make two copies. Manager Ma will need them later."

Xiao Wen, who was busy, politely asked Zheng Xiaomin for help, "Hey, sister, do you know how to use the copier?"

Zheng Xiaomin, being quick-witted, immediately stood up and agreed to help.

Xiao Wen patiently explained how to copy the blueprints page by page and then accompanied her to the adjacent copy room, showing her where it was.

Zheng Xiaomin saw two copiers and a paper shredder lined up against the wall. These copiers were different from the ones she had used at the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission; they were large copiers capable of copying blueprints.

Zheng Xiaomin was unfamiliar with the English buttons, but a young man came in to copy, and she watched his actions. After he finished, he pointed to the wall above, where the Chinese operation instructions were printed. She quickly followed the instructions and finished the copying.

Xiao Wen went out to deliver the documents, and Zheng Xiaomin neatly arranged the copied blueprints on the table.

At this moment, Chu Tianshu saw a well-dressed young man standing behind Zheng Xiaomin, confidently throwing a document on the table and ordering, "You, type this out quickly!"

The young man was casual and confident, and Zheng Xiaomin remained calm. She didn't turn around but picked up the document and felt overwhelmed. It was a personnel roster with a complex table header. Zheng Xiaomin had only done basic text processing at the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and didn't know how to create such a table.

Zheng Xiaomin hesitated and asked awkwardly, "This table is too complex. Is there a ready-made format?"

The young man, realizing Zheng Xiaomin wasn't from the document processing room, looked at her with disdain, snatched the document, and handed it to a girl in the front row.

At this moment, Xiao Wen returned and, after a quick glance at Zheng Xiaomin's work, screamed, "Oh, sister, you made a mistake. Blueprints can't be copied like that!"

Zheng Xiaomin stood there, blinking, unable to say a word.

Xiao Wen then introduced the young man to Chu Tianshu and Zheng Xiaomin as the deputy manager of the Human Resources Department.

Chu Tianshu thought to himself that Lingyun Group was truly unconventional in its hiring practices, as it was rare to see someone so young in a middle management position in a government agency.

He stood up and introduced himself as the person bringing Zheng Xiaomin to register.