Chapter 3 — Power Games and Illusions

I could only remain speechless: "She must have drank Red Bull mixed with chicken blood to survive until now." Arriving at the company, the manager walked out of the office and went straight to Truong Kieu's desk: "Are you really reporting until 4 am?" Truong Kieu was startled, her face stiffened for two seconds, then she quickly smiled wryly: "It's nothing ~ 4 am, Hai Duong hasn't slept yet, it's just... ...a hot meme, I just borrowed the caption." Of course, she didn't dare lie. Because if she said that a mission had no deadline, but she voluntarily stayed up all night to work until 4 a.m., only a devil would believe it. The manager nodded, said nothing more, and returned to the office. But everyone understands: • Most likely he read the post. • Or someone took a screenshot and sent it to him. Regarding the first possibility, it's quite low — the general manager is not free to go look at the WeChat of a "little horse". The second possibility… is almost certain. If Truong Kieu dares to make up a story about staying up all night today, the manager will definitely be immediately upset and blacklist her. Luckily that time, Truong Kieu was not stupid enough to make up a story about staying up until 4 am in order to appear diligent. After all, she officially joined the company less than half a month ago and was pranked by her colleagues. It's not unfair at all... Who said she raised her voice too high and was too ridiculous? Two days later, thanks to her colleague's silent help, Truong Kieu finally finished the cumbersome data work. Both she and the person who helped out breathed a sigh of relief. But as soon as he finished, Truong Kieu just left behind a superficial sentence: "Thank you~" Then as if nothing had happened, he immediately turned to other things. This made the other colleague extremely uncomfortable. If Truong Kieu was just a naive dreamer, she might have gritted her teeth and ignored it. But — everyone still remembers clearly: • After the team-building meal the day before, • The next day, Truong Kieu even ran up to the office holding a small bouquet of chrysanthemums to thank the manager. The manager conveniently threw her a headache-inducing chore. As a result, Truong Kieu went on WeChat to "do literary work", boasting: "My manager pampers me, calling me Giao Giao~" However, towards the person who really helped her complete the job - Truong Kieu only threw a "thank you" as a matter of fact, without any further action. The other colleague even imagined that Truong Kieu would invite him a cup of milk tea to show his gratitude. Result? Dreaming too much is useless. It was Truong Kieu's style of "seeing people and dealing with them" that gradually made even neutral people in the office bored. It can be said that not everyone has the courage to: • Been in the company for less than half a month, • Can already make most colleagues uncomfortable. But Truong Kieu... Can do it! 4 Two days later, the president wanted to send someone to S town on business, leaving the same day, returning the same day. The manager receives the task, then starts looking for people under him. Of course, the "old men" in the room all found enough excuses: "Lately busy with projects..." "I have a client meeting..." "Recently my health has been a bit weak..." In general, no one would be foolish enough to accept. Finally, the manager turned to Truong Kieu, his face bright, his voice sweet: "Giao Giao~ There is an important task, I trust you to entrust it to you..." Truong Kieu listened, both nervous and excited. Because she offended the whole room, no one bothered to remind her, she thought it was because of this "golden responsibility". The manager said frankly: "Going to S town for work, leave in the morning, come back in the evening." Truong Kieu's eyes widened: "Ah... So should we go by train or by plane?" The manager smiled: "Of course I can fly, but I can also stay at a commercial hotel." Hearing the words "airplane" and "hotel", Truong Kieu immediately scripted: "This is definitely the kind of luxurious job in the movie!" She happily agreed, even excitedly posting on WeChat Moments before leaving: 【Today my boss told me: "Giao Giao, I believe in you."】 【First time flying on business, suddenly felt like a female business tycoon!】 【Come on, Giao Giao!】 Thai Hoa finished reading the post, laughed so much that her stomach trembled, and said to me: "Does this girl have brain problems? It's obviously hard labor, but it keeps transforming itself into a scene where the manager trains the baby, just like the mango pudding incident!” I nodded: "Just like Kieu Trau Ngua, my monthly salary must be 80 thousand to dare flatter me like this." Thai Hoa laughed and rolled out of her chair: "Ha! 80 thousand? With the manager's stinginess, not deducting KPI is already a godsend! Wait until you get paid, you will automatically wake up from the dream." I also nodded: "Just lick it, then you'll understand later. What's the truth? Going on a business trip during the day, you have to do your own work and manage yourself, but the company controls the budget. This means: Surely you have to sit on a night flight and you'll be tired to death. This is the reason why all the "old-timers" refused. As expected, Truong Kieu set foot on the "famous" flight: ✈ Xuan Thu Airlines - Symbol of cheap flights, seats Hard as a rock, the service was "economical" to the point of crying. The next morning, Truong Kieu bombed WeChat Moments again. She stood in front of the panoramic glass window at the airport, holding up her phone in a "romantic heroine" pose: 【It's four o'clock in the morning, Hai Duong hasn't slept yet, Last time I just casually said one sentence, but the boss kept it in mind.】 【The CEO specially arranged for me to see the night sky again. 】 【It's so beautiful, it's so strange. Looking at the world from a different perspective, the experience is really new.】 What's the truth? • Arrive at the airport at 4:00 a.m., I'm exhausted. • Arrive at the hotel at 5-6:00 a.m., I'm lucky to get up for work at 7:00 a.m. • In the afternoon, I have to go back and take a cheap flight, my mind is dizzy body, dust, labor, hardship. Yet Kieu Trau Ngua still tried to write a love novel, posting a caption like: "The CEO especially loves me!" We could only look at each other: "Her brain... must be different from a human's structure." If the story ended here, we would at most just blurt out two complaints. But no. Climax drama starts from here. The big problem that happened was: Last time, someone forwarded Truong Kieu's post to the manager. From then on, the manager started closely monitoring her WeChat Moments. This time, seeing Truong Kieu write the caption "four o'clock in the morning, Hai Duong hasn't slept yet", he was extremely pleased with her "positive attitude", even using her as an example to teach the whole room: "Look at Giao Giao and learn! Don't complain, don't complain, know how to find joy in difficulties! Even though the flight is at 2 a.m., people know how to enjoy the beautiful scenery and see the world from a different perspective. Those kids should also learn my positive attitude young people!” Whole room: “……” For a long time, we have been dissatisfied with the manager: •He often takes on tasks that are not in his department, just to score points with the general manager. •For example, gathering old data from several years ago, or this business trip, are not related to our department. •However, he ignored us and kept patting us on the shoulder:

“This is your chance to show off that ability, try your best!”

At first, we worked obediently, plowing day and night, staying up late to work overtime. The result? Not even a penny of bonus money is anywhere to be found. At this point, everyone learned wisely: "If you like to do things, do it yourself, don't drag us into it." Therefore, everyone tries to "play responsible football" to avoid it. Now it's good, Truong Kieu voluntarily goes into the net, even deceiving herself that: "The leader especially pampers me." As a result, the manager also used her as a golden example. Of course, this made the whole room fume inside: “Okay, go lick yourself, from now on we won't help you anymore. If not, we will even be turned into a platform for you.” From here, the office drama entered the cold war phase: Truong Kieu gradually isolated herself without even realizing it.