Chapter 5 — Power Games and Illusions

I shrugged my shoulders, calmly: "Looking at that cheerful face, I definitely believe it." After hearing that, Thai Hoa burst out laughing, laughing so much that she almost choked on her tea: "Ha... it's true that Giao Giao's buffaloes and horses didn't disappoint me." Sure enough, a few days later, Truong Kieu was in a very good mood. • Walk lightly, • Always smile, • Occasionally hum and sing softly. Just look at it and you'll know: "She's very confident." At that moment, one day a colleague in the next room walked up and asked me: "Miss Linh, did you say your salary is 3700?" I nodded: "Yes, what's wrong? Truong Kieu told you?" The other person nodded strongly: "That's right. She even happily boasted that her salary is 3700, the same as her sister, and she is treated equally with her." Me: “………” A moment later, I gasped and exclaimed in surprise: “Wait… her salary is also 3700? Is that a coincidence?” I swear, at that time I made up the number 3700 completely arbitrarily! But... I immediately won the real number?! The colleague in the next room clicked his tongue and exclaimed: "Oh my god... 3700 is really a bit low." I nodded, keeping a serious face: "Yes, that's right." But in my heart: "This is called... heaven's will is tantalizing." But our company is located right in the CBD - a busy commercial center area with very high consumption, so the average salary of companies here is definitely higher than 3000. In addition, the industry we are working in is also developing, so the salary level at the company is considered good compared to the area. Yet Truong Kieu only received... 3700?! My colleagues and I shook our heads and analyzed: "The company evaluates salary based on main job performance. She just joined and doesn't do the core work, so HR probably forced her price during negotiations. It's not surprising that the salary is so low." This is also the reason why we - the "old" employees - all avoid all the chores that our managers push down on us, and even some arduous business trips. "If you work, you do it, but the salary is not better than anyone else's, and there is no reward, so why suffer?" If Truong Kieu behaved more kindly to her colleagues, maybe someone would remind her and show her how to avoid traps and attacks. It's a pity - she was a failure, no one wanted to contribute, and in the end she had to live with her "baby" salary. That afternoon, I returned to the office, smiled and asked Truong Kieu: "Hey, how much did you get for your recent work trip?" Truong Kieu smiled brightly, looking noble: "It's okay~ It's good to have the opportunity to practice, it doesn't matter if you get a reward or not!" Me: “Oh… it's not real.” If there really was a reward, she would definitely brag about it, but there's no way she would keep her mouth shut like that. But now, Truong Kieu is in a period of sky-high confidence because she discovered: My salary is equal to Linh's! She was extremely pleased, beaming with every step, of course she wouldn't bother paying attention to a bonus that didn't exist. It's just... I really don't understand: "What's so proud of 3700?" But then I thought: Some people, just by feeling superior to others, even if they win by eating dung, can still hold their heads high like a proud donkey. I secretly looked forward to: "I wonder when she finds out that someone else's salary is 6000 - 8000, how her face will... change?" 7 Time passes quickly, in an instant it's already May. After the May 1st holiday, Giao Giao returned to the company and continued to work tirelessly as a prostitute. The manager found her just right Stupid and easy-going, she immediately praised her, then assigned her own tasks like: "Giao Giao~ print some documents for me~" "Giao Giao is really good, run to the post office to help me get the envelope~" She happily went to work, still thinking she was "the most favored baby in the universe". Until one day... Truong Kieu suddenly cried and screamed, running straight to my desk, her voice so loud that the whole office fell silent: "Miss Linh!! Have I offended you in any way?! Why did you have to lie to me?!" I almost dropped the computer mouse and raised my head: "What... what is that?" Truong Kieu sobbed like rain, tears and nose running: "You said your salary was 3700! You lied to me!!!" Ah... so I know the truth. I thought to myself: "When a normal person is being pranked, they will be embarrassed and quietly grit their teeth and ignore it. She is the opposite - screaming and questioning me in the middle of the office?! This is about yelling, then I will sympathize and ask the company for a raise? Are you crazy?!" I still maintained a calm attitude and asked again: "How do you know I lied?" Truong Kieu slammed the table and shouted angrily: "Your monthly salary is 8,000, but you told me it was 3,700!" I tilted my head: "Who said your salary is 8,000?" She accidentally blurted out: "My master said!" I raised my eyebrows: "Oh, who is your master?" Truong Kieu immediately changed direction: "Why are you asking? Tell me, why did you lie to me?! Do you consider me a monkey to play with?!" I crossed my arms, my voice was calm but cold: "That's right. You think of me as a monkey. So what?" As soon as this sentence ended, the whole office was silent for two seconds. Truong Kieu stood completely still, eyes wide and mouth open, as if she had just been hit in the face with an egg. Obviously, she didn't expect me to openly admit it, but even so calmly and terrifyingly, without any shame, she arrogantly declared: "Yes, you're kidding me, why?" The blind confidence, the illusion that "Miss Linh must really like me, she just didn't say it", was shattered to pieces. After a long while, Truong Kieu was so angry that she trembled and shouted angrily: "How could you lie to me?! Do you think I'm a monkey to joke with? You're really mean!" I laughed, nonchalantly leaned back in my chair, and slowly said: "The company has salary confidentiality regulations. If you tell me the truth, isn't that a violation of the regulations? You're just following company rules, is there anything wrong?" Then I tilted my head and smiled sweetly: "As for you, you go around asking for salary everywhere, and even show off other people's salary. Are... you the one who violated it?" A stream of righteous words hit Truong Kieu in the face, causing her to open her mouth and not be able to refute. Anyway… technically, she doesn't have the upper hand at all. I smiled like spring flowers in March, but the words that came out were like the cold wind of early winter: "Giao Giao~ You asked people's salaries everywhere, and spread internal matters throughout the office, just wait to receive a fine from the administration~" After saying that, I left her alone and continued working as if nothing had happened. This kind of thing? • Once, you played dirty behind my back, • Twice, you pretended to be stupid and asked for information, • Three times, you even dared to blatantly scream in the middle of the office demanding "fairness"? Did she think I was a flashlight without a switch? After I interrupted her for a few words, Truong Kieu stood still, not knowing how to respond. In the end, he could only stomp his feet, purse his lips, look full of resentment and walk away like a little girl being unfairly scolded. Everyone in the office does Star? No one bothers to care. Everyone just kept working as usual, no one was involved in a "ticking bomb" like her. Perhaps, in her heart, Truong Kieu thought: "This is not a big deal..." "Sister Linh is too much, so I have to scream!" But she did not expect that - When the matter became public, the human resources and administration side was required to handle it according to regulations. Just a few days later, the penalty notice was posted publicly: Truong Kieu and her "master" were criticized and disciplined for violating salary confidentiality regulations, causing a negative impact on the office environment. Truong Kieu was completely shocked. That's when I knew: It turned out that she got into the company thanks to that "master"'s support. Even though that person doesn't have a high position, I don't know how he managed to get her in. The problem is — I got in thanks to my connections, but I still only get a salary of 3700?! I really couldn't help but think: "You came in through the back door, but in the end you still got the 'little' salary of 3700, so is it because your ability is not enough, or is it because 'master' can't love you anymore?" You must know that - at my company, the internship salary is usually only a little more than 3,000. After officially joining the payroll, most of them reach the level of 4000+, working for half a year and get a quarterly bonus. Divided up, the average monthly salary is 6000 or more. As for me, after a year of working, I have received a salary increase once, the current average per month is about 8,000, which in the city of "Manh Mau Tam Thien Thanh" is already in the mid-high level. Yet Truong Kieu only received... 3,700. Even with precious rewards, it still wouldn't amount to 5,000.