Chapter 6 — Power Games and Illusions

We later sat down to analyze and guessed: Perhaps the company didn't really want to keep Truong Kieu at first, but because it was "difficult to refuse outright", they intentionally proposed a low salary, hoping that she would find it not worth it and leave. Who would have thought... Truong Kieu was as stubborn as a cow, gritted her teeth and held on, even thinking she was being "favored". After that, she heard about my salary from the "master", and ended up being so angry that she lost her wits and even "sold out" the master in front of me. Result: both people were punished and their names were posted on the disciplinary notice board. I guess at that time her master was sitting somewhere beating his chest, regretting until his face turned blue: "Just how stupid was I to bring this 'unlucky object' into the company..." Not long after the salary breakdown subsided, another scandal broke out, making Truong Kieu officially famous throughout the office. To tell this story, we have to go back to when she first started working. At first, because she was new, everyone was still enthusiastically helpful. But after just a few times Truong Kieu "expressed her abstract identity", everyone immediately kept a safe distance. Then, when no one among the sisters helped anymore, Truong Kieu called... a male colleague. That's right — Giao Giao not only coddles with her manager, but also exerts her full potential with her male colleagues. We once sat in a meeting to discuss academic analysis and came to the conclusion: For the manager → she uses coddling to "strengthen her position". Towards male colleagues → she uses coddling to "turn others into tools". In the eyes of male colleagues, Truong Kieu is an "almighty little white lotus": • Puckering lips, blinking eyes, turning head: basic level. • Shake your hips, lean your body, voice soft like noodles: medium level. • Calling “Help them~”, “They can't do it~”: full combo max level. At first, because they were afraid to refuse, a few male colleagues still lightly helped with a few small tasks. She saw that this tactic was effective, so she immediately left her sisters and switched to "using only men". Result? Being abused to the point of exhaustion, some male colleagues began to stay away like the plague. Every time Truong Kieu called: "Brother~ help me a little~" the brothers immediately disappeared without a trace, some even pretended to call, some carried the printer for "virtual maintenance" during the break. One time... Male colleague Ly Ban was assigned by his boss to go out to work. Truong Kieu then asked him to stop by a famous bakery nearby to buy a loaf of bread for her. Ly Bin has a gentle personality and was not in a hurry at that time, so he agreed. After finishing his work, he honestly stopped by the bakery to buy the 32-yuan loaf that Truong Kieu wanted. Why do I know the exact price? Because later... Ly Ban himself "confessed" in front of the entire office. Ly Ban brought the cake back and gave it to Truong Kieu. She pretended to be sweet, puckered her lips in thanks: "Thank you~" Then grinned, seemingly very cute. Ly Ban thought to himself: "Maybe she will transfer the money and say thank you politely..." I also prepared a few polite sentences to respond. Who would have thought - Truong Kieu received the cake and immediately turned around and left. From start to finish… No transfers. Don't ask price. Don't touch anything about money. 8 Ly Ban froze on the spot. At that moment, he could have called her back and said directly: "Cake 32 is bad, please pass it to me." But — you I am the type of person who is easily shy and feels that a man calling a girl back to ask for 32 yuan is both a loss of face and a loss of affection. So, just hold on. Hopefully Truong Kieu will voluntarily transfer the money. Result? Waited for several days, still no sign of money. At this point, it becomes an awkward situation: If it's been a few days and now you turn around and ask for 32 yuan, people will say it's a meticulous calculation. In the end... Ly Bin had to swallow the bitterness and silently accept the loss. At first, only the two of them knew about this, we on the outside didn't know anything. Until one day - Ms. Thai Hoa and I finished work, were surfing WeChat, and saw Truong Kieu post a "nine boxes" post. In the photo, she is holding a loaf of cake, head tilted, smiling face, posing in all kinds of poses. The caption content is as follows: 【Today I asked my male colleague to buy a cake for me, without hesitation he came from far away to bring it to me, thank you very much~】 【Everyone treats me like a baby and pampers me~ actually... I feel a bit shy, hehe】 【Then... give him a treat!】💋 Thai Hoa and I looked at each other... we wanted to laugh. Twisted jaw. Buy a cake without paying for it, and then go online and pretend to be "shy", act cute, and pretend to be generous and "pay lip service"? This is Truong Kieu — "Giao Giao buffaloes and horses" — "Expert at selling fake products that depend on their thick skin and eat money without blinking an eye." That kind of sweetness like dipped in honey... reading it gave us goosebumps all over our bodies. Someone left a comment: 【Does he like you?】 Truong Kieu replied: 【Probably... no.】 The other person immediately continued: 【It's impossible not to like you! If you don't like it, why would you bother running so far away just to buy you a cake?】 So Truong Kieu acted deeply again: 【Haha, does someone really like me? It's been so many years that no one has chased me... I really want to try the feeling of being chased by someone just once...】 The group of comments below seemed to be flattering: 【How is that possible! You're so cute, so beautiful!】 【Don't believe it~ You're so pretty, how can no one follow you~】 【It's not true... it's not true... I'll cry, sobbing...】 ➤ Yes, it's the same old interactive baiting tricks: flirting - naive audience - waiting for someone to flatter. But... Truong Kieu seems to be very immersed in that fantasy game. Ms. Thai Hoa looked at it and whispered: "Who is that stupid guy? Even bringing him a cake?" I shook my head: "I don't know..." At that time, the two of us didn't even think about Ly Ban. Because — Ly Ban has a girlfriend! At that time, we were still busy eating, and after watching these fake deer games, we completely forgot about them. But on the other side, Ly Ban was so angry that he wanted to choke. It's not enough to explain, but if you don't speak up, it's even more uncomfortable. In the end, I had to... stay silent. Who would have thought - just a few days later, things broke out, and a gentle person like Ly Ban... finally exploded.