Chapter 29: I Detest Those Who Rely on Backdoor Connections

It turned out it was not just my imagination.

The attitude of my colleagues toward me was subtle and cold, with the exception of one person: Cancan. She was exceptionally friendly and enthusiastic toward me.

"This is your desk. My seat is right in front of yours. From now on, we’re colleagues, so let's look out for each other!"

Cancan flashed a brilliant smile. She wasn't exactly breathtakingly beautiful, but there was something unexpectedly endearing about her when she laughed. As a newcomer, she handed me a stack of documents, claiming it would help me get familiar with the Design Department. In reality, I had already gone through this information the day before. Of course, I didn't say that, as I noticed these files were even more detailed than the ones I had accessed.

Tucked among them was a cheat sheet. It contained rough character profiles of my colleagues and bits of gossip. For instance, so-and-so was dating so-and-so; or, someone had been bold enough to try and woo the supervisor, only to have their bonus docked and end up in a slump. I stared at it, stunned.

Cancan winked at me. "Take your time reading. We’ll go to lunch together later."

"Thank you." I hadn't expected this girl to be such a pro at curating office gossip.

The morning passed quickly. Seeing everyone busy while I sat there idle made me feel an inexplicable sense of guilt. During the lunch break, Cancan gathered her files and said, "I’m going to drop these off with the supervisor first. Wait for me; I'll take you to the cafeteria. The food there is amazing!"

"Sure, I'll wait."

Enthusiastic, sunny girls are always easy to like, and I was more than happy to befriend her. But I waited for a long time, and she didn't return.

Someone passed by and threw a snide remark my way, dripping with sarcasm: "Some people really need some self-awareness. Thinking you're so charming that everyone wants to be your friend? She probably left ages ago."

The person next to her nudged her with a laugh, and they hurried away.

I felt confused, sensing that this woman was speaking at me while scolding someone else. I gave Cancan a call. It rang for a long time before she answered.

"I have something urgent to attend to and can't make it back for now. Go eat by yourself. That's all, bye."

She hung up without even giving me a chance to speak. I parted my lips, then thought better of it. Forget it; I still had to eat even if I was alone. As for Cancan’s strange behavior... I would ask her this afternoon.

After lunch, I returned to the department. The strange atmosphere was even more pronounced. I tried to greet a colleague sitting near the entrance, but he ignored me. It was obvious he had heard me, yet he deliberately spoke loudly to the colleague across from him instead.

Now I was certain. I was being ostracized.

I returned to my desk quietly. Cancan had returned and was sitting in front of me.

"Cancan..."

As soon as I spoke, her back stiffened, but she didn't turn around. The avoidance was blatant. I wasn't the type to let a problem fester, so I tapped her on the shoulder. Cancan couldn't pretend not to hear me anymore and turned around, her smile forced and stiff.

"Is something the matter?"

"Did you have lunch?"

"I did..."

"What happened at noon? Do you need any help?"

"No, thank you."

After spending the morning with her, I was convinced that Cancan was a friendly, sunny, and cheerful girl. By contrast, her current coldness was glaring. I thought for a moment and asked directly, "Have I offended you?"

Cancan’s eyes widened. "No, no, I haven't."

"You clearly don't want to talk to me right now. Can you tell me why?"

The stiff, awkward smile on her face slowly faded, and she lowered her head to avoid my gaze.

"Cancan..."

"Can you just stop asking!" She suddenly looked up, looking incredibly annoyed just because I had called her name.

I pursed my lips and fell silent. Cancan awkwardly turned her head away. "I misjudged you before. I won't be friends with you. You should go try to cozy up to someone else."

"Why?"

"Why, why, why? Why are there so many whys! Adults are just like this—I don't want to be friends with you, can't you see that?"

The young girl puffed out her cheeks, looking a bit fierce. I sighed. "I just want to know the reason."

Cancan glared at me, seething. Finally, as if she realized she couldn't get rid of me, she huffed, "Because I hate people who pull strings!"

We weren't whispering, and the people around us, though pretending to be busy, were all listening with varying degrees of attention. When Cancan said that, their hands moved even faster, but their ears were pricked up.

"Who says I pulled strings?"

"Supervisor Cui Lu," Cancan said. "And it's true you didn't go through the assessment to join our department; you were parachuted in. Don't try to fool me with words."

If you insisted on calling it being "parachuted in," that wasn't exactly wrong. I couldn't refute that.

"I admit, I was indeed brought in directly."

Cancan looked at me in surprise. Even the colleagues nearby, who had been busy with who-knows-what, slowly stopped what they were doing.

"But just like everyone else, I have to start from scratch. I have no privileges, and I won't be taking away anyone else's resources. Treat me the same way you’d treat any new colleague; there’s no need to feel any pressure." If they treated me with special deference, Zhou Chenyan would probably be the first one unhappy about it.

"How is that possible? If you hadn't pulled strings, this position should have gone to this year's new graduates. You’ve effectively stolen someone else's opportunity! Besides, the Design Department is already marginalized in this company. Have you even studied design? Do you know what design even is?"

"Don't hold us back!" Cancan was indignant, her round face flushed with anger.

"Of course I have the skills to be here."

Zhou’s father was not the type to just stuff people into the company. He had reviewed my credentials and the designs I created during university. His standards were even stricter than the Human Resources department. I had passed his assessment. However, my colleagues didn't know me well, and it was only natural for them to be skeptical. There was no point in arguing further.

"Even if you all have reservations about me, I hope you can give me a chance to prove myself. I will never hold this team back."

Perhaps because my tone was overly sincere, everyone exchanged glances. No one truly made things difficult for me, and even Cancan just turned around, looking awkward. The department soon returned to a state of calm, as if no one cared about the matter anymore. During the afternoon break, I pretended to go to the pantry, but instead, I went to find our supervisor, Cui Lu.

Cui Lu was a woman in her thirties, rigid and solemn, with an extremely stern personality. People called her "Master Extinction." Everyone felt a head shorter in her presence. That was the power of her aura.

"You're looking for me?" She sat behind her desk, and when she looked up at me, even my heart skipped a beat.

I straightened my posture and said, "It’s like this: I feel there is some misunderstanding among my colleagues. They think I got this job by pulling strings..."

"And isn't that true?"

I paused, then gave a faint smile in the face of her sharp gaze. "I can understand that my colleagues don't know the truth, but surely you do?"