Chapter 50 Isn't This Punishment Way Too Light?

Early in the morning, I discovered that a document on my desk had vanished.

It was handed to me yesterday by our team leader, with instructions to submit it today.

After frantically searching my desk, Qian Yushu noticed and asked, "Sister Mu, what are you looking for?"

"The document the team leader gave me yesterday is missing."

"Is it that document that was placed right on top?"

Judging by his tone, he seemed to know something. I nodded. "Yes, I was worried I wouldn't be able to find it, so I deliberately placed it on top of all the other paperwork."

I had planned to tackle it first thing today.

Qan Yushu scratched the back of his head. "I took that document."

"What did you take it for?"

Qian Yushu put on a conciliatory and amiable tone. "Sister Mu, you know I made a few mistakes before, which has left the team leader with a rather poor impression of me. Could you... let me finish this task?"

Ever since we became colleagues, he had rarely approached me with any requests of his own accord.

This was the first time.

I was surprised. "But that was a task assigned to me by the team leader..."

Qian Yushu brought his hands together in a plea, his expression deeply earnest.

"Please, Sister Mu, I really need this opportunity. Later, I'll treat you to a nice meal—a grand feast, with lobsters!"

While we were talking, our colleagues began walking in one after another.

...Never mind.

"Since you've already taken it, just keep it."

"Thank you, Sister Mu!"

His voice was a bit too loud, drawing the gazes of several colleagues. I shot him a glare. "Cut it out. You don't need to keep thanking me; get back to your work."

He chuckled foolishly and turned away.

I shook my head. In truth, I didn't care much about this particular task, as I still had plenty of other matters on my plate.

Han Qi trusted me implicitly; he had entrusted thirty percent of his workload to me, and the remaining twenty percent to Qian Yushu.

Yet, out of such a simple task, things still managed to go awry.

In the afternoon, the team leader called us in for a meeting.

During the meeting, Han Qi wore a stern face. "Whose work is this data analysis?"

Zhou Zhizi hesitated for a moment before raising her hand.

Having already glanced at the contents of the document, I instinctively looked over at Qian Yushu. He lowered his head, a guilty conscience written all over him.

He had lied to me.

Han Qi had already begun his reprimand. "All the figures on this are wrong. How on earth do you work? How could you make mistakes on something so simple?"

This was probably Zhou Zhizi's first time being criticized publicly, and her face burned bright red with humiliation.

"I'm sorry..."

"Take the report back and redo it. I want to see it on my desk before close of business today. If it's not finished, you'll stay late to work overtime."

"But this isn't my fault!"

"If it's not your fault, whose is it? Mine?" Han Qi retorted.

"The document was already like this when it was handed to me. I didn't make these errors," Zhou Zhizi said, looking deeply aggrieved.

I jerked my head up.

Just in time to see Zhou Zhizi glance at me, then timidly withdraw her gaze.

"This file originally belonged to Sister Yanyin. When she handed it over to me, it was already half-finished. I assumed Sister Yanyin wouldn't make mistakes, so I didn't double-check it..."

"Mu Yanyin, is that true?"

Han Qi looked at me.

My gaze shifted from Zhou Zhizi to Qian Yushu. The former met my eyes with an air of righteous confidence, while the latter avoided my gaze entirely.

"Team leader, I was indeed the one working on the file initially."

Han Qi frowned in confusion. "Then why did you hand it over to Zhou Zhizi?"

I didn't have the habit of cleaning up after other people's messes and was just about to tell the absolute truth.

Zhou Zhizi suddenly chimed in, "Sister Yanyin, given how careful and meticulous your personality is, you surely wouldn't have left such obvious mistakes behind, would you?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm just speaking the truth," Zhou Zhizi said, her voice soft and melodious. "It was precisely because I believed in your capability and attention to detail that I didn't bother to check it."

"Are you saying I framed you?"

"I didn't say that."

Yet that was unmistakably what she meant.

Anger surged from the bottom of my heart, but I forced myself to calm down quickly, realizing that I had almost fallen into her trap.

I had originally intended to give a straightforward explanation.

By throwing this wrench into the conversation, she had nearly diverted all attention toward the question of whether or not I had framed her.

That would have plunged me into a frenzy of trying to prove my own innocence.

Thus causing everyone to overlook her initial mistake.

"Team leader, the moment I arrived at the office this morning, I found the file missing. Someone had taken it."

"If someone intentionally snatched your work away, you can tell me the truth, and I will set things right for you."

Han Qi's words served as a guarantee.

It was also an encouragement for me to speak the truth.

Naturally, I wasn't going to let his good intentions go to waste. "Qian Yushu took it. He wanted to finish the task himself."

Abruptly called out by name, Qian Yushu finally raised his head, though he still refused to look at me.

I figured he simply didn't dare.

"Sister Yanyin, how can you say something like that? You were the one who handed this document to me!" Zhou Zhizi stood up for Qian Yushu, fighting his battles. "You can't just commit an oversight in your work and deliberately frame someone else."

She stepped in front of Qian Yushu, adopting a posture that suggested she would protect him with her life.

"I won't allow you to treat him this way. He has an introverted personality and is very honest; don't bully him."

This display of gallantry touched Qian Yushu profoundly; the gaze he directed toward her was as gentle as water.

I knew her capabilities all too well; she was exceptionally skilled at turning black into white and completely inverting right and wrong.

Therefore, I didn't waste time arguing with her. I kept my eyes fixed squarely on Qian Yushu behind her.

"Qian Yushu, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Sister Mu, I'm sorry..."

Before he could finish his opening sentence, Zhou Zhizi cut him off. "What do you have to apologize for? We're all in the same team; it makes no sense that she's allowed to do these tasks while we aren't."

She held her head high, resembling a proud white swan.

Refusing to let herself suffer even the slightest grievance.

"Sister Yanyin, I can back down and yield to you in other matters, but not this one."

Annoyed to the extreme by her pretentious acting, I ignored her and stared straight at Qian Yushu. "I'll ask you one more time: what is the actual truth behind this? Are you going to speak up or not?"

He looked toward Zhou Zhizi with hesitation.

I issued a warning. "I've always believed that even though you have certain shortcomings in your personality, you aren't muddle-headed and you possess some genuine competence. I truly regarded you as a colleague, but if you don't speak the truth today, you won't ever need to explain yourself to me again."

Zhou Zhizi shielded him once more. "Qian Yushu, don't be afraid. If you didn't do something, don't admit to it. No one can hurt you."

Yet this time, Qian Yushu stopped listening to her.

He stepped forward of his own accord.

"I'm sorry, Sister Mu, Team leader. This is entirely my fault. I was the one who took that document, and I was the one who gave it to Zhizi."

Zhou Zhizi looked utterly incredulous. "Qian Yushu!"

Han Qi cast a cold glance at her. "Enough. There's no place for you to speak right now."

Zhou Zhizi bit her lip in bitter resentment.

Gritting his teeth, Qian Yushu spilled the whole story. "I saw that Zhizi was too bored on her own, so I went to Sister Mu and asked for a relatively simple task to give to her..."

Han Qi grew displeased. "You treat work as a tool to kill time?"

"I'm sorry!"

Realizing by now that any further explanations would be futile, Qian Yushu adopted a sincere attitude of admitting his fault, even offering a bow.

Zhou Zhizi covered her mouth and took a step back. "Qian Yushu, you... how could you do something like this? You should have made things clear to me. I thought Sister Yanyin wanted me to take over! If I had known from the start that it was you asking for it, I never would have accepted it."

Qian Yushu gave a bitter smile. "I knew your self-esteem was strong, which is why I didn't tell the truth."

...One could say those rose-tinted glasses of his were remarkably thick.

How could anyone fail to see through such clumsy and affected acting?

I instinctively glanced over at Han Qi, only to see him gazing at Qian Yushu with a face full of sympathy.

Perhaps, just perhaps...

He probably found Qian Yushu pitiable as well.

Han Qi rubbed his temples. "Forget it. Both of you are at fault for today's incident. The two of you will redo this data analysis together."

This was clearly intended as a light punishment, letting them off easy.

I had assumed the matter was finally over, when a voice suddenly echoed from the doorway.

"Isn't that punishment a bit too lenient?"

It was Zhou Chenyan.