Chapter 12: Even More Childish Than Me

Amid Meng Xingzhe’s angry questioning, Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng managed to sneakily use his bathroom to wash up under pressure.

Meng Xingzhe was so exasperated that he kept repeating, “I’m impressed, really impressed. What on earth is this? I’m truly impressed.”

Just as they were about to leave, Tong Yumo finally finished her morning routine and makeup, freeing up the bathroom. She emerged, looking radiant.

Yao Jia hadn’t left yet. She stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall opposite the bathroom door, waiting specifically for Tong Yumo to come out.

As soon as Tong Yumo saw her, she exclaimed, “Yao Jia, what are you doing standing here with your eyes wide open? You scared me!”

Yao Jia was amazed at how oblivious some people could be.

Why am I standing here waiting for you? Don’t you have any clue?

Tong Yumo, holding her makeup bag, turned to leave, but Yao Jia extended her arm, blocking her path with a commanding gesture. The extra seven centimeters in height between her 167 cm and Tong Yumo’s 160 cm added a formidable presence.

Tong Yumo shrank back like a timid rabbit. “What are you doing?”

Yao Jia replied, “I want to talk.”

“Can’t it wait until tonight? It’s early, and I’m rushing to work,” Tong Yumo said, frowning.

Yao Jia laughed. “So you know it’s early and you have to rush to work, yet you hog the bathroom, preventing others from getting ready?” She paused, her voice turning stern. “Tong Yumo, maybe you’re a little princess at home, with the living room, kitchen, and bathroom revolving around you. But you’re not at home now. We live collectively here, and the bathroom isn’t yours alone. I hope you won’t monopolize it in the mornings.”

“But I need to do my makeup!” Tong Yumo’s voice was filled with grievance and logic.

“Can’t you do your makeup in your room?” Yao Jia couldn’t understand why she felt wronged or where her logic came from.

“But here’s the thing, I need to use the toilet when I wake up. Before that, I have to disinfect it thoroughly. Then I wash up and do my makeup. After I’m done, I need to use the toilet again. If I do my makeup in my room, and you use the toilet in between, I’d have to disinfect it all over again. It’s troublesome and time-consuming! So it’s more reasonable for me to finish everything in one go, and then you can use the bathroom as you like,” Tong Yumo explained, pointing back at the bathroom. “See, it’s free now. You can use it.”

Yao Jia was almost amused by the absurdity of her reasoning, which was both self-consistent and confidently presented.

Years of dealing with Yao Bingkun had taught her that when someone refuses to be reasonable, there’s no point in arguing. Just confront them directly.

So Yao Jia gave Tong Yumo an ultimatum. “Tong Yumo, if you want to be a princess and indulge in your princess syndrome, do it at home. Don’t treat the Employee Dormitory as your personal domain. I’ll say it again: you can do your makeup in your room. If you monopolize the bathroom again tomorrow morning under the pretext of doing your makeup, I’ll take the kitchen knife and chop down the door. Try me if you don’t believe it.”

Tong Yumo’s face turned red with shock and her eyes filled with tears. She bit her lip, on the verge of crying. “Yao Jia, how can you be like this? You’re bullying me!”

At this moment, Tian Huasheng approached, also preparing to leave for work. Having nearly burst his bladder earlier, he sided with Yao Jia and said, “Tong Yumo, let me be fair. Yao Jia isn’t bullying you. You’re indeed a bit excessive.”

Tong Yumo was flustered, stomping her foot. “You two are ganging up on me!”

Tian Huasheng, accused, also stomped his foot in frustration. “Hey, we’re not doing anything to you. Don’t be paranoid!”

Just then, Meng Xingzhe walked out of his room. He wore a white shirt and suit pants, his long, straight legs accentuated by the trousers. The temperature was high today, so he didn’t wear a jacket. Even in such a simple outfit, he stood out in a crowd. Some people have such striking features and build that even draping a curtain over them would look stylish. Meng Xingzhe was one of those people.

Bathed in the golden morning light streaming through the living room window, Meng Xingzhe approached like the male lead in a drama, coming to rescue the damsel in distress.

Tong Yumo’s tears, which had been held back, finally fell, perfectly timed to roll down her cheek just as Meng Xingzhe stopped in front of them.

At that moment, Yao Jia was amazed, both by her impressive crying skills and the resilience of her makeup, which didn’t smudge even when wet.

With a tear glistening on her cheek, Tong Yumo said, “Meng Xingzhe, they’re bullying me. Please, help me!”

Meng Xingzhe, having changed his shoes, stood firm and glanced at Tong Yumo. His tone was calm and even. “I don’t mediate disputes. There’s no need to ask me.”

He looked at Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng, then back at Tong Yumo. “But since you’re all here, I think it’s necessary to emphasize something. The bathroom outside is for public use. I trust you all understand what public use means. The bathroom in my room is for my private use. Please take note. I hope from tomorrow, the functions of the two bathrooms won’t be confused again.”

With that, he asked them to step aside, thanking them.

The voice carried an unexpected air of authority.

Of course, he was indeed the oldest in the room.

The other three unconsciously made way for him, and Yao Jia and Tian Huasheng followed him out the door to head to work.

Upon arriving at the company and swiping into the call center, Yao Jia barely had time to warm her chair before Lin Qian called her out for a talk.

Lin Qian led Yao Jia to the hallway and said, “Just now, Hao Lidan, the senior employee responsible for guiding Tong Yumo, came to me. She reported that you were acting arrogantly and excessively in the Employee Dormitory, forming cliques to bully others, and intimidating your female colleagues. She said that on the very first day, you started bullying Tong Yumo. What will happen in the future? She described Tong Yumo as soft and honest, not one to argue, and insisted I, as the Team Leader, intervene. I don’t usually listen to just one side of the story, so tell me, what’s really going on?”

As Yao Jia listened, she nearly burst into laughter. She finally understood what it meant for the guilty to complain first.

She recounted the morning’s events. At the end, she added, “Team Leader, you can ask Tian Huasheng. If what we say matches, then decide who is telling the truth and who is exaggerating and distorting the facts.”

Lin Qian nodded. “I spoke with Tian Huasheng before I called you. What you both said is consistent.”

Yao Jia suddenly felt that Lin Qian was incredibly wise. In her eyes, Lin Qian seemed even more beautiful and charming.

“So, Team Leader, tell me, what should I do when faced with someone so unreasonable?”

“Don’t stoop to her level, just let it go,” Lin Qian advised.

Yao Jia felt a twinge of disappointment. She thought Lin Qian wasn’t the type to side with the weak just because they played the victim. But it turned out she was like most leaders, smoothing things over.

“Team Leader, some people, when you let them off, they remember your kindness and are moved. But others take it for granted and walk all over you. This morning, Tian Huasheng and I nearly suffocated!”

“Still, you shouldn’t have talked about using a cleaver to break down the door,” Lin Qian said. “That makes you seem aggressive and the other person vulnerable, creating the impression that you’re bullying.”

Yao Jia pursed her lips. Lin Qian had a point; people nowadays don’t care much about reason, only about who can convincingly play the victim.

But the more things were like this, the more unwilling Yao Jia felt, a rebellious spirit stirring within her. She didn’t want to let Tong Yumo, who played the ‘weak but right’ card, have her way. She didn’t want to encourage the trend of winning through complaints. If this behavior took root, how many reasonable people would lose fairness?

Yao Jia raised her head and said firmly to Lin Qian, “Team Leader, I’m sorry, but I can’t just let it go as you suggested. I feel that letting her off is encouraging the wrong trend of ‘weak but right’.”

Lin Qian looked at her for a long moment, her expression remaining calm. Suddenly, she blinked quickly, a glimmer flashing in her eyes.

“What I just told you is the official guidance. As for my personal advice,” she leaned closer to Yao Jia and whispered, “you don’t need to get angry or wield a cleaver. Just remember the saying: ‘fight fire with fire’.”

Lin Qian finished with a smile at Yao Jia.

Yao Jia looked at her, a light dawning in her mind.

Fight fire with fire… she knew what to do the next morning.

She had truly learned something new. Who would have thought that this gentle, composed, and elegant person was so experienced in battle and had such a strong sense of fairness and justice?

Yao Jia’s eyes curved into a smile, and she couldn’t help but blurt out, “Team Leader, are you a fairy?”

No ordinary person could be so beautiful and wise.

The next morning, Yao Jia got up even earlier and replicated Tong Yumo’s actions from the previous day. Tong Yumo knocked on the bathroom door loudly, crying, begging, and complaining, even threatening to call the police.

Yao Jia calmly told her, “Don’t worry, just wait a bit. I’ll be out after I finish my makeup.”

Tong Yumo, bladder full, trembled as she spoke, complaining to Yao Jia, “Can’t you do your makeup in your room?”

Realizing that she and Yao Jia had swapped roles and lines from the previous day, she fell silent.

From inside the bathroom, Yao Jia asked, “Tong Yumo, can you do your makeup in your room from now on? If not, find another bathroom. After all, that’s what Tian Huasheng and I did yesterday morning. And from now on, whoever gets to use the bathroom first depends on who wakes up earlier. I must tell you, I’m not afraid of getting up early.”

Tong Yumo trembled and pleaded for mercy, promising Yao Jia she would do her makeup in her room the next day.

Yao Jia opened the bathroom door and stepped out.

With that, the morning battle for the bathroom seemed to conclude, with Tong Yumo conceding, and a superficial peace and unity was achieved.

After dealing with Tong Yumo’s issue that morning, Yao Jia rushed to work, narrowly making it on time, almost missing the clock-in.

Meng Xingzhe wasn’t as lucky. He clocked in just after the start time and was late.

Lin Qian came over to make a note and warned him, “This is your last chance to be late this month. If it happens again, you’ll really have to go.”

Meng Xingzhe nodded, indicating he understood.

Before Lin Qian left, Yao Jia quickly flashed her an “OK” hand gesture, indicating that thanks to her guidance, everything was now perfectly accomplished.

The corners of Lin Qian’s mouth lifted slightly, responding with a knowing, silent smile.

After Lin Qian departed, Yao Jia asked Meng Xingzhe, “I didn’t expect you to be so proactive in cooperating with me, giving me the chance to eliminate you early.”

Meng Xingzhe shot her a sidelong glance and snorted in response.

Curious, Yao Jia asked him, “Speaking of which, Tian Huasheng and I didn’t hog your bathroom this morning. Why were you late?”

Meng Xingzhe continued to give her a sideways glance, snorting through his nose as he said, “I want to ask you something too. Didn’t you say yesterday you were going to chop down the door with a cleaver this morning?”

“?” Yao Jia was taken aback. “You weren’t just waiting in your room to hear the commotion, were you?” In the end, he waited for the excitement that never came, making himself late.

Meng Xingzhe raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying, but his expression suggested he was cursing under his breath.

He had previously indicated that cursing meant “yes.”

Yao Jia couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“Meng Xingzhe, you’re so much older, yet you’re more childish than I am!”

Meng Xingzhe’s exceptionally handsome face once again turned into a handsome but darkened swamp of frustration.