Chapter 39: Done with Him

Yao Jia didn’t sleep well. Her night was filled with fragmented dreams, reflections of her scattered emotions.

In one moment, she dreamt of a faceless girl approaching her, asking, “Did Meng Xingzhe really go with you to find the child? Or was he actually out on a date with another woman?”

In the next moment, she dreamt of the beautiful ladies from her office, each taking turns dining with Meng Xingzhe at Pizza Hut.

Eventually, the two dreams merged. The faceless girl moved from the accusatory dream into the Pizza Hut scene, grabbing Meng Xingzhe by the collar and pointing at the five ladies, repeatedly asking like a broken record, “Who is she? Who? Who? Who? Who?”

Then she turned sharply to glare at the third-person view of Yao Jia in the dream, like an actor suddenly staring at the camera, and loudly accused, “Who let you lend him money to woo women? You’re an accomplice, a partner in his infidelity!”

Yao Jia jolted awake, staring at the dark ceiling, feeling a pang of guilt towards the faceless girl—an embodiment of Meng Xingzhe’s girlfriend. She had indeed lent him money to treat those ladies, inadvertently aiding his potential infidelity.

After a struggle, she eventually drifted back to sleep.

The next morning, Yao Jia woke up with dark circles under her eyes, resembling smoky makeup. Before heading to work, she encountered Meng Xingzhe in the living room.

Surprisingly, he also had dark circles, looking equally sleep-deprived. Yao Jia thought, this jerk must have been sweet-talking his girlfriend all night.

She sarcastically remarked, “Seeing you is like seeing the phrase ‘riding a donkey while looking for a horse.'”

Here he was, soothing his girlfriend while casting a wide net for rich, beautiful women. Truly despicable.

Meng Xingzhe looked bewildered. “Are you awake? Say something humans can understand.”

Yao Jia didn’t want to look at him or engage with him. She walked to the door, focused on changing her shoes. Besides his good looks and physique, he was morally bankrupt. And it was precisely because of his looks and physique that he dared to act so brazenly, taking pride in his scoundrel ways.

She needed to draw a moral line between herself and someone like him.

“What’s wrong with you? Did you take some weird medicine this morning? Why are you so sarcastic?” Meng Xingzhe followed her, changing his shoes as he spoke.

Yao Jia ignored him, finished putting on her shoes, and prepared to leave for work.

As she opened the door, a small figure dashed in, hugging her leg. The little one clung to her leg, then shuffled around to hide behind her.

It was little Shanshan. His soft voice mumbled “sister,” melting Yao Jia’s heart.

She bent down to ask, “What’s wrong, Shanshan? Why are you here so early to see me?”

Chen Luoxi rushed out from the opposite door, a large shoulder bag slung over her shoulder, stuffed with reports and documents, so full that it couldn’t be zipped. She also carried Shanshan’s small backpack and his snacks and clothes.

She hurried over, pulling Shanshan from behind Yao Jia, frantically dressing him in his coat and backpack while anxiously scolding him, “Shanshan, what’s wrong with you? Why are you being so naughty lately? Mommy’s going to be late for work! If I’m late, I’ll be fined! Shanshan, be good, put on your clothes and backpack, and let’s go to kindergarten!”

Shanshan squirmed, refusing to wear his clothes or carry his backpack, crying out, “I don’t want to go to kindergarten, I don’t want to!”

Chen Luoxi grew more anxious, her tone turning harsh, “Shanshan, can’t you be good? Mommy’s going to be late again! If I’m late, I won’t have a job! Do you want Mommy to be unemployed? How will I take care of you if I’m jobless? Your dad doesn’t care about you, what do you expect Mommy to do? Why are you being so difficult?”

As she spoke, Chen Luoxi’s emotions started to unravel, and her actions became forceful, roughly dressing Shanshan and putting on his backpack.

Shanshan cried louder.

The more he cried, the faster and rougher Chen Luoxi became. She was on the verge of tears herself, “Shanshan, lift your arms, stop being difficult!”

Yao Jia watched helplessly from the side, trying to soothe Chen Luoxi, “Sister Chen, don’t worry, take it slow, take it slow!”

Chen Luoxi finally lost her composure, turning to Yao Jia, “How can I take it slow? I can’t! If I’m late again, I’ll be replaced! You know how Kunyu is, it doesn’t care if you’re late because of a fussy child. It doesn’t care if you’re a struggling single mom! It doesn’t! Late is late! If you can’t make it on time, they’ll find someone else!”

For some reason, Chen Luoxi’s words gave Yao Jia goosebumps.

She recalled a debate she’d had with Meng Xingzhe—shouldn’t companies practice humane management? Relying on cold, unfeeling rules to drive employees relentlessly, leaving no room for flexibility, isn’t that too heartless? Sure, such strict policies might boost company efficiency, but shouldn’t the unspoken struggles in employees’ lives be considered?

Isn’t there a way to balance both sides?

Meanwhile, Chen Luoxi realized she had lost her composure, quickly apologizing. But soon, amidst Shanshan’s cries and his resistance to going to kindergarten, she lost control again.

As she forcefully strapped Shanshan’s backpack on, she grumbled to Yao Jia and Meng Xingzhe, who stood behind Yao Jia, “Yao Jia, Xiao Meng, honestly, you guys are lucky to be single. Listen to Chen Jie: if you can avoid getting married, don’t get married. If you can avoid having kids, don’t have them! Seriously, once you have kids, you can forget about living like a normal person!” With a bitter smile, she picked up Shanshan and, not bothering to wait for the elevator, rushed into the stairwell to head down.

Even after the stairwell’s iron door closed, Yao Jia could still hear Shanshan crying and protesting about not wanting to go to kindergarten.

Shanshan’s cries tugged at Yao Jia’s heart.

What should have been a peaceful morning was thrown into chaos by Chen Luoxi’s complaints and Shanshan’s cries.

Yao Jia stood at the door, momentarily stunned, as a wave of inexplicable sadness washed over her. Shanshan’s cries seemed to echo through time, merging with her own childhood memories.

Back then, she too had reasons for not wanting to go to kindergarten. But her parents were busy, juggling her sister and their business, leaving her little whims forgotten and unaddressed. Yet, in her world, those whims were monumental.

No one had time to ask why she didn’t want to go to kindergarten. They were too busy, and she was too young. They dismissed her feelings as childish tantrums.

Yao Jia clenched her fist. She resolved to call Shanshan over that evening to comfort him. Perhaps his mother was too busy to attend to him wounded little heart. But if a child’s emotional wounds aren’t soothed in time, the resulting scars might linger for a lifetime.

Just like hers.

Suddenly, Meng Xingzhe’s voice came from behind, “How long do you plan to block the door? Until we’re both late?”

His tone wasn’t impatient, just a slightly teasing reminder.

For someone like Meng Xingzhe, known for his argumentative nature, this was a remarkably gentle approach. Yet, knowing his reputation for being a player despite having a girlfriend, Yao Jia was particularly disinclined to talk to him. Without turning her head, she stepped out the door, closing it behind her.

Meng Xingzhe’s call was cut off by the door.

“Are you trying to ruin my face? Hey, did you take the wrong medicine today?” he shouted indignantly as he reopened the door.

Yao Jia didn’t want to share the same elevator with him. She turned towards the stairwell, opting to take the stairs.

Behind her, Meng Xingzhe continued his speculation, “Hey, who upset you? What’s your problem so early in the morning? I think you really did take the wrong medicine!”

Yao Jia quickened her pace, leaving Meng Xingzhe and his voice far behind.

******

At work, Yao Jia sat at her desk, taking deep breaths to expel the morning’s turmoil and compose herself for a professional demeanor.

Though she didn’t particularly enjoy her job, which was at the bottom of the workplace hierarchy, she believed in the saying: whatever job you do, you should do it well. Since she had this job, she was determined to approach it with dedication and professionalism.

This was what she had learned and realized over the past month.

After calming herself, she was able to set aside the morning’s crying and the presence of Meng Xingzhe next door.

She put on her headset, turned on her computer, and prepared to take calls.

The first call came from a woman named Ms. Qian.

Ms. Qian was furious, demanding compensation from Kunyu Electric for her water-damaged floor.

“I bought a washing machine from Kunyu Electric. The faucet you installed for the water inlet is now broken, spraying water everywhere, and my hardwood floor is soaked! You must compensate me for the floor!”

A month ago, Yao Jia might have been at a loss with such a case, easily swayed by the customer’s emotions. Their agitation would have made her agitated too. But now, she found herself able to detach from the customer’s anger, calmly addressing and resolving the issue.

She thought perhaps it was the repeated criticisms, schemes, and workplace politics that had unknowingly helped her grow.

“Hello, Ms. Qian. Could you please provide your purchase information?” Yao Jia asked calmly.

As she spoke, she tried to look up the purchase using the caller’s number and found a record of a washing machine purchase. However, the date was…

Ms. Qian replied irritably, “It’s been so long, how am I supposed to remember all that purchase information? Even if you take my washing machine to the central office for verification, it’s still made by Kunyu Electric. Are you trying to shirk responsibility?”

Yao Jia responded logically, “Ms. Qian, I see that you purchased this washing machine three years ago. Was the faucet working properly when it was installed?”

She deliberately avoided asking, “Was the faucet working?” which could be answered with either “yes” or “no,” to prevent the customer from realizing she could answer “no.” Instead, she used a question that psychologically suggested the faucet was indeed working.

Ms. Qian followed her lead, “Yes, it was working back then.”

Yao Jia smiled, holding her headset.

She quickly thought and asked, “When did the flooding of your floor occur, Ms. Qian?”

Ms. Qian replied irritably, “Last week! But don’t use the excuse that it happened a while ago to dodge responsibility. I was too busy last week to contact you, but now I have plenty of time to fight this out with you! If you don’t compensate me for the floor, I’ll take you to court!”

In the past, Yao Jia would have been easily provoked by this customer. But now, not only did she remain calm, her thoughts were also clear.

She first soothed Ms. Qian’s emotions, calming her to the point where she almost let her guard down. Then, Yao Jia continued with her logical line of questioning, “Ma’am, may I ask if you had the faucet repaired later?”

Ms. Qian replied irritably, “No.”

Yao Jia asked again, “Other than this faucet, do you have another one that can connect to the washing machine?”

Ms. Qian said, “No, just this one! So don’t try to blame it on any other faucet!”

Yao Jia said, “Well, Ms. Qian, I can arrange an after-sales service order for you, so an after-sales technician can come to your home to check it out. Would that be okay?”

Ms. Qian immediately said, “No! I don’t have time to entertain you! Besides, your so-called inspections always conclude that there’s nothing wrong with the product. I’m not falling for that! You need to resolve my compensation issue over the phone right now. Stop trying to evade and stall with various excuses. I won’t accept any other form of resolution!”

Yao Jia thought for a moment, then continued to calm her, even lulling her into a sense of security, and asked, “Ms. Qian, please don’t be upset. Let me first conduct a survey about the washing machine’s functions. I noticed the model you purchased has a drying function. With the weather being so humid lately, have you used this drying function after washing clothes this past week? Are you satisfied with this feature?”

Ms. Qian said directly, “Yes, I used it. The faucet you installed isn’t great, but the drying function is quite good.”

Yao Jia thought, that’s enough.

She smiled and said, “Thank you, Ms. Qian, for recognizing our washing machine product. Now, let me clarify the sequence of events for you to confirm.

“Three years ago, you purchased a washing machine produced by Kunyu Electric, and the accompanying faucet was installed by Kunyu Electric as well.

This faucet worked fine for three years but started spraying water last week, causing your floor to get soaked.

However, after the floor got soaked and before you called me, you continued to use the washing machine, as you just mentioned that the drying function was very useful.

According to what you’ve said, your home has only one faucet that can connect to the washing machine’s water inlet. So, after the floor got soaked, you continued to use this faucet to supply water to the washing machine and washed clothes.”

“So to summarize, your home’s faucet worked fine for three years and only started spraying water last week, soaking the floor, but it still functions normally afterward.” Yao Jia spoke clearly and logically. After a pause, she continued, “So, Ms. Qian, it seems the faucet itself is not the problem. The reason for the spraying might be that you didn’t turn off the faucet properly.”

Ms. Qian was furious, “Oh, so all those questions were a trap? Fine, fine, you win! Be careful not to get run over by a car when you go out!”

With that, the other party hung up. Unlike before, Yao Jia didn’t curse back into the air after hanging up. She simply thought to herself, “Bounce back.”

She realized that, unknowingly, her customer service skills had quietly advanced. She could avoid being easily provoked into anger and could skillfully analyze and handle unreasonable customer demands. Even if she was cursed by an unreasonable customer in the end, she no longer felt infuriated like before.

She wondered if this could be considered progress.

Aside from this call, the other customer calls that morning were relatively easy to handle, not as difficult or unreasonable. Yao Jia considered that perhaps she had increased her tolerance, making these calls seem easier to deal with.

As the morning was about to end, Yao Jia received another unusual call.

The customer was a young man calling to confirm a product promotion, “Hello, last week I bought a soybean milk machine produced by Kunyu for my father, and I used my father’s phone number for the delivery. Just now, my father received a call saying it was from your Kunyu Electric finance department. Apparently, when they were organizing customer lists, they accidentally added my father to some kind of VIP major customer list. They said that after being added to this list, any future purchases of Kunyu products would enjoy a 60-80% discount.

“He also mentioned that this discount is usually for corporate clients, but since my father was mistakenly added to the list, they would let him enjoy this benefit too. However, they said we need to pay a 500-yuan VIP major customer membership fee first. Of course, the 500 yuan isn’t just a fee; after paying, they would return a 588-yuan Kunyu voucher to the account. My father wants me to pay the 500 yuan right away, but I thought it best to ask first. Do you actually have a VIP major customer discount and a 500-yuan membership fee?”

Yao Jia immediately said, “Sir, please hold on. I will confirm this matter right away and get back to you as soon as possible!”

After hanging up, Yao Jia immediately called Lin Qian to confirm whether Kunyu Electric had a VIP major customer discount and membership fee.

Lin Qian listened with a serious expression and said, “We do have a major customer department, but we’ve never had such a discount promotion or a 500-yuan membership fee.”

Yao Jia’s heart sank as she realized, “This is a scam exploiting leaked customer information?”

******

Lin Qian instructed Yao Jia to think about how to handle the situation step by step. She pulled up a chair to sit behind Yao Jia, ready to provide guidance and support at any moment.

Yao Jia knew this was Lin Qian testing her to see if she had the ability to independently handle special problems.

Yao Jia first returned the call to the gentleman, informing him that Kunyu Electric never had a VIP customer discount of 60% to 80% off, nor did they require a 500 yuan membership fee. She warned him that the person who called him was a scammer and urged him to tell his father not to fall for it.

After hanging up, she accessed the backend of the computer system to retrieve information about customers who had purchased the same model of soy milk maker. She selected one and called the recipient’s phone number.

An elderly lady answered. Yao Jia asked, “Hello, ma’am. I’m a Customer Service Representative from Kunyu Electric. Have you recently received a call from someone claiming you’ve been listed as a VIP customer of Kunyu Electric, offering you a 60% to 80% discount on future purchases, but requiring a 500 yuan membership fee, which would then be refunded as a 588 yuan Kunyu Electric shopping voucher?”

The elderly lady immediately replied, “Yes, yes! What a coincidence, I just got that call. I was about to head downstairs to the bank, to the ATM, to transfer money to your finance department! I’m planning to buy one of your big refrigerators, and a 60% discount would save me a lot!”

Yao Jia thought, these scammers are exploiting people’s desire to save money, which is why they dare to commit such brazen fraud.

She quickly told the lady, “Ma’am, this promotion is fake. The person asking you for 500 yuan is a scammer. Please don’t send them any money; they’re trying to deceive you!”

The lady was still skeptical after hearing this. “What? A scammer? So I can’t buy your refrigerator at a 60% discount? How did the scammer know my information? Are you sure you’re not the scammer? Maybe you just don’t want to sell at a discount and are backing out?”

Yao Jia felt complicated emotions. Sometimes, even when doing good deeds, one has to endure baseless accusations. She thought perhaps Meng Xingzhe was right; sometimes doing good comes at a cost.

After much persuasion, she managed to convince the lady, who hung up the phone somewhat unhappily, feeling that Yao Jia owed her a refrigerator at a 60% discount.

After the call, Yao Jia turned to look at Lin Qian behind her.

Lin Qian nodded. “You did the right thing by checking if other customers who purchased the same product received similar calls. If they did, it means their purchase information was indeed leaked.”

She asked Yao Jia what she planned to do next.

Yao Jia said, “I want to send a mass message to these customers, warning them that someone is impersonating Kunyu Electric’s finance staff, using excuses like membership fees to scam people. We should also post a reminder on our company’s public account, as many customers follow it. Additionally, we should put a notice on the shopping page. Then, report it to the police. I know these scammers are hard to catch, but we can’t miss any opportunity to catch them.”

Lin Qian nodded, patted her shoulder, and stood up. “You can handle this issue independently now. Go ahead and do it. I’ll apply for the permission for you to send mass messages.”

She walked away, affirming Yao Jia’s ability to handle the problem on her own.

******

In the afternoon, Yao Jia received another call, this time from another elderly lady.

She called the Customer Service Department specifically to express her gratitude.

“Thank you for sending the message to warn me. Otherwise, I would have fallen for it. Five hundred yuan is not a small amount for an ordinary family like ours. Thank you for helping me avoid a loss!”

This call warmed Yao Jia’s heart. She once again felt the truth in Tian Huasheng’s words: over time, you’ll discover that our job is rewarding and fulfilling.

Yao Jia thought that although working in customer service involves receiving a lot of unfounded doubts, baseless accusations, and negative energy, there will always be someone who says thank you to them.

Hearing that thank you after helping someone solve a problem made Yao Jia feel that this job truly has its rewards.

She also found a sense of value in her work, feeling that what she did was meaningful.

During the afternoon break, Meng Xingzhe took off his headset and turned to look at Yao Jia.

Yao Jia was also looking around and their eyes met.

Before she could look away, she saw Meng Xingzhe raise an eyebrow at her.

Then she heard him say, “I can see you’re making visible progress.”

?!

Being suddenly acknowledged by such a confident person made Yao Jia’s heart skip a beat.

— Translator’s Notes —

– riding a donkey while looking for a horse: A Chinese idiom (骑驴找马, qí lǘ zhǎo mǎ) meaning to keep a temporary or inferior option, such as a job or relationship, while actively seeking a better one.