This Is Power! (Fifth Update, Please Vote)

Ten o'clock sharp.

Dong Xuebin was just about to call Guo Shunjie in when Guo Panwei knocked and entered the small office first. Guo Panwei had pushed Dong Xuebin around plenty when Dong had first joined the branch bureau, so naturally Dong had no favorable impression of him. On top of that, Guo Panwei had no powerful backing. Other than being on good terms with Director Pang, Dong had heard that his only influential relative was an uncle who held a leadership position at Customs. Thus, Guo Panwei had naturally become the second person Dong Xuebin intended to put in his place.

"Director Dong, everything outside has been taken care of. Do you have any other instructions?"

"Is the meeting room set up?" Dong Xuebin asked indifferently.

A fawning look appeared in Guo Panwei's smile. "It's all arranged according to your instructions. I guarantee there won't be any problems."

Dong Xuebin nodded and picked up his cup to drink some tea, only realizing when the water reached his lips that it had gone cold. He put the cup back down.

Seeing this, Guo Panwei immediately grabbed the kettle and respectfully filled Dong Xuebin's cup. "Please."

"Mm." Dong Xuebin was somewhat surprised. This Guo Panwei really is an expert at brown-nosing. His skin is thick enough too. I'm several years younger than him, yet he can still bend at the waist and lower his head. I definitely couldn't do that. Dong Xuebin could not help seeing him in a new light. After some hesitation, he decided that since Guo Panwei was so quick on the uptake, he would spare him for now and observe him a little longer. "...Go call Guo Shunjie in."

Guo Panwei nodded and bowed as he agreed, then backed out of the room.

A little over ten seconds later, a listless knock sounded at the door.

Dong Xuebin sneered inwardly. "...Come in." Seeing Guo Shunjie enter with a face as grim as if his father had died, Dong Xuebin could not even be bothered to waste words on him. He raised a hand and tossed over a stack of documents. "Type these materials into the computer. The document needs to be filed. Start immediately—I need it before the end of the workday." This document might take Tan Limei three or four hours, but Guo Shunjie would probably need at least seven or eight hours to finish typing it.

Guo Shunjie was furious. "I'm typing it all by myself?"

Dong Xuebin looked at him. "What do you think?"

Guo Shunjie cursed him several times in his heart, then swallowed his anger, grabbed the documents, and hurried out of the office.

The moment he left, Dong Xuebin picked up the internal phone on his desk and called the General Office outside. Beep, beep, beep. Someone answered with a hello—it was Tan Limei. Dong Xuebin said, "Tanzi, I gave Guo Shunjie a document to type. Keep an eye on him. No one else is allowed to help him. Make him do it alone."

Tan Limei immediately laughed. "All right, I understand."

A month ago, Guo Shunjie had made Dong Xuebin, Tan Limei, and Zhuangzi share plenty of his work. It was time to repay those debts.

That entire afternoon, all the clerks in the General Office had it easy, except for Guo Shunjie, whose typing clattered nonstop. From morning to noon and then into the afternoon, after a full six or seven hours, his back had stiffened from exhaustion and his fingers had practically gone numb. Guo Shunjie had never gotten along well with the other colleagues either. Tan Limei, Chang Juan, Lao Yan—everyone watched from the side and enjoyed his misery.

As quitting time approached, the aching Guo Shunjie handed the Word document to Dong Xuebin.

Dong Xuebin copied it onto his own computer. Without even asking Guo Shunjie to sit, he began reading the document by himself. Ten minutes passed, then twenty. The more Dong Xuebin read, the angrier he became. He turned and glared into Guo Shunjie's eyes, borrowing some of the phrases Yang Yizhong and the other leaders used when reprimanding people as he shouted, "What the hell are you doing? Huh? You can't even handle something this simple? Look at what you typed! Can't you read? It's full of typos—how am I supposed to file this? How am I supposed to take this to the leaders?"

Guo Shunjie's face alternated between red and white. "There wasn't enough time—"

"Don't make excuses!" Dong Xuebin slammed the desk. "Doesn't Little Tan get the same amount of time every time? Huh? Why can she do it while you can't? Are you missing a head or an arm compared to Little Tan?" With a wave of his hand, Dong Xuebin said, "I'm telling you, these materials must be finished today. If you can't finish, then work overtime. You don't leave until you're done!"

Guo Shunjie glared at Dong Xuebin with pure hatred. "Damn it, this isn't over between us!" Then... he turned and left.

Just before the door closed, Tan Limei and Zhuangzi secretly gave Dong Xuebin a thumbs-up from beneath their desks.

Dong Xuebin saw it and smiled faintly, winking at the two of them.

Outside, Chang Juan watched as Guo Shunjie—the man who had still been strutting around two days ago, eager to become Deputy Director—got put in his place by the newly appointed Director Dong. Her eyelids twitched, and she felt deeply uneasy. During the Party committee meeting, she had urged Dong Xuebin to lower his head to Guo Shunjie. She even remembered arrogantly lecturing him a few times. Director Dong won't hold that against me, will he?

The more she thought about it, the more worried she became. Seeing that it was nearly time to leave work, Chang Juan hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly took out a mirror to touch up her makeup and draw in her eyebrows. Afterward, she went to the Director's Office and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

After entering, Chang Juan closed the door and forced a flirtatious smile at Dong Xuebin, who sat in the office chair. "Director Dong."

Dong Xuebin sensed the spark in her eyes and coughed. "Have a seat. Is something the matter?"

Chang Juan sat down cautiously, perching on only half her butt. "Director Dong, first, I want to apologize to you. You know how I am—I sometimes speak without thinking. Around the end of the Party committee meeting at noon that day, I... Sigh, you're a magnanimous man, so don't lower yourself to the level of a woman like me. I..."

Dong Xuebin was slightly taken aback before remembering what she meant. He could not help laughing. "Sister Chang, it's not as serious as you're making it out to be. You said those things for my own good, didn't you? How could I not understand that? Hey, so this is what you came for? I thought it was something else."

Hearing him still call her Sister Chang made Chang Juan feel immensely relieved. The flirtatiousness on her face deepened, and her tone became much more relaxed. "Hehe, I knew Director Dong was broad-minded. Oh, when there's no one else around... it's okay if I call you Little Director Dong, right?" There was nothing wrong with those words on their own, but adding "when there's no one else around" made them somewhat suggestive.

Dong Xuebin coughed again. "Sister Chang, there's no need to be so particular. Call me whatever you like."

"Okay."

"It's time to get off work. You should head home early too. Don't you need to pick up your child?"

"My wife always picks up the child." Chang Juan smiled. "Then, Little Director Dong, I'll be going. If there's ever anything you need me for, just say the word." Her right knee subtly shifted outward, pulling her skirt wider until he could almost see what lay beneath.

What the hell is this?

Dong Xuebin's chest grew hot. Only after Chang Juan left the office did he wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Damn, today really was something else. So many firsts, one after another.

My first time being a leader, my first time directing subordinates, my first time reprimanding someone, my first time being flattered, my first time being seduced...

No wonder so many people fight tooth and nail to become officials. This is power.

Five updates—the chapter's out! Please vote!

...!!!