Punishment

"So it really is you. How many years has it been—from high school to now, must be seven years, right?"

"Yeah, seven years. How have you been lately? With your overachieving Campus Belle style, you should be doing pretty well, I'd guess."

Seeing an old high school classmate, Lin Chen was in an especially good mood.

Back in high school, Shang Zhiyi was already the school's Campus Belle. Now, after being tempered by society, she was even more graceful and poised, with a hint of sharpness beneath her charm.

"Of course—who do you think I am?"

As she spoke, Shang Zhiyi even held up her work badge and waved it in front of Lin Chen. "See this? Your big shot here is now working at our Zhonghai's star company, Shilin Guomao Group. Impressive, right?"

Lin Chen: "..."

"Shilin Guomao, huh..."

Looking at the company name on the badge Shang Zhiyi was waving, Lin Chen was stunned.

This was way too coincidental.

He was just about to head over to Shilin Guomao Group for an inspection, and here he ran into an employee of that very company outside.

And the most important part—this employee was his old high school classmate.

He had to admit, the world was a little too clever sometimes.

"What, blown away?"

Seeing Lin Chen spacing out, Shang Zhiyi thought her old classmate was just shocked by her job.

After all, Shilin Guomao Group's reputation in Zhonghai was huge. Countless people were scrambling to get in.

And getting in was no easy feat—even applying for a lowly customer service position required at least a bachelor's degree, and you'd still have to fight tooth and nail for it.

Her, Shang Zhiyi, had clawed her way in on her own merit and landed a spot in the marketing department. In the eyes of outsiders, that was already pretty impressive.

"Yeah, I'm pretty blown away."

Lin Chen nodded with a smile. He was impressed by Shang Zhiyi's ability.

But even more, he was stunned by the world's bizarre coincidences.

"Ah, I can't keep talking. It's almost nine—if I'm late, I'll get my pay docked."

Shang Zhiyi glanced at her watch and realized that just from chatting, it was already 8:40.

"Nine? Isn't that still twenty minutes away? Why the rush?" Lin Chen checked the time, puzzled.

"Of course I'm rushing. Shilin Guomao Group has so many people, and I'm on the twenty-eighth floor. All that going back and forth takes time."

"Oh, right—what's your number? Let me jot it down quick, and we'll catch up later."

With that, Shang Zhiyi pulled out her phone, and after Lin Chen rattled off his number, she saved it.

"Lin Chen, I'm off now. We'll catch up properly later."

With the number saved, Shang Zhiyi didn't linger. She clicked her low heels and trotted off toward the Shilin Guomao Group building.

Watching her go, Lin Chen shook his head with a helpless smile.

"If the higher-ups at Shilin Guomao knew you were my old classmate, they'd probably worship you like an ancestral goddess."

With that, he didn't dawdle either. He strode forward and followed her in.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry—don't be late."

Shang Zhiyi was already in the elevator, silently urging it to go faster.

But sometimes, the more you wished for it, the slower it got.

Her watch now read 8:45, and the elevator was still stuck on the third floor. She still had a full twenty-five floors to go to reach the twenty-eighth.

Clearly, fifteen minutes wasn't going to cut it.

"It's over, it's over. I'm going to be late."

Seeing that there was no saving the situation, Shang Zhiyi gave up entirely.

Since being late was a done deal, she might as well stop caring.

"Fine, dock my pay. I'll just buy one less lipstick from now on."

She said that out loud, but inside, her heart was bleeding.

Shilin Guomao Group had great benefits, but when employees broke the rules, the fines were brutal.

Just for being late, three hundred yuan got deducted from your salary—and that was nothing compared to the penalties for bigger screw-ups.

"Ding. Twenty-eighth floor arrived."

After about ten-plus minutes, the elevator finally reached the twenty-eighth floor.

By now, a full twelve minutes had passed since the official start of work.

Shang Zhiyi took a deep breath, stepped briskly out of the elevator, clocked in, and then rushed straight to her workstation without a moment's pause.

But the moment she stepped into her department, a furious shout rang out right behind her.

"Shang Zhiyi!"

"Damn it."

Shang Zhiyi silently cursed her bad luck, then turned to look—only to see an older man staring at her with a dark expression.

The newcomer was none other than her department's boss, Manager Deng Wenji.

"Manager Deng, I'm really sorry. I swear I won't be late next time."

"Next time?"

Deng Wenji was already seething with rage. Earlier, he had come straight from Chairman Qi Zhenxing's office back to his own department, ready to hold a meeting.

The meeting's agenda was simple: carry out the tasks Chairman Qi Zhenxing had assigned.

But what he never expected was that the entire department had shown up—except for this one Shang Zhiyi.

If other departments had the same problem, it might be forgivable. But the issue was that every other department had a full turnout, and only his department was missing a person.

One could only imagine how frantic and terrified Deng Wenji had felt at that moment.

"Shang Zhiyi, do you know what day it is today? And you still showed up late?"

"What day?"

Shang Zhiyi was puzzled. Her colleagues nearby, hearing this, quickly filled her in.

When she learned that the group's new major shareholder—holding seventy percent of the shares—was coming for an inspection today, Shang Zhiyi's heart sank. She silently cursed her bad luck.

This was a major incident.

What did big companies care about most? Nothing more than face and appearances.

No one knew the temperament of this new major shareholder yet.

If they were generous, a small matter like this might slide. But if they were petty, even a scrap of paper on the floor could be blown into a huge deal.

Let alone her tardiness—a "big deal" in itself.

Shang Zhiyi finally realized the gravity of the situation. She immediately apologized, "Manager Deng, I really didn't know a major shareholder was coming today. I..."

Before she could finish, Deng Wenji cut her off.

"You what? Shang Zhiyi, let me tell you—today, the entire group had only one person late and absent: you. If the major shareholder sees that our department is the only one slacking off, do you know how severe the punishment I'll face will be?"

"Even though the major shareholder hasn't arrived yet, a mistake is a mistake. I won't waste any more words with you. I'm informing you directly."

"Your salary for this month will be fully deducted, all your labor bonuses for this year will be canceled, and you'll lose all employee benefits from the group for one year."

"Of course, you can also refuse and just resign."

"If you resign, I'll approve the paperwork immediately, and you can go to the finance office to collect your remaining wages."