Refusing to Be Cannon Fodder, Standing Up for Herself
"Almost every time I talk to her, she praises me for being thorough. What is this supposed to mean now?!" The more Chi Qing thought about it, the angrier-and more baffled-she became.
"I think you might have become cannon fodder..." Li Yan, who seemed to know something of the inside story, said tentatively beside her. "I heard the company has been very unhappy with marketing's performance lately, so Audit wants to go after President Cao-the head of the Marketing Center-and they started by using you as their entry point."
In an instant, Chi Qing understood. The only people who regularly dealt with Audit were President Cao, Brother Li, and herself. President Cao was the boss, so they couldn't go after him directly. Brother Li had backing, so they didn't dare touch him. That left her, the pushover in Audit's eyes, to become cannon fodder. Even though she had always treated her with the utmost respect, even though her contracts were always the most carefully and thoroughly prepared, none of that stopped her from becoming that "entry point"!
"Qingqing, don't take it to heart. The bosses all know what's going on," Liu Ping consoled her. "Just act as if you don't know. Everyone has seen how capable you are at your work."
Just then, a notification chimed. The Administration Department had posted a notice in the company's WeChat group. Its gist was: because certain employees had recently shown a careless attitude toward their work and submitted documents containing numerous errors, they would receive an internal reprimand and lose their performance bonuses for the month, while their direct supervisor would lose half their bonus. The names prominently listed were Chi Qing and President Cao.
Boom. Chi Qing's mind exploded. After seeing the notice, Liu Ping and Li Yan had no idea how to comfort her either. Society was just that cruel. Sometimes you were criticized not because you had done anything wrong, but simply because you occupied that position and had no power.
Had this happened before, Chi Qing, timid and without backing, would have seethed for a while, complained for a few days, and finally worn out her own emotions before going back to being a diligent, conscientious workhorse.
But today's Chi Qing, with the system giving her confidence, no longer wanted to put up with it. And with that confidence, her anger gradually faded, leaving her calm instead.
Chi Qing sat quietly at her desk. Liu Ping and Li Yan barely dared to breathe. Suddenly, Chi Qing stood straight up, strode out of the office, and headed directly upstairs to the Audit Department.
Knock, knock. Chi Qing even remembered to knock.
"Come in." Zhang Qin was discussing something with Manager Wang from the Administration Department. When Chi Qing entered, both looked up in surprise.
Seeing the two of them, Chi Qing thought, Perfect. Saves me going to two places.
"Qingqing, is there something you need?" Seeing Chi Qing, Zhang Qin thought, This isn't good. She had only meant to bring it up at the management meeting to put President Cao in his place, figuring the department heads probably wouldn't spread what was discussed there. She hadn't expected Administration to follow up with a penalty notice so quickly. She didn't know how much Chi Qing had found out.
In truth, Zhang Qin generally had no complaints about Chi Qing. She was among the most conscientious and professional people she dealt with across the departments. But she just happened to get caught up in this affair.
"Sister Zhang, I'm here to thank you," Chi Qing said.
"Huh? Thank me for what?" Zhang Qin was confused.
"You saw the notice the company just sent out, right? I'm so careless with my work that they've docked my performance bonus," Chi Qing said with a smile. "It wasn't until I read the notice that I realized just how bad the documents I submit to you have been. It must have been hard for you to keep praising me against your conscience, telling me how thorough and professional I am."
"Praising her?" A chorus of murmurs rose around them.
As it happened, the moment the company notice went out, everyone had their eyes on Chi Qing. When they saw her heading straight for Audit, quite a few melon-eating spectators pretended to get water, print documents, or throw out trash, lingering in the Audit Department's corridor as they waited for Chi Qing to start a showdown.