When Xue Yue got back, the logistics staff had already brought over a desk and chair and set them up. She grabbed a rag and wiped the dust off them.

Zhao Li shot her a sidelong glance, her lips curling into a slight sneer as she let out a soft hmph.

Xue Yue barely stood up all morning. Just before lunch, she finished her work and took it in to Feng Yujie.

Feng Yujie picked it up, glanced through it, and nodded. "This is good." Feng Yujie had always appreciated Xue Yue’s competence.

At lunch, Xue Yue was eating by herself in a corner when Meng Ye came over with her tray and sat down across from her.

Meng Ye asked, "Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in days."

Xue Yue smiled at her. "Don’t even ask. I had minor surgery and was recovering for a few days."

Meng Ye looked at Xue Yue, shocked. "Surgery? Are you alright?"

Xue Yue shrugged. "Do I look like something’s wrong?"

Meng Ye nodded. "True. Oh, right, I heard your department got a new person. Someone related to Minister Jin."

Xue Yue’s eyes paused for a moment. ’So that explains a few things.’

"Where did you hear that from?"

Meng Ye said, "The girl made quite a scene when she arrived. She called Minister Jin ’Uncle’ right out in the open. A lot of people heard it. You must have seen her, right?"

Xue Yue nodded.

"That’s her then. You can tell she’s a pampered little princess at a glance."

Xue Yue gave a small smile.

When she got back after lunch, Zhao Li and Ding Ruzhi still weren’t there. Xue Yue didn’t pay it any mind and focused on her own work.

A moment later, she heard voices approaching.

"Ruzhi, that outfit is gorgeous! It must have cost a fortune, right?"

"It’s alright. Just a hundred or so."

"Wow, you’re really willing to splurge. Not like me, with parents to support and kids to raise. I could never bear to buy something so expensive."

"That’s nothing. I have closets full of new clothes I haven’t even worn yet."

"I’m so jealous. But it makes sense. Your uncle is our minister, so your parents must be officials too, right?"

Ding Ruzhi just smiled, neither confirming nor denying it.

They walked into the office and went straight to their desks.

Zhao Li picked up her mug and said to Ding Ruzhi, "Need a water refill? I’m heading over, I can get yours too."

Ding Ruzhi nodded.

Zhao Li eagerly scurried off with both their mugs.

After being away for a few days, Xue Yue had a backlog of work to catch up on and couldn’t be bothered with their idle chatter.

"Hey, what’s-her-name—"

Xue Yue heard Ding Ruzhi’s voice, but she didn’t look up.

Not until Ding Ruzhi walked right up to her desk and tapped on it.

"Hey, you. Didn’t you hear me calling you?"

Xue Yue looked up at her, confused. "My name isn’t ’Hey, you.’ It’s Xue Yue. Did you need something?"

Ding Ruzhi met Xue Yue’s gaze and faltered for a second. ’What was I going to say?’

"I heard you’re related to ’Vice’ Minister Zheng?" Ding Ruzhi stressed the word "vice." "My uncle is Minister Jin. So you’re just like me? We both got in through connections?"

Ding Ruzhi’s tone wasn’t disdainful; on the contrary, she sounded as if this were something to be proud of.

Xue Yue said coolly, "I didn’t get in through connections. I graduated from the Foreign Language University and was assigned here by the school. We are not the same."

Ding Ruzhi blinked. She seemed a bit stunned. She had only heard from Zhao Li that Xue Yue was connected to Vice Minister Zheng; Zhao Li had never mentioned she was a university graduate.

Ding Ruzhi tugged at her hair and mumbled, "So what if you’re a college graduate? You still end up in the same place as us."

Xue Yue didn’t argue. She didn’t care how other people got their jobs.

Finding no satisfaction, Ding Ruzhi pouted and went back to her seat. And all she could do was sit. In the three days she had been there, Feng Yujie hadn’t given her any work. She probably knew it wouldn’t be safe in her hands. So Ding Ruzhi just sat there, bored, twirling her hair one moment, pulling out a mirror to apply lipstick the next, or just putting her head down to sleep. No one paid her any mind.

Finally, when she couldn’t sleep anymore, she went to Feng Yujie to ask for work.

Feng Yujie glanced at her. "Can you translate?"

Ding Ruzhi shook her head.

"Can you organize and summarize materials?"

Ding Ruzhi shook her head.

"Can you make sense of survey forms?"

Ding Ruzhi blinked. "No, but I can learn. If you teach me, then I’ll know how, won’t I?"

Feng Yujie sighed. "Go find Zhao Li and have her give you some work. You can ask her if there’s anything you don’t understand."

Ding Ruzhi nodded. She came out of the office and walked over to Zhao Li. "Ms. Feng told you to teach me and give me some work."

Zhao Li gave a sheepish smile. "Ruzhi, why don’t you just keep relaxing? This stuff is pretty tedious."

Ding Ruzhi said impatiently, "I said, give me some work."

Zhao Li had no choice but to hand her a file. "These are the files on X Group from Hong Kong. Take a look, and focus on their projects and profits from previous years. Write down the key points. It needs to be reviewed by management."

Ding Ruzhi picked it up, glanced at it, and rubbed the tip of her nose. "Can you say that again? I didn’t quite catch it."

Zhao Li’s eyelid twitched fiercely. Her hand trembled. Looking into Ding Ruzhi’s vacant eyes, she had no choice but to repeat herself.

Afterward, Ding Ruzhi took the file back to her desk.

Soon after, the following scene unfolded:

"Zhao Li, how do you pronounce this word?"

"Zhao Li, what does this part mean?"

"Zhao Li, what are the key points?"

"Zhao Li—"

Zhao Li was on the verge of a breakdown. She couldn’t focus on her own documents at all, her ears ringing with Ding Ruzhi’s incessant questions.

"Can you just be quiet for a minute?!" Zhao Li snapped.

Zhao Li regretted it the moment the words left her mouth. She looked guiltily at a stunned Ding Ruzhi.

"Were you just getting impatient with me?" Ding Ruzhi’s voice was low and dangerous.

Zhao Li shot up from her chair, waving her hands. "No, no, not at all! I’m just a little dizzy. How about this, you wait a little bit, and once I finish what I’m working on, I’ll come over and help you, okay?"

Ding Ruzhi rolled her eyes at her but didn’t say anything more.

The office was finally quiet. A small smile played on Xue Yue’s lips. ’I have to admit,’ she thought, ’this is pretty interesting. It’s like getting a free show at work.’

When it was finally time to leave work, Xue Yue walked to the building entrance and saw He Lang was already there. He was standing next to another man, and the two of them were talking.

"You rascal! I haven’t seen you in years, and look at you now, doing so well for yourself. Looks like I should’ve come sooner."

He Lang chuckled. "Brother Wang, it’s not too late. Besides, real estate is a hot market right now."

The man talking to He Lang was Wang Hai. He used to be involved in the black market, but after the markets opened up in recent years, there was no money to be made there anymore. Finding himself without a livelihood, and with a younger uncle in Beijing City, he came over to check out the opportunities. Now, he too had his sights set on the real estate industry.

He Lang asked him, "But, what are you doing here?"

Wang Hai looked back at him. "What are *you* doing here?"

He Lang raised an eyebrow. "My wife works here."

Wang Hai grinned. "No kidding? My girlfriend works here too."