Copycat - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

◎Don’t Ignore Me◎

Wen Jiao’s twentieth birthday was spent in a hotel. She lay in the narrow, dimly lit small inn and woke up while it was still night, with the sun only showing half of its round, smiling face in the east.

Six hours ago, she was still fast asleep in the dead of night.

Mousse Yu: Someone took your internship?

Mousse Yu: Why didn’t you tell me? Do you even consider me a friend anymore?

The Mu Group was a long-term partner of ER. It would only take a single sentence for Mousse Yu to look into this matter. But Wen Jiao didn’t think it was necessary. She didn’t want to owe such a huge favor.

Five hours ago.

Voice call has been hung up.

Mousse Yu: It’s a long story.

Mousse Yu: Call me back when you wake up.

Seeing this message, Wen Jiao was a little surprised. She knew Mousse Yu was not a shy person. What could have left her speechless? Wen Jiao, out of curiosity, called her back. The call was answered quickly.

“Hello, who is it?” The sound of a game and a mechanical keyboard could be heard from the other end of the line. Mousse Yu’s schedule was inverted year-round, similar to that of a professional e-sports player.

“It’s me,” Wen Jiao said in a low voice. “I saw the message you sent me early this morning.” The sound of the mechanical keyboard on the other end of the phone stopped abruptly. Mousse Yu, with a cigarette in her mouth, mumbled to her gaming buddy, “I’m not playing anymore.” There were too many people in the internet cafe. She was wearing slippers and walking down the stairs while on the phone.

Wen Jiao heard the sound of her hurriedly walking down the stairs in slippers and frowned. “What’s going on?” Mousse Yu arrived outside the internet cafe and put out her cigarette on the lid of a trash can. The cigarette ash fell down the side. She took a breath of fresh air and exhaled. “That copycat roommate of yours really fooled all of us.” “Did you know, Zhou Ziyan is the third young lady of the Zhou Group.” “She’s the one who took your job!”

ER M&A Department. The old employees were respectful towards the new intern. Everyone tacitly agreed not to give this young lady, who was there to get a feel for the company, any complicated work. Zhou Ziyan sat at her computer desk, bored out of her mind, printing documents. Her internship was simple, just printing documents to be sent to various offices or checking for typos in the documents her superiors had written.

This morning, she had been fantasizing about seeing Wen Jiao at the company. They might bump into each other in the elevator on their way to work. They might pass each other in the hallway while she was delivering documents and be surprised to recognize each other. She had even thought about what she should say when they met. For this chance encounter, Zhou Ziyan had deliberately dressed up. She woke up early to have her light brown hair styled by a professional hairstylist. She wore a black double-breasted suit dress that showed off her figure, revealing her long, slender legs. It was freezing but beautiful.

Strangely, she had been lingering near the elevator for a long time but hadn’t even seen a shadow of Wen Jiao. Zhou Ziyan sat in the office, but her mind was not on her work. After a while, she couldn’t sit still anymore. She bound the documents for various departments in the printer and sent them to their respective offices. She wanted to ask others for information about Wen Jiao. If she was lucky, maybe she would run into Wen Jiao in the elevator.

Zhou Ziyan went to the 25th floor and delivered the documents to the HR department. The department head’s attitude towards her was polite. He nodded slightly and greeted her, “Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Zhou.” Zhou Ziyan smiled back in a friendly manner. She knew very well that she was getting preferential treatment in various places because of the Zhou family.

When Zhou Ziyan handed him the documents, she pretended to ask casually, “Manager Zhang, am I the only intern in the M&A department?” Manager Zhang nodded at her question. “Yes, you’re the only one.” Zhou Ziyan silently equated Li Xu with “unreliable” in her mind. Maybe the information was wrong, and Wen Jiao wasn’t in the M&A department. Just as Zhou Ziyan was about to thank him and leave, Manager Zhang’s tone changed.

He then added, “There was an intern before, who looked to be about your age, but she’s already canceled her intern pass and left.” “Now it’s just you.” Zhou Ziyan’s hand holding the documents trembled, and she almost dropped them all. She held on to her last hope, her voice a little shaky. “Manager Zhang, do you know what that intern’s name was?” Manager Zhang said, “Ah, I’ll have to look it up.” “Was her name Wen Jiao?” Manager Zhang thought for a moment. “Yes, I think that was her name. A girl with her hair in a bun, who was quite pretty.” “Her expression was quite calm when she left, unlike the others who were fired and looked miserable.”

Zhou Ziyan bit her lower lip, trying her best not to think about the worst-case scenario. She asked Manager Zhang, “Why did that intern leave?” “The paperwork says she left for personal reasons. As for the specifics…” Manager Zhang rubbed his head awkwardly. “I’m just an employee. I have to listen to the people above me.” “Wen Jiao was hired by Director Ruan, so her departure had to go through her. You can ask Director Ruan.” “Thank you, Manager Zhang.” Zhou Ziyan took a deep breath. Her heart was beating unsteadily. If Wen Jiao left because of her… Zhou Ziyan didn’t dare to think about that possibility. “No problem. Your sister and I are old friends.” Manager Zhang smiled and waved his hand.

Zhou Ziyan put the documents on the sofa in front of the 25th floor’s reception desk and went straight to Ruan Anran’s office. She was in such a hurry that she forgot to knock and just barged in. The elegant woman in a long couture dress was applying lotion to her long, slender fingers. The assistant next to her, who was holding a wool coat, looked at her in shock. Zhou Ziyan’s throat moved, and she choked slightly before belatedly remembering the word “polite.” She tried to make up for it. “I’m sorry to disturb you. May I come in? I have something to ask Director Ruan.”

The assistant frowned and immediately walked to the door, blocking her view. “Besides department heads, everyone else needs to make an appointment by email to see Director Ruan. Do you have an appointment?” “…No.” The assistant’s tone was cold and professional. “Director Ruan is off this afternoon and has already finished work. If you have something to say, make an appointment for tomorrow.” Zhou Ziyan tried to squeeze past him, but the man was tall and stood there like a wall, not even leaving a gap. She hesitated and instinctively took a few steps back. Just as she was about to leave, the person inside the office suddenly said, “Xu Zhi, let her in.”

The assistant obediently moved to the side, and the sunlight from the double-paned French windows finally shone through. The midday sun was a little blinding. Zhou Ziyan raised her hand to block the harsh light and walked inside, leaning forward. Ruan Anran was standing in front of a full-length mirror, leisurely picking out a suitable silk scarf. She asked nonchalantly, “Why are you in such a hurry to see me?”

The air conditioner in Ruan Anran’s office had been turned off. The temperature inside was almost the same as outside. Zhou Ziyan shivered from the cold, her legs trembling slightly. She asked, “Why did you fire her?” Both of them knew who she was talking about. Ruan Anran narrowed her eyes. “Are you asking me?” Zhou Ziyan fell silent. She was the one who was to blame for this. Not Ruan Anran, who had made the decision. She had no reason to question the executive director about her actions. Wen Jiao was fired because she, a person with connections, had taken her position. Zhou Ziyan stood there, her expression complex. She didn’t understand how things had turned out this way. She just wanted to be a little closer to the person she liked, a little closer.

After a long silence, Zhou Ziyan quietly walked out the door. “I’m sorry to have bothered you, Director Ruan. Whether this situation was caused by me or not, I will submit my resignation.” “Wen Jiao is truly excellent. I hope your company won’t give up on nurturing a young person with great potential because of a small incident.” Ruan Anran glanced at her and didn’t say anything. Zhou Ziyan walked straight out the door. After she left, the assistant closed the door again.

Ruan Anran chose a blue silk scarf that went well with her new Aegean blue Hermès bag with silver clasps. The assistant walked over to tidy up the miscellaneous items on her desk. Ruan Anran looked in the mirror and asked casually, “Xu Zhi, what do you think of that child?”

“Not much,” Xu Zhi’s evaluation was very negative. He cleaned the coffee cup with baking soda, put the laptop in its bag, and neatly sorted the lipsticks by color, placing them in their respective compartments. His movements were clean and quick. Ruan Anran put on her silk scarf, picked up her new bag, took her car keys out of it and tossed them to him. She turned back to her assistant and smiled. “But she’s a good kid, isn’t she?”

Xu Zhi caught the car keys and opened the door for her. “I remember you used to not like people like that.” “I appreciate all kinds of people.” Ruan Anran put on her wool coat over her suit and went downstairs in her high heels, full of energy.

…

Wen Jiao sat in a study cafe, with a cup of cold cappuccino next to her. Her fingers switched flexibly between the touchpad and the mouse, and complex code flowed quickly under the tapping of her long, fair fingers. The person sitting opposite her looked at her with a speechless expression.

Mousse Yu: “Hey, I only asked you to come out for half a day, and you’re still making time to make money?” Wen Jiao didn’t even look up: “I have to make a living.” Mousse Yu: “How much do you need? I’ll give it to you. You don’t have to pay me back. Just focus on having a meal with me.” Wen Jiao finally glanced at her: “Have you been reading too many CEO novels?” Mousse Yu, caught red-handed, coughed. “I read a few while waiting for my turn.”

The phone on her left side kept vibrating, and the screen lit up, showing the name of the sender. Wen Jiao looked at the lit-up phone, and the movements of her hands noticeably paused.

“Ohh—” Mousse Yu cut a piece of strawberry mousse with her fork and chewed on it. She gently tapped the table with the back of her finger, her tone teasing. “The great student Wen also has times when she avoids problems?” “What, someone stole your job, and you’re still thinking of being a good, friendly roommate with them?”

“I’m not,” Wen Jiao said, pursing her lips in denial. This feeling of not being able to control her emotions made her feel a bit self-loathing, and Zhou Ziyan always seemed to be the one who made her lose her self-control. Seeing the 99+ unread messages and 3 missed calls on her phone screen, Wen Jiao sighed heavily. She finally opened the busy chat box.

Zhou Ziyan: Give me a chance to explain.

Zhou Ziyan: I’m begging you, please don’t ignore me.