The Green Tea Supporting Girl Is Still Playing Her Role Today (GL) - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

After starting work, Wen Pinghan checked her email one last time. No response.

She calmly closed the email, not surprised by the outcome.

“Wow, wow, wow, wow—” Lin Zhimin rushed into the office, carrying a bag of buns, shouting excitedly, “Guess who I just saw!”

“Not guessing, not interested.”

“You’re late again, aren’t you?”

“Ever since the new marketing manager took over, HR has been strict about attendance. You better be careful, or the new boss might make an example out of latecomers like you.”

Her colleagues responded one after another.

“Yes! It’s her, the marketing manager! I just saw her!” Lin Zhimin reached her desk, a dreamy smile on her face, and asked in disbelief, “You guys haven’t seen her in person, have you? Otherwise, I can’t believe you’d be so calm after seeing her stunning beauty!”

“What do you mean? Are you saying she’s pretty?” one colleague looked up and asked.

“Pretty? She’s beyond pretty! Her beauty is so unreal I don’t even dare feel jealous—I can only admire her divine looks!” Lin Zhimin clutched her chest, giggling, “And she even smiled at me just now! Unreal, she’s just too gorgeous!”

Wen Pinghan raised her eyes: “Why did she smile at you?”

“Uh… because when I saw her, I couldn’t help but blurt out, ‘Wow, you’re so beautiful!’ The woman next to her immediately told me she’s the marketing manager. I was so embarrassed, and then she smiled.” Lin Zhimin let out a dramatic wail, “Ugh, so humiliating!”

Everyone burst into laughter, teasing her. After a while, Wen Pinghan asked, “Why did she come to the company?”

“I overheard her talking with the secretary. Seems like she’s here for a meeting.”

Wen Pinghan’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly asked, “What kind of meeting?”

“Something about a multinational project, only for senior management,” Lin Zhimin said.

Wen Pinghan’s eyes dimmed. So, it still didn’t work out?

That morning, she went out to meet clients and only hurried back in the afternoon under the scorching sun. She asked Lin Zhimin, who was sitting in the air-conditioned office, “The senior meeting should be over by now, right? Any announcements?”

“There is one,” Lin Zhimin said. “HR just announced that Ms. Xie will be inspecting the company soon. All employees are required to wear formal attire every day—every single day!”

Wen Pinghan: “…”

A bunch of executives held a long meeting, and the only announcement was about enforcing some pointless formality.

She took a deep breath, staring straight at Lin Zhimin. “Don’t you often chat with Mr. Wu’s assistant in the break room? I need a favor. Would you help me?”

*

In Mr. Wu’s office.

“Today’s meeting assigned some tasks, and I need to delegate specific plans to you all,” Mr. Wu looked up, giving Wen Pinghan a slight smile. “The others have been assigned. Now it’s just the new marketing manager left.”

Wen Pinghan lowered her head obediently.

Mr. Wu stood, holding her promotion application form, and walked over to her with a smile. “Give me your phone. Let me see how many clients you have.”

Wen Pinghan handed him her phone.

“Turn it off,” Mr. Wu said in a low voice.

Wen Pinghan’s head shot up, looking at him helplessly, shaking her head.

“I said, turn it off. I don’t want disobedient employees,” Mr. Wu said, tapping the rolled-up form against his palm slowly, the threat clear as he waited for her decision.

After a long standoff, Wen Pinghan’s tense shoulders slumped. She gritted her teeth and turned off her phone. Only then did Mr. Wu smile with satisfaction.

“You seem upset. Why’s that?” Mr. Wu reached for her hand, his breathing quickening as his hand moved to her thigh. “Why are you wearing pants? You look best in skirts.”

“Mr. Wu, stay away from me. This is sexual harassment!” Wen Pinghan said, furious.

“I’m just giving you a dress code suggestion. Besides, do you have proof? Do you know the consequences of accusing your boss?” Mr. Wu asked.

“This is the company’s required formal attire.” Wen Pinghan slapped his hand away and stormed out.

Mr. Wu raised his hand, sniffing it closely, thrilled by her earlier helpless yet submissive expression.

In the restroom, Wen Pinghan washed her hands several times, took a deep breath, her eyes showing no emotion. She calmly turned her phone back on and waited quietly for over ten minutes until Lin Zhimin’s message came through.

[Done!]

*

That evening, in a rented apartment.

Lin Zhimin sat cross-legged on the couch, watching Wen Pinghan calmly edit a video on her computer.

“Are you sure about this?” Lin Zhimin asked, still worried. “Didn’t you say the anonymous email from yesterday got no reply?”

“Yes, so this time, I’m using my real name,” Wen Pinghan said.

Lin Zhimin hugged her pillow tightly. “Is it really okay? What if the higher-ups ignore it or brush it off? You’d be done for, and me too… If Mr. Wu finds out I tricked his assistant into fixing the office camera while he was away, he might make my life hell. But I didn’t expect Xiaoqing to believe me so easily.”

That afternoon in the break room, Lin Zhimin casually mentioned seeing a repair worker. Xiaoqing said the camera in Mr. Wu’s office was broken, so they called someone to fix it.

Lin Zhimin quickly said, “Then you better get it fixed fast! Ms. Xie is coming to inspect soon. If they find out the office camera’s been broken for a while, it won’t look good, will it?”

“Yeah, but Mr. Wu always says it’s not urgent.”

“He’s a big boss with a lot on his plate, so of course he’s not in a hurry. But this is your responsibility as his assistant. You’ve got to take care of it for him.”

And so, without Mr. Wu knowing, the camera was fixed.

“Xiaoqing is so naive,” Lin Zhimin recalled. “I’ll treat her to dinner tomorrow. You’re covering the bill!”

“No problem,” Wen Pinghan said, suddenly laughing. Her expression softened as she slowly asked, “Do you think she really didn’t know anything?”

“What do you mean?” Lin Zhimin froze.

“Mr. Wu must have a long history of sexual harassment, but the camera can’t always be broken—otherwise, security would’ve noticed and fixed it. His actions couldn’t have been hidden so well; there must’ve been slip-ups. As his assistant, Xiaoqing must know something but stayed silent because of their power dynamic. And if that’s the only reason, it’s easy to break through—unless there’s another layer to it…” Wen Pinghan turned, looking at Lin Zhimin’s increasingly horrified expression, and said something chilling: “She’s a victim too, and being the closest to him, she might be the biggest victim.”

Lin Zhimin rubbed her arms, feeling suffocated. “Then why doesn’t she come forward with evidence? It should be easy for her!”

“Because once she does, she’ll face countless stares, like the one on your face right now.”

Lin Zhimin touched her face, confused. “What’s wrong with me? I don’t look down on her!”

“Exactly. You’re one of the kind onlookers who wouldn’t mock or belittle her. But you’d show pity,” Wen Pinghan said, lowering her eyes. “Sometimes, pity is a crueler gaze than mockery.”

You can ignore or hate those who mock you—it’s a form of release. But pity is a blade you can’t hate others for, only yourself. To avoid that pain, some choose to hide in a shell of their own making.

“And from how Mr. Wu specifically told me to turn off my phone today, he’s cautious. Other victims might not have evidence either.”

Lin Zhimin sat stunned, feeling a pang of sadness, hugging her pillow and staring at Wen Pinghan’s determined profile. “What about you? You’re so close to a promotion. You could lose everything. And if you just quit, you wouldn’t have to worry, right? With your connections and resume, you could easily find another job.”

“Would a new job guarantee there won’t be people like him?” Wen Pinghan countered.

Lin Zhimin was speechless.

“Since I’ve encountered this, I can’t let it go. I have nothing left but this shred of dignity, and I won’t let it be trampled.”

Lin Zhimin’s eyes welled up. “Big Sis Han, you’re… so brave.”

“Everyone’s brave in their own way. I’m only this bold because I have nothing to lose,” Wen Pinghan said, setting down her laptop and patting Lin Zhimin’s head with a gentle smile, her eyes reflecting the light. “You’re brave too, and so is Xiaoqing. Without your help behind the scenes, I wouldn’t have gotten the evidence.”

After Lin Zhimin left, teary-eyed, Wen Pinghan checked her phone, replying to some work messages. Then she saw an unexpected one.

Xie Zhifei: [Seafood? SillyFlower.jpg]

Half an hour later, Wen Pinghan sat by the convenience store window, staring at her instant noodles. “I just happened to not have dinner.”

“I just happened to pass by and thought to ask if you’d eaten,” Xie Zhifei said, resting her chin on her hand with a smile.

Both had things on their minds, which was probably why they ended up here—wanting someone to talk to, yet not wanting to say anything.

Despite her bold words to Lin Zhimin, Wen Pinghan was nervous, worried about tomorrow’s outcome. She was already planning her next steps.

Meanwhile, Xie Zhifei was thinking about that anonymous email—

It was from a female employee accusing Mr. Wu of sexual harassment.

But it was just a few lines, with no evidence, no witnesses, nothing.

So she hadn’t replied.

Since it was anonymous, she had to consider if it was a prank or workplace scheming.

Investigating or acting on a regional director based on a single anonymous email would be too reckless.

So she waited.

If it was a prank, the sender might give up after getting no response.

But if it was real, she’d need at least a witness to act, so the person had to step forward.

Part of her hoped it was a prank; part of her hoped the person had the courage to break through her silence.

“You seem preoccupied,” Wen Pinghan said, unusually taking the initiative. “You’ve sighed several times.”

Xie Zhifei: “Yeah, I’ve got some annoying stuff on my mind. You too? You almost shoved noodles up your nose.”

=。=

She thought no one noticed.

“I’m… taking a gamble,” Wen Pinghan said.

“What a coincidence, so am I,” Xie Zhifei said with a grin. “What’re you betting on?”

“Whether someone high up has a conscience,” Wen Pinghan said, gazing at her reflection in the window, her voice steady.

Xie Zhifei looked at the window too, her eyes curving slightly. “I’m betting on whether someone at the end of their rope has courage.”

At 11:30 p.m., Xie Zhifei finished her work, sitting at her desk, staring at her computer. “I hope I didn’t bet wrong.”

She opened her email, replying to several messages one by one, feeling a bit disappointed.

Looking up, it was almost midnight.

“Did they give up?” Xie Zhifei sighed. “Guess I can only hope it was an annoying prank.”

But the next email prompted her to download a video attachment.

Her breath caught, her expression complex. She wanted to laugh but couldn’t. Her hand trembled as she clicked download, then read the text.

It detailed the entire harassment incident, with video evidence attached.

When her eyes landed on the last line, her pupils shrank—

Signed: Wen Pinghan, Supervisor, Marketing Team 3.