Little Niu’s manuscript made it to the press, as expected, and indeed caused a huge sensation.
Even Huangfu Huazhang, who hadn’t chosen "Black Curtain" for days, was sitting at the breakfast table reading the neatly ironed "Black Curtain."
After reading the article, he put down the newspaper and picked up the white napkin to gently press it against the corners of his lips.
Xia Zuo saw this and silently walked in, holding a pot to pour a cup of milk for the gentleman.
Huangfu Huazhang nodded, "This article is really well written. You wouldn’t guess it’s from a newcor."
Xia Zuo eyed the milk cup, seemingly uninterested as he asked, "Sir, what do you think of this person’s writing compared to Xiong Jie?"
Huangfu Huazhang nodded, "Though it lacks depth, it certainly has enough edge. That’s enough."
Xia Zuo bowed slightly, then took the pot and left.
Their conversation faded along with the sweet and rich scent of milk.
.
It was work ti when Xiong Jie finally returned to work. Though she still looked like the sa stylish and assertive career woman from before, she attracted many curious glances as she stepped briskly through the company doors—being a kidnapped female journalist was inherently thought-provoking.
Agitated, Xiong Jie charged directly into Ali’s office where Ali was having a eting with the mbers of Xiong Jie’s team. Little Niu was at the forefront, but notably absent was Xiong Jie, the lead writer.
Seeing this, Xiong Jie chuckled sarcastically, "Boss, what is the aning of this? You gathered my team for a eting, shouldn’t you have inford , the lead writer?"
She walked in, circling Little Niu. Little Niu turned pale imdiately, trying to stand up, but was pinned down by Xiong Jie’s cold sneer.
"Little Niu, sit. No need to be so nervous, why are you nervous? Look at you, now sitting at the head, unlike the timid little assistant you used to be under . Your position is different now, huh? Even Ali herself is eting with you, positioning you closest to her—it’s truly sothing worth congratulating."
The more Little Niu listened, the paler her face got, beads of cold sweat trickled down from her temple, she dared not remain seated any longer, and hurriedly tried to stand up, her voice trembling as she tried to explain, "Boss, let explain."
"I told you to sit, I didn’t tell you to explain!" Xiong Jie suddenly scread sharply, her elevated volu echoing through the office, startling her colleagues into pale resignation.
Only the experienced Ali kept her arms crossed, wearing a near-sardonic smile as she watched Xiong Jie.
Xiong Jie glared hatefully at Little Niu, "In the past, when I said sit, you sat, didn’t dare stand up. What, today is indeed different, huh? I said sit down, yet you insist on standing. What’s the matter, after pilfering my resources and writing an article, you think you’ve grown wings, capable of standing on your own, able to poach everyone on the team?"
Cold sweat dripped down Little Niu’s cheeks, she no longer dared to speak.
Xiong Jie then shifted her icy gaze towards Ali, "...Is it because of one article, Little Niu, you truly think you can replace , huh? Really overestimating yourself!"
Xiong Jie’s gaze turned, but Ali simply shrugged indifferently, boldly eting Xiong Jie’s eyes, shaking her head, "Xiong Jie, you don’t need to trample on Little Niu like this. I just think her article is excellent, her writing is sharp, even surpassing yours."
"Xiong Jie, you have experience, and you’ve written many good articles, but you know, experience is a double-edged sword. The more you write, the more you beco slick, your argunts start to moderate, lacking freshness and sharpness. What we need at ’Black Curtain’ is the intensity that pierces through, diocrity is just redundant."
Xiong Jie was shocked, "Boss, what do you an? You know perfectly well, Little Niu’s article stole my exclusive resources!"
"How can you say that?" Ali chuckled coldly, "Clearly, Little Niu gained it through interview. You claim they’re your exclusive resources, but once you spoke to another journalist, it ans you accepted the interview, equating to permitting one to write the article. If you didn’t want to see the article published, then why did you speak before?"
Xiong Jie was nearly furious, "I wasn’t accepting her interview, I was confiding my grievances to her!"
Ali shrugged, her gaze scrutinizing Xiong Jie from top to bottom, finally speaking slowly after a while, "Xiong Jie, is there a fundantal difference between confiding to her and accepting an interview? You are also a journalist, do you not understand that confiding to another journalist is equivalent to accepting an interview?"
"Boss, you!" Xiong Jie was dumbfounded, heartbroken.
Ali didn’t even look at Xiong Jie, turned back to her seat, comfortably sitting down, "Xiong Jie, judging by your ntal state, it’s obvious you haven’t shaken off the shadow of abduction. You’re really not fit to co back to work right now, nor to lead your team to complete the upcoming tasks. Let’s do this; the company will give you another half a month off, paid leave of course, go ho and rest well."
"Ali, what do you an?!"
Xiong Jie jumped up in anger, "Is this half-month paid leave purchasing my exclusive resources? I was kidnapped, suffered for so many days, and it turns out to be worth only half a month’s paid leave?"
"Also, not letting co back to work, what does that an? I told you I’m fine, and I can conduct interviews and write articles as usual—there’s no problem! You’re deliberately keeping on leave, aren’t you purposefully excluding from this topic, and intentionally removing from my team?"
Ali arms folded, listening to Xiong Jie’s roar, her expression still calm, "Xiong Jie, you’re indeed a clever person, look how keenly you see things. Actually, I don’t like spelling things out too clearly, after all you’ve contributed a lot to the company. The company is willing to let you take paid leave until you fully recover and then return to work. I have said my piece, and it is considerate."
As Ali spoke, she turned her eyes towards Little Niu and the others, "You all should go back to work. Based on my prior arrangent, this topic will have Little Niu as lead writer, and all of you will cooperate with Little Niu’s work. As for Xiong Jie’s personal emotions, I’ll handle the reconciliation; don’t let her affect your normal work. She’s been through stress and needs to be comforted, but the company’s operations are more important, and can’t halt due to one person’s situation."
Little Niu and the team mbers stood up, silently glanced at Xiong Jie, and exited dejectedly.
Xiong Jie stared at Ali, unable to hide her disappointnt, "Does the company feel I’m useless now, is that it? Ali, are you deliberately sidelining , hoping I’ll resign on my own, is that it?"
Ali crossed his arms and laughed exaggeratedly, "Xiong Jie, please don’t misunderstand. Our company is so large, how could we not be aware of the regulations in the Labor Law? As long as your ntal health has not recovered, the company won’t fire you, nor will it suggest you resign voluntarily in any way. You can stay and enjoy the paid leave provided by the company, until you’ve fully recovered ntally."
"Xiong Jie, what more do you want? Hasn’t the company and I been more than generous to you? Yet look at you, like an ungrateful, spoiled child, there’s really no dealing with you."
Xiong Jie clenched her hands at her sides.
Ali’s words were like a broken tape recorder, rewinding over and over at the sa spot.
"You’re just an ungrateful, spoiled child..."
"You’re just an ungrateful, spoiled child!"
The face before her turned from Ali into three, five, ten... Ali’s features transford amidst the wavering into her father, mother, grandparents, aunts, uncles...
They had different faces, yet all wore the sa disdainful expression, saying the sa things to her!
"Enough, stop talking!"
Xiong Jie couldn’t tell if she was an adult journalist or that helpless five-year-old girl. Clearly, the people opposite her were her closest family, yet they all looked at her with such disgust, saying those hurtful things...
Why? What did she do wrong?
All of this was because of her parents’ divorce, so why didn’t they bla her parents? Why did it seem like all the bla was on her?
Xiong Jie covered her ears with her hands and scread in confusion, "Stop talking, I told you all to shut up!"
She reached out and knocked over the docunts on Ali’s desk, grabbing a photo fra and throwing it at Ali—
Her whole world was in chaos, her vision wobbled as if there was a massive earthquake, and everything was a double image.
Later—apparently many colleagues rushed in, and even the company’s security arrived; then there was the ergency center, and doctors...
They carried her out of Ali’s office, and she scread, "Let go of ! I’m fine, there’s nothing wrong with my ntal state. Let go of , I told you to let go, ah—, ah—!"
Behind, Little Niu supported Ali, who had been hit on the forehead by the photo fra, standing coldly at Ali’s door. Ali muttered angrily, "...crazy!"
.
Shi Nian and Ye He received the news when Xiong Jie had already left the hospital and returned ho.
The doctors said she was given an injection, and she had cald down, and apologized clearly for her previous behavior.
Ali and "Black Curtain," considering she was an employee of the company, also understood her plight and decided not to pursue responsibility.
Shi Nian and Ye He rushed to Xiong Jie’s place and saw the surrounding residents busily setting up a venue on the lawn. There was even a clown standing by, seemingly ready to perform.
Seeing that clown, Shi Nian felt an ominous premonition in his heart.
－
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