It’s a proven fact that when you’re beyond speechless, you really do start laughing.
Chen Siyan walked into the office and saw Song Xinya let out a scornful laugh. He asked, “Song, what did you see?”
Song Xinya: “I see an ugly face.”
Chen Siyan: “How ugly must that face be to get our ever-calm Song all riled up? Ugly as a demon? Viper-faced? Eight eyes and ten mouths?”
He craned his neck to peek at the card on the desk, then blurted a “whoa” — “A ghost in broad daylight? Those sleazy maggots are this shameless now? How revolting.”
More coworkers walked in and gathered around.
They saw the four characters written on the card, and in unison, all eyes turned to Song Xinya, brimming with varied expressions.
Curiosity. Gossip. Suspicion. And some looking for a good laugh.
Song Xinya was beautiful and had a great figure, so naturally, among her male colleagues, some liked her — though it wasn’t always real affection, just the physiological urge of men toward an attractive woman, wanting to sleep with her.
But because she was President Qin’s girlfriend, no one dared to make a move.
Now, seeing someone write such crude words to her, they began to wonder if Song Xinya had a messy private life.
And secretly, some hoped her “mess” would land on them, giving them a chance to get a piece — just sex, no strings attached. Why not, right?
Of course, not every man thought like that; these were the dark thoughts of a small fraction. But even that fraction was enough to make your skin crawl.
Now that people in the office had seen the card, bad news travels fast — by tomorrow, the whole Qin Corporation would know Song Xinya had been sexually harassed by a creep.
And once stories get passed around, twisted and exaggerated by those with bad intentions, you can imagine how ugly the rumors would get.
Men only empathize with men. On matters like this, their takes tended to be eerily uniform:
“If you know you’re pretty and still dress up so nice every day, aren’t you just inviting harassment?”
“Can you women really blame us men? Isn’t it your own fault — not being proper, flirting around? Why else would a guy pick you instead of someone else?”
Victim-blaming, in all its glory, directed at women.
In such cases, whether the woman was guilty or not, she always faced more blame than the man.
From the crowd, one male colleague piped up: “Song, who wrote this to you? The style doesn’t look like President Qin’s, does it?”
The implication: maybe Song has another man on the side.
Everyone’s eyes on Song Xinya grew even more speculative.
Chen Siyan picked up the card from the desk and proclaimed loud and clear: “There’s no name on this card. How do you know it’s for Song? This card is clearly written to me.”
The crowd froze, shifting their gaze from Song Xinya to Chen Siyan in unison.
“The card’s for you, Manager Chen?”
Chen Siyan: “What, your big brother here makes ten million a year, looks like a million bucks, stands one meter eighty-eight, broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs — a girl with a crush wanting to get in my pants isn’t exactly shocking, is it?”
Everyone: “…”
Stunned by the sudden twist, they were all at a loss for words.
Chen Siyan waved the card around at the crowd and said in a boastful tone: “I’ve known I’m charming since I was a kid. In kindergarten, tons of girls liked me and brought snacks from home every day to shove at me. I said I didn’t want any, but they insisted. When I got older, it got even crazier — in a class of 26 girls, 25 were crushing on me, and the last one was too intimidated because I was too impressive.”
“So I tell you, getting a little card like this is nothing new to me, because the women who like me are as numerous as the seeds in a dragon fruit.”
Someone joked: “Manager Chen, how do you know it’s a woman? Maybe it’s a guy who wants to tap that.”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Chen Siyan: “If it really were a guy who wants to go at it with me, what does that say? It just means your big brother here swings both ways, and my appeal is off the charts!”
More laughter erupted.
Thanks to Chen Siyan’s bold deflection, the incident of Song Xinya being sexually harassed by a weirdo was brushed aside lightly, and no one kept talking behind her back.
In the break room, Song Xinya made a cup of coffee and handed it to Chen Siyan: “Thank you, Manager Chen.”
Chen Siyan: “No need to thank me. You’re an employee under me. I protect my own people — who else am I supposed to protect?”
Because of his complicated life experiences, Chen Siyan had a particularly strong sense of empathy. Compared to other men of his gender, he resonated far more with women.
“As a man, I know men all too well. When they see a woman get harassed, their first reaction isn’t sympathy or defense — it’s questioning whether she’s been messing around.”
“If something like this happens to a woman, it’s like a mountain crushing down. But if it happens to a man, it’s just a conquest — something other guys would envy.”
“It’s just the way it is. Men are hypocritical beasts, plain and simple.”
Song Xinya: “You’re not one of those sanctimonious beasts, Manager Chen. You’re a good man.”
Chen Siyan chuckled, his eyes bright and clean. Even at twenty-eight, he had none of the slickness or greasiness of a grown man. A fresh, lively boyishness radiated off him.
“Song, remember — say that again about me when Tiantianquan is around.”
Song Xinya: “From now on, in front of Tiantianquan, every other word out of my mouth will be praise for you. I’ll have you so swooned you won’t know which way is up.”
Chen Siyan: “Feel free to go all out. My sense of direction is impeccable — I never use GPS to drive. I can memorize every route just with my brain.”
To help better set him up with Tiantianquan, Song Xinya asked, “So, where are you and Tiantianquan right now?”
He’d given her oral once, but nothing had progressed since then.
Not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t get in.
Chen Siyan: “Stuck in neutral.”
He asked, “As Tiantianquan’s best friend, Song, tell me — should I win her heart first, or go for the body first?”
Song Xinya: “Didn’t you already go for the body with Quanquan?”
Chen Siyan: “I went for empty air. The gun in my pants is practically rusting over — it hasn’t even seen combat yet.”
Song Xinya: “My condolences.”
Chen Siyan: “Without Tiantianquan, I can’t be consoled.”
Song Xinya got goosebumps from all the cheese.
Chen Siyan’s chin tilted toward the office floor as he asked with concern, “That card — do you have a clue who wrote it?”
Song Xinya: “Not sure yet.”
Chen Siyan: “So you do have someone in mind, right?”
Song Xinya: “Yes.”
Chen Siyan: “The entrance to Qin Corporation has a card-scanning gate. For a delivery guy to bring that card up, someone must have swiped him in.”
“That person must have seen the card’s content and deliberately let the delivery guy through — just to humiliate you.”
Chen Siyan looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "Who do you think is the one trying to ruin your reputation?"
Song Xinya thought of one person immediately.
