"Just because you ask me a question, I have to answer you? Who do you think you are?"
"I, I am..."
Fu Qianqian was left speechless, her face flushing red with anger. "This is my workplace. You don’t even work here anymore—what right do you have to come here?"
Si Nian frowned. When had she ever said she quit?
She had only asked someone to cover her shifts temporarily—that didn’t mean she resigned.
Even if she had quit, she would have needed to formally submit her resignation and get approval.
Who told Fu Qianqian she was gone for good?
Si Nian: "Who told you I quit? I just had someone cover my shifts, but that doesn’t mean I gave up my job."
"What?! Didn’t you transfer your position to that Lin Sisi?" Fu Qianqian’s face twisted in shock. This whole situation had been eating at her—how could she, the daughter of a high-ranking official, end up playing second fiddle to some country girl?
It was even worse than when Si Nian was around!
And she refused to believe Lin Sisi was prettier than her.
"Wait, I heard from your family that you voluntarily gave your job to Lin Sisi. I even wondered when you became so generous. Don’t tell me you didn’t even know about it?"
Fu Qianqian looked at her like she was an idiot.
"Lin Sisi?" Si Nian narrowed her eyes. The person she had originally asked to cover for her was another broadcaster, Yu Xiao, who had happily agreed since she could earn double pay. How had Lin Sisi suddenly taken over?
Fu Qianqian grimaced. "Yu Xiao worked for a while, but then Lin Sisi showed up. Everyone said you’d left for good—I thought you were never coming back."
Of course, she didn’t mention how much she’d gloated over it.
But when she found out Lin Sisi had swooped in and taken Si Nian’s spot, Fu Qianqian’s amusement vanished.
How could some nobody just waltz in and replace her?
At least when Si Nian got the position, it had been a fair competition. Fu Qianqian had lost because she wasn’t as tall—fine, she could accept that.
But Lin Sisi wasn’t even that much taller! Why did she get the job?
Si Nian pieced it together. When she first transmigrated into this novel, her mind had been too chaotic to think about work.
Her family must have assumed she was gone for good and didn’t want the position to go to waste, so they pulled strings to let Lin Sisi take over.
Originally, Si Nian had planned to cut ties with that family—after all, they had raised the original owner well.
But this job? She wasn’t about to let Lin Sisi have it for free.
She owed the Si family for their upbringing, but she owed Lin Sisi nothing.
A job like this required either real skill or powerful connections.
Having figured things out, Si Nian turned to Fu Qianqian, who still looked resentful. "I never gave it to her. This job was something I worked hard to earn—why would I just hand it over? Even if I wanted to, I’d sell it, not give it away for free. I’m not an idiot."
Fu Qianqian’s expression shifted to sympathy. "Wow, that’s rough. Not only are you not their real daughter, but your job got stolen too. Still, you’re way better than Lin Sisi. At least you got in fair and square, like me—no family connections, just pure skill. Compared to her? I respect you."
The thought that Lin Sisi had gotten in through backdoor deals made Fu Qianqian’s blood boil. Even as the daughter of a high-ranking official, she’d never dared to use her connections. What gave Lin Sisi the right?
Her dislike for Lin Sisi grew, and even Si Nian—someone she’d never liked—suddenly seemed tolerable.
"Her Mandarin isn’t even that great. The broadcasts sound way worse than yours."
Lin Sisi was a complete novice, with no prior experience. Thrown into the job, she was unprofessional and struggled to keep up.
Si Nian’s lips twitched. Listening to Fu Qianqian’s endless complaints, she realized this wasn’t a confrontation—it was a venting session about Lin Sisi.
As if to stir the pot further, Fu Qianqian added, "Come on, let’s go find her. Sister Chen is talking to her right now."
She dragged Si Nian to the broadcasting room, where Sister Chen was speaking sternly to a young woman. The older woman’s expression was grim, her displeasure obvious.
Sister Chen was the veteran broadcaster who had trained the original owner. Every new hire had to pass her rigorous evaluations—even the original owner had been scolded a few times.
Everyone in the workplace feared her.
"Sister Chen! Look who’s here!" Fu Qianqian’s loud voice drew both women’s attention.
Lin Sisi turned and froze when she met Si Nian’s scrutinizing gaze.
"Si Nian? What are you doing here?" Sister Chen’s face darkened.
Si Nian had been her most promising trainee, but then she’d suddenly vanished, inexplicably handing her job over to an incompetent newcomer. The extra workload had left Sister Chen furious.
Now, seeing Si Nian, her initial surprise quickly gave way to irritation.
Si Nian’s eyes lingered on Lin Sisi for a moment before shifting to the middle-aged woman in red-framed glasses and a professional suit. "Sister Chen, I’m here to resume my work."
Lin Sisi’s face paled, panic flashing in her eyes.
Sister Chen’s brows shot up. "Didn’t you transfer your position to Lin Sisi?" Her gaze darted between the two.
"That’s right, Sister Nian," Lin Sisi cut in quickly, emphasizing the words, "Mom and Dad said you moved to the countryside and wouldn’t be able to commute, so they asked me to take over for you."
She stressed "Mom and Dad" as if wielding their authority to pressure Si Nian.
In the novel, the original owner had never returned to this job, too consumed by her miserable fate—married off to an older man and forced to raise his children.
She’d been too ashamed to face her coworkers, terrified of being mocked for her background.
She hadn’t even known Lin Sisi had taken her position.
Si Nian gave her a puzzled look. "What are you talking about? When did I say I couldn’t work? I only asked for a temporary replacement—Sister Chen knows that. If I’d quit, wouldn’t I have told her myself?"
"No, Sister Nian, Mom and Dad didn’t want you to overwork yourself, so they sent me to help. They said they’d explain when you got back. I just finished my shift—let me take you home so they can clarify?"
Si Nian nearly laughed.
Lin Sisi kept throwing "Mom and Dad" at her, as if refusing would make her an ungrateful daughter.
In this era, filial piety was sacrosanct—what a masterclass in emotional blackmail.