First Day at Nero Inc. (II)

"I'M SO SORRY!" the man exclaimed, bowing to the student and rubbing his hands.

I kneeled down, grabbed his tie, and pulled him to me, his face inches away from my face. Fear was evident in his eyes.

"Next time I catch you doing this again to someone else," I whispered in his ears, "You'll get more than a slap in the face. Instead, I'll break your hands so you can never find them under a woman's skirt again. Got it?"

The molester nodded vigorously, and I let go of his tie, pushing him to the floor. The train came to the next stop, and I quickly stood up.

I turned to the student.

'So...SO FUCKING COOL!' the student thought, clasping her hands together and staring at me in awe.

She looked at me like I was some Marvel superhero such as Wonder Woman.

"This is my stop," I told her with a smile.

"It's m-my stop too!" she exclaimed, walking out with me.

The other passengers watched the molester softly cry and groan at what happened. New passengers who stepped into the train's carriage stared confused at the groaning man lying on the floor.

The train's doors shut, and it left the station.

"Thank y-you," I heard the student say as we walked up the stairs and into the street.

We stopped outside a convenience store, and I looked at her. She had bowed her head.

"It's nothing, really," I said, dismissively waving my hands, "But are you sure you're okay?"

The student smiled and nodded.

"Wait here," I told her and stepped into the convenience store.

I walked to an aisle that had a small packet of cream bread. I grabbed it, a bottle of water, and a can of green tea. I paid for the items and walked out.

The student was sitting on a nearby bench, her hands fisted on her thighs. She immediately smiled and stood up when she saw me.

"Here," I told her, handing her a grey plastic bag filled with the items I had bought for her.

She slowly reached out her hands and took the bag. She stared at the items inside and looked at me with wide grey eyes.

"You should have the tea now before it gets cold," I told her, "It will help calm your nerves."

"Ah, I c-can't accept t-this," the student stuttered, waving her left hand frantically, "Y-you've already h-helped me so-"

"Nonsense," I told her, "Again, I say, it's nothing. Well, I have to go. I don't want to be late for work. Take care, okay?"

The student bowed and thanked me once again. I smiled and walked in the opposite direction. Stopping a few meters away, I turned to find the student still watching me.

I waved at her, and she did the same, smiling sheepishly in the process. I put my hands in my pocket and headed for work.

"What a way to start my day," I mumbled upon arriving at Nero Inc.

The company building was huge and looked like it was worth billions of dollars.

"At least I made it on time," I checked my watch, "With five minutes to spare."

I fixed myself and let out a long sigh.

"Okay," I smiled, "Let's do this, Xiulan Lai."

I walked inside, watching as other employees did the same. If I thought the outside looked like a billion dollars, the inside was the same.

It consisted of multiple floors with lifts and stairs everywhere. There were comfortable white chairs placed around light green tables.

Probably for the staff to use as they took a break.

The building seemed eco-friendly as there were plants in different proximities within the building. The air in the building was fresh for some reason.

My jaw dropped as I saw a fountain in the middle of the first floor. It was made of silver and had the shape of a humanoid star holding a smartphone.

"Well," I mumbled as I glanced away at the fountain, "makes sense since the company's logo is a star holding a smartphone."

I walked to the receptionist. Mind you, there were two of them working in the same place.

"Good morning," I greeted with a smile.

"...Not yet, sir," the one receptionist said, holding a phone to her ear, "May I take a message?"

The other receptionist greeted me as she quickly handed her co-worker a pen.

"Good morning," the one receptionist said, a tired smile on her tiny face.

The two receptionists had only just arrived at work less than ten minutes ago, and they were already super busy.

"How may I help you?" I was then asked.

I checked her name tag. Her name was Cui. Hao Cui.

"Hi, I am Lai. Xiulan Lai," I told her, "Mr. Ying's PA."

The other receptionist, who was on the phone earlier, rushed to Cui's side. She slammed her hands on the counter.

"Mr. Ying hired a new PA!? Wha-!"

Cui quickly covered her fellow receptionist's mouth, silencing her.

"Quit being so loud, Gina," Cui scolded, removing her hand from the woman's mouth.

"Sorry," Gina smiled sheepishly, rubbing her neck in embarrassment, "Nice to meet you, Miss Lai."

I smiled and nodded. Compared to Cui, who was soft-spoken, Cheng Gina had no filter. If Cui struggled with angry or rude customers, Gina would deal with them.

At first, it was hard for the two to work together because none of them thought they would work with another colleague in the same role.

After a few weeks of working together, they balanced each other out. They were like Yin and Yang, an unstoppable force who did their jobs exceptionally well.

"Nice to meet you both, Miss Cui and Miss Gina."

They nodded. Gina rushed to her computer and began typing. Cui pressed a green button near the bottom of the counter.

She looked up at me with a smile.

"You may proceed," she told me, "I think Mr. Ying will give you your employee ID card as I don't have it. His office is on the twelfth floor, Room 24. He's not here now, so you might have to wait in the waiting room, Room 22."

I nodded, bowed, and thanked her. I took my leave.

"This is shocking," Gina whispered to Cui, "I didn't think Mr. Ying would hire another PA after what happened."

Cui nodded in agreement, and they stared at me as I walked towards the see-through doors that were now opened for me.

I entered and saw some employees waiting for the elevator. There were four elevators, two on each side of the ground floor.

As the first elevator on the right opened, I stepped inside with the other employees who were, mind you, eyeing me out of curiosity.

Which made sense since I was an unfamiliar face. I stood at the back of the elevator after pressing the twelfth-floor button.

"Hold the lift, please!" exclaimed a male employee who came running to the elevator.

When I looked up to see who the employee was, my eyes widened upon realizing that it was the employee I had met at the train station.

The one who had sat next to me on the bench. The one who stepped in the same train carriage as me.

'Oh no,' I thought, nervously biting my lip, 'He is the one who witnessed me slap that molester.'

His eyes met mine, and I quickly averted my gaze, not wanting to look at him.

'He must think I'm a brute or something,' I internally sighed.

He narrowed his eyes at me and then shrugged. He was standing next to a female employee and spoke to her.

As the elevator stopped at a few floors, more and more employees were stepping out and in again. Soon enough, that man and I were the only ones left.

'So awkward,' I thought, biting my lip.

I was still avoiding his gaze as he moved to the other side of the elevator. His eyes were glued to the elevator doors.

"I can't believe I'm seeing you again," I heard him say, his eyes not darting away from the elevator doors.