Mu Linjing was a sensible person. Precisely because she was too sensible, she didn't accept any promotion that wasn't earned through her own efforts.
Zhan Mohan anticipated her question. He waved his hand, signaling her to calm down, "You don't need to think so much. While it's understandable for you to think this way from a personal standpoint, work is work. Please accept it with peace of mind. I won't let any employee be in a position they don't deserve here."
With Zhan Mohan's assurance, Mu Linjing could finally accept the promotion with peace of mind.
"Shi Ming will be transferred overseas soon. You'll need to hand over your work to her these past few days."
After these instructions, she left Zhan Mohan's office. Seeing her expression, her colleagues knew who the promotion opportunity had gone to. Although most people were disappointed, they weren't entirely dissatisfied. However, as with any office, there were always employees who disliked others, and there were naturally those who were at odds with Mu Linjing.
Knowing she would be promoted, they started to harbor doubts in their hearts.
Mu Linjing was still immersed in the joy of her promotion. She humbly accepted the congratulations from her colleagues. As for their expressions, she couldn't possibly consider them all perfectly.
Feng Shiming, in her office, had seen all of this unfold. She had tried to speak with Elder Master Zhan about not wanting to be transferred overseas, but Elder Master Zhan's reply was simply that Zhan Mohan was in charge of the company now.
In other words, it meant she should do as Zhan Mohan said.
Although she had to leave, she certainly wouldn't let them have an easy time before she did.
Coincidentally, Mu Linjing came to see him to hand over work as requested by Zhan Mohan. Feng Shiming immediately brought over a pile of miscellaneous documents. "You need to read all of this before you leave work today. I have something to do and won't be coming to the office tomorrow. After you've finished reading, organize it all and send it to my email. I'll see if your understanding is adequate."
Mu Linjing's expression barely changed upon seeing the mountain-high stack of files. She had guessed that Feng Shiming was unhappy and would make things difficult for her within her capabilities, but Mu Linjing wasn't afraid of that.
Getting promoted, especially to replace someone, and facing intentional difficulties was not uncommon in the workplace. She would simply deal with challenges as they came.
Carrying the stack of documents to her workstation, she buried herself in work. She was so engrossed that she didn't even notice when her colleagues left for the day.
When she finally raised her head, rubbing her sore neck, the office was empty. She had a message on her phone from Zhan Yichen, saying he was arranging a dinner to bid farewell to Feng Shiming and that he was preparing for it.
Considering her relationship with Feng Shiming had soured, it was understandable that she wasn't invited.
Since she had no other plans for the evening, she decided to stay at the company a while longer to read more documents and finish the tasks Feng Shiming had assigned before leaving.
During this time, Zhan Yichen called once. Upon learning she was still at the company, he urged her to go home.
"I'm almost done with what I'm doing. I'll head back after I finish."
Knowing he couldn't persuade her, but worried about her being out so late and his own work finishing very late, Zhan Yichen called Wei Yumeng.
Upon hearing that Mu Linjing was still working overtime, Wei Yumeng agreed to pick her up.
As she emerged from the Zhan Corporation building, Wei Yumeng pulled her car up in front of her. "Linjing, Yichen asked me to pick you up. Get in quickly."
Once in the car, Mu Linjing continuously massaged her neck and shoulders, looking very tired.
"Linjing, have you eaten dinner?"
Seeing how late it was, Mu Linjing intended to fib a little, but her empty stomach betrayed her with a growl.
Hearing this, Wei Yumeng smiled. "Let's go. I'll take you to get something to eat. Consider it a small celebration for your promotion."
Mu Linjing readily agreed to the good suggestion. The two found a restaurant. Mu Linjing was in high spirits and even ordered a few bottles of wine to liven things up.
"Yumeng, I'm finally getting promoted. This feeling is wonderful. I finally feel like the gap between him and me is shrinking."
After a few rounds of drinks, Mu Linjing began to speak her true feelings.
Wei Yumeng had always known that being with Zhan Yichen put her under pressure. She had thought that gaining Elder Master Zhan's approval would ease some of that pressure, but now it seemed that wasn't entirely the case.
Perhaps it was this recognition that made her not want to let him down, and thus she wanted to become even more outstanding.
She drank more and more, not seeming to be celebrating her promotion, but rather drowning her sorrows about future worries.
So, Wei Yumeng decided to end the meal and prepare to take her home.
As they exited the restaurant, Mu Linjing was stumbling, relying entirely on Wei Yumeng to support her weight. Just as Wei Yumeng was about to open the car door, a strong arm suddenly grabbed her. She instinctively shielded Mu Linjing and dodged, only to see several drunken burly men surrounding them.
"Little beauties, what's wrong? Need some help from your big brothers?"
Without needing to guess, Wei Yumeng knew these were not good people. She tightened her grip on Mu Linjing.
"Get out of the way, or I'll call the police!"
She tried to quickly pull Mu Linjing into the car. Once inside, they would be safe.
However, these men seemed to understand this and blocked the car door, starting to grope them.
Mu Linjing was completely drunk and couldn't help with their escape at all. Wei Yumeng, holding her, also greatly reduced their chances of escape.
As two women, their strength was naturally no match for several burly men. They were dragged away by the men before they could even call for help.
Darkness had fallen. Although the bustling city still glowed with neon lights, the insufficient light made it difficult to discern anything. They were roughly dragged into a small alley. Unlike the prosperity outside, this place had few streetlights, and the light was only enough for them to clearly recognize each other.
Arriving here, Wei Yumeng's heart grew increasingly anxious. She didn't know what they might face in such a place, especially with the two of them.
The eyes of the drunken men became increasingly greedy, their lust unmasked.
Wei Yumeng took out her handbag. "Do you want money? I have money. This card is my husband's supplementary card, with no spending limit. As long as you let us go, I can give you this card."
As she spoke, she took out the card from her bag, trying to avert disaster with money.
The drunk man at the front's eyes lit up when he heard the card had an unlimited swipe, and he seemed tempted.
Seeing this, she immediately upped the ante and took out another card. "This is my personal savings, all in here. As long as you let us go, it's all yours."