After Being Bent by Reader
Chapter 29: Pt.1

Xu Chuanchuan realized that she had made a mistake from the beginning. She should never have taken the initiative to provoke Passerby Shi and have her join the reader group. When Xu Chuanchuan heard that Passerby Shi would delete her jjwxc app, although she had mixed feelings about it, she also didn't know what she should say in this situation.

Should she persuade Passerby Shi not to delete her application?

The other party might not be willing to listen to her.

Xu Chuanchuan wasn't in any position to do so, and she also couldn't bring herself to speak up for fear of the other party misunderstanding her actions for a plot or some sort once more.

After some hesitation, Xu Chuanchuan deleted all the comforting words she had typed out before.

Xu Chuanchuan: "No matter what choice you make, thank you very much for your support throughout this period. [Rose][Fist cupping]"

By the time Xu Chuanchuan's message got through, the other party's avatar had darkened already, indicating that she had gone offline.

The last time Xu Chuanchuan had tricked Passerby Shi with her "meat" essay, the other party had disappeared for several days. Back then, Xu Chuanchuan thought that her prank had angered Passerby Shi to the point of leaving. However, to her surprise, Passerby Shi had reappeared several days later, explaining that she was absent because of a business trip.

This time, though, Xu Chuanchuan knew that Passerby Shi was unlikely to return.

Reading novels was nothing but a pastime for Passerby Shi. If Passerby Shi felt that this pastime could no longer bring her enjoyment, it was only natural for her to seek other pastimes.

Humans were truly strange creatures. Previously, Xu Chuanchuan had kept on complaining that Passerby Shi was a difficult person to deal with. Yet, now that the other party had left, Xu Chuanchuan started to miss her.

Although Xu Chuanchuan felt a little disappointed, it wasn't to the point of becoming sad over the matter.

If she's gone, then she's gone. It's just a reader. There will be many more new readers to come in the future. Keeping a positive mindset was necessary for an author. Xu Chuanchuan needed to keep a positive mood to have the energy to keep on writing.

One time, someone in the reader group brought up Passerby Shi.

—Lord, where did your Darling Shi go? @I Love Malatang

To which Xu Chuanchuan replied: "I don't know."

—Lord, you finally admitted that Darling Shi is yours! Confess! What relationship do you have with her?

Xu Chuanchuan: …

Xu Chuanchuan: "Cough... She's not my… She's just one of my readers. We really do not know each other in real life. Also, she already has a girlfriend, so it's best not to talk nonsense in the future."

However, it wouldn't matter even if they spoke nonsense since Passerby Shi was no longer here to read it. Many days had gone by already since Passerby Shi last logged into her QQ account. There was even a possibility that this QQ account was just a sub-account. Now that Passerby Shi was no longer interested in reading novels, she would naturally have no need for her sub-account anymore.

After Xu Chuanchuan clarified the situation, nobody else in the group continued joking about her relationship with Passerby Shi.

Passerby Shi was like the summer storm, appearing suddenly and disappearing suddenly. Xu Chuanchuan was a little unused to Passerby Shi's disappearance initially, but she gradually accepted the fact that this tsundere tycoon had left.

Eventually, Xu Chuanchuan's uneventful days resumed. However, another incident occurred on the day her new book began monetization.

The culprit was clearly someone's sub-account, as the person's purchase history showed them buying all sorts of random books. And apart from giving her book point reductions, this person had no history of leaving any comments or reviews on any other author's book. Judging by the reader's ID, it should be an old account that had been registered three or four years ago.

When Xu Chuanchuan saw the series of point reductions, raging blood had flowed to her head. Fortunately, she could apply to the admins to remove malicious point reductions. Her readers were also very warm-hearted and supportive of her, and they eagerly gave her point increases to offset the points she lost.

After resolving the incident, Xu Chuanchuan went to Ange to complain.

Xu Chuanchuan: "I don't even know who I've offended."

Ange: "I'm also puzzled by this situation. At first, I suspected that it was Citrus's doing, but after checking that reader's IP address, I found that it's completely different from her IP. "

Xu Chuanchuan: "I'm not a god-level author. I've also maintained a low profile and avoided trouble throughout my writing career. How did I even end up offending someone?"

Ange: "Passerby Shi gave you eight consecutive Deep-waters last time, and she also gave you five consecutive Deep-waters the time before that. Everyone on the platform has seen those donations, and you call that low profile?"

Xu Chuanchuan: "...She sent those of her own volition. I never told her to do it."

Ange: "Tch, acting innocent after getting an advantage."

Xu Chuanchuan: "Whose side are you on? How can you say that about me? [Aggrieved]"

Ange: "I'm kidding. I know you have nothing to do with her. By the way, I haven't seen any signs of Passerby Shi recently. Is she busy IRL?"

Xu Chuanchuan: "I don't know."

Ange: "Don't you chat with her every day? How can you not know?"

Xu Chuanchuan: "Who told you I chat with her every day?! I only talked to her a few times. Also, she said that she uninstalled jjwxc's app, so I don't think she'll be reading web novels anymore."

Ange: "Did she get tired of reading?"

Xu Chuanchuan: "Maybe."

Who could possibly see through the thoughts of a tycoon?

…

A lot of personnel changes had taken place in the company recently. First, the unqualified employees were fired one after another. Next, the company's management was reshuffled and changed. Although Xu Chuanchuan wasn't keen to gossip, she had still heard about the changes to the company's senior management positions.

One example was the Human Resources Department's manager. The man was found abusing his authority to place his family members into idle positions in the company under false pretenses. As a result, he had been switched to the Administration Department to serve as the "internal manager" there.

Another example was the Business Department's manager. He had been demoted into an ordinary sales staff because of his lack of contribution to the company throughout the years. And because he was dissatisfied with his demotion, he resigned from the company.

Afterward, Xu Chuanchuan heard that the company had paid a big dime to hire a highly competent business manager to take over the Business Department's management. The company had also recruited many fresh graduates for the department, and these fresh graduates were young, confident, and brimming with fighting spirit.

In just one week, Xu Chuanchuan could feel that the atmosphere in the company had changed. In the past, whenever she passed by the common office area, what she saw were unproductive colleagues lazily going about doing their work. However, ever since the company reform, everyone started working busily and cautiously. Now, everyone didn't even dare speak too loudly in the company.

Meanwhile, these were all Murong Shi's doing.

Sometimes, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't help but be puzzled by Murong Shi. Murong Shi was only 26 years old this year, yet the decisions she had made thus far did not match her age at all. Her decisions were overly mature, decisive, and cruel.

Although Xu Chuanchuan was a white-collar worker, she still found all of this incredible. She was only one year younger than Murong Shi, so why was there such a vast difference between them?

It was pouring outside, the rain setting off the soft and slender figure of the woman quietly standing by the window. Looking at this scene, Xu Chuanchuan suddenly had the illusion that Murong Shi had a gentle side. Only, it was hidden under her strong and imposing outward appearance, making it difficult for others to notice it.

The noise created by the rain covered both the noisy renovation happening upstairs and the sound of Xu Chuanchuan's quiet footsteps.

Rainstorms frequently occurred during the summer. However, as Murong Shi had been on a busy streak during the past month, it's been a while since she had the opportunity to admire a heavy rain like this in peace.

Murong Shi liked rainy days. The rain would wash away the dust, making the air much cleaner.

Murong Shi didn't get any sleep last night, and her head was buzzing incessantly right now. Only the sound of the rain could soothe the agitation in her heart.

Her mind blocked out all the noise coming from around her, and as she stood in this unoccupied corner, she recalled what her father had said to her last night in his study.

"I've heard about the situation over there. You've done well, Little Shi. However, I think you're too impatient.

"While you mustn't be soft-hearted when being a manager, you mustn't be too strong-handed, either. You should do everything in moderation. I believe you understand this.

"You're still young, so it's natural you lack consideration for many things. If there is anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me. Don't try to bear everything by yourself."

In the beginning, Murong Shi had indeed been acting rashly. She had been eager to free herself from Sun An's influence, so she had resolutely abandoned the bright future her father had prepared for her and came to this unproductive company. She wanted to prove to her father that she could achieve excellence even without relying on anyone through her efforts.

However, she later realized that she was sorely mistaken.

Her parents were the ones who founded this company, so no matter how well she managed it, she wouldn't receive full credit for its success.

Moreover, she frequently found herself in a bind due to her lack of management experience. And because of her growing annoyance with these problems, she started getting angry over even minor issues.

After reforming the company for a whole month, Murong Shi had no choice but to admit that she was too inexperienced. So, she decided to take her father's advice.

She had stiffened her relationship with the company employees during her time here. Now, everyone was afraid of her. Whenever an employee saw her, they would do their best to avoid her as if they had just seen a ghost. She couldn't let this situation continue.

Since she couldn't be too strong-handed, she would take an approach that was a mix of softness and hardness.

Some rainwater struck the windowsill and splashed onto her arm. Having made up her mind, Murong Shi closed the window tightly and turned around. When she saw Xu Chuanchuan, who was only standing ten meters away from her, she was slightly stunned.

A trace of panic flashed across Xu Chuanchuan's face momentarily. She then smiled awkwardly and greeted, "Miss Murong."

Murong Shi was surprised that someone had gotten so close to her without her notice. "Have you been standing there all this time?"

Having difficulty keeping up her smile, Xu Chuanchuan stammered, "When I saw the window open, I came here thinking to close it. I didn't think you would be standing here."

Murong Shi had also come here to close the window. But when she walked up to the window and saw the rainy scenery outside, she ended up spending a little more time than she expected standing here.

Sizing up Xu Chuanchuan with an indifferent face, Murong Shi snickered and said, "You're the only one who's so good-natured. Everyone else is treating this as none of their business."

"Are you complimenting me?"

"Can you not tell?"

"..." For a moment, Xu Chuanchuan thought that the sun must've risen from the west today.

Beckoning to Xu Chuanchuan, Murong Shi said, "Come here."

Xu Chuanchuan walked over in confusion. Keeping an appropriate distance from Murong Shi, she asked, "Do you have any orders, Miss Murong?"

Frowning, Murong Shi said, "Drop the 'Miss.' You can call me Murong."

Xu Chuanchuan was momentarily rendered speechless. She then quickly said, "But it's to show respect."

"It sounds twisted to me. Change it."

Fine, fine, you're the boss.

Tugging at the hems of her shirt uncomfortably, Xu Chuanchuan said, "I can't leave my post for too long."

Raising an eyebrow, Murong Shi said, "Let me ask you a question."

"...Please ask away."

"Looking at your character, you must get along quite well with your colleagues, right?"

Xu Chuanchuan's eyes wandered for a moment before she answered, "It's okay. I haven't gotten into any conflicts at work so far."

"How do you usually maintain your relationships?"

Laughing dryly, Xu Chuanchuan said, "We normally just head back to our respective homes after work, and we rarely contact each other. In my case, I'm single. In the others' case, they have families waiting for them at home. Even if we do have a get-together, we don't really have much in common to talk about."

Murong Shi fell into deep thought for a moment. She then asked, "If the company hosts a party, do you think that the relationship between everyone will grow stronger?"

Xu Chuanchuan blinked for a moment before answering, "Maybe."

"I see. You can go back now."