Imperfect Desires

32 A 'Mistake' On Her Par

Having an argument early in the morning and that too with Nora wasn't on Xiu's to-do list. But it still happened. And the way Nora left with reddened eyes broke Xiu's heart in a very strange way. She had never felt this prickling feeling in her heart before. She never thought a friendship could mean so much.

But since this friendship had become precious to her. This argument was very serious for her as well. It had completely spoiled her mood and she was irked, to put it mildly. And if we stop putting it mildly than our Xiu definitely had a desire to punch someone's face. The itch in her hand was real!

Someone had already been the target of her wrath and now, she was certainly not gonna go easy. Just from her expressions, one could tell that Xiu wasn't in a good mood. Bo Jiu being tactful, gingerly shrank her existence for the sake of her own safety.

But others weren't so lucky.

"Ms. Bai, these are the documents you asked me to translate. I've completed these." Yi Gougou happily announced in a loud voice for the others to hear as well. She needed recognition and what better way than to curry favor with Bai Xiu?

Xiu's already hard face turned stony and chilly. She picked one of the files and skimmed through it languidly. As she turned page after page, Yi Gougou felt like she was close to being praised again. And this time, everyone in the department will know how much Ms. Bai values her talent.

"Ms. Yi," Xiu called out and everyone craned their necks to look towards Xiu's cubicle. "I think I made a mistake yesterday." Everyone's curiosity was piqued at her words. Bai Xiu and mistake? The words never suited in the same sentence! "I already have the translated version of this contract. I think I burdened you."

"Oh no, no." Yi Gougou shook her hands saying, "It's nothing bothersome at all."

"No, it must be bothersome," Xiu insisted in her humdrum manner. "After all, you were the one who translated it last week as well."

Yi Gougou's eyes widened at her words as her whole being stiffened.

"I'm surprised that you didn't realize it yourself." Xiu's indifferent manner put Yi Gougou in a jittery state. With a chuckle, she added, "One might think you didn't even read the contract."

"Um... Ms. Bai..." She was looking for some words or any excuse. Since it was already suspicious that she translated the same contract which she had done last week. But how would she know it? She had given it to her desk mate last week using her green-tea bitch act and last night, she had to pay someone to translate all those documents that Xiu threw at her without notice. "I did read. I translated it myself."

"But I wasn't really blaming you," Xiu herself gave a way out to Yi Gougou as she continued, "After all, with all those other reports to translate. You must have overlooked this tedious matter. No need to be so flustered."

"Y-Yes. Yes. I was too stressed and I had to stay awake last night just to go over all those documents. I really overlooked it under pressure of work." Yi Gougoou pretended to be tired as she rubbed her forehead in fake exhaustion.

Xiu's eyes looked dull as she tilted her head to a side. Then she stood up and closed in on Yi Gougou. Under Xiu's scrutinizing gaze, Yi Gougou gulped in nervousness.

Xiu gave a smile which actually looked scary as she said, "I should learn some beauty tips from Ms. Yi. I'm never able to look this refreshed and well-slept after working overtime. Most of the time, people would say I look like a zombie."

Xiu's jeer was clear and it made plenty of employees to snicker. Her point was clear even though it was done indirectly. Yi Gougou claimed to have worked overnight but she didn't even look the part of her lie at all.

Yi Gougou laughed awkwardly as she said, "Ms. Bai is really funny."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Xiu's face became impassive almost instantly.

"I-I..." Yi Gougou didn't know what to say.

But Xiu didn't give her a chance to say anything either. "Manager Li, why don't you look through these contracts." Xiu passed the files in her hand to Manager Li and sat back leisurely.

.

"Hmm... You have done a good job, Ms. Yi," Manager Li complimented Yi Gougou as she read through the first file.

"Thank you, Manager Li!" Yi Gougou's tensed heart eased up again.

But soon, Manager Li's brows knitted together. "This. Bai Xiu, what's this? Why do I have two copies of the same contract?"

Xiu turned to her and said, "It's certainly my mistake. I forgot to check. And Ms. Yi had to translate the same contract twice."

Manager Li's frown didn't ease at all as she said, "What do you mean? These two copies are definitely translated by two different people."

Manager Li's words made Yi Gougou's heart stop for a second while the other employees took a sharp breath. It was finally cleared to them what Xiu was intending to do when she said, she made a 'mistake'.

"I think you are mistaken, Manager Li. Both the contracts are done by Ms. Yi. She just said it herself. Didn't she?" Xiu's question was directed towards the people around her and everyone nodded simultaneously.

A nosy colleague even voiced out, "Manager Li, Yi Gougou just said that she worked on her documents herself."

"Do you think I can't read or I'm too old now?" Manager Li's voice turned sharp. "Both contracts are done professionally but each person has their own way of word usage, grammar and sentence making. And these two contracts can easily be differentiated based on these things." Turning to Yi Gougou she said, "Do you think I'd believe that just in a couple of days, your English actually managed to take a drastic change?"

Yi Gougou was stumped for words as she stood biting her lip in anxiousness. She didn't expect this outcome. It was all because of that one contract that was repeated. Why did Bai Xiu do such a mistake? Or was it really a mistake? Yi Gougou glared at Xiu hatefully while the latter shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

"Sigh! Here I thought, I really found a talent. But who knew it was just another one using others to take credit." Xiu's comment was straight.

"Ms. Bai, I didn't take credit. Last night, I had too much work. So, so, I asked my sister for help. That's why this whole misunderstanding occurred." Yi Gougou didn't want to lose her face as she insisted that she was being wronged.

Xiu nodded while Manager Li said, "Well, we can give you another chance..."

But her words were cut off by Xiu as she added, "But how would we know this was really the first time?"

Manager Li looked at Xiu in surprise and chose to stay silent. This girl still had something up her sleeve. Wasn't the humiliation already enough? However, for Xiu, it wasn't really enough. Not just yet!