The HR meeting was exactly how Wei Jia had expected.
Wei Jia sat in front of two HR representatives.
The lead representative, a middle aged woman, opened a folder.
"Ms. Wei, we've reviewed the anonymous complaint filed regarding your recent workplace interactions. The concerns raised about professional decorum and appropriate workplace boundaries are noted."
Wei Jia expected for a stricter action against her since she knew it was Su Mingyi who had filed the complaint and she was powerful. But instead something completely different happened.
"However, our investigation indicates that the reported incidents fall within acceptable parameters of professional mentorship and skills development."
Wei Jia was surprised. She was signing the acknowledgment letter when she realised that the charges were being dismissed not because they were false, but because someone with even more power had ordered them to dismiss them.
"Therefore, this matter will be resolved with a formal warning about maintaining appropriate office dynamics."
It was now clear that Li Shiyan had intervened.
"Do you have any questions about these conclusions?" The HR representative asked.
Wei Jia shook her head. Wei Jia thought about how Li Shiyan could protect her from corporate attacks when he chose to, but also gave her reminder that such protection was dependent on his interest.
After coming out from the HR office, Wei Jia returned to her laboratory and as she entered inside, she saw an elegant box on her workstation. Wei Jia approached it with the caution wondering what could be inside it?
She opened the lid with her slightly trembling fingers. Inside on a black velvet cloth was a chef's knife. The knife was both beautiful and top quality. The blade was forged from the best steel. The handle was crafted with ancient wood.
Wei Jia lifted the knife, and immediately understood that she was holding something unique and extraordinary. This wasn't just a high quality kitchen knife. This was the kind of knife that professional chefs dreamed of owning. It probably cost more than Wei Jia made in several months, and it had been selected by someone who understood exactly what would appeal to a chef of her calibre.
There was no card, no note, no indication of who had sent it or why. But Wei Jia knew with surity who had placed this extraordinary gift on her workstation, and that made her feel more confused.
Li Shiyan had protected her from Su Mingyi's corporate attack, then given her a gift. Wei Jia stood in the laboratory, holding the knife realizing that Li Shiyan was making it impossible for her to hate him. Every time she convinced herself that he was nothing but a tyrant who saw her as his property, he did something that suggested he saw her value.
The knife felt perfect in her hand, but holding it also felt like accepting something she wasn't sure she should accept from someone whose intentions remained completely mysterious to her. Wei Jia wondered if Li Shiyan was trying to seduce her or destroy her.
She tested the knife and used it to cut a vegetable, and the experience was completely different from what she had experienced from the moment she started her cooking journey. Every slice was perfect, every chop controlled. The knife seemed to understand her intentions and execute them with perfection precision.
That evening, alone in her office quarter, she was still staring at the knife when her personal phone buzzed with an incoming text message. The message was from an unknown number.
"Is the gift to your liking?"
Her hands began shaking as she nearly dropped the knife. Li Shiyan hadn't just given her an extraordinary gift. He had somehow obtained her personal phone number, which wasn't included in her corporate files, that she had never provided to Tianxia's administrative staff.
Her phone buzzed again with another message from the same unknown number.
"Sweet dreams, Wei Jia."