Although Lan Wang Yibo is not an easy boss, Zhan enjoys his work. Yibo is detail-oriented, a perfectionist, and has a bit of a temper. Occasionally Zhan has seen his colleagues bit scared of Yibo when he gets angry.
He often finds himself at the receiving end of Yibo's frustration, particularly when the architects mess up critical designs. With just a week left, he's about to complete his six-month probation. He believes that no employee would last this long unless Yibo wanted them. Currently, they're in a meeting, and Yibo has just requested a file from him.
He quickly stood up and exited the conference room to retrieve the files, but he couldn't shake off the nervousness that washed over him when Yibo began shouting. It seemed like everyone else in the meeting shared his unease.
"I specifically asked for the Courtyard 7 file, Zhan!" Yibo bellowed. "Not this Huiju Shopping Center!" Yibo tossed the folder back to him. "I never thought my employees to be a bunch of idiots!"
Zhan pressed his lips tightly in embarrassment, and to refrain himself from voicing his thoughts that he could end up regretting later. After all, Lan Wang Yibo was his boss. He couldn't bring himself to look at the executives seated around the conference table, and they appeared to be avoiding his gaze as well. After grabbing the folder, he stepped out again, retrieved what Yibo had requested, and handed it to him.
It was forty-five minutes later when the meeting was adjourned. And the architects and engineers left one after another and returned to their cubicles.
Yibo, however, remained focused on the thick file in front of him, completely unaware of Zhan's presence. After a little while, he stood up, gathered some items from the table, and simply slid them into his briefcase.
"Oh, you're still there," Yibo caught sight of Zhan and began, "I have an appointment and—" but he halted mid-sentence, taken aback by the anger in Zhan's eyes. "Is there a problem?"
"I want to have a word with you," Zhan said.
"Zhan, I'm in a hurry. Can't it wait? I will be late with my-"
It's now or never.
"I just want to tell you that I'm not deaf," Zhan started, suppressing the anger that had been building up in his chest. "You specifically asked for the Huiju Shopping Center file, and I believe that's what the Architects and Engineers heard too if you bother to ask any one of them." Lan Wang Yibo looked taken aback. Zhan understood that Yibo's frustration was still present because there were problems with the ongoing project that could lead to significant costs for the company if they had to redo it, and they might not meet the deadline.
"What do you mean, Zhan?" Yibo asked softly but under his voice, there was a warning.
Zhan's anger faded, replaced by a sense of nervousness. But he was already here and he couldn't bear the thought of looking stupid in front of his colleagues.
"That you didn't have to shout at me, Mr. Lan, when you are the one who made the mistake. If you have raised your voice a little then I wouldn't have taken offense. I understand that you are upset because of the error in the project.
"But you literally shouted at me and called me name in front of your executives." He made an effort to mask the quiver in his voice.
Yibo's intense stare lingered, making his knees feel weak. Luckily, there was a chair in front of him, and he grasped its backrest, to steady himself.
"You are not scared of me, are you, Zhan?" asked Yibo.
"If what you mean is that I'm afraid you'll fire me, then yes, Sir. I'm afraid of losing my job because finding a new job is quite difficult these days, and I truly enjoy my work here. However, I believe it's not fair to raise your voice at me in front of my colleagues just because you're feeling frustrated.
