Yuxi's fingers trembled slightly as she stared at the glowing screen in front of her. The office was nearly empty now, with only the faint hum of computers and the occasional flicker of the overhead lights keeping her company.
Everyone else had already gone home hours ago.
But she refused to leave.
Not until she finished this report.
Liu Wen had assigned her an important task—compiling and organizing key financial reports for an upcoming project. It was her first real opportunity to prove herself, to show that she was more than just "Mrs. Gu" in the office.
She had spent the entire day meticulously going over data, making sure every figure was accurate.
Yet, something didn't sit right.
She scrolled through the document again, her brows furrowing.
She was certain she had input the numbers correctly before.
But now… something was off.
She tapped her pen against her desk, a nagging feeling crawling up her spine.
Had she made a mistake?
Or had someone tampered with her work?
Her mind flashed back to Meng Yiran—the woman who had made it very clear that Yuxi wasn't welcome here.
Had she done something?
Yuxi's fingers hovered over the keyboard, debating whether to double-check every entry.
But exhaustion was beginning to set in.
She had already triple-checked the data earlier. Surely, she wouldn't have made such a simple mistake… right?
Taking a deep breath, she saved the file and shut down her computer.
It was too late to second-guess herself now.
The moment Yuxi stepped into the office, she could tell something was wrong.
Her colleagues weren't whispering—they were openly staring at her.
Some looked amused. Others were barely hiding their smirks.
Her stomach twisted.
Before she could ask what was going on, Liu Wen's sharp voice cut through the air.
"Jiang Yuxi."
She flinched.
The entire department froze, their eyes darting between her and Liu Wen, who stood near the center of the office with a printed document in hand.
Her report.
"Do you care to explain this?" Liu Wen demanded, waving the papers in the air.
Yuxi felt ice settle in her veins.
She stepped forward hesitantly, heart pounding.
Liu Wen slammed the papers onto the desk in front of her.
"This report is filled with errors," she snapped. "The numbers are completely inaccurate, and some of the key points are missing entirely. Do you have any idea what kind of mess this creates?"
Yuxi's breath caught in her throat.
Impossible.
She had checked everything before submitting it.
Hadn't she?
A quiet snicker came from the back of the office.
Yuxi didn't have to turn around to know it was Meng Yiran.
Realization struck.
She had been sabotaged.
But she couldn't prove it.
Not without sounding like she was making excuses.
"I—I'm sorry," Yuxi stammered.
"Sorry?" Liu Wen's voice rose sharply. "This isn't some minor mistake, Jiang Yuxi. This is an embarrassment to the entire department!"
Heat crawled up Yuxi's neck.
The humiliation was crushing.
Everyone was watching.
Some looked genuinely surprised, while others—the ones who had resented her from the start—looked satisfied.
As if they had been waiting for her to fail.
Yuxi clenched her fists, forcing herself to breathe.
She had two options.
She could apologize, accept the scolding, and let them believe she was incompetent.
Or—
She could fix this.
"I'll redo the report," she said suddenly.
Liu Wen narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?"
Yuxi met his gaze.
"I know I made a mistake," she said firmly. "But I can correct it. Just give me until the end of the day."
A few employees snorted under their breath.
Liu Wen tapped his fingers against his desk, considering her words.
Then, with an irritated sigh, he said, "You have until midnight. If the revised report isn't on my desk by then, don't bother coming in tomorrow."
Yuxi nodded sharply. "Understood."
She turned on her heel and walked back to her desk, ignoring the whispers that swarmed around her.
She had been pushed down today.
But she wasn't about to stay down.
Yuxi buried herself in work for the rest of the day.
She rechecked every figure, cross-referenced every piece of data, and triple-verified every section.
She wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
As the office emptied out for the night, she remained at her desk, fingers flying across the keyboard.
The only other person left in the department was Lin Mochen, a senior manager who had been quietly observing her since morning.
She barely noticed when he approached her desk.
"You're still here?"
Yuxi glanced up, startled.
Lin Mochen wasn't the most talkative manager in the company, but he had a reputation for being sharp and fair.
"Yes," she answered simply.
He glanced at her screen. "Fixing the report?"
She stiffened slightly. "Yes."
For a moment, he didn't say anything.
Then, to her surprise, he pulled up a chair and sat down beside her.
"Show me what went wrong," he said.
Yuxi blinked at him in surprise.
She hadn't expected anyone to offer help—especially not a senior manager.
Hesitantly, she pointed at the discrepancies in the data. "These weren't my original entries. I don't know how, but they were changed."
Lin Mochen's gaze sharpened slightly, as if piecing something together.
He didn't say anything for a while. Then, he nodded.
"Redo it from scratch," he said. "I'll review it before you submit it to Liu Wen."
Yuxi's eyes widened slightly. "You don't have to—"
"I know," Lin Mochen cut in, giving her a brief, unreadable look. "But I hate wasted potential."
A flicker of warmth spread through Yuxi's chest.
It was the first time someone in this company had looked at her as a worker, not just as Gu Zeyan's wife.
She wouldn't waste this chance.
Nodding firmly, she turned back to her screen and resumed working—this time, with renewed determination.
By the time Yuxi resubmitted the revised report, it was nearly 3 AM.
She felt like a zombie, but she had done it.
And when Liu Wen reviewed her work the next morning, he gave a curt nod.
"Better," he muttered. "At least you're not completely useless."
It wasn't praise, but it also wasn't an insult.
For Yuxi, that was enough.
But just when she thought she had earned a small victory, she felt the shift in the office atmosphere.
Her colleagues were staring again.
But this time, their gazes were colder.
It didn't take long for the whispers to start.
"Did you hear? Senior Manager Lin Mochen helped her fix the report."
"Of course. She's always getting special treatment."
"Must be nice to have the higher-ups on her side."
Yuxi's stomach twisted.
Even after everything she had gone through, they still thought she was receiving favoritism.
She had worked herself to the bone to prove herself.
But instead of earning respect, she had only made her enemies resent her more.
She clenched her fists.
This wasn't going to be easy.
But she wasn't giving up.
No matter what they thought, she would keep fighting.
And one day, she would make them see her not as Mrs. Gu—but as Jiang Yuxi.