The pregnant woman and her family had come with every intention of expressing their deepest gratitude to Wendy Lynch. They had no plans to keep a low profile, so they easily drew the attention of the other colleagues in the office.
Colleagues who had been busy typing away at their keyboards stopped what they were doing to look over, and some of the more curious ones even gathered around directly.
Many people knew that Wendy had bought raw marinated seafood yesterday to test it, but they hadn’t paid too much attention to it at the time. Most assumed she was just nursing a grudge after getting food poisoning. Quite a few felt she was being overly vindictive—was such a trivial matter really worth making such a fuss over?
If it had been an ordinary person who accidentally got food poisoning, chances are they would have just accepted their bad luck. After all, for the average person, the cost of defending their rights was simply too high. The outcome rarely justified the time and effort required.
Finding a foreign object in your food? Forget it.
Encountering an unlicensed cab that suddenly jacked up the fare? Forget it.
Facing unfair treatment? Just let it go.
Over time, the vast majority of ordinary people had long since given up many of the rights they were inherently entitled to. Now, seeing that Wendy had not only successfully defended her rights but also protected the health and lives of many others, many of her colleagues felt a strange stir of emotion in their hearts.
Ordinary people might shrink back in the face of difficulties, but no right-minded person would ever mock someone willing to meet those challenges head-on.
"My god! Wendy, you’re amazing!"
"Wendy is truly incredible! First, she saves CEO Evans, and barely two days later, she takes down an unscrupulous raw marinated seafood shop!"
"That shop looked pretty clean, yet they actually dared to spike the food with drugs. Thank goodness you stopped her in time, or that pregnant lady would have really suffered!"
"Standing up to a corrupt boss and insisting on reporting them—Miss Lynch is definitely something else!"
Shirley Lowell looked incredibly proud. She grabbed Wendy’s arm and laughed, "I knew you weren’t just messing around!
"Beautifully done!"
Surrounding colleagues chimed in one after another, their words of praise rising and falling.
Footsteps sounded from the outer edge of the crowd as Winston Rhodes, the Deputy Director of the administration department, walked over. Wearing a crisp, light gray suit and a warm smile, his eyes swept over the silk pennant that read: *A Passionate and Responsible Defender of the People*. His smile grew even brighter.
"Wendy Lynch, isn’t it? Well done!!!"
Deputy Director Rhodes didn’t speak loudly, but his voice instantly silenced the noisy office.
"Here at Titan Engine, we’ve always emphasized social responsibility!
"Not only have you upheld your own principles, but you’ve also brought honor to the company...
"Your performance has been outstanding!
"You haven’t just saved a major client for the company; you’ve safeguarded the health and lives of ordinary citizens! Excellent work!
"I look forward to seeing you make even more contributions to both the company and society in the future!"
At his words, many nearby colleagues showed looks of envy.
As they say, you have to read between the lines. Though Winston hadn’t stated anything explicitly, everyone present was smart enough to see that the Deputy Director was extremely satisfied with Wendy. Although a deputy director wasn’t the top person in charge of a department, their rank was on par with a director’s—both were S7.
Recognition from an S7, coupled with such substantial achievements, was more than enough to guarantee that Wendy—an S3 who had only recently passed her probation—would smoothly secure an A-level evaluation at the end of the year.
Deputy Director Rhodes smiled and waved his hand, exchanging a few pleasantries with the Food and Drug Administration staff and the married couple. He specifically instructed the administration team colleagues to hang the pennant on the company’s wall of honor before finally turning to leave.
After seeing off the FDA staff and the endlessly grateful couple, Wendy found herself surrounded by her colleagues, her cheeks burning slightly. She wasn’t used to being surrounded and praised by so many people. Hearing the continuous chorus of "amazing" and "impressive," she felt somewhat overwhelmed. She hurriedly waved her hands and said, "Please don’t say that, everyone. I just did what I was supposed to do. Anyone else who saw that situation would have lent a helping hand."
"You can’t say that!" Shirley immediately chimed in to support her. "Yesterday, there were still some people making snide remarks, saying you were making a mountain out of a molehill!"
As Shirley spoke, she scanned the crowd, trying to spot Carmen Sutton. But Carmen clearly wasn’t stupid. Seeing that the situation wasn’t in her favor, she had long since slipped away to the restroom. After looking around and failing to find her, Shirley could only give up in disappointment.
"Oh, right, Wendy! Didn’t you say yesterday that if everything was resolved smoothly, you’d treat everyone to afternoon tea?"
Prompted by Shirley’s reminder, the crowd immediately realized what was going on and joined in the clamor.
"Oh, right! Afternoon tea! Wendy, you can’t go back on your word!"
"Wendy, this is a double blessing! You just became an official employee yesterday, and today you received praise from the director. You absolutely have to treat us!"
"I want taro boba milk tea, thirty percent sugar, less ice!"
"I want the tiramisu from the bakery next door! I saw you buy it last time, and it tastes amazing!"
Seeing everyone’s lively and cheerful demeanor, the slight awkwardness in Wendy’s heart instantly dissipated. She smiled and nodded. "Don’t worry! I’m a woman of my word!
"Everyone, send whatever you want to eat and drink to our group chat. I’ll place the order right now and guarantee you all a fantastic afternoon tea!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a cheer erupted in the office.
At five-thirty in the afternoon, the office suddenly grew lively again. Colleagues were packing up their things, chatting in twos and threes about their weekend plans.
Wendy had just finished organizing the documents on her desk when her phone let out a crisp DING. It was a text message from her mother.
"Wendy, this weekend is your grandmother’s birthday. Don’t forget to come back; she’s been talking about you for days."
Seeing the text, Wendy slapped her forehead, her heart filled with remorse. So much had happened recently that she had actually forgotten something as important as her grandmother’s birthday. She quickly called her mother back, her tone apologetic.
"Mom, I’m so sorry. I’ve had so much going on lately that my mind is a bit of a mess. I almost forgot Grandma’s birthday.
"Don’t worry, I’ll take the bus home first thing tomorrow morning. I definitely won’t miss it."
Hearing the guilt in her voice, her mother on the other end of the line quickly comforted her. "I know you’re busy with work. As long as you haven’t forgotten, it’s fine.
"Your grandmother keeps mentioning you these days, saying it’s been so long since she last saw you. She even said she wants to make your favorite roast chicken..."
After chatting with her mother for another ten minutes or so, Wendy finally hung up the phone.
Standing by the side of the road with her phone in hand, her grandmother’s image surfaced in her mind. When she was little, her parents were always busy with work, so she grew up with her grandmother in Donnerton. Her grandmother always saved the best things for her. In the summer, she would scoop out the sweetest core of the watermelon for her to eat, and in the winter, she would tuck Wendy’s little hands into her own coat to keep them warm.
In the past, she hadn’t had much money. For her grandmother’s birthday last year, she gritted her teeth and bought a tiny pair of gold earrings for only about 350 dollars. Yet, her grandmother had treasured them like nothing else, telling everyone she met that her granddaughter had bought them for her.
Her grandmother had always loved gold, but she could never bear to spend the money on herself. This time, she definitely had to make her grandmother happy.
With about 30,000 dollars sitting quietly in her bank account, a thought suddenly sprang into Wendy’s mind: she would buy her grandmother a gold bracelet.