After hearing the reply, the door swung open.
"Mr. Sterling, the admin team is here to fix the toilet!"
"Thanks for coming." Alexander answered without looking up, still focused on his work.
"Go ahead and take a look. If it's too bad, just shut off the water valve and call the property office." The other person added helpfully.
"Got it. Thank you." Aria replied gratefully.
Aria stepped into the chairman's office. She froze the moment she saw the man behind the desk.
Wasn't that the vice president's father?
Alexander lifted his head and studied her. Surprise flickered in his eyes, but his face remained calm. He said flatly,
"Come in."
"No, no trouble. Thank you, Mr. Sterling. I'll just fix the pipe." Aria's mind went blank. She had no idea what she was saying. She spun around—
Then awkwardly turned back.
"Mr. Sterling, where's the bathroom?"
"Behind the door on your left."
"Right. Thank you, Mr. Sterling." Aria mumbled, heading to the right. She realized her mistake a second later and had to pivot toward the left.
She opened the bathroom door. A faint dripping sound echoed inside.
Aria stepped in and closed the door behind her. She started checking for the source of the problem.
Honestly, she handled these issues in the dorm all the time. She wasn't completely clueless.
She found the problem quickly. One of the connectors was cracked. There was no way to fix it without replacing it.
Her wrench fit, but she didn't have a spare connector. Even if she unscrewed the old one, it wouldn't help.
She had to shut off the water valve first. Then she'd have to tell the chairman not to use this bathroom.
But where was the valve?
The layout here was completely different from her dorm.
In her dorm, there was a bright red plastic valve you could just twist.
But she couldn't find any red valve along the pipe.
Aria was at a loss. Then the door behind her swung open.
"Aria? What are you doing here?"
"Vice President. I'm fixing the water pipe." Aria looked at Evan like he was a lifeline.
"Fixing the pipe? Why you?"
"The admin department is short-staffed. They asked me to cover. Vice President, do you know where the water valve is?" Aria asked, desperate for help.
Evan stepped into the bathroom. He traced the pipe with his eyes. Finally, he reached for a round metal device. He gave it a twist. It worked.
"All set."
"Thank you, Vice President!" Aria turned around excitedly.
Her face brushed against Evan's chest. She froze for a second. The next moment, her cheeks burned bright red.
"Next time, call the property department for this kind of thing." Evan stepped back, his voice calm.
"Okay. Thank you, Vice President." Aria kept her head down. "I'll head back down now."
Evan nodded and walked out of the bathroom.
Aria came out, planning to say goodbye to the chairman. But when she turned, the desk was empty.
So she told Evan again and hurried out of the office.
Aria returned to the admin department.
Hannah looked at her with a smile. "How did it go?"
"Didn't fix it. The connector is cracked. It needs to be replaced. Do we have one in the warehouse?"
"The warehouse wouldn't have something like that. If it's really not working, just call the property office. Let them handle it."
"Okay." Aria nodded.
But she couldn't help wondering. If the property office was supposed to handle it, why did Hannah send her?
And without the right parts, she couldn't do anything. You can't make bricks without straw.
Maybe Hannah thought it was a small problem. She figured Aria could just deal with it.
Aria sighed. She put the wrench back in the warehouse and followed Hannah back to work.
There was no overtime tonight. But the company had an event. So even though work hours were over, nobody left. Everyone was waiting for the seven o'clock activity.
Aria went back to the HR office. She saw Li Jing and Liu Xinru chatting, waiting for the evening program.
"Aria, are there really a lot of prizes tonight?" Li Jing asked excitedly.
"A ton. They're piled up like a mountain." Aria smiled.
"Are they really giving away computers and phones?"
"I saw the boxes. But I don't know what's inside."
"Come on. If there's a box, there's something in it. They wouldn't bring back empty boxes. That's not how the company works." Li Jing laughed. "I got a microwave last time. I hope I get a computer this time."
"You're so lucky." Aria said enviously.
"Lucky? I don't even know how to cook. What am I supposed to do with a microwave? I'd rather get a hot pot machine."
"I'd be happy with anything." Aria replied.
"You really lucked out. You've only been here a few days, and you're already in on the company event."
"Do I qualify? I'm still on probation." Aria asked, surprised.
"As long as you've worked here for a day, you're part of the company. Probation or not, it doesn't matter.
Just don't win the grand prize and quit tomorrow.
People would hate you." Li Jing joked.
"How could I? I'm looking forward to becoming a regular. I'm not quitting.
No, I won't win the grand prize anyway. I've had bad luck since I was a kid." Aria waved her hand.
"Luck is hard to predict. Our company's winning rate is really high. Even if you don't get the grand prize, there's a participation prize. And those are pretty practical." Liu Xinru added.
"I'd be happy with a participation prize." Aria smiled.
Everyone was talking excitedly about the evening event. Time slipped by without them noticing. Soon, it was seven o'clock.
Aria followed Li Jing and Liu Xinru to the main workspace where the lottery was being held.
Just as she reached the door, Hannah stopped her. She asked Aria to help watch the gifts. When someone won something, Aria would hand them their prize.
Aria didn't go to sit with Li Jing and Liu Xinru. She stayed behind to help.
The leaders took their seats. The host walked on stage. The atmosphere in the workspace was electric.
It was Aria's first time joining in. She was thrilled.
She couldn't help it. She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the scene. She sent it to Maya.
"Jealous? Our company is having a lucky draw tonight!"
Maya called her immediately. Aria was startled and quickly declined the call.
After the opening dance, Evan gave a speech. It was short and simple. But it was full of humor. Laughter rippled through the workspace.
Aria, sitting next to the pile of gifts, couldn't stop herself from laughing too.