Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Harmony paused for a while, then completed her sentence firmly, “…we’re destined to be rivals.”

‘I gave you a chance.’

‘Be good friends.’

At that moment, Samantha felt as though she did not understand human language anymore. Which part of Harmony’s behavior was in line with ‘be good friends’?

She had never seen such a thick-skinned woman before.

That woman probably did not even know how to spell the word ‘shame’.

Samantha turned around, looked up at her, then smiled slightly. “I’m afraid I’ll have to decline a ‘good friend’ who steals someone else’s hard work.

“As for being a rival…” Samantha sneered, “You’re not good enough for me to take you seriously.”

What right did Harmony have to look down on her when Harmony lagged behind her in terms of ability, and especially when it came to character and integrity?

The smile on Harmony’s lips fell slightly.

Samantha did not look at Harmony again and simply walked away.

As an anchor, her office was situated on the third floor. Claire had already brought her to visit the office earlier so she headed there right away.

When she walked into the main hall of the office, her other colleagues looked at her and greeted her in a friendly manner. Samantha then responded one by one to each person.

A round-faced girl with pigtails came over and greeted her with a smile. “Hello, Ms. Larsson. I’m the secretary for the entire office and my duty is to assist all anchors. My name is Annabelle Furlough. You may call me Anna or Belle.”

“Nice to meet you, Belle,” Samantha greeted politely.

“If you ever need my assistance in the future, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Sure, I will.”

“Let me take you to your workstation then. I’ve already had the janitor clean it up for you and prepare all your office stationery,” Annabelle explained while leading Samantha over.

“Thank you.”

When they reached the desk, Annabelle stretched out her hand and gestured to the left. “Here’s your desk. The one on the right belongs to another new colleague. Your seats are next to each other because you were both employed at the same time, and unfortunately, there are no other empty spots either.”

Annabelle glanced at Samantha and lowered her voice, “Is that okay, Ms. Larsson?”

Samantha knew what Annabelle meant by that. After all, the whole world knew about what happened between her and Harmony.

The seating positions did not matter for Samantha because she had a clear conscience. She nodded and said, “Don’t worry about it.”

Annabelle was greatly relieved and even smiled teasingly, “You’re a very friendly person, Ms. Larsson, and there’s none of that pompousness they say you have. Looks like those rumors really can’t be trusted.”

She then seemed to realize what she had just said and covered her mouth quickly. “I’m sorry, Ms. Larsson.”

Samantha shook her head to indicate that she did not mind.

Groups of netizens have been badmouthing her and trying to shift public opinion against her on Waybo. She knew that their comments and remarks were all unpleasant.

However, actions speak louder than words, and with time, everyone would be able to see her true character.

“Please make yourself comfortable. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Sure.”

Annabelle turned and left.

Samantha sat in her chair and looked at the complete set of office equipment. She was even provided with an Eppla desktop computer that had her nameplate affixed to the side.

It was not until she sat on that chair that she finally realized she was already an anchor. At long last, she had taken the step into a place she could only dream of in the past.

Samantha took out her phone, snapped a picture of her location, then uploaded it on her WeTalk Moments with the caption: [First day on the job. All the best to me!]

The first like came half a minute later.

Samantha clicked open and could not control herself from smiling when she saw that it was Timothy.

A minute later, Rochelle liked it too and left a comment below the picture: [Damn it, that scumbag robbed me of the first like!]

Samantha replied with a ‘see-no-evil’ emoji.

However, Rochelle’s attitude toward Timothy had changed since he rescued Samantha from danger and she never used the word ‘scumbag’ anymore. Why, then, did it seem as though she was dissatisfied with him again?

It was not like Rochelle to do something without a reason, so what could possibly be the problem?

Samantha was considering those questions when a notification tone came from her phone.

She snapped out of her senses and gazed down at the phone screen. It was a WeTalk message from Rochelle, so Samantha moved her finger to tap on it.

[Let’s get dinner tonight!]

Samantha cocked her eyebrows slightly. [You’re back?]

She knew that Rochelle had gone abroad for business a few days ago but Rochelle never mentioned what business it was.

[Yeah, I came back last night.]

She had not met Rochelle for some time already and had started to miss her, so she responded without hesitation, [Ok.]

[What time are you getting off work? I’ll drive over to pick you up.]

[5.30]

[Ok.]

Samantha sent another WeTalk message to Aunt Julia to inform her that she would not be going back for dinner that night, lest they wait too long for her.

No work had been assigned to Samantha as of yet, so after placing her phone down, she switched on the computer and clicked on the intranet to watch some stellar broadcasts done by other eminent anchors. In the process, she also learned more about the television station’s work culture.

After watching for just over half an hour, she rubbed her eyebrows and got up to head to the bathroom. She went into one of the cubicles to answer nature’s call.

Footsteps were heard outside all of a sudden, and Samantha did not pay much attention to it after thinking that it was some other colleague. The next second however, Harmony’s voice was immediately heard.

She seemed to be on the phone with someone. Her voice was soft and sweet, and there were traces of coquettishness in her tone as well, “Yes. I’ve already gone through the employee registration process. It went well.

“Oh, don’t worry. The colleagues are all very friendly. No one said anything at all, but even if they did, it’s not like I care. Your opinion is the only one that matters.

“Relax, I’ll take good care of myself. You don’t have to be so anxious about me. I’ll take care of myself for you.”

The other side seemed to have said something that elicited a sweet little giggle from Harmony.

She then said, “Thank you for fulfilling my dream. I’ll work hard. Didn’t you say that I’m the best and most outstanding anchor in your eyes? I’ll show you how amazing I am as an anchor!

“You’re pretty busy lately, right? Pay more attention to yourself, okay. You have to rest no matter how busy you are, or else I’ll go to your office every day and stare at you so you’ll rest on time.

“Okay. Go do your work then. Love you.”

After uttering those last two words in a shy voice, Harmony ended the call and chuckled slightly, as if reminiscing about their conversation. Samantha then heard her opening the door and walking out.

Once the sound of footsteps disappeared, Samantha walked out of the cubicle.

It turned out that Harmony was able to join Lychee TV not because of her background, but because someone behind her was helping her.

From Harmony’s tone on the phone, the person helping her from behind was probably the man she had told Samantha about before, the one who loved her deeply.

Samantha had a strange feeling in her heart for some reason, although she could not point her finger on why exactly.

…

After getting off work, Samantha walked out of Lychee TV’s entrance, where Rochelle had parked her dazzling sports car to wait for her.

She walked over, opened the car door and sat in, and said sweetly to Rochelle, “Babe, I miss you so much…”

Rochelle did not respond to Samantha right away. Her face sank when she glanced over Samantha’s shoulder and looked behind the latter..