My Salary Became $3.80

My company suddenly lost millions because an intern mistakenly priced a $388 item at $3.88.

Facing this situation, she actually pushed the blame onto me, claiming her poor eyesight prevented her from seeing the correct price, while I, with my 20/15 vision, failed to spot the error.

She was the first to dare to dump such a huge responsibility on me in front of the boss.

Bear in mind, I was a veteran employee, the core of the business; bothering me was simply asking for trouble. Besides, linking products was never my job.

Yet, the boss listened to her words, nodded in agreement, and even asked if I admitted my mistake.

I was about to protest when the boss handed me my payslip, saying he would punish my carelessness by shifting a decimal point in my salary.

I looked down to see my original monthly salary of thirty-eight thousand now reduced to three dollars and eighty cents.

"Mr. Robertson, this is unreasonable."

I slapped the payslip back at him.

"Listing products is an intern's job. My responsibilities include introducing products, controlling the livestream's pace, and replying to viewer comments, all of which already take a lot of energy."

"As for the link, the moment I saw it, I immediately notified Summer to take it down. But she was chatting with the floor manager at the time and didn't take it seriously."

"That's a lie!" Summer interrupted me, "Ms. Lin, you made the mistake yourself, how can you dump all the blame on an intern like me?"

She sniffled, her voice tearful.

"Skylar Lin, you can't just take advantage of being a senior employee to brazenly bully a new hire, can you?!"

"Besides, my intern salary is three thousand eight hundred. After paying rent and utilities, I only have money left for food and commuting. But you have a house, a car, and savings, do you really need to quibble over one month's salary with me?"

Summer looked frail, but she was quite adept at playing the sympathy card.

Even Mr. Robertson was moved by her tears, quickly reaching out to offer her a tissue.

"There, there, new interns are bound to make mistakes. These are all minor things, don't cry. What would other colleagues think if they saw you like this?"

Listening to Mr. Robertson comforting the intern, I inwardly scoffed.

When the livestream just started gaining traction,

one day I had a stomachache and wasn't feeling well, so I misread a brand's slogan. He immediately changed his expression.

After the broadcast, he fined me five thousand dollars and told me that if I ever made such a basic mistake again, all my year-end bonus would be deducted, and I could forget about any share of the livestream profits.

But now, Mr. Robertson was so lenient with the intern, not even pursuing such a major error.

However, his leniency didn't mean mine.

I coldly brought out yesterday's livestream replay and fast-forwarded to the moment the wrong link was posted.

The scene of Summer chatting with the floor manager was clearly captured.

"Mr. Robertson, it's crystal clear who's actually trying to shift blame."

2.

"Skylar, why are you so petty?"

The boss pushed my phone back.

"The young lady has it tough, there's no need to be so aggressive."

"Alright, Summer will be docked three hundred eighty-eight dollars as a lesson, no more dozing off during livestreams next time."

Millions in company losses, and the boss dismisses it with a mere three hundred eighty-eight dollar deduction.

How generous.

"As for Skylar, please stay, I have something to say to you."

After Summer left, the boss closed his office door.

"The weather's getting warmer lately, your liver heat is too high, you should drink more loofah soup to cool down."

"And when you talk to your subordinates, you need to be mindful of boundaries. In this company, good performance doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."

My heart sank.

What was the boss implying?

"Look at Summer. When it's hot, she knows to bring me lemon water. When it rains, she knows to bring me an umbrella."

"What about you? All day long, you just stare at your livestream. What contribution have you made to the company besides your performance?"

"How to build a team, how to win people's heartshave you ever thought about these issues?"

"You've been with the company for five years, and you're still not as considerate as an intern."

The boss's contemptuous gaze came over, and looking at his expression, I suddenly understood everything.

What he wanted was an employee who could provide him with emotional value.

Not an employee who could make money.

"Mr. Robertson, I understand, I'll reflect on it."

I stood up and pushed my chair in.

Mr. Robertson picked up the teacup on his desk, took a sip of strong tea, and revealed a satisfied smile.

"It's good that you understand. This old tea always feels like it's missing something, but luckily, the new tea will be on the market soon."

"New leaves, they're much more flavorful."

Leaving Mr. Robertson's office, I immediately went to hold a review meeting.

Halfway through, Summer finally arrived, tardy.

"Sorry, Skylar, my phone was on silent, I didn't see the notification."

"These are milk teas for everyone, a small token of my appreciation."

There were ten people present, but only nine cups of milk tea, none for me.

"Oh, Skylar, I clearly ordered ten cups, but I don't know why there are only nine."

"You can have my cup, please don't be mad."

I hadn't said anything yet, and the intern already slapped the label of "being mad" on me.

Her eyes held a hint of flattery, looking pitiful, and some of my colleagues couldn't sit still.

"Skylar, she's just a kid, it wasn't intentional, don't be so hard on her."

"Yeah, you usually watch your sugar anyway, you wouldn't like this, just give it back to her."

"Exactly, exactly, don't bully her."

Listening to everyone's accusations, a chill ran down my spine.

In the eyes of my colleagues I spent every day with, was I really such an unreasonable person?

Mr. Robertson's words from earlier echoed in my mind, and I began to doubt myself.

I took a deep breath, handed the milk tea back to the intern, and reminded her, "Summer, pay more attention to your work from now on."

Summer obediently agreed.

Seeing her docile appearance, I couldn't help but wonder if I had been too harsh on the intern.

After the review meeting, I asked Summer to stay behind, wanting to have a heart-to-heart with her.

To my surprise, she refused.

"Skylar, the boss put me in charge of the Spring Special Livestream, I have too many things to prepare, no time for idle chat."

3.

She emphasized the words "idle chat," her eyes full of self-satisfaction.

The boss actually put an intern in charge of the Spring Special Livestream?

That was a project worth hundreds of millions.

There was a good chance the company would lose a fortune due to dismal sales.

"Are you sure Mr. Robertson put you in charge of this project?"

"Yes, he said my cooperation with the brothers and sisters in the team was good, and after a bit of getting used to it, livestream sales would definitely achieve results."

"I took the opportunity to seize this chance from him." The intern changed her tone, saying, "Oh, I forgot that usually these special events are handled by you, Skylar."

"Skylar, you won't blame me for stealing your thunder, will you?"

I looked at Summer, reeking of 'green tea' vibes, and scoffed internally.

Her intentions were glaringly obvious: she wanted to shine in the Spring Special and thus replace me.

But unfortunately, all her schemes would be in vain.

For a company like this, I had no intention of staying.

"You prepare well for the Spring Special. I'm going to relax and travel."

The intern's face changed.

"Skylar, you're not participating in the Spring Special?"

I smiled, "It's your special event now. There's no point in me coming."

"If you don't understand something, ask the boss. If that doesn't work, buy him a few more cups of milk tea, he'll definitely help you."

As soon as my leave request was submitted, my best friend Anna and I boarded a flight to Dali that very night.

Muting work notifications, I began to enjoy my vacation.

When Anna learned about my ordeal at the company, she erupted in anger.

"Everyone in your company is so ungrateful!"

"You worked diligently for three years, and you're no match for an intern's few cups of milk tea? The money you made for the company last month alone is probably worth their annual salaries, isn't it?"

"Skylar, please don't tell me you still want to work for a company like that!"

Watching Anna passionately defend me, I reassured her.

"Don't worry, I'll submit my resignation to Mr. Robertson after the holiday."

"Didn't you just open an e-commerce company and are looking for partners? I'm volunteering."

Anna's eyes lit up instantly when she heard my words.

"Skylar, are you really coming to our company?"

I nodded, "If it weren't for our years of friendship, I would have wanted to leave the company long ago. Now Mr. Robertson just found my successor, so I'm taking the easy way out and fulfilling his wish."

"That's great! A top streamer like you joining my team is a godsend!"

Seeing Anna's joyous expression, I offered the only sincere smile I'd worn in days.

Unfortunately, my vacation only lasted one day before brand partners almost blew up my phone.

"Skylar, what happened with your company's livestream yesterday! Why did you replace the host with a mute? Only a dozen products sold! We paid two million for the slot! How does your company plan to compensate us for this loss?"

"Liam, how did the product link get messed up yesterday? A 0-058 product was listed as 0-05.8, and viewers placed hundreds of thousands of orders. The company sent me to find you. How are we going to resolve this?"

"Ms. Lin, yesterday's order volume was too embarrassing. The company says you took leave and weren't in charge of the livestream, so they had to let an intern step in. Is that true?"

I listened to the accusations on the other end of the line, a cold laugh escaping me.

That bunch in the company sure were old hands at shifting blame and twisting facts.

It was clearly their insistence on having an intern replace me, yet in the end, they claimed I deliberately threw a tantrum and neglected the livestream, indirectly causing massive losses for the brand.

Collecting myself, I said, "I'll explain everything in person at the celebration party after the special event."

After each special event, the company would hold a celebration party with the brand to strengthen their cooperation.

Normally, these celebration parties were for renewing contracts.

I wondered if anyone would still be willing to partner with the company this time, and if Mr. Robertson would still be in the mood to celebrate.

4.

Hanging up the phone, I opened Messenger and saw the intern had posted on her social media.

"My first livestream was so nerve-wracking, I made a small mistake, but everyone in the company, the older brothers and sisters, are so kind and understanding."

It was accompanied by two selfies.

Below were a string of likes from people in the department team.

The boss's comment was mixed in.

"Newcomers are bound to make mistakes, keep up the good work, believe in yourself."

I saw that message and instantly felt a lump in my throat.

Back then, fresh out of college, I jumped jobs a few times before landing at this e-commerce company, which at the time only had two people.

Mr. Robertson was very enthusiastic then, introducing me to the company's situation and promising a substantial bonus.

In the beginning, the company struggled, products weren't selling, so I focused on volume, livestreaming for over ten hours a day.

I talked until my throat was dry and my voice was hoarse, but I kept working.

I didn't dare ask for leave even when I was sick, pushing myself until I was hospitalized, without a single complaint.

Every year, I sacrificed holiday gatherings with my family, and I was almost always present for every livestream.

Through this kind of relentless effort, my livestream audience grew from dozens of people to eventually a hundred thousand, with every sales event a hit, breaking sales records of tens of millions.

The boss made a fortune, while my physical and mental state deteriorated.

In such circumstances, I asked the boss for leave, but was dismissed as being overly sensitive.

"Who in the company isn't tired? You're earning such a high salary every day, you should be thinking about how to earn that salary, not always about taking leave and being lazy."

"You should think more about the company, contribute more. If you take one day off, the company loses millions. Can you live with that?"

"And your team, how will they work if you're not there? Several brands have come knocking again recently, if you leave, who will handle this mess?"

Under the boss's scathing rebuke, I withdrew my leave request.

But my heart was utterly exhausted.

Later, at my repeated insistence, the boss finally agreed to assign me an intern to help with my livestream work.

But to my surprise, he repeatedly suppressed my value, promoting the inexperienced intern.

Perhaps, in his eyes, I was just a worn-out old tool that had lost its usefulness.

And fresher tools needed more careful nurturing.

In the blink of an eye, my vacation ended, and I returned to the company, just in time for the celebration party.

At the party, the intern wore a lavish long gown, standing beside the boss, as if she were the star of the entire event.

The boss also spoke highly of her, constantly recommending her to the brand partners.

"This is our rising star host, Summer, an intern under Skylar Lin. She has a steady demeanor, outstanding sales results, and is a promising talent we're committed to nurturing."

The brand partners, upon hearing Summer was my intern, couldn't help but show a bit more respect.

But their expressions were a little awkward, seemingly still recovering from the nightmare of the last Spring Special.

After introducing Summer to the brand partners, the boss turned his gaze to me.

He led a toast, telling me: "Skylar, you should learn more from the intern."

Me, a million-dollar sales host, learning from an intern?

The boss saw my look of surprise and handed me a bowl of pork rib and corn soup.

"Don't be indignant. After all these years, you should also learn to be grateful and give back to the company."

"Look at Summer. All the dishes at this celebration party were made by her, she said it was to save the company money."

"Drink more of this soup, and really think about what I've told you today."

At these words, the brand representatives at the table detected something unusual.

This celebration party, it seemed, was a trap set just for me.

And looking at the pork rib soup in front of me, I smiled faintly: "Mr. Robertson, I understand."

"The company doesn't lack sales hosts; it lacks cafeteria aunties."

"I'll submit my resignation tonight. Please make sure to approve it."

After saying that, I turned my gaze to the astonished brand partners.

"I, Skylar Lin, officially withdraw from Vista Company today, and have decided to start my own livestream business. Bosses with ideas for cooperation, feel free to contact me."

I downed the wine on the table in one gulp.

Just as I was about to turn and leave, I heard a furious growl from across the table.

"Skylar Lin, the company diligently nurtured you for three years! Is this how you repay the company?!"