After lunch, Zhong Qing and Shi Yani took the elevator upstairs.
When the elevator reached the first floor, Shi Yani suddenly decided to pull Zhong Qing out, saying, "Come with me to buy coffee."
There was a coffee shop on the first floor of the building, and it was incredibly crowded during lunchtime. Shi Yani asked Zhong Qing what she wanted to drink, and Zhong Qing quickly said she was too full from lunch and wouldn't have anything.
An iced Americano was a luxury for her right now; she needed to use her money to survive and wasn't at the point of enjoying such indulgences.
Shi Yani ordered an iced Americano and then stood aside to wait. It was extremely crowded, and the wait would be long. While waiting, Shi Yani and Zhong Qing began gossiping.
"Speaking of which, do you know someone named Wu Ming among the interviewees?"
Zhong Qing immediately recognized the name. "What a coincidence—I actually know who Wu Ming is. What happened to him?"
Shi Yani chuckled. "He's really going all out." Shi Yani recounted the whole story. "On the third day after the three of you were hired, this guy named Wu Ming came straight to the company and demanded to know from the HR director why he hadn't received an offer. Wasn't it supposed to be three people? His interview score was third, so why was someone else hired instead of him?"
Zhong Qing was puzzled after hearing this. "Isn't our company's interview results not publicly announced? How did Wu Ming know where he ranked?"
Shi Yani said, "You immediately grasped the crux of the matter. The HR director also asked him where he'd heard it, but Wu Ming was difficult to deal with. He said, 'Never mind where I heard it—I know I ranked third, but you've hired the fourth-ranked person. You need to give me an explanation. If you don't, I'll go to the media and expose your company's shady hiring practices, so future candidates will avoid your company.'"
Zhong Qing clicked her tongue, inwardly filled with disdain.
"And then?"
"Then the HR director clearly told him that although his interview score was not low, the hiring decision would be based on a comprehensive evaluation. Moreover, this company recruitment was to provide new talent to the project team, so the scores were only a reference. The final decision on who to hire would be made by the project team leaders together."
Shi Yani paused, then told Zhong Qing, "They said it would be a joint decision, but it mainly depended on President Qiao's opinion. Actually, I was a little puzzled at first, thinking that Wu Ming would be hired, but for some reason, President Qiao seemed to have taken a dislike to him and directly replaced him with Lü Pengshan, who ranked fourth in the interview."
Zhong Qing asked, "Didn't that Wu Ming ask why the person in charge of the project department didn't choose him?"
The iced Americano was ready. Shi Yani took it and said to Zhong Qing while inserting the straw, "I find that you can always identify the key to the problem. It's just like what you said. Wu Ming didn't accept the HR director's statement and refused to leave the company. He insisted on having the project department give him an explanation. Later, he learned that President Qiao was the highest-ranking among the project leaders, so he simply demanded that President Qiao give him an explanation."
Qiao Mingxuan's refined but powerful face flashed in Zhong Qing's mind, as well as his sharp eyes that remained penetrating behind his lenses.
"...Could President Qiao tolerate his arrogance and unreasonable behavior?"
"You're right—President Qiao really doesn't tolerate such things!" Shi Yani took a sip of her iced coffee, and the two of them walked to the elevator area together. Shi Yani said, "What President Qiao asked me to convey was: If you can't accept the reality, it's fine to ask for clarification, but it's disgraceful to use this kind of pestering attitude without any grace."
"But a person who dares to act like a rogue won't listen to this kind of reasoning, right?" Zhong Qing expressed her doubts with a very honest expression.
Shi Yani nodded. "You seem honest and straightforward, but you're quite perceptive. Wu Ming said he doesn't care about appearances—he just wants to know why he wasn't hired."
"Did President Qiao tell him why?" She was also curious about the reason.
"Yes, President Qiao didn't want him to keep pestering everyone and disrupting their work, so he told him the reason." The elevator arrived, and Shi Yani and Zhong Qing walked in together. Shi Yani sipped her iced Americano, her eyes glancing upward as she recalled Qiao Mingxuan's words. "President Qiao said that Wu Ming's weakness is his dishonesty. Honesty—I think this is the first time I've heard President Qiao use that word." Shi Yani said, laughing as she spoke.
Zhong Qing nearly choked upon hearing this.
So, was she hired truly because she'd claimed to be honest?
She continued the conversation, following Shi Yani's lead. "Then that guy must have asked again why he wasn't being honest, right?"
Shi Yani looked at her with surprise. "You're quite the conversationalist! That guy didn't just ask like that."
After a pause, she added, "President Qiao also gave him an explanation. He asked me to tell Wu Ming that someone saw him trying to hide the certificates of the female classmate who came to the interview with him that day."
Zhong Qing's brow furrowed slightly upon hearing this. It turned out she wasn't the only one who'd seen through Wu Ming that day.
"To demand the truth only to have his underhanded tricks exposed to his face—he's really asking for proof that he's dishonest." Zhong Qing couldn't help but sigh.
"Isn't that right?" Shi Yani also sighed. "But this is nothing. You'll encounter many more bizarre people in the future. After all, the workplace is a place where interests are involved."
Yes, Zhong Qing thought. Faced with interests, those sophisticated and self-serving people can always reasonably lower their moral standards and always find a suitable excuse to do something that harms others for their own benefit.
Perhaps this is the adult world.
That afternoon, when Zhong Qing went to the tea room to get water, she overheard Lü Pengshan telling Ling Na, "It seems the HR specialist who received us was fired. I heard it was because he leaked the interview questions or something. My mentor said it was General Manager Qiao who advised the HR director that such a person shouldn't be kept."
Zhong Qing thought, no wonder Wu Ming knew things they didn't; so that's why. And Qiao Mingxuan—he looks refined and gentle, but when it comes to business, he's ruthless and decisive.
Xinxing Capital had a rule that if there weren't many business trips, the project departments usually held a summary meeting on Fridays.
This Friday's summary meeting was also attended by several new employees.
Zhong Qing, Ling Na, and Lü Pengshan sat in the back of the conference room, listening to the seniors from the three departments summarize the current project status, the work plan for next week, and the project development goals.
Department One needed to conduct several roadshows; Department Two needed to attend a forum summit; Department Three had identified several new targets and was currently evaluating their quality. If there were no problems after the evaluation, they would begin matching suitable investors for the target companies...
Zhong Qing listened attentively to everyone's presentation. She didn't find the meeting long or tedious at all; she absorbed every bit of work-related information from it like a sponge.
She noticed that although all three department heads were present, Qiao Mingxuan was one level higher than the other two. Therefore, whether it was his department or the other two VPs' departments, if there were any disputes, he would ultimately make the final decision.
Zhong Qing quietly observed Qiao Mingxuan without revealing any emotion.
He sat at the head of the conference table, speaking very little, mostly listening. But whenever he spoke, it was always at a crucial juncture.
He wore thin-rimmed silver-gray glasses, his refined demeanor tinged with a sharp edge; his features, whether individually or as a whole, were exceptionally handsome. Yet this handsome face possessed an aura so powerful that it could make anyone he looked at feel oppressed.
This oppressive feeling suddenly met Zhong Qing's gaze.
For a fleeting moment, Zhong Qing felt a pang of panic, like being caught spying.
But she immediately shifted from furtively observing to openly and attentively listening to her leader speak and focusing on how he assigned tasks. She let her focused concentration project a clean and innocent aura.
In that brief instant, she thought she saw Qiao Mingxuan subtly raise one eyebrow. But with his thin-rimmed glasses in the way, she doubted whether she'd actually seen it or imagined it.
The next moment, Qiao Mingxuan spoke. "Next, you three new recruits will be working on projects with us, but which projects are uncertain. It's also uncertain which department heads will choose from among you; it all depends on your performance." He paused, then asked, "Regarding today's meeting, do you have any questions?"
Lü Pengshan raised his hand. "But how are we supposed to perform? Nobody told us what we're supposed to do, nobody assigned us tasks. These past few days since we started, we've basically been working blindly, not knowing what we're even here for."
Qiao Mingxuan patiently listened to his complaint and calmly replied, "If you don't know what you're here for, then go home."
He spoke slowly and deliberately, without raising his voice, yet strangely, everyone who heard him felt a sudden unease, a peculiar tension rising in their chest.
Lü Pengshan had a second wave of complaints; given his somewhat unyielding nature, he would have poured out those grievances if anyone else had spoken.
But strangely, after hearing Qiao Mingxuan's words, he seemed subdued. Although Qiao Mingxuan's tone was completely calm, it inexplicably intimidated everyone, causing the complaints lodged in his throat to be swallowed back down.
Zhong Qing could discern that Lü Pengshan was intimidated by Qiao Mingxuan's powerful aura, which he wielded with composure.
"Any other questions?" Qiao Mingxuan looked at the three newcomers in turn, and after waiting for a moment and receiving no response, he said, "If not, the three of you can leave now."
Zhong Qing, Ling Na, and Lü Pengshan departed the conference room.
As soon as Ling Na emerged, she grasped Zhong Qing's arm, her legs weak, and her voice seemed to tremble. "Don't you think President Qiao is intimidating? I'm so afraid of making eye contact with him. I always feel like if our eyes meet, he'll ask me questions, and if I don't answer well, I'll lose face!"
Zhong Qing thought Ling Na's description was quite insightful; she actually felt somewhat the same way. But when she considered why she'd come to Xinxing Capital and why she wanted to get close to him, she was no longer afraid.
Zhong Qing said to Ling Na in a serious tone, "Next time you and President Qiao accidentally make eye contact, if he really asks you a question, answer if you're confident. Otherwise, tell him: 'Are you in a hurry? If not, I'll go back and check the information before telling you. If you are in a hurry, I'll give you a random answer now for you to use.'"
Ling Na stared blankly at Zhong Qing for two seconds, confirming that she was talking nonsense beneath her serious expression, and immediately burst out laughing.
"Not nervous anymore?" Zhong Qing laughed as well.
Lü Pengshan sneered from the side. "You talk like it's true—would you dare use it yourself? And you're teaching Ling Na—are you foolish?"
Zhong Qing smiled innocently, but inwardly she was amazed: Could he really take this seriously?
That would be genuinely foolish.
Shortly after the three interns left, everyone else also departed, leaving only the three department heads in the conference room.
This was their private time to communicate.
Han Xiangfeng, the head of Department One, and Ou Jinrong, the head of Department Two, were both in their early thirties.
Han Xiangfeng was impeccably dressed, his hair slicked back, polished, and meticulously combed; he could easily be taken to a banquet or event without any further preparation.
Ou Jinrong was slightly plump, but not bulky; on the contrary, he was clean and neat, always with a cheerful demeanor, appearing approachable and easy to talk to.
Han Xiangfeng, sipping his tea, spoke first. "These three newcomers each have their own characteristics. Zhong Qing, as she said during her interview, is indeed an honest child; she can work diligently without being told what to do. Ling Na, well, she's a bit too timid. If Old Qiao stared directly at her while speaking, I reckon she'd faint. As for Lü Pengshan, he's a bit of a troublemaker, seems to have opinions about everything, but he's easy to train. Overall, of the three newcomers, I think Zhong Qing is the quickest to get into the swing of things; she's observant and very diligent."
Ou Jinrong also chuckled and said, "These past few days, the reason we left the three of them hanging was to see if they could proactively ask their seniors for work. Now it seems Zhong Qing is doing well; she can identify tasks even without being told. As for Ling Na, she was completely clueless the first couple of days, and Lü Pengshan was also a bit lost. However, in the last two days, they must have observed how Zhong Qing was operating and started following suit. Overall, all three are doing well; they've all made progress."
Qiao Mingxuan removed his glasses, wiping the lenses as he spoke. "Too slow progress."
Without his glasses, his gaze was even sharper and more piercing than when he wore them. Without the lenses obscuring his presence, his aura seemed to intensify. If he suddenly looked at someone so openly, the person being observed would involuntarily shudder, inexplicably feeling guilty in response to his imposing presence.
Ou Jinrong chuckled, trying to advocate for the three newcomers. "They're already quite good. After all, of these three, only Zhong Qing has internship experience. The other two are bookworms; they were originally preparing for graduate school but only decided to seek jobs at the last minute, so they haven't had time for internships. However, these two are excellent students with great potential. Give them some time, and they'll grow quickly."
Qiao Mingxuan replaced his glasses. "The workplace isn't school. You can't let them learn slowly here. This is a place where you compete based on your abilities. We don't have much time for them. If they don't develop within this timeframe, then we'll replace them."
With that, he rose and left.
Han Xiangfeng shook his head at Ou Jinrong and sighed. "How can there be someone like Old Qiao? He can always say the most severe and ruthless things in the calmest tone, and he doesn't just say it casually—he means it!"
Ou Jinrong also shook his head with a smile. "That's why he's younger than us, but he's more decisive. You can tell he's been independent since childhood, not easily controlled by others, so he can make decisions without hesitation. He can handle everything and everyone. I wonder if someone will ever be able to handle him too."
Han Xiangfeng put away his notebook. Before leaving the meeting room with Ou Jinrong, he departed with a heartfelt remark: "I hope such a person appears soon and can properly handle him."
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Comments
Post a Comment