Chapter 5: Taking the Initiative

Since the meeting, Zhong Qing had made her decision very clear.

She had gone to great lengths to come to Xinxing to get close to Qiao Mingxuan, and of course, she wanted to work on projects with him.

She had to find a way to get closer to him.

Besides, Shi Yani had told her that Qiao Mingxuan's projects were the best in Xinxing. Because of his strong control, he rarely had projects that went wrong and couldn't be completed.

But Shi Yani also said, "However, President Qiao is very strict with his work. You newcomers might not be able to handle it if you suddenly start working for him. There are two types of people who can persevere under him: those with strong inner strength and those with thick skin, and both types must be highly capable. In short, those who can work for him are not ordinary people."

Regardless of Ling Na and Lü Pengshan's plans, Zhong Qing didn't intend to hide anything. She made her desire to work on projects with Qiao Mingxuan plain to their faces.

Speaking of Ling Na and Lü Pengshan's attitudes, Zhong Qing could actually guess their thoughts.

Ling Na was timid and intimidated by Qiao Mingxuan. A single glance between them would take her ages to process, and repeated eye contact felt like an eternity. As for Lü Pengshan, it was clear he also wanted to work on Qiao Mingxuan's project, but his temperament and personality were stubbornly fixed. He clearly wanted it but pretended to be reserved, and he looked down on Zhong Qing's overtly eager and pushy attitude.

Zhong Qing sometimes found Lü Pengshan quite interesting. He wanted something but maintained a facade—he couldn't possibly be waiting for Qiao Mingxuan to think he was exceptionally good and come knocking.

Her upbringing taught her that you can't wait to get what you want; you have to act immediately and proactively.

So she took the initiative, actively approaching Qiao Mingxuan.

She knew this would make her seem very forward, and her behavior might even be seen as distasteful by some.

But she didn't care.

It was much better than wanting something but being too shy to act and then criticizing others.

In the following days, she worked even harder than before, actively assisting each senior colleague in Department Three and building goodwill. Her desired outcome was that if even one or two people mentioned her favorably to Qiao Mingxuan and praised her, that would be a success.

Gradually, she felt the time was right. Everyone in the third department should have given her praise and compliments when mentioning her to Qiao Mingxuan. She felt it was time to take the next step.

One afternoon, when Qiao Mingxuan wasn't busy, Zhong Qing boldly knocked on his office door.

Qiao Mingxuan looked up and saw her through the glass wall and door. For a couple of seconds, he stared straight at the door without moving.

For some reason, Zhong Qing felt a tightness in her throat.

Afterwards, she thought she must have been intimidated by Qiao Mingxuan's powerful aura for a moment.

Fortunately, two seconds later, Qiao Mingxuan said, "Come in."

Zhong Qing quickly put on a bright, innocent smile and pushed the door open.

She was about to close the door when Qiao Mingxuan said, "Leave it open."

She hesitated—if she did, her conversation with Qiao Mingxuan would be clearly heard by the people at the workstations outside.

But having no other choice, she obediently reopened the door, which she had only partially closed.

She walked to Qiao Mingxuan's desk and stood there.

Before she could speak, Qiao Mingxuan preemptively said, "I let you in to tell you that you can ask Shi Yani if you have any questions. If she can't solve them, ask other more experienced seniors. You new employees aren't yet at the level where you can barge into the department head's office."

His tone was calm, but his words were like a soft knife. Zhong Qing was stunned, looking back at the doorway, then down at herself.

When she looked up again, she said with a serious and innocent expression, "But I didn't 'barge' in just now. I gently pushed the door open and slowly walked in."

"..."

Qiao Mingxuan was taken aback by her effortless yet powerful retort. He couldn't bring himself to ask her to leave in a dignified and indifferent manner.

Zhong Qing seized the opportunity and quickly expressed her thoughts and desires—she wanted to work on his project and learn from him.

She expressed her admiration for him with enthusiasm but also composure, describing him as her future role model and goal.

Qiao Mingxuan felt that this was the most flattering compliment he had ever received. He looked at the girl in front of him, listening to her continue without showing any emotion.

Unconsciously, one corner of his mouth curled up slightly.

Zhong Qing glanced at Qiao Mingxuan's ambiguous smile and knew that was enough. She should stop there and not say more. Any more would backfire.

She stopped, waiting for Qiao Mingxuan's feedback, whether he intended to choose her or not.

But when Qiao Mingxuan spoke, his voice seemed to contradict his face, carrying a distant, cold, and even slightly mocking tone. "I said in the meeting that which of you three will be on which department's project, and which department head you will be learning from, will be decided by the leaders together. We will have our own evaluation criteria. Also," he paused, took off his glasses, and looked directly at Zhong Qing.

Zhong Qing immediately felt the doubled pressure of his aura pressing down on her.

She made sure her feet were firmly planted on the ground, refusing to shrink back. She fixed her gaze on the small mole at the corner of his eye.

She heard a hint of reminder and admonition in his voice. "As a newcomer, don't reveal your ambition too quickly or obviously. You can't reach the top in one step. I hope you can settle down and do what you're supposed to do right now."

The office door was open, and his words must have been heard by those outside.

Zhong Qing was momentarily stunned, then her face immediately broke into a hurt but determined smile.

With that smile, she said to Qiao Mingxuan, "Mr. Qiao, I've taken everything you said to heart. I'll work hard and diligently. Thank you for today, Mr. Qiao!"

She bowed and turned to leave the office. As she walked out, the hurt but determined smile on her face trembled slightly, as if it were about to shatter.

Qiao Mingxuan watched Zhong Qing walk out with that smile, then turn back to close the door for him.

He frowned slightly. For a moment, he seemed to doubt whether she was really just a simple, positive girl, and whether he had gone a bit too far.

But immediately, he dismissed that doubt.

She was definitely not as innocent and bright as she appeared, nor as "honest" as she claimed. Beneath her honest face lay countless schemes.

He just didn't know what she was really like, and he waited to see.

---

Because of the door that was opened that day, everyone outside the office knew that the newcomer named Zhong Qing was "too eager," and Qiao Mingxuan's chilling words showed that he didn't like this "too eager" style.

Based on the principle that the weak are more easily sympathized with, everyone felt a bit sorry for Zhong Qing.

In their eyes, that honest, always smiling girl who was always accommodating to her seniors had finally managed to fight for a chance, only to be ruthlessly crushed by the seemingly gentle but actually ruthless Qiao Mingxuan. They wondered if she had been traumatized.

After this incident, everyone agreed that Qiao Mingxuan would choose one of the other two newcomers for his project, and Zhong Qing was probably out of the running.

---

Two days after Zhong Qing took the initiative to see Qiao Mingxuan, on Friday afternoon, she was suddenly notified by Shi Yani. "Quickly, go to the second conference room and call Ling Na and Lü Pengshan too. President Qiao wants to hold a meeting with you new employees."

Zhong Qing immediately called Ling Na and Lü Pengshan, and within three minutes, the three of them were neatly arranged outside the conference room.

When she knocked and entered, Zhong Qing saw Qiao Mingxuan already sitting at the head of the conference table. The noise at the door did not disturb him; he was working on documents on his laptop screen.

He sat there quietly, without looking up or speaking, yet one could still feel the powerful aura emanating from him.

Zhong Qing could clearly sense that Ling Na was struck by this aura the moment she stepped into the conference room. She felt a distinct chill run down her spine.

Besides Qiao Mingxuan, another of his capable subordinates, a senior manager named Shi Tao, was also present.

Seeing the three of them enter, Shi Tao gestured for them to sit down, then got up and connected the projector.

Soon, a document appeared on the screen with several lines of text.

After sending the email, Qiao Mingxuan closed his laptop, glanced at the three new employees who were now present, and gestured for Shi Tao to begin.

"Here's the thing," Shi Tao said without any further pleasantries, standing up and walking to the screen. Pointing to the contents of the document, he told the three people, "This is a medical examination institution called 'Zhiqiang Medical Examination.' Now, I'm assigning you a task: please use the weekend to compile a research report on Zhiqiang Medical Examination, including the institution's basic information, business operations, financial situation, team situation, future development advantages and disadvantages, etc. This is a test for you. The requirement is that you cannot ask anyone else for help. Even if you ask your seniors, they won't tell you anything. You have to do it on your own, and whatever you can accomplish is fine. You have two days, and you need to complete the report by next Monday. Now you can ask questions." Shi Tao's style was inherited from Qiao Mingxuan, without saying a single unnecessary word.

"I want to ask why we need to research this medical examination institution?" Lü Pengshan asked first.

"We chose it randomly. There's no readily available information about this institution on the market, so this will better test your research abilities."

"But it's a non-listed company and doesn't publish financial statements. Where are we going to find financial data?" Lü Pengshan asked another question.

"Figure it out yourself." This time, it was Qiao Mingxuan who answered him. "Everything has to be laid out in front of you? You don't need to do the FA job; anyone can do it."

Lü Pengshan was embarrassed, somewhat unconvinced, but dared not argue back.

Ling Na didn't dare to look at Qiao Mingxuan. She weakly asked Shi Tao, "Manager Shi, isn't two days too tight...?"

"There's no need to bargain about the time. Just two days. Do whatever you can." It was Qiao Mingxuan who answered again.

Ling Na shrank her shoulders upon hearing this, immediately swallowing back her desire to apply for two more days. It seemed that the leader was intentionally testing their limits.

Shi Tao looked at Zhong Qing, who hadn't spoken yet. "What about you? Do you have any questions?"

Zhong Qing thought for a moment and asked, "Does this have to be done on the weekend?"

She had been working from dawn till dusk lately, and every day, either Yi Chengcheng was staring at the back of her head as she left, or she was staring at the back of Yi Chengcheng's head when she got home at night. She had planned to spend the weekend with Yi Chengcheng, but if she was assigned work, she and Yi Chengcheng would have to continue staring at each other's backs.

"Yes, that's right. It's not that I intentionally took up your weekend time; it just happened this way," Shi Tao replied to Zhong Qing. "But President Qiao said he'll pay you overtime, with overtime allowances."

Zhong Qing quickly smiled, an honest and simple smile, and didn't forget to thank President Qiao.

Qiao Mingxuan didn't respond to her comment.

He only glanced at the three people present and succinctly announced, "At next Monday's meeting, you will present and demonstrate your research reports to everyone."

Hearing this beside her, Ling Na gasped sharply, and Zhong Qing could hear it clearly.