Chapter 7: Too Clever by Half

Zhong Qing opened the PowerPoint presentation with the practiced click of someone who had spent considerable time ensuring every transition worked smoothly, then moved to stand in front of the screen. She positioned herself where the light from the projector wouldn't cast her shadow across the slides, blocking critical information.

She wore her hair pulled back in a neat ponytail and a business suit that Yi Chengcheng had modified specifically for this presentation—taking the standard corporate uniform and adjusting it just enough to make it fit properly, to make it look intentional rather than borrowed. Standing there before the assembled department heads and her fellow new employees, she appeared poised and elegant, clean and crisp with that particular air of efficiency that signaled someone who took their work seriously.

She began with a brief overview of the basic information gathered about Zhiqiang Medical Examination Center. This portion was largely identical to what the previous two presenters had already covered—the company's founding date, its expansion trajectory, its publicly stated mission and values. After introducing these fundamentals with appropriate but minimal detail, she used the page turner remote to advance to the next slide.

The new slide displayed a comprehensive table of data she had personally collected through on-site observation during both holidays and ordinary weekdays—hours spent standing outside various locations, counting customers, tracking patterns that most people would never notice or think to record.

Qiao Mingxuan's expression shifted almost imperceptibly when this particular table appeared on the screen. One of his eyebrows twitched upward in what might have been surprise or approval—the movement so subtle that anyone not watching him closely would have missed it entirely.

"The founder of Zhiqiang Health Checkup mentioned in a public interview that their stores consistently serve a large number of customers and maintain impressively high foot traffic throughout the year," Zhong Qing said, her voice steady and professional as she gestured toward the carefully compiled tables now illuminated on the screen. "He even provided specific numerical data to support these claims. However, based on my own on-site statistical analysis conducted at our stores located in top-tier cities, the actual foot traffic—whether measured on holidays or regular weekends—is significantly lower than what the founder publicly stated. His data is exaggerated by a considerable margin."

She advanced to the next slide with practiced timing, revealing another set of tables. These contained sales figures and customer review compilations she had extracted from various major e-commerce platforms. The tables demonstrated meticulous organization—data presented alongside screenshots of actual comments, the entire layout designed to look both professional and aesthetically coherent. Someone had clearly spent hours on formatting alone.

"Furthermore, the inflation isn't limited to offline foot traffic data. The online sales figures for health checkup packages show similar patterns of deliberate exaggeration." Her finger traced along relevant columns as she spoke. "These are verified sales figures and purchase reviews I compiled directly from major e-commerce websites. The uniformly worded nature of these reviews—the identical phrasing, the suspiciously similar sentence structures—makes it obvious that we're looking at manufactured sales numbers and fake positive reviews designed to create false social proof."

Qiao Mingxuan's expression shifted for the second time in as many minutes. Both eyebrows rose slightly now, the movement more pronounced than before—a clear indication that he was seeing something unexpected, something that had genuinely captured his attention.

Zhong Qing stopped speaking and stood perfectly still in front of him, waiting.

Qiao Mingxuan let two full seconds of silence pass before speaking, his voice carrying a hint of something that might have been dissatisfaction. "Is that all?" The question emerged with slight emphasis on the final word. His brow furrowed as he spoke, the body language communicating his assessment of the three people's combined research report as "nothing particularly special" and "only this much to show for all that effort."

He had just begun thinking that Zhong Qing's presentation finally contained something genuinely distinctive, something that set it apart from the competent but unremarkable work that had preceded it. But apparently it ended there, at this anticlimactic point.

Zhong Qing looked up at Qiao Mingxuan directly and gave him an honest, slightly sheepish smile. "The page turner got stuck."

"..." Qiao Mingxuan found himself caught between amusement and exasperation, the combination producing an expression he couldn't quite control.

Zhong Qing pressed the page turner remote harder, applying actual force this time, and the PowerPoint finally advanced to reveal another slide.

New content appeared—material that neither of the other two presenters had discussed or even hinted at in their own research.

"Because Zhiqiang Health Checkup has only been established for three years and operates as a privately held company with limited transparency requirements, the publicly available information that can be collected about them is inherently restricted. So I decided to take a different approach." Her voice gained confidence as she moved into territory she'd mapped out herself. "I simply researched two other well-known health checkup institutions operating in the same market space, then compared Zhiqiang Health Checkup directly against them. This comparative analysis can reveal significant issues that might not be visible when examining a single company in isolation."

On Sunday night—after she had already filled her research report with all the data collected through her on-site observations at various Zhiqiang Health Checkup locations—Zhong Qing had sat back and felt that persistent, nagging sensation that something crucial was still missing. The report was competent, certainly. But competent wasn't enough. She needed to add information that would actually prove useful, that would demonstrate real analytical insight rather than just diligent data collection.

After thinking through various approaches for a considerable period, turning the problem over from multiple angles, she had finally landed on an idea that felt right.

Since Zhiqiang Health Checkup's publicly available information was inherently limited by its private ownership structure, she would shift her focus to other health checkup institutions operating in the same industry and conduct a comparative analysis. This was a technique she had absorbed and internalized during her internship at a securities firm—the understanding that context often mattered more than isolated facts, that positioning revealed truth.

So she had stayed up through the entire night, working until dawn without pause, investigating and integrating comprehensive information and data from two other major health checkup institutions. She compiled everything systematically, then incorporated it all into her research report with appropriate analysis and interpretation.

Looking at her audience's reactions now, she felt reasonably confident that she had executed the approach well. The two department heads—leaders of Department One and Department Two respectively—both showed unmistakable approval in their eyes after she finished explaining her methodology.

Qiao Mingxuan's face remained carefully expressionless, revealing nothing through traditional facial cues. But his body language had shifted significantly. From the very beginning of this meeting, he had been leaning back in his chair with arms crossed, positioned to observe the new employees' presentations from a comfortable distance.

It was a posture that communicated scrutiny far more than genuine listening—the physical stance of someone evaluating rather than engaging.

But now he had sat up straighter, leaning forward slightly. His elbows rested on the conference table, hands positioned near his face with fingers pressed against his cheeks and jawline. The new posture suggested active listening rather than mere assessment, engagement rather than judgment.

Zhong Qing maintained her own expressionless professionalism, though internally she recognized that her performance was apparently meeting or exceeding expectations.

She pointed to the names of the other two health checkup institutions now displayed on the PowerPoint slide and continued her presentation with growing fluency. "The other two medical examination institutions operating in this same industry space are Anxin Medical Examination and Kangping Medical Examination. These were originally ranked first and second respectively in terms of market share and industry reputation. Anxin Medical Examination is the oldest of the three companies and currently maintains the largest market share by a significant margin, making it the undisputed industry leader."

"Kangping Medical Examination was originally positioned as the clear second-place player in this industry. However, in recent years, Zhiqiang Medical Examination has experienced rapid growth, effectively pushing Kangping down to third place in the competitive rankings."

After a deliberate pause for emphasis, Zhong Qing turned physically to point directly at Kangping Medical Examination's name on the screen. "Although it has been displaced to third position, Kangping Medical Examination possesses a unique operational feature that the other two medical examination institutions completely lack—something that can legitimately be considered its distinctive competitive advantage. Kangping Medical Examination has maintained a deep, long-term partnership with an intermediary service website called 365zhule.com."

"This 365zhule.com operates as a comprehensive intermediary platform focused specifically on health and medical services. It functions as a connector—linking individual users on one side with medical examination institutions, major hospitals, specialty clinics, and related healthcare providers on the other side. The platform provides users with convenient online appointment booking for medical examinations, hospital registration services, and even cosmetic surgery consultations. In the specific field of medical examinations, it has maintained an exclusive partnership arrangement with Kangping Medical Examination Center for several years now, consistently driving substantial online traffic directly to Kangping's physical locations."

The PowerPoint slides advanced one by one as she spoke, each containing supporting data and visual representations of the relationships she was describing.

Finally, she reached the section where she would summarize her analytical conclusions and recommendations. This was the boldest, most potentially dangerous part of Zhong Qing's entire presentation.

Because in this section, she intended to put forward genuinely new hypotheses and strategic ideas—proposals that went far beyond simple data compilation and moved into the territory of actual business recommendation.

Previously, based on various contextual clues and her understanding of how these research assignments typically functioned, she had developed a working theory: the real intention behind this task was probably for Xinxing to position itself as a financial advisor helping Zhiqiang Medical Examination Center locate and secure investors. If this speculation proved accurate, then the conclusion she was about to present would completely overturn and contradict that presumed intention.

"...Based on all the analysis presented above, I have some thoughts I'd like to share." Zhong Qing told herself firmly to avoid nervousness, to resist any temptation toward stage fright, to simply perform confidently with the material she had so carefully prepared. "Before this meeting, when Manager Shi Tao initially assigned us this research task, he explicitly framed it as a test of our individual capabilities. But I can't help thinking—what if it's not merely a test? What if this actually represents groundwork for the next major project? And if the project's content involves helping Zhiqiang Health Checkup locate and secure investors, then I would offer this perspective: instead of serving as the financial advisor for Zhiqiang Health Checkup, it would be strategically superior to proactively contact Kangping Health Checkup, position ourselves as their financial advisor, and help Kangping complete a significant financing round. Because Kangping would represent a fundamentally better target project with more sustainable growth potential."

As Zhong Qing finished articulating this conclusion, the expressions throughout the conference room varied dramatically across the assembled faces.

Ling Na's mouth had fallen half-open in surprise. Lü Pengshan's eyes had widened noticeably beyond their usual size—a physical manifestation of shock he apparently couldn't control.

Han Xiangfeng, the experienced head of Department One, and Ou Jinrong, his counterpart leading Department Two, both immediately looked toward Qiao Mingxuan with expressions of considerable interest after hearing Zhong Qing's bold recommendation. They wanted to see how he would respond to this.

Qiao Mingxuan's eyes narrowed slightly—a subtle shift that made him even more difficult to read than usual.

He concealed his genuine emotional response with perfect control, rendering himself utterly unfathomable. His face revealed nothing that could be reliably interpreted.

Ou Jinrong released a small chuckle—amused rather than dismissive—and asked Zhong Qing directly, "Zhong Qing, why did you specifically recommend Kangping Medical Examination Center among the three medical examination institutions you analyzed? Why not Anxin Medical Examination Center? It's currently the best performer in the industry by every objective measure. Why didn't you select it as your recommendation?"

Zhong Qing smiled with practiced innocence and appropriate humility as she replied, "Because I checked Anxin Medical Examination Center's recent financial history, and the research revealed that they recently completed a substantial financing round. First, this means they don't currently need additional financing from a practical standpoint. Second, the founder would probably resist diluting his ownership stake again so soon after the previous round—there would be psychological resistance to the idea. And third, their current valuation has already reached extremely high levels, which would make the process of finding investors willing to pay that premium relatively more difficult and time-consuming."

She paused deliberately, allowing that reasoning to settle before pivoting to her main argument. "When comparing Zhiqiang Health Checkup and Kangping Health Checkup directly, the former appears at first glance to have taken impressively bold strides forward. Their rapid expansion creates the surface impression of a company with a tremendously promising future. However, as my data demonstrates, this growth involves systematic exaggeration of performance metrics, which represents a significant hidden risk. Any operational problems or market corrections could easily trigger a break in their cash flow, potentially causing catastrophic failure. Additionally, while Zhiqiang Health Checkup emphasizes in their marketing that they employ many experienced senior medical experts recruited from top-tier hospitals, this advantage is less significant than it appears. Health checkup institutions operate fundamentally differently from actual hospitals. Health checkups focus primarily on identifying potential problems through screening, not on providing treatment or managing complex medical cases. Therefore, these institutions don't actually rely as heavily on specialist physicians as traditional hospitals do. The presence of famous doctors isn't as strong a competitive advantage for Zhiqiang as they claim it to be."

Zhong Qing's voice gained strength and certainty as she moved deeper into her analysis. "While Kangping Health Checkup currently ranks lower than Zhiqiang in terms of raw market position, it possesses that crucial advantage I mentioned earlier—the one that other health checkup institutions simply cannot replicate easily. Its close, exclusive relationship with 365zhule.com provides consistent online traffic and customer acquisition at relatively low cost. When we help Kangping find investors, we can propose an integrated investment strategy: investors should consider funding both 365zhule.com and Kangping Health Checkup together, creating a unified business model where online and offline channels drive customer traffic synergistically."

She spoke with increasing fluency now, her thoughts crystallizing with each sentence as the logic built upon itself. "Moreover, 365zhule.com has already established working partnerships with hospitals and various medical institutions located in third- and fourth-tier cities throughout the region. If investors fund 365zhule.com alongside Kangping, and then Kangping uses that capital to open physical examination centers in these smaller cities where 365zhule.com already has partnerships, it's functionally equivalent to capturing the existing online health checkup users in those cities through the 365zhule.com platform. This strategy would allow Kangping to effectively capture a substantial portion of the lower-tier market in the health checkup field—a segment that's currently underserved but growing rapidly. At that point, with both online presence and physical locations across multiple market tiers, Kangping Health Checkup's total scale would become genuinely impressive. And critically, this expansion would be built on sustainable foundations rather than inflated metrics. The company would definitely develop better and more solidly than Zhiqiang could achieve through its current approach."

After she finished delivering this comprehensive analysis, the conference room fell into a moment of profound silence.

Han Xiangfeng and Ou Jinrong appeared even more surprised than they had been moments earlier—their expressions suggesting they hadn't anticipated this level of strategic thinking from a new employee. Ling Na and Lü Pengshan looked practically shocked, their faces registering something close to disbelief.

Zhong Qing felt a surge of quiet satisfaction as she observed these reactions. Her analysis seemed to have been genuinely absorbed and at least preliminarily accepted by the senior people in the room. She appeared to have executed her presentation exceptionally well—far better than she'd dared hope.

She was just beginning to allow herself a mental sigh of relief when Qiao Mingxuan spoke.

"It's good that you can engage in independent brainstorming and generate original ideas." His voice emerged light and superficially calm, though the tone didn't quite sound like genuine affirmation—there was something withheld in it, something deliberately not being said. "But this is a bit too clever for its own good."

The phrase hung in the air like a blade.

"Yes, you're correct that this research assignment is indeed related to our next major project." He shifted his tone, and now his voice carried a quiet but unmistakable authority that filled the room. "But you've fundamentally misunderstood the situation. I asked you to conduct this research report not to help any medical examination institution find investors."

Zhong Qing felt herself freeze completely, her body going momentarily rigid.

She had actually misunderstood. Despite all her careful analysis, all her strategic thinking, she had gotten the core premise wrong.

A feeling compounded of surprise, embarrassment, and genuine shame welled up inside her chest. She had been so confident, so certain she had correctly interpreted the underlying purpose. If Qiao Mingxuan hadn't just explicitly exposed her "cleverness" for what it actually was—misplaced and misdirected—she might have walked out of this room genuinely believing she was exceptionally intelligent and perceptive.

The next moment, her heart sank with sickening speed, her mind filling completely with a single repeated thought: it's over.

It's over. She had fundamentally messed this up. She probably wouldn't be selected for Qiao Mingxuan's project team now. What should she do next? How could she possibly recover from this?

While she remained frozen in this state of internal crisis, Qiao Mingxuan stood up from his chair and left the meeting room without another word, his departure swift and final.

Han Xiangfeng and Ou Jinrong rose from their seats shortly afterward. They proved significantly more approachable than Qiao Mingxuan in temperament, and before exiting they made a point of offering the three new employees some genuine encouragement and affirmation. "You all performed admirably today. For your first major research report, you had to figure everything out independently without receiving guidance from more experienced colleagues. To achieve this level of quality under those conditions—all three of you clearly have bright futures ahead!"

After delivering this morale-boosting message to the new employees, they departed. Shi Tao, while gathering his materials and preparing to leave, addressed the three of them with practical information. "You've all worked extremely hard these past two days, investing significant hours. You can go home and get proper rest today—take the afternoon off. As for the detailed comments on today's presentations, the leadership team will write comprehensive feedback in your probationary period evaluation records and send those to you when your probationary period officially ends. Okay, meeting adjourned!"

Shi Tao finished speaking and left with his materials tucked under his arm.

Only Zhong Qing and the other two new employees remained in the now-quiet conference room.

Zhong Qing took a moment to compose herself, forcing her racing thoughts to slow and her breathing to stabilize. Then she returned to the conference table to gather her belongings and pack up her presentation materials.

Lü Pengshan, standing close beside her, chose this moment to deliver his assessment with poorly concealed satisfaction. "You did so much extra work, thinking you'd be praised for going above and beyond, right? Turns out you were just being arrogant and showing off."

The sarcastic remark hit exactly the wound Zhong Qing was already nursing, and something inside her decided she couldn't simply absorb this alone. If she had to feel terrible, she would ensure Lü Pengshan felt at least some discomfort too. Retaliation in kind seemed only fair.

She stopped packing her materials and looked up at Lü Pengshan directly, meeting his eyes.

Her face arranged itself into an expression of honest confusion mixed with slight hurt—vulnerability displayed openly. Her eyes carried a wounded quality, but she forced a brave smile onto her features, the combination creating the image of someone steadfast and unassuming, courageously facing adversity without complaint. Like a white flower bending under a storm but refusing to break.

She looked up at Lü Pengshan and asked with that fragile smile trembling slightly, "I honestly don't know if I've done something specific that makes you consistently have a problem with me. If I have, it's okay—just tell me directly what it is, and I'll change it. I promise I'll work on whatever the issue is, okay?"

Her smile appeared so delicate, so genuinely breakable, that even the slightest harshness might shatter it completely on this earnest young woman's face.

Lü Pengshan stared at Zhong Qing, visibly stunned by this display. He didn't react for several seconds, his mind apparently struggling to process what he was witnessing.

Ling Na, who had been standing nearby observing the entire exchange, immediately felt protective sympathy rising in her chest. She stepped forward, positioning herself slightly between them, and addressed Lü Pengshan with conviction. "No, I think what you just said is completely wrong!"

"I don't think Zhong Qing is being arrogant at all. She's genuinely, objectively capable. She accomplished things that neither of us even thought to attempt. We should have the courage and integrity to admit when someone else demonstrates superior abilities!"

Lü Pengshan, having finally snapped out of the temporary daze induced by Zhong Qing's pitiful expression, released a dismissive snort and continued his rebuttal. "Didn't you hear President Qiao explicitly criticize her for being too clever? He said she was being clever in unproductive ways!"

Ling Na argued back with surprising heat, her voice rising. "But even if President Qiao defines Zhong Qing's intelligence as 'petty cleverness' or misplaced effort, it's still a form of capability that neither of us possesses! Besides, I don't think President Qiao's characterization is entirely correct this time. Zhong Qing demonstrated genuine intelligence and strategic thinking!"

Zhong Qing hadn't expected that her tactical decision to feign wounded innocence and subtly provoke Lü Pengshan would result in Ling Na actively defending her with such passion. A sudden warmth bloomed in her chest—genuine gratitude mixing with surprise.

She watched as Lü Pengshan and Ling Na continued arguing with increasing intensity, until Ling Na's face had flushed bright red with emotion and the effort of defending her position. At that point, Zhong Qing immediately stepped forward, physically placing herself between Ling Na and Lü Pengshan, blocking Ling Na's line of sight to their antagonist.

Her expression hardened noticeably as she looked directly at Lü Pengshan, all traces of fragility vanishing. "If you're going to target someone with your criticism, target me alone. Don't raise your voice at Ling Na, who was only trying to be fair!"

Lü Pengshan found himself staring at Zhong Qing's transformed face, momentarily stunned into silence. He even forgot to voice whatever cutting remark he'd been preparing to deliver.

For a single fleeting moment, he experienced the disorienting sensation that Zhong Qing had become an entirely different person. Usually she appeared perpetually cheerful, warm, almost grandmotherly in her kindness and patience. But just now she had suddenly become sharp—pointed and commanding in ways he hadn't witnessed before.

Just as he was processing this confusing shift, attempting to reconcile the two versions of the same person, she suddenly smiled at him again. Her voice emerged gentle and concerned. "Aren't you exhausted after working so intensely for two consecutive days? Let's all go back and get some proper rest."

She was the same honest, cheerful Zhong Qing again, as if the sharp-edged person from seconds ago had never existed.

Lü Pengshan stood watching as Zhong Qing and Ling Na walked hand-in-hand out of the conference room together, their conversation already shifting to lighter topics. He remained behind, still trying to figure out what had just transpired. He felt uncomfortably like he had almost been genuinely intimidated by that supposedly harmless woman.

He was really becoming more childish and easily manipulated—

Shi Tao proceeded directly to Qiao Mingxuan's office after leaving the conference room, bypassing his own workspace entirely.

He settled into the chair positioned in front of Qiao Mingxuan's imposing desk, making himself comfortable.

Qiao Mingxuan, holding a cup of black coffee that was probably already going cold, posed his question. "After this ability assessment test, what's your evaluation of these three newcomers?"

Shi Tao considered the question thoughtfully for several moments before responding. "The three of them each demonstrate distinct characteristics, and they're all quite promising in their different ways. Ling Na possesses the ability to execute her assigned tasks to the very best of her current ability within clearly established parameters and expectations. However, she can't yet think creatively outside those predefined boundaries—that skill will come with more experience. As for Lü Pengshan, he demonstrates weakness in analytical thinking and independent judgment. He's more inclined to simply believe whatever he hears in interviews, quoting people's statements as facts without sufficient critical evaluation. As for Zhong Qing..." He paused, searching for the right words. "She's practically a genius relative to typical newcomers at her experience level. To be completely honest, what she accomplished in this assignment already exceeded my expectations by a considerable margin—her work was almost flawless from a technical standpoint. Her PowerPoint presentations could be used directly in client meetings with minimal modification. And—"

He stopped mid-sentence, leaving the thought incomplete.

Qiao Mingxuan's gaze sharpened as he looked at his subordinate. "You haven't finished your thought? Then continue. Don't leave things partially said just to test whether I'm paying attention or to see if I'll prompt you."

Shi Tao released a small chuckle, the sound carrying both amusement and slight nervousness. "The leader's perception is extraordinarily sharp. I wanted to offer additional praise for Zhong Qing, but I needed to gauge first whether you'd be receptive to hearing it."

Qiao Mingxuan directed a pointed look at him—the expression clearly communicating that such games were unnecessary. Shi Tao immediately straightened in his chair, the chuckle vanishing from his demeanor as he shifted to complete seriousness.

"What I actually wanted to say is this: I think all three new recruits show real promise and capability." He paused for emphasis before continuing. "But especially Zhong Qing. I think she's genuinely, remarkably intelligent—not just competent but actually smart. She thinks about problems more deeply and projects consequences much further into the future than the other two can currently manage. Just now in that meeting room, although she didn't completely guess the correct purpose behind our project, she came remarkably close to the truth."

Thoughts:

It represents Zhong Qing's first major professional test at Xinxing, where her exceptional capabilities and strategic thinking are displayed publicly for the first time. The chapter showcases her meticulous preparation—staying up all night to conduct comparative industry analysis that went far beyond the assignment's apparent requirements. Her presentation demonstrates not just data collection but genuine analytical insight, identifying patterns of fraudulent reporting at Zhiqiang and proposing an entirely different strategic direction by recommending Kangping instead. The dramatic irony lies in Zhong Qing's fundamental misunderstanding of the project's true purpose: she assumed they were helping a medical examination company find investors, when that wasn't the actual goal at all. 

Qiao Mingxuan's criticism that she's being "too clever for her own good" stings precisely because she had been so confident in her deductions. However, the chapter also establishes important character dynamics: Ling Na's unexpected defense of Zhong Qing reveals genuine friendship forming, while Lü Pengshan's antagonism and Zhong Qing's masterful manipulation of him (shifting between fragile victim and sharp protector) demonstrates her sophisticated understanding of social dynamics. The final conversation between Shi Tao and Qiao Mingxuan confirms what readers already see: despite her misunderstanding of the project's purpose, Zhong Qing's work quality far exceeds normal expectations for someone at her level. The chapter balances professional competence with interpersonal complexity, showing how Zhong Qing navigates both the technical and social dimensions of corporate life.