Chapter
7.1: It Smells So Good
Returning home that evening, Chu Qianmiao saw Gu Miaoyu,
fuming with anger.
She quickly asked, "Who's bullying our little Daogu?
Tell me, and I'll help you beat her to death!"
Gu Miaoyu puffed out her cheeks and said, "I have a
colleague at my company named Tu Xiaorong. She's really something. She's
capable of anything she shouldn't be doing. I tried to dissuade her, and she
called me hypocritical! Seriously, she's such a powerful inspiration for my
inspirational rants. Shuishui, let me tell you, without them, I wouldn't have
the courage to accept the fact that Tu Xiaorong even exists in my life!"
Chu Qianmiao tossed off her slippers and stomped onto the
sofa, hands on her hips, eyes wide. "If she annoys you again, call me.
I'll get some people to pretend they're renovating the house, and you'll see
how I'll make her cry!"
Gu Miaoyu clapped her hands and laughed, saying,
"That's a great idea, that's a great idea."
After appeasing Gu Miaoyu, Chu Qianmiao turned on her
computer and began working overtime. After organizing the day's meeting minutes
and emailing them to Zhang Teng, copying Ren Yan and Qin Qianyu, she began
browsing Hanhai Home Textiles' corporate profile.
As she watched, her thoughts began to wander. She recalled
Ren Yan's commanding presence during the day's meeting. She felt that being a
capable professional, masterminding and controlling everything in the workplace
was truly something to aspire to.
She couldn't help but think back to their school days, when
he had been so dazzling and commanding on the basketball court. Back then,
crowds of younger students scrambled to hand him towels and bottles of mineral
water. The huddle was incredibly boisterous; even after all this time, she
could still remember it clearly.
…After all, she was one of those younger students…
Perhaps it was her sheer strength that had helped her
squeeze to the front, so much so that the senior brother, in the end, chose the
bottle of mineral water she offered him and wiped his sweat with the towel she
offered him, soaked in her sweet, girlish fragrance.
Thinking of this, Chu Qianmiao smiled foolishly. The girls
behind her who hadn't squeezed past her were nearly pissed off. Later, they
challenged her to a fight—a quarrel. Just kidding! She was a law student, the
debate team's expertly trained debater. How could she possibly lose?! Of
course, she had them all stupefied. In the end, they each bought her an ice
cream cone and begged her to start a quarreling training class...
Chu Qianmiao was struck by this thought. How could her
thoughts have wandered so far?
Suddenly, she realized that the first half of her divergent
thinking had been a mistake—she had clearly decided to forget the past, to
return everyone to a level playing field where no one knew each other.
She pinched her thigh hard as punishment, making her scream.
Gu Miaoyu immediately rushed into her room and asked, "What's wrong? Did
you lose an online argument with someone?"
Chu Qianmiao: "???"
Why did she hurt herself like this? Why did she doubt her
strengths so much!
******
The next day, Chu Qianmiao arrived at the company, but Zhang
Teng didn't.
Chu Qianmiao received a call from Zhang Teng while on the
way. He told her, "Cheng Xiaodong's project is a bit troublesome, and I
have to go over to help her. You should go to the company first. I've already
contacted President Ren. If the company asks why I didn't go, please ask him to
help me out."
Chu Qianmiao hesitated. "But Lawyer Zhang, President
Ren said he wanted to have a meeting with us yesterday. If you're not there,
what are we going to do now?"
Zhang Teng asked, "Did you review the company's
materials last night?"
Chu Qianmiao nodded and said she had roughly reviewed them.
Zhang Teng said, "That's fine. Just represent me at the
meeting. Qianmiao, I believe in you. With your abilities, you can definitely
hold the line!"
Chu Qianmiao was immediately filled with pride upon hearing
this assessment.
She said to Zhang Teng on the other end of the phone,
"Lawyer Zhang, go ahead and rest assured. I'll do my best to honor you and
not embarrass you!"
However, when the meeting actually began, the "true
fragrance" principle manifested itself...
She embarrassed Zhang Teng.
***
After Chu Qianmiao arrived at the company, Zhou Hanhai's
secretary personally arranged a due diligence venue for her and the other
intermediary agencies conducting the due diligence.
Because there were so many accountants, they were placed in
a rarely used conference room. The secretary then placed Qin Qianyu and three
other colleagues in a very spacious office. The room had been reserved for
future use, as Zhou Hanhai was considering potentially hiring a senior
executive specializing in capital operations. Since he hadn't yet found a
suitable candidate, the room would be used as a due diligence office for the
brokerage firm.
When it came time to assign Chu Qianmiao to the position,
the secretary hesitated. Since she was alone, it would have been a waste of
space to place her separately, but placing her with the brokerage firm's
on-site due diligence team seemed disrespectful to the lawyers.
The secretary then called Qin Qianyu out and quietly asked her
how to best accommodate Chu Qianmiao.
Qin Qianyu said, "According to our usual practice for
projects, the brokerage firm and the lawyers are always separate. Why don't you
please find us another vacant office?"
Before the secretary could reply, a voice interrupted.
"Just put Lawyer Chu in the same office with a few
people from our brokerage firm."
Qin Qianyu and the secretary simultaneously turned to look
at Ren Yan, who was approaching.
Qin Qianyu: "Boss, is this convenient?"
Ren Yan, without blinking, said: "It's convenient for
meetings."
***
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