Water and Fire~Chapter 29.2: A Beautiful Counterattack

 

Chapter 29.2: A Beautiful Counterattack

Dong Lan understood at least two things from this Q&A session.

Sui Huan's work ability was very poor.

Her previous work, whether well-performed or flawed, was likely not her own doing.

Now, Chu Qianmiao simply had to prove that Sui Huan's work flaws were her own fault. They had nothing to do with her, Chu Qianmiao, but were simply casually pinned on her by Sui Huan.

She exchanged glances with Zhang Teng again. Zhang Teng gave her a slight nod, then turned to Dong Lan and said, "Ms. Dong, there's a section in the prospectus specifically for the company's key contract workers, specifically those with large, ongoing contracts. I just took a look at the company's current contracts with a value of over 1.5 million yuan, and there's something wrong with the organization." He pulled out two contracts and handed them to Sui Huan. "You organized these contracts. Sui Huan, take a look at these two. Are there any issues?"

Sui Huan took the contracts and flipped through them one by one, biting her lower lip as she did so, as if making up her mind.

Then she closed the contracts, looked up, and said, "When I was organizing the contracts, I asked Lawyer Chu, and she said this organization is fine, no problem!"

Chu Qianmiao smiled.

If she had felt a glimmer of pity for Sui Huan just now, a moment's hesitation about whether to let Sui Huan suffer to the bitter end, now she was ready to throw that lingering pity and hesitation away.

Zhang Teng's face darkened.

He turned to Dong Lan and said, "Ms. Dong, there's actually no problem with these two contracts."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone except Chu Qianmiao was surprised.

Chu Qianmiao felt Ren Yan's gaze on her. She looked up and met his gaze. She didn't know if she was seeing things, but for a moment, she seemed to catch a glimpse of something like surprise and admiration in his eyes.

She thought she must have.

Zhang Teng's expression suddenly became fierce. He was a partner at Xinfeng Law Firm who was known for being protective of his subordinates.

He looked at Sui Huan and said, "You probably don't even know what the contents of the contract are or how far along they are in terms of implementation. And yet, as soon as you hear there's a problem, you just throw it out!"

He turned to Dong Lan and said, "Ms. Dong, Chu Qianmiao was my apprentice. She has absolutely no problem with her work ability. She wouldn't make the mistake of signing a lease contract without a property ownership certificate."

At this point, Chu Qianmiao felt the outcome was set.

Before the meeting, Chu Qianmiao decided she had to first present her solution to the problem, to show Dong Lan that she was capable of solving it. She also had to throw Sui Huan off balance. The more panicked she became, the more vulnerable she would be in an effort to protect herself.

Before the meeting, she'd discussed with Zhang Teng, asking him to implement her solution. As a partner, he would be more persuasive and effective in defending her.

She'd first used three letters of commitment to provoke Sui Huan, but Sui Huan lived up to her expectations. She couldn't even remember what she'd heard.

Sui Huan panicked. Then Zhang Teng asked her a question. When panic strikes, people lose memory. Sui Huan hadn't remembered everything she'd taught her to begin with, and now she was even more unable to articulate anything.

Sui Huan panicked even more.

Zhang Teng then produced the contract. Sui Huan couldn't even concentrate on understanding its contents. After Zhang Teng's testing of her authenticity, her tendency to shift the blame was immediately exposed.

The meeting adjourned. Before the meeting ended, Dong Lan thanked Chu Qianmiao for her hard work, a gesture of comfort.

Then Dong Lan asked the legal director and Sui Huan to come to her office after the meeting. Her face darkened as she spoke of this decision.

Chu Qianmiao emerged from the conference room. She had accomplished all three goals set before the meeting. She should have been satisfied, happy, and relieved.

But she felt a tightness in her chest.

She couldn't help but wonder if, as Ren Yan had said, her kindness was really backfiring on her.

Thinking of his cold refusal when she had tried to plead with him before the meeting, the tightness in her chest intensified.

After the meeting, Zhang Teng spoke to her briefly and then left. She went back to the office to investigate.

She had a sullen expression all the way, even when she sat down at her desk, unable to shake her composure. She refused to smile, no matter how Qin Qianyu and the others tried to tease her.

She had never felt this way before.

Qin Qianyu simply couldn't bear to watch Chu Qianmiao's downcast expression. He stood up, walked over to her desk, leaned his butt against it, and, facing her drooping head, spoke earnestly.

"Qian Miao, you clearly won a battle, so why are you so dejected? I'm saying it's not because you asked Mr. Ren for help before the meeting, but he ruthlessly and coldly rejected it, right?"

Chu Qian Miao thought for a moment and nodded honestly, "That's partly the reason."

Qin Qianyu sighed emotionally, "Alas! Qian Miao, you don't know, Mr. Ren actually has good intentions for you. He rejected you to inspire you to solve your own problems, to give you a basic understanding of the universal ugliness of modern human nature. He even said something else: your kindness needs to have a sharp edge, otherwise it will be exploited and eventually hurt."

Hearing this, Chu Qian Miao looked up at Qin Qianyu and said, "What if his inspiration fails, and I can't solve the problem myself?"

Qin Qianyu was adamant: "No, you won't! Look at how brilliantly you proved yourself today! It was a complete comeback and slap in the face! Besides," he changed the subject, "Do you really think President Ren will ignore you? To be honest, I stole a peek at President Ren's notebook during the meeting. It lists a bunch of oversights in the Legal Department's work. If you really can't prove yourself, he'll just use that notebook, that question, and hammer Sui Huan through it one by one, proving her incompetence. Anything she did understand, she only understood after questioning you, and anything she didn't understand, she'll just blame you."

He patted Chu Qianmiao on the shoulder and said solemnly, "Don't worry. My boss may look like a cold-blooded beast, but he's not truly one. He won't stand idly by."

Chu Qianmiao: "I haven't seen his notebook. I don't believe it."

Qin Qianyu winked at her and pulled his phone from his trouser pocket. "Isn't it a coincidence? It's as if I had somehow guessed you wouldn't believe me. I secretly took a photo beforehand!"

He sent the photo to Chu Qianmiao via WeChat.

Chu Qianmiao clicked on it.

The picture was taken from a candid angle, showing half of Ren Yan's face and a notebook. Ren Yan's looks were truly impressive; even in this casual candid shot, his profile was still incredibly handsome.

The notebook's shape was slightly distorted. But after zooming in, you could still clearly see the shape of the notebook.

That notebook was filled with questions. They were truly enough to drive Sui Huan crazy.

"After President Ren sorts these questions out, he'll send them all to Dong Lan, asking her to address them as soon as possible." Qin Qianyu added, "Let me tell you, our President Ren and your lawyer Zhang have one thing in common: they both protect their own people. President Ren will show no mercy to anyone who crosses his path."

"..."

Why doesn't that sound like a good thing?!

Chu Qianmiao's heart was pounding, but hearing herself become a bit of a jerk in Qin Qianyu's words instantly dissipated.

Qin Qianyu concluded.

"But Qianmiao, your three-step counterattack was brilliant! So organized, logical, and progressive! Even my boss said at the end of the meeting, 'You're going to be a very successful woman in your career!'"