Blazing Sun~Chapter 27

 

Chapter 27

We landed at Hongqiao Airport again. First, we visited Grandpa Sheng, who had been discharged from the hospital, and then drove back to Suzhou that night.

On the way, Lin Yusen mentioned Sheng Xingjie to me, saying he had been assigned to a company in another city and wouldn't be able to return to Shengyuan's core operations for a year or two.

"Such a light punishment?" I commented, then asked him, "Did you tell Grandpa Sheng that you wanted to go back to medicine?"

"I briefly mentioned it. Grandpa was quite surprised. I mentioned Xingxiu to him."

"Xingxiu?" In my memory, Sheng Xingxiu was a lively and cheerful girl who, like me, loved milk tea.

Lin Yusen said, "Actually, Xingxiu's talent surpasses Xingjie and Xingle's. But seeing my mother's experiences growing up, she knew that effort was futile and never considered it. But times have changed, and so has the atmosphere. Perhaps Grandpa has been moved and changed."

"It's all about human effort," he added.

I nodded repeatedly, "Then hurry up and make Xingxiu another bowl of chicken soup."

Lin Yusen chuckled, "No need to get involved. Making soup isn't easy; let's save it for my girlfriend."

Lin Yusen dropped me off at my dorm and left. He'd been out for a few days, and a mountain of work awaited him. As a junior employee, I had it much easier. I quickly packed up and then, carrying a bunch of food and toys, went to find Yin Jie and Yu Hua.

During my trip to Chengdu, I brought small gifts for my close colleagues, but I brought the most for Yin Jie and Yu Hua: panda plush toys, various spicy snacks, and the spiced rabbit that Yu Hua specifically requested…

When we arrived at their dorm, Yin Jie couldn't wait a moment longer. She grabbed a bag of spicy rabbit pieces and started eating. “So refreshing! Yu Hua, you really don't want to try some?”

Yu Hua nimbly dodged the spicy rabbit meat being stuffed into her mouth. “I really can't. I've come all the way to Jiangsu, and people are still trying to persuade me to eat spicy food.”

Yin Jie reluctantly withdrew her hand. “How have you managed to survive in Chengdu all this time?”

I guessed, “That's why you came to work in Jiangsu, to expand your survival diet?”

Yin Jie nodded in agreement: “Makes sense.”

Yu Hua, busy unpacking the spiced rabbit, ignored us.

Yin Jie glanced at the things I brought. "Xi Guang, you bought so much, is Mr. Lin paying or are you paying?"

I thought about it carefully. "I think he paid for everything except the panda plushie."

"That's fine then, I don't feel guilty. I'd be a little worried about my best friend's salary, but I don't care about the boss."

Yin Jie seemed to enjoy her food even more. "Speaking of which, one of my dreams has come true! My best friend married a rich, handsome, and domineering CEO, and from then on, I'd be riding on her coattails and dominating the company."

"You've only eaten a rabbit so far..." I was speechless. "Besides, if it's a dream, why not marry a rich, handsome, and domineering CEO yourself?"

Yin Jie answered me scientifically and meticulously: "Because I only have one, but you can have many best friends. Which one has a higher probability of coming true?"

I've learned something new. Even dreams have probabilities.

I paused. We've been friends for so long; I didn't want to hide anything anymore. “Actually, you don’t need Lin Yusen to benefit from all this; at least you can eat, drink, and have fun.”

Yin Jie was taken aback: “How?”

Yu Hua, standing beside me, also looked at me.

“Well, I’m a rich, beautiful woman too.” After saying that, I asked uncertainly, “Beautiful, right?”

“Absolutely beautiful!” Yin Jie affirmed for a second, then exclaimed with sudden realization, “I always knew you spent money so lavishly; your family must be rich!”

“Yeah, you know that one of our company’s shareholders is a company in Wuxi, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Um…that’s my family’s company.”

Yin Jie froze, and Yu Hua stopped what she was doing. The two of them stared straight at me.

I sat up straight and said seriously, "So, why rely on your best friend's boyfriend? Just rely on your best friend!"

After a long pause, Yin Jie let out a loud "Aww!" "You're right! Why rely on a man? Waaah! My perspective has broadened!"

After finishing their rabbit, Yin Jie and Yu Hua confidently promised they would keep my secret. Actually, I didn't care; in fact, I felt I should find an opportunity to say it openly.

Because my thinking had completely changed.

Before, I only planned to coast along at the company, so there was no need to publicize my family background. But now I planned to work seriously, and often my work went beyond finance, so it wasn't good to hide it anymore.

In this situation, speaking openly would undoubtedly be more beneficial for work and the company atmosphere. However, such an opportunity wasn't easy to find. Who goes around bragging about being someone's daughter?

After thinking about it and exchanging a few words with Lin Yusen, I put the matter aside. Unexpectedly, the very next day at work, he created an opportunity for me.

At the first high-level meeting at the beginning of the month, where I was accompanied by younger employees, he actually publicly praised me for resolving the auxiliary materials contract issue.

Caught off guard, I stiffly smiled and endured the entire meeting amidst the shocked and surprised gazes of my colleagues.

As soon as the meeting ended, ignoring everyone's stares, I hurriedly caught up with Lin Yusen and whispered, "Why were you in such a hurry? The follow-up isn't finalized yet."

"There won't be any changes. I wanted to praise you in advance," Mr. Lin said with a sanctimonious air. "Mainly, today's meeting didn't have much content; being too vague isn't good."

"?"

There was clearly a lot of content. Come to think of it, even if there wasn't much content, would you sacrifice your girlfriend?

Those in leadership positions are all ruthless!

Mr. Lin and Mr. Dai strode away.

I lagged a few steps behind, walking with my younger colleagues. After walking for a while amidst the praise, just before dispersing back to my department, a sudden inspiration struck me—wasn't this a perfect opportunity?

I quickly stopped everyone and extended an invitation: "Um, how about I treat you all to dinner tonight?"

Of course, I also invited Yin Jie, Yu Hua, and Qi Qi to dinner.

At the dinner table, amidst everyone's harmonious praise, I hastily revealed the truth: "Actually, I only managed to get it done through connections; I myself wasn't the key."

Everyone exchanged knowing glances, their expressions saying, "I knew it." I knew they probably thought I used Lin Yusen's connections.

"My family's connections. Actually, my family owns shares in Guangyu, specifically Wuxi Yuancheng, so this isn't a big deal. You don't need to flatter me."

As soon as I finished speaking, the table fell silent. Even the waiter who happened to come in to serve the food became more discreet.

Yin Jie and Yu Hua were briefly surprised, probably wondering why I had said that so abruptly. However, having known beforehand, they quickly regained their composure and, taking advantage of everyone's distraction, happily devoured the food on the table.

There was a long silence. We looked at each other for a while, and finally I broke the ice, cautiously suggesting, "I'm sorry to have kept this from you all for so long… So, would you like to order some more food? I think you ordered a little too little…"

On the way back to the company that evening, I shared a taxi with Yin Jieyu and Hua Qiqi.

Yin Jieyu sighed deeply, "Who would have thought that our company's young lady is still living in a four-person dorm?"

I was taken aback by her comment: "Please don't make up such a name, thank you, thank you. Even joking is unacceptable; I want to die if word gets out. Besides, I have a single room."

It was supposed to be a four-person dorm, but no one had moved in yet. I wondered if Lin Yusen had spoken to the logistics department.

Yu Hua said, "You should move in with us soon. The facilities are convenient, there's a washing machine."

"Okay, I replied casually. I gave the empty room in Building A to Sister Chen; key technical staff are important."

Qi Qi gave a thumbs up: "I was wondering why you weren't the one who moved in, I thought it was for love, turns out it's for the company!"

"That's called having a broad perspective," I quickly boasted. "But I definitely won't give it up next time."

Yin Jie had been silent for a while, lost in thought, when she suddenly slapped her thigh, startling everyone. She exclaimed, "I finally realized what's wrong! Xi Guang, how could you so casually mention that you're the shareholder's daughter? Such a great story, and you made it all so bland!"

The three of us were completely confused, looking at her blankly.

Yin Jie launched into a long explanation: "In TV dramas or novels, these kinds of undercover investigations usually involve a villain constantly bullying and framing you, then at a crucial moment, your identity is suddenly discovered, everyone is shocked, and the villain turns pale... That's what's satisfying! It's not like you just casually blurted it out."

Me: "..."

I thought it was fine to just casually—no, to openly and honestly say it—but after following Yin Jie's train of thought for a moment, I felt a sense of satisfaction too, and said regretfully, "It's satisfying, but no one at the company bullies me. How long will this take? And in modern society, what can you do to the 'villain'? They can just change jobs, right?"

Qiqi agreed: "Yeah, if I had ever bullied Xiguang, I would definitely start sending out resumes tonight."

Yin Jie said disdainfully, "Forget it, you guys don't understand the art of drama at all. And Qiqi, don't overcomplicate things."

Almost overnight, the news that I was the daughter of a shareholder spread throughout the entire company. For the next few days at work, I kept feeling people secretly glancing at me. But everyone was very discreet, and no one pried into anything.

Only Section Chief Wu, whom I bumped into in the elevator one day, hesitated for a moment before finally blurting out, "So it's true."

I understood immediately and silently hummed in agreement.

Stepping out of the elevator, Section Chief Wu had already reverted to his superior demeanor. "Keep it up, Xiao Nie! It's great that a girl has ambition. My daughter even said she wants to be a leader someday."

Caught off guard by this sudden encouragement, I stammered, "Uh… I'll try my best."

"I'll also make arrangements for you to participate in important work and work overtime as much as possible," Section Chief Wu said, his expression filled with a sense of mission. ???

Me: "...Thank you, Section Chief?"

"You're welcome, you're welcome," Section Chief Wu said modestly. "After all, the whole company belongs to your family, so this isn't really special treatment."

I never imagined in my life that special treatment would one day be equivalent to overtime...

I can only sincerely thank Section Chief.

With the title of shareholder's daughter, my involvement in some work became completely legitimate, but in terms of interpersonal relationships, my interactions with some colleagues inevitably weren't as natural as before. However, there were quite a few who didn't take it seriously at all, such as Yin Jie, Qi Qi, and Yu Hua, and Xiao Su from the factory management center.

That day, Qi Qi and I went to the new factory to register and catalog fixed assets. The production line shipped from Chengdu was now in place, and Sister Chen was leading people to install and debug it.

Qi Qi and I took inventory around the new factory, then returned to the factory management center with the ledgers to drink water and rest.

Xiao Su waved excitedly as soon as she saw us. "Breaking news! Two handsome guys from Bank A came to your finance department again! They said they're here for a post-loan inspection."

This scene seemed familiar.

I was a little dazed, but quickly shook my head and laughed.

The people who came to the company last time might have been Zhuang Xu, or they might not have; it no longer mattered. But this time it definitely wasn't him, since he had already moved to the investment banking department, and post-loan inspections were no longer within his responsibilities.

It was almost closing time when I returned to the office building. I had just sat down at my seat when Section Chief Wu called me over.

Section Chief Wu called me from the doorway of the small conference room: "Xiao Nie, come here for a moment."

I ran over.

"The bank people came for a post-loan inspection today. General Manager Dai spoke with them first. They've been reviewing various documents in the finance department ever since, and they also want to visit the factory. You've been to the new factory a lot and are quite familiar with the production equipment, so come with me to show them around."

I hesitated slightly, then nodded. Section Chief Wu whispered, "They're being particularly meticulous this time; they've been watching for a long time and haven't left yet. Luckily, our loan purpose is genuine and we didn't falsify anything. Be careful what you say later."

"Okay."

Section Chief Wu led me into the conference room and said to the people inside, "This is Xiao Nie from our finance department. She's quite familiar with the new factory area. She'll come with me to take you to the factory to verify the loan purpose."

Two men in suits in the conference room looked at me. One of them closed the documents in his hand, looked up at me, and calmly said, "Thank you for your help."