Water and Fire~Chapter 61: This is a New Colleague

 

Chapter 61: This is a New Colleague

Chu Qianmiao submitted her resume to the Human Resources Department of Litong Securities the next day.

To avoid suspicion, she only stated on her resume that she had fully participated in two IPO projects, but she didn't specify which ones they were. She was afraid that listing Hanhai Home Textiles IPO and Jialeyuan IPO would reveal that Litong's HR department knew Ren Yan, since Litong was the lead underwriter for both projects.

She submitted her resume, and regardless of whether she would be accepted or not, she felt a sense of relief. Deliberate avoidance always creates anxiety, but facing it openly and confidently is the truest psychological relief.

She waited patiently for news, neither too excited nor too disappointed. As she continued to grow Miaomiao's wealth, she let everything take its course.

Ren Yan had asked HR a few days ago to help him recruit someone for his department. The requirements remained the same. If you have a master's degree or higher, fresh graduates are welcome. If you only have a bachelor's degree, you must be from a top five university and have actual project experience. Gender is not restricted.

A few days later, Ren Yan asked HR how the resume collection process went.

HR replied, "Time is tight. So far, only a dozen or so have submitted resumes. I've done a preliminary screening for you, and there are approximately seven people who meet the requirements."

Ren Yan told HR to show him the seven resumes remaining after the initial screening.

HR did as he asked, bringing the stack of resumes to his office for review.

Ren Yan calmly flipped through the stack and spotted Chu Qianmiao's in the middle of a book.

He appeared indifferent, but a subtle sense of relief welled up inside.

She had helped him; this was the best outcome for now. She had made it to the preliminary round on her own, and she hadn't asked him to violate his principle of never offering any favors.

He handed the resume back to HR and said, "These are the ones I'll take care of. Call them for interviews tomorrow."

After HR left, Qin Qianyu knocked on the door and came in to report on his work.

After finishing his report, he asked slyly, "Boss, are you looking to add some fresh blood to our team?"

Ren Yan gave a faint "hmm."

Qin Qianyu leaned over his desk and said flatteringly, "Boss, I'll nominate someone for you. Don't bother with all the interviews. It's unnecessary."

Ren Yan looked at him and raised an eyebrow, suggesting he was about to fart.

Qin Qianyu: "Boss, what do you think of Qian Miao? I think she's great, especially great. She's capable and hardworking, and she meshes well with us. Boss, please consider it."

Ren Yan glanced at him, his face righteous, "What are you thinking? Do you want me to get a backdoor for Chu Qian Miao?"

"..." Qin Qianyu stood up awkwardly. "Boss, I'm leaving now. Bye."

Ren Yan could clearly see the accusation in Qin Qianyu's face that he was stubborn and didn't want to talk to him anymore.

Ren Yan lowered his head to look at the documents, his lips curling silently.

Wouldn't it be better if he could recruit her without backdoors?

The next day, Ren Yan was supposed to interview the seven applicants. But to avoid suspicion, he deliberately didn't arrive that morning. He called Li Si, the head of Project Department 4, to tell him that his car had a flat tire and he wouldn't be able to make it to the company for the interview. He asked him to do the interview in his place.

He and Li Si had a good relationship in Litong Securities' Beijing investment banking department. Li Si accepted the job offer without hesitation.

When Ren Yan arrived at the company that afternoon, Li Si went to Ren Yan's office with a resume.

"I think this girl is good," he said, placing the resume in front of Ren Yan. A breath seemed to hang in his throat before Ren Yan lowered his head, but it vanished as he did.

The resume showed a girl, smiling charmingly in a one-inch photo. Next to the photo, in the name column, were the three characters "Chu Qianmiao."

He thought she was really helping him, completely preventing him from compromising his principles for her if she failed the interview.

Li Si sat in a chair across from Ren Yan's desk and said with a smile, "During the interview, I asked those people a lot of practical questions, and this girl answered the best. She had clear ideas, spoke crisply, and was knowledgeable about regulations. Her decisive approach to problem-solving is very similar to yours."

Ren Yan smiled faintly. Of course she is. Rather than being brought up by Zhang Teng, it's more accurate to say that she was personally nurtured by him through his hands-on work on two IPO projects.

"And there's something particularly interesting," Li Si said to Ren Yan. "Her resume didn't mention which two specific IPO projects she worked on. I asked her, and she said they were Hanhai Home Textiles and Jialeyuan. Aren't those two projects yours? Then you should know this girl." After a pause, he added, "I wondered if you saw her among the candidates and deliberately avoided her."

Li Si leaned forward. "Mr. Ren, how about we make a deal? If you want to avoid suspicion, you can pick one of the remaining six. I've got your eye on this girl and want to recruit her to our department."

Ren Yan raised his lip and smiled at him. "You're already openly trying to snatch her away, so I definitely can't let go of this talented prospect. Chu Qianmiao must join my department. If you want someone, just pick one from the remaining six."

Li Si raised his hand and nodded at him. "I should have told you I hired someone else. I should have just kept this girl."

On the day of her interview, Chu Qianmiao discovered that, as Ren Yan had predicted, it wasn't him who was interviewing her, but another managing director.

She felt she had performed well, and the "general manager," Li Si, seemed quite impressed. The same evening after returning home, she received a call from Litong's human resources department. She had been hired. They said they hoped she could report to the company the next day if possible.

At that moment, she felt a little happy, as her career journey had taken a new direction. But she wasn't completely thrilled either. She wondered if Ren Yan's influence had played a role in her getting into Litong. So, she had to work harder, demonstrating through her abilities and actions that, even without Ren Yan's connections, she was worthy of the offer.

This morning, Qin Qianyu brought a notice to his colleagues: "The boss said we'll have a new colleague joining us today."

Sun Yi asked, "Who?"

Qin Qianyu said, "I don't know. I asked the boss, and he said you'll know once they arrive."

Sun Yi shook his head. "That's the boss's style."

Lu Zhonger asked, "Male or female?"

Qin Qianyu said, "I don't know. I asked the boss, and he said, 'What's the difference?'"

Wang Sian replied, "That's true. When the boss orders people to do things, they treat them like animals."

Liu Lifeng, another person in the department, fiddled with his phone for a while, then slammed it on the table with a look of displeasure. "I heard Mr. Ren was hiring, so I told my classmate to submit his resume. I also mentioned this to Mr. Ren, and he said the interview would be fair, open, and impartial, following the same guidelines as the China Securities Regulatory Commission. I thought he'd favor my classmate, since he's a PhD holder. But when I asked him if he was the one who was supposed to report, he said no."

Qin Qianyu, a fierce defender of Ren Yan, immediately defended him, saying, "Yesterday's interview wasn't conducted by the leadership. It was conducted by General Manager Li from the Fourth Department."

Liu Lifeng remained unhappy, "I feel like I gave my classmate hope, only to disappoint him."

Tsui Xijie, the department's go-to guy, patted him on the shoulder and consoled him, "Lifeng, don't think so. Your classmate should be grateful for your willingness to help him."

Liu Lifeng crossed his arms and said to Qin Qianyu and the others, "I don't know if this person was sent in by Li Si. Guys, let's be upfront. If this new guy is a fresh-faced newbie, then he definitely doesn't have the experience of my classmate. Then you have to help me save his face."

Qin Qianyu laughed heartily, "Are you trying to isolate the new guy? You're so grown up, yet you're still so emotional."

Liu Lifeng asked him grumpily, "I'm just asking if you'll help me."

Qin Qianyu chuckled in a surrendering tone, "I'll help, I'll help, okay?"

Liu Lifeng urged Sun Yi, Lu Zhonger, Wang Sian, Cui Xijie, and even the silent Yan Yunqiang, "We're brothers, so don't be so nice to him today."

Everyone agreed with a halfhearted laugh.

But as soon as the new members appeared, Qin Qianyu, Sun Yi, Lu Zhonger, and Wang Sian all switched sides.

When Qin Qianyu saw that the person walking behind Ren Yan was Chu Qianmiao, his face practically broke into a grin.

Ren Yan briefly introduced Chu Qianmiao to his seven men, "This is your new colleague, Chu Qianmiao." Then he turned to Chu Qianmiao and said, "You should get to know them."

He turned back to his office, his expression colder and more indifferent than iced water.

Qin Qianyu immediately stood beside Chu Qianmiao, draped his arm around her shoulders in a friendly gesture, and told Liu Lifeng, Cui Xijie, and Yan Yunqiang, "Comrades, this is my dear little brother, Xiao Chu. Please treat her well from now on."

Chu Qianmiao quickly greeted everyone.

Cui Xijie had seen Chu Qianmiao before, when she was working overtime at Litong Securities, and he had warmly greeted her with a "welcome." Yan Yunqiang, who had been sitting at his workstation like a recluse, glanced up at Chu Qianmiao and said, "Hello."

Only Liu Lifeng looked at Chu Qianmiao with a cold, dismissive gaze.

He didn't even acknowledge her, but walked past her and went straight to Ren Yan's office.

A moment later, Li Si also entered Ren Yan's office.

A moment later, Liu Lifeng emerged, his face sullen as he walked back to his workstation. He hadn't even glanced at Chu Qianmiao all morning.

Chu Qianmiao's fervent desire to establish good relationships with every colleague was immediately frustrated by Liu Lifeng. During lunch break, Qin Qianyu comforted her, "It's okay, Qianmiao. A journey of a thousand miles reveals a horse's strength. Liu Lifeng will get to know you better after spending some time with you. Old Liu is just a little emotional, but there's nothing wrong with him."

Chu Qianmiao nodded and didn't respond, but she was thinking to herself that this emotionality itself was a serious problem, brother.

Qin Qianyu suddenly looked around, making sure they were safe. He whispered to Chu Qianmiao, "I just went to see Mr. Li from Department 4, the one who interviewed you, to get some information. I asked him what happened in Mr. Ren's office that morning. Mr. Li said that Old Liu rushed into Mr. Ren's office and asked him why you, at such a young age, could have eliminated his doctoral classmate. Was it because you were good-looking? Of course, he didn't put it that bluntly. He actually said, 'Is it because she looks better and my classmate has already lost half her hair?'"

Chu Qianmiao: "Why do you want to damage your hair like this?"

Qin Qianyu continued, vividly recounting the morning's conversation, "Mr. Ren summoned Mr. Li to his office and told Lao Liu to ask Mr. Li directly any questions. Mr. Li then said, 'Oh, Lifeng, your classmate, although he has a PhD, probably has limited practical experience with projects and can't even remember the regulations accurately. I asked him three practical questions, and he got all the details wrong. But Xiao Chu not only answered all the questions correctly, but also compared the different parts of the regulations throughout the revisions, even detailing the dates of each revision. So, your classmate is indeed far inferior to Xiao Chu.' Finally, Mr. Li added, "These days, academic qualifications really don't indicate ability, and good looks aren't necessarily just for show."

Chu Qianmiao: "It seems my looks have gained some recognition in this company, which tends to have more men than women." But she doesn't really want to rely on her looks to gain traction. She prefers to be praised as "very capable and beautiful" rather than "she's beautiful and capable." The order of ability and beauty is very important to her. Ability can enhance beauty, but beauty can diminish even strong abilities.

Qin Qianyu winked at Chu Qianmiao and continued, "Mr. Ren then asked Lao Liu to explain the relevant regulations for three practical questions. He answered two correctly and got one wrong. Mr. Ren immediately told him who gave him this bad habit? If you ever question your boss again without evidence or emotion, you'll be kicked out." He paused, then added, "Lao Liu, sometimes things are just too complicated. Mr. Ren usually agrees to everything we ask, because he's a rather indifferent person. But there are some things you shouldn't be so arrogant as to ask your boss directly."

Chu Qianmiao thought, no wonder Liu Lifeng looked as green as if he'd rolled through a vegetable patch when he emerged from Ren Yan's office.

She then thought, oh no, did she make an enemy on her first day at her new workplace?

Lunch break was over, and everyone returned to their respective workstations to begin work. Chu Qianmiao had just arrived, and her desk didn't have a landline yet.

Qin Qianyu's phone suddenly rang. He picked up the phone and turned to Chu Qianmiao at the next desk, "Qianmiao, President Ren asked you to go to his office."