Water and Fire~Chapter 62.2: Death in My Hands

 

Chapter 62.2: Death in My Hands

It was a little after two in the afternoon, and the winter sun streamed through the window, casting a warm, dim glow. The central air conditioning was blazing, and the entire office was enveloped in a drowsy, sweltering warmth.

Chu Qianmiao felt her upper eyelids starting to fight with her lower. Just as they were about to clash, a voice suddenly came over, breaking the feud apart and separating her upper and lower lids.

She glanced up at the speaker. She had seen him before: Kan Qingzhou, the head of another department within Litong Investment Banking. She'd heard Qin Qianyu complain about this man to Ren Yan, and she'd also heard Ren Yan's subtle criticisms, saying he loved to dig holes in his words and drag others into them.

Kan Qingzhou strolled over, dispelling her sleepiness with his opening remarks: "I heard there's a new employee in your department. And when I looked over, I was like, oh, Xiao Qin! Isn't this the lawyer who used to work on your project?"

Chu Qianmiao looked at Kan Qingzhou, not responding easily. Because Qin Qianyu didn't respond either.

Kan Qingzhou sighed. "I'd say Mr. Ren is truly amazing. He can even bring partners into his fold with every project he's working on, Xiao Liu," Kan Qingzhou called to Liu Lifeng, who was working behind Chu Qianmiao. "I heard your classmate also interviewed, and he's a PhD. But unfortunately, he didn't get the job."

After a pause, he sighed. "So, Xiao Liu, look at this world now. There are so many talented people out there. Even a PhD isn't always enough to win over a girl." He suddenly adopted a playful tone, sizing up Chu Qianmiao, and said, "But now I have a rough idea of ​​what Mr. Ren is like."

Chu Qianmiao used to think Kan Qingzhou was a bit greasy, but now she thinks he's no less creepy. She wondered why every company had either a Qiao Zhixin or a Kan Qingzhou. Couldn't everyone be Ren Yan?

She was about to retort to this "Kan the King of Tricks," no matter what trap he'd just slipped into. But before she could speak, she saw Qin Qianyu wink at her and then shake his head, signaling her to remain silent.

She kept her mouth shut, waiting to see what would happen.

Liu Lifeng, standing behind her, spoke up, "Mr. Kan, what did you mean by that just now?"

Kan Qingzhou looked at him. "Nothing. We were just chatting casually."

Liu Lifeng was blunt. "But it sounded to me like you were trying to sow discord."

Kan Qingzhou's face faltered. "Xiao Liu, what's your rank? Look at me. I'm the same rank as your Mr. Ren. Why are you talking to me like that? Do you usually talk to Mr. Ren like that?"

Liu Lifeng didn't buy his rank-based bullying tactics and said, "Mr. Kan, please, just go straight to the person you want to talk to. Don't bring Mr. Ren up, and don't act like you're speaking up for my classmate. Thank you."

Kan Qingzhou's face faltered even more. "Oh, I'm going to see Ren Yan. I have to call him out and show him the kind of people he's got. He's becoming more and more unruly."

Cui Xijie chuckled. "Old Liu, come here and help me look at these financial statements. I think there's something wrong. Can you verify them for me?" He turned to Kan Qingzhou and said, "Boss Kan, I'll ask Lifeng to help me with some work. Well, Qianmiao, why don't you go get Boss Kan a cup of tea?"

Chu Qianmiao replied motionlessly. "Ah." She could tell Cui Xijie was trying to smooth things over.

Kan Qingzhou snorted. "No, I can't afford your department's tea, and I don't dare drink it."

He turned and walked away. Liu Lifeng scoffed, "That's right. I wouldn't be a member of your department if I didn't spit in your tea."

Chu Qianmiao: "Okay, she got the trick. From now on, she won't drink Kan Qingzhou's department's tea."

Suddenly, she heard Liu Lifeng calling her.

"New here, let me remind you that the person I was defending just now was Mr. Ren, and it has nothing to do with you. Don't think you are.

If you're good-looking, you know everything, haha."

Chu Qianmiao replied, "Okay."

Thank you! You've annoyed me enough to admit I'm good-looking again.

Qin Qianyu told Chu Qianmiao that from now on, as long as Liu Lifeng is around, she can ignore Kan Qingzhou if he comes to nag her again. Liu Lifeng will just piss him off.

"Old Liu's sarcastic and moody nature is a perfect counter to Kan Qingzhou's dirty tricks. So Old Liu is very useful in our department. He's Kan Qingzhou's go-to guy for picking fights."

Chu Qianmiao was amused.

After Kan Qingzhou's daily harassment episode, Qin Qianyu took Chu Qianmiao to the tea room and told her, "Mr. Ren asked me to tell you about the department's situation." As they sipped instant coffee, Qin Qianyu explained the situation in Chu Qianmiao's science department and the investment banking department of Litong.

"Not counting President Ren, our team consists of seven people, including you. There's no need to introduce me, Sun Yi, Lu Zhonger, and Wang Sian. You're almost familiar with us. You've met Cui Xijie before, when he was working at Litong. He's already passed the insurance agent exam and can register as a full-fledged insurance agent after just one project. He's usually a smooth talker."

"Yan Yunqiang isn't talkative and has a low profile. Sometimes we have to count heads to remember him, hahaha. For example, if we say, 'Let's go eat together,' we count one, two, three, four, five, six, and there's one missing. Okay, we quickly pull out our phone and call him. "

"Liu Lifeng is quite emotional and stubborn, with a very polarized attitude towards people. He'll submit completely to anyone he's in, like Mr. Ren. But when he's irritated with someone, he'll go all out and antagonize them. When they're together, he's willing to kill them or even commit suicide, just to break the barrier of coexistence. But he's very capable in business, especially in finance—even better than me."

Chu Qianmiao shuddered at this, feeling she might be silenced.

Qin Qianyu comforted her, "Ah, but don't be afraid. You've got me. Old Liu wouldn't dare to kill you, so he'd have to commit suicide." After a pause, Qin Qianyu continued, "When we work on a project, we usually have three to five people. Mr. Ren is the signing guarantor and the overall project manager. A project requires two signing guarantors. We usually use Mr. Li Si from Investment Banking Department 4 as the second signing guarantor. If we're short on signing guarantors, we use someone from Litong's local investment banking department. We definitely won't use Kan Qingzhou." We also need a project co-organizer, essentially a site manager, and one person each for finance, legal, business, and technology.

Qin Qianyu patted Chu Qianmiao on the shoulder, his voice reassuring, and said, "Qianmiao, I'm so glad you're here at Litong. I used to have to handle both the finance and legal aspects, but now, the legal side is yours. Hahahaha, I can improve my quality of life, and my wife and I can start having children."

Chu Qianmiao: "..."

She wanted to tell Qin Qianyu that he didn't need to explain the matter of reproduction to her.

Qin Qianyu walked to the tea room door and looked around. After confirming there were no hostile forces, he turned his back to the door and faced Chu Qianmiao. Lowering his voice, he told her, "In addition to what I just said about the situation within our department, you should also check in on the situation in the department next door. The head of that department is Kan Qingzhou. You've met him; he's a sophisticated egoist who sacrifices others for his own benefit." "Forget that's too mild. Let me put it another way: Old Kan is a terrible person. He loves to dig holes in his words and is full of thorns. He loves to trip up our CEO Ren and fight him. You need to stay away from him."

Qin Qianyu spoke for a long time, but when Chu Qianmiao didn't respond, he became annoyed and asked, "What's wrong, little brother? I've been talking to you for a long time, and you won't say anything back?"

Chu Qianmiao swallowed and pointed behind him.

Qin Qianyu turned around and saw Ren Yan. He let out a "Yo!" and jumped back.

"Boss, I didn't say anything bad about you, and you suddenly appeared behind me?"

Ren Yan glared at him and said coldly, "I asked you to introduce the department to her, but did I ask you to tell her this?" Qin Qianyu, your tongue is getting longer and longer. "

Qin Qianyu defended himself, "I need to tell Qianmiao about the strange behavior of the leader in the next department, so she doesn't get hurt."

Ren Yan glanced at Chu Qianmiao, then back at Qin Qianyu. "If she needs someone to point out such a small thing and can't see it herself, then she shouldn't stay in investment banking anymore and should pack up and go home."

Qin Qianyu: "But it was you who was afraid she'd be scammed by Kan the Big Scammer, so you specifically told her not to talk to Kan Qingzhou. I'm afraid you've forgotten."

Chu Qianmiao: "Didn't you ask me to submit my resume? Why are you the one who's asked to come and go home? It's you, it's all you."

After calming down, Chu Qianmiao took the initiative and asked Ren Yan, "Mr. Ren, would you like to get some water?" She deliberately stepped aside, making way for the water dispenser.

Ren Yan looked at her coldly.

"Not entirely." He walked over to the water dispenser and bent down to fill it.

Chu Qianmiao and Qin Qianyu took the opportunity to slip away and return to their workstations.

Ren Yan finished filling the water and leaned forward. "I wanted to tell you something..."

Looking at the empty, deserted space before him, Ren Yan choked on the rest of his words.

I wanted to tell you something: you can have a welcome party for the new employees tonight. You can choose any place, and I'll cover the expenses.

He wondered why this new recruit was so difficult to lead, refusing to listen to his superiors. She was completely unruly.