Chapter 63.2: Business Trip Next Monday
In the days that followed, Chu
Qianmiao quickly immersed herself in the working world of investment banking.
Liu Lifeng's emotional outbursts
didn't bother her, because he'd joined Yan Yunqiang on a business trip the day
after, working on the same project—an IPO project.
Sun Yi, Lu Zhonger, Wang Sian, and
a few others also went to conduct due diligence on another IPO project. Cui
Xijie was running between the two projects, a flexible cog, plugging into
whatever project needed him.
Qin Qianyu was helping Ren Yan look
into a project in Beijing.
For a moment, Chu Qianmiao was the
only one idle in Project 1's office area.
For a moment, Chu Qianmiao felt a
little impatient at being left alone. She wanted to know how Ren Yan planned to
utilize her as a new member. He wasn't just going to make her a living vase,
was he?
But Ren Yan hadn't given her any
clear assignments.
Feeling a bit distracted, she
messaged Qin Qianyu, asking, "Brother Qin, why am I the only one in the
entire department with no work?"
Qin Qianyu said, "Yeah, that's
strange," but then he quickly said, "The boss must have his
reasons."
Chu Qianmiao thought about it and
reassured herself.
In fact, when she went to the tea
room, she'd overheard some of the other departments discussing her being alone
in an office area. She was quite puzzled at the time, wondering why she always
got a lot of gossip in every company's tea room.
Two people from other departments
were saying,
"Hey, have you seen that new
girl hired by General Manager Ren's department? Everyone else is working on
projects, but she's the only one sitting on the bench."
"I see. General Manager Ren's
old habit is back. He doesn't let female subordinates work on projects."
"You said he's so against
female subordinates working on projects, so why hired another woman?"
"Maybe she got in through
connections up there and can't be turned down."
"No way. I heard they were
recruited."
"Let's not talk about that.
Hey, do you know where those two women ended up?"
Chu Qianmiao walked away after
hearing this.
She returned to her seat, jokingly
thinking to herself, General Manager Ren Yan wouldn't have hired her just to
prove there was no possibility between them. After all, Litong didn't tolerate
office romances.
So, she agreed with Qin Qianyu; Ren
Yan must have his own reasons.
One sunny winter afternoon, Chu
Qianmiao was passing by Ren Yan's office when she overheard him talking on the
phone. He was discussing mergers and acquisitions. Chu Qianmiao returned to her
workstation, thought for a moment, and then began to research M&A
regulations and case studies. This was an area she had never touched before.
Sometimes, just reading case studies wasn't enough to make sense. Chu Qianmiao
noticed a book on M&A on Qin Qianyu's desk. She sent Qin Qianyu a message,
asking him questions.
Could I borrow yours book to study?
Qin Qianyu said, "Of course, no problem," as long as she didn't spit
on her fingers when turning the pages.
Chu Qianmiao was so absorbed in
this study that she forgot to eat and sleep. That day, she studied until the
end of the day. The office area was connected, divided into sections for each
department, each occupying one section. As her colleagues from other
departments were packing up and leaving work, Chu Qianmiao decided to read a
little longer to avoid the rush hour before going home. The office was quiet
and undisturbed, and no one would disturb her.
Unfortunately, someone didn't want
her to have her wish.
Kan Qingzhou's office was in the
inner area, and he was passing by Project One's section on his way home from
get off work. Seeing Chu Qianmiao buried in her book, Kan Qingzhou exclaimed,
"Oh, little Chu, you're still studying after get off work!"
Chu Qianmiao thought, after all, he
was the head of Project Two, and it would be awkward to ignore him. So, she
looked up, smiled, and nodded.
Kan Qingzhou seized the opportunity
to meet her gaze and quickly offered a warm, humane smile. "Xiao Chu, why
are you all here alone while everyone else in your department is working on
projects? Mr. Ren, that's a bit unkind."
Chu Qianmiao thought Kan Qingzhou
was really taking every opportunity to sow discord.
"But Mr. Ren has a quirk. He
doesn't like female subordinates. He hired two women before, but they were
benched. In the end, they couldn't stand it anymore and both left." Kan
Qingzhou, as if he had known her for eight hundred years, brought out these
unsettling words as if they were discussing the weather. "They all came to
my department."
Chu Qianmiao thought Kan Qingzhou
was truly impressive, making poaching sound like a good deed.
"Xiao Chu, you need to ask
your CEO Ren why he won't let you work on projects. Don't waste your time in
the office like those two girls."
Chu Qianmiao smiled at him
politely. "CEO Kan, our CEO Ren doesn't discriminate against gender. He
only cares about his subordinates, and he doesn't distinguish between male and
female. If he doesn't let someone work on a project, it's because their project
was so poor that he wasn't satisfied."
Kan Qingzhou smiled, pulled out Qin
Qianyu's chair, sat down, and chatted with her in an approachable manner.
"So, if you're saying that, your CEO Ren thinks your project isn't good
enough, then why did he hire you?"
Chu Qianmiao had truly witnessed
Kan Qingzhou's skill in digging holes. He was indirectly trying to get her to
fall into the trap of "You're probably Ren Yan's type, and there's a high
probability you two will develop a relationship."
Chu Qianmiao smiled. "How did
Mr. Kan know that Mr. Ren wouldn't give me any projects? I've only been here a
few days."
Kan Qingzhou jokingly said,
"Why don't you come to my department? I have so many projects, you can
start working on them right away."
Chu Qianmiao had heard Qin Qianyu
say before, "Mr. Ren always has Kan Qingzhou in the driver's seat. With
Mr. Ren around, Kan Qingzhou will always be second in command. But he's
incredibly ambitious. He wants to become the president of Litong Investment
Bank. To achieve that, he must first eliminate the leader. Because of this,
he's desperate to dismantle our department and is actively trying to poach our
people. He's saying things like, 'You'll be assigned projects as soon as you
come.' But don't believe him; he's full of nonsense."
Chu Qianmiao smiled and thanked Kan
Qingzhou for his "kindness," telling him that Mr. Ren would
immediately assign me a project.
Kan Qingzhou was about to say
something when a voice interrupted him.
"Old Kan, why are my two
former female employees being benched and why are they leaving? Do I need to
tell you?"
Ren Yan approached, his voice cold.
Kan Qingzhou stood up, the hem of
his windbreaker rustling, shaking the swivel chair.
"I was just chatting with Xiao
Chu. Ren Yan, you said you're guarding me like a thief. It's boring." He
turned and walked away.
Chu Qianmiao looked up, met Ren
Yan's gaze, and called out, "Mr. Ren."
Ren Yan glanced at her for a moment
and asked, "Why haven't you left yet?"
The lights in the office were
mostly dimmed. He stood in the hallway, the dim light shining on him softening
his straight features.
Chu Qianmiao replied, "I want
to read some more."
Ren Yan casually asked, "What
kind of book?"
Chu Qianmiao replied, "Mergers
and acquisitions."
Ren Yan raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you reading about
mergers and acquisitions?"
"I thought it might be
useful." After a pause, her lips curved up, her eyes narrowed slightly,
and she smiled, "I thought you might let me work on an M&A
project."
She wasn't panicked at all, not
thinking Ren Yan was really leaving her on the sidelines. The department was
currently working on IPO projects, and she had already worked on two. If she
wanted to improve further, it would be best if she could explore more areas.
Everyone else in the department had
already worked on projects in all areas besides IPO, so it didn't matter
whether they continued working on IPO or not.
She was the only one who lacked
training in other areas. Therefore, her next project shouldn't be IPO.
She had heard Ren Yan mention
M&A frequently on the phone these days. She boldly speculated that perhaps
he had been keeping her idle, intending to let her explore this new field once
the M&A project was finalized.
So, she couldn't fight unprepared.
So, she had been intensively studying these business topics.
Ren Yan looked at the girl, her
eyes curved in the light, and saw the cunning intelligence that shone through
her smile.
"Are you so confident? Aren't
you afraid Kan Qingzhou's words are true?" he asked.
"Since you're my leader, I
have to learn to trust you," Chu Qianmiao said seriously.
Ren Yan turned his head away, his
lips curved slightly.
The curve quickly straightened, and
he turned to look at her.
She met his gaze and asked,
"Boss, why haven't you left yet so late?"
Ren Yan looked at her and said,
"I have something to tell you. Get ready. I'll be traveling with you to
Shanghai on a business trip next Monday. It's about an M&A project."
That night before bed, Chu Qianmiao
couldn't help but send a message to Qin Qianyu, asking for gossip.
Chu Qianmiao, Brother Qin, our
department used to have two female employees.
Qin Qianyu, that's right. What's
wrong?
Chu Qianmiao heard that President
Ren forced them out by not letting them work on the project.
Qin Qianyu sent a voice message,
his tone filled with indignation. "That bastard Kan Qingzhou said it
again! He's been saying it everywhere. Unfortunately, I'm the only one who
knows the truth, and President Ren won't let me tell you. I'm dying of suffocation.
Swear a solemn oath! If you don't tell anyone, I'll tell you.
Chu Qianmiao, if I tell anyone,
I'll never pick up money again in my life."
Qin Qianyu felt the oath was so
damn harsh that he felt relieved and sent several voice messages in quick
succession.
The first voice message mentioned
two women who had joined our department at different times. They were handed to
President Ren by headquarters, and President Ren couldn't refuse due to
personnel issues.
Another voice message said,
"Boss Ren won't let them work on the project." Come on, these two
sisters, they're so squeamish on a business trip. Half their suitcase is filled
with face masks, and half with skincare products. They even stuffed a curling
iron and beauty device into someone else's suitcase because they couldn't fit
them all. They didn't even bring a single page of required materials, saying
that was a man's job. Boss Ren thought, "Okay, if you're so incompetent,
then just stop working. Sit back and let the men do it." And, you know
what's even more outrageous? They leaked all our department's project contracts
to Kan Qingzhou, allowing him to snatch two projects away.
Chu Qianmiao thought to herself,
"How can Kan Qingzhou be so toxic?"
The third voice message... Then,
you know what happened? Those two women hooked up with Kan Qingzhou in the
office. Litong doesn't allow office romances, as I told you. The rule is set by
the chairman himself, so even if they have connections to headquarters, it's
not allowed. Later, the two women resigned to protect Kan Qingzhou. Mr. Ren
wouldn't let me explain this. He said he had a good reputation for mistreating
his female subordinates, so no one would be tempted to assign him incompetent
women.
Chu Qianmiao
Did she expect Kan Qingzhou to be
in such good health?
The fourth voice message is a
digression. Now, those two sisters—one is Kan Qingzhou's ex-girlfriend, the
other is Kan Qingzhou's ex-wife. They once fought tooth and nail over him, but
now that they're ex-partners, they're said to be getting manicures and shopping
together. Isn't that hilarious?
Chu Qianmiao was stunned after
hearing the voice message. She thought investment banking was f*cking
hilarious. All sorts of awful things that wouldn't even be written in novels
actually happened here.
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