Water and Fire~Chapter 69.2: The Person with Supernatural Powers

 

Chapter 69.2: The Person with Supernatural Powers

The next day, Ren Yan flew directly to Shanghai and arrived at the project site.

Upon his arrival, he instructed Chu Qianmiao to quickly document the due diligence and sort out any issues discovered during the process in preparation for a subsequent intermediary coordination meeting.

Chu Qianmiao noticed that Ren Yan seemed different this time. She couldn't quite pinpoint the difference, but she felt his attitude towards her had become more businesslike.

As soon as he arrived, he began directing her, telling her what tasks to do, what tasks to do next, what tasks to do next, what documents to prepare for him, what problems to identify, and what solutions to provide. He clearly had her running around in circles, keeping her busy to death, but she found that her work had become very organized. He seemed to be giving her a lot of things to do at once, but in fact, when they were sorted out, they were exactly the rules for how to complete a project.

Chu Qianmiao was truly impressed by Ren Yan's work ability, and she really wanted to tie him down to this project. With him personally guiding her, her efficiency in a single day could surpass that of several days before.

After finishing a day of sorting materials, Chu Qianmiao rubbed her hands and said to Ren Yan, "Mr. Ren, I'll treat you to dinner tonight."

Ren Yan glanced up at her, his eyes silently asking, "What are your goals?"

Chu Qianmiao flattered him, "Mr. Ren, don't be afraid. I'm not borrowing money. I just feel that your guidance on my work today has benefited me greatly. You've been like a guiding light, illuminating my thoughts and speeding up my progress. So I thought I had to treat you to a meal, thank you."

Ren Yan half-squinted at her for a long moment, then chuckled.

She had a bit of the same look she had on the Hanhai Home Textiles and Jialeyuan projects.

"Let's go," Ren Yan said calmly, picking up his coat and standing up.

Chu Qianmiao took Ren Yan to a Shanghainese restaurant near the hotel that she thought was very good.

She and Ren Yan were very polite during the meal, as if they were still at work after work, their conversation extremely businesslike. The atmosphere gave Chu Qianmiao the illusion that they weren't dining out, but rather having another work lunch.

After finally finishing their meal, Chu Qianmiao rushed to pay the bill. After paying the bill and putting away her wallet, she was about to leave. Ren Yan remained seated, unmoved, and asked, "Aren't you going to issue an invoice?"

There had just been a fish dish, and it was very expensive. He figured she could get it reimbursed anyway, so he let her order that dish and didn't compete with her for the bill.

Chu Qianmiao gently brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her shoulder. "Ah!"

Ren Yan looked at her, his eyelashes fluttering.

He asked again, "Why aren't you issuing an invoice?"

Chu Qianmiao: "Ah, then I won't issue an invoice for your dinner."

Ren Yan raised an eyebrow. "Even if you're treating me to dinner, it's for a business trip. Didn't I tell you that all meals and travel expenses during your business trip are reimbursed?"

Chu Qianmiao blinked, smiled, and said, "If you don't issue an invoice, I'll give you a free drink."

The reimbursement quota was gone, and she really didn't bother issuing one. It was almost the end of the year, and she couldn't keep the invoice until she could reimburse it the following year when her quota was available. Why bother? Ren Yan raised an eyebrow. "Giving up reimbursement for a bottle of drink?"

Chu Qianmiao had already stood up, put on her coat, and smiled at him. "Mr. Ren, let's go home after dinner. I want to go back to write my work report."

Ren Yan still didn't move. He asked, "Isn't it a complimentary drink?"

Chu Qianmiao: "You really care about this bottle of drink?"

"I'll get it right away," Chu Qianmiao said happily.

She left and returned with a bottle of Jiaduobao in her hand.

"Mr. Ren, do you want some?"

Ren Yan looked at her and held out his hand. "Give it to me."

Chu Qianmiao: ""

She had just asked casually, but he really wanted it.

She handed the JDB to Ren Yan and said again, "Mr. Ren, let's go home after we're done. I have to write my due diligence report back at the hotel."

Ren Yan glanced at her and said, "You go first. I have something to run."

Chu Qianmiao said a crisp "Goodbye, Mr. Ren" and left without further ado.

Ren Yan sat down where he was, called over the waitress, and asked, "Don't you give invoices for complimentary drinks here?"

The waitress looked confused and said, "No."

"That JDB that girl just took was a gift from you," Ren Yan asked again.

The waitress continued to look confused and shook her head. "No, she bought it."

Ren Yan nodded and told the waitress that it was okay.

He found it odd; no one in the department would give up a meal reimbursement for a drink.

So why didn't she bother issuing an invoice?

He thought for a moment, then called the company's finance department on his phone to inquire about the reimbursement status for Project One.

After answering a few questions, Ms. Bao, the finance representative, quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ren. I've been busy preparing reports these days and forgot to tell you that your department's reimbursement quota for the Shanghai project has been exhausted."

Ren Yan raised an eyebrow as he held his phone.

The next day, Chu Qianmiao was writing a work report in the due diligence office, while Ren Yan worked at a separate desk. Sharing the same space, the two of them could surprisingly manage to spend the entire morning working on their own things without speaking to each other.

Chu Qianmiao felt like she was suffocating.

So, during lunch break, a young woman came up to her specifically, saying she'd heard she was a lawyer and wanted to consult her. Without a word, she pulled up a chair for the girl to sit down.

Even if a repeater were to talk to her now, she'd think it was a message from an angel.

The young woman introduced herself as Mu Jie, a writer for the local writers' association. Besides writing, she also worked part-time as a film and television planner for Taoye Cinema. She told Chu Qianmiao "I previously sold the copyright to a film and television company for a novel. They hired a screenwriter to adapt the script, but the content expressed in the screenwriter's work strayed from what the film and television company was aiming for, so they terminated the contract."

Mu Jie said, "Later, that screenwriter wrote a drama for another company, but the characters and other aspects of the drama were very similar to my novel. Manager Chu, I'd like to ask, how can I protect my rights in this situation?"

After hearing Mu Jie's words, Chu Qianmiao shook her head and sighed. It seems there are unethical people in every profession. When educated individuals engage in evil, it's even harder to guard against them.

She told Mu Jie, "It's not easy to defend your rights based solely on character design. It also depends on how closely the plot of the script overlaps with your novel." Seeing Mu Jie looking a little down, she patted her shoulder and encouraged her, "Don't worry, cheer up. Although I used to work in non-litigation, I have many classmates and seniors who are very successful in litigation. I'll introduce you to a senior who's a great copyright lawyer. She'll definitely help you find a solution and secure the best possible protection for your rights."

Chu Qianmiao immediately called the senior, who, after hearing her description, expressed her willingness to take the case because of her good looks. Chu Qianmiao first added Mu Jie and then added them to a group chat, allowing them to add each other on WeChat and establish contact. She acted as a smoothing agent in the group, making their initial acquaintance a natural progression. She selflessly dedicated her entire lunch break to Mu Jie.

Before leaving, Mu Jie thanked Chu Qianmiao profusely and pulled her to her knees, intending to swear sworn sisterhood with her. Chu Qianmiao discovered that Mu Jie was also straightforward. If it weren't for the lack of incense and the lack of a strong sense of ceremony, she thought she would have actually knelt down to swear sworn sisterhood with her.

After Mu Jie left, Ren Yan, who had been silent all afternoon, finally spoke.

He told Chu Qianmiao in a cold voice, "You're here to work on the project, not to do charity work. Besides, you're no longer a lawyer. Just do your job and stay out of other people's business."

Chu Qianmiao cautiously retorted, "But Mr. Ren, if I intervene in this matter, it won't delay my work and won't cause any losses. Why can't I intervene?"

Ren Yan looked up, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What's your motivation for intervening in this matter?"

Chu Qianmiao was stunned.

She hadn't even considered what her motivation was.

Some things she did when she felt like doing them, not necessarily for any particular gain. She simply felt happy doing them. So

"I do what I want."

Ren Yan glanced at her and said nothing more. There was a hint of helplessness and anger in that look. Chu Qianmiao thought she must be the kind of person he saw as someone who wouldn't mind eating a hundred beans, someone who, despite having been wronged several times by his overzealousness, still continued to be overzealous.

But there was nothing she could do. She had been like this since she was a child, and she couldn't change, nor did she want to.

Two days later, Ren Yan organized a coordination meeting with various intermediaries to discuss the issues discovered during the recent due diligence process.

Fortunately, none of them were major issues, and Taoye Cinema Line seemed to be a viable target company.

After the meeting, work on all aspects moved forward.

Since the meeting fell on a Friday, Ren Yan told Chu Qianmiao to buy a plane ticket and return to Beijing with him. The department was holding a meeting the following week, and everyone was required to be present.

Chu Qianmiao casually asked what the circumstances were for those who couldn't attend outside of the due diligence process.

Ren Yan told her, without any emotion, that he'd been hit by a car, fallen downstairs, had his head hit, and had broken arms and legs.

Chu Qianmiao begged Ren Yan to stop. She was practically on the verge of death. She dared no longer think outside the box.

The same evening she returned to Beijing, Chu Qianmiao received a text message about her account being credited.

She discovered it was her reimbursement payment.

She was filled with questions, but resisted the urge to call Ms. Bao from the finance department. The next morning, she arrived at the company and immediately rushed to the finance department. She asked Sister Bao, "Why do I have reimbursement credit again? Was there some mistake?"

Sister Bao smiled and told her, "It's fine. Feel free to spend your money. The company won't ask you for it back." After a pause, she explained what had happened to Chu Qianmiao. "Well, let me tell you, your CEO, Ren, is so kind. He said that those of you working on projects down there already have low salaries and have to cover your own travel expenses. If your reimbursements aren't paid, how are you going to survive in Beijing? So, he gave up his own reimbursement credit and cancelled all the reimbursements that were posted to you and Cui Xijie."

Chu Qianmiao felt a little uncomfortable hearing this.

You can't just pluck the wool from a sheep because it has good wool. Ren Yan was a sheep with good wool, but she couldn't bring herself to pluck his wool, while Cui Xijie was plucked from his wool. It would have been fine if Cui Xijie had just claimed actual expenses, but his invoices showed purchases.

When the loss fell on her, she'd thought, since she'd just arrived at the company, she'd just bear with it and not cause trouble right away. But now that the actual loss had fallen on Ren Yan, she felt unfair for him. She hesitated, wondering whether to tell him that Cui Xijie had bought the invoices.

She struggled internally. While she was agonizing, the regular departmental meeting convened in the conference room.

Ren Yan had everyone report on their current projects and the problems they encountered, then brainstormed solutions.

Chu Qianmiao found this meeting truly worth attending. Even if she encountered something unprincipled, as long as she could survive, she'd still make it. The discussions were all substantial. After the meeting, she felt like she'd not just worked on one M&A project, but on two other IPO projects and one Zhuhai project, four in total.

After the discussion concluded and before the meeting ended, Ren Yan suddenly tapped the table and said, "Say a few words."

Everyone fell silent, sitting at attention, listening intently.

Chu Qianmiao, seated slightly away from the long conference table, glanced sideways at Ren Yan, who sat at the center of the table.

He was imposing without anger, as steady as a rock. His presence seemed to instantly calm the chaotic situation.

Ren Yan's gaze swept over everyone in the room before he began to speak.

His voice was neither loud nor soft, yet every word carried power.

"Recently, project reimbursement funds are limited, and reimbursement quotas are tight. So, we're temporarily implementing a new reimbursement system. From now on, everyone will need to write a reimbursement statement. Each meal invoice must clearly state the date of the meal, the meal details, whether it was overtime or a client treat, who the overtime meal was with, and which client the treat was for. For taxi tickets, please specify the date and time of departure, destination, and purpose of the trip. Please write these details on a separate sheet of paper and submit it to me along with the invoice reimbursement form. The details are for my personal use only and will not be given to the finance department."

As soon as Ren Yan finished speaking, the expressions of several department members changed.

Cui Xijie, still smiling, turned and glanced at Chu Qianmiao.

Chu Qianmiao didn't look at him; she looked at Ren Yan.

It turned out he knew everything, even without her telling him. He truly had supernatural powers.

Ren Yan looked around the room and said, "This is to ensure that all reimbursements are project-related. We'll start implementing this after the meeting. Please cooperate."