Chapter 73.1: Integrating into the Team
The Shanghai M&A project
concluded just like that. The chairman publicly and officially praised Ren Yan,
citing his keen insight and extensive experience, as well as his ability to
uncover hidden dangers in the project that no one else could, thus mitigating
risks and preventing penalties for the entire company. He urged all frontline
project staff at the investment bank to emulate Ren Yan.
The praise seemed impressive, but
Chu Qianmiao knew that the more ostentatious the chairman's official praise,
the heavier the score Ye Haorong would hold against Ren Yan. This praise, in
turn, was precisely Li Tong's warning to the project contractor.
The chairman must have known that
Ye Haorong had contracted the project, and having uncovered such a major
problem, he only needed to carefully consider the situation and understand that
there must be something fishy going on between Ye Haorong and Taoye Cinema
Line. So, he was using praise for Ren Yan as a pretext to criticize Ye Haorong.
Translated from the perspective of criticizing Ye Haorong, those words praising
Ren Yan essentially went something like this: No one is blind. Hidden dangers
in a project will always be uncovered. Those who are scheming should be careful
not to drag the entire company down with them.
Chu Qianmiao felt both worried and
relieved. Worried because Ren Yan had completely offended Ye Haorong, the head
of headquarters, on this Shanghai project. Reassured because she sensed the
chairman seemed to have a strong appreciation for Ren Yan and a critical eye
for Ye Haorong. Thinking carefully, with this triangular relationship in place,
Ren Yan was relatively safe; after all, a triangle is the most stable.
After both worrying about Ren Yan
and feeling relieved, Chu Qianmiao summarized her performance on the project.
She unfolded the leather notebook
Ren Yan had given her, flipped to the last page, and began to record.
This was her first project since
joining the investment bank, and also her first M&A project. Although she
didn't see it through to the end, she had learned a lot.
She mastered the key points of due
diligence for M&A projects and was responsible for collecting documents and
resolving issues on-site.
She learned basic financial
knowledge and was able to use it to independently assess a company's
sustainable profitability.
She made a friend, Mu Jie, and it
was with her help that she was able to finally determine that Taoye Cinema Line
had a large external guarantee that could potentially impact the company's
normal operations and development.
Closing her notebook, she recalled
Ren Yan's question about her motivation for helping Mu Jie. She hadn't really
been motivated by anything. But good deeds always bring good results. Not
everyone takes kindness for granted. Mu Jie was one of those people who knew
how to be grateful. She wanted to thank Mu Jie for helping her regain her faith
in human nature.
At the end of the year, everyone
returned to Beijing from the project. Ren Yan sent a notice in the departmental
email announcing a training and development event for the entire department
that weekend, to be held at a small villa on the hillside outside the city.
Chu Qianmiao could roughly deduce
the meaning of the word "training" from the literal meaning of the
word "training and development." It was probably like what Ren Yan
had told her when she first joined the company: he was going to find a few
legal or financial experts to give lectures. As for the
"development," she was a little unsure, so she asked Qin Qianyu,
"Brother Qin, are we going to wear rubber shoes and gloves on the day of
the event?"
Qin Qianyu was stunned, almost
laughing to death. "You think we're going to dig a bomb shelter? This
development sounds like a physical activity, but it's actually just a cover.
It's essentially just everyone eating, drinking, and having fun together. It's
a bonus perk from President Ren every year, and all the expenses are covered by
him himself."
Chu Qianmiao really wanted to ask
what kind of leader Ren Yan was, and how he could be so noble.
Friday rolled around. Ren Yan got a
van from outside. He drove himself, took Qin Qianyu, Chu Qianmiao, and Liu
Lifeng in the van, and the rest of the department headed for the villa on the
hillside outside the city. Qin Qianyu sat in the passenger seat, while Chu
Qianmiao and Liu Lifeng sat in the back.
The villa's courtyard was
strategically located, requiring a winding mountain road to reach the top. The
winding road, while Chu Qianmiao had never felt sick on a roller coaster, made
her vomit repeatedly. Liu Lifeng, who sat next to her, looked disgusted and
dodged, fearing he would be splashed with food or something.
Chu Qianmiao remembered that this
man was a mysophobe. Every day after arriving at the office, he would wipe the
desk with a wet and dry cloth before putting down his briefcase. If anyone
accidentally stepped on his shoes, he would wipe them until the leather was
completely rubbed.
Chu Qianmiao was only retching, not
actually vomiting. But seeing Liu Lifeng's expression, she felt like doing
something bad, and she kept pretending to vomit towards him.
Liu Lifeng's face was filled with
fear, his entire body huddled against the car door, avoiding Chu Qianmiao. His
voice trembled, "Can you vomit over there? There's not much room there.
Why are you squeezing in here? I think you're doing it on purpose, right?"
Chu Qianmiao ignored him and
continued vomiting over him, frightening Liu Lifeng the entire way. He kept
yelling at Ren Yan, "Leader, take care of her! Old Qin, come here! I'm
going to move you! If you want to vomit, stay away from me!"
Qin Qianyu wouldn't trade seats
with him. He would turn around and watch the show, delighted.
Occasionally, Ren Yan would glance
over in the rearview mirror, and when no one was looking, the corner of his
mouth would curl slightly.
No one in the department had ever
made such a commotion in his car. That was nice.
He drove with a cold expression, as
if he couldn't hear anything.
Liu Lifeng nearly drove Chu
Qianmiao crazy along the way.
The car finally arrived at the
villa. As soon as Chu Qianmiao stepped out, she transformed. The image of
someone motion sick and nauseous had vanished completely. She tilted her head
back and breathed in the fresh mountain air, her face brimming with intoxication.
Liu Lifeng, standing beside her,
was so furious that his face turned green. His fingertips were shaking as he
pointed. "You were just pretending just now, weren't you? Look how alert
you are now! Do you look like you're motion sick?"
Chu Qianmiao took a deep breath,
turned her head, and smiled at him forcefully. Her smile was so bright it was
infuriating. "I'm not motion sick, I'm people sick. I always have people
who make me want to vomit the moment they see me. It's just something I can't
help."
Liu Lifeng's face flushed red as he
watched her smile. He couldn't utter a complete sentence after a long while.
Chu Qianmiao, wanting to piss him
off, pretended to vomit at him again. Liu Lifeng practically jumped up and ran
away.
Qin Qianyu watched their drama,
laughing so hard he collapsed, leaning against a tree and swaying back and
forth.
"Boss, look! Liu Lifeng has a
nemesis, hahaha."
Ren Yan stood behind him, not
responding.
His mind was still on that dazzling
smile of hers. The last time she smiled like that was after he rejected her
confession, when she'd said to him, "Senior, please don't be so nice to me
anymore—that special kind of nice."
Come to think of it, it had been
ages since he'd heard her call him "Senior."
Everyone arrived at the villa, and
the first activity was training in the conference room.
Ren Yan had invited an expert from
the accounting firm to come and give a presentation on some financial issues in
project implementation.
When Chu Qianmiao first arrived at
Litong, she'd been completely baffled by the financial discussions during the
regular meetings. But now, listening to this expert's lecture, she found she
could actually understand.
All the hard work and dedication I
put into studying finance for the Shanghai project paid off.
The financial expert was speaking
over the projector, his tone somewhat hypnotic, making many people feel drowsy,
but Chu Qianmiao listened with full energy and took notes.
"Now, let me tell you about
the methods used by listed companies to commit financial fraud. Some people are
truly fearless. To maximize profits, they'll even go to the trouble of going
abroad. For example, they'll set up shell companies and then have domestic
companies trade with these shell companies, generating profits through this
influx of cash. How can you say that this is actually using their brains and
effort? Some bosses, you don't even know what to say about them, simply use
fake stamps and falsify sales contracts to inflate profits."
Chu Qianmiao took notes diligently.
When she finished, she looked up and saw Liu Lifeng, who was sitting next to
her, looking at her with disdain.
"Isn't this common sense? You
need to memorize it."
Chu Qianmiao thought for a moment
and whispered a regulation: "The transfer of corporate bonds must be
conducted in an approved bond trading venue."
Liu Lifeng looked at her with a
look of "I know that too."
Chu Qianmiao changed the subject
and asked, "Do you know which regulation this is and which article it
is?"
Liu Yifeng: "..."
Chu Qianmiao made the same
dismissive expression he had just made. "It's Article 22 of the
Regulations on the Administration of Corporate Bonds."
Liu Lifeng: "..." His
face flushed in anger and he turned away.
Not far from their seat, Ren Yan
glanced at them calmly, his lips curling silently.
She no longer needed him to worry
about how to redeem herself.
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