Water and Fire~Chapter 74.2: Young and Beautiful

 

Chapter 74.2: Young and Beautiful

New Year and Spring Festival passed one after another, and when Chu Qianmiao returned to work, she felt time fly by. This was already her fourth year of work. It was also the third year since she and Ren Yan had reunited.

Three years flew by like a flash of water. Fortunately, her life wasn't in vain. She always had a goal and worked hard towards it.

Before Spring Festival, Qin Qianyu finished his project in Zhuhai. The IPO project Liu Lifeng and Yan Yunqiang had been working on was also shelved before the New Year. The company's three-year and one-period financial data didn't meet the listing requirements, and they needed to wait a year before attempting to go public.

For a time, Chu Qianmiao, Qin Qianyu, Liu Lifeng, and Yan Yunqiang were left with no projects to work on.

Chu Qianmiao had a new plan and goal: she intended to take this year's insurance agent exam. This year's exam was very friendly to investment bankers, with three sessions: one each in the summer, autumn, and winter. She planned to start registering in the summer and pass the exam whenever she passed.

She spent her days studying at her workstation, asking Qin Qianyu questions when she encountered a problem. Qin Qianyu couldn't answer some financial questions either, and he told Chu Qianmiao that he'd just guessed when he encountered such questions during the exam, only to get lucky and get them right. He suggested that if Chu Qianmiao didn't want to rely on guessing and wanted to rely on real knowledge, she should ask Liu Lifeng, as he had the strongest financial skills in the entire department.

Chu Qianmiao felt there was nothing she couldn't ask, so she scooted over to Liu Lifeng, her book in hand.

But before she could even open her mouth, Liu Lifeng scoffed, "Why are you really planning on taking the insurance agent exam? Forget it! I've taken it twice and failed. Do you think you can? Why bother studying so hard?" He paused, then added, "You won't pass anyway."

Chu Qianmiao: ""

"If you can't pass, I definitely can't either. What kind of nonsense is that? She had heard Qin Qianyu say that Liu Lifeng failed the insurance agent exam because he was severely biased in his subjects. He was certain of all the answers to the financial section, but he wasn't sure of anything else.

Chu Qianmiao's eyes rolled, and she chuckled. "Manager Liu, how about this? Let's make a bet to see who passes the insurance agent exam first. If you pass first, I'll be your little brother and do whatever you ask me to do. I'll even serve you tea, pour water, or clean the table. But if I pass first, you'll have to be my little brother and listen to me. Shall we make a bet?"

Liu Lifeng sneered scornfully. "Why would I bet with you?"

Chu Qianmiao "Oh, you wouldn't dare."

Liu Lifeng couldn't resist the provocation. "Ha, I wouldn't dare. Why wouldn't I?"

Chu Qianmiao "Then let's start the bet."

Liu Lifeng "Let's make a bet."

Chu Qianmiao "Okay," she spread the book in front of Liu Lifeng. "So, this question..."

Liu Lifeng sneered loudly. "You're not crazy, are you? I'm betting with you. I hope you don't pass the exam, so I can still explain the problem to you."

Chu Qianmiao ""

She was about to put the book away, saying, "Okay, I won't ask any more questions. But you know what, Manager Liu? I've always wondered why Mr. Ren treats you so well, treating you like his indispensable confidant and right-hand man, despite your emotional state. Later, I heard it's because you have strong financial skills. As they say, the key to survival is having a skill; it's the capital to be willful. But if you don't explain the problem to me, I won't be able to see your capital for willfulness. Honestly, I'm quite dissatisfied." She was about to leave.

Liu Lifeng heard Chu Qianmiao's words and stopped her.

"Hey, wait a minute..."

He asked two questions.

First, "You said President Ren considers me his darling, his right-hand man. Who said that?"

Chu Qianmiao: "Anyone with eyes can see that. Look at our activity in the mountains. Whoever won the most money against President Ren was you. President Ren, that old fox, has become quite cunning. Can anyone win his money? He lets anyone win."

Liu Lifeng thought about it and realized that this was indeed the truth. A hint of happiness crossed his brow.

Second, "You're not convinced by my financial skills, are you?"

He reached out and plucked the book from Chu Qianmiao's arms, slamming it on the table. "I'll give you a chance to convince you. You're great with regulations, but if there's even one question in this book that you can stump me on, I'll lose the bet in advance."

Chu Qianmiao thought to herself, if she didn't understand anything in the entire book, she could ask Liu Lifeng.

A week after the Spring Festival, a new project came to the department.

Ren Yan summoned Chu Qianmiao, Qin Qianyu, Liu Lifeng, and Cui Xijie to his office for a small meeting.

He told them, "Our department has a new project. It's an IPO project for a manufacturing company called Liya Manufacturing. It's quite large and has seen strong revenue and profits over the past three years. You guys will be responsible for it."

After announcing the project, he began to assign tasks. "This project will be signed and signed by me and Mr. Li Si from Project Department 4. Cui Xijie, you will be the co-organizer. Once this project is completed, you will officially be the contract sponsor."

Cui Xi Jie was stunned for a moment, then raised his hand and asked, "Mr. Ren, what about that IPO project Sun Yi and the others are working on? That project is almost ready for application. If I sign it, wouldn't it help me get registered as an official insurance agent faster?"

Ren Yan glanced at him and said, "Li Si contacted me a long time ago about Sun Yi's project. He said he wanted a specialist from their department to be the co-organizer. Their department has had fewer projects lately, while ours has, so we're doing him a favor. Signing on this project will also work. It won't necessarily slow things down much."

Cui Xijie smiled and said, "Okay, Mr. Ren. Mr. Li often speaks up for our department. It's only natural to reciprocate."

Chu Qianmiao raised an eyebrow. She didn't believe Cui Xijie had such thoughts. Ren Yan nodded and continued to divide the work. "You guys will be the project team members," Ren Yan said, looking at Chu Qianmiao, Qin Qianyu, and Liu Lifeng. "Chu Qianmiao will be responsible for the legal department, Qin Qianyu for the business and technical aspects, and Liu Lifeng for the financial department. We'll officially start the due diligence next Monday. Are there any problems?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Ren Yan adjourned the meeting.

After everyone stood up, Ren Yan suddenly called out names.

"Chu Qianmiao, please stay."

Chu Qianmiao was stunned. The others left the office first.

Ren Yan pointed at the chair in front of his desk and asked her to sit down.

After Chu Qianmiao sat down, her back straightened, ready to listen attentively.

But Ren Yan glared at her. Just as she was about to slam the table and ask, "What are you looking at?", Ren Yan finally spoke.

"Why don't you ask me why I left you alone?"

Chu Qianmiao: ""

So, he'd been staring at her for so long, waiting for her to ask. And since she didn't, he was trying to get her to ask.

"Mr. Ren, may I ask why you left me alone?"

Ren Yan looked at her, his lips curled up in a half-smile.

"I should give you a mirror in meetings next time so you can see what your expression is when Cui Xijie is talking."

Chu Qianmiao was stunned. Cui Xijie raised an eyebrow as he spoke. Suddenly, something clicked for her.

"If Cui Xijie had glanced at you just now, what do you think he'd have seen?" Ren Yan's voice was a touch teasing. "He'd have seen disdain, disgust, and disbelief in that raised eyebrow."

"Then how do you think Cui Xijie would react?"

Chu Qianmiao felt a chill run down her spine. He'd put on a smile, but he'd mentally register this grievance and settle it with her later.

She understood why Ren Yan stopped her. He wanted to tell her not to assume that she could reveal her true feelings just because others couldn't see them; it was dangerous.

Ren Yan suddenly knocked on his desk. On it sat a medal for outstanding department performance, the size of a book, with a polished finish that shone brightly and delicately.

Chu Qianmiao felt a chill run down her spine again. This medal could be used as a mirror. If Cui Xijie had just looked at it, he'd probably have seen himself through it, using the principle of mirror reflection.

So, by leaving her alone, Ren Yan was actually trying to tell her:

"You think others can't see you, but it's actually you who can't see them. Stop showing your true feelings."

Chu Qianmiao shuddered.

"Especially, don't show too much emotion to Cui Xijie."

She nodded firmly.

"Get out," Ren Yan said calmly.

Chu Qianmiao replied solemnly and stood up to leave.

Back at her workstation, she continued to ponder Ren Yan's words. She had always felt like something was missing, something she hadn't yet grasped.

It wasn't until lunch break that she heard Qin Qianyu comforting his wife on the phone. It seemed his wife was angry with someone about something, and Qin Qianyu was admonishing her, "Don't be like them. If a dog bites you, you can bite the dog back. Don't pay any attention to them. If you pay attention to them, you'll lose. Haven't you heard that when you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you. If you pay attention to them, you'll be as uncultured as they are."

Hearing "When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you," Chu Qianmiao instantly understood what was missing.

When she heard Cui Xijie speak, she raised her eyebrow in disdain, a fleeting, subtle moment. How could Ren Yan have known?

He was looking at her.

Chu Qianmiao slapped herself lightly.

She wished she hadn't thought about this little thing missing.

On Monday, Ren Yan and several members of the project team arrived at Liya Manufacturing. Liya Manufacturing is located in the capital of a major industrial province. The high-speed rail was faster than a plane. As soon as Chu Qianmiao exited the station, she could almost smell the industrial atmosphere.

The owner of Liya Manufacturing sent two cars to pick them up. They took them directly to a luxury hotel.

The owner of Liya Manufacturing had booked a welcome dinner at the hotel for the project team.

Chu Qianmiao entered the private room and met the owner of Liya Manufacturing. He had a common surname and a distinguished first name: Qian Siji. He looked to be in his forties, of average height, thin to medium build, with a square face and a large forehead. He wasn't handsome, but he was well-maintained and looked energetic.

After exchanging greetings, Chu Qianmiao found the owner to be cheerful and talkative, seemingly someone easy to get along with. After greeting everyone else, he even went out of his way to compliment Chu Qianmiao.

The first compliment was about her youth and beauty.

The second sentence praised her for being so young and beautiful and still working on the project, which was truly impressive.

Chu Qianmiao pondered this, wondering why being young and beautiful was considered a disadvantaged group. Doing manual labor was elevated to such a high standard. This wasn't praising youth and beauty; it was discrimination.

So, she smiled and replied to Qian Siji, "Mr. Qian, when the project starts, if you think I'm doing a good job, please praise my youth and ability to my boss, but don't praise my youth and beauty. If you praise my ability, my boss will give me a raise, but if you praise my beauty, it won't work; it won't even raise my salary."

Qian Siji smiled and said, "Well said, Manager Chu." He then turned to Ren Yan and said, "Mr. Ren, your Manager Chu is a real talent. She's really quick on the ups and downs."

Ren Yan smiled and said, "Mr. Qian, thank you." Liu Lifeng glanced at Chu Qianmiao, who was sitting next to him, and sneered, mumbling, "Glib tongue!"

Chu Qianmiao replied, "He's my heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and right-hand man."

Liu Lifeng's temper instantly vanished.

Chu Qianmiao suspected that this big brother's number one nemesis was undoubtedly Ren Yan. He truly took Ren Yan and his evaluation of him to heart. It seemed as if he would lunge and bite anyone who said anything against Ren Yan.

Over the meal, everyone chatted and ate, their conversation interspersed with discussions about the company's basic situation.

Chu Qianmiao heard four familiar words from Qian Siji's brief introduction to the company.

Qian Siji said that Liya Manufacturing had brought in strategic investor Yingji Capital.

Yingji Capital. It's a small world indeed. It turns out that Yingji Capital, where Tan Shen worked, is also a shareholder in Liya Manufacturing.