Water and Fire~Chapter 105.2: A Big Flaw

 

Chapter 105.2: A Big Flaw

The meeting lasted until noon. To save time, everyone opted for a business set menu at Lihua instead of going out for lunch.

Chu Qianmiao, Qin Qianyu, Liu Lifeng, and Yan Yunqiang took their lunch boxes back to their workstations and ate. They chatted as they ate.

Qin Qianyu ate his meal while heartfeltly sighing, "Brother, I'm not trying to flatter you. I think you're embodying President Ren's demeanor now. So calm and composed, so mature and capable. The way you chattered in the conference room just now made me want to call you President Chu."

Chu Qianmiao smiled, chomping on a leaf of greens. "President Qin, stop it!"

Liu Lifeng suddenly spoke to her, his words tinged with resentment. "Hey, big brother, since you're so talented now, can you tutor me for my exams when you're free? I've already taken them eight hundred times!"

Qin Qianyu, upon hearing this, began to sigh. "Things have changed, Old Liu! Back in the day, you were the one teaching Qianmiao the exams, but now you've become her bootlicker."

Liu Lifeng flung his chopsticks aside, yelling, "Shut up!" Then he picked up his chopsticks and continued eating.

Chu Qianmiao couldn't help but laugh. Even Yan Yunqiang was watching and laughing.

Chu Qianmiao smiled and said to Liu Lifeng, "I'll transfer all my review materials to you tomorrow. They contain my analysis and notes, which are incredibly detailed. If you still can't pass them after reading them, I'll have to pay the tax bureau a fine."

Liu Lifeng said, "Thank you, Ms. Chu."

When Ren Yan emerged from the conference room to retrieve his belongings from his office, he was met with such a warm and harmonious scene.

His team gathered together in harmony, friendship, and unity. And she, among them, had unknowingly gone from being a marginalized pawn when she first arrived to a valued and beloved member of the team.

It was truly gratifying.

After two days of meetings, Qian Siji returned to Liya with his assistant; the lawyers and accountants also returned to their respective offices. Everyone answered their portion of the questions, then summarized their responses.

Ren Yan spent another day in the conference room with several project members, hammering out the questions in great detail. Chu Qianmiao and he both wore serious expressions, their usual demeanor, striking the perfect balance between politeness and courtesy. They tried to minimize eye contact to minimize any potential for conflict.

When Ren Yan called on her to answer a question, he didn't look directly at her as he used to. Instead, he would glance down at the materials and say, "Chu Qianmiao, you answer this question."

He seemed unusually distant.

Later, Ren Yan returned to his office, leaving the others in the meeting room to discuss and write their responses.

During this time, he called Qin Qianyu and Liu Lifeng into his office one by one, asking them about the on-site aspects of the IPO project they were working on.

After leaving the conference room, Qin Qianyu seized the opportunity and mysteriously summoned Chu Qianmiao to the window in the corner. Pretending to gaze down with her at the view of Financial Street, he whispered, "Qianmiao, has anything happened between you and President Ren recently?"

For a moment, Chu Qianmiao was so startled that she nearly jumped from the 20th floor, spilling blood.

She quickly gathered herself and, bewildered, asked, "What do you mean, Brother Qin?"

Qin Qianyu glanced back at the conference room door, making sure Ren Yan hadn't arrived. He turned back and whispered to Chu Qianmiao, "I don't know if I'm being overly suspicious, but I always felt like Mr. Ren was pretty cold to you when we met again in Beijing. Look, after we got back, he summoned both Lao Liu and me. We used to work on the same project together, but you and him haven't seen each other for so long. Why didn't he call you over to ask about your work? That doesn't make sense. Did you do something to upset him, and that's why he's ignoring you? But that doesn't make sense either. You're so popular."

Chu Qianmiao's mood was like a roller coaster, thrashing and swaying as she listened to Qin Qianyu's words.

It turned out that the deliberate distance between her and Ren Yan had created a major flaw.

Yes, others didn't know about her and Ren Yan's private affairs. From their perspective, it seemed like she and Ren Yan hadn't seen each other for so long.

When they met, Ren Yan didn't even ask her to go over and find out what was going on.

This was truly unsound, a major flaw.

Following Qin Qianyu's sigh, Chu Qianmiao felt almost guilty. This older brother was genuinely worried about her.

But the time hadn't come yet, so she could only bite the bullet and say, "Mr. Ren is probably feeling a little tired after talking to you and Liu Lifeng. Maybe it'll be my turn soon."

Qin Qianyu said, "Then wait a little longer. If Mr. Ren doesn't contact you later, you can take the initiative and go find him. And feel out the situation. See if you've done anything wrong, making your boss unhappy without even realizing it."

Chu Qianmiao said, "Okay." She thought to herself, "I'll have to treat this older brother well from now on."

How kind!

After returning to her seat, Chu Qianmiao quietly sent a message to Ren Yan, telling him that there was a major flaw between them.

It was almost lunchtime when Chu Qianmiao's phone rang. She answered the call, turning up the volume as she called out to Mr. Ren.

Ren Yan's voice then rang through the receiver loud enough for everyone else in the meeting room to hear, "Come to my office."

His words were concise and clear.

After hanging up, Chu Qianmiao watched Qin Qianyu breathe a sigh of relief, his father's heart at ease.

As she passed him, he extended his hand, and she met his palm with hers.

She knocked on the door and entered Ren Yan's office, sitting in the chair across from him.

She looked at him, and he looked at her, neither of them speaking.

She grew restless. "Ask me about my work on the Tiantian Food project, or something?"

Ren Yan gave her a quirky smile. "But I already know." After a pause, he lowered his voice. "Didn't I even visit your project site?"

Chu Qianmiao couldn't help but laugh too, though a touch of nervousness lingered within her.

"Just sit here for a while. Let them think you're reporting to me." Ren Yan's expression was calm, but a smile lurked at the corners of his mouth as he looked at her.

Suddenly, there was a sound at the door. Two crisp knocks, and without a moment's pause, the knocker pushed open the door and walked in.

Li Tang, who had suddenly entered, looked at Ren Yan, then at Chu Qianmiao.

She saw the same, still-unsmiling smile on their faces.

She raised an eyebrow, looked at them, and said, "Am I, sorry to bother you?" Her tone was indescribably strange.

Chu Qianmiao reacted quickly, saying, "Manager Li, that's not right. I also report to President Ren. If you need anything from President Ren, I'll be leaving."

She was about to stand, but Ren Yan stopped her.

"Wait a moment," Ren Yan's voice was filled with the authority of a superior. "Finish reporting your work progress to me before you leave."

He then looked up at Li Tang and asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Li Tang raised an eyebrow and said, "Yes, my boss asked me to come and ask how you've been handling the feedback."

Ren Yan said, "I'll have a draft of the complete document ready and sent to you next week." His tone was incredibly formal, making it seem like even a personal conversation with him during work hours would be excessive.

So, Li Tang could only reply, "Okay, I'll wait for your materials."

Then she left the office. Before leaving, she glanced at Chu Qianmiao and suddenly said, "Chu, long time no see. How about dinner tonight?" She glanced at Ren Yan's expression.

Chu Qianmiao quickly replied, "Sorry, Senior Li Tang, we still have to work overtime tonight to finish the materials."

Li Tang turned her gaze from Ren Yan's face, smiled at her, and said, "Let's do it another day."

After she finished speaking, she gave Chu Qianmiao a meaningful look before leaving.

The office door closed again. Chu Qianmiao watched Li Tang walk past the glass wall and out of the office's sound wave range, then breathed a sigh of relief.

She leaned forward, half-lying on Ren Yan's desk, and asked nervously in a low voice, "Senior, what does Li Tang mean by that look? Did she see something?"

Ren Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Probably not. She might be trying to trick you." After a pause, he warned, "Don't let her words fool you when you talk to her again."

Chu Qianmiao hummed, straightened up, and sat up straight again.

After a moment's thought, she said, "Boss, I'm leaving now."

"You can sit for a while longer. It's too short to leave right after arriving," Ren Yan said, looking at her.

He sat in the leather chair, his demeanor all bossy, glaring at her.

Chu Qianmiao couldn't sit still any longer. "Boss, I'd better leave. I'm getting anxious staying here with you."

Ren Yan looked at her, his lips curled slightly. "Then go make me some coffee."

"I'll be right there," Chu Qianmiao said, rising as if she'd been granted amnesty. She didn't know whether to call it a coincidence or an unfortunate coincidence, as she ran into Li Tang again in the tea room.