When Jiang Yuan's subordinate came back to take the documents away and saw the names of the five people who were to be promoted, she was a little confused. The five people in the final list were not the ones recommended by the supervisors. Moreover, they were quite ordinary and were not from very strong families. However, they could not say anything about the decision made by the boss. After the announcement was made, the supervisors were surprised. It was the first time the boss had chosen interns that were not from their list of recommended ones.
A twenty-year-old female intern looked at the list. She immediately burst into tears when she realized that her name was not included. Her aunt had promised her that she would get in. She had even celebrated with her friends the previous day, and the other interns even congratulated her. She was very embarrassed.
She quickly rushed off and went to see her aunt. When she arrived at her aunt's office, she quickly went forward to rant about what had happened. Her aunt brought her to a small lounge so they could talk in private. "Xiaojing, wait a few more days. The CEO had asked his niece to decide on it. I'll go to Director Jiang after a few days and make a recommendation. It should be possible."
Xiaojing felt wronged. "Auntie, they must be laughing at me." She didn't expect that things didn't go according to plan. Her aunt was influential in the company because she held a high position. Why didn't she arrange it? "Why is the boss's niece acting recklessly?" she said.
"I'm not sure either. After all, she's his relative, and the boss dotes on her. Don't worry. Go home early today and don't wander around outside. I'll go upstairs and ask him later. Don't worry. You'll definitely be promoted. It's just a matter of time. All right. Hurry up and go out. Otherwise, if the others see you, they'll start talking about you." Those who had connections took advantage of the fact that they knew someone influential in the company. Everyone knew who took advantage of their connections, but they wouldn't talk about it.
"Auntie, please ask him about it. I'll go home early today." She was very sad. She didn't want to see the faces of her other colleagues and was afraid of being laughed at.
The five interns who were hired were naturally very happy. They had agreed to celebrate together that night. They did not expect that they would get on the list.
Manager Chang went up to Jiang Yuan's office to speak to him regarding the matter.
She was a little nervous. She tidied up her collar and knocked on the door. She pushed the door open and entered. "Director Jiang."
Jiang Yuan looked at Manager Chang. "What is it? What's the matter?"
Manager Chang was a little nervous because Director Jiang was not an easy person to talk to. In the past few days, she noticed that Director Jiang had been in a good mood. She felt that it would be all right if she recommended two or more positions to be added to the list of five interns who were hired. "Director Jiang, it's like this. There were many outstanding individuals in this last batch of interns. Since there are a few more vacant positions, could we increase the number of interns who can be promoted to full-time positions?"
Jiang Yuan stroked his chin and looked at Manager Chang. "For what reason?"
"Well, actually, there are a few more interns who are quite hardworking and diligent in their work. I think they can fill some of the vacant positions." She did not dare to recommend adding just one more position because it would have been too obvious. She thought she could recommend another male intern along with Xiaojing. That way, her niece would not be too much of a target, and Director Jiang would not think too much about it.
"I don't have such plans for the time being. If there is really a vacancy, I will consider it. If there is nothing else, you can go," Jiang Yuan said. He smiled because he knew that she wanted her niece to be hired, but he declined because he did not have any plans to make an exception for anyone. He explained further. "You've been in the company for a long time. There are some things that I don't tell you, but it doesn't mean that I don't know. I just feel that there's no need to point them out. The five people who made the cut are all relatively outstanding. Your niece, Liu Xiaojing, isn't. I've read her background, and she was given an excellent evaluation. However, her outputs, efficiency, and overall potential to be a good asset to the company are questionable. I don't see any outstanding abilities. If she wants to stay, let her work for it, and do not let her depend on you."
Manager Chang didn't expect Director Jiang to know so much about the matter. She was embarrassed. "Director Jiang, Iā"
"You don't have to say much. Just continue to work hard. The child is still young and has graduated from a famous university. She will find a suitable job for herself." He looked at the top three interns recommended by the managers. He was curious why Shuishui eliminated two, so he read their backgrounds. That was when he realized that the girl, Liu Xiaojing, was a relative of Manager Chang. Manager Chang had not mentioned it to anyone. It was normal for interns to utilize their connections to be promoted. However, Shuishui wrote on the girl's profile that she often left early. She also never finished the tasks that had been assigned to her. That was why Shuishui had crossed her out from the list.
"Yes, Director Jiang. I'll leave now." As Manager Chang left, she felt a little tired and realized again how hard it was to talk to Director Jiang. He was also brutally frank and straightforward. It was clear that there was nothing she could do. She remembered how she told Xiaojing to work hard and to at least leave a good impression on all the supervisors. However, Xiaojing often complained of having a headache and would leave one hour ahead of everyone. She felt that the child was still young and unstable. During her internship, Manager Chang rarely spoke to her.
As soon as she left the office, she gave Liu Xiaojing a call. "Xiaojing, there's nothing I can do about your situation. You were excluded from the final list and were not considered because you kept leaving the office early, and there's a record of it. You have two choices. First, you can continue to be an intern for two more months. If you perform well, you might get another chance. Second, you can apply in another company."
"Auntie, I'm so embarrassed. I already announced that I've been promoted to a full-time job at Jiang Corporation. They'll definitely laugh at me if they find out I am still an intern." Liu Xiaojing was very anxious. She no longer wanted to be an intern. She felt terrified just thinking about how others would laugh at her and mock her.
Chang Qing was stunned at how spoiled her niece was. She had thought that her niece was quite sensible, but it was clear how her vanity had ruined things for her. "Xiaojing, there's nothing I can do about it. Boss said that being grounded is the most important thing. You should also stop thinking about having fun and work hard. You should rethink your priorities."
Liu Xiaojing looked at her phone angrily. How could this be? "What a lousy company," she retorted.
After sulking for a while, she contacted her friends and asked them to go out with her for dinner.
In order to thank Shuishui for helping him complete two tasks that day, Jiang Yuan let Shuishui choose where to eat.
Shuishui searched the Internet and saw that there was a steak shop nearby. Shuishui was interested when she read that the restaurant had great reviews. "Uncle, let's go eat at this steak restaurant."
"Okay, okay, okay." Jiang Yuan happily agreed. It was like raising a daughter.
However, Jiang Yuan was even slower than Shuishui's own father. When they arrived at the restaurant, Jiang Yuan kept going out, making and taking calls. When he returned to the table, he stood up to take another call. Shuishui said, "Uncle, may I order for us?"
"Okay, okay, okay." He continued to talk on the phone.
Shuishui looked at the menu. Since the restaurant was famous for its steak dishes, she thought she would order their specialty dishes. "How about this charred beef steak?"
Shuishui continued to choose more dishes.
She ended up ordering quite a lot. The waiter walked off to prepare their dishes. Shuishui knew they would have to wait for a while before their dishes would be served because they were not very easy to prepare.
A few young women sat at the table next to theirs. Once they sat down, they started to chatter, which annoyed Shuishui. However, there were no more seats elsewhere, so she could only endure their noise. She took out her phone and played for a while.
One of the women in the table next to Shuishui's was actually Xiaojing, who was in a very unhappy mood. She kept ranting to her friends about how she had been ostracized by the company. She kept defending herself, saying that she had violated some unspoken rules and was therefore excluded from the final list.
Shuishui overheard their conversation, and she heard that the other women called the chattering woman Xiaojing. She thought that the name sounded familiar, but she could not say for sure.
After a long while, Jiang Yuan returned. He put his phone on silent mode and said, "There are so many things to do. I'll take care of them later."
"Uncle Jiang, you can take care of them after you finish your meal. It's indeed difficult to calm down when you need to take calls all the time." She poured Uncle Jiang a glass of water and asked, "Uncle Jiang, do I have to go tomorrow too?"
"Yes, you have to go every day." Jiang Yuan wanted to bring Shuishui with him every day. He wanted her to see less of Mu Ziyu. He wanted her to learn more about business affairs instead.
Uncle Jiang continued, "Anyway, don't worry. Take your time and learn new things. You will soon become familiar with the tasks. After all, there's no end to learning."
Shuishui listened to Uncle Jiang's speech. She lost focus and nodded and gave perfunctory answers. Meanwhile, Liu Xiaojing casually glanced at them. When she retracted her gaze, she looked at them again. Wasn't it CEO Jiang? Although she didn't see him often, she recognized Jiang Yuan after a few months of internship in the company. That was his niece. She had heard that Director Jiang's niece was the one who chose the final list of interns. She glared at the young girl. However, she realized that it was rare to see Director Jiang out and about. She decided that she could use the opportunity to her advantage. She turned to her friends and said, "That's my boss. I'll go over and say hello."
Before her friends could say anything, she had already walked up to Jiang Yuan and Shuishui's table. "Hello, Director Jiang. My name is Liu Xiaojing. I don't know if you still remember me."
"Oh, Manager Chang's niece. What a coincidence." Jiang Yuan was an elder after all. He was generally nice and kind towards his subordinates.
Liu Xiaojing wanted to seize the opportunity. "I've been an intern in your company for quite a long time, but I wasn't chosen to become a full-time employee. I feel quite sad about it."
"Well, I roughly understand your situation. Young people should be more grounded and not leave early. Punctuality and regular attendance is important. Also, you didn't finish and complete the tasks that have been assigned to you. You worked on only 90% of the task. The remaining 10% became burdensome to those who were pressured to finish the work that you should have done in the first place." Jiang Yuan hoped that young people would be more diligent. He did not like those who took shortcuts and did things recklessly. Small mistakes were forgivable, but he made it clear that he would immediately fire employees who committed grave errors. There was no room for mercy.
Shuishui saw that the waiter was bringing their dishes over. "Sister, please excuse us. Our dishes are about to be served."
"Sorry," Liu Xiaojing said as she awkwardly moved aside. The waiter placed their dishes on the table.
Jiang Yuan said dotingly, "You ordered quite a lot."
Shuishui laughed. "That's right. They all looked delicious, so I ordered them. I also ordered desserts, but in small portions." She had considered that there were only two of them and that they might not be able to eat everything, so she had instructed the waiter to give them smaller portions of their desserts.
Liu Xiaojing looked at Jiang Yuan. "Then, Director Jiang, I won't disturb your meal."
"En, I also wish you a happy meal." Jiang Yuan had already started to help Shuishui cut the meat. "Hey, you child, don't be so rude," he said to Shuishui.
Although Shuishui was a girl, she was sometimes as forthright as a boy. She cut the steak into big pieces and directly ate them. Jiang Yuan worried that she would choke.
Shuishui watched as Uncle Jiang cut the other pieces for her. Anyway, it was quite good to have an elder take care of her.
"Thank you, Uncle Jiang," Shuishui said and continued to eat happily.
"Uncle Jiang, was that person one of the interns?" Shuishui asked.
"Yes, but she has to work hard." He did not comment further on Xiaojing. After all, he was not familiar with her and had only met her a few times, so he did really know what to think of her.
Shuishui ate silently. She felt that it was useless for that woman to approach them and raise her concern. Shuishui felt that Xiaojing could have done something more practical and make Uncle Jiang change his perception of her.
Liu Xiaojing was a little absent-minded and did not say anything. She was also embarrassed.
"Xiaojing, how was it? Did your boss say anything?" her companions asked curiously.
"No. He's just here to have dinner with his niece. Unluckily for us interns, it was the boss's niece who decided which five interns get to be promoted." Xiaojing was really angry.
"No way. She's too willful. She's not that old, right?"
"Rich people are willful. It's unfair to let a child make such a big decision."
They were indignant and felt bad for Xiaojing. They spoke in low voices, afraid that Shuishui and Director Jiang would hear them.
"Oh, right. Uncle Jiang, you can drop me off later. I want to go shopping." She wanted to buy gifts for Mu Ziyu and Zilin.
"How long will it take you? I'll pick you up." He was worried about Shuishui going back home alone.
Shuishui didn't want to trouble Jiang Yuan. "It's okay. I can ride a taxi. I don't know how long it'll take. The mall will close at around ten o'clock. I'll see what I can do."
"Okay. If it gets too late, call me. Got it?" Jiang Yuan didn't force Shuishui. He wanted to give Shuishui a bit of freedom.
After dinner, Shuisui was dropped off at the mall. She got out of the car and went straight to the seventh floor.
When she arrived at the luxury good section, she walked around a few times. She didn't see anything special, but one particular leather belt displayed inside a glass counter caught her eye. She approached it and checked the price. It was expensive. She asked the saleslady if she could see it. "Can I take a look at those two?"
"Well, they're both limited edition, and they're new for the winter," the saleslady said, smiling as she took out the belts.
Shuishui touched the belt and noticed its unique texture. "What makes it limited edition?"
"Basically, around three are available in this area, one at most in other areas, and it's not available in many other places. I can guarantee that for this particular style, there are no more than ten in the country. It was newly designed for the winter collection," the saleslady said.
Shuishui liked the design. She said, "Give me this style in medium. Please have it wrapped up."
"Okay." The saleslady did not expect Shuishui to be so straightforward.
Shuishui looked at the other belt and felt its texture. "This one also, please, in medium."
"Okay. Please wait a moment." The saleslady separated the two belts and placed each of them in elegant boxes.
"Do you want the box wrapped?" the saleslady asked.
"Sure."
Shuishui paid for the belts and returned to the saleslady to pick up the wrapped boxes. She was in a good mood. She casually walked around and did not notice the group of people in front of her. She almost bumped into them. She knew that it was her fault. "Sorry," she said.
She raised her head and met a young man's sharp phoenix eyes. She took a few steps back. "I didn't notice. I'm sorry," she said apologetically.
Although the young man looked familiar to her, she did not want to say anything more. She wanted to leave quickly. However, the young master did not intend to let Shuishui off that easily. He said, "I didn't expect to see you here. It seems that we are quite fated. Shall we have a drink?"
Shuishui smiled awkwardly. "I'm sorry. It's getting late. My elders will be worried."
Shuishui wanted to walk over from the other side, but Young Master Hua took a step forward and blocked her path. "We can just go and have a drink downstairs. Let's be friends. There's no need for you to be so cold."
Shuishui saw that there were a few men in black suits behind him.
The surrounding people glanced at them indifferently. Some of them even seemed to be afraid of him.
Shuishui was a little impatient. "Just one glass."
"Please don't worry. There's a coffee shop downstairs." Young Master Hua made way for Shuishui to pass. He caught up to her and walked side by side with her.
Shuishui didn't even want to smile at him. They had met three times, but she really didn't want to get close to him. She had her own opinions about people like Young Master Hua, and she felt that there was no need for her to befriend the likes of him.
They went downstairs and entered the coffee shop. "What do you want to drink?" he asked.
"I'll have some lemonade." Shuishui did not want to drink coffee because it affected her sleep.
She looked at Young Master Hua. "I'll leave after drinking," she said in a cold tone.
"Sure. I'm quite happy to have a drink with you." Young Master Hua leaned against the sofa and lazily looked at Shuishui.
Shuishui did not like the way he looked at her. He seemed aggressive.
"I'm not very happy." Shuishui rolled her eyes. She really could not pretend to like him. He knew that she was unwilling to go with him, yet he continued to pester he. She felt that he was a dangerous person. She felt anxious, but she couldn't really control what was happening around her.
Young Master Hua kept looking at her the whole time. She couldn't even drink anymore. "Can you stop looking at me all the time?"
He didn't answer her question and continued to look at her. "You're very beautiful."
Shuishui put down the bags she held and said, "You're too boring."
"I don't think so. On the contrary, I'm very interesting. Do you want to ride in my car?"
"I'm not interested," Shuishui replied bluntly.
"Is that so? Are you sure? This is a rare opportunity," he continued to persuade her.
Shuishui did not even glance at him. "I don't want to. I'm not interested. Is there a problem?"
"No problem. Since you don't like me, I won't force you. When you finish your lemonade, I'll send you back." He looked for an opportunity to get in touch with Shuishui. He made it clear to her that he was interested.
He was very straightforward, but Shuishui did not want to see him again. She felt annoyed that he was pestering her. "Don't bother. I'll just take a taxi. I don't ride with strangers."
She looked down at her watch. "It's getting late. I've finished my drink. Goodbye."
He didn't move. He just watched Shuishui leave. "Sure."
"Young Master, are we going to let her leave just like that? Do you want us to find out where she lives?" one of the men in black suits asked in a low voice.
"It's all right. I'll meet her again," Young Master Hua said affirmatively. He put down his cup while his men settled the bill for him. He walked out as well. He then asked, "Wait a minute. Which exit did she pass through?"
Young Master Hua suddenly frowned and felt slightly nervous.
"I think she went out on the left. She should be at the back." The bodyguard was not sure.
Young Master Hua quickened his steps and walked towards the back door.
Shuishui had indeed walked through the back door. When she got out the door, she saw no one. It was quiet and there were no cabs. She checked her phone and tried to book a cab ride. Suddenly, she saw that there were a few burly men walking towards her. Shuishui saw them and braced herself. After all, she had already been robbed before.