The wind in the late winter month of December was bone-chilling, and after so long, An Lan's clothes were still soaking wet.
With the wind blowing, An Lan, who was close to losing consciousness, clenched her back teeth tightly.
So cold, so cold.
Not thinking too much, she moved closer to the only source of warmth.
Huo Zhanting slightly furrowed his brows, detecting the small movements of the woman in his embrace and let out a sneer.
"What, weren't you very stubborn just now?"
An Lan kept her eyes tightly shut, her hand that was hugging Huo Zhanting's neck tightened periodically, trembling from time to time.
She seemed to have lost consciousness and didn't hear Huo Zhanting's words.
Back in the bedroom, Huo Zhanting laid An Lan on the soft bed and felt her forehead with his hand.
It was very hot.
Huo Zhanting took the medicine box, dug out two cold tablets, and handed them to An Lan.
An Lan frowned deeply and refused to take them.
"Stubborn!"
Huo Zhanting, running out of patience, didn't wait for An Lan to react. He restrained her mouth with one hand, stuffed the medicine in, and with the other hand took a mouthful of water from a cup, pressing it against An Lan's lips.
The ice-cold water mixed with Huo Zhanting's domineering scent, and An Lan swallowed it unconsciously.
"There, done."
Huo Zhanting stood up and berated her, "Taking on a group of people by yourself? Foolish!"
If he hadn't seen with his own eyes the servants limping out of the basement, he would've never believed that the always gentle and compliant An Lan could take on five and even injure two of them!
Curled up in the blankets, An Lan said indignantly, "It's one thing to give in to you, but I am certainly not weaker than them!"
Huo Zhanting gave a muffled laugh, pointed to his shoulder where she had bitten him, "Give in? Is this how you give in?"
An Lan ground her back teeth, "Otherwise, I definitely would have taken a chunk out of you!"
Huo Zhanting chuckled lightly, the amusement clearly piling up in his eyes. Although it was fleeting, An Lan still caught it.
Just then, Zhang Duo's voice came from the doorway.
"Director Huo, the meeting is ready."
"Understood, I'm on my way."
Huo Zhanting threw on a robe, "Get some sleep first, I have things to take care of."
After saying that, he left without looking back, and An Lan didn't cling to him, watching him depart.
Once the bedroom quieted down, An Lan reopened her eyes.
Her heart pounding, her eyes that had just been calm were now flashing with excitement and nervousness.
She had won the bet.
It was the first time that Huo Zhanting had forcefully rescued her.
It appeared her guess was right. Huo Zhanting wanted a woman who was clever, strong, could beat everyone, but would only lose to him and submit to him.
Having seized this point, her odds of winning this game had just increased.
Sooner or later, she would figure out everything and make those who wronged her mother pay!
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, An Lan stretched lazily. Maybe because she had a fever, she slept exceptionally deeply, now feeling as if from another time.
As expected, the man from yesterday was no longer by her side.
Strangely, Huo Jiajia and her daughter were unusually quiet and hadn't come to disturb her.
After tidying up a bit, her phone rang.
It was Huo Zhanting.
"Send the files from the desk in the bedroom to my company."
An Lan dared not delay; she forced herself to get up and asked the driver to take her to the Huo Family company.
"Just wait here for me, I'll come down after I've delivered the files."
After speaking to the driver, An Lan went straight upstairs.
The Huo Family building was bustling, each person looking busy. An Lan had just walked a short distance when she bumped into a woman.
The coffee in the woman's hand spilled all over An Lan.
An Lan subconsciously spoke up, "I'm sorry..."
"This is Chanel! Are you blind?!"
Xu Yuanyuan complained as she straightened her clothes and then glanced at An Lan, "Are you here for the interview too?"
"No."
An Lan shook her head and wanted to leave, but Xu Yuanyuan was relentless.
"You better not be, otherwise I advise you to give up early! The position of head of the PR department is mine for the taking!"
"My uncle is the head of administration for the Huo Family!"
"This position has been mine from the start!"
As she sized up An Lan from head to toe, Xu Yuanyuan lifted her chin, her face twisted into a sneer.
The woman was wearing the most common of clothes, which couldn't compare to her own exquisite attire.
She must have come to the interview makeup-free on purpose, just to get noticed, right?
She had seen too many such delusional women!
With that in mind, Xu Yuanyuan became even more dismissive of An Lan.
"I suggest you roll back home and skip the interview. Do you even know what kind of conglomerate this is? Can a country bumpkin like you even match up?"
"What's all this noise?"
At that moment, Zheng Qian shouted impatiently from inside the room, and seeing that only An Lan and Xu Yuanyuan were left outside, she said, "Both of you, come in."
"I'm not..."
"Enough talk, don't waste time!"
"..."
An Lan found herself inexplicably pushed into the conference room.
Seeing Xu Yuanyuan enter the room, she shot An Lan a glance full of threats, "You just wait!"
Although she really wanted to put this woman in her place right then, the job was what mattered!
This job could give her the chance to go on business trips with Director Huo, and she couldn't give that up for anything.
After giving An Lan a vicious glare, Xu Yuanyuan hurried into the conference room.
Seeing An Lan stroll in, Xu Yuanyuan gritted her teeth and whispered a threat into her ear, "Don't you harbor any delusions, I've got the interview questions and the standard answers. This position is definitely mine!"
Her uncle had already made all the necessary arrangements. Today was just a formality; she had memorized the interview questions long ago.
"Please, take your seats. The interview question is as follows."
Zheng Qian got straight to the point, "If the company is reported by the media for using expired ingredients causing many people to become poisoned and creating a huge uproar, as a member of the PR department, how would you respond?"
Xu Yuanyuan's heart leapt for joy; it was indeed this question. She hurriedly recited the answer she had memorized, "First, respond positively with the official account, then contact the media to retract the news, and wait for the company's investigation results to make a specific response."
Zheng Qian nodded, a standard answer. Although it didn't detect the pitfall of the question, it was certainly better than several previous ones.
Then she turned to An Lan, "What do you think?"
An Lan pondered for a moment, "I actually think there's no need to rush a response."
"Oh?"
Zheng Qian looked curiously at An Lan, "If we don't respond promptly, public opinion could ferment, and then what would you do?"
Xu Yuanyuan mocked, "Exactly! If you don't know, better keep quiet. It's ridiculous! Now not responding would resolve everything?"
"First of all, the Huo Family has a unique position in the market and doesn't need to respond to just any news. Rather than rashly admitting or denying, which could easily be exploited by opponents even if we just announce an investigation, it's best to avoid giving them an opening."
"If they have ulterior motives and hire an Internet Water Army to guide public opinion, we would be at a disadvantage."
An Lan hit the nail on the head, pinpointing the trap in the question.
The Huo Family leads the market, and any issue would be escalated deliberately for manipulation. An Lan's thought process was closer to reality and more rational.
"You're really funny. What's the status of the Huo Family? Who dares to mess with them?" Xu Yuanyuan snorted, "If there really were such people, they'd be dead by now!"
Zheng Qian gave Xu Yuanyuan a stern look and then turned to An Lan, interested, "And what would you do?"
"Start the investigation first to figure out what exactly happened. If it's truly a lapse in our business processes, then instruct the relevant departments to draft compensatory measures and disciplinary actions to include in the announcement and clarify the company's stance. If it's not our oversight..."
Zheng Qian raised an eyebrow, curious as she looked at An Lan.
An Lan stated calmly, "Issue the punishment and compensation without error."
"Huh? Compensate even if it's not our mistake? Are you out of your mind?"