Wu Qiuyan didn't expect Bai Xiaosheng to agree so readily, without any sign of fear or dissatisfaction.
On the contrary, he seemed a bit pleased.
Is something wrong with this guy?
"Be happy" then, I want to see how long you can endure! Wu Qiuyan sneered internally.
"You should hurry up, and so should you," Wu Qiuyan instructed before turning around and leaving.
Whether Bai Xiaosheng could complete the task wasn't even worth thinking about—he'd be a marvel if he did. The real issue was how to deal with him after he failed—whether to give him a minor punishment as a cautionary lesson or squeeze him out—Wu Qiuyan needed to discuss with Li Mingtong.
She was quite pleased with this excuse to contact Li Mingtong. Lately, Li Mingtong had been deliberately distancing himself from her.
After Wu Qiuyan left, Bai Xiaosheng went to his workstation, his expression calm as he set down the materials and booted up his computer.
Wang and Song exchanged a covert glance and started chatting through the messaging app.
"What's the deal with this new guy? Why is the nun on his case from the get-go?"
"Nun" was the nickname Song had coined for Wu Qiuyan, symbolizing an older, unmarried woman with a volatile and fierce temper.
"Haven't you heard? He's one of Mr. Chen Chen Daya's people, while the nun is on Mr. Li Li Mingtong's side. You tell me, why is she after him?"
Wang sent a disdainful emoji.
Song, the bookworm, really didn't lift his head to look around.
"I see! I think this guy is toast. When the nun goes after somebody, they're left with nothing."
"Yeah, he's definitely toast!"
Both of them sent a laughing emoji.
As employees, they weren't on either side and weren't particularly interested, but they still enjoyed watching the excitement.
"Want to bet how many days before this guy cracks?"
"Bet my ass, get 'busy.' If you're sitting idle and he comes asking you this and that, seeking help, that'll be the end of you. Make sure not to get involved, alright?"
"The old comrade sure is experienced; I hadn't thought of that!"
Both sent a sly laughing emoji.
Yezi sneakily glanced at Bai Xiaosheng.
He was already working, his gaze neither hurried nor agitated, yet utterly intent, his whole being as steady as still lake water.
A man in a state of earnest work is the most charismatic!
Yezi felt a bit of a crush developing.
After looking for a while, Yezi withdrew her gaze and looked at the chat group. The three of them were in a group chat, so she could see everything they said.
Seeing how gleeful Wang and Song were, Yezi quietly got up and cracked the office door open slightly, then slammed it shut.
"Bang!" went the sound.
Wang and Song were startled into jumping, instantly straightened up, positioned themselves to block their computer screens, and hurriedly closed the chat, their actions as though perfected through countless rehearsals.
After they did all that, they realized that Wu Qiuyan hadn't arrived, and Yezi gave them a smug white-eye.
Bai Xiaosheng was also startled and looked up, then let out an amused smile.
He, too, used to prank his colleagues like this.
Wang and Song complained about Yezi in their discussion group.
Yezi didn't care in the least.
After some reflection, she stood up and approached Bai Xiaosheng.
"Bai, do you need any help? I can assist you right now."
The thirty-plus pages of material on the desk, some of which had to be cross-checked and some just frameworks to be filled in, struck Yezi as a daunting workload.
"Silly girl, don't create trouble for yourself!"
Wang and Song were secretly anxious.
"No need, thank you," replied Bai Xiaosheng, smiling at the endearing young woman.
"But there's so much," Yezi frowned.
"Really, it's not a problem," Bai Xiaosheng laughed.
Warm and confident, like sunshine, Yezi's heart fluttered.
Bai Xiaosheng's bright eyes were like beacons, seemingly undrownable by any darkness, with no difficulty that could defeat him.
"If you need help, just call us," Yezi said with a smile in her eyes, turning back to her workstation.
Call us?!
Wang and Song looked pained.
What did this have to do with them!
Bai Xiaosheng smiled and flipped through the materials with his hand.
"The development history of the Asia-Pacific Shopping Center and at least three classic cases...
Assessments of similar projects by domestic and international renowned experts and scholars (at least five people)...
Annual and quarterly business reports of shopping centers in first-tier cities, overviews of opening events of major shopping centers..."
These items were numerous and the content was complex, essentially listing all the potentially useful information. The advantage was that it would be easy to call upon later, and alongside the project details, it could be turned into soft articles, brochures, videos, and various other promotional materials.
He wondered who had come up with this way of working...
Bai Xiaosheng picked up the first page of materials and communicated with Red Lotus in his mind.
"Red Lotus, search for these materials, tell me their contents, and the source links of the websites."
"Okay, Master," Red Lotus's voice was clear and melodic.
After that, Bai Xiaosheng no longer looked at the paper but instead kept his eyes on the screen, his fingers flying as he tapped the keyboard with agility.
All the information was in his mind.
Bai Xiaosheng's hands moved with his thoughts, almost without thinking as he typed.
Whenever he needed data or extensive text, he entered the source links and swiftly excerpted them, and when he needed to type, he didn't stop for a second.
The pitter-patter of the keyboard sounded like beads falling on a jade plate, like fingertips dancing a ballet. Except for the extremely brief moments when a mouse was necessary, the sound was delightfully swift and even carried a smooth, aesthetic quality.
At this moment, Bai Xiaosheng was like a high-speed computer in operation.
Wang, Song, and Yezi were drawn to his display and became immersed in watching for a while.
"Such fast typing speed!" Song couldn't help but post a shocked emoji in the discussion group.
"Youngsters get scared by quick typing? Typing speed is one thing, but it also depends on what you're doing. You type pretty fast when you're complaining as well," Wang sent a disdainful emoji.
"Do you think the new guy is complaining to someone right now? Hey, who wants to go take a peek?" Wang continued.
"Peeking at someone's screen? Shameless!" Yezi sent an indignant emoji.
"I was just saying," Wang quickly explained.
"I'll take a look," Yezi said.
Wang and Song had dark lines on their foreheads.
Yezi stealthily twisted her body, craned her neck, and took a quick glance.
Then Bai Xiaosheng moved, startling Yezi, who quickly twisted back. Bai Xiaosheng had merely gently set the first page of materials aside.
He was done?!
How long had it been, thirty minutes?
Yezi was dumbfounded.
Wang and Song's eyes were filled with amazement!
Bai Xiaosheng was also somewhat surprised, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Without Red Lotus's help, just this one page of paper would require him to search for information on numerous websites, collect and organize it, discern and filter it. It sounded easy, but without at least half a day, it simply couldn't be completed.
And now, it only took him thirty minutes!
The only feeling he had was that his fingers were a bit tired.
This was indeed a challenging job, Bai Xiaosheng rubbed his fingers; in those twenty minutes, he had typed at least five thousand words!
This typing speed might not break records, but for the average person, it was already considered extremely terrifying.
"Job completion, one page of material collection adds one point, current total points are six, ninety-four points away from the promotion to manager level," Red Lotus's voice fulfilled his wishes.
A smile crept up the corners of Bai Xiaosheng's mouth, this was exactly what he wanted!
One point per page, with about thirty pages in front of him, that was thirty points!
After finishing these, he would be two-thirds of the way to manager level!
Looks like coming here was the right choice!
Bai Xiaosheng's lips curved up and he felt relaxed in body and mind.