Weiwei was going over the documents that Chengli sent her for the hundredth time. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she felt she had to do something about her concerns.
Qi was on the couch, laptop on his knees, immersed in his own work.
Weiwei sighed.
I wish I were more knowledgeable. How can I investigate such a tricky issue when I've never done an audit like this before?
She didn't notice Qi walk up to her.
"Are you still working?" he asked.
"Yes."
"You look worried. Is there a problem?"
She looked back into his round eyes and was going to lie, but was unable to.
"I'm not good at accounting," groaned Weiwei.
Qi smiled. "Is that all? I thought there was something really worrying."
It is worrying to me!
"You don't think that's a problem?"
"It is a problem that can be solved," he replied gently. "I'm sure you'll be the best accountant ever as you continue to work and learn. What are you working on? Can I help?"
Weiwei sighed again.
If he's going to help me, then I'm showing my weakness. On the other hand, it's his family's business, why shouldn't he help?
"It's just an area where I lack experience," preempted Weiwei, and then explained her concerns about the Lántiān Group report.
Qi listened attentively, his face gradually becoming more and more serious.
"Do you mind if I take a look?" he said.
He took Weiwei's seat and read through the land sale documents very thoroughly. Once again, seeing Qi's profile melted Weiwei's heart, even without her willing to admit it.
"He looks so attractive when he's serious and focused," was as much as she was prepared to verbalize in her mind, despite the fact that her heart felt so much more. It was an entire array of feelings and colors, and she stubbornly rejected to accept their existence, not to mention their true meaning.
We live together!
The thought suddenly popped up, evading Weiwei's mental defenses, and she felt her cheeks growing red.
Weiwei quickly went to the kitchen and busied herself with getting some hot water.
Deep breaths, just keep breathing.
"And you're saying this isn't the first time this kind of sale was completed before quarter end?" she heard.
Thinking about the case made Weiwei feel better. She got back to Qi with the cup of water in her hand.
"In happened twice in the last three quarters," she said.
Qi exhaled deeply. "It's definitely troubling," he pointed at the financial statement. "Without those sales their balance sheet would look very different. Their revenue growth trajectory would've stalled, if not dipped."
He's right! I didn't think of that.
"Which means they would've had great difficulty raising the next round of financing." Qi pondered, slight wrinkles appearing on his high forehead. "And that's exactly what they plan to do, in fact. I think you're on to something."
Weiwei took a sip of water. She felt satisfied, despite the fact that she had a problem on her hands. First of all, she was right about something. Her work and instincts were correct. She wasn't useless, after all. Second, the complimented came from Qi. It was not only a praise from an experienced and knowledgeable manager, but also from a guarded and sophisticated man who lived in her apartment, and who apparently, she had certain feelings toward that she didn't want to admit.
"What should I do about it?" asked Weiwei. "My director is pushing me to sign off on it."
Qi frowned. "Of course, he would. This is one of our marquee clients. He wouldn't want to upset them or make other clients aware."
Weiwei stared.
What are you saying? That I should let it go?
She waited for him to continue. Qi looked up and seemed to pick up what she was wondering.
"It's going to be tricky to navigate," he started explaining patiently. "On the one hand, it has to be communicated to the client that this practice is not acceptable and steer them to stop inflating their growth numbers. It will be a difficult negotiation that should be undertaken by your director with one of the account executives. On the other hand, it's going to be very difficult to change things that already have been done. So our firm should be very careful about documenting concerns about this quarter's report in case an investigation is going to be conducted in the future."
Account executive! Investigation!
Weiwei felt overwhelmed.
Why did I start digging? I'm risking to bite more than I can chew. And I'm a newbie at the firm!
She noticed Qi gazing supportively at her.
"Don't worry, Weiwei," he said. "It's not a huge deal. You just need to go about it thoroughly and carefully."
Hearing Qi mention her name, the sweetest sound of all to her ears, for an inexplicable reason, Weiwei almost forgot about Lántiān Group.
Did he mean it when he said he liked me? Does he really like me? If he liked me, how can I possibly not like him back!
She nodded and kept her head down to hide her emotions from Qi.
"How about we go over how some of these conversations could play out?" suggested Qi.
"Okay."
They settled on the sofa and talked, Weiwei's mind frequently drifting away, into the world of sweet impossibilities.