Chapter 10

After reading through the report Wei Xiaolu had compiled, Shen Siyan wasn’t surprised. It was pretty much what she had expected; Smart Tax and Finance was a dead project that everyone had already abandoned.

At one point, she had wanted to cut it off at the root. What she hadn’t expected, however, was that the resistance would be so strong. The dissatisfaction within the department and the pressure from headquarters made her realize just how much interest was tied up in this project.

In truth, a project this poorly run might really be better shut down sooner rather than later.

But if it simply ground to a halt now, user demands would be one mountain to climb; if she had just taken office only to “slack off” and produce no results, that would be another mountain entirely.

Shen Siyan rubbed her fingertips over the report and, in the end, let them come to rest on the word “outsourcing.”

She had to be careful.

“About this,” she said, turning to look at Wei Xiaolu, “I’ll think it over properly.”

Wei Xiaolu, who had been spacing out, jerked back to herself and quickly pulled her gaze away from the flowers she had been sneaking peeks at.

“Okay, yes, CEO Shen.”

Seeing her eyes wandering everywhere, unable to settle on anything, Shen Siyan smiled in understanding.

For a leader in her twenties, romance was practically the number one concern of everyone around her. Added to that was her family background; from the moment she joined the company, people had been trying to set her up nonstop.

Too many, far too many to turn them all down.

If not for the fact that, while she was working at another company, Zeng Cui had insisted on introducing her younger brother to her, Shen Siyan would not have messaged Qi Lang and asked him to pick her up in front of everyone under the pretense of a blind date.

When these department heads were so “concerned” about her love life, it went without saying that the people she directly managed would be even more curious.

So Wei Xiaolu’s curiosity and gossip were entirely understandable.

“Do you like these flowers?” Shen Siyan lifted a hand and lightly adjusted the props Qi Lang had brought.

“They’re pretty,” Wei Xiaolu said, her bright eyes sparkling. “They go especially well with what you’re wearing today.”

Her clothes were part of the props too. Shen Siyan smiled inwardly, slightly resigned.

“Coincidentally, I don’t like them very much.”

Wei Xiaolu’s face wrinkled softly as she blurted, “Huh? You don’t like the flowers?”

“Mhm.” Shen Siyan gripped the bouquet’s handle and handed it to Wei Xiaolu. “Since you think they’re pretty, you can take them.”

“This, this, I...” Wei Xiaolu had already reached out, only to pull back at the last second. “No way, gorgeous. These were given to you by your blind date, right? How could I take them..."

“They belong to me now,” Shen Siyan said with a faint smile. “If you don’t want them, help me throw them away.”

“How could I not want them?” Wei Xiaolu gathered the flowers into her arms like she was protecting food.

Shen Siyan watched her.

“Well, okay then. I don’t really like flowers that much either, but I really like this bouquet,” Wei Xiaolu said, lowering her head to inhale deeply before looking up with a bright, innocent smile. “Maybe because these are flowers from CEO Shen.”

Leaning against the desk, Shen Siyan studied the girl before her with a deep look in her eyes.

This girl was only an intern, not even fully out in the world yet, and her emotional intelligence was already better than some stubborn old employees.

Setting aside how she handled things, she was genuinely good at talking to people. Her posture might occasionally be a little submissive, but her words were sweet as honey; add in a few inspired little gestures, and she could unknowingly pull two people closer together.

If Shen Siyan herself hadn’t been firm-minded and long familiar with this sort of thing, then put another sentimental leader in her place, and it would be very easy to blur truth from falsehood and develop thoughts they ought not to have.

“I’ll tidy them up tomorrow and bring them to the office,” Wei Xiaolu said, rubbing the ribbon tied around the flowers between her fingers. Her smile was bright. “We can think of it as adding a touch of spring to our office.”

Shen Siyan also smiled. “Sounds good.”

After that, Wei Xiaolu happily ran off to look for something that could pass as a vase.

Shen Siyan went back to the report for a while when her phone suddenly lit up.

[Qi Lang: So, did the blind date work out this time?]

[Shen Siyan: No]

[Qi Lang: All right. Then next time you need a blind date, call me again.]

[Shen Siyan: OK]

Setting the phone down, Shen Siyan let out a quiet breath.

Out of all the people who had been introduced to her, Qi Lang was relatively safe.

At the very least, he was her father’s friend’s son; rich and powerful, lacking nothing in women’s company, surrounded by soft little girls who would gladly fall into his arms. Yet he, like her, had family expectations hanging over his head, and every so often he still had to go on a blind date just to placate his parents. That was why Shen Siyan had chosen him to take the blame.

As for the “gunfire” aimed at her... who knew how long it would keep going.

But for now, she still needed a shield.

She hadn’t yet secured her footing in the new position, and she still didn’t have a career that would let her stand entirely on her own. It wasn’t yet time to come out.

So the urgent priority was to do well by the department first.

When she visited Zhaolan Group today, seeing Chen Dongqi had genuinely surprised her.

Before her promotion, the company had given her this explanation: the former department head, Chen Dongqi, had resigned voluntarily because a family member had become seriously ill and he needed to return to his hometown for long-term care.

But that was only the core reason. There were, of course, other reasons as well; her clear head, her ability to keep the bigger picture in mind, her excellent work, and her polished manner in handling affairs all played a part.

Yet when she met him at Zhaolan today and asked about his family member’s illness, Chen Dongqi’s answer was incomplete.

First he said it was an old ailment, then he said it was a heart condition, and finally he said it had been more or less under control.

He dodged and hedged throughout. Combined with the place he had shown up in now, it was obvious this wasn’t about going home to care for relatives. It was more like he had already been preparing to switch companies, and the transition had been absurdly smooth.

Was the other side offering too good a deal, or was the Product Interaction Department simply too difficult to manage? Shen Siyan wasn’t sure yet.

But the Product Interaction Department really was scattered like a plate of loose sand, operating in a lifeless, fixed-rules sort of way, without any soul holding it together.

Shen Siyan decided to start with Chen Dongqi.

She might as well use the pretext of “looking for outsourcing” to ask him for advice on managing the Product Interaction Department.

For Shen Siyan, the hard part was never execution; it was the “thinking” stage.

Once she made up her mind, she would act immediately.

So the following afternoon, she was ready to head out and meet Chen Dongqi for dinner.

The restaurant she had booked was very close to Zhaolan headquarters, so it was convenient to swing by and take Wei Xiaolu back to the apartment on the way.

Halfway through the drive, President Chen suddenly called. Shen Siyan tapped the back of her earbud twice to answer, then exchanged the usual pleasantries.

“CEO Shen, you should head over first,” Chen Dongqi said. “My grandson hasn’t been let out of kindergarten yet. I have to pick him up and take him back first.”

“Bring Hanhan along too,” Shen Siyan said after thinking it over, glancing at the plastic bag of groceries in Wei Xiaolu’s hands. “I heard this place has really good waffles. It’d be perfect for the kid to try them.”

Chen Dongqi agreed naturally, and Shen Siyan smiled. “All right, then we’ll head over first, President Chen. We’ll wait for you at the restaurant.”

After the call ended, she smoothed her hair and asked Wei Xiaolu, “Do you like waffles?”

As soon as Wei Xiaolu heard there was food involved, her eyes widened. “I do! They’re fragrant and soft; it’s hard to say no to them.”

“Come eat with me,” Shen Siyan said, pointing at the bag in her hand. “Put the groceries in the car.”

Wei Xiaolu froze.

Then she broke into a grin so wide it showed all her teeth. “Wow, CEO Shen, you’re way too nice.”

Shen Siyan added, “President Chen is bringing his grandson Hanhan. I heard that kid’s pretty wild, so if you go, help keep an eye on him.”

“No problem.” Wei Xiaolu gripped the seatbelt with both hands, looking ready to spring into action. After a beat, she said, “Thank you, gorgeous, for taking me out into the world. I can learn from you how to deal with big shots. That’s way more interesting than going home and gnawing on cabbage leaves by myself.”

More interesting than eating and freeloading, probably.

Shen Siyan saw right through her, but she didn’t say anything, only smiled gently. “Eat more when we get there.”

“Got it, gorgeous.” Wei Xiaolu was brimming with enthusiasm.

At the restaurant, the two of them waited for more than an hour before Chen Dongqi finally arrived with his grandson.

“Thank you, CEO Shen,” Chen Dongqi said, shaking Shen Siyan’s hand. “For waiting so long. Hanhan, say hello.”

The little boy tried to break free from Chen Dongqi’s hand, tugged a few times, and only then seemed to remember, calling out “sister” toward Shen Siyan.

“Mm,” Shen Siyan replied with a smile. “It wasn’t that long of a wait. President Chen, this is my intern, Wei Xiaolu.”

Wei Xiaolu probably hadn’t expected to be introduced, and after hesitating for two seconds, she stepped forward to shake hands. “Hello, President Chen. I often hear the seniors in the department mention you; they say you have a lot of backbone. I’m really lucky to meet you in person today, and I’ll have to learn more from you.”

Not bad. Not timid, but a little stiff and too much like a formal polite exchange; she still needed more practice.

Shen Siyan thought this while warming up the atmosphere, inviting President Chen to the seat of honor, and calling Hanhan over to order.

Most of the dishes were ordered by Chen Dongqi. In the end, Shen Siyan took the menu, saw that only one waffle had been ordered, and smiled as she said, “Let’s add another one. Young people nowadays seem to like these too; let our department kid benefit from Hanhan’s luck and try some as well.”

“Sure, sure; one for... Xiaolu, was it? Give Xiaolu one.” Chen Dongqi said.

Wei Xiaolu hurriedly stood up to thank him.

This time, though, Wei Xiaolu wasn’t as calm as before. After sitting down again, she held herself very straight, her hands clasped under the table, faintly trembling.

She really was still young; she hadn’t been through many occasions like this, so being nervous was only natural.

Shen Siyan saw everything clearly. While continuing to chat and laugh with Chen Dongqi, she reached out and placed her hand over the back of Wei Xiaolu’s hand, giving it a light pat.

The trembling in her palm lasted a few seconds before slowly settling.

Hanhan was truly the kind of child who could not sit still. Before the food had even been served, and with no delicious dishes to hold his attention, he was darting and bouncing around the aisle like the Monkey King.

As Shen Siyan asked about outsourcing, she moved her hand and tapped Wei Xiaolu’s leg. When Wei Xiaolu noticed, she pointed toward Hanhan.

Wei Xiaolu immediately understood. Just then, she and Chen Dongqi had finished a stretch of conversation, so she rose at the right moment. “President Chen, I’ll go watch Hanhan. You two keep talking. Once the food comes, I’ll bring Hanhan back over.”

Not bad; she was pretty quick on the uptake.

Just after she mentally praised her, Shen Siyan looked at Wei Xiaolu, who had started bouncing after the little boy, and suddenly felt that this girl wasn’t really suited to business dinners either; she belonged at the kids’ table.

She glanced at them from the corner of her eye for a while, then smiled helplessly.

He was, after all, one of her own people. There was no rush; they could be cultivated slowly.