Chapter 40 Mr. Shang, Give Me a Chance to Prove Myself

The voice conference with the US branch lasted for four hours before finally ending.

Shangqiu Zhu sat back down at his desk, loosened his tie, and then noticed a lacquered wooden lunchbox lying quietly next to the documents on the right side of his desk.

The lid was slightly lifted, revealing neatly arranged sushi inside.

The salmon belly gleamed like pearls, and the sauce brushed onto the conger eel slices was crystal clear.

Next to the lunchbox, a cup of coffee was steaming.

He remembered something and looked up through the floor-to-ceiling window at the outer office area.

Yan Shuang's workstation is diagonally opposite his office, and from this angle you can see her profile as she works with her head down.

He reached for his coffee, but at that moment he saw a tall, slender figure leaning against Yan Shuang's partition.

After Du Yunchuan said something, Yan Shuang suddenly laughed.

The intercom rang abruptly, interrupting Yan Shuang's conversation with Du Yunchuan.

Yan Shuang quickly suppressed her smile and immediately answered the phone.

"President Shang." Her voice came through the receiver, as professional and restrained as ever.

"Let Du Yunchuan in," Shang Qiuzhu said before hanging up the phone.

Yan Shuang turned to Du Yunchuan, her face regaining its polite smile: "Mr. Du, Mr. Shang invites you in."

Du Yunchuan raised an eyebrow and winked at Yan Shuang: "Looks like I'll have to face your boss's wrath. I haven't finished telling that joke yet, we'll continue next time."

Yan Shuang nodded slightly, watching Du Yunchuan walk towards the president's office, then lowered her head to continue processing documents.

Thirty seconds later, there was a knock on the door.

“Qiu Zhu.” Du Yunchuan stood at the door, a faint smile still lingering on his face.

The moment the door closed, the air pressure in the office seemed to drop ten degrees.

"Another problem on the American side?" Du Yunchuan walked confidently towards the reception area, poured himself a glass of whiskey, and said, "I just got back from Milan and heard about that old fox Anderson..."

"Are you very free?"

Shangqiu Zhu suddenly looked up, interrupting Du Yunchuan.

Du Yunchuan's hand, which was holding a glass, froze in mid-air as he keenly sensed the unusual atmosphere.

He has known Shangqiu Zhu for fifteen years, from their student days to the present. He has rarely seen his friend like this. On the surface, he is calm, but undercurrents are surging.

He was familiar with every micro-expression of Shangqiu Zhu, and at this moment, there was clearly some emotion hidden in those deep eyes that he could not understand.

"It seems there's a big problem this time."

"It's alright, proceeding as expected." Shangqiu Zhu's voice remained cold.

"That is..." Du Yunchuan asked tentatively, walking to the sofa and sitting down naturally.

Shangqiu Zhu did not answer.

Du Yunchuan deliberately used a teasing tone to try to break the awkward atmosphere, "By the way, just now outside, Yan Shuang helped me adjust the schedule for the afternoon meeting. She's smart, meticulous, and beautiful too, truly a precious secretary."

“If you’re here just to discuss my staff, the door is over there.”

Du Yunchuan's eyebrows almost reached his hairline.

He lowered his crossed legs, leaned forward slightly, and carefully examined his friend. "Qiu Zhu," he said slowly, enunciating each word clearly, "something's wrong with you."

“I’m perfectly fine.” Shangqiu Zhu picked up a document, indicating that the conversation was over.

Du Yunchuan knew Shangqiu bamboo all too well; his face was filled with disbelief.

A few seconds later, the corners of his mouth slowly turned up, revealing a knowing smile.

"Oh~" he drawled, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "I see."

Shangqiu Zhu ignored his teasing. "You'll need to go to the South City project in person next week. Lin Sheng has prepared the documents."

Du Yunchuan knew this was his friend's way of changing the subject, but he decided not to press the matter further.

Of course, not now.

He stood up, his smile deepening. "Alright, let me take a look at the documents."

At 6:20 p.m., Yan Shuang gently knocked on the half-open office door, holding several documents that needed to be filed.

"President Shang, these are the last documents for today, and I have already prepared them."

Shangqiu Zhu didn't even look up before giving a curt "hmm," and his pen scratched across the paper.

Yan Shuang placed the documents on the unprocessed document rack on the corner of the table, her gaze sweeping to the right where she had left her lunchbox at noon.

The lunchbox is empty.

Yan Shuang's eyelashes trembled slightly as she reached for the lunchbox.

"Is tiramisu delicious?"

A deep voice suddenly came from behind her. Yan Shuang blinked, wondering if she had misheard.

He was asking about the box that Du Yunchuan had given him.

"It's...it's quite delicious." She straightened up.

Yan Shuang sensed something was amiss.

Isn't he very busy? How can he have the leisure to care about his subordinates' desserts?

Yan Shuang realized that this might be a rare opportunity.

The bamboo in Shangqiu seems to be relaxing for once now, perhaps...

"Mr. Shang, I've prepared some preliminary plans for the South City project." Yan Shuang took out a blue folder and handed it to him with both hands.

Shangqiu Zhu raised an eyebrow and took the folder.

Yan Shuang held her breath, watching his slender hands turn the pages of the documents she had spent three sleepless nights compiling.

Each page contains detailed annotations and data analysis, and even includes a comparison table of similar projects from competitors.

The office was so quiet you could hear the rustling of papers turning. Yan Shuang unconsciously clenched her fingers.

Without looking up, Shangqiu Zhu flipped through the documents: "Get to the point."

“The leverage ratio in the plan can be increased to 1.8 times, which is the calculated safety threshold.” She pulled up the data model on her tablet. “A tiered design can be adopted.”

He snatched the tablet from her hand and swiped open the dynamic model she had created: "The cash flow calculation on the third page is wrong in terms of decimal places." His long, slender hand paused at a certain point, "But the idea of ​​a tiered design is good."

Shangqiu Zhu closed the document. "I will have the project team take this into account in advance."

Yan Shuang's eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

She mustered her courage and said, "President Shang, I would like to participate in the preliminary preparations for the Nancheng project."

After saying that, she quickly added, "Of course, it won't affect my secretarial work. I can use my off-get off work hours..."

"No way," Shangqiu Zhu refused outright.

Yan Shuang's smile froze on her face. She hadn't expected to be rejected so decisively.

"Why?" She heard her own voice tremble slightly. "You also approved my analysis report."

Shang Qiuzhu placed the folder back on the table. "If I remember correctly, your position is secretary." He looked at her, his eyes sharp. "Your job is to arrange schedules and organize documents, not to participate in project decisions."

“I majored in finance in college,” Yan Shuang said, trying to control her volume, but her voice was already trembling noticeably. “I even won an award for my graduation project. Mr. Shang, please give me a chance to prove myself…”

"I said, no." Shangqiu Zhu's voice carried an unquestionable authority. "Just do your job."

Yan Shuang bit her lower lip. "I understand, President Shang."

She was a little disappointed, but quickly accepted it.

Over the past three years, she has learned not to look for reasons in the unpredictable weather of Shangqiu bamboo, but simply to complete each task quietly and efficiently.

No matter how bad his attitude was, she wouldn't complain for long; she just focused on doing her job responsibly.

Inside the office, Shangqiu Zhu's gaze followed Yan Shuang's figure in the outer office area.

He suddenly remembered Du Yunchuan's words, "Smart and meticulous, and also beautiful."

He loosened his tie.