Chapter 9: Helping the enemy of my enemy

Long Weihe parked outside the campus, grabbed the stack of resumes she'd printed on her way out, and walked into the campus with Qian Duoduo. They entered the first-floor lobby of Xingtan and found a table in the coffee shop. "Mom's got some work to do. I'll buy you some snacks. You sit here and eat. Keep your phone watch on and don't leave. I'll track your location. You can call me anytime," she urged hastily. "How long will it take you to be back?" "About thirty minutes." "Where are you going?" She pointed toward the elevator lobby at the gate. "Upstairs." "Who are you meeting?" "A client." "Good guy or bad guy?" "...Good guy." The good guy was silenced, and he felt relieved and thought about eating. "I want chocolate cake," he said, his hands resting on the table, his mouth full of greed and a smile on his face. Seeing her turn to buy it, he said, "No chocolate cake, pudding." When she reached the information desk, he ran over and said, "Mom, I'll have the cake." He was once again faced with a dilemma. She ordered both cake and pudding, and to keep him seated longer, she bought him a small stuffed animal charm. After settling everyone, she went out to the lobby front desk to register, picked up her card, and prepared to enter the gate. Someone at the gate bumped into her head-on, their face instantly magnified. A flash of inspiration hit her: it was the bully blocking her way. Qian Duoduo had just delayed the elevator, otherwise she'd missed it. Shi Zhenglin's face flashed with surprise, then tensed with indifference. He hurried past her and headed for the door. The back of his black suit was as stiff as a city wall; she had come to attack. The reckless ones scurried after him. When they reached her, she felt he was a dark ogre. "Hello, Mr. Shi!" He ignored her. "I came here specifically to see you." "What are you doing with your shady ways again?" Back then, when she approached him on the golf course, Lin Yao had planned it, and she had executed it. The last message he sent her before blocking her was just the three words "shady ways." "Mr. Shi can offer us the open path. I don't want to take the hard-and-fast route." She quickly pulled her resume from her bag. "We don't want to lose Xingtan, our long-standing client. We're eager to take on this order and have the skills to do it. I've brought you a few resumes for positions. Please review them. There's definitely someone who meets your requirements. Even if I've been wrong before, please be magnanimous and give us a chance. We will definitely serve Xingtan well and you well." Her voice matched the pace of his steps, her tone incredibly sincere. It wasn't often she'd shamelessly thrown her dignity aside to ask for help. The phone rang again. He glanced at her, didn't answer, and, annoyed, stopped, turned, and glanced at the resume in her hand. "Can you be the only one who can give me the person I need?" "Yes, we can give people who others can't, and we can do it faster than anyone else." "Do you really need me to be blunt? You often...

Long Weihe parked the car outside the park, picked up a stack of resumes he had printed before leaving, took Qian Duoduo into the park, entered the first-floor lobby of Xingtan, and found a seat in the coffee shop.

"Mom has something to do. I'll buy you some snacks. You sit here and eat them. Wear your phone watch and don't leave. I'll check your location. You can call me anytime." She reminded him anxiously.

"How long will it take you to be back?"

"About thirty minutes."

"Where are you going?"

She pointed towards the elevator lobby at the gate and said, "Upstairs."

"Who are you going to find?"

"client."

"Good guy or bad guy?"

“…Good man.”

The good man kept his mouth shut, and he felt relieved and thought about eating.

"I want chocolate cake." He put his hands on the table, looking greedy and happy.

Seeing her turn around to buy it, she said again, "I don't want chocolate cake, I want pudding."

When she got to the service counter, he ran over and said, "Mom, I still want the cake."

He was having difficulty making a decision again.

She ordered both cake and pudding, and to extend the time he could sit still, she bought him a small doll pendant to play with.

After settling everyone down, she went out to the lobby front desk to register, took her card and prepared to enter the gate.

The person coming out of the gate bumped into her head-on, and the person's face instantly enlarged. Her mind suddenly lit up and she realized that it was the bully who was blocking the way.

Qian Duoduo just delayed the time, otherwise he would have missed the elevator.

Shi Zhenglin's face showed a hint of surprise, then he became indifferent and tense. He brushed past him quickly and walked towards the door.

The back of her black suit was as stiff as a city wall; she came to attack. Those who were determined to fight sprinted to catch up.

When she got to the side, she felt that he was like a dark evil spirit.

"Hello, Mr. Shi!"

He ignored it.

"I came here specifically to see you."

"What kind of unconventional tricks are you using again?"

She had approached him on the golf course that year. Lin Yao had planned it, and she had executed it. The last message he sent her before blocking her was just the three words "wild way."

"Mr. Shi can give us a broad path. I don't want to take the unconventional path." She quickly took out her resume from her bag. "We don't want to lose Xingtan, an old customer. We really want to do the order and we have the ability to do it. I have brought the resumes for several positions. Please review them. There must be people who meet your requirements. Even if I did something wrong before, please be magnanimous and give me a chance. We will definitely serve Xingtan well and serve you well." Her speech speed followed the rhythm of his steps, and her tone was extremely sincere.

There were very few times when she threw away her dignity and shamelessly asked for help from others.

The phone rang again. He glanced at it but didn't answer it. He got impatient, stopped, and turned to look at the resume in her hand. "The person I need, can only you give me?"

"Yes, we can give to those who cannot be given by others, and we can give faster than others."

"Do you really need me to be frank? You deal with people so often, how can you not understand trust? Trust is something that's gone once it's lost. You should know exactly why I don't want you. I've already made the decision, and as long as I, Shi Zhenglin, am at Xingtan, this decision won't change. You consider yourselves professionals, so you should do professional things and follow the right path. Unconventional ways don't suit me."

He gave me a sharp look and turned away.

The resume is still there.

She felt humiliated by being considered a deviant and was bullied as if she had been stripped naked.

She was trembling with anger, and her resume was shaking in her hands. At this time, even if Shi Zhenglin asked her to serve him, she would not do it.

She stuffed the resume into her bag, making a mess.

On this trip, she hated herself for not having the ability to judge him. Before the stereotyped meeting, all the talk of taking a chance, what major, what resume, were just scraps of paper shredded by the powerful.

When she returned to the lobby, she saw from afar that there was no one sitting at the seat where Qian Duoduo had just sat. Her heart sank instantly, and she ran into the coffee shop in panic.

“Duoduo!”

The two people sitting inside were startled by her urgent voice.

After she asked them, she asked the waiter, and they all said that the person was there just now, and they turned around and didn't notice where he went.

Her body felt weak and her mind was confused. Then she remembered that her watch was positioning her in this building, but she couldn't see the specific location. She came out of the cafe and looked for it in the lobby. "Duoduo! Duoduo——"

It was a little after six, time to get off work, and the lobby was crowded, affecting visibility. She shouted loudly, not caring about other people's eyes.

"Mom! Mom! Long Weihe! Mom!"

The sound came from the elevator entrance.

He entered the gate, his body shorter than the barrier, and she couldn't see him at all.

She ran over there and saw the little man's head. Only then did she realize that her eyes were wet and her vision was blurry.

"I told you not to run around!" She gave him a look through the turnstile.

Qian Duoduo was a smart guy. He came out the same way he came in. When someone came out of the gate, he followed the person quickly. She didn't have time to stop him. She was afraid that he would be pinched by the barrier, so she reached out to protect him.

He snuggled into her arms, his mouth curled up into a ladle, and beans fell out, "You said I could call you, I called you several times, but you didn't answer. I was a little scared to be alone after eating snacks, so I wanted to go find you."

She took out her cell phone and he called five or six times. He forgot to turn the silent mode back on and was busy chasing the black demon, so he didn't look.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

His forehead was covered in sweat, and she wiped it again and again with her hand.

The damp heat she'd been holding back overflowed from her eyes, breaking through her defenses. She hadn't cried since the divorce. She couldn't tell if it was out of fear or anger.

She picked him up, put her face against his little head, and kissed him again and again, until the paleness on her face turned back a little red.

Lin Yao called to ask where they were, saying that everyone was there and waiting for them.

The place is a Hunan restaurant they often go to, and everyone in the group likes spicy food.

It was a depressing meal, but then Qian Duoduo came and the atmosphere changed. Everyone said they wanted to curry favor with him.

"Give your sister a hug." Song Yihui teased him.

"No way!"

"I bought you a can of candy and put it in the office. Just hug me."

"No! No!" He was in a bad mood, probably because he had just been frightened. He refused to cooperate and hid around the table.

Lin Yaolu smiled, raising her teacup to lighten the mood. "We have to carve out our own paths to earn money, not rely on currying favor. No resources will belong to Lin He forever, and others' resources won't be left out forever. We'll let Xing Tan go this year, and Shi Zhenglin can't sit in that position forever. I hope those who stand in our way will step aside soon. We'll forge new paths and work hard!"

"Try hard! Try hard!" After losing the Star Tank order, it would be a lie to say that everyone was not discouraged. They maintained their spirits.

Long Weihe calmed down a bit. "As for the candidates we found for Xingtan, if they have a chance to meet, K Hunter should arrange a meeting. It's not easy to find a suitable job these days, so don't let them down. As for the other candidates, please explain clearly. If you didn't get an interview, apologize if you should and wrap things up."

Xingtan, she gave up completely.

"How old is Shi Zhenglin?" An Nan asked.

He had never been exposed to the talent pool of the pharmaceutical group and was curious.

"Thirty-three, a formidable figure." Tan Ming sipped his tea. "He majored in Life Sciences at Fudan University and joined the foreign company Shanemo after graduation. He started in sales, then transitioned to BD. He took a two-year gap year to attend Wharton School, where he studied full-time for two years. He returned to his old employer, Shanemo, and rose through the ranks. It must have taken a lot of effort for Sister Long to poach him back then. Xingtan's Yang Chengkai probably sought him out because he later took a local pharmaceutical company public and could leverage him to expand overseas."

"Looking at his resume, his leadership and international vision should be good, so why is it that..." Anan couldn't describe him. He looked at this and that and saw a lot of sad faces.

"You talk about an international perspective, but it's so empty. Your vision and mind are just so narrow." Li Yan raised her little finger angrily.

He'd calculated last night that if his Xingtan deal had panned out, he'd have earned tens of thousands of yuan in the past two months, and then it was gone in the blink of an eye. He wished he could crush Shi Zhenglin like he was his little finger.

Long Wei cut in, "We won't rely on just one thing. Let's finish the other orders we have. Let's not talk about Xingtan anymore."

Just as she finished speaking and didn't want to mention it again, someone from Xingtan called, and Jiang Lingli called Lin Yao.

She explained that she had two resumes they had submitted, as well as copies from other headhunters, and wanted to make things clear to avoid misunderstandings. She still had some feelings for them and cared about their opinions.

"It's okay, I understand. Just arrange the interview. Do you like Li Xuan's resume? Other headhunters didn't recommend her, right?" Lin Yaoshun said.

"I saw it. I didn't recommend anything else."

"She's a perfect fit for your BD position. If you're interested, you can meet her and she'll provide you with personal service free of charge. Just think of it as a resume Huang Meng found online."

"That's not good. I'm sorry to you guys. You worked so hard to talk to me, and I'm taking up this resource for nothing?"

"Mr. Jiang has taken care of us for so long, thank you very much. As long as you like me, I will be happy to help you."

"Thank you. I'll arrange it later. I'll ask Huang Meng to talk to her."

Jiang Lingli knew that it was difficult to find someone for this position.

Tan Ming took a bite of the pickled fish and choked because of the spiciness. He was also irritated by Lin Yao's words. He turned his head away and coughed violently for a while. When he recovered, his face flushed and his neck stiffened. "No, sister, Shi Zhenglin kicked us out. Are we sending him soldiers and generals for free?"

"It's not for him, it's for Jiang Lingli. Once you go in, you'll be Jiang Lingli's person." Long Weihe said as he mixed the steamed egg with the rice in Qian Duoduo's bowl.

She knew the intricacies of Xingtan too well, and she also knew Jiang Lingli too well. Jiang Lingli wasn't someone who would easily submit to anyone. If Shi Zhenglin didn't integrate her, she would definitely secretly oppose him. Since Shi Zhenglin was already an enemy, then she might as well help the enemy of her enemy.

Lin Yao poured some tea for Tan Ming. "Drink some tea, don't get excited. We're giving it to Jiang Lingli, who might return it to us someday. She has a lot of resources, and when we expand into other businesses later, it'll be easier to ask her for help. Tao Xiang's payment hasn't been settled yet, and Li Xuan has earned us service fees, so we should make it up to her."