Chapter 36

Every time Liang Shi saw Li Junqian, he could only describe him as a hypocrite. This man took advantage of others and then blamed all of humanity for it! How ridiculous!

But then I thought, although she verbally condemned his behavior, she actually tacitly approved and accepted it.

This is terrible, as if their relationship hasn't changed, or rather, their relationship is broken only in Zhao Jiaren's eyes.

She still likes him, so she accepts this lingering connection. Even so, they can't stay like this forever. They need to find a way to change this situation.

On Easter Sunday, Liang was very busy. Fanning had dozens of counters in Shanghai, and she was worried about the event, so she took Marry to visit the stores. In the morning, they visited stores in luxury shopping malls, and everything was in good condition. The store staff did a great job of serving customers and maintaining order.

In the afternoon, she visited some counters in ordinary shopping malls. The stores were very chaotic, the activity areas were crowded, and the sales assistants all looked impatient. Liang Shi also looked very unhappy. However, it was not her responsibility to inspect the stores and give scores and training to the staff. She asked Marry to take photos, pack them up, and send them to Aiden's assistant, along with a report on the situation of each store.

Liang Shi found a coffee shop to compose himself. Marry cautiously reminded him, "Director Liang, the situation at the shop is mainly handled by Director Aiden's team. Wouldn't it be overstepping our bounds if we wrote a report for them?"

They are at the same level after all.

The coffee was still very hot. Liang Shi stirred it in the cup with a coffee spoon: "Really? Aren't these activities supposed to be handled by their trade marketing department? Since the leadership has asked our department to participate, I feel I have to ensure that the on-site activities I'm in charge of satisfy customers, instead of being as chaotic as they were just now! There's another offline event tomorrow. After you finish this cup of coffee, go back to your office, organize your things, and send them to Aiden's assistant."

Seeing that she still seemed worried, Liang Shi shook his head and smiled, "Just do it. If Aiden needs to find someone, he'll contact me. I'm not going back this afternoon; I have other things to do."

She doesn't understand tea, and when she drinks it, she can only get a general sense of the taste. In Liang Shi's opinion, there is almost no difference between tea that costs a dozen yuan and tea that costs thousands of yuan.

Liang Shi glanced at the time; it was almost five o'clock. She wasn't sure if Zhao Jiaren would still come, but she was certain that even if she did, the tea would be wasted.

The appointment was for four o'clock, but Liang Shi waited for two whole hours before Zhao Jia finally appeared. A noblewoman's elegance lies not only in her appearance but also in her refined demeanor.

The crocodile Birkin bag was quite intimidating, but thankfully Liang Shi had put her Chanel bag on her back.

"Aunt Zhao, it's been a long time."

The lady didn't even look at her, glanced at the tea on the table, and sneered, "You know I don't really want to see you."

Liang Shi suppressed his emotions and tried his best to smile: "Although you're late, Aunt Zhao, you still came. Because, as you know, the most likely reason I'm seeing you is because of your son."

Sure enough, the wealthy woman opposite him lost her composure, and Liang Shi felt threatened again: "Don't you want to stay in Shanghai?"

Liang Shi poured himself a cup of tea: "On the contrary, I just want to make a good living in Shanghai, which is why I contacted you. I remember you told me that after I broke up with him, he wouldn't call or text me at all, of course I was referring to contact outside of work. But recently I've been very troubled."

She stopped there, picked up the small, gleaming teacup, took a sip of tea, and found it delicious, but felt it wasn't worth over a thousand.

Zhao Jiaren threw her sunglasses on the table, her sharp eyes fixed on the young woman opposite her: "You mean my son is still bothering you?"

Faced with such a domineering gaze, Liang Shi felt flustered, but pretended to be calm: "Yes."

Zhao Jiaren found it laughable: "You dare say you didn't..."

Liang Shi's smile faded, his brows furrowing as he said seriously, "He's my boss, and sometimes I have to obey, but I've refused when it's not work-related. Aunt Zhao, I'm on your turf, I won't dig my own grave."

Zhao Jiaren snorted, put on her sunglasses, picked up her bag without hesitation, and stood up: "I understand."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Liang Shi also stood up and said goodbye to her.

Zhao Jiaren took a step, then turned back: "Have you ever thought that if you leave Fan Ning, no matter how hard you try, with your overestimating abilities, you'll never reach a higher peak? Why do you think I would let you stand in front of my son?"

After the person left, Liang Shi slumped down. The solid wood chair was hard, and her legs ached a little, but her heart ached even more. Zhao Jiaren was right; no matter how hard she tried, it was all in vain.

It turns out that Zhao Jiaren didn't take her seriously at all.

...

Despite being busy with work lately, Li Junqian still makes it a habit to get up early to exercise. When he returns from his morning run, there is a pair of flat shoes standing at the door. He is sensitive to smells, and the space is filled with a familiar perfume scent.

His mother was making breakfast at the open kitchen island. It was a rare sight.

When Zhao Jiaren saw her son whom she hadn't seen in a long time, she pointed to the plate and said, "Sandwiches and salad, come and eat with us."

Li Junqian took off his headphones and walked over: "Mom, why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

“I suddenly missed my son. Can I come and see him? I remember you loved sandwiches when you were little.”

Li Junqian didn't say anything, picked up the sandwich and started eating. He didn't have much of a desire for food, as long as he was full, let alone something he had been eating for decades.

"It's only seven o'clock, and making breakfast isn't your style. Mom, if it's about Zhou Mengmeng, she's already dating someone else. Besides, I've been very busy lately and don't have time to deal with the people you've arranged."

Zhao Jiaren tossed her fork into her plate, the stainless steel and ceramic making a crisp sound as they clattered together. "Is it that you don't have the time or that you don't want to? Karsten, your mother is getting old; you should be thinking about me having a grandson."

At this point, Li Junqian laughed: "Since you're so eager to have a grandson, you shouldn't interfere in my love life."

Zhao Jiaren frowned upon hearing this: "Liang Shi told you that I had contacted her?"

"She doesn't need to say that. Mom, you shouldn't interfere in my affairs with her anymore."

Zhao Jiaren looked at her son in silence. From the moment he was born, Zhao Jiaren was proud of him. She watched him grow up and become more and more outstanding. At the age of thirty, he should be considering important life events, but then this little brat Liang Shi appeared.

“Karsten, you have been my pride since you were a child. Your mother has never had to worry about you. With your current abilities, you should choose a wife who is worthy of you.”

The sound of a glass hitting the marble island was followed by the loss of Li Junqian's earlier gentle expression: "As good as me? Does Zhou Mengmeng deserve it? You only want someone who is on par with the Zhao family. I will make my own decisions about my marriage."

“Karsten, I remember you were a very well-behaved child…”

When he was a child? That was so long ago, he can hardly remember it anymore.

“Mom, it’s not that I’m obedient, but that I’ve had a strong sense of self-reliance since I was very young. I make detailed plans for myself at every stage of my life, and my plans happen to meet your expectations. Your so-called obedience is just that you acknowledge my abilities over the years and that I haven’t caused you any trouble. The reason you came to talk about Liang Shi today is simply because my choice was not within your expectations.”

"Besides, I'm almost forty, and my childhood was a long time ago. You weren't involved in many stages of my life, and it's my business what kind of wife I should marry based on my own abilities."

Zhao Jiaren was surprised by her son's resolute attitude: "What kind of bewitching drug did Liang Shi give you? She's just an orphan from a poor place!"

"Mom, thank you for breakfast. I will not back down on this matter, and please don't contact her again."

Zhao Jiaren had a headache and it took her a while to speak: "As far as I know, you two broke up."

"Breaking up doesn't mean we won't get back together, Mom. If you want to never have a grandson in your life, you can give it a try."

The white porcelain plate was thrown to the ground and shattered into pieces. Zhao Jiaren never expected that one day her son, whom she valued and was so proud of, would threaten her like this!

"Li Junqian, you'll regret this!"

What does he regret?

"Mom, even if you invite Grandpa over today, I will say the same thing."

Zhao Jiaren picked up her bag, laughing in exasperation: "Why do you think I came here today? Son, everyone is selfish. That woman abandoned you just to settle down in Shanghai. How much do you think she loves you? Think about it carefully."

Li Junqian sat on the island platform with a furrowed brow, and this time, quite rudely, he did not see his mother off.

As Zhao Jiaren walked to the door and put on her shoes, she raised her voice: "I don't want a woman to affect the relationship between my son and me. I'm going to see your father. I've already sent the driver back. You can drive."

Li Junqian didn't want to argue with Zhao Jiaren; they shouldn't have argued in the first place. But marriage was about the rest of his life, and he didn't think it was something to be taken lightly.

But he never expected that Liang Shi would have his mother control him. It seems he's been giving her a lot of trouble lately.

After visiting the graves, Li Junqian accompanied Zhao Jiaren to have brunch. Zhao Jiaren had another appointment and drove off on her own. Li Junqian glanced at the time and didn't rush back to the company.

Last night, Aiden called him, complaining that the creative director was arrogant and bossy towards him. She also sent him a statement from the creative department, asking him to uphold justice.

He explained that he had examined the situation very carefully and that there were indeed significant operational problems. He had already spoken to Aiden last night and made it clear that he would talk to Liang Shi. He also did not want this matter to cause any rift between the two departments.

China is a society that values ​​personal connections and follows rules. It was indeed inappropriate for Liang Shi to go directly to Aiden without going through him.

Li Junqian took a taxi to the store where the scene was most chaotic yesterday, and unexpectedly found Liang Shi there as well. He didn't go closer, but went to the Starbucks across the street.

I ordered coffee and found a spot where I could see the other side clearly. This is an old shopping mall, and most of the brands that have moved in are affordable. The first floor mainly features luxury cosmetics lines. Fanning's original market plan was to open a store here rather than a counter, mainly because there are many residential areas nearby, and the business prospects are very good.

Unfortunately, with more and more shopping malls opening up around it, and the mall's poor customer attraction efforts, the store's sales have declined, and the operations team didn't even include this store in this year's plans.

But what he witnessed upon entering was different from what Aiden usually reported in his reports. The mall had undergone a relocation program at the end of last year, focusing on children's and food and beverage businesses, and the foot traffic was significantly higher than before.

Today is a weekday, and perhaps because of the promotion, the store is particularly crowded, mostly with mothers who brought their children to join in the fun.

The most significant problem Liang Shi discovered upon arriving at the store was a shortage of staff. Store manager Amy told her that their sales performance was at the bottom, and the company would send staff to other stores to help out whenever there was a promotion.

Liang Shi was speechless. She didn't think that this store had less customer traffic than the stores in the CBD. On the contrary, it had more. It was just that most of the customers here were just coming in to take a look. What was scary was that the store manager and the staff were particularly unmotivated and didn't take the initiative to communicate with customers. Good business was just slipping away like that.

What exactly are operations doing?

Two sales staff stood in the area where the Easter eggs were painted, their faces expressionless. The store was crowded at the time, so Liang told them to go and explain the products to the customers and do more promotions. She would guide the activities.

Marry reluctantly whispered in Liang Shi's ear, "Those people in the sales department always seem to have nothing to do. The offline stores are a complete mess. Director Liang, why should we work for them?"

Liang handed the customers the colored pencils they wanted: "I'm in charge of this event. I just want customers to enjoy our services. The event itself is designed to attract customers and even turn them into repeat customers."

As soon as she finished speaking, Marry tugged at her sleeve: "Director Liang, it's President Li!"

Liang Shi looked up and saw Li Junqian walking towards them, dressed in sportswear. The probability of this guy wearing this on a weekday is practically zero, and he hadn't heard of him taking a day off.

Store manager Amy happened to be at the door. When she saw General Manager Li arrive, she quickly came over to greet him, but he didn't give her a friendly look: "Find someone to replace Director Liang."

Liang Shi overheard Li Junqian's words, said something to Mary, and then walked up to Li Junqian: "Mr. Li, you wanted to see me?"

"In the past..."

Liang Shi followed her to the coffee shop. After sitting down, he was a little surprised to find two cups of coffee on the table. One cup was already half-finished, and the other was fresh and hot.

So, he was already sitting here? From this spot, you can see the Fanning store clearly.

"Curious about why I'm here?"

She had just asked the question when he asked it back.

She wasn't stupid: "Did Aiden tattle on you?"

After she finished speaking, her stomach growled twice. She hadn't eaten much that morning, and it was already lunchtime; she was definitely hungry.

Li Junqian pressed down on her hand as she picked up the coffee cup: "Don't drink coffee on an empty stomach. I haven't eaten either. Let's go."

The two sat down again in a tea restaurant, where the food was served faster than in a typical restaurant that serves freshly cooked dishes.

“You should send that report to me, not Aiden.”

Liang Shi had actually regretted it last night; she had applied the same approach she used in France here, which was clearly inappropriate. Although it was a foreign company, the people here weren't foreigners.

She admitted her mistake: "I'm sorry, Mr. Li, I will apologize to Aiden."

Li Junqian called over the waitress, ordered the dishes, and asked her if she wanted anything else.

"That's enough, there's too much to eat. Oh, and could you please pack me a claypot rice dish?"

After the waiter left, she heard him say, "You don't need to apologize to him. It was indeed his fault, and I also observed the situation at the store just now. I was negligent. At the beginning of the year, the company entrusted me with the management of operations and sales, and I didn't expect such a mistake to occur. I need to thank you for this, Suzie. But I still want to remind you that sometimes the leader is the bad guy."

Liang Shi understood: "Thank you for reminding me, I understand now."

The meal was eaten quickly. Liang Shi thought he would talk to her about things other than work, but he didn't, which Liang Shi found a little strange. But then she thought, he's a workaholic, work comes first. Seeing the people and things under his supervision in such a bad state, how could he be in the mood to talk to her about anything else?

But this is good, it's what she wanted.

Liang brought Mary to the coffee shop, ordered two coffees, and watched her eat.

"Director Liang, President Li looked very serious just now. Could it be because of yesterday..."

"Eat your food, this has nothing to do with you."