Chapter 138: Silent moment, call back to the crematorium

Zhou Xiaomeng's departure from Chen's company was like a silent pebble dropped into a lake—even the exact date of her departure remained vague when everyone realized it and asked about it. The main narrative was that she had "disappeared without a trace."

——By the way, I wonder if she finally got compensation from the company?

The design department held a regular meeting on Tuesday, and the agenda was as expected, all revolving around the batch of design drafts that Su Nian and the director had reviewed yesterday.

After all the proposals were reviewed, Zhang Yue's problems were completely exposed - his skills seemed to be rootless, his creativity was pitifully lacking, and there were so many loopholes that they could not be hidden. He was simply a "shoddy project in the design world."

Looking at her expression at that time, there was a hint of indifference mixed with embarrassment. Others could only sigh in their hearts: It’s really not anyone else’s fault. It’s obvious that she didn’t put her heart into her work and she messed it up.

The reality of the design circle is the same and straightforward everywhere: without inspiration to support you and unable to produce decent work, you are basically on the verge of being eliminated - in short, "inspiration bankruptcy, design collapse".

What's more, the mistakes Zhang Yue made this time were all low-level mistakes.

As expected, just two days later, Zhang Yue took the initiative to submit his resignation application, putting an end to this sloppy working life.

——With a wave of his sleeves, he took away not a cloud, but left behind a few unfinished PSDs.

On Friday morning, Su Nian's design plan, which had been revised and polished over and over again, was finally delivered to Director Lan.

Director Lan took the plan, lightly swept his fingertips across the paper, and his eyes immediately fell on the carefully adjusted details - the color transition that was originally a bit harsh was now as soft as a cat with smooth fur; the icon was slightly adjusted in size, and the whole layout immediately looked symmetrical.

She looked up at Su Nian standing in front of the table, her eyes full of admiration. "The changes are perfect. Every adjustment is spot on. It's even better than I expected!"

Lan Ting put down the proposal, tapped her fingertips lightly on the table, and spoke more earnestly, "The entire department has witnessed your design talent and hard work. But at a company like Chen's, simply producing good work isn't enough. You have to understand the 'rules' here—like how to align requirements with the marketing department and how to achieve the best results within budget constraints. I'll slowly guide you through these twists and turns."

The sincerity in these words made Su Nian feel warm in his heart.

In fact, in Lan Ting's eyes, this extremely talented and hardworking company's only seed player is impeccable in every aspect. Her biggest wish is to help this child understand all the "routines" and grow up quickly.

Su Nian is like a hardworking little bee. In addition to dealing with the design plan at hand, he also has to complete the "homework" assigned by his father - writing a detailed analysis report for the company's strategic plan for the next year.

She rubbed her brows and sighed softly, but without hesitation, she opened the company's previous years' strategic documents saved on her desktop.

This "assignment" is much more difficult than fashion design: design relies on inspiration and aesthetics, while strategic planning and analysis requires a thorough understanding of the company's business, industry trends, and market competition.

Su Nian started with the company's revenue data for the past three years, poring over the densely packed charts: How had the revenue share of each product line changed? Which businesses were cash cows, and which were becoming a drag?

She read and drew on her notebook, and had to stop from time to time to check industry reports and compare the strategic layouts of other companies in the same industry. She felt like her CPU was overclocking and her brain was about to smoke.

Before he knew it, the sky outside the window had darkened, and his colleagues in the office had left work one after another, leaving only the light at Su Nian's workstation still on.

She stretched, rubbed her sore eyes, and looked at the report framework that had been set up on the screen.

From the analysis of the current state of the industry to the breakdown of the company's strengths and weaknesses, to suggestions on potential strategic directions, each part is clearly laid out.

The only thing she was still worried about was the "market expansion strategy": how to balance the company's existing resources and the development costs of new markets. This was even more daunting than designing the most difficult color scheme. It was a typical example of "the boss just talks and the daughter runs herself ragged."

Su Nian closed the document and picked up her phone to check the time. "Wow, it's seven o'clock! It's so late?"

When I unlocked my phone again, I saw a dense row of missed calls from Si Yan and my mom.

—— I set my phone to silent mode in the afternoon for fear of being disturbed. Now, I have left two important people out in the cold. It’s really like “silent mode feels good for a while, but calling back is a nightmare”.

Su Nian touched her belly while calling Si Yan back.

Before his fingertips left the screen, the call was answered in seconds. Si Yan's voice on the other end was obviously hurried, and one could even hear a hint of panic.

"Niannian! You finally answered the phone! I called several times just now but no one answered. I was worried that something might have happened to you at the company, and you were distracted in the middle of the meeting and wanted to leave early. Where are you now? Are you still in the company?"

Su Nian felt a warm and somewhat guilty feeling as she listened to a series of words. She quickly softened her voice and explained, "I'm sorry, Professor Si. I was busy with a report this afternoon and muted my phone to avoid being disturbed. I'm still at the office, getting ready to pack up and leave."

"I'm glad you're okay, I'm glad you're okay." Si Yan's voice was clearly relieved, and his speech slowed down, though he still felt a little worried. "My meeting is over, and I just walked to the parking lot. Wait for me at the company, don't run around by yourself, I'll pick you up right away."

"Well, I won't run away. I'll wait for you in the lobby downstairs. Don't drive too fast. Safety first." Su Nian hurriedly reminded.

After hanging up the phone, Su Nian packed up and went downstairs, calling her mother Su Hong back as she walked.

"Mom, did you just call me?"

"You kid! Why didn't you come to eat? Your dad and I have been waiting for you, and the food has gone cold!"

"I worked overtime today and was just about to go back."

"Your dad's away this afternoon and there's no one watching over you, yet you're working overtime?! Nian Nian, you're pregnant! You're 'working overtime for one person, and two people are suffering,' don't you know?!" Su Hong's nagging mode instantly turned on, "Come here quickly, we've saved some food for you!"

"Mom, just eat well with my dad. Si Yan is here to pick me up, don't worry!" Su Nian wanted to be alone for a while, so she quickly made an excuse: "Mom, I won't talk to you anymore. Si Yan is downstairs!"

Little did she know that after hanging up the phone, Su Hong's "fire" turned directly to Chen Ran: "How much work have you assigned to our daughter? She's been forced to work overtime even though she's pregnant! She still hasn't had dinner! Are you training a successor or training special forces?"