Chapter 65: First Step into the Workplace

Su Nian spent the entire morning buried in the pile of documents at his workstation, not even taking a break to drink water, and did not dare to slack off for a moment.

As the workday was about to end, Zhang Xiang from HR went to the 21st floor and brought Su Nian a new work badge.

Before lunch, Si Yan called. They had agreed to have lunch together that morning. She looked at the information in her hand, frowning, "You don't have to come. I may not have time to go downstairs. I have to report to Director Lan this afternoon."

"Ancestor, no matter how busy you are, you have to eat!" Si Yan raised his voice anxiously on the other end.

"Okay, I'm hanging up." Su Nian hurriedly responded and hung up the phone, thinking about going downstairs to buy something to eat later.

As lunch break arrived, people from the office began to come downstairs. Li Yue called out to Su Nian, who was standing nearby, "Let's go to the cafeteria together. I'll show you around."

Su Nian smiled and refused: "You guys go first, I'll go downstairs and have something to eat after I finish looking at this data. Please take me there tomorrow."

Only after the design department was completely empty did Su Nian calm down and compare the sales data with the design feedback one by one. The scattered information gradually pieced together a clear outline in his mind.

She was also planning to sort out the company's core design concepts, but when she looked up at the time, it was already half past one.

The sound of colleagues laughing and talking could be heard in the corridor. It was obvious that everyone had returned from lunch.

Su Nian thought it was too late to go down now, so forget it, skipping a meal wouldn't be a big deal, so she continued to look down at the information.

At this time, Chen Ran walked in carrying a paper bag.

The people in the design department were stunned when they saw this, and then quickly stood up and greeted them.

Everyone thought Director Chen was here to see Director Lan. Someone subconsciously said, "Director Lan went down late. He's probably still in the cafeteria."

Chen Ran nodded slightly, but his eyes passed over the crowd and walked straight to Su Nian's workstation. His tone was as gentle as the afternoon sun: "Why didn't you go downstairs to eat?"

That expression was like that of an old father who caught his child not eating properly.

Su Nian hurriedly stood up and explained, "I was reading the information and didn't pay attention to the time."

"No matter how busy you are at work, you can't go hungry." Chen Ran said, handing over the paper bag in his hand, "A little snack, you can eat it."

He paused and added, "If you don't understand something at work, you can ask Director Lan, or... ask me." The last two words were said lightly, but they exploded in the office like a bomb.

Su Nian took the paper bag, felt the warmth inside with her fingertips, and nodded quickly: "Okay, thank you, Mr. Chen." Inwardly, she thought: This plot is not going in the right direction! Shouldn't I be a small clerk in obscurity?

Chen Ran said nothing more and turned to leave the design department.

As soon as he left, the office erupted in chaos. Everyone looked at each other, their eyes filled with disbelief.

"Oh my god, Mr. Chen personally brought food to Su Nian?"

"He also said I could ask him if I had any questions? This treatment..."

"Who is Su Nian? He's just starting out and he's already so impressive?"

The sound of discussion drifted away like fine raindrops. Su Nian held the paper bag in her hand and felt her ears getting even hotter.

She looked down at the sandwich wrapper sticking out of the bag, her heart in a mess - how could the chairman, whom she had just met once when she came to Chen's for an interview, pay special attention to whether she had eaten or not?

Su Nian ignored everyone's comments, took out a sandwich from the bag and started eating. There was also a cup of hot milk in the bag.

While eating, Li Yue returned to her workstation after finishing her meal. She looked at Su Nian and said, "You've been watching all afternoon, right? Eat quickly. It's time to go to work soon."

"Well, thank you." Su Nian felt Li Yue's kindness.

After eating, Su Nian continued to look at the information at hand.

Just after two o'clock, a lady in a white dress and high heels walked into the design department with a "thump thump" sound.

She is Zhang Yue, the team leader of Group 2, and her face shows some fatigue from returning from the factory.

When Zhang Yue swept his eyes across the office, he caught a glimpse of the newcomer Su Nian, and glanced at the sandwich bag on her workstation that she had not yet thrown away.

He paused, a hint of sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he deliberately raised his voice: "Wow, someone sent a charity lunch just after he started working? It seems that this newcomer in our design department has a rather impressive background." His tone was so sour that it could pickle cucumbers.

Li Yue, who was standing by, knew clearly that judging from the man's behavior, someone had obviously tipped her off. Otherwise, how could he have struck so accurately the moment he entered the room?

Zhang Yue's words were like a needle, instantly piercing the newly restored silence in the office. Several colleagues who were still secretly discussing Director Chen's actions at noon immediately fell silent, their eyes all turning to Su Nian.

Su Nian tightened her grip on the documents. When she looked up, her face expressionless, she simply glanced at Zhang Yue without replying. Inwardly, she was thinking: Is this woman the reincarnation of a lemon spirit? The sourness is almost bursting through the atmosphere!

She could sense the unkindness in the other person's tone, but she didn't want to cause trouble right after starting the job, so she simply pretended not to hear and continued to read the information.

Seeing that she ignored him, Zhang Yue curled his lips and didn't bother her anymore. However, when he passed by Su Nian's workstation, he deliberately slowed down his pace and hummed in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "A newcomer should act like a newcomer!" He looked like a concubine looking for trouble in a palace fighting drama.

Su Nian's fingers, gripping the documents, turned white from the strain. She took a deep breath, still not looking up. She internally grumbled, "Has this woman watched too many palace dramas? I'm here to work, not to act out 'The Legend of Zhen Huan'!"

The office suddenly became quiet. Everyone was busy watching each other, but they were not calm at all. The little flames of gossip were burning in their hearts.

About half an hour later, Fang Xia opened the door and walked in. The atmosphere was a bit tense. She was holding a sample box she had brought back from the factory. She spotted the newcomer, Su Nian, and smiled warmly. "A new colleague?" That smile was like the sun in winter, instantly melting the frost in the office.

She then walked to Su Nian and said, "Welcome, I'm Fang Xia, and I just came back from the factory." Her tone was natural and friendly, like a warm-hearted older sister next door.

Su Nian raised his head and met her sincere gaze. His heart warmed and he nodded gently: "I am the new Su Nian, hello, senior." He was so moved that he wanted to cry: I finally met a normal person!

Fang Xia smiled, said nothing more, and turned back to his seat.

Su Nian looked at her back, then lowered her head to look at the documents on the table. The irritation that Zhang Yue had just stirred up in her gradually subsided.

She knew that there would always be various gazes and speculations in the workplace, but the most important thing at the moment was to get the work in order as soon as possible and live up to the trust placed in her.

His fingertips gripped the pen again, and this time he wrote much steadier than before.

Su Nian's thoughts were interrupted by Li Yue, "Su Nian, Director Lan wants you to come in."

Su Nian's heart tightened. When she put down her pen and stood up, she took a deep breath, suppressed the tension in her heart, and quickly walked towards the director's office.

After knocking and getting an answer, she pushed the door open and walked in. Lan Ting was sitting at her desk flipping through documents. When she saw her come in, she looked up and pointed to the chair opposite: "Sit down."

Su Nian sat down on the chair, his back straight, and looked at Lan Ting calmly.

"What do you think about the information I asked you to look at this morning?" Lan Ting put down the documents, crossed her fingers and placed them on the table. Her tone was calm but with scrutiny.

She didn't have high expectations. On the first day of work, it was considered good enough for a newcomer to be able to roughly understand the data framework. After all, Chen's design system was complicated, and the market feedback and concept inheritance involved were quite complex.

Su Nian calmed herself down and spoke in a clear and steady voice, "Director Lan, I've sorted through sales data and customer feedback and found that our classic series has always been highly recognized in the market, but the proportion of young consumers is slowly declining."