63. The Battle of Latitude and Longitude

On the first working day after the holiday, the alarm clock woke Chi Jin from a rare deep sleep.

Chi Jin slept soundly on her small bed in her rental apartment. Yawning, she clicked on her phone. On the screen was a message from Chen Yisheng from five minutes earlier: "Management meeting. I can't see you off. Stay safe and have fun at work."

His tone was official, just like his current status.

"Okay, drive safely too, don't worry about me. Little calves are the best at squeezing into the subway!"

"Yeah, I'm getting ready to drive. Remember to eat breakfast."

Chi Jin took a deep breath, suppressed the slightest bit of disappointment, and quickly stood up. Today was a tough battle, and she had to face it at her best.

When I went out to wash up, I found Taozi was not at home. It seemed that she had not been home during the entire New Year's Day holiday. She was probably at home to spend time with her parents.

…

Inside the editorial office of Faces, the morning atmosphere was bustling. Chi Jin walked into the small conference room, coffee in hand. Several key editors were already present; she would preside over today's topic selection meeting.

Since the topic selection meeting hasn't started yet, everyone still has time to chat.

"Editor Chi, good morning!"

"morning."

"Good morning, Master!" Duan Xingche greeted her cheerfully, winking at her. "The holiday went by so quickly."

She and Taozi haven't seen each other in the past few days, and she hasn't even had time to talk about confirming her relationship with Chen Yisheng. However, judging from the content on her Moments, Taozi should have spent New Year's Eve with Duan Xingche.

Chi Jin teased, "You look like you're doing pretty well."

"Where did you go to play?" Fang Tang interrupted with a smile.

"As for me," Duan Xingche scratched his head. "I watched a show at Seaside Park. The fireworks and lights were pretty good, but there were too many people."

Chi Jin felt a chill on his back. Fortunately, they didn't meet. Thank goodness.

"How was it? I saw quite a few people among my friends went there. Our kids were clamoring to go and see it." Fang Tang asked.

"I guess there won't be so many people during the winter break, so you can go and have a look."

An editor began distributing drafts of potential topics, and everyone took their seats. The meeting began with heated discussions. Editor-in-Chief Du Yanni sat at the end of the long table, steering the discussion and rarely speaking. Chi Jin was in excellent form today, sometimes sharply pointing out flaws in the logic, and sometimes inspiring new ideas for the team.

She was completely immersed in her work, thinking carefully and making decisive decisions, vaguely showing some of Chen Yisheng's past decisiveness in "Faces".

Finally, the core direction and several key topics for "Face" next month were initially determined. After the meeting, Chi Jin immediately returned to his workstation, racing against time to refine the information and data needed for the afternoon report.

"Sorry, I had lunch with some deputy editors at noon, so I'll make it up to you with hot pot tonight."

Chi Jin was so busy that she had no appetite for lunch, so she asked Qin Xiancheng to bring her a sandwich. She barely left her seat the entire afternoon, repeatedly checking the logical chain of her PowerPoint presentation, verifying every data source, and anticipating any pointed questions Chen Yisheng might raise.

With half an hour left before the presentation, Chi Jin, clutching his notebook and the organized materials, headed for the upstairs conference room. The hallway was so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat.

…

The conference room's air conditioning was still plentiful, and the long, polished table shone with a cool, businesslike luster. When Chi Jin entered, the editors for "Childhood" and "Autumn Letters" were already in place. The editor for "Sunday" arrived a little later.

Almost on cue, the conference room door swung open. Chen Yisheng entered, accompanied by his tall, capable assistant—Editor-in-Chief Lin's assistant wasn't there today. He was still dressed in his well-tailored dark gray suit, his face stern and his aura imposing. Without glancing at anyone, he walked straight to the main seat, sat down, and placed his laptop on the table.

"Begin." The voice was low and without a trace of redundant emotion, setting the tone for the meeting directly.

The editor-in-charge of "Childhood" took the lead in his presentation, focusing on the next month's special feature "Memories of Childhood Games" and the potential for cross-industry collaborations. Chen Yisheng listened, then swiped his fingertips across his tablet.

"Nostalgia needs commercial support. I can't see any analysis report on the compatibility between the brand tone of the cross-border collaboration and the audience of 'Childhood'. The data model for projecting sales growth is too optimistic and lacks sufficient evidence. Re-evaluate. I want to see the revised version before noon tomorrow."

His tone was calm, but every word hit the mark. The editor-in-charge of Childhood, sweating slightly on his forehead, nodded in agreement.

The report of "Autumn Letters" focuses on creating a love theme with "Autumn" as the main theme. It sounds light-hearted and cheerful and should be very popular among students.

“Pay attention to the problem of homogeneity and the very serious loss of “Autumn Letters” in the past two years. I want to see a solution in the next report.”

Now it's Faces' turn.

Chi Jin took a deep breath, stood up, and walked to the projector. She could feel the gaze that made her most nervous finally falling on her, calm, cautious, and without any warmth.

She calmed herself and began her report. Her voice was clear and her logic flowed smoothly, moving from market trend analysis to content planning, from interpretation of key topics to risk mitigation plans, with detailed data and a clear progression of steps.

After the report was completed, there was a moment of silence in the conference room.

Chen Yisheng raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife, and looked directly at her. His eyes were pure scrutiny of a superior examining the work of a subordinate.

"Still three questions."

He spoke, his voice cold and hard.

What needs to be faced must be faced. Chi Jin kept smiling: "You say."

"First, regarding the new media's 'Urban Stress Relief' feature, you question whether 'light decompression' is a consumer trap, which is a valid point. But is 'Faces' position one of criticism or guidance? How do you strike the right balance, avoiding appearing condescending and out of touch with the real struggles of your readers? Does your editorial team possess the insight and writing prowess to navigate this depth?"

The question went straight to the core, and it even shocked Chi Jin more than questioning the data. This test was not only about planning, but also the underlying capabilities of the team.

Chi Jin forced himself to remain calm. "Our stance is to observe and inspire, not simply criticize. The team has already conducted preliminary street interviews and questionnaires to ensure the content is rooted in real-world challenges. Interviews will also include psychologists, sociologists, and ordinary office workers, striving for a multi-dimensional presentation that provokes thought rather than preaching. Regarding writing, this feature will be personally led by Editor-in-Chief Fang, with participation from core members."

Chen Yisheng listened expressionlessly, his fingertips scribbling something on his tablet. After a few seconds, he responded mercilessly, "Fang Tang? She's not up to par. It would be best if Editor-in-Chief Du or Jiang took the lead."

"Secondly, Faces of the Times's selection of that transformative scientist is a valuable direction. But does his story ultimately celebrate personal choices, or does it reflect a deeper structural dilemma? Faces' profiles shouldn't just tell an interesting story."

"I understand. We will delve into the underlying reasons behind this transformation, including the academic environment, social evaluation system, and the conflict between ideals and reality, striving to present a complex individual slice of an era, rather than a single example of success or sentiment."

"No need to make it so official and complicated. Put it simply, what are you going to do next?" Chen Yisheng interrupted her with a direct and pragmatic question.

Chi Jin quickly adjusted his thinking and continued in a calm tone, "Our next steps will be twofold: First, we will arrange in-depth interviews, not only with the scientist himself, but also with his former colleagues, family, and his current documentary collaborators, striving to reconstruct his trajectory of choice and his mental journey from multiple dimensions. Second, we will collect and study sociological reports and case studies on the transition of scientific researchers both domestically and internationally, attempting to interpret his personal story within a broader macro context, making the report more universal and socially meaningful."

"Third," Chen Yisheng paused, his gaze growing graver. "Traffic diversion plan. You expect a 15% increase in conversion rate. I want to see a more detailed breakdown of channels and analysis of user behavior paths to support this data. Also, what are the specific levers for new media to feed back print media sales? It can't just be a vague direction."

This question was relatively specific and simple. Chi Jin secretly breathed a sigh of relief and fluently reported the past data comparison of several key channels and the optimization strategy for this time, and added the preliminary idea of ​​combining offline channels to promote conversion.

After listening to this, Chen Yisheng was silent for a few seconds. During those few seconds, you could hear a pin drop in the conference room.

Finally, he nodded slightly, his gaze returning to his tablet. "The thinking is quite clear, and the data support is relatively complete, which is better than that of several other editorial departments. This transformation attempt by Faces is radical, and there are both risks and opportunities. All contingency plans must be in place, and I want to see weekly progress briefings. Meeting adjourned."

Without a single word of praise, and even with harsher words of encouragement, the words "clear thinking" and "complete data" coming from his mouth were the greatest affirmation of her work. Moreover, he explicitly pointed out that the planning of "Faces" was superior to that of several other companies, which is extremely rare in public.

Chi Jin nodded slightly: "I understand, thank you, Editor-in-Chief Chen."

She returned to her seat and felt the complicated gaze of the editor of "Sunday" and the slightly admiring look of the editor of "Autumn Letters".

"Sunday"'s report followed, and Chen Yisheng also raised several sharp questions about the lack of localization in the implementation of international perspectives.

After the meeting, Chen Yisheng stood up first and left while talking in a low voice with his assistant, without even looking at Chi Jin.

Chi Jin was the last one to arrive, slowly packing up her things. As she walked out of the conference room, sunlight flooded the corridor, and she realized her palms were slightly sweaty.

A tough battle is finally over.

Phew, she has been quite successful in defending her professional territory.

Although the process was nerve-wracking, the result didn't seem bad.

And Chen Yisheng, in the workplace, is indeed a fair and impartial king of hell.

It was also a dazzling existence that forced her to try her best to barely keep up with it.