Chapter 31. Chapter 31: Zhou's Favoritism. ...
Chen Ci stared at the three words on the screen, pondering how to reply, when Zhou Shilin called directly.
Chen Ci was so flustered that she almost threw her phone away. She sat on the bed, took a deep breath, and answered the phone with a smile: "Good morning, President Zhou."
"He's quite polite now." Zhou Shilin's clear voice came through the receiver, miraculously clearing Chen Ci's mind.
She even remembered the cedar scent she had smelled on Zhou Shilin last night.
Zhou Shilin probably uses men's cologne, but he uses it very little and the scent is very faint, so you have to get very close to smell it.
Realizing she was daydreaming again, Chen Ci quickly snapped back to reality and cleared her throat: "What you're saying is true. I'm always a very polite person."
"Oh, really?" Zhou Shilin's voice trailed off with a slightly intriguing rise, "Why don't you try to recall what you did last night?"
"..." She didn't want to think about it anymore.
Shen Ci on the other end of the phone didn't speak. Tian Xu, who was riding in the same car with Zhou Shilin to the company, wished he could stick his ear into Zhou Shilin's phone.
No, wait, he only took a weekend off. Has the president and Shen Ci already progressed to this point?
So what exactly happened between the two of them last night?
"Cough cough, I think I have some memory loss." Chen Ci began to play dumb. "But when I woke up, I saw your suit buttons on my bedside table."
"Yes, you tore it off."
"..." Heavens above!
She looked at the button in her hand, small yet heavy, and asked, "So, is your suit expensive?"
"It's very expensive."
"..." Those two words are so despairing. "These two buttons don't seem to be damaged. Can I... sew them back on for you?"
Zhou Shilin said, "My suit is custom-made by hand, and the buttons are also sewn on by hand. The tailor used a very special stitching technique that you can't sew."
"..." Chen Ci gripped the button in her hand, revealing a cold smile. "Then what do you suggest? How much do you plan to make me pay this time?"
Zhou Shilin chuckled softly, sounding quite pleased with himself: "I'll be at the company all day. Come over sometime and return the button to me. I'll have a tailor sew it back on."
Chen Ci was stunned for a moment, seemingly somewhat disbelieving: "You don't need me to pay compensation?"
This isn't how capitalists behave.
Zhou Shilin said, "If you really want to compensate me, that's not impossible. I'll send you the bill later."
"...There's no need for that!" Chen Ci quickly declined his "kind offer." "President Zhou, you are truly a magnanimous, broad-minded, understanding, and kind-hearted person."
"Thanks."
While Chen Ci was rambling on the phone, Tian Xu was already starting to lose his composure. The president's suit buttons had been ripped off?! Just how far had things gone?!
"Oh, right, I ordered breakfast for you. It should be arriving soon." Zhou Shilin's voice came slowly through the receiver. "Eat something light after a hangover, especially since your stomach isn't feeling well."
"..." The comment about having a sensitive stomach was somewhat sarcastic, but Chen Ci was still touched that President Zhou had specially ordered breakfast for her. "Thank you, President Zhou, you really are a good person. But how did you know I would be up now?"
Zhou Shilin said, "If you're not up yet, the person delivering breakfast can wake you up."
"...You're so thoughtful. No wonder you're the president of Shijie."
"You flatter me. It's mainly because I was born into a good family."
"..." No need. :)
Just as Chen Ci was about to speak, the video intercom by the door rang. She craned her neck to look, then got up and walked outside: "It seems like breakfast has arrived. I'll go open the door first."
"Um."
Shen Ci hung up the phone and walked to the video camera. Sure enough, she saw a person in a work uniform. She pressed the call button, and the other party said, "Hello, Ms. Shen, your breakfast has arrived."
Chen Ci opened the door for him, and soon the man took the elevator to Chen Ci's door: "This is your breakfast. Mr. Zhou said that you have a bad stomach, so he specially asked us to send you a box of stomach medicine."
"...Thank you." Chen Ci smiled as she took the insulated bag and watched him leave.
Walking under the living room table, Chen Ci took the lunchbox out of the insulated bag and realized that it was breakfast from Tianxiaju.
As expected of President Zhou, he's incredibly generous.
Zhou Shilin ordered porridge, some side dishes, snacks, and stomach medicine for her.
Chen Ci looked at the box of stomach medicine on the table and felt that it wasn't stomach medicine, but rather a mockery.
...Ah, so this is what President Zhou meant when he said he favored someone!
After arranging all the lunch boxes and stomach medicine on the table, Chen Ci took out her phone to take a picture and sent it to Zhou Shilin: "Thank you for your generosity, President Zhou. I will finish eating, except for the stomach medicine."
This time, Zhou Shilin didn't reply to her immediately. After finishing her breakfast, Chen Ci specially took a picture of the empty bowl and sent it to him.
Zhou Shilin: Very clean.
Chenci: After eating it, my headache and backache disappeared, and I felt more energetic when walking.
Zhou Shilin: ...Are you sure you didn't eat anything else?
Chen Ci: Maybe it's President Zhou's love [fancy heart gesture.gif]
Zhou Shilin: ...
After finishing breakfast, Shen Ci quickly tidied herself up and rushed to the company. It was Monday, and there was a lot to do at the company. Fortunately, Shen Ci managed to clock in at the last minute and went into the conference room with her laptop.
Zhou Shilin had a full day of meetings today, and only saw the message Chen Ci sent him when he was having a light lunch.
Chen Ci: Mr. Zhou [dog head with rose in hand] I'm going out to meet a business partner around noon. I'll come find you after we're done, around 3 or 4 pm. [dog head with rose in hand]
"..." Zhou Shilin looked at the dog-headed rose-carrying emoji for a moment and then replied to her on his phone, "Okay, just contact the front desk when you arrive."
Shen Ci was eating in the company cafeteria when her phone lit up on the table, and she immediately looked at it.
Sitting across from her, Wu Junnan glanced at her and said in an ambiguous tone, "You've been staring at your phone all afternoon, waiting for someone's message?"
While replying to Zhou Shilin's messages, Chen Ci asked him, "Didn't President Wu keep staring at his phone during the meeting this morning? Whose message are you waiting for?"
"...I was afraid that Pupu might need my help, her due date is coming soon!"
"Oh," Chen Ci replied emotionlessly.
Wu Junnan: "..."
No, is it because I've been spending so much time with President Zhou that I've even picked up his way of speaking?
After replying to Zhou Shilin's message, Chen Ci put down her phone and looked at Wu Junnan: "I have to go to Shijie this afternoon to see President Zhou, so I might be a little late coming back."
Upon hearing her say that, Wu Junnan immediately became gossipy: "What are you going to see him for? Business or personal matters?"
"...Business." After all, one cannot handle personal matters during work hours.
Wu Junnan stared at her, and from his expression, it was clear that he didn't believe what she said at all: "We haven't had any new collaborative projects with Shijie recently."
Chen Ci said in a serious tone, "Projects don't just fall from the sky. We only start negotiating new ones when there aren't any new ones available."
“…Okay, then I’ll be looking forward to your new project.” Wu Junnan picked up his spoon, took a bite of rice from his bowl, and then said to her, “By the way, President Zhou’s birthday is coming up soon, did you know?”
Chen Ci was stunned for a moment. She remembered that when the robot introduced Zhou Shilin last time, it said that he was a Virgo, so his birthday was coming up soon.
"Did President Zhou invite you to his birthday party?" Chen Ci asked Wu Junnan.
Wu Junnan choked on his food, picked up his water glass and took a few sips before smiling at her: "Maintaining good relationships with our partners is also an important part of our job, so please give him a gift on behalf of the company."
Chen Ci pondered for a moment and nodded: "That's possible, but what's the budget? Mr. Zhou's two buttons are incredibly expensive, what should we give him to make it seem like we're giving him something that won't be too cheap?"
"..." Although Wu Junnan was very curious about how Chen Ci came up with the idea of the button, what she said was true. It was very difficult to choose a gift for Zhou Shilin. "That's why I sent you to represent the company to deliver it. That way, no matter what you give, President Zhou will be happy."
Chen Ci: "..."
Where do you get this confidence from?
Chen Ci still needed to think carefully about what gift to give Zhou Shilin. After finishing her lunch, she went back to her office to rest for a while before heading out to meet her business partner at the agreed time.
The afternoon meeting with our partners went very smoothly, and Chen Ci arrived at Shijie half an hour earlier than expected.
The first time she came to Shijie Building, Secretary Liu came out to greet her. The second time she came to Shijie, she waited outside for President Zhou to come out. The third time she came to Shijie, Chen Ci went straight to the front desk and said to the young lady inside, "Hello, I am Chen Ci, and I am here to see President Zhou."
After saying that, Chen Ci never expected it to feel so good.
It was as if she were a business tycoon who had come to Zhou Shilin to discuss a deal that would control the global economic lifeline.
The receptionist glanced at her and smiled, saying, "You must be Miss Chen? The president has already instructed that you can go straight upstairs after you arrive."
"Okay, thank you." Chen Ci smiled at her and turned to walk towards the elevator.
The security guard at the turnstile swiped her card for her, and Chen Ci stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the president's office floor. Whether the receptionist had notified the secretarial office or not, as soon as the elevator doors opened, Chen Ci saw Secretary Liu, who had picked her up last time, standing outside.
When Secretary Liu saw her, he greeted her with a smile: "Ms. Chen, hello, it's nice to see you again."
As Chen Ci stepped out of the elevator, she smiled at her and said, "Hello, Secretary Liu. I'm sorry to bother you again."
"Not at all." Secretary Liu gestured for her to go in and led her inside. "The president is still in a meeting. He instructed us to take you to rest first."
"Okay, thank you." Chen Ci thought it would be the same lounge as last time, but unexpectedly, Secretary Liu led him directly to the door of the president's office.
"Uh, are you sure this is the place?" Chen Ci stood at the door, hesitating and not taking a step.
Secretary Liu smiled and said, "The president said he would like you to go directly to his office and wait for him."
"..." Since Zhou Shilin was so comfortable letting her go in, there shouldn't be any top-secret information inside, right? She smiled back at Secretary Liu and boldly walked in.
Zhou Shilin's office is very large, roughly estimated to be five times the size of their CEO Wu's office. The interior not only has a dedicated visitor reception area, but also an oversized desk with a floor-to-ceiling window behind it.
Secretary Liu invited her to sit on the sofa and poured her a glass of water: "Please sit here for a while. The president will come over when he's done with his work."
“Okay.” Chen Ci sat down on the sofa. She had to admit that the sofa in Zhou Shilin’s office was more comfortable than the sofa at her home. It was indeed something that President Zhou would use.
After Secretary Liu left, Chen Ci looked around, then walked to the French windows and admired the view outside.
Overlooking the most bustling area of City A from this office, the view is superb; just standing here and looking down is enough to stir one's heart. Chen Ci couldn't help but imagine what it would be like for Zhou Shilin to stand here and look down at everything below.
He might think, "Is this the empire I conquered for you?"
"Pfft." Chen Ci was amused by her own thoughts. She took out her phone from her bag and took a picture of the scenery outside the window.
Knowing that Zhou Shilin was in a meeting, Chen Ci still couldn't help but send him a message.
Chen Ci: I became the president of Shijie in my early twenties, and it wasn't because of anything else, but entirely because President Zhou wasn't here today. [Cold]
Zhou Shilin's phone, which was on the table, lit up. He looked down and glanced at it.
"..." I wish I hadn't watched it.
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