Chapter 26 Ordinary Superior-Subordinate Relationships
In the conference room at 3 p.m., Yan Shuang sat to the right of Shang Qiuzhu. The documents spread out in front of her were covered with her notes, but her gaze kept drifting to the window.
The emergency meeting for the Huayuan project has been going on for forty minutes, with heads of various departments taking turns to report on their response plans.
Yan Shuang mechanically took notes of the key points, her fingers tapping on the keyboard, but her thoughts were like a kite with a broken string, impossible to retrieve.
"Secretary Yan, please retrieve the proposed revisions to the technology transfer terms we just discussed," Shang Qiuzhu's voice suddenly rang out.
Yan Shuang snapped back to reality and realized that everyone's eyes were on her.
Her fingers slid across the touchpad, quickly bringing up the document, but she made a fatal mistake when projecting it onto the large screen.
She opened the wrong version; it was the unedited first draft from last Friday.
The meeting room fell silent instantly.
"Is this the latest revised version?" Shangqiu Zhu's voice deepened.
Yan Shuang immediately realized her mistake and her fingers flew across the keyboard: "Sorry, I'll bring up the correct version right away..."
Shangqiu Zhu slammed the folder shut with a soft "snap," a sound that made everyone hold their breath.
"Secretary Yan, first you were late for the meeting, then you misremembered data, and now you're even making mistakes in the most basic document management."
Yan Shuang lowered her head and quickly pulled up the correct file, her fingers trembling: "I'm very sorry, President Shang. This is the revised version."
Instead of looking at the big screen, Shang Qiuzhu stared directly at her: "I need to know what made my chief secretary suddenly unable to do even the most basic job?"
Yan Shuang bit the soft flesh inside her lower lip, feeling the gazes of her twenty-odd colleagues shining on her like spotlights.
“I…have no excuses,” Yan Shuang finally said. “I will correct myself immediately.”
Marketing Director Zhang cleared his throat: "President Shang, Secretary Yan usually performs exceptionally well at work; she might just be feeling a bit off today..."
“Yes,” Manager Li from the R&D department chimed in, “Secretary Yan has been working overtime on this project; she’s probably exhausted.”
Shangqiu Zhu's expression grew even more somber.
"So now, my executives are pleading for a secretary who can't even perform his basic duties?"
The temperature in the conference room seemed to drop by ten degrees.
Everyone was stunned. Shangqiu Zhu was always calm and composed, and had never expressed himself like this even in the face of the most serious business crisis.
Yan Shuang had known Shang Qiuzhu for three years, and this was the first time she had ever seen him so emotional in public.
"I'm sorry," Yan Shuang apologized again. "I promise it won't happen again."
Shangqiu Zhu was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice had returned to calm: "Let's continue."
The meeting proceeded exceptionally smoothly, and Yan Shuang's performance was impeccable. Her recording, coordination, and summarizing were all done flawlessly, as if the mistake she had just made had never happened.
But only she knew the slight trembling in her fingertips and the lingering, complex feeling of shame and nervousness that she felt every time Shangqiu Zhu approached.
After the meeting, Yan Shuang practically fled the meeting room.
Turning the corner of the corridor, she finally slowed down, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door to the tea room.
The tea room was empty. Yan Shuang leaned against the counter, her hands trembling slightly.
She closed her eyes, and Shang Qiuzhu's cold face and stern criticisms once again surfaced in her mind.
For three years, she had never made such a basic mistake at work, nor had she ever been reprimanded in public like this.
The automatic coffee machine beeped, reminding her that it was time to prepare afternoon coffee for Shangqiu Zhu.
"Secretary Yan? Are you alright?" Secretary Qiu Yutong poked her head in, holding her mug.
Yan Shuang quickly adjusted her expression and forced a professional smile: "It's nothing, I'm just a little tired."
Qiu Yutong walked in and closed the door behind her: "Don't take President Shang's attitude today too seriously. He's never like this usually. I guess the Huayuan project is too complicated and you just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Yan Shuang poured freshly brewed black coffee into her cup. "Hmm, I understand."
She said softly, even though she didn't understand at all.
"Honestly," Qiu Yutong leaned closer and lowered her voice, "who in the whole company doesn't know you're the most reliable secretary? The night before the last board meeting, you stayed up all night to compile a three-hundred-page report. What's this little mistake today?"
Yan Shuang's fingers lightly traced the rim of the cup.
“General Manager Shang isn’t usually like this,” Qiu Yutong continued, pouring her flower tea into her cup. “I’ve been with the company for five years and I’ve never seen him lose his temper in public. Today is really strange.”
Yan Shuang stared at the cup of black coffee, and a thought suddenly popped into her head: What if she added a spoonful of salt to it? Or five spoonfuls?
Just imagining Shangqiu Zhu's expression as she forced herself to endure the discomfort after taking a sip made her feel incredibly relieved.
"Secretary Yan?" Qiu Yutong looked at her suddenly upturned lips with a puzzled expression.
"Ah, it's nothing." Yan Shuang came back to her senses. "I was just thinking... maybe President Shang is really in a bad mood today."
"Definitely. I heard that Huayuan changed their mind at the last minute and demanded renegotiation. Anyone would be furious in that situation." Qiu Yutong patted her shoulder. "Don't take it to heart. Everyone has witnessed your work ability."
Yan Shuang nodded and watched Qiu Yutong leave the tea room.
After the door closed, she looked at the cup of coffee again, her mischievous thoughts growing stronger.
She opened the spice cabinet, took out a jar of salt, scooped out a full spoonful with a teaspoon, and held it above her coffee cup.
"Serves you right for being mean to me..." she muttered under her breath, a grain of salt almost falling into the cup.
Just then, the door to the tea room was suddenly pushed open.
Yan Shuang's hand trembled, and the salt spoon fell into the coffee.
"Secretary Yan, Huayuan's supplementary materials..." Xiaolin's voice stopped abruptly, his gaze falling on the salt shaker in Yan Shuang's hand and the clearly visible white particles in the coffee cup.
Yan Shuang's heart almost stopped beating.
It's all over, completely ruined. Three years of building a professional image, all because of a moment of impulsiveness...
"I...this..." She stammered, unsure how to explain.
Xiaolin suddenly blinked, strode in, and closed the door: "Oh my god, Sister Yan, you've finally rebelled!"
"What?" Yan Shuang was stunned.
"The entire secretariat knows that President Shang was extremely harsh on you today," Xiao Lin said in a low voice. "Do you want me to keep watch for you?"
Yan Shuang looked at her usually obedient assistant and was momentarily speechless. Most of the salt in the coffee cup had dissolved, but a closer look revealed something unusual.
“I…I just…” Yan Shuang stammered.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Kobayashi made a gagging motion. "But... if you really want to mess with him, salt is too obvious. I suggest adding yellow mustard; it dissolves quickly and you won't be able to tell."
Yan Shuang's eyes widened: "You...do this often?"
"Oh no, of course not for President Shang." Xiao Lin quickly waved her hand, "It's for my ex-boyfriend. It's incredibly effective; he spat it out after just one sip."
Yan Shuang couldn't help but laugh out loud, her tense nerves relaxing a little.
She poured out the "spiked" coffee and made a new one.
"Thank you, but I think I should... be more professional."
Xiaolin shrugged: "Whatever you want. But seriously, President Shang was really acting strangely today. Usually, even if we make a mistake, he'll just say a few words to us privately. But today, he got so angry in public..." She gave Yan Shuang a meaningful look, "Did something happen between you two?"
Yan Shuang's hand trembled, and she almost knocked over her coffee cup again: "What could happen? It's just a normal superior-subordinate relationship."
"Really?" Kobayashi tilted his head. "Then why are your ears red?"
Yan Shuang subconsciously touched her earlobe, and it was indeed frighteningly hot.
"It's too hot in the break room," she replied curtly, picking up her coffee cup and hurrying towards the door. "I'm going to deliver coffee."
Stepping out of the tea room, Yan Shuang took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.
As she approached the president's office, Yan Shuang instinctively wanted to push the door open and enter, a privilege she had held for the past three years.
But today, her hand stopped in mid-air, and she gently knocked on the door instead.
After a deep "Come in" came from inside, Yan Shuang pressed down the doorknob with the elbow she was holding the coffee with.
She carefully pushed open the door, and all she could see was Shangqiu Zhu's tall and straight back.
He was standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window talking on the phone.
"I said, no." Shang Qiuzhu's voice left no room for negotiation. "We will never accept Huayuan's conditions."
Yan Shuang walked quietly to his desk and placed the coffee cup in its usual spot.
After putting down her coffee, Yan Shuang noticed several documents scattered on the coffee table in front of the sofa.
Her professional instincts as a secretary compelled her to go and tidy up.
She bent down and gathered the documents one by one, her business skirt stretching with her movement, outlining the curves of her full hips.
As she bent down to pick up the last piece of paper that had slipped onto the edge of the coffee table, her shirt collar drooped slightly, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin on her chest.
Shangqiu Zhu turned around, his gaze sweeping over her bent-over figure.
He walked back to his desk, picked up the cup of coffee, took a sip, and continued talking on the phone: "This isn't the first time the Shang family has faced this kind of situation..."
After Yan Shuang finished organizing the documents, she was about to quietly leave the office when she caught Shang Qiuzhu drinking coffee out of the corner of her eye.
If this coffee really did have yellow mustard added as Kobayashi suggested... imagining Shangqiu Zhu's always cold and perfect face suddenly contorting, Yan Shuang almost bit the soft flesh inside her lower lip to keep from laughing out loud.
He might try to remain calm and swallow it down, but his eyes will definitely twitch, and he might even choke and cough.
"Ahem..." Yan Shuang quickly covered up her laughter with a light cough, but the corners of her mouth still involuntarily turned up a little.
Shangqiu Zhu put down her coffee cup, her sharp gaze sweeping over the phone, which was still on: "...It's decided then. Send me the revised plan this afternoon."
He hung up the phone and threw it on the table. "What's so funny?"
Yan Shuang immediately tensed up, lowering her eyes and saying, "It's nothing, President Shang." She gestured to the coffee table, "The documents have been prepared."
Shangqiu Zhu's sharp gaze fell on Yan Shuang's slightly upturned lips, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"It seems my criticism has no effect on you, as you can still laugh so happily."
Yan Shuang quickly suppressed her smile, but the light in her eyes did not completely disappear.
She straightened her back and placed her hands clasped in front of her, a standard professional posture: "President Shang has misunderstood. I fully accept your criticism and will make serious improvements."
Shangqiu Zhu leaned back in his leather chair, scrutinizing the seemingly submissive but actually hypocritical woman before him.
"Is that so?" he sneered. "Then what were you laughing at just now?"
Yan Shuang's eyelashes trembled slightly. Of course, she couldn't tell him that she was fantasizing about his comical appearance as he drank yellow mustard coffee.
"I just thought of a solution, regarding the technology transfer terms for the Huayuan project," she lied smoothly.
Shang Qiuzhu casually picked up a document and flipped through it, his tone returning to its usual businesslike indifference: "Alright. Tonight at seven o'clock, you will attend the dinner between the Imperial View Hotel and Huayuan."
Yan Shuang blinked, somewhat surprised by this sudden arrangement: "Me?"
"What? Is there a problem?" Shangqiu Zhu asked without looking up.
"No," Yan Shuang quickly composed herself. "Do you need me to prepare any materials?"
"Bring the revised cooperation plan, and..." Shangqiu Zhu finally raised his head, his gaze sweeping over her, "...change into something appropriate."
Yan Shuang looked down at her standard business suit: a dark gray suit skirt paired with a white shirt, which was her everyday outfit.
She pursed her lips: "I'll be careful about my attire."
Shangqiu Zhu seemed bored with her compliance and waved his hand: "Go down. Don't make any mistakes this time."
"Understood." Yan Shuang nodded slightly and turned to walk towards the door.
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