Chapter 3 is more meaningful if the brother-in-law prepares it himself.
"Good morning, Secretary Yan!"
As soon as Yan Shuang stepped into the company elevator, Director Zhang from the finance department greeted her warmly.
This middle-aged man, who is usually strict to the point of being harsh on his subordinates, always smiles kindly when he sees Yan Shuang.
"Good morning, Mr. Zhang. I have prepared the market analysis report you requested last week and will send it to your email before the meeting." Yan Shuang replied with a smile, her voice neither too loud nor too soft, carrying just the right amount of friendliness.
"Thank you, Secretary Yan." Director Zhang nodded in satisfaction.
The elevator has arrived.
In the already crowded elevator, several colleagues moved to the inside as soon as they saw her.
"Secretary Yan, there's a seat here." Li, the deputy general manager of the technical department, even offered to give up a seat on the side.
"Thank you, Mr. Li." Yan Shuang nodded politely in thanks and stepped into the elevator.
Subtle glances were cast toward her from inside the elevator. The woman in the elevator mirror had a classic oval face, almond-shaped eyes with slightly upturned corners. When she wasn't smiling, she had a cool and aloof air, but when she smiled, her eyes curved into two crescent moons, making people unconsciously want to get closer to her.
During her three years at the Shang Group as the president's secretary, she relied not only on her appearance, but also on her impeccable work ability and flawless handling of affairs.
The elevator stopped on the 28th floor, where the CEO's office is located.
Yan Shuang swiped her card to enter the designated area, put down her bag, and immediately got to work.
She turned on her computer, pulled up the materials needed for today's meeting, and dialed the internal line: "Assistant Fang, could you please send over the sales data report for the Asia-Pacific region last quarter? President Shang will be here soon."
As soon as he finished speaking, the president's private elevator dinged.
Yan Shuang looked up and saw Shang Qiuzhu walking out through the glass wall with long legs.
He walks with his shoulders and back ramrod straight, his steps large and steady, and his innate aura makes the air within three meters around him seem thin.
The president's special assistant, Lin Sheng, was standing beside him, speaking rapidly with a serious expression.
Yan Shuang's fingers paused on the keyboard. Although she couldn't hear the conversation, she keenly sensed that the atmosphere was unusual.
Lin Sheng, a veteran who has followed President Shang for eight years, is usually calm and composed, but at this moment he speaks three times faster than usual.
She calmly withdrew her gaze, picked up the freshly brewed black coffee, grabbed the prepared folder, and stood up.
The door to Shangqiu Zhu's office just opened.
Lin Sheng strode out, his expression even more serious than before. He nodded hurriedly to her and left quickly.
As soon as the knocking sounded, a deep voice came from inside: "Come in."
The moment the door was pushed open, sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a long, slender silhouette of the man standing in front of his desk.
The well-tailored fabric perfectly hugged his broad shoulders and narrow waist, making him appear even more upright and sturdy.
Yan Shuang quickly walked over and said, "Good morning, President Shang. The meeting materials are ready. The sales data for the Asia-Pacific region will be delivered shortly. Also, this is the final confirmed program schedule for the annual meeting. Please take a look."
Shang Qiuzhu is 1.89 meters tall, and Yan Shuang, wearing 8-centimeter high heels, barely reaches his chin.
She placed the coffee and documents on her desk, and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed an acquisition proposal marked "urgent" spread out on the table.
Shangqiu Zhu's gaze shifted from the computer screen to the printed page.
He glanced at the program titles, and when he saw a staff chorus performance arranged by a certain department, his fingertips paused slightly.
He looked up, his gaze thoughtfully falling on Yan Shuang standing in front of the table.
His gaze was calm, yet held a playful scrutiny that made Yan Shuang's heart inexplicably tighten.
The image of myself screaming and howling in my car last night flashed into my mind instantly, and my cheeks began to burn uncontrollably.
She almost immediately interrupted, "President Shang, what happened last night was purely accidental. I'm really not like that usually. It's just... it's just that I finished work too late yesterday, and my mind wasn't quite clear. I just wanted to yell a couple of times to relax, that's really all."
She tried to make her explanation sound believable, looking at him earnestly.
After listening, Shangqiu Zhu showed no expression on his face.
“It seems the company’s arrangements are flawed,” he said in a low, slow voice, “forcing employees to resort to singing wildly to relieve stress.”
Yan Shuang's heart skipped a beat; this sounded like a death trap.
If her boss says her company is bad, can she just agree?
Absolutely not!
She immediately straightened her back and put on an extremely sincere expression.
"President Shang, please don't say that. It's an honor to work for Shang's. The company has a great platform, a bright future, and a corporate culture that emphasizes efficiency and balance. Yesterday was purely my fault... I need to improve my emotional regulation skills!"
She finished speaking in one breath, feeling that her flattery was quick and impressive, practically a model of workplace loyalty.
Shangqiu Zhu listened quietly until her words had barely faded, at which point she subtly raised an eyebrow.
He leaned back in his chair, exuding a cold and oppressive aura.
"Efficiency and balance?" He repeated it, as if he had heard something interesting. "It seems that Secretary Yan has a deep understanding of the company's corporate culture."
Yan Shuang was about to say something modest when she heard him say the next sentence casually: "Perfect timing. The cross-industry collaboration project is missing someone with a deep understanding of culture to follow up. You'll be in charge of the follow-up coordination."
That project was quite challenging, but it was also a genuine opportunity.
Is this... a blessing in disguise? Or is she being punished later?
“…Yes, President Shang,” Yan Shuang replied, still feeling dizzy.
Shangqiu Zhu had already turned his attention back to the program schedule. "The arrangements are fine, let's proceed."
Yan Shuang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yes, Mr. Shang," she replied, secretly resolving that from now on, she would always check the surroundings for any suspicious black Bentleys before driving home.
Shang Qiuzhu took out a black gold credit card and handed it to her. "Pick a gift for your sister." He paused, his brows furrowing slightly, as if considering how to define the nature of the gift. "...An engagement gift."
The card hung between the two of them. When Yan Shuang took the card, her fingertips avoided any possible contact.
“It’s more meaningful for my brother-in-law to prepare it himself.” Yan Shuang’s lips curled up. “My sister will be happier.”
“I’m not good at these things.” He had already picked up the documents, his tone casual as if he were dismissing some trivial matter. “Besides, Yan You liked all the gifts you picked out.”
Yan Shuang carefully placed the card into the receipt holder she carried with her.
Of course she knew.
The Cartier necklace for Yan You's birthday last year, the Tiffany earrings for Valentine's Day, and even the limited edition Chanel bag that Yan You casually mentioned wanting three months ago—all of these were things she searched all over the city for.
Each time, Shangqiu Zhu would simply ask, "Does she like it?" Once she received an affirmative answer, she would stop asking questions as if it were just another completed task.
“Okay, Mr. Shang,” she heard herself say.
Just as he stepped out of the president's office, Lin Sheng strode over from the corner of the corridor.
"Secretary Yan," Lin Sheng said in a low voice, leading her to a corner of the corridor, "there's been a problem with the acquisition; the other party has changed their mind at the last minute. President Shang isn't in a good mood. You need to immediately summon the heads of the Strategic Investment Department, Legal Department, and Finance Department to meet in the main conference room in half an hour."
Yan Shuang maintained a professional and calm demeanor, nodding to Lin Sheng: "Yes, Assistant Lin, I'll go and inform them right away."
But I couldn't help but think to myself: I'm not in a good mood?
He seemed to be in a really good mood! He even had the leisure to tease his employees.
Capitalists are indeed masters of emotional management.
Back at her workstation, Yan Shuang immediately went into wartime mode.
With his left hand, he dialed the internal phone to contact the conference room, while his right hand rapidly typed meeting notices on the keyboard, and his eyes scanned the screen to confirm the real-time schedules of the heads of various departments.
"Director Wang, General Manager Shang is urgently summoning us. We'll be in conference room A3 in half an hour... Yes, please bring the valuation model your team prepared." Her voice remained gentle. "General Manager Li, you need to prepare alternative antitrust clauses..."
Within ten minutes, all relevant personnel received a meeting notification specifying exactly which document they needed to bring.
Yan Shuang quickly organized the meeting materials she needed to bring.
Folders are arranged in order of use, sticky notes mark important page numbers, and visualizations of relevant data are displayed on the tablet... everything is well-organized.
As she checked her makeup in the mirror one last time, Yan Shuang took a deep breath, picked up the documents, and headed to the conference room.
The atmosphere in meeting room A3 was heavy as lead.
At the oval conference table, department heads sat upright, the blue light from the projector reflecting on their tense faces.
"So the other party is now demanding a 12% increase in the acquisition price?" General Counsel Wang Cheng pushed up his glasses. "This is clearly because they've targeted our sunk costs from the initial investment."
Just as the CFO was about to reply, the conference room door was suddenly pushed open.
Shangqiu Zhu walked in with steady steps, and everyone straightened their backs at the same moment.
"Let's begin." He took his seat at the head of the table.
Yan Shuang pushed the prepared documents in front of him.
The next forty minutes were a textbook demonstration of business decision-making.
Shangqiu Zhu lightly tapped a number on the financial report with a pen, posing several precise questions that hit the nail on the head.
“First, send a signal to the market that we are in contact with our competitors. No need to confirm, just keep it vague.” He spoke steadily, but every word was chilling. “Second, get the shell companies in Singapore moving and quietly absorbing retail shares in the secondary market. I want to see the holding ratio before 3 o’clock.”
He paused briefly, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone present. "Third, prepare Plan B. If the acquisition encounters obstacles, I will tear a hole in their most prized asset—cash flow—and cause the stock price to completely collapse."
Yan Shuang paused slightly as she looked down to take notes.
This move, which cuts off the enemy's supply lines, is extremely ruthless, yet so beautifully executed that it commands respect.
She glanced around and noticed that the female managers were subtly adjusting their posture, while the male executives wore expressions that were a mixture of admiration and apprehension.
The meeting lasted for two hours, during which Yan Shuang stood behind Shang Qiuzhu, handing him the materials he needed as needed.
“Specific implementation details,” Shang Qiuzhu’s voice cut off the final discussion. He didn’t raise his voice, but it instantly silenced the entire conference room. “Lin Sheng, compile the meeting minutes after the meeting, encrypt them, and send them to me for confirmation.”
“Yes, Mr. Shang,” Lin Sheng replied immediately.
As the executives left in twos and threes, they were still discussing in hushed tones the strategy proposed by Shangqiu Zhu.
Yan Shuang stayed behind last, her fingertips typing the last few punctuation marks on the keyboard, proofreading the meeting minutes one last time.
The document on the screen was well-organized, with key data highlighted in red interspersed among the black text, and each decision point was followed by the specific tasks assigned to the relevant person in charge.
As Yan Shuang sent the meeting minutes she had taken to Lin Sheng, she recalled how unwilling she was when her father forced her into the Shang Group three years ago when she first joined the company.
But now, looking at Shang Qiuzhu's insightful and chilling business analysis, she suddenly felt that this forced career choice had become an unexpected gift in her life.
The moment she clicked send, Lin Sheng's WeChat notification sound rang out from the corridor.
Yan Shuang looked up and saw through the glass door that Lin Sheng was looking down at his phone. His brows furrowed habitually at first, then relaxed, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips.
"You're so fast," Lin Sheng said as he pushed the door open and came in, "the minutes were already in my mailbox before I even got to the elevator."
Yan Shuang closed her laptop and gathered the scattered documents into a stack: "I know the boss is waiting for it, so I didn't dare to delay."
Lin Sheng swiped his phone screen quickly through the documents, his fingertip pausing at a certain point: "They even recorded the amendments to the disclaimer clauses proposed by the Ministry of Justice in such detail? Wang Cheng was speaking in such a low voice back then..."
“I’m standing right under the air conditioner vent,” Yan Shuang pointed to the corner of the conference room, “so I can hear it right away.”
She got up and pushed the chair back to its original position. "Moreover, President Shang looked in that direction three times, which means it was important content."
Lin Sheng gave a thumbs up, then clicked the forward button and sent the email to Shangqiu Zhu.
-
During her lunch break, Yan Shuang declined her colleague's invitation to lunch and went to the mall to pick out a gift for Yan You.
The lighting at the HW flagship store is always perfectly adjusted, neither too bright to be uncomfortable, nor too dim to allow each diamond to sparkle with its most captivating fire.
Yan Shuang stood in front of the glass counter, her fingertips hovering above a sapphire necklace, the gemstone reflecting a deep-sea blue light under the spotlight.
“This is a new arrival for us. The main stone is 5.2 carats, symbolizing ‘I love you’,” Lisa, the boutique manager, introduced softly, her gloved fingers carefully holding up the necklace. “It’s especially suitable for important occasions like engagements.”
Yan Shuang nodded.
This necklace was practically tailor-made for Yan You; it's gorgeous, dazzling, and impossible to ignore.
Just like her sister, she becomes the center of attention wherever she goes.
She could almost picture Yan You's surprised and delighted expression when she received the gift.
"Let's go with this one," Yan Shuang said with a smile.
Lisa smiled and took out the necklace to prepare for packaging, but Yan Shuang's gaze inadvertently swept over a small display case in the corner.
There were some entry-level jewelry pieces on display. Among the many small ornaments, a pair of silver stud earrings lay quietly on black velvet, which was not HW's usual glamorous style.
The design is unique, with clean lines and a cool, aloof feel. The diamonds are not large, but they are cut extremely sharply.
Yan Shuang's feet moved in that direction uncontrollably.
Without almost any hesitation, she pointed to the pair of earrings and said, "Could you please let me take a look at these?"
Lisa was a little surprised, but she quickly took out the earrings: "You have excellent taste. This is from our designer collection. Although the diamonds are not large, the cut is very exquisite."
Yan Shuang took the earring; the small diamond hung gently on the softest curve of her earlobe.
It looks even more refined when worn than it does when worn, and the unique coolness is just right.
“Oh my god,” Lisa exclaimed softly, “this earring looks like it was designed just for you.”
Yan Shuang looked at herself in the mirror and couldn't bear to take it off.
“It’s really beautiful,” Lisa said sincerely. “HW’s designer collection is all about finding jewelry that matches the wearer’s temperament, and these earrings seem to be waiting for you to discover them.”
"Just wear it like that," Yan Shuang said with a smile. "No need to wrap it up."
Lisa smiled and nodded.
“Settle the accounts separately,” Yan Shuang added.
A hint of surprise flashed in Lisa's eyes, but her professionalism allowed her to quickly regain her composure: "Okay, the necklace will still be settled using Mr. Shang's card, right?"
Yan Shuang nodded, then pulled a debit card from deep inside her wallet.
"Use this for the earrings." She handed the card to Lisa.
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