Spy on him
In the second week of employment, Zuo Xiao's new job got on track.
On Monday, Mao Jiadong laid out a task at the weekly meeting: the brand's official website needed a facelift, and asked everyone to come up with a plan. On Wednesday morning, everyone gathered in the conference room to discuss the matter.
Zuo Xiao prepared a ten-page PowerPoint presentation. He first pointed out the current website's problems: outdated design, traditional interaction, and redundant information. He then shared current brand website design trends and excellent examples. He then proposed his own design ideas and presented three solutions.
"The overall principle is to be more dynamic, light and simple, to create a relaxing and enjoyable interactive experience for users and to convey our brand culture..." She tapped the touch screen of the computer, and the PPT on the big TV switched to the next page.
"The first design uses a dreamy, diffused colored pencil illustration style to depict the adorable life of the kitten Duoduo on Pet Planet..." She narrated the story with hand-drawn sketches and reference images. "The protagonist, Duoduo, was initially a kitten, curious and naive about the planet. As the user moves the cursor, a smooth animation is triggered, and Duoduo runs along the planet, chasing butterflies, playing with toys, encountering puppy friends, and bumping into his owner's trouser legs... Throughout the process, various graphic and text sections are dynamically triggered to showcase the brand introduction, the founding team, the product system, and so on... In this journey of exploration, users can experience the growth and happiness of their pets and intuitively perceive our brand culture."
Next is the second plan: "This plan emphasizes a 3D dynamic interactive experience, creatively aligned with the brand concept. The main visual is the surface of a planet, and users can immerse themselves in exploration by dragging, moving, and clicking."
"The third solution is more similar to traditional web pages in layout, presenting content in a modular way. The difference is that we use bold and warm colors combined with fun and lively dynamics to create a strong visual impact. You can refer to this overseas case..."
Mao Jiadong nodded frequently as Zuo Xiao spoke. When she finished, he asked the others to comment.
Li Shuang was the first to speak: "You're amazing, Zuo Xiao! Apart from anything else, you created such an amazing PPT in such a short time. It's astonishing!"
Zuo Xiao smiled faintly. She was already a master at website design, and this plan hadn't taken her long. Li Shuang praised her outwardly, but didn't comment on her creative output. Instead, he focused on the PowerPoint presentation, a subtle veiled attack. When Gu Yanbin had presented his idea earlier, it was just a few paragraphs written in Word and a few images, making it look particularly sloppy in comparison.
“It doesn’t matter whether you make a PowerPoint presentation or not; the key is to clearly express your ideas,” Mao Jiadong emphasized, “The form is not important.”
Copywriting colleague Zhan Jiaxin chimed in, "Zuo Xiao's proposal requires a lot of images, so a PowerPoint presentation would be more appropriate." After a pause, she added, "I think all three proposals are very interesting, aligning with the preferences of today's young users and stimulating a desire to explore. Personally, I prefer the first one; it has a strong atmosphere and gives me a warm and healing feeling."
"It's quite interesting, but I have a personal question. It might not be correct..." Gu Yanbin leaned his elbows on the conference table and said, "Nowadays, brand communication is mainly carried out on new media platforms. As for the official website, not many people visit it, right? Do we really need to invest heavily in building it? These animations and interactive effects... sure look cool, but they will increase the difficulty of website design and development. I'm afraid it will increase the time and budget a lot, right?"
"This is definitely more difficult than a traditional website," Li Shuang said. "But I think Zuo Xiao should have considered these issues when planning the plan, right?"
Zuo Xiao took a sip of water and replied, "Yes, improvements in design and interaction do increase the difficulty of design and development. However, there are now some excellent low-code or even no-code web design and development platforms, such as Webflow and Spline, which can help us greatly save time and reduce costs. I have a friend working in this area, and I plan to ask him for advice."
"I also believe a major upgrade of our official website is essential," she continued, neither humble nor overbearing. "People who visit our official website are generally those who have a strong interest in our brand and company and want to learn more about it, such as core users, investors, partners, media, job seekers, and so on. Compared to the general audience reached by fragmented content, the official website's audience is a highly valuable and targeted audience. If we can enhance their brand awareness and favorability through improvements to web design and user experience, it will be a highly cost-effective investment. Furthermore, competition in the pet toy and supplies market is fierce. Our brand has focused on unique original designs over the past two years, so as our flagship website, we must be at the forefront of the industry and demonstrate leading design standards."
After hearing this, Mao Jiadong looked at Zuo Xiao with even greater respect.
Gu Yanbin's proposal was relatively conservative, and naturally, relatively easy to implement. Zuo Xiao's proposal was the exact opposite. Generally speaking, a company's veterans tend to be conservative and steady, many seasoned veterans seeking to avoid mistakes rather than achieve success. New employees, being new to the company, tend to exhibit two distinct styles: one is conservative and wait-and-see, remaining reserved; the other is eager to showcase their talents, keen on innovation, and even somewhat radical. Zuo Xiao falls into the latter category. Even more remarkable, she isn't solely focused on design itself; she possesses a broader perspective. While her appearance can easily lead to prejudice, she actually possesses a highly effective mind.
Mao Jiadong thought for a moment and said, "After listening to the overall proposals, I think everyone's proposals have their own highlights. I think five of them can be further deepened. In the end, we will select three to report to our superiors..." Then, he personally selected five proposals, of which Zuo Xiao took two, and Gu Yanbin, Li Shuang, and Zhan Jiaxin each took one.
"This project is very important. Please give it your all!" Mao Jiadong encouraged his subordinates. "The company's senior management attaches great importance to this website renovation. President Lu will personally oversee it."
After the meeting, Zuo Xiao returned to his workstation. Li Shuang came over uninvited: "Zuo Xiao, have you done a lot of website design before?"
"I've done some." Zuo Xiao lowered his head and flipped through the handwritten notes from the meeting, saying indifferently.
"No wonder!" Li Shuang exclaimed, "I think your plan is very creative and the aesthetics are superb!"
In his peripheral vision, Gu Yanbin's face dropped diagonally across from him. Zuo Xiao laughed inwardly at the two old-timers acting so much, then stood up and said, "I'm going to the bathroom."
In the afternoon, she received another task: the three co-founders of the company took a group of photos, including individual photos and group photos. Mao Jiadong asked her to select the best ones, add the personal biographical information, arrange them, and find Luffy for confirmation.
It was such a simple, mindless task. Zuo Xiao downloaded the folder from the cloud drive, opened it, and looked through the photos one by one.
The first thing she opened was a folder with photos of CFO Feng Tiancheng. He was the only one of the three she hadn't met yet, and she was a little curious.
Uh... It's really hard for him to have such a plain face and appear in the same frame with the other two partners from time to time... After some difficult selection, Zuo Xiao barely marked two photos to enter the final round.
Then there's CMO Luffy. He's tall, long-legged, delicate, and handsome, with a pair of peach-shaped eyes, making him a frequent target of attention. However, his figure is a bit delicate, and his debonair demeanor isn't Zuo Xiao's type. His nose, on the other hand, is long and narrow, with a thin, fleshy tip, and doesn't suggest he's particularly impressive in any way... However, for business photos, he has plenty of options, and Zuo Xiao has tagged four of them.
Finally, there was CEO Zhuang Yu'an. Zuo Xiao's brows furrowed unconsciously as he hovered his mouse over the folder bearing his name.
I casually clicked on the first file from the left, and a photo of a sitting person with a white background popped up.
The man, wearing a navy blue suit, sat on a high black stool, his long legs bent, looking as if it had been photoshopped—or perhaps it had been, or else wouldn't the look be a bit exaggerated? No, Mao Jiadong had clearly told her to select the original photos first, and then have the photography studio retouch them.
Look at his face again: deep features, prominent brow bones, firm and serious eyes, making him look very heroic - no, aggressive, as if he is ready to launch a moral judgment on you at any time.
Compared to the delicate and tender Luffy, this guy's skin is not white, it can be considered clean, but it has a rough texture, and there are shallow wrinkles between the eyebrows and corners of the mouth, which should be caused by the expression of bitterness and hatred for many years.
Speaking of good things, his nose is truly beautiful. A classic hanging nose, with a sharp root, a straight nose bridge, and a full, rounded nose tip. According to the techniques taught by Ms. Dai, such a nose is truly a treasure. But with such a wicked personality and a perverted sister complex, what good would a larger nose do?
Zuo Xiao raised his hand to the frame of his camera, then spun his head around like a chicken. After confirming no one was around, he quickly pressed a shortcut key to zoom in on a specific part of the photo. Then, dragging the mouse, he took a second to scan the key area. Unfortunately, the fabric at the Y-shaped crotch of his trousers was slightly stretched, creating a small space, so nothing could be seen on the surface.
Forget it, drag the mouse and look at the hand on your knees...
Oh my god! His hands are so big!
Although she had shaken him once before, she hadn't examined him closely then, much less assessed his proportions. Now, the man's hands were not only large, but also had long, slender fingers with distinct joints—a word she hated, but it was an apt description. A closer look revealed veins woven into his hand, like tree roots, extending from his fingers to the back of his hand, then converging to his wrist before disappearing into his sleeve.
Zuo Xiao shook his head: Well, these big hands are useless!
I clicked on the next photo, this time a half-length shot. Before I could take a closer look, I suddenly smelled a whiff of perfume. I didn't even need to turn my head to know that Li Shuang was approaching again.
"Tsk tsk, Mr. Zhuang is so handsome no matter how you look at him!" The other person stared at the screen like an infatuated fan. "How can such a perfect man exist in this world? So perfect that being rich is just his least noteworthy quality... Did you know, he can even cook?"
"How do you know he can cook?" "You mean cooking in the sense she understands it? Could it be that this guy is also a cook for the employees?"
"The little princess sometimes brings her own food, and when asked, she always says it was made by her brother." Li Shuang glanced at her, "Don't you know that?"
"Oh." Now I understand. By the way, can you leave now?
The person she disliked not only didn't plan to leave, but suddenly remembered something and moved closer: "Zuo Xiao, you play so well with the little princess, are you also very familiar with Mr. Zhuang?"
Zuo Xiao complained in his heart: If you call Zhuang Jinghao the little princess, why not call Zhuang Yu'an the local emperor? Don't the two worldviews clash?
"I'm not familiar with him." She said expressionlessly. If it weren't for the fact that it was only her second week here, she would have to let this annoying guy feel what it meant to be cold as ice.
"Zuo Xiao, be honest..." Li Shuang lowered his voice, "Who do you think is more handsome, Mr. Zhuang or your Mr. Luffy?"
Of course it's my rumored boyfriend! Zuo Xiao sneered inwardly and asked, "What do you think?"
The other person smiled a little greasy: "It doesn't matter what I think, what matters is what you think."
"I feel...thirsty. I'll go get a glass of water." Zuo Xiao stood up quickly, leaving the other person there.
At 6 p.m., when she packed her bag and left, Li Shuang and Gu Yanbin were still at their workstations, as was her supervisor, Mao Jiadong. She waved goodbye to them with grace, then leisurely left work.
While waiting for the elevator, Zhan Jiaxin caught up.
"I'm so glad you came," she whispered. "They all love to perform overtime. Before you came, I couldn't leave work on time alone."
"Did you often work overtime before?" Zuo Xiao asked. Zhan Jiaxin said cautiously, "Let's talk about it when we get off."
The two walked out of the office building. Zhan Jiaxin said, "I have to work overtime three or four times a week, but it's usually not too late, around 9 o'clock."
"I don't think there's much work," Zuo Xiao said. Zhan Jiaxin nodded, "Not much work, but a lot of drama." The two smiled at each other.
Zuo Xiao took a taxi, Zhan Jiaxin took the subway, and the two said goodbye on the roadside.
It was early summer now, the days were getting longer, and the sky was still bright after 6 o'clock in the evening. The setting sun cast a soft and light golden light on the sky and the earth, which gave people hope.
Zuo Xiaogang called a car and a Porsche Panamera in matte gray stopped in front of him.
Good taste.
The car window rolled down, and her rumored boyfriend tilted his head and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Beiyuan."
"On my way. Wanna get in?"
Zuo Xiao shook his phone: "Yes."
Luffy smiled, waved at her, stepped on the accelerator and drove away.
At 9 p.m., Zuo Xiao sat at his computer. The document on the screen already contained 251,157 words, and according to the plan, there were still about 30,000 words left to complete.
At 10 p.m., the document had 251,238 words.
Yes, it took an hour, writing and deleting, deleting and writing, and finally came up with less than 100 words... Zuo Xiao threw away the small hammer in his hand that was hitting his shoulder -
I won’t write anymore!
As she'd said to Zhuang Jinghao, "When you want to gain something, you must exchange it for something else," and this applies even to friends. She'd accepted Zhuang Jinghao's offer, so she had to repay him by continuing to update the novel. Besides, she hadn't originally intended to quit, but so much had happened since March that she couldn't spare the time or energy to continue writing.
Yes, she wanted to continue writing now, but once she sat down in front of the computer and faced the unfinished novel, her mind seemed to be blocked by a lump of mud.
As for the reason, she knew it well:
First, her previous readers were just online IDs, and since she wasn't a V-member, she was essentially writing for the sake of love, producing free content for strangers. Therefore, her writing was primarily for her own benefit, without much pressure. But now, real fans have crossed the dimensional wall and arrived right beside her, not to mention that they identify with and are so obsessed with her work, she suddenly feels a certain idol burden.
Second, when she began writing at the beginning of the year, she was in the thick of a passionate love affair. She had been dating her boyfriend, Zhou Zhihui, for over three years, and their relationship was stable and sweet. Back then, she still held onto beautiful aspirations for love. Then, one day in mid-March, that bastard suddenly announced he'd fallen in love with another woman, leading to a "cliff-shaped" breakup. He then unleashed a torrent of bitterness, recounting the years of her misbehavior. Infuriated, she immediately took off her shoes and smacked him with the soles. Later, when she revisited Jasmine's feelings and aspirations towards men and love in the novel, she could no longer recapture the feeling she had when she first wrote. She even internally complained, "Can't you get some eye treatment first?"
Intellectually, she knew she desperately needed love and sex, and she couldn't dismiss all men simply because of one scumbag. But emotionally, she couldn't help but feel pessimistic: Love is bullshit! Men's promises don't even count! I don't want to trust men anymore; I'll just treat them as free toys!
Because of this, all the chapter outlines she had written previously were scrapped. Now she faced this novel as if she were facing a strange and vague face.
Just when she was feeling irritated, her phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was the person she least wanted to face at the moment, her most loyal reader.
Could it be that this guy is... here to urge for more updates?
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