Chapter 22 Who Bows Down to Whom?
In the vast jewelry department, there was no one who could replace Shang Wu.
There was a mountain of work to be done. Ji Yu couldn't come up with a draft of her work no matter how hard she tried, and there was no one else she could talk to about her work concepts during the interviews except for Shang Wu.
Zhou Yanci suddenly realized that Chengzhou Jewelry Department was originally established because of Shang Wu.
Over the years, her distinctive designs and work skills have been the pillars supporting the entire jewelry department.
Where there is Shangwu, there is the jewelry department; where Chengzhou generates the highest revenue, there is the department.
However, to Zhou Yanci's surprise, Shang Wu's absence of just a few hours caused such chaos in the jewelry department.
The staff, unaware of the situation, hurriedly urged, "Mr. Zhou, what about the interview?"
"The interview has been postponed."
Zhou Yanci's gaze was gloomy, and his tone was cold: "As for the jewelry department, distribute the work that others can handle, and those who cannot handle it, wait two more days."
Ji Yu looked at him in surprise: "Wait two days?"
"Um."
Zhou Yanci leaned back in her leather chair and pinched her brow: "Shang Wu cares about the jewelry department more than anyone else. She wouldn't have the heart to see the company in such a mess. She will definitely come back, even if she doesn't ask me to get back together."
Ji Yu nodded, agreeing with that thought.
At this very moment, the one the two were planning to kick aside has become indispensable.
It is foreseeable how quickly the jewelry department will collapse if Shang Wu leaves the company soon.
However, just as Zhou Yanci said, Shang Wu couldn't bear to see the jewelry department in chaos.
If the jewelry department, which she managed so well, were to fall into chaos, it would be worse than killing Shang Wu.
Both of them were certain that Shang Wu wouldn't last long.
Soon Ji Yu received a call and returned to the jewelry department to preside over a meeting that was originally supposed to be led by Shang Wu.
As the meeting began, Ji Yu opened the meeting summary.
The entire document contained only jewelry design-related content, which she couldn't understand at all.
Ji Yu swallowed hard and looked around: "Today's main discussion is about how to place more attractive and targeted past products in video bloggers' works to achieve a promotional effect."
One person raised their hand: "These are all decisions that Director Shang needs to make. You can decide."
Ji Yu hesitated, then flipped through past product images and randomly picked a few limited-edition items.
"Look, it's good to put these in."
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed slightly, and they all looked at her with strange eyes.
Ji Yu felt a surge of anger and glared back, "Why are you all looking at me like that? Are you unhappy with your choice? Or do you think there's something wrong with my pick?"
Aying's expression darkened, and she gave her a deep look: "Director Ji, it seems you didn't see it clearly? That document contains old drafts. Don't you even remember whether the product you designed was ever released?"
When confronted in public, Ji Yu was instantly embarrassed. She opened the first page of the document and saw the words "Compilation of Drafts".
Her face flushed red as she coldly surveyed everyone.
"Are you deliberately messing with me? Why did you leave the rejected draft on my desk?!"
Aying sighed: "Even if it's a rejected draft, it's still your hard work in designing it. It absolutely cannot be thrown away carelessly. As a designer and creator, how can Director Ji not have this awareness?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Ji Yu froze.
Two people below whispered among themselves.
"My God, how can someone with this level of professionalism be a designer? Is she really the genius designer Ji Yu? She's like a completely different person."
"Director Shang is so great. When she's around, the meeting can be over in five minutes. It's simple, efficient and clear."
Ji Yu heard it clearly, and her face turned ashen.
She kicked the stool away.
"You guys can hold your own meeting, I'm quitting!"
After saying that, Ji Yu turned and left.
Aying immediately stood up: "Director Ji, don't forget to forward the poster/promotional image I made for you to the advertising department! We're about to start the big screen display!"
Ji Yu paused for a moment, pushed open the office door, went in, and started forwarding the message on her computer while cursing.
"Do you really think you're so great? You've just been doing your job well all these years! One by one, you dare to praise Shang Wu to my face, that's enough! When I get to the jewelry department, I'll fire you all sooner or later!"
After saying that, she casually opened the file and forwarded it to the advertising department with one click.
Shortly after, the advertising manager called.
"Designer Ji, are we really going to publish the contents of this document?"
Ji Yu was almost speechless, feeling that everyone looked down on her and didn't believe in her decisions or work abilities.
Even the advertising manager thought she didn't know anything and had to call to confirm.
Ji Yu retorted impatiently, "Since I forwarded it to you, what right do you have to question it! What, are you doubting my decision-making and professionalism?"
"No, no..."
The advertising manager hesitated to speak, but finally sighed and hung up the phone.
In the afternoon, Ji Yu forcibly distributed the tasks that she couldn't handle to other people in the jewelry department, while she listened to music and casually looked at the documents.
She was casually pretending when the office door was suddenly pushed open forcefully.
Zhou Yanci, with a dark expression, barged in with her advertising team.
"Ji Yu!"
Ji Yu was so yelled at that she almost fell off her chair. She quickly took off her headphones and looked at them with a blank expression.
"What's wrong?"
Zhou Yanci walked over angrily and slammed her phone on the table.
"Explain yourself! What exactly happened?!"
Ji Yu was stunned for a moment, picked up her phone, and couldn't help but widen her eyes.
The large screen in the city wasn't displaying product promotional images at all, but rather a profile picture of Zhou Yanci.
That photo was clearly taken by Shang Wu a long time ago and saved on his computer.
Someone took a picture and posted it online, which instantly sparked widespread ridicule.
Ji Yu scrolled down and saw the comments on this post.
"Why use Mr. Zhou's profile picture in the product promotional image? I admit he is quite handsome, but as a consumer, I want to see new product details and specific release dates, OK?"
"Yeah, who would be interested in a man who already has a fiancée and want to buy products just from a side profile photo?"
"Could it be that Mr. Zhou thinks he's very handsome and personally projected this onto the big screen?"
Ji Yu was dumbfounded.
Zhou Yanci clenched his fists in anger.
He became widely known after his dramatic rescue and pursuit of Shang Wu three years ago.
Over the past three years, his deep affection has gone viral, and everyone praises him as a good man.
This is the first time Zhou Yanci has been publicly ridiculed.
Realizing he was genuinely angry, Ji Yu immediately shook her head and quickly pointed to the advertising manager behind him.
"he……"
The manager interrupted: "To avoid mistakes, I called you to confirm the content to be placed on the city's large screen and recorded the whole conversation. Mr. Zhou has already listened to the recording; it was you who made the decision to place it. Don't try to pin it on me."
Faced with the manager's icy expression, Ji Yu had no way to refute him and her face turned pale.
Zhou Yanci rubbed her temples, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
"Go, find someone to find out where Shang Wu is. I'll go and bring her back myself."
Xiao Dong agreed and left with the advertising manager.
After everyone left, Zhou Yanci stared intently at Ji Yu: "With your work ability, you still want to replace Shang Wu as the director of the jewelry department? I think even if we kick Shang Wu out in the future, the jewelry department can't be handed over to you. Just be a designer in peace!"
He turned and left without looking back.
Ji Yu's face was ashen, her teeth clenched tightly; she was about to explode with anger.
She truly never expected things to turn out this way.
How could you mess up so many things in a row!
This caused Zhou Yanci to lose all trust in her.
Ji Yu sat down with regret.
...
Meanwhile, at the guesthouse.
Shang Wu didn't care how chaotic the outside world was.
She spent the whole day picking elm seeds with the guesthouse owner, washing them clean, coating them in flour, and steaming them to eat.
After finishing her meal, Shang Wu took a book and lay down in the attic of the guesthouse to read, slowly turning on her phone.
The phone rang immediately the next second.
It's Zhou Yanci's work.
Shang Wu's eyes turned cold as she answered the phone, her tone devoid of emotion: "Speak."
Zhou Yanci paused, as if frozen by her words, and after a two-second pause, her tone softened: "Awu, where are you now? I can't find you anywhere. You haven't abandoned me, have you?"
"What do you mean by 'want' or 'don't want'? Didn't President Zhou break up with me?" Shang Wu scoffed.
Zhou Yanci let out a sigh of relief: "We're about to get married, how could I bear to break up with you? I was just saying that in anger, Awu, stop making a scene, please come back."
"I'm on vacation, and you've suspended me. What am I supposed to do back there? Don't bother me while I'm having fun."
Shang Wu impatiently took the phone away, about to hang up.
"Wait, wait a minute!"
Zhou Yanci suddenly raised his voice.
Shang Wu almost pressed the hang-up button: "Is there anything else?"
"Awu, tell me, how can you come back to work? You don't even know, Ji Yu is a useless piece of trash, she's messed everything up. Come back, do you really have the heart to watch the jewelry department in chaos?"
Zhou Yanci's words were not only meant to coax her back, but also carried a hint of disdain for Ji Yu's genuine feelings.
While Shang Wu was on the phone with him, she had already seen the message sent by A Ying, who gave a full report on the jewelry department's affairs that day.
She narrowed her eyes and said slowly, "You just suspended me like that? You can't resolve this chaotic situation, so you send me back? Zhou Yanci, do you really like me? Or are you just using my value on Chengzhou?"
Zhou Yanci's breath hitched, and she was speechless. After a couple of seconds of guilt, she tried to explain, "Awu, you're really wronging me. I only called you because I knew that the jewelry department was also your hard work. You underestimate me. I can still afford this loss."
"I don't want to hear your explanation."
Fearing that he was pushing too hard, Shang Wu changed his tone, becoming wistful and forlorn.
"You deliberately seduced me and ruined our relationship. Did you ever think about my feelings? When I broke up with you, did you try to keep me? No, instead you suspended me from my job and forced me to back down."
“Zhou Yanci, I am not a puppet that you can summon and dismiss at will. I am a person with my own dignity. No matter how grateful I am to you or how much I like you, I cannot pretend that nothing happened.”
The more Zhou Yanci listened, the more inexplicably depressed he felt.
"Awu, I..."
He couldn't refute it, and even wanted to bow his head and apologize to Shang Wu, completely forgetting his original intention to subdue Shang Wu completely.
Shang Wu took a deep breath and then changed the subject.
"Promise me two things, and I'll go back to work."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com