20. “A part of your play”
Recently, two major issues have been weighing on Fang Kaixuan's mind, both of which remain unresolved.
Firstly, it concerns her future career plans. She certainly hadn't forgotten that her boss had offered terms and was waiting for her decision. But this wait wasn't indefinite.
As for his good friend Qin Zhisheng, he had already been called in for a talk by the boss. Qin Zhisheng, being such a shrewd person, answered without hesitation and decisively: Of course, I will follow the boss unconditionally. Wherever the boss goes, I will go. It doesn't matter who the new boss is.
The boss was naturally very satisfied and had already ordered people to handle all the follow-up work arrangements for him.
With things settled down, Qin Zhisheng invited Fang Kaixuan to dinner, expressing his concern for her indecisiveness:
“You’re not usually this slow-paced. Don’t forget, the boss’s patience has its limits. Don’t think he’s spoiling us. As a subordinate, you can’t take his favor for granted.”
"Is this word an insult to me or to yourself?"
"It serves as a warning to me not to forget who I am. I am nothing more than the little fox in the story of the fox borrowing the tiger's power. Without the tiger, I am nothing."
Fang Kaixuan usually admired Qin Zhisheng's insightful and worldly-wise nature. Compared to his firmness and decisiveness, she felt increasingly confused and disoriented.
"Being indecisive and hesitant will lead to problems," Qin Zhisheng warned, sounding alarmist.
Fang Kaixuan sighed: "It's not an act, my mind is really a mess."
"Say something, don't get angry. I feel like your life force has been really low lately, like a string about to snap." Qin Zhisheng leaned closer to her, examining her closely.
"Really?" Knowing her friend liked to joke, Fang Kaixuan was still frightened and touched her face. She knew that she had lost so much weight that her cheeks had sunken in.
“I understand you don’t want to leave, after all, you’ve only been married for a short time. But, to be honest with you today,” Qin Zhisheng said, unusually serious, “you can either settle down as a wife, follow your husband wherever he goes, give up your career, and take care of him—many people do that. But I don’t see you as someone who’s content to be a housewife. Don’t be fooled by your youth now; you’ll age quickly. Don’t make a decision you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”
"Thank you, I've learned a lot." Fang Kaixuan said half-jokingly, putting his hands together in a gesture of respect. "But why are you acting so mature today?"
“People my age are starting to die suddenly, so I have to think about how I should live my life,” Qin Zhisheng said seriously. A friend of his had recently died of a heart attack, just a week before they had been playing basketball, hiking, and running together. This suddenly changed his attitude.
If you want to enjoy life to the fullest, you have to survive first.
The second thing on Fang Kaixuan's mind was the matter mentioned in the email from the cancer patient's family.
Last time, she couldn't help but report it to her boss, hoping he would take it seriously and intervene. But the boss was already determined to leave and had no time to pay attention to such trivial matters, so he assigned it to his successor, David Tan.
Tan Dawei was hired by the company two years ago from a major investment bank in Hong Kong. He was shrewd, worldly-wise, and far more sophisticated than the average person. As Qin Zhisheng would say behind his back, once he got involved with someone, he was even more cunning than a monkey.
With Tan Dawei newly appointed and everything in need of rebuilding, he wouldn't care about such trivial matters.
"Such a small matter."
In their eyes, other people's lives are trivial.
But Fang Kaixuan couldn't just let it go.
She hesitated for a long time, then, seeing David Tan getting coffee in the break room, she pretended to bump into him and cautiously asked, "David, may I bother you for a few minutes? About SN..."
"What is it?" David Tan nodded reservedly, his face arrogant and without a trace of a smile.
This face felt unfamiliar to Fang Kaixuan. Not long ago, when Tan Dawei met Fang Kaixuan and Qin Zhisheng, he was always smiling and very approachable. Although his rank was much higher than theirs, Tan Dawei was agile, and his overly polite expression even made Fang Kaixuan a little uncomfortable.
And ever since the email announcing his succession to all, even his appearance has changed. This expression now is more befitting of his current status.
Tan Dawei remained cold and aloof, leaving Fang Kaixuan with no choice but to muster the courage to explain: "Regarding the SN project, someone previously complained that the sales representative had falsified reports, but the company ignored it..."
“Kaixuan, hold on,” David Tan interrupted impatiently before he could finish, “You know the merger is just one step away from completion, right? Your job is to package the story well, sell the existing shares smoothly, and avoid any complications, understand?”
Fang Kaixuan understood what he meant: don't cause trouble for yourself. Get the money as soon as possible, and then it won't concern them anymore.
Fang Kaixuan rarely confronted her superiors, but for some reason, she felt somewhat responsible for this matter, so she continued, "Yes, I understand. I'm just worried that if it gets reported, it might trigger negative public opinion..."
“Then the project team members have to figure out how to handle it, otherwise what’s the point of the company hiring you, right? Here’s what we’ll do, I’ll have them bring you and the PR person together, and you two can handle the negative public opinion.”
Then he disappeared like a gust of wind.
A large pot was then placed on Fang Kaixuan's head.
She understood why; this was the plight of ordinary people during a change of dynasty.
She and Qin Zhisheng had inquired privately, but no one knew why the boss suddenly wanted to retire from the business world. They guessed that something major had happened that couldn't be discussed with others, and the boss simply took the opportunity to retreat, leaving all the complexities to his successor.
As for David Tan, he was certainly aware of the risks involved. But fortune favors the bold, and for David Tan, this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He could become the head of a large organization, leading hundreds of employees, second only to the top leader.
If he doesn't seize this opportunity, no matter how high his rank becomes, Tan Dawei will just be a professional manager, always having to be subservient to others.
The two hit it off immediately, understood each other implicitly, and each got what they wanted.
Those employees who were unaware of what was going on remained in the fog.
David Tan had been patiently enduring for years, but once he rose to power, his pent-up lust for power erupted like a volcano. He immediately launched a major internal restructuring under the guise of reshaping the organization's culture. The real purpose, unsurprisingly, was to marginalize the old boss's favorite.
Fang Kaixuan was a nobody, originally insignificant, and it wouldn't be her turn so soon.
But she was the one who walked right into the line of fire.
David Tan is currently enjoying the pleasure of being able to control others.
The next day, David Tan asked his secretary to invite Fang Kaixuan to his office.
Fang Kaixuan walked past Qin Zhisheng's seat, giving him a meaningful look, as if it were some kind of instruction.
Fang Kaixuan wondered if she was just imagining things; a change in a person's status could even alter their appearance. Previously, whenever Tan Dawei saw her, he always wore a smile that was a mixture of intimacy and admiration. Fang Kaixuan was very familiar with that inappropriate intimacy. In the workplace, it's common for men to use some kind of ambiguous intimacy to control female subordinates or colleagues.
She pretended to be oblivious, taking David Tan's overtures as an overflowing expression of his loyalty to his boss. He would have smiled like that even if he saw a monkey next to his boss.
Nowadays, David Tam's smile is hard to describe; it's a mixture of condescension, probing, and a hidden desire for control.
People who try to cloak their desire for control in the sugar coating of care or affection often have that kind of expression.
Fang Kaixuan was very familiar with this expression.
"Kaixuan, you look so beautiful today," said David Tan.
This statement falls somewhere between praise and rudeness, depending on how it is interpreted.
In the workplace, sometimes men flirt with women not out of lust, but the woman's submission is equivalent to a pledge of allegiance, because only in this way can the man be sure that she is already one of his own.
Oscar Wilde was right: Everything is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.
Fang Kaixuan understood that Tan Dawei was like the new alpha male in the troop, needing his subordinates' loyalty most at this moment. But even if Fang Kaixuan desperately tried to prove his loyalty, he wasn't safe. Everyone in the company knew that Fang Kaixuan was the boss's man. Tan Dawei had no concrete evidence, but he absolutely believed that where there's smoke, there's fire; a man like Lao Shen could handle any woman, let alone an ordinary subordinate.
The thought of sitting in this position and wielding such power filled David Tan with excitement. All that smiling and fawning over the boss before, wasn't it all for this day?
Otherwise, is all that hard work and dedication to building a career truly for the benefit of humanity?
Tan Dawei was a little disappointed to see that Fang Kaixuan had no reaction. However, he was a big shot now, and a magnanimous person wouldn't hold a grudge against a petty person.
"Kaixuan, you don't need to worry about what you mentioned last time. I'll have someone else handle it."
Fang Kaixuan asked with a curious expression, "How should we handle this?"
"Their editor-in-chief, Mr. He, is very understanding. After all, we've been publishing articles for them for many years. When he reviewed that article, he specifically notified me. I had the PR team arrange a meal, and Mr. He proposed signing a framework agreement, which would only cost 500,000 a year. Once the project is completed, he will personally come to do an exclusive interview with me to discuss the company's strategic upgrade and several new business areas."
Tan Dawei looked smug. What worried Fang Kaixuan was nothing more than a trivial matter to him. This was the taste of power.
Fang Kaixuan had nothing to say.
David Tan continued, "By the way, the reason I called you here today is because I've discovered you have a lot of ideas about ESG. I suggest you mainly follow up on the company's future work in social responsibility and philanthropy. As you know, LPs in Europe and America value this the most right now. It's a very promising field."
Fang Kaixuan's face remained expressionless as she waited quietly for him to continue.
ESG has been talked about for years and seems incredibly important, yet it remains a marginal function within the company. Putting aside everything else, the salaries are orders of magnitude lower. David Tan's suggestion is tantamount to exiling her to the frontier.
Seeing that Fang Kaixuan had no reaction, he continued, "If you have no objections, then I will have someone make the arrangements. Kaixuan, you have a lot to offer."
At this point, he leaned closer to Fang Kaixuan, lowered his voice, as if he were saying something confidential, "This is the fastest track to promotion that I've ever seen. If it weren't for you always being by Sam's side..."
He didn't finish his sentence.
A sentence that should have been complete suddenly breaks off, like a bird suddenly falling from the sky, leaving a blank space that leaves room for contemplation.
Fang Kaixuan took a small step back and nodded: "I will follow the company's arrangements, but I still have a lot of work to do and need some time to hand it over. Also, Mr. Tan, I was actually considering taking a break for a while, as I haven't been feeling too well lately."
That's true.
When Chen Zhilun's incident happened, she often couldn't sleep all night for about six months, enduring the long nights one by one, and even thought about ending it all.
Fortunately, they didn't do anything foolish.
Fang Kaixuan spoke with utmost respect, but Tan Dawei was not pleased.
Because I didn't get the slide I was hoping for.
"Of course, I can't decide whether you stay or leave on your own. Hahaha." David Tan deflated the situation, seemingly quite nonchalant.
The two ended their conversation with fake smiles.
Fang Kaixuan thought to himself: Actually, I'm not that important, but I've become a link in the power play between you.
///
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