21. Making Much Ado About Nothing
While Vivian was feeling heartbroken in her small CBD apartment, Yoyo was also unable to contact Qiu Fang at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong.
But Yoyo never lost her composure. Compared to the vain and weak Vivian, she was an incredibly strong and proactive person. Qiu Fang had previously paid her hotel bills on a monthly basis, but Yoyo hadn't been idle either. While Qiu Fang was away, she flirted with various clients and had already found a financial sponsor to renew her lease before the end of the month.
She didn't rely solely on men. After all, she was a celebrity blogger with hundreds of thousands of followers, and brands were constantly courting her. But making money that way was too slow, and she had her own quick ways to cash in. She occasionally accepted a few commercials, simply to demonstrate her market appeal.
So she had no worries at all. Qiu Fang was a profitable business for her.
On the other hand, Vivian had to repeatedly prepare herself mentally and encourage herself like Scarlett O'Hara, "Tomorrow is another new day."
It's a new day, no matter how sad you are, you need to put on makeup and go to work.
There was no time for overthinking. Vivian needed to complete due diligence on the "Sanchuan" project as quickly as possible. After all, consumption had been sluggish in recent years, and the projects she had invested in a few years prior had all performed mediocrely. Although her boss, Jia Lan, had hinted several times that she would be promoted by the end of the year, she felt uneasy until it was confirmed.
Although it's still a fairly early stage project, the necessary procedures must be meticulously followed. In previous years, this wasn't necessary. For projects worth millions or even tens of millions of dollars, as long as the responsible director gave the go-ahead, investment was a given. After all, back then, hot money was pouring in, everything was growing, and the financial figures looked impressive. Anyone who invested was considered a hero, earning their bonus for the year ahead, and no one cared about the subsequent devastation.
But things are different now. After several major setbacks, the company's investment decision-making process has changed significantly. Every level of scrutiny has led to a heightened level of caution. Beyond cautious judgment, the partners all have their own ulterior motives: With limited investment funds available and the next fund still uncertain, it's best to save some for their own future projects while remaining cautious about others'.
Besides, these new consumer products aren't semiconductor chips or AI giants, so why worry that if you miss out, the train of the times will speed by and run over you repeatedly? They're just selling dim sum, coffee, and braised food, so what if you miss out on one?
Fortunately, the project didn't require much money. The partners were very kind, and a little slipped through their fingers, which was enough.
The workload piled up, and Yang Ziqi was completely unable to help. Fortunately, many of the mundane aspects of due diligence were handled by third-party agencies: financial advisors, accounting firms, law firms, appraisal agencies... a vast array of them. Despite the strict demands of boss Zhang Ruolin, who insisted that third parties be used as tools and not rely on outside judgment, few actually took the initiative. Some, though lazy or daring, even had intermediaries draft decision-making documents for them.
Vivian, always conscientious, wouldn't have dared to deal with it this way. However, the work she assigned Yang Ziqi wasn't only delivered on time but also riddled with errors and omissions. Industry analysis and the competitive landscape were actually pretty basic tasks; they could just refer to templates, look up data, and piece them together—not that difficult. But the documents Yang Ziqi handed in were completely frowned upon.
Although Yang Ziqi was a newcomer, she claimed to have a year of experience working at a London investment bank. Yet, even basic tasks, which an intern could perform, were so poor. In this respect, she was far inferior to Feng Simiao. Feng Simiao simply disliked hardship, but when it came to intelligence, she was no less clever than anyone else.
Vivian closed her computer and sighed. She couldn't go too far, too shallow, or hit or scold. Intellectually, she knew it was the wisest thing to do, but how could she remain calm? Even if many tasks were handled by third parties, overtime on reports was still necessary. No one in the company could afford a comfortable nine-to-six shift. But Yang Ziqi always left on time, not forgetting to say, "Sister V, is everything okay? I'll be leaving first."
Finally one day, she couldn't help herself and asked Yang Ziqi to have a chat. Originally, Jia Lan had assigned her to take care of Yang Ziqi, so asking for a chat wasn't out of the ordinary. However, Weiweian had her own concerns, so she rarely had a deep conversation with her, let alone ordered her to do anything.
Others just think that Vivian has a good temper.
Yang Ziqi came over slowly, bringing two cups of milk tea: "Sister V, you can have some."
Weiwei swallowed the words "I don't drink sweets" and tried to be gentle: "Ziqi, it's nothing serious, just chatting casually. How have you been feeling since you came to the company?"
"It's great. Everyone's been very nice to me. By the way, Sister V, I met Mr. Zhou today. He asked me to rotate to his department. Is that okay with you?"
Vivian sighed. This didn't make any sense, but she remained patient. "The company does have a rotation policy, but you've only been here for a short time. Wouldn't it be better to wait a year and see?"
"Okay. Then I'll go and apologize to Mr. Zhou tomorrow." Yang Ziqi agreed, but was not very happy.
Vivian thought, Old Zhou is a lecher, never getting down to business. He always flirts with every new girl he meets at the company, never knowing whether it's real or fake, and forgets everything he said the moment he turns around. He's so annoying.
But logically speaking, Yang Ziqi is a worldly-wise person, so why is she so short-sighted?
Yang Ziqi opened her eyes wide and waited for her to speak. Vivian suddenly realized that she was particularly mean to her.
Why? She quickly reminded herself: Be professional. You're not so mean as to take your anger out on a new employee.
"Ziqi, the thing is, usually in the first two months after joining the company, the tasks given to you aren't very heavy. You're mainly adapting to the company culture, team style, and work habits, and you're mainly observing and learning. But our industry, on the other hand, requires quite a lot of mental and physical strength, and even effort. Can I... briefly share my feelings during this period and any suggestions for future improvements?"
"Of course, Sister V, the boss asked me to learn from you."
"We learn from each other." Vivian chose her words carefully. "This is your first project, and President Jia Lan specifically instructed you to participate more, so I'll set higher standards. Have you checked the documents I was given recently?"
"Ah, what's wrong? Is there a problem?" Yang Ziqi opened her big innocent eyes.
Vivian flipped her laptop over so the screen was facing Yang Ziqi. "For example, look at the data on this page. None of it matches. Did they just copy it from the research report I gave you for reference?"
Yang Ziqi remained silent.
"You're new here, so it's normal to not understand things. Everyone goes through this. But you still have to do the necessary paperwork. It's not just about these ten or so pages, because my work depends on you, and all the company's judgments are based on facts and data. If you're not thorough enough, you'll be really frustrated by the boss's questions. So, I'm really not very satisfied with the quality of this work."
Vivian patiently finished speaking in one breath, using the softest tone she could.
But when Yang Ziqi looked up and saw her big, bright eyes staring at her, she knew that the call was in vain.
"Sister V, I'll do my best." She said it without a trace of shame on her face. Vivian even suspected she was expressing resentment, but her tone remained polite. "I'll learn from you in the future."
It was completely ineffective communication. Vivian, feeling like she was hitting a wall, said, "Today, we're just chatting casually. You're so smart, you'll definitely be able to do well. Also, I don't know if you're interested in this industry on your own, or if your boss assigned you to this. It's always a good idea to talk to colleagues in other departments; you might find a field you like more. For example, Alicia struggled in the pharmaceutical industry before, but she immediately landed two projects in the new energy sector. If you need a rotation, our HR department can provide support."
Vivian thought her words were watertight.
It wasn't until late at night that my boss, Jia Lan, suddenly sent me a WeChat message: "Would it be convenient for me to call?"
She was about to take a shower, but, "Of course."
Jia Lan came up and started to question her: "Miss, what did you say to Yang Ziqi? She came up today and sent me a 300-word essay, saying that you don't like her and are very picky about her."
///
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com