Chapter 3 If you can make her laugh, I'll give you stars
Li Xuan had to leave early. Lin Yao walked her out of the shop and then returned to the front desk to line up, ready to bring Long Weihe a cup of coffee. The New Year's gatherings were crowded, and the wait was long. After placing her order, she stood by the counter, her phone in hand, texting with someone. Most companies were starting work today. The messages were all carefully crafted greetings for the start of the year, sent one by one to candidates and clients. Post-New Year, companies experience a surge in personnel changes, making it a prime time for business. If a chicken wants to peck at rice, it must keep up with its people. Maintaining existing connections is Lin He's lifeline. Ten minutes later, the waiter placed the coffee on the counter and called out, "Mr. Lin, latte." Her attention focused on her phone screen, thinking the waiter had mistaken her gender, she reached for it, and her hand brushed against another's. A young man, peering sideways at her, asked, "Yours?" The waiter called out, "Ms. Lin, latte." She withdrew her hand, glanced at the new takeout bag on the counter, and said, "Sorry, I made a mistake." She took the coffee and turned to leave. "I think I've seen you somewhere," the man followed her out. It was standard street pick-up line, nothing innovative. She paused, turned, stared into his eyes, and smiled, giving him a look that showed she was waiting for him to continue. "Number 11, remember exam room 11?" That was the number where she took the postgraduate entrance exam last year. She softened her indifference. "You're here too?" "Yes." "Yeah, what a coincidence." She gave him a friendly smile, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and waved her phone. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry, I need to leave first." "Leave me your WeChat? Fellow examinee," he asked, quickly tapping the WeChat QR code. "Lin Yuxun." He raised the phone directly to her, regardless of her wishes. It seemed wrong not to add it. As a matter of professional habit, she read his face. He had large double-lidded eyes with slightly upturned corners, straight, wild eyebrows, and slightly prominent cheekbones and brow bones, giving him a wild, handsome air. His behavior seemed proactive, but his temperament was clearly aloof. His frame, a head taller than hers, gave him an inexplicable sense of oppression. The look in her eyes didn't seem hostile, not that bad. She'd spent years cultivating her ability to judge people, but this was a complex complex she couldn't fathom. How could someone who interacted with people every day be afraid of them? She added him because he was handsome. Lin Yuxun returned to his seat in the corner of the coffee shop and scrolled through her WeChat Moments. The profile picture was the standard for most headhunters, a half-length professional photo. He wasn't interested in her looks; a set of neat white teeth and a dimpled smile flashed by in a split second, and he scrolled down. The signature was "Lin He Headhunter," and the content she shared was all about health industry news and job requirements, nothing else. …
Li Xuan had to leave first. Lin Yao saw her out of the store and then returned to the service counter to queue up, ready to bring a cup of coffee to Long Weihe.
There were many people meeting and chatting at the beginning of the year, and the waiting time was long. After placing the order, she stood by the waiting counter and took out her mobile phone to send messages to others.
Most companies started work today. The messages, all carefully crafted greetings for the start of the new year, were sent out one by one to candidates and clients. Post-New Year, companies experience a surge in personnel changes, making it a prime time for business. If a chicken wants to peck at rice, it must keep up with the crowd. Maintaining his existing network is Lin He's lifeline.
Ten minutes later, the waiter put the coffee on the counter and called out, "Mr. Lin, latte."
Her attention was focused on the phone screen, and she thought the waiter had made a mistake about the gender, so she reached out to take it, and her hand touched another's.
It was a young man, who turned his head to stare at her face and asked, "Yours?"
The waiter called again, "Ms. Lin, latte."
She retracted her hand and glanced at the new takeout bag on the table. "I'm sorry, I made a mistake."
She took the coffee and turned to leave.
"I seem to have seen you somewhere." The man followed out.
It was standard street pick-up line, nothing original. She stopped, turned around, stared into his eyes and smiled, giving him an expression that showed she was waiting for him to continue.
"Number 11, remember exam room number 11?"
That was the examination room number where she took the postgraduate entrance examination last year.
She lowered her indifference and asked, "You're here too?"
"right."
"Yeah, what a coincidence." She gave a friendly smile, tucked one side of her hair behind her ear, and waved her phone. "Sorry, I have something urgent to do. I have to leave first."
"Leave me your WeChat? Fellow examinee." He said as he quickly tapped the WeChat QR code, "Lin Yuxun."
The phone was raised straight up to me regardless of my will, and it seemed wrong not to add it.
As a matter of course, she read his face. He had large, slightly upturned double-lidded eyes, straight, wild brows, and slightly prominent cheekbones and brow bones, giving him a certain wild, handsome quality. His actions seemed proactive, his temperament distinctly aloof, and his frame, a head taller than hers, gave him an inexplicable sense of oppression. But his eyes didn't seem hostile, and he didn't seem particularly bad.
She had practiced her ability to judge people for several years, but this was a complex system that she was not capable of seeing through.
How can someone who interacts with people every day be afraid of others? Because he is handsome, she added.
Lin Yuxun returned to the coffee shop and sat in the corner, looking through her circle of friends.
The profile picture was the standard for most headhunters, a half-length professional photo. He wasn't interested in her appearance. A row of neat white teeth and a dimpled smile flashed before his eyes, and he scrolled down.
The signature is "Lin He Headhunter", and the content shared is all about the trends in the big health industry and some job requirements, nothing else.
She is indeed a headhunter.
On exam day, he took the exams both morning and afternoon. At noon, he found a quiet coffee shop near the exam center to rest. The person sitting next to him started talking on the phone, and he glared at her with disgust. Perhaps because her appearance and voice weren't annoying, she chatted for almost half an hour, and he caught most of her conversation. She was analyzing a job opportunity related to pharmaceutical sales, and he figured she was either in HR or a headhunter. Later, when he saw her in the same exam room, she exuded a vibrant energy.
Catching women wasn't the goal. Finding a reliable, pleasing headhunter to use as a tool had always been part of his plan.
Cautious by nature, he doesn't just pick headhunters in the market. What he wants to exploit is something that can only be found by chance.
He had the feeling that "she was okay" and wanted to get to know her better.
He searched online for "Lin He Headhunter," but found limited information about the small headhunting company. A website he paid for displayed their business registration information, including legal representative Lin Yao, partner Long Weihe, and the company's address. He sent her name and company name to a friend, asking him to find a way to get their personal information, hoping to get to the bottom of it.
After thinking about it, he sent her the first message, asking which college she applied to. He didn't get a reply, but he got the person he was waiting for.
"There are so many people here, why do we have to be like this? Can't we just go home? Will people see us?" The person who came was his sister, Lin Yushan. The big black mask and big sunglasses couldn't hide her dignity. She came close to him and asked him questions in a low voice like a machine gun.
"Aren't you anxious to see me? I just hang out in these places all the time. If you mind, go back." He put down his phone.
She pressed her sunglasses, asked if she wanted to sit down, and didn't touch the stool. Her tone became softer, "Let's go to a quiet place and have a good chat. The car is waiting outside."
There were indeed a lot of people. He glanced around the store, stood up, and lowered his voice, "Just ten minutes."
When he came out and saw Lin Yushan's secretary and assistant standing at the door waiting and watching him, he gave them a disgusted look.
The two got in the car. Lin Yushan asked the driver to drive home.
"What have you been doing these past few months? I didn't see you during the Spring Festival. Didn't we break up a long time ago?" Lin Yushan took off her sunglasses and mask.
"work."
"What?"
"Private matter."
"Dad asked me to tell you something. Choose one of the business schools, Cheung Kong or CEIBS. He'll find someone to help you enroll."
"No."
"What are your plans?"
"No plans."
"The company has a lot of things to do, and you don't want to take responsibility?"
"Aren't you and Zhong Chengbing here?"
Zhong Chengbing is his brother-in-law, and they are mainly engaged in the medical beauty industry chain.
"Can't we as a family work together? Things are different now. The business pressure is huge. Do you think we're willing to get involved and suffer? It's very tiring! Mom needs us to work together, together, you know."
"I don't understand management and can't exert my strength."
"Can you be more mature? Just participate and learn slowly!"
He turned his head to look out the window on his side of the car. "You guys are mature and capable, you guys should handle it properly. I'm immature, and if I get involved, it will just lead to internal friction."
"How did Zhong Chengbing offend you? Why is there such a conflict?"
He wiped the irritation from his face with his hand and said, "Stop the car!"
The car was entering the middle lane of the avenue. The driver slowed down, looked at Lin Yushan cautiously in the rearview mirror, and waited for her to speak.
"Stop, stop, stop, stop. We can't even say more than three words when we meet. There's no way to communicate." Lin Yushan put her sunglasses back on angrily. "When are you going to come home?"
"Another day!" He turned his back and got out of the car, then looked down at the message. She had applied to the same college.
The car started up again, and Lin Yushan cursed coldly at his receding figure, "You're wild and hard to tame!"
Lin Yao replied to Qian Duoduo's message while chatting with him.
The private kindergarten that Qian Duoduo attends starts earlier than the public one. Today is the first day, and Long Weihe picked him up from school.
The kindergarten is in Zhucheng. When Long Wei and her husband divorced, they sold their house in Zhucheng for property division and moved to a much cheaper small house in a non-core area. It is a bit far from the original one, and they are reluctant to let Qian Duoduo leave the familiar kindergarten environment, so they have not changed him for the time being and drive to pick him up every day.
Lin Yaogang hurried over to get a ride home.
"Have you found a kindergarten? When will you transfer?" Lin Yao felt that this was very troublesome for her, as it would take more than an hour to pick her up and drop her off.
"I'll hold on until I can't hold on any longer. There aren't many good kindergartens around here." She feels she can still hold on.
Qian Duoduo sat in the back seat, sipping yogurt and shaking his head, "We have a strange kid here today."
"What kind?" Lin Yao asked.
"It's a girl named Sisi. The kids all gathered around her and shouted 'Sisi, si ...
"What's with all that ripping and ripping? You're giving people nicknames again. Where's your real name?" Long Weihe scolded him. She knew it wasn't that name. He had a problem with the way he pronounced some words with his flat and rolled tongue. Poor guy, he got that from Qian Pingtao.
"The teacher told us that her name is Sisi!"
"So, are you friends with her?"
"I'm not friends with her!"
"Why?"
"She doesn't talk and is super weird. She ignores anyone who plays with her and is very naughty. She cried several times. The teacher assigned her to our group and asked me to help her. When I talked to her, she glared at me fiercely! The kids all said that she doesn't belong in our giraffe group and should go to the tiger group." Qian Duoduo raised his hands to make tiger claws, made a tiger face at Lin Yao who looked back at him, and let out a childish roar.
"You're a transfer student, so you probably can't adapt. Think about it, if I also transfer you to another school, wouldn't you be unhappy leaving your familiar friends? Aren't you the teacher's little helper? She asked you to help, so you should help the new kids more." Long Weihe said while driving, glancing at the rearview mirror.
"If you add a star, I'll help you. I'm still two stars short of Iron Man building blocks."
"You're good at taking advantage of the opportunity!" Long Wei laughed.
"If you can make her laugh, if Long Weihe doesn't give you a star, I will!" Lin Yao sent a message to Lin Yuxun saying "Sorry, I'm busy now.", ended the chat on the screen, and looked back at Qian Duoduo.
"It's hard to make a girl laugh! I want two stars!"
"A smile is worth a thousand gold coins. Deal!" Lin Yao teased him.
Qian Duoduo was so happy that he sucked the yogurt with a straw, making a sizzling sound. His butt moved excitedly from side to side in the safety seat, as if he had got the stars.
Lin Yao handed the coffee to Long Weihe, who took a few sips and then took it and put it away.
"Are you going to find someone else for Li Xuan?" Long Weihe asked.
"Yeah. I've looked at the job requirements for the post-New Year integration by Tan Ming. There are a few companies looking for business development positions, but I'm not sure if they're really there. I'm trying to find a way to get in touch with them."
"She's also been held back by her child and can't leave Guangzhou. Otherwise, many foreign companies would be vying for her qualifications. There's a general shortage of high-end BD talent in the market."
"Tao Xiang is also blind. I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to move forward with that line. I've made an appointment with Zhou Zixin to talk tomorrow morning."
"I'm not going with you tomorrow. I have an appointment with some artificial joint salespeople this morning to chat. I heard Shi Zhenglin officially took over at Xingtan today. I've been busy with the opening of that ancestor school these past two days, so I haven't been able to meet him yet. If we really lose Xingtan, we might not survive this year."
"Look, little sister!"
Lin Yao turned around. Qian Duoduo had cut two holes in the square paper bag of coffee that had been thrown on the back seat and put it on his head. His eyes blinked through the holes, imitating the lines and intonation of SpongeBob SquarePants that he had learned from watching TV. "I love my job! I love my boss! I love my burgers! Hey! Squidward, why are you always unhappy?"
People who just got angry and said they couldn't live anymore will laugh.
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