Chapter 37
Apart from Xiang Wan, none of the other three enjoyed the Japanese meal to the fullest.
During the meal, Zhou Chengze glanced in her direction several times, but Xiang Wan ignored him as if she hadn't seen him.
After dinner, he asked her if she could intern at the Xiang family's group in the future. Xiang Wan neither refused nor agreed, but simply said "we'll see" and brushed it off.
On the way back to Xiang's home, Xiang Wan closed her eyes to rest, but Chen Yan glanced at her several times out of the corner of his eye.
"What's wrong?"
"..." Chen Yan hesitated for a moment, "Does your sister like Zhou Chengze a lot?"
"Why do you ask that?" Hearing this, Xiang Wan opened her eyes and looked at him, then thought for a moment, "Just because I treated him to dinner?"
"Mmm," Chen Yan replied softly.
Xiang Wan did not answer immediately, but instead lowered the car window and looked at the scenery outside, her eyes somewhat dim.
I happened to be passing by the airport, and even though it was already night, it was brighter outside than during the day.
The colorful neon lights of the commercial district in the distance, viewed from the highway, make the main urban area of Beiyi look so prosperous.
Two of these buildings were registered under Xiang Wan's name. The Xiang family possessed immense wealth, yet who knew that their heir would die in five years?
She certainly didn't like Zhou Chengze; as long as he was the male lead, her life was in danger.
However, she dared not act rashly before understanding the rules of this world. As for Zhou Chengze, Xiang Wan had not yet decided how to deal with him.
Inviting him to dinner was nothing more than a sugar-coated bullet.
But she had no one to confide in. Exposing her weaknesses to others might garner sympathy, or it could lead to her death.
Her grandfather taught her these things, and what impressed her most were the two sentences he said to her with his back to her when he was teaching her.
—'Shu Han, there are some weaknesses you can't tell anyone, not even your own flesh and blood.'
—And what about grandfather?
—'Even I cannot.'
Childhood memories flooded her mind, and looking at the bustling street scene below the highway, Xiang Wan smiled softly.
Every heir of a large family is lonely; perhaps this is something that must be endured if one is destined for wealth and status.
Xiang Wan looked at Chen Yan, who was waiting for her reply, and resisted the urge to tell him about her possible death in five years. She only answered his previous question: "I don't like him."
After listening, Chen Yan didn't say anything more, and also looked out the window like Xiang Wan.
But his eyes, which had been dim before he got on the bus, brightened considerably...
*
After the orientation, there is the annual welcome party. At the party, in addition to the freshmen, many sophomores and juniors who do not have classes are also present.
Instead of going anywhere else, Xiang Wan was in the school's self-study room having a video conference with key members of various departments.
Although Xiang Wan has only been in charge of the company for two years and is only 21 years old, she has been in charge of every aspect of the Automotive Leadership Program, from project planning to implementation.
Throughout the entire Xiang Group, apart from a few stubborn shareholders who had some reservations about her taking over before graduating from university, all the employees went from doubting her to respecting her, and then to trusting her.
The press conference is in just over 20 days. Although the preparations have been very thorough, there are many steps involved, and mistakes are inevitable. Xiang Guan asked them to conduct a self-check in the next two days.
Xiang Wan was only relieved after the ministers and key personnel of each department had given their assurances that they would conduct self-inspections after the video conference.
After hanging up the video call, she sat in the swivel chair, staring at the empty whiteboard, somewhat distracted.
"Knock knock knock—"
"Wanwan, may I come in?" After the knock, it was Shen Feiyang's voice.
This student activity room was rented by Xiang Guan from the school. It was her private room until she graduated from her senior year.
Because she was always traveling between school and company, this place was essentially her office at school. Apart from the principal and teachers, only a trio knew about it.
It wasn't until she heard Shen Feiyang's voice that Xiang Wan suddenly remembered that it seemed like the four of them hadn't gotten together for a long time since the start of their junior year.
"Please come in."
Seeing that Xiang Wan didn't seem to be working, Shen Feiyang breathed a sigh of relief. Before coming, she was a little worried that it might affect Wan Wan's work, and she was also a little nervous when she knocked on the door.
"What's wrong?"
"Wanwan." Shen Feiyang opened his mouth, unsure of how to speak, until he looked at Wanwan and said, "It seems that Che Nanbei and Jiang Zhuochun have a falling out."
"..."
Xiang Wan was somewhat speechless. This was indeed the reason why the kind-hearted Shen Feiyang would come to find her in such a grand manner.
Both of Shen Feiyang's incarnations were very loyal and affectionate. Xiang Wan had heard about her going to great lengths for a friend in her previous life.
But perhaps because she values friendship too much, in this life she always likes to play the role of the peacemaker. Whenever Jiang Zhuochun and Che Nanbei quarrel, she will try her best to make them stop fighting.
He and Che Nanbei both like to act as mediators in class, which is similar in that Che Nanbei does it because he can't sit still, while Shen Feiyang does it because he's afraid of his friends falling out.
Every time she failed to mediate, she would turn to Xiang Wan for help. You could say that Xiang Wan was the second-level mediator in the group of four, specializing in treating all kinds of difficult and complicated cases.
Xiang Wan looked at Shen Feiyang, who stopped halfway through his sentence, seemingly feeling guilty, and sighed silently in her heart: "What's the reason this time?"
Seeing that Xiang Wan didn't blame him, Shen Feiyang's confidence was noticeably stronger: "I don't know, no matter how I ask them, they won't tell me."
"..." Looking at the person who was still guessing the reason with her, Xiang Wan seemed to nod occasionally, but in reality, it went in one ear and out the other, and she was completely in a daze.
*
This year, National Day falls on a weekend, which is unusual as there is no make-up work schedule.
On the day before National Day, apart from the gatekeeper and some postgraduate entrance exam candidates who voluntarily stayed on campus to prepare for the exam, almost everyone at Beiyi University was on holiday.
The number of people at the Beiyi Shopping Mall has surged. Just a few hours into the National Day holiday, the mall's sales have already exceeded ten million.
Xiang Wan glanced at the mall performance report that Huang Mi had sent her in the dressing room, replied with a cheering emoji, and then locked her phone.
Seeing this, the makeup artist came over and continued applying foundation to her, asking curiously as she did so, "Ms. Xiang, as a big shot like you, do you get nervous when you hold press conferences?"
Makeup artist Xiao Zhang was Xiang Wan's assistant brought from the company. Because she was new to the job, she liked to ask questions about everything.
Xiang Wan didn't find it annoying at all, and simply said, "Everyone gets nervous, just overcome it."
Just then, a staff member came over to urge him, so Xiao Zhang stopped talking and quickened his pace.
Although she was young, her makeup skills were superb, and she finished in no time: "Mr. Xiang, all done."
Xiang Wan opened her eyes, looked at her slightly more mature self in the mirror, and gave the makeup artist beside her an appreciative look: "Not bad."
"You probably haven't eaten yet. Go have a meal with your friends later, and give the receipts to Secretary Huang so the company can reimburse you."
Xiao Zhang was clearly pleasantly surprised upon hearing this: "Thank you, Mr. Xiang."
After she left, Xiang Wan looked at herself in the makeup mirror, as if she were seeing her reborn self from afar.
Because she wanted to appear more reliable on camera at the press conference, Xiang Wan specifically asked the makeup artist to make her look more mature.
Unexpectedly, after Xiao Zhang finished her makeup, she looked exactly like the 26-year-old girl.
Backstage at the press conference, Xiang Wan silently watched the host speaking eloquently on stage. This press conference was mainly conducted in the form of the host posing questions, which she then answered.
The questions asked by the host were all provided by them, and they were all from the driver's perspective, addressing the pain points that have always plagued the automotive market, as well as some rather pointed questions.
"Then let's give a round of applause to Mr. Xiang from the Xiang Group, who will answer our questions one by one."
Over the past three years, Xiang's parents have shifted their focus entirely to the European market, and the title "President Xiang" on domestic screens has gradually been replaced by Xiang Wan, replacing Xiang Qu Nan.
Xiang Wan took the microphone from the host, looked at the audience below, and calmly answered the question from earlier.
Most of the people sitting below were leading figures in the automotive industry, seasoned veterans, and shrewd individuals.
Despite being watched by so many seniors, Xiang Wan's voice showed no fear, and she even made a humorous self-deprecating remark when the atmosphere became slightly awkward.
After everyone had laughed, she introduced a new concept and explained it in detail while everyone pondered it.
The first car had already been revealed to the public during the live broadcast of the launch event, so Xiang Guan simply walked around the car and introduced its performance and safety features.
Next comes the display of some data and experimental reports, as well as some optional configurations.
After her introduction, she then provided answers based on several popular comments on Weibo.
After answering the questions, the next step is to set prices and make the entire product line available for purchase.
In the next hour, before the press conference was even over, the existing stock of several models had already been sold out.
When Xiang Wan saw that the car inventory had been completely sold out, he remained calm on the surface, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief.
This car was her last wish before she died in her previous life, and it wasn't until the ninth year after her rebirth that she finally understood this unresolved issue.
After the press conference, Xiang Wan returned to her apartment in a private car. The driver, Uncle Zhang, drove smoothly but didn't say a word, even hanging up on a phone call from his wife.
He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Xiang Wanzheng leaning back in his chair, fast asleep.
He had watched the live stream. Others might not know how much effort the young lady had put into this car, but he knew perfectly well how he drove her around every day.
For several months, Xiang Wan barely got six hours of sleep, often falling asleep in the car on her way to and from work and school.
When they arrived at the apartment that the young lady had bought near the university, Uncle Zhang didn't wake her; Xiang Wan woke up on her own.
"Miss, we've arrived at the apartment."
"Okay, sure."
Xiang Wan was still a little dizzy after waking up. After getting out of the car, she turned back and said, "Uncle Zhang, I won't be going to the company for the next two weeks. You should also take a week of paid leave and spend more time with your family."
"Okay, thank you, Miss." Uncle Zhang was overjoyed to hear that he could take paid leave.
As soon as Xiang Wan left, he called his wife back, whom he had just hung up on, and the call was answered quickly.
"You still know to answer the phone?"
Seeing his wife's displeasure, Uncle Zhang felt somewhat guilty and said awkwardly, "Wife, Miss said she'd give me a week off, and it's paid leave."
"Really?" Upon hearing this, his wife dropped all pretense and hurriedly asked.
"Really, Miss fell asleep in the car just now. She didn't mean to not answer the phone."
"Okay, I'm not blaming you. Look how anxious you are."
"Bring a can of beer when you come back later. I'll make some snacks to go with it, and we'll have a meal together."
"Okay, honey."
*
Meanwhile, after returning to her apartment, Xiang Wan didn't go to sleep. Instead, she turned on her computer and reviewed the day's first batch of orders with several senior executives in the work group to confirm that there were no problems.
After confirmation, she sent a message in the entire DingTalk group, asking all employees who worked overtime today to register for overtime pay and the National Day triple salary subsidy. Then she arranged for all key members of the Automotive Leadership Program to take turns having a week off.
Less than a few seconds after the message was posted, the work group was flooded with messages like "General Manager Xiang is awesome!!! [heart emoji]".
By the time she finished her work, it was already past midnight. Before going to bed, Xiang Wan glanced at WeChat and replied to her parents, as well as the messages from Wang Yidong and Xia Yueshen, in order.
When she saw the three most recent messages from three different contacts, she was completely silenced.
Chen Yan: "Sister, the press conference was a great success! Keep it up!"
Zhou Chengze: "Senior Sister Xiang Wan is amazing, thumbs up for the press conference."
Jiang Juncang: "Congratulations to General Xiang on your initial victory."
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