Chapter 28
On her first day back at work, she was incredibly busy. Zhou Yun kindly bought her sandwiches and a life-saving hot Americano, for which she was extremely grateful. While she was eating lunch, Zhou Yun insisted on chatting with her.
Who would have thought that one day she herself could become the center of gossip?
"So nothing happened in Melbourne?"
Liang Shi peeled back the plastic wrap of the sandwich: "You're not a gossipy person, so you must have been sent by President Gu, right?"
Zhou Yun smoothed her hair and smiled awkwardly, "You found out."
Liang Shi didn't want to hide anything: "I told him frankly that I'm not interested in dating lately. I just want to work hard for the company and dedicate myself when I'm at my best. Of course, the main reason is that I want to have the confidence to talk to the boss about a raise. Dating is nothing compared to making money."
"But Mr. Li's financial strength..."
Liang Shi smiled at her: "That's what he earned through his own hard work, it has nothing to do with me. In my eyes, if you want something better, you have to work hard for it yourself, not rely on others. Helen, a woman should always put herself first, no matter what."
Zhou Yun sensed her implied meaning and lowered her head slightly: "I understand, I want to follow your example. Um, you can eat slowly, I'll go upstairs first."
As Liang Shi walked out of the office, he happened to see Marry holding the document, panting, and gossiping with everyone. After she started talking, she saw Liang Shi there and then stopped talking, pursing her lips.
She doesn't forbid gossiping in the office; sometimes chatting about these random things can even enhance friendships among colleagues: "What news have you, the know-it-all, dug up this time?"
Seeing that even her boss was gossiping, Marry took a deep breath as if she were fearless and pointed to the ceiling: "I just came downstairs and saw a woman wearing Chanel come out of President Gu's office and then go into President Li's office. I wonder who she is."
Just as Marry finished speaking, Liang Shi's phone rang, and at the same time, everyone's computers also received notifications of internal company emails.
As Liang Shi silently read the email, Marry read it aloud word for word: "Wow, this woman's background is something else. She was directly assigned to our department? Director Liang, you already know about this?"
How could she know? Liang Shi sneered inwardly. His department was hiring, and he only informed her through a company-wide email, without even inviting her to the interview. Perhaps there wasn't even an interview at all.
It seems this woman named Zhou Mengmeng has quite a background.
week?
Could it be the 'Miss Zhou' that Li Junqian mentioned?
Her team has been working together very well so far, but now that a new outsider has arrived, things are not so sure.
Liang Shi had originally thought that the newcomer would come to their creative department, but he waited until almost the end of the workday and still hadn't arrived. Instead, Frankl showed up instead.
Liang Shi was reviewing the last submitted PowerPoint presentation when he noticed the leader's visit: "President Gu, is it a bad omen that you're here at this hour?"
Gu Feng sat down opposite her and got straight to the point: "Did you see the email?"
Liang Shi removed his hand from the mouse, leaned back, and finally got a break: "I saw it, and I called Director Chen to confirm. But, aren't you two a bit too casual about bringing people into the company? I heard a new person joined the company today, why didn't you come over to report in?"
Gu Feng sighed, "This person... is no ordinary person, he has quite a powerful background. I was just doing this for someone else. To be honest, Karsten didn't know about this beforehand. But..."
Seeing that he hesitated, Liang Shi smiled and said, "You mean to say that Zhou Mengmeng and Li Junqian actually know each other and have a relationship, right?"
Gu Feng's eyes widened: "You know?"
Liang Shi shrugged: "Of course... I was just guessing."
"Let me give you a heads-up about this relationship. Junqian's family arranged it. They set him up on a blind date around the New Year. I met Zhou Mengmeng in person today, and I could tell at a glance that she wasn't Li Junqian's type. But the girl probably took a liking to him and even followed him to the company."
Gu Feng spoke while observing Liang Shi's reaction. The woman seemed to have heard nothing and showed no reaction at all. He coughed and asked, "Are you sure you're keeping your distance from Karsten?"
Seeing that it was almost time, Liang Shi packed his bag in front of the big boss: "Right now, my goal is to work hard. Men will influence me. Zhou Mengmeng, right? I wish her success. It's time, boss, I need to go home and buy groceries."
On the tennis court, Gu Feng, exhausted, tossed his racket aside, took a sip of his sports drink, and the man opposite him walked to the net, tossed a ball at him, and said sarcastically, "Not going to continue?"
Gu Feng rolled his eyes at him: "You really think this is a competition? By the way, what are you going to do with that Miss Zhou? She really has sharp eyes. I let her choose an office herself, and she went straight for Liang Shi's. I already told her to choose her own office, I can't go back on my word, can I?"
Li Junqian went offstage to pack up his equipment, and Gu Feng also came over: "Liang Shi already knows who Zhou Mengmeng is, you..."
"Don't interfere in my affairs. Also, have Chen arrange more training sessions on office regulations to prevent employees from wandering around my office again."
Gu Feng clicked his tongue twice, probably understanding his buddy's attitude towards this blind date. He guessed that unless it was after get off work, this rich girl wouldn't be able to run into this guy.
Zhou Mengmeng, true to her pampered ways, treated the entire office to coffee on her first day at work. Liang Shi readily accepted, and the coffee, though a treat, was surprisingly delicious. Of course, the first thing a new employee does is hold a routine office meeting.
During self-introductions, the newcomers were not awkward at all; in fact, they were quite amusing—that's probably the energy of young women. Liang Shi felt that she had been worn down by work and life and had become like an old person.
The meeting ended, and Liang Shi had just entered his office when this newcomer walked in right behind him. Since he had drunk her coffee, Liang Shi gestured for her to sit at his desk, and the two sat facing each other.
"Director Liang, in the meeting you asked me to work on the shampoo ad for Group B. As far as I know, the Fanning shampoo line doesn't seem to be selling very well. I think working on the lipstick ad concept for Group A would be a lot of learning opportunities, and I also have half a wall of lipsticks myself, so I'm sure I can help Group A..."
Ha, he really does have powerful backers, or perhaps he's just young and impetuous. Liang Shi thought back to himself at that age; although he was also full of enthusiasm, he wouldn't have gone to the boss's office on his first day of work and asked the boss to make a different decision.
Zhou Mengmeng was sitting in the back and hadn't looked closely, but now she took a good look at the young girl. She was very pretty, good enough to start a live stream and become an internet celebrity.
Liang Shi, of course, wouldn't change his mind: "Zhou Mengmeng, right?"
Zhou Mengmeng smiled confidently: "That's right, you can call me Maggie."
“Maggie, as your direct supervisor, I don’t assign work arbitrarily; I have my own considerations. Of course, it’s good that you’re willing to communicate with me. But there’s something I don’t agree with about what you just said. It’s true that not every Fanning product can gain consumer recognition and become a star product. But the company hired you to our creative department so that you could use your brains to revitalize these products that are currently under the spotlight. Compared to lipstick, I think creative ads for shampoo can not only showcase your abilities but also allow you to learn a lot. Marry is the leader of Group B; learn more from her.”
Zhou Mengmeng frowned, wondering if she should run upstairs to find help, but then she thought that she had just arrived today and there was no need to do anything too attention-grabbing.
"Okay, Director Liang, I'll do my best. By the way, Director Liang, I heard you also studied at a university abroad. How about we have lunch together and chat? My treat!"
Liang Shi hadn't yet developed the audacity to become friends with Li Junqian's blind date, so he said, "Sorry, I have something to do at noon."
As is typical with leaders, Zhou Mengmeng left without giving it much thought.
Liang Shi did have something to do; he had made an appointment with Fang Tong for lunch.
The reason was simple: Liang Shi wanted to invite an artist from Southern Entertainment to shoot an advertisement, and luckily she had kept Fang Tong's business card safe last time.
Fang Tong was quite a gentleman; he booked a restaurant near her workplace. Liang Shi arrived early, but Fang Tong was already there and had already ordered.
"Mr. Fang, it's been a long time."
Fang Tong rested his chin on his hand as he looked at her. The woman in front of him seemed even more beautiful now: "Long time no see. You and President Li are together now?"
Liang Shi raised an eyebrow, indicating that he didn't understand: "Huh?"
"I thought you talked to Li Junqian."
Liang Shi put his bag behind him and forced a smile: "President Fang, you have a good reputation in the industry, so please don't spread rumors about my relationship with Fan Ning. President Li and I are completely innocent."
Previously, Fang Tong had given up because of Li Junqian; after all, there were so many women out there, why should he compete with others? But he didn't expect Liang Shi to call him first. Although it was about work, Fang Tong was always very patient with intelligent and beautiful women. Before coming here, he had also inquired in the industry, and it seemed that Liang Shi and Li Junqian really didn't have any romantic relationship. So his opportunity had come; after all, he really admired a beauty like Liang Shi.
"It's rare for you to invite me to dinner. Let me guess, it's about work?"
Liang Shi didn't mince words: "President Fang is indeed clever. Here's the thing, we'd like to invite your company's artist, Shen Yue, to film a lipstick advertisement. Fan Ning will also simultaneously grant Ms. Shen the title of 'Friend of Fan Ning Lipstick Brand' in China. President Fang, what do you think?"
Shen Yue is a female artist from Southern Entertainment who has never quite achieved mainstream success. True to her name, she is petite and mostly acts in youth-themed dramas, which aren't her cup of tea, so Fang Tong doesn't pay much attention to her.
"Shen Yue, right? I remember this girl is from the South. She should be twenty-five now, but she still smiles like a high school student. Our company has offered her many roles as the female lead in youth campus dramas, but the audience is limited, and she's not very well-known. Why would Fan Ning want her? Our company has plenty of talented and popular actresses..."
Liang Shi laughed inwardly. This entertainment company's big boss was too incompetent. He didn't pay attention to industry trends and didn't care about his own artists.
Liang Shi's interest in Shen Yue stemmed from a simple reason: he was drawn to her dimples when she smiled. The youth drama "Meeting You" was exceptionally well-made, and Liang Shi particularly longed for the innocent and beautiful high school life depicted in the show. This girl looked great with Fan Ning's youthful lipstick, and Liang Shi wanted to pursue her.
"I want her."
Seeing the determination in Liang Shi's eyes, Fang Tong raised the wine glass containing mineral water beside him and reached out to touch her: "Sure, give me the materials when you have time, I'll take a look?"
"Shall I have someone deliver it to you this afternoon?"
"No problem. We've finished discussing work, and the food is ready. Ms. Liang, shall we eat and chat about things outside of work?"
As the boss of an entertainment company, he is busy and attends countless events, flying to Paris one day and Milan the next.
"Calling you an aerial acrobat wouldn't be an exaggeration."
Fang Tong put down his knife and fork and smiled, "Let's go on a business trip together sometime. By the way, a friend gave me two concert tickets the other day, Jay Chou's. Shall we go and listen to it together?"
As expected, having many friends brings many benefits. Although Liang Shi really liked Jay Chou, she didn't really want to go with Fang Tong. He wasn't her type, and this man was clearly trying to provoke her.
"Mr. Fang, you should go with your girlfriend."
To everyone's surprise, Fang Tong laughed and said, "I'm single."
Liang Shi forced a smile, took a sip of water, and mentally considered a reason for declining: "I'm not sure if I'll need to work overtime this weekend..."
Fang Tong pushed a ticket in front of her: "We discussed work very readily, but in our spare time, we can make friends. Ms. Liang, aren't you being a bit too disrespectful to me?"
"Leave a way out for others so you can meet again in the future," Liang Shi naturally couldn't refuse any longer, and readily put the ticket into his bag: "Then thank you, President Fang. I'll treat you to a big meal next time."
"It's a deal!"
Gu Feng felt betrayed by Zhou Mengmeng and couldn't get over it, so he knocked on Zhou Mengmeng's office door at noon to invite him to lunch. Good heavens, the elevator in this building was really strange; the two of them took it down and actually ran into Zhou Mengmeng.
Gu Feng had to admire Zhou Mengmeng; her mental fortitude was exceptionally strong. She insisted on joining them for lunch, and Gu Feng simply couldn't refuse. Gu Feng didn't even dare look at his brother's face, feeling like she could pull out a gun and shoot him at any moment.
There aren't many places to eat near the company, but the restaurants are fairly concentrated. Gu Feng asked, "What do you want to eat?"
Actually, he was asking about Li Junqian, since this guy was extremely picky about food.
Who knew Mengmeng would cause trouble again this week, saying she was on a diet and wanted to eat light meals. Gu Feng didn't care, it depended on his brother's opinion. Unfortunately, Li Junqian received a phone call.
After finishing the call, Li Junqian put his phone back in his pocket: "I have a video conference, I have to go back. You guys eat, just bring me some food back, that's fine. I'm leaving."
Good grief, Gu Feng glanced at Zhou Mengmeng and reluctantly asked her to lead the way.
Zhou Mengmeng has sharp eyes. As soon as she entered this light meal Western restaurant, she spotted a familiar face, and in front of that familiar face was... her boss!
"Mr. Frankl, I originally wanted to invite Director Liang to lunch, but she said she had made an appointment. I didn't expect it to be Fang Tong. You have a wide circle of friends, you should know who Fang Tong is, right?"
Gu Feng looked in the direction she pointed and it really was Liang Shi. Luckily, Li Junqian didn't come!
"Could they be dating?"
The man and woman didn't seem to be having a pleasant conversation. For example, the man would say something, and the woman would take a long time to reply. If they really had something going on, they wouldn't be in this situation.
Gu Feng stopped Zhou Mengmeng, who was about to go over and say hello: "Are you very familiar with Fang Tong?"
Zhou Mengmeng said with a grin, "He's the older brother next door. When I was in my third year of junior high, he was already about to graduate from university. It's been a long time. Come on, Mr. Gu, I'll take you out for a free meal."
Gu Feng: "..."
When Liang Shi mentioned the terrible weather in Paris, he saw Zhou Mengmeng arrive again, smiling broadly in her brown boots, as if the gray tiles were a catwalk, with Gu Feng beside her winking at her.
"Hello, Suzie, so you had lunch with Brother Fang? Brother Fang, do you remember me?"
Upon hearing the voice, Fang Tong frowned. He only recognized Zhou Mengmeng after she sat down. She had indeed changed quite a bit in the years since they last met. He shook hands with Gu Feng.
"Zhou Mengmeng? You don't actually work at Fan Ning, do you?"
Zhou Mengmeng was very outgoing: "Of course, I'm with Suzie now. By the way, what's this all about...?"
Seeing Zhou Mengmeng's gossipy look, Liang Shi explained naturally, "I was just talking to President Fang about some work-related matters. Here's the menu, what would you like to eat?"
Actually, Liang Shi and his group had almost finished eating when two uninvited guests arrived, stretching the battle lines even further. The social butterfly Zhou Mengmeng made Liang Shi, chin in hand, ponder an excuse to slip away first.
The world of the rich is indeed smaller, Liang Shi couldn't help but sigh, Zhou Mengmeng's network of connections is really extensive.
"You couldn't make it in Australia, so you came back?"
Zhou Mengmeng glared at him: "Get lost! I'm back to serve my country! Seriously, Suzie, I thought you and Brother Fang were dating!"
Liang Shi laughed: "If President Gu didn't have a girlfriend, I would have thought you two were dating too. These days, it's easy to misunderstand when a man and a woman are together. Sorry everyone, I have something to attend to, so I'll leave first."
Zhou Mengmeng was speechless for a moment, and only took a sip of water after watching Liang Shi leave. Fang Tong, who was standing next to her, laughed happily: "I'm telling you, Zhou Mengmeng, you've already driven your boss away as soon as you got back. Why don't you just go back to Australia?"
"What did I say? You bunch of people nearing forty, there really is a generation gap between us! Mr. Gu, what kind of message did you send? You better judge me, what did I say wrong? I just asked if you two had dated yet, is it really that big of a deal?"
Gu Feng didn't really want to talk to her: "You two haven't seen each other in a long time, why don't you catch up? I'm going to the restroom."
Liang Shi was looking down at his phone with his bag in hand when Gu Feng sent him a message. Tsk, he really knows how to boss people around.
Five minutes later, Liang Shi came out of the convenience store, then took the elevator to the company's leadership building, carrying a bag from the store.
Since the two returned from Melbourne, they haven't met alone. Otherwise, Liang Shi wouldn't have done so if Gu Feng had asked her to buy Li Junqian a meal.
She hadn't been to Li Junqian's office many times, but she liked the decor—simple yet elegant, it suited him perfectly. She stopped at the doorway. Li Junqian was facing away from her, his back to her, leaning back in his office chair, facing the floor-to-ceiling windows of the office building. Damn it, even just seeing his back made her heart race.
If she hadn't just left the food at the door, making it seem like she was delivering prison food, she definitely would have left immediately.
He knocked on the glass door twice very politely, probably thinking it was his assistant coming to report on work. The man didn't even turn his head, but simply raised his left hand and waved his finger. Tsk, that gesture was indeed very attractive, but Liang Shi rolled his eyes and pushed the door open.
The sound of high heels probably made him wonder who it was. Li Junqian, who was on the phone, turned his head to look and was surprised to find that it was Liang Shi.
Liang Shi then noticed that he was wearing a Bluetooth headset and occasionally responding in French, clearly on the phone. That was good. She simply tossed the cheap boxed lunch onto his table and said very quietly, "Mr. Gu asked me to bring this to you. You're busy, I'll be going now."
She didn't want to stay a second longer. To be honest, Liang Shigang didn't dare to look at Li Junqian. His affectionate gaze always reminded her of that night in Melbourne.
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