ability
"Is there anything else you want to say today?" Pan Yue seemed a little hesitant.
“No,” Zhu Shiyi said. “I have already reported on today’s work.”
“Other aspects, for example,” Pan Yue pursed his lips, his expression hesitant, “the difficulties encountered.”
Difficulties?
Judging from Pan Yue's expression, Zhu Shiyi had a rough idea.
"The purpose of the daily report is to let your superiors know clearly what difficulties you are facing, as well as the resources you lack or the help you need." Pan Yue spoke seriously, but his eyes were gentle and showed concern.
Zhu Shiyi had a premonition.
"Did Sister Qiong say something to you?" she asked.
“Minister He?” Pan Yue raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”
He Qiong probably didn't tell Pan Yue about his condition.
But that's alright.
Zhu Shiyi didn't want Pan Yue to hear those gossips either. What if he cared? Would he distance himself from her because of it? And she didn't want him to know those unpleasant words and foul language.
"It's nothing, just some trivial matter within the department," Zhu Shiyi replied dismissively.
Pan Yue frowned slightly. He rested his chin on his hand and leaned slightly towards the screen: "What trouble are you in?"
Zhu Shiyi was slightly taken aback.
His eyes were deep and unfathomable; even through the screen, she could feel his probing gaze.
Pan Yue wasn't a gossipy person; he was always very tactful. When she said it was trivial, it was a way of brushing her off or not wanting to talk about it, but he still pressed for details, which wasn't in his nature.
Unless, he himself knew about it.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhu Shiyi asked, "Do you know something?"
Pan Yue opened his mouth but didn't speak. After a moment of silence, he closed his lips and softly hummed, "I will clarify."
Clarification? It seems he and she were indeed talking about the same thing.
Has this matter spread beyond the department?
Pan Yue added, "I have already contacted Director He to help find the source of the photos and give you an explanation."
“Um,” Zhu Shiyi blinked, “I already know who posted it.”
Pan Yue's eyes turned cold: "Who?"
“Uh…” Zhu Shiyi frowned. She didn’t want to complain about anyone in front of the big boss, otherwise her relationship with Pan Yue would really involve work interests. “I don’t think finding the person who took the photos will solve this problem.”
“The colleague who took the photos was just gossiping; she wasn’t the real instigator,” Zhu Shiyi added. “Do you remember? That video of the Touqin City campsite on the WeChat official account? I was in it, and my colleagues noticed, which is why they started to overthink it.”
Pan Yue frowned slightly, then nodded, signaling her to continue.
"To be honest, there's no arguing about the photos and the public account information; it's just the truth." However, the truth does leave room for speculation. Many people mistakenly believe she and Pan Yue are dating. If that were all, she wouldn't care at all, and might even hope Pan Yue wouldn't care either.
"but."
“Some people insist on thinking in a dirty way,” Zhu Shiyi’s voice grew colder, “These people who spread rumors, they are the real instigators.”
Pan Yue: "Okay."
He lowered his eyes, as if he was thinking about something.
Could it be that he... wants to get involved himself and do something?
Pan Yue is also a party involved in this matter. If he were to do something openly, it wouldn't be good for his reputation. People would think that Pan Yue was abusing his power and favoring her, making some things even more difficult to explain.
"You absolutely mustn't get involved in this matter. Just leave it to Sister Qiong to handle," Zhu Shiyi patted her chest. "I'll scold anyone who spreads rumors about me. I'll never suffer in silence again."
Pan Yue didn't ask anything, he just smiled and said, "I understand."
Zhu Shiyi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After finishing the business, she finally had the energy to take a closer look at Pan Yue.
He sat upright, his high, straight nose perched with his ever-present half-rimmed glasses, which made his eye sockets appear even deeper, giving him a serious and earnest look; yet, he was wearing the same white sweater he wore the night he was sick, the contrast of light and dark instantly softening his demeanor and adding a touch of approachability.
Zhu Shiyi, emboldened, leaned closer to the screen with her dark face and said in an involuntary, coquettish voice, "Why did you suddenly decide to video call me?"
I just love her!
Pan Yue's eyes twitched slightly, and he turned his face away: "I ordered the wrong thing."
I don't care, I don't believe it.
"Oh," Zhu Shiyi's curiosity was piqued. She smiled, neither confirming nor denying, "So what did you originally want to order?"
“…” Pan Yue didn’t look at her, his hand was placed to the side, and he seemed to be flipping through something, “voice messages.”
Zhu Shiyi chuckled, tilted her head, and pressed on, "Then why did you call me?"
Pan Yue closed his eyes for a moment, and a soft sigh escaped from his nose.
He opened his eyes, glanced at the screen, then looked away, withdrew his hand (which hadn't been flipping through anything), and pressed it to his lips, looking somewhat unnatural.
"...Voice communication is convenient."
...That's it?
That seems to make sense.
Zhu Shiyi chuckled: "It is indeed convenient."
On the other side of the screen.
Pan Yue's phone received a call.
He looked at Zhu Shiyi and said, "Something urgent has come up, I have to hang up now."
After the video call ended, Pan Yue immediately picked up He Qiong's call.
"Mr. Pan, I understand now. The photos were taken by Meng Xiaolan, and the WeChat public account was found by Li Xuan. I will have a good talk with them privately tomorrow. They really shouldn't have interfered with your private life."
“No need,” Pan Yue thought about what Zhu Shiyi said. “Corporate culture and brand culture are closely related. MEETING is about the emotional economy, and the company’s internal culture should be free and open.”
"Therefore, there is no need to criticize employees for caring about my personal life."
"Huh?" He Qiong's voice was slightly surprised. She hesitated, "Then do you think I should do something about this?"
“You can decide for me,” Pan Yue said without explicitly stating it, “but I need to trouble Minister He with two things.”
"It's not troublesome at all, please go ahead."
"First, notify everyone about the To B plan tomorrow, select the best project leaders, and those who do well will get an extra half of their year-end bonus."
He Qiong did not express her opinion, but simply agreed.
"On Thursday, the company will hold an employee representative meeting. Let Li Xuan and Meng Xiaolan represent the marketing department," Pan Yue said deliberately slowing down his speech. "The company's rules and regulations, especially the employee code of conduct, need to be newly formulated."
He Qiong paused for a moment, then said, "I understand."
After hanging up the phone, Pan Yue sent two more messages to other department heads. The difference was that he didn't specify who should attend the meeting for the other departments, but he did emphasize the employee code of conduct.
Pan Yue knew very well why he did this.
As a senior manager, he cannot directly interfere across levels; matters within the department should be delegated to the responsible persons within the department, and he only needs to express his opinion.
However, handling matters through others inevitably compromises the quality of the process. A mere formality is useless; unless the core interests of the rumor-monger are at stake, new rules for punishing defamation must be established through compliant and democratic procedures.
Finally, to stop the rumors from spreading further, employees who are busy gossiping need something to do. New project bonuses are substantial; when employees spend time pursuing projects, naturally no one will have time to discuss these unfounded rumors.
As for these considerations, will the supervisor be able to understand them?
Pan Yue didn't need to worry about this problem. Everyone in charge of the company was extremely adept at understanding human relationships and social dynamics.
Apart from Lin Changren.
Therefore, the R&D department is an exception, and he has to speak frankly.
Fortunately, he can also speak his mind.
Pan Yue took off his glasses, sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose.
If he were 20 years old, perhaps he would directly confront the rumors and verbally abuse them until they didn't recognize their own father.
But he's 27 years old and the head of a company; his actions affect not only him personally but also the entire enterprise. Without evidence and regulations, this is the only way he can protect her.
Fortunately, Zhu Shiyi has changed.
She is no longer the little girl who, faced with rumors, prayed for the other party to have a change of heart.
She has learned to stand up straight and yell back, refusing to let herself be wronged.
Imagining this scene, Pan Yue smiled knowingly.
That's good.
--
The next day.
The marketing department held a departmental meeting.
He Qiong said that the target audience for meetings should not only be the general public, but also corporate groups. Therefore, the higher-ups plan to move this year's company annual meeting from a hotel to their own campsite.
"The planning of the annual meeting is also a practical experience in the B2B market. It is a big project with a sufficient budget. I will send the details to the group later, and everyone should try to participate."
Everyone is busy at the end of the year, and no one is in high spirits.
Rather than going to places they've painstakingly built themselves, they'd rather have a nice meal at a hotel.
Perhaps noticing the employees' listless expressions, He Qiong smiled gently: "There's even bigger good news."
"The year-end bonus for all those in charge of this project will be increased by half on top of their individual bonus."
The eyes of everyone present immediately lit up.
"Such a good thing?"
Zhu Shiyi was no exception; he was practically drooling with envy.
But the next second, she suddenly felt relieved.
Two days ago, Pan Yue told her that she was an intern and there would be no year-end bonus.
Haha! Half of zero is still zero!
“Of course, even though the annual meeting has become a project, the feeling of the annual meeting still needs to be maintained,” He Qiong said. “I have seen all your resumes. If you have any talents, you should all participate.”
A cold sweat suddenly broke out on Zhu Shiyi's back.
"Liu Yi, I remember you were a host last year, right?"
"Yan Qiang, do you know photography? You should be in charge of recording the scene."
The smiles of the two people who were called out froze.
"Shiyi," He Qiong called out, finally landing on Zhu Shiyi, "I remember you can sing, and you can play musical instruments, right? You're a newcomer, you have to perform for us."
Zhu Shiyi grinned: "Haha!"
Forced into a situation.
She finally understood why Pan Yue had said that giving her a ukulele would be useful; it really was... very useful.
He Qiong also announced that a staff representative meeting would be held tomorrow.
“Let’s send two people from our department, one man and one woman,” He Qiong said casually. “Li Xuan and Xiao Lan, you two go. You’re senior employees and familiar with the procedures.”
Li Xuan and Meng Xiaolan had both served as employee representatives before, so no one objected to He Qiong's assignment this time.
......
With the tempting bonus hanging in the air, everyone in the department wanted to try their luck.
People who usually frequent the restroom and break room are now sitting at their workstations, frantically typing on their keyboards.
Zhu Shiyi knew she was incompetent, so she didn't ask to participate; she just wanted to learn from others.
Last night, she thought about it: her colleagues were spreading rumors that she was a "connected" employee, which is why she could be in charge of projects even if she didn't have the ability.
That's obviously wrong. My colleague may be an idiot, but one thing is for another. It's undeniable that she is indeed incompetent.
If she had all the necessary skills, she could have taken full charge of that fieldwork project; there would have been no need for Li Xuan. In this project, she was primarily responsible for the creative aspects, while Li Xuan handled the other parts more professionally.
Zhu Shiyi silently encouraged herself. She had to work hard!
Next time, if someone questions whether she got her position through connections rather than ability, she will be able to speak with even more confidence.
Facts speak louder than words.
Strength is the best proof.
Of course, improving oneself is not just about proving oneself.
She had said long ago that she wanted to be Pan Yue's partner.
Incompatible, equal, and capable partners who can fight side by side.
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