112. The Blind Man and His Cane
Meanwhile, Mei Xiao and Bai Yihan were having the following conversation in their office: "Sister Mei, are you really planning to let Lingling handle this Aojie project from start to finish? I've had two meals with Lawrence before, and we get along pretty well. Can I handle the front-end liaison and she handle the post-production?" Bai Yihan handed Mei Xiao a warm cup of coffee. Mei Xiao smiled faintly and said, "Silly girl, Lawrence is a veteran; you can't just have a few meals with her and win her over. Besides, the middle managers at every large company are savvy, able to handle the boss and the employees, and they need solid business skills. Without a good plan, we have no chance of getting close. And I have some inside information about the Aojie project bidding. Let Lingling handle it. Don't be envious. Don't worry, if it's truly a good opportunity, I'll definitely leave it to you." Mei Xiao gently patted the back of Bai Yihan's hand. Bai Yihan made a gesture, pretending to kiss her remotely. The two of them smiled in tacit understanding, and then Bai Yihan said with a hint of worry, "But I don't know how Lingling has gotten involved with the boss lately. If we just throw her away after using her, will there be any hidden dangers?" Mei Xiao said nonchalantly, "I rescued her from dire straits and gave her so many opportunities, which is why she is where she is today. I'm taking the credit due to her achievements as a boss. It's my due. A crutch's duty is to help the blind move forward. When a blind person regains their sight, the first thing they do is throw away the crutch. This is only natural. If they find it unacceptable, it's not the blind person's fault, but the crutch that has misjudged its place." *~*~*~*~*~*~ After taking on the Aojie project, Lingling became extremely busy. Even when she had to return home, she worked overtime with her laptop. Yu Chuanbei, uncharacteristically, was not very supportive of her efforts this time. He handed her the plate of peeled fruit. She passed up the cherries and grapes, only taking the tiny strawberry on top and stuffing it into her mouth. The reason was that the strawberry had no core, so she didn't have to waste time and energy spitting it out. He sighed and said to her, his face almost buried in the computer, "I don't think you should go all in on a project when its prospects are uncertain: money, time, and energy." "I don't think so. Regardless of whether our company wins the bid or not, I've been involved and even led the whole process. I just need to make that clear. The old cliché is the most simple: if you work hard, you won't regret it." Ling Ling replied in a relaxed tone, her eyes never leaving the screen. Yu Chuanbei, however, continued to advise her with concern...
Meanwhile, Mei Xiao and Bai Yihan were having the following conversation in the office:
"Sister Mei, are you really planning to let Ling Ling follow the Aojie project throughout? I've had two meals with Lawrence before and we get along pretty well. Can you let me handle the front-end and let her handle the later stages?" Bai Yihan handed the warm coffee to Mei Xiao.
Mei Xiao smiled faintly and said, "Silly girl, Lawrence is an old hand, you can't win her over by having a few meals with her. Besides, the middle-level managers in every large company are all smart people, who can deal with the boss and coax the employees, and have strong business skills. If we can't come up with a good plan, there is no way we can get close to them. And I know some inside information about the bidding for Aojie's project. Let Lingling do it, you don't have to be envious. Don't worry, if it is really a good thing, I will of course leave it to you." Mei Xiao patted the back of Bai Yihan's hand gently.
Bai Yihan made a move to pretend to kiss her remotely, and the two of them smiled in tacit understanding. Then Bai Yihan said with a hint of worry, "But I don't know how Lingling got involved with the boss recently. If we throw her away after using her, will there be any hidden dangers?"
Mei Xiao, however, said nonchalantly, "I rescued her from dire straits and gave her so many opportunities that she is where she is today. I've earned the credit due to her achievements as a superior. It's my due. A crutch's duty is to assist the blind. When a blind person regains their sight, the first thing they do is throw away the crutch. This is only natural. If someone finds it unacceptable, it's not the blind person's fault, but the crutch's fault for mistaking its place."
*~*~*~*~*~*~
After taking on the Aojie project, Ling Ling became extremely busy. Even when she had to go home, she would work overtime with her laptop. However, Yu Chuanbei was uncharacteristically unsupportive of her efforts.
He handed her a plate of peeled fruit. She gave up on the cherries and grapes, but only took the small strawberry on the top and stuffed it into her mouth. The reason was that the strawberry had no core, so she didn't have to waste time and energy spitting out the core.
He sighed and said to her, whose face was almost buried in the computer, "I think when the prospects of a project are uncertain, you shouldn't go all in, including money, time, and energy."
"I don't think so. Regardless of whether our company wins the bid in the end, I have been involved in the whole process, even taking the lead. It's good that the meaning is clear. The old-fashioned truth is the simplest: you won't regret it if you work hard." Ling Ling responded to him in a relaxed tone, without taking her eyes off the screen.
Yu Chuanbei, however, still advised her worriedly, "Not necessarily. Sometimes, it's only after you've tried your best that you regret it."
But Ling Ling no longer listened to what he said, completely immersed in her own plan. Yu Chuanbei had no choice but to leave in frustration.
Even though they slept together that night, Ling Ling couldn't fall asleep because she was still thinking about work. She tossed and turned, disturbing Yu Chuanbei's sleep. Just as he was about to fall asleep, she quietly got up and typed on her phone, but the dim light of the phone screen woke him up again.
He turned his back to her and said sadly, "You suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and sent messages on your phone without my knowledge. If I didn't trust you absolutely, I would have suspected that you were cheating on me."
Ling Ling burst into laughter when he said that. "I'm just writing down my inspiration. Otherwise, I'll forget everything after a good night's sleep."
"I just want you to forget about your work."
"That won't happen. Good night. I wish you were my colleague. We could even have meetings together in our dreams."
Yu Chuanbei didn't think her joke was funny at all, and angrily covered his head with the quilt.
Ling Ling was completely immersed in work these days, working on it in various ways, whether eating, sleeping, or walking. Yu Chuanbei was also busy with his own work. The two seemed to be in parallel time and space, each busy with their own things, and rarely intersecting.
Ling Ling invited him to dinner together, and the location was at the TV Tower on the West Third Ring Road. Yu Chuanbei felt that they had rarely had sweet time together recently, and thought this scene was very romantic, so he bought a gift from Shin Kong Place and brought it with him, ready to have dinner with her.
Yu Chuanbei had arrived at the revolving restaurant of the TV tower early, but he didn't expect Ling Ling to have also arrived and was wandering around the venue for a long time.
"Why are you so free today?" Yu Chuanbei asked after pulling her to sit down.
"This revolving restaurant is looking to renovate and upgrade, and Gu Chuqi is helping them with the Midsummer Night event planning. I've been asking Chuqi for help a lot with my Aojie case lately, so I'd like to offer some ideas for hers as well. It just so happens that we haven't had dinner together in a while, so I'd like to invite you over for dinner."
As soon as Ling Ling said this, the romantic atmosphere was completely destroyed.
Yu Chuanbei curled his lips and said helplessly, "I originally wanted to give you a gift to create a romantic atmosphere. Now it seems that I don't need to create any surprises. I'll just give it to you directly."
Ling Ling took the gift handed to her by Yu Chuanbei, which was a black Prada Double bag.
"When we first met, didn't we tell you not to buy expensive gifts? And I can't buy you such an expensive gift." Ling Ling was a little angry.
Yu Chuanbei sighed and said, "Dating isn't an equal exchange. If you're only talking about work, I can find a reason to give this gift that fits the theme: This bag is a basic style, convenient for carrying your computer or materials around. Besides, the nature of your work requires you to use luxury goods. If you don't understand the quality of these products, how can you write copy that matches them?"
Ling Ling could tell there was resentment in his words, so she had to coax him, "Alright, alright, let's order. I just picked out this couple's set menu. It has a nice atmosphere and a sense of ceremony. Okay?"
Ling Ling winked at him, acting cute, and he smiled in delight. As each meal arrived, the two of them enjoyed a harmonious meal, interrupted only by Ling Ling's cautious inquiries, trying to get his opinion and suggestions on the restaurant's food, ambiance, and service. Yu Chuanbei didn't mind, patiently offering his thoughts.
But he also reminded her, "You're now helping Gu Chuqi across projects, which has shown everyone in the team that you have a good relationship. This is actually a bit taboo in the workplace, because it means that personal relationships are dominating your cooperation model, not your boss. From what I've heard from you, it seems that in Group A, you, Gu Chuqi, and the new girl named Shaoyao have a good relationship, but you don't agree with Mei Xiao's personality. This will give people the impression that you are banding together to resist your superiors. You can be talented, but you should not overshadow your boss. After all, she has a high position, and the greatest privilege of this position is that she can report directly to the boss, so you should be careful to avoid unnecessary trouble." Ling Ling listened to what he said, thought carefully, and felt that it made sense. "Then I will help in a low-key manner and stop after I finish this job."
Ling Ling quickly finished her meal, then took out her computer and wrote down the ideas that the two of them had just discussed. She wanted to write a brief plan as soon as possible and email it to Chuqi to help her open up her thoughts in advance.
The pink dessert gradually melted. Yu Chuanbei put down the spoon in his hand and looked down boredly at the sea of lights at night in Beijing, which was gorgeous but empty.
After Ling Ling finished sending the email, she saw Yu Chuanbei sitting opposite her, looking out the window lonely, his eyes filled with loneliness and dejection. She suddenly felt a little distressed.
She closed the computer, stood up, walked towards him, sat down next to him, rested her head on his shoulder, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry to spoil your fun today."
"It's okay." His voice was a little weak. "It's just... I feel like there's something wrong with our current relationship. I can't really put my finger on it, but... it's probably wrong."
Ling Ling consoled him, saying, "We're both on the rise in our careers now, and we're both so busy. With so little time together, it's inevitable we'll feel insecure. But when we're out there, struggling or suffering, we always turn around and see each other silently supporting us. That feeling never changes. After I finish this project, if you're free, let's get together and have some fun, okay?"
Yu Chuanbei grabbed her hand that was holding his arm, intertwined their fingers, and said with a hint of worry, "Lingling, I don't want our relationship to always be based on work stages. Work is just work. So-called projects, there are good and bad, successes and failures, which can make you temporarily excited, angry, or depressed. These are all mental disturbances. A stable relationship between us is the only thing that lasts. I don't want those external things to constantly disturb our lives."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
