In the coffee shop, Xia Xi ordered herself a cup of hot hazelnut latte. After taking a sip, her body felt much warmer.
She came out of the bathroom and ran into Zhang Wanli in the corridor. He seemed to be waiting for her and solemnly invited her to have a cup of coffee and chat. She didn't want to refuse him again and again, so she agreed.
Zhang Wanli looked around. It was a weekday afternoon, before the normal working hours, and there were only a few customers, with a large gap between them. He was not worried that his conversation would be overheard by others.
Seeing how cautious he was, Xia Xi put away his careless mood and became more vigilant.
If Zhang Wanli still wanted to recruit her to Chengbai, there was no need to be so cautious and he could just say it openly. Obviously, this was not the reason why he asked her to come here.
Zhang Wanli took a sip of his black coffee and said, "Mr. Xia, you should know that I have always admired your abilities. I have also been following your work in China for the past few years. I don't know why, but you seem to be very low-key and don't focus on developing your reputation. Most designers who want to stand out will try every means to establish their reputation and attract more clients. You are the opposite. Many of your works use different names. If I hadn't paid special attention to you, I wouldn't have known about it."
Xia Xi knew very well that this was not what he really wanted to say, he was just laying the groundwork.
As for why she keeps a low profile, is it because she is indifferent to fame and fortune and doesn't want to be famous?
Of course not.
She was afraid that Xu Yanfeng would discover her whereabouts and disrupt the peaceful life she had worked so hard to achieve.
Or maybe she was overthinking it. After hurting Xu Yanfeng so much, he might not have thought of looking for her. Even if he did look for her, he would have been stopped by that person.
Regardless, it's always better to be cautious.
Xia Xi naturally wouldn't explain this to an outsider like Zhang Wanli. She smiled calmly and lied casually, "It's a personal choice. I prefer to focus on the design itself and can't deal with all those complicated trivial matters."
"Haha, that's what I admire about you!" Zhang Wanli placed the coffee cup on the saucer, crossed his fingers, looked at her and said slowly, "To be honest, the social circle in South City is still different from those abroad. I won't say anything about you choosing Boya, but we at Chengbai have been eyeing this Xu Group project for more than half a year. I hope you can see the situation clearly and join us."
Xia Xi tilted her head, seemingly not understanding what he said: "I'm a designer at Boya, how can I join you? Vice President Zhang, I don't understand."
"Let's be frank, Engineer Xia. I have confidence in you. The plan you lead will definitely be outstanding. I'm very interested in it. You can set any conditions, and I'll meet them if I can. What do you think?"
This was said clearly enough, and Xia Xi finally felt as if the fog had cleared.
The reason why Zhang Wanli specifically called her over was that he wanted to pass the proposal for participating in the competition to him through her, and he would promise her some benefits, without anyone knowing.
Xia Xi shook her head and chuckled. Zhang Wanli thought too highly of her. With so many design companies participating in the competition, why did he think she could win?
Moreover, this design draft was mainly from Gao Ge. Strictly speaking, it was not her work, although she was indeed the leader of the design team.
Seeing her shake her head, Zhang Wanli's expression became somewhat subtle, and he was not very happy. "You don't agree? Xia Gong, no matter how noble you are, you have to bow to reality. The backgrounds of Boya and Chengbai are very different. Sooner or later, you will regret your original decision. Why don't you understand? I am leaving you a way out now. What I say is valid forever. You can come to Chengbai at any time. I will give you the highest salary and benefits."
Xia Xi had just been laughing secretly, but after hearing what he said, she really smiled with the corners of her mouth curled up.
"Does Vice President Zhang have so little confidence in Chengbai? He knows there's a huge gap between Boya and Chengbai, yet he still tries to bribe me."
Zhang Wanli seemed to be speechless, his face darkening slightly. He suppressed his anger and continued to persuade: "Xia Xi, I hope you will seriously consider this. This cooperation between you and me will pave the way for you to join Chengbai in the future."
Xia Xi couldn't even drink the fragrant coffee: "You don't need to persuade me, we have different ideals and cannot work together. Let it be."
She pulled her wallet out of her bag. She rarely used cash and didn't have any change ready. She pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and placed it on the table. "I'll buy you coffee. Take your time. I'm leaving now."
Xia Xi got up and left the cafe, not noticing that Zhang Wanli's eyes suddenly became sinister.
Zhang Wanli was really angry when he saw the red banknote. Young people are so short-sighted that they refuse to accept the toast but insist on drinking the penalty wine.
Xia Xi went out, wrapped her scarf around her neck, hailed a taxi, and told the driver the address: "To Lantingwan Community, thank you."
She looked at the darkening sky outside the car window and recalled the conversation she had just had with Zhang Wanli. A hint of sarcasm fell on her lips. She didn't know what Zhang Wanli was thinking. Instead of bribing her, he might as well bribe the judges.
Chengbai is an old design company and should have a deeper foundation than those small start-up companies. Who would have thought that it was rotten from the inside and had long forgotten its original intention, and actually played such tricks behind the scenes. It is really despicable.
Fortunately, she was not persuaded by Zhang Wanli to work for Cheng Bai.
*
The next morning, Boya and his group came to Junrui Hotel again.
Some teams from other places stayed in the hotel that night, and the local people went home to rest whenever they could. Anyway, the company arranged a car to pick them up, which was very convenient.
In the afternoon, it was Boya's turn to demonstrate. Everyone was concerned about their own team, so they were not very focused when observing other companies in the morning.
Xia Xi, on the other hand, had been watching very attentively. Xu Yanfeng hadn't come this morning; Xu Corporation had sent another person in charge to take charge. As the person in charge, Xu Yanfeng must have been managing more than just one project. He was lucky enough to show up yesterday; it was impossible for him to be there the entire time.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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