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I worked until daybreak, then took a short nap and was woken by a call from the general manager.

He was relieved to learn that the schedule was caught up. He offered to pick me up at the company and take me directly to the bidding site after printing the materials.

I had to control myself to avoid snorting or showing any disdain. I said polite words like, "Thanks for the trouble," but inside I was thinking, "Come on and be my driver. This is all your fault."

Yesterday, in order to find out the reason why the customer changed the demand at the last minute and whether it could be rejected, I argued with the general manager for a long time, and finally found out the truth - this mess was entirely caused by him.

To build relationships, he invited the marketing director and vice president of Party A's jewelry company to lunch. During the meal, he touted his company's capabilities and painted a rosy picture of a potential partnership. By the third round of drinks, everyone was already red-faced. The vice president suddenly remembered the company's recent jewelry-themed film sponsorship and, on a whim, suggested incorporating elements from the film into the jewelry exhibition for a comprehensive promotional package. The general manager readily agreed and promised to incorporate this into the proposal. After sobering up, he realized the time was running out and that things were going terribly wrong. He quickly called everyone to work overtime.

However, it was impossible to expect the general manager to apologize to us employees for this matter. When we were in his car heading to the bidding site, he probably realized that I was in a bad mood. He first praised my professionalism and then made some promises.

"With the relationship with the other party's vice president, this bid is a sure win. When the time comes, the project will be handed over to you with full responsibility, which will not only exercise your abilities but also allow you to get a high bonus. They are the best clients I have seen in recent years. They have cash flow and no industry experience. It can be said that they have a lot of money... hey, you know." He said while driving.

I agree with him on this point. Based on background checks and interactions with their employees, Polka Jewelry is indeed a young, somewhat immature company. Formerly a major jewelry supplier in Guangdong, it capitalized on the domestic diamond ring market, focusing on customization and a youthful aesthetic (more like a price point, really), successfully building its brand image. In just a few years, it has transformed itself into a giant in the jewelry industry.

However, they are now facing a development bottleneck. After securing several rounds of funding and reaching a peak in market capitalization, the company's sales have stagnated. Its business remains narrow, with 90% of sales still concentrated in diamond rings. While the company's executives and investors are eager to explore new markets, their successive innovative products have met with a lukewarm reception from the market.

As a Hong Kong-listed company, Polka Jewelry's financial analysis reports yield a wealth of results. Professional investors generally believe that in the jewelry industry, establishing a high-end brand image is crucial. Consequently, this year Polka Jewelry has begun to emulate the practices of international jewelry brands, frequently investing heavily in sponsorships, collaborations, and large-scale exhibitions. This time, they even spent tens of billions of yuan to customize a series of "Starry Night"-themed diamond jewelry and held a dedicated themed exhibition.

"I saw through it a long time ago when I was having dinner and chatting with the head of their marketing department," the general manager said to me sideways as he stopped at a red light. "A bunch of young men who graduated from prestigious universities with impressive resumes but actually have no real experience. As soon as the project is launched, they'll definitely be completely controlled by us."

"The company is expanding too quickly, and the quality of its employees is probably not keeping up." I answered casually.

"However, during the early stages of cooperation, you still need to demonstrate a positive attitude towards responding to the other party's needs. How did you incorporate their idea of ​​incorporating film elements into your proposal?"

"What else can I do? I'll use the internal film planning document you sent me yesterday, edit and break down the content, and integrate it into the original presentation plan. I'll also make some simple visual design drawings and video presentations."

"So is there any mention of 'female awakening'?"

"Why?"

"The director of that film happened to be there at dinner yesterday. The vice president introduced her to me, saying she's a rising female director from Asia who just won some French film award. Her work, centered around the theme of 'female awakening,' deeply exposes some of the ills of contemporary society and has garnered widespread attention and acclaim."

"This is the first time I've heard of this."

"I did drink too much yesterday, almost a pound of liquor. I just remembered..." His voice remained calm. "You don't have to change the plan. Just mention it in passing during your speech."

My head, which was uncomfortable from staying up late, began to ache slightly.

"By the way, that female director is surprisingly a beauty, with a curvaceous figure..."

I was too lazy to pay attention to him. I looked out the car window and racked my brains to think about how to save the situation if something went wrong in my speech.

The bidding took place at Polka Jewelry's Shanghai branch. The company was very serious about this project, and besides the general manager and me, several department heads were also present. We met at the building entrance and rushed into the elevator with great fanfare.

The other two bidding companies arrived shortly thereafter. After submitting their materials, our company was lucky enough to be the first to present. I was eager to finish quickly so I could go home and catch up on some sleep.

We walked into the conference room, serving as a makeshift bidding site. A long, imposing table stretched before us. The other team's representatives sat on the left, nine faces in total. Seven of them were familiar faces, all from the marketing department. A middle-aged woman in a black dress and sequined cape sat in the middle. She must have been the vice president who had happened to visit from headquarters the other day. To her left sat a young woman.

After seeing that person's face, I couldn't look away. I almost called out a familiar name, but I swallowed it back. Because her eyes passed through my face without any obstruction and lingered.

The general manager pulled my arm and asked, "What are you doing standing there?" I then realized that others had already found a seat and sat down, so I quickly followed them.

The head of their marketing department first introduced us to the vice president, who turned out to be the middle-aged woman in the middle. Then they introduced the younger woman, saying she was the director of the film she was currently sponsoring and had come to meet the vice president. We also happened to be observing the jewelry exhibition proposal and looked forward to future bilateral cooperation.

According to the standard bidding process, the general manager first came forward to introduce the company's strengths and qualifications. I was a little dazed and couldn't hear what he was saying.

A colleague who I have a good personal relationship with nudged me in the waist with his elbow and asked in a low voice, "What happened just now? Were you so engrossed in looking at beautiful women?"

"No, I just thought it looked familiar."

"Is this true? Is this someone you know?"

"No, it must be a mistake."

But deep down in my heart, I was actually very shaken. No matter how I looked at it, that woman was Li Zitong.

Even after more than a decade, some things remain unchanged. Though her appearance has matured, the way she positions her fingers, the way she purses her lips, remains the same as it was years ago. The once cold, distant exterior of Girls' Generation may have melted, but if you look closely, you can still see something similar in the depths of her eyes.

But when our eyes met, I didn't see any surprise or joy in her eyes after seeing each other after a long separation, not even a flicker.

Everyone's eyes suddenly focused on me, and I realized the general manager's speech was over. Now it was time for the main event: my presentation of the plan.

I hurriedly inserted a USB drive and opened the presentation on the big screen. I read it almost verbatim, forgetting much of the expanded content I'd prepared. The room was air-conditioned, but sweat still streamed between my shoulder blades. Many people frowned.

After finally finishing my speech, I closed my mouth and waited for the client's response and questions.

The marketing manager asked a few specific questions about the project implementation. Fortunately, they were all within my expectations and I had prepared for them beforehand. After listening to my answers, he nodded and turned to the vice president. "Mr. Chen, do you have any questions?"

"There's generally nothing wrong with the proposal. However, regarding the tone, I think your understanding of Polka's values ​​is a bit superficial. The proposal clearly still proposes a traditional narrative of gender revolving around jewelry, and the target audience is clearly young people and professionals—more precisely, young professionals. While it aligns with Polka's past marketing strategies, the goal of this exhibition is to expand on this and create a more universal brand image. I hope you understand." She looked at the female director beside her, "In this regard, you can learn a lot from Director Li. Her award-winning films have a compassionate spirit and convey the authentic and confident beauty of women, which I admire very much."

The woman who looked very much like Li Zitong gave a beautiful business smile, "Thank you for the compliment."

"No, no. I truly admire Director Li's artistic accomplishments and look forward to the outcome of this collaboration. By the way, what are your thoughts on the project?"

"How can I, an outsider, offer any decent advice?"

"It's okay, just say whatever comes to your mind."

"Then I'll just say a few words. Personally, I think Mr. Chen is right. Professional matters can be left to the execution team for judgment. However, I feel that the proposal's concept is a bit petty, with a tendency to package women, jewelry, and material desires together and trivialize them. This, however, is also closely related to the current climate of quick success and instant gratification in China."

After hearing her speak, I confirmed again that she was Li Zitong. It was impossible for them to look and sound so similar.

My body temperature soared. As I held her gaze, the fluorescent lights in the room shone brightly, as if overexposed, and finally, rationality vanished in the waves of light with a "pop."

"You're absolutely right. But we're not talking about film art right now. We're talking about a jewelry exhibition and brand building, a commercial project with a total investment of tens of millions. Every step requires the support of industry experience and market feedback data. I'm afraid this can't be changed by just a few empty rhetoric."

As soon as I said it, I realized something was wrong. The temperature in the conference room dropped to freezing. The vice president snorted, and the woman, who I didn't know if she was Li Zitong, narrowed her eyes and looked at me. The general manager quickly stood up to smooth things over, offering a few polite words praising the other party's insights and promising to refine the subsequent plans based on the suggestions we received.

After leaving the building, everyone in the company was silent. I thought the general manager would get angry at my inappropriate behavior, but he just said, "You've worked hard overtime. Go home and get some sleep. I'll give you two days off as a compensatory leave." His words made me feel even more guilty. I wanted to explain something, but he waved me off.

After returning home, I quickly washed up and went to bed. I was exhausted, both physically and mentally, but I couldn't fall asleep. Drawing the curtains to block out the sunlight didn't help. So I got up, dug into the cupboard, and pulled out the whiskey a friend had given me when I moved. I took a deep sip, but the feeling of swallowing lead wouldn't go away.

It was too bad. Why bother refuting the other executive's opinion? Everyone knew it was just polite talk. The vice president came from a finance background and didn't understand the advertising business, but his position demanded he offer some guidance from a high-level position. At this point, all he had to do was humbly say "yes"; after all, when it came to actual implementation, the frontline sales force would have the final say.

But I started arguing with them like a newbie at work.

The entire team's hard work over the past week has been ruined by me. Forget about getting a promotion or a raise; I'm even thinking of resigning.

Since I usually seldom drink, the alcohol kicked in quickly. Half asleep, I tried to analyze the reasons for my erratic behavior. Exhaustion was certainly involved, but perhaps even more importantly, it was encountering Li Zitong. I couldn't stand the way she suddenly appeared in front of me, pretending to be a stranger. Her relaxed demeanor completely shattered the inner balance I'd worked so hard to maintain for years.

After two days of vacation and the weekend, it was already Monday when I returned to work. After clocking in on time, I went straight to the general manager's office to resign.

The office door was ajar, and he was on the phone, sounding cheerful. I waited outside the door until the call ended before knocking.

"Come in."

I pushed the door open and before I could even open my mouth, the general manager greeted me, "Are you here for work? I'm not trying to scare you, but you'll be busy from now on."

He smiled and asked me to sit on the reception sofa.

"I'm sorry about last week's bidding..."

"Okay, okay, it's nothing serious." The general manager said with a smile, "You're so bold, you made me sweat. Next time, pay attention and don't take such an unconventional approach."

"But because of me, the bid that we prepared for so long was ruined..."

"It's a mess, who said that?" He tapped his fingers twice on the table. "Polka just called and said we won the bid."

"Oh, really?"

"Of course, I've already taken care of everything there. Your bid's punctuation and pricing are spot on, and the proposal is well done. Although your final answer was a bit muddled, it doesn't affect our overall advantage."

I was dumbfounded and could only nod repeatedly and escape from the office.

"Oh, there's something I forgot to tell you." The general manager stopped him as he was about to leave. "Please spare two or three days this week and go to Wuxi."

"Are there any new clients you want to talk to?"

"No. Remember that movie Polka sponsored? It's already filming, and they'd like you to come and see what's happening on set, learn a little, and see if there's anything you can use to create a buzz around the exhibition." He leaned over and patted my shoulder. "The director has even invited you over."

I was surprised. "Which director?"

"That's the one we met at the bidding conference. I think her name is Li Zitong. She was really impressed with you. I heard she specifically asked Polka about your name and even offered to speak well of you. She praised your proposal for its strong feasibility and, after careful study, she found it could indeed be deeply integrated with the film. Although we have slight differences in philosophy, I'm very much looking forward to working with you."

This left me completely confused.

The general manager made a sound of sucking his teeth and examined me from head to toe. "You should go to the barber shop for your hair. While you're there, change into some smart clothes. Maybe that beautiful director will be interested in you."

Although I knew he was joking again, I couldn't laugh at all.

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