09. Report
On Friday morning, Jiang Nan stood at the front of the conference room wearing the safe, conservative, and foolproof combination of a white shirt and jeans that she and Wenwen had discussed all night and finally selected.
Director Liu, the customer marketing director, and Wang Baopi sat opposite the long table, while colleagues from the same group and the team brought by Director Liu sat on both sides of the long table.
Except for Pete who looked gloating, the expressions of other colleagues were a little serious.
"Xiao Jiang, let's start." Wang Papi said cheerfully. He looked amiable and amiable, completely different from the aggressive director from the previous two days.
Jiang Nan responded, then clicked the remote to start the presentation. Keeping Chen Yunsheng's instructions in mind, she kept her voice clear and steady. "Hello everyone, I'm Jiang Nan, a member of the planning team for this project. What I want to share with you today isn't just a simple advertising plan, but a story about truly smart parenting."
She looked confident and steady, not at all like a novice facing an important client alone for the first time - her presentation of the plan was smooth and natural, and the data support was well-reasoned. Even Wang Baopi showed a surprised expression.
After the presentation, Director Liu was the first to applaud. She smiled and said, "This is the direction we're going. Ms. Jiang, you have a very deep understanding of the product."
Wang Papi immediately responded, "Yes, Xiao Jiang is a very good planner in our team. She has put a lot of effort into this project."
Jiang Nan rolled his eyes inwardly, but maintained a professional smile on the surface.
To Jiang Nan's surprise, Director Liu kept her before leaving and exchanged contact information with her - she hoped to communicate directly with Jiang Nan in the future.
Jiang Nan was flattered, but she remained composed and exchanged a few pleasantries with Director Liu. While speaking to Director Liu, Jiang Nan suddenly noticed something peculiar about his bookmark—it looked like it was made of silver. She sighed, but didn't think much of it.
——
After the meeting, Wang Paopi took Jiang Nan with him to see Director Liu and her team downstairs. Along the way, Wang Paopi was chatting and laughing.
Jiang Nan pursed his lips and tried his best to hide his emotions.
After Director Liu left, Jiang Nan wanted to make an excuse to slip away, but Wang Papi was uncharacteristically friendly: "Xiao Jiang, Director Liu just praised you and said he hopes you will be directly responsible for the follow-up implementation."
He smiled and said, "This is a great opportunity."
Jiang Nan immediately became alert: "What does the director mean?"
"It's like this," Wang Papi lowered his voice, "The company is considering promoting another deputy director recently, and I think you're a good fit."
Jiang Nan sneered in his heart.
Wenwen's immediate superior is the deputy director, and now they suddenly want to add another deputy director position. There must be something bad going on. Maybe this is something Wang Baopi made up to test her thoughts.
"Thank you for your appreciation, Director," Jiang Nan said, pretending to be deeply appreciative. "I will continue to work hard."
Wang Papi laughed and said, "Come upstairs, you have a lot of work to do."
After returning to her workstation, Jiang Nan politely responded to the congratulations from her colleagues. After a while, when there were no one around, she paid special attention to the location of Wang Papi and Peter. After confirming that they were not there, she immediately sent a message to Wenwen:
Wang Paopi suddenly said he wanted to promote me to deputy director. I laughed my ass off. Does he think I'm stupid? There must be something fishy going on here.
Then, Jiang Nan hesitated for a moment before telling Chen Yunsheng the good news:
The report was a success. The client liked it very much. Thank you for your guidance.
Chen Yunsheng didn't reply, and Jiang Nan didn't care. She knew he must be busy. The fact that he could find time to help her was a pleasant surprise.
But Wenwen replied almost instantly:
Hahahaha, he must be panicking, right? Is the customer particularly satisfied with you?
Jiang Nan was about to reply to Wenwen's WeChat message when a call from Chen Yunsheng popped up on her phone. She glanced at Wang Paopi's office and saw him and Peter talking inside. She quickly grabbed her phone and a cup and headed to the tea room.
"Mr. Chen?" She answered the phone while hiding in the corner.
"It's me, Jiang Nan," Chen Yunsheng said, his voice sounding a little serious. "Is your company discussing an acquisition recently?"
Jiang Nan was stunned for a moment before lowering her voice and answering, "It's like this. This maternity and baby project I'm working on seems quite important. It's said to affect the valuation." Jiang Nan continued with a hint of understanding, "I was wondering why Wang Baopi threw everything to me. He's trying to pass the buck to me."
"It might be more than that," Chen Yunsheng whispered. "Shengcheng, the company that acquired your company, used unconventional tactics and often resorted to extreme means to lower the price. Their most common method was to have the acquired company's internal personnel perform certain operations, causing the acquired company's market value to drop."
"You mean Wang Baopi—" Jiang Nan realized he was referring to a nickname and quickly corrected himself, "I mean Director Wang… He might be the one who was bribed, and he wants me to take the blame?"
"The veteran is giving himself a way out. Even if he makes a mistake, the focus will only be on the lower-level employees. Even if higher-level managers see through the veteran's tactics, they likely won't seek justice. They won't doubt the veteran's loyalty, but they will understand their reluctance to take responsibility," Chen Yunsheng instructed briefly. "You should stay vigilant recently. Don't be the first to stand out, but don't be used as a pawn."
He paused and added, "There's a business reception on Sunday evening, and I need you to accompany me. Someone from your client will also be there, and I think this is a chance to strengthen our relationship."
"Me? Accompany you to the reception?"
"Is there a problem?" Chen Yunsheng asked back.
"No problem!" Jiang Nan said quickly, "Do you need me to prepare anything special?"
"Just normal business attire will do. If you have any questions, you can ask me in person tonight or tomorrow." Chen Yunsheng hung up the phone after saying that.
After ending the call, Jiang Nan held the phone and poured himself a cup of coffee in a daze.
Although she had met Mr. Chen and Chen Yunsheng's parents several times and attended one or two family gatherings within the Chen family, she had no experience with cocktail parties. So, after Jiang Nan returned to her workstation with her coffee, she immediately asked Wenwen for help:
Smell it! Help! I'm going to a cocktail party on Sunday/(ㄒoㄒ)/~~
Boss Chen said normal business attire, but you know my wardrobe.
Wenwen immediately replied:
Ha! I was wondering why you didn't reply in a while.
Leave it to me.
I'll take you to the mall on Saturday?
Jiang Nan was filled with gratitude:
Thank you! After shopping, I'll treat you to barbecue!
Wenwen sent a funny emoticon of a salute, and Jiang Nan also replied with a funny emoticon.
During the lunch break, Wenwen and Jiang Nan agreed to go to a nearby business district - they agreed that they didn't want to make a splash at this business reception, but rather to avoid any mistakes. In order to avoid hidden worries, they had to stroll around the most prosperous business district.
Wenwen asked Jiang Nan to prepare her wallet, and at the same time she began to prepare seriously for tomorrow's itinerary.
After work that afternoon, Wenwen recommended several fashion bloggers with similar body types to Jiang Nan, allowing her to make her own selection. Jiang Nan thanked Wenwen for her help, and as soon as she got home that evening, she placed an online order for the headphones that Wenwen had always had her eye on, but had been holding off on because of the price.
Then, Jiang Nan started to make her own dinner. There weren't many fresh vegetables in the refrigerator, so she just cooked some noodles. Halfway through her meal, Chen Yunsheng suddenly came back. Jiang Nan immediately sat up straight and greeted him stiffly, "Mr. Chen, good evening."
"Well, good evening." Chen Yunsheng untied his tie and turned to go into his room.
Jiang Nan blinked, silently quickened the pace at which he ate his noodles, then hid in his room and never came out again.
——
It was Saturday morning, sunlight streaming through the slits in the curtains. Jiang Nan groped for her phone, squinting to check the time—it was already 9:30. She immediately sat up, ready to sprint to catch the subway, but as she reached the bathroom, she remembered it was the weekend and she didn't have to work.
So she immediately became distracted.
She washed her face with cold water and shook off the remaining sleepiness.
At this moment, her phone vibrated, and it was Wenwen's message bombardment:
Baby, are you up?
Didn’t we agree to go clothes shopping with you today?
I'm already outside your community.
I was wondering why you didn't say anything when I bombed you last time. It turns out that ordinary people can't enter your community!
Wenwen made an accusing expression.
Jiang Nan quickly replied:
It’s up! Come down immediately!
Jiang Nan quickly finished washing up, threw on a T-shirt and jeans, grabbed her bag, and rushed out. While changing her shoes in the entrance hall, she saw a box of used sticky notes, and her mind was aroused. She returned to the kitchen island and placed a sticky note on the coffee machine:
Mr. Chen, I'm going out shopping with my friends and will be back before dinner.
After writing it, she felt it was too stiff, so she drew a smiley face before leaving with satisfaction.
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