68. Cleaning up the house
The next morning, the atmosphere in the editorial office of Face was more tense than usual.
Chi Jin walked into the office almost holding his breath. The warmth brought by the hug and kiss by Mirror Lake last night had not yet completely dispelled the chill brought by the rumors.
Today is especially significant, as it is the editor-in-charge report day and the last one before the Spring Festival holiday.
She sat down at her workstation, forcing herself to focus all her attention on the content of the report she was about to report, trying to build a wall in her heart to block out the vague but ubiquitous gazes and whispers around her.
Duan Xingche came over and lowered his voice: "Master, are you okay? You don't look well."
"It's okay, maybe I didn't sleep well last night." Chi Jin forced a smile and didn't want to say more.
Not far away, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Jiang Xuhuan was holding a cup of steaming coffee, chatting and laughing quietly with another editor, his posture elegant. However, when his eyes casually swept over Chi Jin, his gentle smile remained, but a hint of elusive coldness flashed deep in his eyes.
The report began promptly at 9:30 a.m. Because it was the last one before the New Year, the level of detail was higher, requiring not only the editor-in-chief to attend the entire process but also one deputy editor-in-chief from each editorial department.
"Faces" was ranked first, with editor-in-chief Chi Jin making the main report and deputy editor-in-chief Jiang Xuhuan making supplementary contributions.
Chi Jin took a deep breath, picked up the carefully prepared materials, and exchanged a glance with Jiang Xuhuan. Jiang Xuhuan smiled at her encouragingly, his tone soft: "Relax, there's nothing wrong overall, just perform as usual."
When the wooden door opened, several heads of other departments were already seated in the conference room. At the very top, Chen Yisheng was already seated.
Behind him was a floor-to-ceiling glass window, and the cold winter morning sunlight slanted in, casting a clear yet distant halo around him. Far from softening the lines of his face, it made his expression even more solemn and intimidating.
He didn't even raise his eyelids, his gaze focused on the report in his hand. After she stood still, he just said two words lightly: "Start."
The cold and businesslike tone instantly brought Chi Jin back to the relationship between superiors and subordinates. The moment of warmth last night seemed like an illusion.
But this is the right thing to do.
The wind direction is not in their favor now.
She gathered herself, walked to the conference table, turned on the projector, and began reporting on Faces' year-end progress on key topics, manuscript progress, and plans for the next phase. Her voice was a little strained at first, but she quickly settled into her flow, her logic clear, and her data accurate.
Jiang Xuhuan sat slightly to the side, occasionally adding a word or two with a smile, his demeanor calm.
Halfway through the presentation, everything went smoothly. Chi Jin felt a sense of relief, and her speech gradually became more fluent. However, when introducing a cross-disciplinary art column, she mentioned the name of an emerging artist she was in contact with: Meng Qiu.
Almost as soon as her name uttered, Chi Jin realized she had made a minor but potentially catchable mistake. Meng Qiu's interview had only been completed yesterday afternoon, and she hadn't yet updated the relevant briefing to the shared document. The report still referenced the previous version of the preliminary contact information, and one non-core agent's contact information was outdated.
This was harmless and could be updated later. She was just about to briefly mention it and add a few more details about the latest developments.
"Wait a minute." Chen Yisheng suddenly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it cut off her narration like a cold blade.
He finally raised his head, looking at her sharply, his fingertips pointing at the printed materials on the table that he had already read and marked. "Does the contact information in your materials correspond to the same person as the progress you reported verbally?"
Chi Jin's heart skipped a beat: "Editor-in-Chief Chen, this..."
"I'm asking you whether it is or not." Chen Yisheng interrupted her, his tone was cold and carried an unquestionable sense of oppression.
The air in the office dropped to freezing point in an instant.
Chen Yisheng is in such a state that he is about to lose his temper.
Chi Jin's cheeks flushed, and he gritted his teeth and answered, "No. Ms. Meng Qiu's cooperation is currently being handled by a new agent. Yesterday's interview has been confirmed. I... will update the relevant information immediately after I meet with you."
"Update after the meeting?" Chen Yisheng repeated, leaning back slightly in his chair, his eyes cold as ice. "Editor Chi, the editorial report is for you to demonstrate clear, accurate, and up-to-date work progress, not to prevaricate with vague terms like 'soon' or 'after the meeting'. If you can't even verify and update the most basic information in a timely manner, how can I trust the effectiveness and reliability of your subsequent project progress?"
His criticism was harsh and showed no mercy. His voice was not loud, but every word was like a heavy hammer, hitting Chi Jinxin. It also clearly penetrated the crack in the door that was not completely closed and fell into the ears of those inside and outside who were interested.
All the editors present were silent. Editor-in-Chief Chen had not lost his temper so much in a long time.
Lin Zhu was a little surprised. She seemed to want to say something but hesitated.
"A small contact information may seem insignificant to you, but it reflects the most basic work attitude and rigor! The benchmark of Faces is there, and it is not maintained by such carelessness!"
Chi Jin's face paled instantly, her fingers gripping the laser pointer tightly, her nails digging into her palm. She couldn't tell if he was genuinely angry or just making a fuss. Without time to think, she looked at Jiang Xuhuan, hoping she could explain.
Jiang Xuhuan's face showed a hint of embarrassment and helplessness at the right moment. She spoke softly, as if trying to smooth things over: "Editor-in-Chief Chen, this is actually..."
"Deputy Editor-in-Chief Jiang." Chen Yisheng glanced over coldly. "Editor Chi should be fully responsible for her business report. You need to supplement the macro-level content, not explain the details she missed."
Jiang Xuhuan immediately fell silent, looked at Chi Jin apologetically, and lowered his eyes.
Chen Yisheng turned his gaze back to Chi Jin, his tone still cold: "Follow up on this column, write a detailed report and send it to me tomorrow morning. Get out."
Got kicked out early.
Chi Jin felt all the blood in his body rushing to his head, and then disappearing completely in an instant, leaving only a cold numbness.
Almost instinctively, she stiffly picked up the documents on the desk and whispered, "Yes." Then she turned around and walked out of the meeting room with slightly messy steps.
The door closed behind her, isolating the suffocating atmosphere inside.
She stood outside the glass window and saw that almost all the editors had their heads down, pretending to be busy.
Jiang Xuhuan's face was filled with just the right amount of trepidation and caution: "Editor-in-Chief Chen, please don't be angry. Things have been a bit volatile recently. Chi Jin might be too tired..."
Chen Yisheng didn't look at her. His gaze returned to the documents. His tone was calm, and no emotion could be heard. "Being tired is not an excuse. Work standards cannot be lowered. You should leave too."
"Yes," Jiang Xuhuan replied respectfully, turning to leave. As her back turned to Chen Yisheng, a flicker of doubt flashed through her gentle eyes. Chen Yisheng's anger today seemed particularly intense, and his targeting was particularly obvious.
What was going on? Had those rumors really caused him to become withdrawn, or even angry? Or was there…something else going on?
The door closed gently.
Chen Yisheng then slowly raised his head, his eyes sharp as an eagle, casting towards the door that blocked out the outside world's prying eyes. His slender fingers unconsciously tapped on the table, making a very light clacking sound.
In the scene just now, he acted realistically and cruelly enough.
Those ears inside and outside the door should be able to bring back the news that "Deputy Editor-in-Chief Chen is extremely dissatisfied with Chi Jin's work mistakes" to their respective editorial offices as they wish.
Pouring this basin of cold water can at least temporarily extinguish most of the speculations about "Chi Jin being that special existence."
He looked around and whispered, "Take this as a warning. The editor of Autumn Letters should report here."
I don’t know if it was because he was angry about the poor performance of the first editorial department, or because Chen Yisheng was just in a bad mood today, but the report ended quickly and no editor came out with a smile.
Inside the conference room, Chen Yisheng's gaze fell back on his computer screen. It wasn't a report, but a summary email about a private investigation. It had been sent early this morning.
The content of the email clearly pointed to the initial and most active nodes of rumor dissemination, and ultimately all of them were vaguely connected to the same source - the deputy editor-in-chief, Jiang Xuhuan, who was always gentle and polite, expressed admiration for him in his words, and seemed to be quite caring towards Chi Jin.
Motive? Perhaps it stemmed from the personnel changes following his promotion, the swift rise of Chi Jin that threatened her. Or perhaps it stemmed from a woman's more sensitive intuition and jealousy—she suspected that he had already felt differently towards Chi Jin during his time on "Face," though no one noticed at the time. And Chi Jin's recent surge in popularity has undoubtedly exacerbated this unease and resentment.
So she capitalized on information she'd stumbled upon three years earlier—that Chen Yisheng's ring was merely a deceptive prop. Thus, she cleverly twisted the story into a "marriage crisis and infidelity" scandal, attempting to kill two birds with one stone: striking at Chi Jin while also potentially paving the way for his possible departure. If he resigned due to the scandal, the vacant position...
The private investigation only targeted the anonymous person who spread the rumors on the forum.
but……
Chen Yisheng has always suspected that Jiang Xuhuan and Editor-in-Chief Lin have private dealings. For example, the current Assistant Lin is the spy assigned to Editor-in-Chief Chen, and the former Editor-in-Chief Chen is also being watched by Jiang Xuhuan and then reported to Editor-in-Chief Lin.
A cold and stern look flashed in Chen Yisheng's eyes.
His original plan was to have a smooth handover and leave quietly, but now, someone was determined to muddy the waters prematurely, even crossing his bottom line.
Then don't blame him. He cleaned up the mess before leaving.
He picked up the intercom and dialed a number. His voice returned to its usual calm and deep tone. "Mr. He, are you available now? I may need to talk to you again about the matter I mentioned last time, and I also need to take care of a small issue."
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