The next morning, as Xue Xiaodie stood in the kitchen preparing breakfast, she recalled what had happened in someone's bedroom the night before.
"To strike a chord and intimidate, to nurture an enemy and enhance one's own importance, to kill two birds with one stone..." she murmured to herself.
This intimidated Tang Qi, cutting off her path to establishing a foothold in the near future—a classic case of striking a blow to scare the tiger.
By not directly confronting Tang Qi and not bringing the conflict to the forefront, and by using the pretext of dealing with Tang Qi to request support from President Xia later, it would be a case of nurturing a villain for one's own benefit.
Using this tactic to intimidate others and to cultivate a powerful enemy for one's own benefit—isn't this killing two birds with one stone?
Despite this, Xue Xiaodie wasn't feeling smug at all. Just thinking about Miss Tang's progress advantage and President Xia's career advantage was enough to make her anxious; she had no room for smugness.
Today's breakfast was simple: fried dough sticks bought online were heated in the air fryer and became fragrant and fluffy. Add a fried egg and soy milk, and it was ready in no time.
Just then, Tang Qi walked into the kitchen and said, "I'll take it over for you."
Xue Xiaodie turned to look at her.
The two girls' eyes met, and for a moment, a subtle and ambiguous atmosphere seemed to fill the air, making it impossible to tell whether they were friends or enemies.
Xue Xiaodie's gaze remained calm and composed.
Tang Qi's youthful eyes were somewhat downcast, conveying a sense of both displeasure and stubbornness.
Xue Xiaodie smiled and said, "Okay, please carry it for me."
The two girls made two trips back and forth, bringing the breakfast they had prepared for three people to the table.
Just then, Lu Zhe, who had finished washing up and getting ready, came over. He greeted them, "Oh, thank you all for your hard work, especially Xiao Die."
Tang Qi immediately said, "After I see you off, I still need to come back to wash the dishes!"
Lu Zhe laughed and said, "Yes, that's why you two have worked hard."
The three sat down at the table, in the same seats as before: Lu Zhe on one side of the rectangular table, and Xue Xiaodie and Tang Qi on the other. However, today, the atmosphere between the two girls was visibly strange.
Lu Zhe understood the reason, but he didn't say much and could only lower his head and eat his fried dough stick.
He finished eating quickly, glanced at his phone, and then got up and walked towards his bedroom.
Half a minute later, he came out carrying a shoulder bag.
Tang Qi turned to look at him and asked, "Why are you bringing a bag to work today?"
Lu Zhe weighed his shoulder bag in his hand: "Because I'm going to play soccer this afternoon. This bag contains my soccer shoes and jersey."
"Playing football?" Tang Qi was taken aback. "Will President Xia be going too?"
Lu Zhe: "She will definitely go. In fact, she arranged all the football fields and opponents for our company."
With that, he walked over to the sofa, sat down, and casually scrolled through his phone. He would wait for the two girls to finish eating before they could leave together.
The two girls then began to whisper to each other.
First, Tang Qi leaned over and whispered, "Look, President Xia is going to pull this trick again. We agreed to team up against President Xia, right?"
Although the young lady appeared calm on the surface, Xue Xiaodie could hear the guilty conscience in her tone.
Why specifically emphasize the alliance against President Xia? The intention is so obvious, there's no need to guess.
Xue Xiaodie adjusted her glasses and said in a low voice, "Yes, I will definitely be careful of President Xia."
Tang Qi: "But they're playing football, and we can't follow them. Being careful won't help!"
Xue Xiaodie: "That's not necessarily true..."
Just as Tang Qi was stunned, wondering why she said "not necessarily", Xue Xiaodie suddenly cleared her throat and raised her voice.
She said loudly, "Oh right, I was looking for you last night, but I couldn't find you. So, where were you around eleven o'clock, Little Rainbow?"
Tang Qi blinked her big eyes, her lips stiff, and she managed to answer, "I just went out for a walk..."
"Why do you like taking walks so much now?" Xue Xiaodie smiled. "Going out for a walk so late, isn't that a bit dangerous?"
Tang Qi thought for a moment and quickly said, "It's okay, it's okay. Rongdu is very safe at night. Besides, I didn't go far. I just took a stroll around downstairs."
Xue Xiaodie nodded, no longer dwelling on the matter, and changed the subject: "So, do you know why I contacted you last night?"
Tang Qi breathed a cautious sigh of relief, then shook her head: "I don't know."
Xue Xiaodie maintained a calm and composed smile, her tone remaining even. However, what she said next stunned the other two people present.
She said, "I received an offer from Mr. Xia yesterday. The terms are very good, and to be honest, I'm quite tempted. So I resigned from my previous job yesterday and will be able to start working at Mr. Xia's company today."
Lu Zhe was dumbfounded.
Tang Qi pointed at him and hurriedly asked, "So you'll be his colleague from now on!"
Xue Xiaodie smiled and nodded.
"This, this..." Tang Qi was so shocked that she couldn't utter a complete sentence.
Xue Xiaodie continued to explain, "My job is to design a two-dimensional character for the AI named Xiaoqiu. First, I draw the original artwork, and if it's suitable, I can do the illustrations. It's a long-term project."
Lu Zhe finally spoke up and asked, "You received the offer yesterday, resigned, and started working today. How could it be so fast?"
Xue Xiaodie stuck out her tongue playfully and said, "Because I'm an intern! I didn't sign a formal contract with that comic company. The contract said that I only needed to give three days' notice to resign. But when I told them the conditions that President Xia offered me, they felt embarrassed to stop me and let me go."
Lu Zhe couldn't help but ask, "What conditions did President Xia offer you?"
Xue Xiaodie thought for a moment and said, "The internship fee is 10,000 yuan, and the formal employment fee is 15,000 yuan. However, I won't graduate until next year, so I guess I can only be an intern until graduation."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Lu Zhe couldn't help but gasp: "Taller than me!"
Xue Xiaodie: "Don't you also earn ten thousand a month?"
Lu Zhe sighed, "But I'm already a full-time employee, while you're still an intern. To be honest, it's a bit outrageous."
Tang Qi muttered to herself, "I heard that the salary level in Chengdu is not high. It's a bit strange to be earning 10,000 yuan a month without even graduating."
Xue Xiaodie: "It is indeed a bit strange."
Tang Qi: "Don't you suspect her...?"
Xue Xiaodie rested her cheeks on her hands and smiled, "Strange as it may be, what could I possibly lose?"
Tang Qi had nothing to say, so she remained silent.
Lu Zhe remained silent, but his mind had already calmed down—he knew that as long as he followed President Xia's plan, accumulated experience, and continued to get promoted, his salary increase potential would definitely be higher than Xue Xiaodie's.
But now the question that's troubling him is, why is President Xia offering such a high salary to recruit Xue Xiaodie?
Tang Qi suddenly said, "Then they'll be playing football tonight..."
Xue Xiaodie smiled sweetly: "I can be a cheerleader!"
Tang Qi couldn't help but pout again, her big, round eyes filled with grievance, yet she couldn't say anything.
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