Chapter 51 Shortcut
As the project entered the middle stage, the pace became increasingly intense.
Time passes quickly between business trips and interviews.
Xu Mo and Han Yan are still good partners on the project, even though they both know that the other knows that there is a man between them.
But this does not affect the tacit understanding between the two sides.
Summer came in a flash. After completing the last planned interview, the project team returned to the hotel together.
It seemed that a tour group had arrived. The lobby was noisy and the elevator was crowded with many people.
Wu Siyue, Cheng Ming and Zou Keyin took the elevator first, leaving Xu Mo and Han Yan in the lobby waiting for the next one.
There was silence between the two of them. The numbers on the screen jumped and slid down. Suddenly, Han Yan's voice rang out softly, "Want to chat?"
Xu Mo's eyelids moved: "Where are we going?"
Han Yan smiled: "Drinking?"
About 300 meters from the hotel, you'll find a corner pub. It's small, with warm orange light casting a shadow over the wooden tables and chairs. Soft music plays, and the owner quietly sits at the bar, mixing drinks.
It’s not exquisite, but it exudes a unique tranquility that is typical of third- and fourth-tier cities.
Xu Mo asked: "How did you find it?"
Han Yan pushed the wine in front of her and smiled: "Recently, I always take a walk around here after work, and I found this pub."
Xu Mo: "Do you have the habit of taking a walk?"
Han Yan shook her head: "The project is entering its final stage, and the pressure is a bit high."
Xu Mo raised her eyebrows: "Stressed? Haven't we already prepared the PPT for you?"
Han Yan was silent for two seconds. She could hear the sarcasm in Xu Mo's words, but she didn't get angry. Instead, she smiled. "That's true, but I have to manage and report to my superiors. You've been in charge before, you know that."
Xu Mo raised her eyebrows and said nothing. Han Yan took a sip of wine and looked out the window.
The night in the small city was very quiet, and there was no one on the street.
Han Yan asked, "You've been very cold to me recently. Did you find out something?"
Xu Mo lowered her eyes to look at the pale yellow liquid in the cup: "What do you mean?"
Han Yan was silent for a moment, her long nails tapping the wall of the cup slowly. "I didn't come to A just for Lin Jingchuan."
The cold liquid flowed onto her lips and tongue. Xu Mo put down her wine glass and asked, "Then why are you willing to be demoted and have your salary reduced?"
Han Yan raised her eyes, helpless in her eyes: "If I say I was forced, would you believe it?"
Xu Mo nodded: "There is a price to pay for destroying other people's families."
Han Yan's hand holding the wine glass stiffened slightly, and she lowered her eyes: "You even know this."
Xu Mo remained silent. Han Yan looked out the window. The street was so eerily quiet that she could only look at the convenience store sign across the street.
"I also thought about relying on myself, but for a small town student like me with no background, it's too difficult."
Xu Mo looked at her: "So you chose to take a shortcut?"
"When I first started working, I was also conceited," Han Yan recalled calmly, her eyelids lowered. "After graduation, I got an offer from a top consulting firm in Shanghai, which was an enviable position among my graduating class. I joined that company with aspirations and hopes, and worked diligently for five years, thinking I would be rewarded."
"But when I got promoted to manager, I was delayed for two whole years," Han Yan said self-deprecatingly. "Do you know how it feels to work so hard, sacrificing your health and fitness, only to see no reward? I watched my connections move up one after another, while I was still stuck where I was, doing basic work. You're in the industry too, so you can imagine the disparity."
Xu Mo said nothing, took a sip of wine, and narrowed her eyes slightly. She was also at the point of promotion, and she understood what Han Yan said very well.
"A partner in the group showed interest in me." Han Yan lowered her eyes. "So I just went with it. In my third year, he promoted me to manager."
Xu Mo put down her wine glass and looked at her: "Since the workplace environment is like this, where promotions don't rely on ability but on connections and sex, then there's actually nothing good to stay. If I were you, I would leave."
Han Yan shook her head and smiled: "You are too naive. This kind of workplace environment is actually quite common. Even if you change companies, it will be the same."
Xu Mo shook her head. She didn't agree. Han Yan might just be rationalizing her behavior by saying this, so she didn't need to say more.
Han Yan seemed a little drunk, her cheeks slightly flushed. She swirled her wine glass and continued softly, "Later, I realized I had fallen in love with him, so I used something against him to force him to divorce."
Xu Mo: "Did you succeed?"
Han Yan nodded. "Yes, I succeeded. I originally thought he divorced me because he loved me, but later I found out it was just a temporary solution."
"After we got married, he tricked me into deleting any evidence I had against him. Then I saw him being affectionate with another young woman in the office. That's when I realized I was just another member of his harem, and that his relationships with his female subordinates were just a form of flirtation." Han Yan smiled. "The talent pool at consulting firms is incredibly homogeneous. It doesn't matter who gets promoted. It's better to promote your own partner, right?"
Xu Mo looked at the resentment and hatred that inadvertently flowed in her eyes, and felt an inexplicable complex emotion in her heart. At this moment, she seemed to empathize with the woman in front of her. Her experience shaped her life choices. Because of the poor working environment, she embarked on a wrong path.
She is relatively lucky. When she first entered the industry, she met an outstanding female manager, Manager Wu, and her promotions have been smooth over the years.
Xu Mo asked, "Are you happy now that you got what you wanted?"
Han Yan rubbed her temples. "Actually, I'm quite happy. If his original wife hadn't come to ban me later, I could have lived like this in my life. I could have accepted that I was just married to a polyamorous man. Even if there's no love, I still have money, right?"
Xu Mo exhaled softly: "Every cause has its consequences. You can fight for something, but you can't hurt others."
"So I got my comeuppance. I was kicked out of Shanghai, divorced, and came here in disgrace."
Xu Mo shook her head: "Let's start over."
Han Yan looked at her: "Xu Mo, I admire you very much. You are young, but you live very clearly."
"How did you know that?" Xu Mo raised her eyebrows.
Han Yan shook her head. "I'm here to take your place, but you can still work with me. You may know about my relationship with Lin Jingchuan, but you should act as if nothing has happened."
Xu Mo sighed: "If you want to get by, you have to have some green on your head."
She wasn't drunk yet, but Han Yan should be.
She didn't know why Han Yan told her so much today, maybe it was to gain sympathy and get closer to her, but no matter what the reason was, she knew she shouldn't tell Han Yan too much.
She is willing to do anything to get to the top, and no matter how sympathetic her experience is, she is not someone worth making close friends with.
In the workplace, avoid talking too much to people you just met.
Xu Mo sent Han Yan back to her hotel room and returned to her own room.
After taking a shower and lying on the bed, she looked at the ceiling of the room and was empty for a while.
Suddenly, her phone rang. Xu Mo swiped the screen and asked, "Hello?"
"Hello, is this Ms. Xu Mo? I'm Alex, a headhunter for W Company. Are you looking for any opportunities lately?"
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