Chapter 31: Dispute

Lin Ran was greatly surprised. When had she agreed to this? She had no recollection of such a request!

However, she didn’t want to cause a scene in front of Liang Meiqi for the sake of Xinruan’s reputation. She made an excuse to have Mao Quanan leave first and promised to update him after internal discussions.

She pulled Liang Meiqi aside and softly asked, “Meiqi, can you explain to me what this request is about?”

Lin Ran was always calm, unfazed even when faced with great challenges. She handled emergencies with ease, never losing her temper but instead communicating kindly with her colleagues, no matter the issue.

To her surprise, Liang Meiqi wasn’t receptive to her approach. She was still angry and felt things were unfair. Why? Why? Why?

She became even more impolite toward Lin Ran, shaking off her hand and scoffing, “Lin Ran, you verbally agreed to this request before, so I included it in the document.”

Lin Ran’s expression immediately turned cold—seems like the other party was prepared to push the blame entirely onto her.

“I never said that. Don’t accuse me falsely. Unless you have some paper evidence or chat records to prove it.”

“I… I don’t have evidence. If anything, I was too naive, too trusting of you, thinking what you said verbally counted.”

Liang Meiqi bit her lip, feeling a moment of guilt but quickly realizing that if she insisted it was something Lin Ran had verbally agreed to, no one would know she was lying.

When it came to relationships with others, she was confident that her connections were much stronger than Lin Ran’s. Despite Lin Ran being constantly busy, running around like a servant and occasionally treating everyone to coffee or snacks, the team never really rallied behind her. In their eyes, Lin Ran was the boss’s person, while the rest were just ordinary employees. When Lin Ran wasn’t around, they would gather to complain about the company, even forming a private WeChat group without her.

Lin Ran’s sharp gaze was overwhelming, causing Liang Meiqi to take a step back, casting a pleading glance at the tech lead, Zhang Gong. Zhang Gong sighed and stood up. “Let’s not argue now. Let’s have a meeting and think of a way to solve the problem.”

“I agree with Zhang Gong. Let’s solve the problem first,” Liang Meiqi immediately chimed in, even taking the initiative to reserve a meeting room.

She appeared to be the reasonable one, in stark contrast to Lin Ran, who seemed petty and inconsiderate.

In the meeting room, Liang Meiqi spoke first. “This new request is small, it won’t take up too much time. I think it’s doable. It’s also a way to show good faith to the client, letting them see our sincerity.”

Zhang Gong agreed as well. In fact, the programmers had been stationed here for a few days, and they found it quite comfortable—more so than at Xinruan. They had no objections to staying a few more days, or even months, if needed.

Only Lin Ran didn’t immediately agree. She said, “Adding more work hours means higher costs. The company may not approve it. Let me check with the boss first.”

As the project manager, Lin Ran’s key performance indicator was controlling project costs. If she couldn’t meet her performance goals, her year-end bonus would be at risk.

Moreover, Lin Ran was naturally cautious, and for such a significant matter, she needed to consult with Zhou Xu.

However, Liang Meiqi felt that even this small matter shouldn’t trouble General Manager Zhou. What was the point of having a project manager if not to pass messages along? Lin Ran gave her a cold glance and didn’t respond.

The meeting ended on a sour note. Lin Ran, feeling exhausted, sat in the café on the first floor and called Zhou Xu. Soon, the call was answered. Lin Ran briefly described the difficulties they were facing.

“What do you think should be done?” Zhou Xu, who was at the hospital taking care of his father, wasn’t very familiar with work matters. Habitually, he asked for his subordinate’s opinion, wanting to hear their thoughts on the matter.