Chapter 3

As soon as Chu Yu spoke, Zhou Shan’s gaze instantly focused on Chi Xiting, showing some surprise and curiosity before quickly looking away and quietly standing behind Chu Yu.

Zhou Shan’s excellent expression management meant that many people didn’t notice the change in her gaze or realize who Chu Yu was talking to, leaving them puzzled and confused.

Chi Xiting knew Chu Yu was asking about his injury, so he naturally nodded and said, “It’s not serious. I’m already better.”

The elevator area became even quieter.

Chu Corporation’s employees, silent as cicadas in winter, gathered around, occasionally glancing at Chu Yu and then at Chi Xiting, their eyes full of curiosity and gossip.

Even Chi Heyuan couldn’t help scratching his chin, his gaze lingering on Chi Xiting for a while.

Chu Yu said nothing more, nodding slightly before stepping into the compartment.

Zhou Shan quickly followed.

Watching Chu Yu leave and waiting for the elevator doors to close, the employees in the elevator area finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well, to be honest, this is my first time seeing President Chu.”

“I’m pretty much the same. I only saw him from a distance during the big meeting.”

“I can’t get over this fear of mine. When I was young, I was scared of teachers; now that I’m older, I’m scared of my boss. It’s like being blessed with cowardice.”

“It’s not your fault. Our boss really has a commanding presence.”

“Who was that? If the boss knows him, he must be a manager from some department, but he looks a bit unfamiliar to me.”

“I’m not sure either… He’s really good-looking, though. If I had seen him before, I definitely wouldn’t have forgotten.”

Chi Xiting didn’t think much of this little episode. He glanced at the elevator to see if it had arrived.

—-

In a big company like this, it’s rare to encounter the big boss. The company’s structure is clear, responsibilities are well-defined, rules and procedures are systematic, and everything goes through proper channels. Even regular employees might not get the chance to interact with top management, let alone an intern like him.

Besides, Zhu Yu wasn’t just the CEO of Zhu Corporation.

He was also the main antagonist in this novel.

Chi Xiting, given a second chance at life, knew that although he still had to work, he was just a minor character. As long as he didn’t get caught up in the plot and learned from his past mistakes by not overworking himself, he could likely live out his days peacefully.

Chi Xiting followed the crowd into the elevator and noticed Chi Heyuan pressing a button for him, then stepping back.

Chi Heyuan stood silently with his hands in his pockets, his gaze wandering before settling on Chi Xiting’s head.

Chi Xiting’s hair was black and fluffy, with slightly curled ends, looking soft like a sesame cake.

“Did Zhu come to the hospital to see you?” Unable to hold back, Chi Heyuan leaned in slightly and whispered in Chi Xiting’s ear.

Chi Xiting was startled and instinctively recoiled. Seeing it was Chi Heyuan, he relaxed and complained, “Can’t you give me a heads-up before you talk? You’re so abrupt.”

Chi Heyuan: “…”

“What, should I ask you ‘Are you there?’ before talking next time?”

“Pfft.”

As someone chuckled, the elevator was filled with laughter.

Even the usually thick-skinned Chi Heyuan and relatively thick-skinned Chi Xiting felt a bit embarrassed and turned away, glaring at each other accusingly.

“Heyuan.” A man greeted Chi Heyuan with a smile, “It’s unusual to see you here this late.”

Chi Heyuan glanced at the man, reining in his irritation a bit, and politely replied, “Brother Fang, I was stuck in traffic today, so I’m a bit late.”

Fang Ben smiled knowingly and turned his gaze to Chi Xiting, asking curiously, “And who is this?”

Chi Xiting realized he was being addressed, so he looked up at Fang Ben.

Standing among the crowd, with his back to Fang Ben, Chi Xiting hadn’t been noticed at first. Now, seeing Chi Xiting’s face clearly, a flash of amazement crossed Fang Ben’s eyes.

“He looks a bit unfamiliar. A new guy in your tech department?” Fang Ben asked after scrutinizing Chi Xiting.

Chi Heyuan shook his head, glanced at Chi Xiting, hesitated for a moment, and then said, “Intern, from your department.”

Chi Xiting, about to turn away, paused and looked back, meeting Fang Ben’s gaze.

Oh boy.

Had he already met a direct colleague?

“From our department?” Fang Ben raised an eyebrow, surprised, and stared at Chi Xiting for a while before laughing, “No way. If there were a newbie in our marketing department who looked like that, I’d definitely remember.”

“I was injured a few days ago,” Chi Xiting admitted when Chi Heyuan nudged his shoulder subtly, realizing Chi Heyuan didn’t want to speak for him, “so I haven’t been to the office. It’s normal that you don’t recognize me.”

Fang Ben let out an enlightened “oh,” “So it was you.”

He had heard about an intern who got injured on his first day at work. At the time, he thought it was pretty unlucky. He didn’t expect to meet the person involved now.

“Hey, it’s our stop.” Chi Heyuan nudged Chi Xiting again, reminding him with a blank expression.

He had told Chi Xiting to watch out for himself, but in the end, it was him reminding again.

Damn it.

No self-sufficiency even after growing up.

Chi Heyuan gritted his teeth, his jaw tightening in frustration.

“Oh, right.” Chi Xiting glanced at the floor indicator.

—27th floor

The elevator doors opened. Fang Ben was the first to step out but didn’t hurry off. He stood waiting for Chi Xiting.

Chi Xiting, squeezed at the back, suddenly remembered the buns he had saved for Chi Heyuan.

“Chi Heyuan,” Chi Xiting called out.

Chi Heyuan’s brow furrowed reflexively, “What now?”

“I saved some buns for you,” Chi Xiting took out the buns from his pocket and handed them to Chi Heyuan, “They might be a bit cold. Warm them up before eating.”

Chi Heyuan was slightly taken aback, his expression softening for a moment. He glanced at Chi Xiting’s face and then at the buns in his hand before reluctantly saying, “I don’t want them.”

“Just take them. I need to go,” Chi Xiting, not wanting to argue, grabbed Chi Heyuan’s hand from his pocket and forced the buns into it, “Alright, put them back in your pocket to keep them warm.”

They’d stay warm in the pocket.

Chi Heyuan: “…Get lost.”

Chi Xiting smiled and stepped out of the elevator, waving at Chi Heyuan before the doors closed.

Chi Heyuan ignored him, turning his head away.

“You two seem pretty close?” Fang Ben remarked, observing their interaction.

Chi Xiting: “How is it?”

After all, they are brothers; their relationship shouldn’t be too bad, right?

“Let’s go, I’ll take you inside.” Fang Ben smiled, stopped asking questions, patted Chi Xiting on the shoulder, and said, “I still don’t know your name.”

Chi Xiting was happy to have a senior leading the way, obediently following Fang Ben to the office. He replied, “Chi Xiting. You can call me Xiao Chi or Xiting.”

“Okay.” Fang Ben’s smile became even more genuine, seemingly pleased with Chi Xiting’s composed demeanor. “My surname is Fang, and my given name is Ben. Just call me Fang Ge.”

Chi Xiting responded.

—-

The entire 27th floor was the office area of the marketing department. The decor was consistent with the lobby’s style—low-key, simple, and covered in translucent black-gray glass walls that mirrored the shadows of people. The air conditioning was set at a comfortable 26°C. Following Fang Ben, Chi Xiting discreetly observed the environment.

Indeed, you can tell a company’s legitimacy by its decor.

“This is the main conference room, usually used for regular meetings. There are also several small conference rooms here for client discussions.” Fang Ben felt responsible for familiarizing Chi Xiting with the environment. As they walked, he continued introducing, “The marketing department is divided into four teams, with separate office areas. This is Team A, followed by Teams B, C, and D. Each team has a leader.”

Chi Xiting nodded, his gaze sweeping over the spacious and bright offices.

The offices had floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing sunlight to flood in, making the entire space warm and cozy. The desks were spaced out, providing each employee with a large work area, ensuring privacy.

“But I’m not sure which team you’ve been assigned to…” Fang Ben scratched his chin, hesitating. “Interns might be managed separately. I’ll ask later.”

Chi Xiting withdrew his gaze from the office, smiled lightly, and thanked Fang Ben, “Thank you, Fang Ge.”

Fang Ben couldn’t help but smile as well, saying, “No need to be polite; we’re colleagues.”

Well, not colleagues yet.

Still not officially employed.

“You know, our department doesn’t have many full-time positions available.” Fang Ben turned to look at Chi Xiting.

This batch of interns had about a hundred people, with 12 assigned to their department but only 2 full-time positions available.

And it’s said that the interns in their department this time were all very capable, mostly top students from 985 universities, making the competition quite tough.

“I know.” Chi Xiting nodded and smiled, “I’ll just do my best.”

Chi Xiting wasn’t too concerned about becoming full-time. No matter how good Chu’s company was, it was still just a job. If he could become full-time, great; if not, it was just another life experience.

Seeing Chi Xiting’s relaxed attitude, Fang Ben looked at him with appreciation, motioning for him to continue walking, “Yeah, but having internship experience at Chu’s is also good. It looks impressive on a resume.”

Having interned at Chu’s would be a highlight on any resume for any company.

Chi Xiting responded, his gaze lingering on a closed office door for a few seconds before glancing at the nameplate.

—Manager’s Office

“Oh, this is our department manager’s office. He’s on a business trip and not in the company.” Fang Ben noticed Chi Xiting’s gaze and introduced, “The manager’s surname is Shen, his name is Shen Zhizhe.”

Fang Ben evidently admired Shen Zhizhe a lot. While he briefly mentioned other department leaders, he was very enthusiastic when talking about Shen Zhizhe, almost revealing all his achievements.

“He’s very young and very capable. You know, he’s especially close to General Manager Chu.” Fang Ben grinned, “They seem to be college classmates. After Shen Manager returned from abroad, General Manager Chu hired him at a high salary. Officially, he’s just the marketing department manager, but I suspect he has shares in Chu’s.”

Close to Chu Yu?

Chi Xiting glanced at the manager’s office again but didn’t show much reaction to Fang Ben’s words, simply nodding to indicate he understood.

After all, he had worked for many years in his previous life, gaining a lot of experience. In the workplace, the biggest taboo is talking too much, especially about people and things you’re not familiar with.

But since Shen Zhizhe was his direct superior, he’d likely interact with him a lot during his internship at Chu’s.

Chi Xiting pursed his lips and sighed internally.

That’s why work is annoying.

If it were just about completing his tasks, he would accept it, but the workplace is never that simple. The bothersome part isn’t the work itself but the complex interpersonal relationships.

Fang Ben went to ask and found out that the interns were managed separately. During Chi Xiting’s sick leave, the other interns had already been assigned to their mentors.

“Let’s go; I’ll take you to Panpan.” Fang Ben said to Chi Xiting, “Your mentor, a very capable girl. She usually doesn’t take on new interns; you got lucky.”

Fang Ben led Chi Xiting to the C team office. After looking around, he found Xing Panpan’s desk.

“Panpan, are you busy?” Fang Ben knocked on Xing Panpan’s desk, “You were assigned an intern; you don’t have anyone under you, right?”

Xing Panpan clicked her tongue and hit the keyboard hard, producing a loud “click” before impatiently looking up at Fang Ben, complaining, “Of course I’m busy. I have so many clients; how can I have time to mentor an intern? They didn’t consider my workload at all. It’s frustrating.”

“Alright, alright, stop complaining.” Fang Ben patted Xing Panpan’s shoulder with a smile, “They assigned you because they value you.”

Xing Panpan rolled her eyes at Fang Ben, “Enough with the flattery. I’m not buying it.”

Fang Ben chuckled.

“Where is he?” Xing Panpan complained, but she didn’t dare to go against her superior’s orders, so she pouted slightly before speaking.

Fang Ben straightened up and gestured for Chi Xiting to come over.

Xing Panpan also put down what she was doing and turned to look at Chi Xiting.

Chi Xiting had delicate features, with gentle and elegant eyes. His black, curly hair lightly brushed against his neck, and his modest bangs lay neatly on his forehead. His pupils were dark and clear, giving him a well-behaved and pure demeanor, like a good student who had just stepped out of an ivory tower.

When their eyes met, Chi Xiting curved his lips into a smile, his eyes forming a beautiful arc. His smile was bright and sincere. “Hello, my name is Chi Xiting.”

—–

“Chi—Xi—Ting.”

Zhou Shan pulled out a resume from a stack of intern applications, her eyes briefly scanning the small ID photo before skimming through the content of the resume. Her frown deepened as she read, and by the time she finished the last word, she looked back at the name field, softly murmuring the name.

Zhou Shan cracked her knuckles audibly.

After reviewing Chi Xiting’s resume several times, Zhou Shan glanced at the door to the CEO’s office. After a moment of contemplation, she sighed lightly and put the resume back.