Chapter 4

Xing Panpan had been with Chu Corporation for a long time. She started as an intern in her senior year of college and has been working there ever since she successfully became a full-time employee. Her work ability was well recognized, and she was just one opportunity away from being promoted to the leader of Group C.

The work pressure at Chu Corporation was immense, and the competition was fierce. Missing out on a single project meant missing the chance for a promotion. Thus, most senior employees in the marketing department preferred to focus on their own projects, making training new hires an unpopular task.

Xing Panpan wasn’t particularly keen on this task either.

But Chi Xiting was different.

He was indeed good-looking.

Even Xing Panpan, whose mind was usually only filled with thoughts of career advancement, salary increases, saving money for a house, and economic independence, couldn’t help but pay attention to Chi Xiting’s appearance. The originally sharp tone softened in the face of Chi Xiting’s smiling eyes.

“Hello,” Xing Panpan nodded slightly and adjusted her glasses before saying, “My name is Xing Panpan. You can just call me Panpan.”

Chi Xiting smiled and nodded in agreement.

Fang Ben, seeing that he had arranged things for Chi Xiting, patted his imaginary dust-covered hands and made his exit.

“Have they arranged a workstation for you?” Xing Panpan put down her phone, looked around, and said, “Our group has fewer people than other groups, so there are quite a few empty spots. Why don’t you just pick any spot for now?”

“Uh, there seem to be a few other interns in our group,” Xing Panpan added, “Do you want to sit with them?”

Chi Xiting followed the direction Xing Panpan pointed.

Perhaps to show their dedication, those interns had chosen spots in the middle and front, facing the main entrance. The team leader’s office was to the side, and through the glass door, the leader could see the interns’ every move.

Chi Xiting: “…”

Brave souls.

Chi Xiting averted his gaze and said, “No, I’ll sit over there.”

He chose a corner spot, with walls on two sides. The computer was also facing away from the team leader’s office. By slightly turning his body, the adjacent greenery could completely shield him.

Perfect workstation.

“Alright,” Xing Panpan didn’t comment on Chi Xiting’s choice. She nodded and said, “I’ll inform the team leader later. Today, you…”

Xing Panpan paused, looking a bit troubled.

She had never mentored a new hire before and wasn’t sure where to start. Plus, she was genuinely busy lately. Teaching someone step-by-step wasn’t feasible.

Perhaps noticing Xing Panpan’s hesitation, Chi Xiting took the initiative, “How about you get busy first? I missed the past few days, so I’d like to start by familiarizing myself with the company’s regulations and policies.”

“Sure,” Xing Panpan immediately agreed, “I’ll send them to you.”

—-

After responding, Chi Xiting went to his perfect workstation, slowly placed his backpack down, and started wiping the desk. After cleaning the desk, he wiped the computer and keyboard. Only after cleaning everything did he leisurely turn on the computer.

By the time he finished dawdling, it was almost ten o’clock.

Great, just an hour and a half until lunch break.

Chi Xiting stared at the computer screen for a while before whimsically changing his wallpaper. He went through several options before settling on one.

A Buddha of Indifference.

It even had large characters printed on it.

“No worries, the Buddha will bless me when necessary.”

Very fitting for his current state of mind.

After changing the wallpaper, Chi Xiting began reviewing the materials Xing Panpan had given him.

The materials were printed in a booklet, neat and well-organized.

Chi Xiting skimmed through it, finding mostly the company’s regulations and history.

Chu Corporation was founded by Chu Yu’s grandfather, initially venturing into the financial sector. It coincided with the rapid development of the finance industry, and with his grandfather’s excellent business acumen, Chu Corporation quickly became one of the leading enterprises in the country.

However, Chu Yu’s grandfather had aged and gradually stepped back from company affairs in recent years, slowly retreating from the management.

The current scale and business scope of Chu Corporation were all thanks to Chu Yu.

Chi Xiting had only intended to pass the time but found himself genuinely absorbing the information, gaining a good understanding of Chu Corporation’s history and…

A lot of respect for Chu Yu.

Under Chu Yu’s management, Chu Corporation had flourished, excelling in both business operations and management.

No wonder Chu Corporation attracted so many people.

Their salary levels and benefits were among the best in the industry.

Chi Xiting silently pursed his lips, sincerely apologizing for his past prejudices.

Who said internships only paid 3000 a month?

The salary at Chu’s company is really attractive; who wouldn’t be tempted by it?

Chi Xiting, who initially just planned to go through the motions at Chu’s, began to waver.

Who could resist the temptation of a high salary?

Even if we take a step back, Chu’s is one of the few large companies that is relatively formal.

Chi Xiting wasn’t sure how things worked in the world of paper, but in his original world, the job market could only be described as a wasteland.

A company like Chu’s, with its regular hours—9 to 5, weekends off, and high pay—was a desirable company in any world.

Although this should be a standard expectation for any company…

Chi Xiting, lost in thought, quickly skimmed through all the documents and then opened WeChat to glance at it.

There weren’t many people in his WeChat contacts, mostly college classmates and relatives. Since he had started working, he felt it was no longer appropriate to use this account.

At work, you go for the paycheck, but once off the clock, you need peace and quiet.

Once he got home, no one should be able to reach him.

Chi Xiting quickly created a new account, gave it a random name, and carefully selected a profile picture. There wasn’t anything special about it, but it needed to be lucky.

After briefly admiring his new work account, Chi Xiting added Xing Panpan on WeChat.

—-

The morning passed quickly.

Perhaps because Chi Xiting’s desk was in a corner and Xing Panpan was busy, after handing over the documents, she didn’t pay attention to him again.

Chi Xiting was content with the peace and spent the morning playing several rounds of Plants vs. Zombies at his desk.

The work atmosphere at Chu’s was harmonious and quiet. Everyone was focused on their tasks, and with the busy workload, there was hardly any conversation. Aside from the sound of typing, the office was silent.

It wasn’t until lunchtime that the office became a bit noisier.

“Yanyang, let’s go eat,” a girl stood up and called to the girl at the opposite desk.

“Just a second,” Li Yang, focused on her computer, replied without looking up. “I’m finishing up something.”

Li Xin nodded and curiously peered at the screen. “Is this the project that Brother Dong is handling? Did he give it to you?”

Li Yang nodded and, after finishing her last task, stood up. Her fluffy ponytail swayed as she turned to Li Xin, smiling. “Let’s go, I’m starving.”

Li Xin looked at Li Yang’s computer again, her eyes showing a bit of envy.

Li Yang was one of the best interns. She attended one of the top two universities in the country, had excellent academic results, and demonstrated outstanding personal abilities. Just a few days after joining Chu’s, she was already involved in a project.

Although it was just a small project from an old employee, it was far ahead of the other interns who had just been doing menial tasks.

Moreover, Li Yang was beautiful and had a good personality. She had quickly made friends with both the other interns and the full-time employees, often eating and chatting with them.

In terms of social relationships, Li Yang was already far ahead of the others.

Li Yang didn’t mind and casually let Li Xin look at her screen. Glancing around the office, she asked, “Has Jia Jia and the others already gone for lunch?”

Li Xin nodded.

Li Yang didn’t ask further, but her eyes landed on Chi Xiting in the corner.

There was a trace of confusion in her eyes as she asked, “Hey, is that a new guy? I don’t think I’ve seen him before.”

“Ah?” Li Xin also looked up from Li Yang’s screen and followed her gaze. After seeing Chi Xiting’s face, she paused, and after a while, she said, “I don’t know, I don’t remember him.”

“Okay then.” Li Yang glanced at Chi Xiting a few more times, and after a few seconds of hesitation, she finally stood up and said eagerly, “I’ll go ask him.”

Li Xin: “…Wait, sis, you…”

Is she really this socially bold?

Chi Xiting, noticing the time, packed up and was about to head to the cafeteria when he saw a girl with a high ponytail walking toward him.

The girl was very pretty, tall and slender, with a bright smile. When she saw Chi Xiting looking at her, she paused briefly before walking over and softly asked, “Hi, hello.”

“Hello.” Chi Xiting glanced at Li Yang and then at Li Xin behind her, smiling and politely responding.

“I’m Li Yang, and this is Li Xin.” Li Yang introduced herself, then gestured to Li Xin. “Are you also an intern? I didn’t see you here the other day.”

Chi Xiting had already explained this several times, so he smoothly explained the situation to Li Yang in just a few sentences.

“Oh, I see. No wonder.” Li Yang tapped her chin thoughtfully, then glanced at the time and invited him, “You haven’t eaten yet, right? How about we go together?”

Chi Xiting had just started at the company, so he wasn’t sure where to eat.

Li Yang wasn’t wrong about that.

Chi Xiting thought for a moment before agreeing.

The three of them went to the cafeteria for lunch.

The cafeteria at Chu’s was large, with two floors. It was clean, bright, and spacious, with neatly arranged tables and chairs. The first floor offered Chinese cuisine, with dishes from various provinces in China, while the second floor featured international food like Western, Korean, and Japanese dishes. The cafeteria staff were generous with portions, smiling and ensuring that employees didn’t go hungry, even serving extra scoops on the side.

Chi Xiting, looking at his bowl filled with food, couldn’t help but chuckle as he adjusted it with his chopsticks.

Chu’s company was very generous with employee meals—free breakfast, lunch, and dinner, three afternoon teas a week, and a 50-yuan meal allowance for overtime.

No wonder every employee who worked at Chu’s gained 10 pounds a year.

Li Yang was very lively, and during lunch, she didn’t stop talking. She shared stories about her school and work.

“That’s your busy work,” Li Xin said, biting her chopsticks. “The rest of us don’t have that much to do. We just do some registration and fill out forms. It’s so boring.”

—–

Their department has the most interns, and the work is relatively professional, so the senior employees don’t dare give them projects. Instead, they are temporarily assigned some miscellaneous tasks, which have been going on for almost a week.

Except for Li Yang from their group and Huo Youshen from the neighboring group, the others still seem like newcomers to the company, completely unfamiliar with both the business and the people. At this rate, it seems like only the two of them will be guaranteed a permanent position.

Chi Xiting paused for a moment while picking up some food, then looked up at Li Xin.

Li Xin looked delicate, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, and her hair was neatly tied up in a bun, giving her a very standard “good girl” appearance. However, her lips were slightly pressed in dissatisfaction, and her eyes under the glasses revealed a sense of defiance and a desire to win.

Still young, full of energy.

Chi Xiting looked at her for a moment before looking away.

Indeed, competition doesn’t distinguish “worlds.”

The working people in this world are still heavily competitive competing for grades in childhood, either consciously or unconsciously competing with classmates, and now that they’ve grown up and started working, they have to compete with colleagues for performance and salary.

It’s the life of Chinese people, constantly being pushed and pushing themselves.

Li Yang also keenly sensed the imbalance in Li Xin’s tone but didn’t mind. After a slight pursing of her lips, she smiled and said, “How could that be? I heard Manager Shen is coming back from a business trip soon, and then he’ll definitely assign us tasks. Don’t worry.”

Li Xin looked up at Li Yang, her eyes lighting up. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Li Yang smiled. “Dong Ge said so.”

Manager Shen had been away for a long time, and the market department was leaderless. Coincidentally, it coincided with the peak period for business, and all the important big projects. The senior employees didn’t dare to let the interns, who knew nothing, handle them.

Once Manager Shen returns, everything will be different.

No matter what happens, Manager Shen will be there to cover for them.

Hearing Manager Shen’s name again piqued Chi Xiting’s curiosity.

He’s so capable and has a good relationship with the “big antagonist” Chu Yu. Why isn’t he mentioned much in the story? Even his name hasn’t come up often.

It’s strange.

Chi Xiting finished the last bite of his food, nodded to Li Yang and Li Xin, and then went downstairs to get some fresh air.

There are many coffee shops downstairs from Chu’s.

Chi Xiting randomly entered one, bought an Americano, found a seat, took a sip, and frowned. Surprised, he lifted the cup and looked at it, then silently put it down.

Then, he genuinely sighed at how bad the coffee was.

When Fu Ning called via video, Chi Xiting had just barely tasted the coffee.

“Where are you?” Fu Ning observed the background around Chi Xiting and could tell it didn’t look like an office. “How’s your day going? Are you alright?”

Chi Xiting bit the straw, his words a little unclear.

“Downstairs at the company…”

“It’s fine so far. The company environment is good, the colleagues are nice, the food is good, and the boss is not here, so I’ve been happily slacking off all morning.” Chi Xiting honestly shared everything.

But it’s only for now.

From Chi Xiting’s experience and his observations throughout the morning…

“Competition” and “busyness” would soon become the main themes at Chu’s.

Fu Ning scratched his chin, observing for two seconds. Chi Xiting said everything seemed good, but his tone was flat, his face expressionless. He looked like a withered eggplant.

“Really? Then why do you look like you’ve lost your smile?” Fu Ning asked, confused.

Chi Xiting paused, then after a long silence, he responded softly, “What’s funny about working like a mule in the company?”

Fu Ning opened his mouth, realizing he couldn’t refute it. He turned his head, thinking about his own situation. A wave of desolation washed over him, and he added, “So what’s funny about being a servant in the palace?”

Running between departments every day, either playing a minor role or being cannon fodder, he had already played a eunuch in three drama sets over the past few days… If this continues, he might even become a permanent eunuch.

The two exchanged a silent glance, and everything was understood without a word.

Just as Chu Yu, who had gone downstairs to buy coffee, walked by: “…”