Chapter 14

Zhou Shan sat back down, feeling a bit awkward as she shifted in her seat, pretending to adjust her sitting posture. After a few movements, she glanced at Chu Yu, then directly turned her attention to Chi Xiting, who was standing up.

Zhou Shan raised her eyebrows.

Hmm?

Him again?

As the head of the CEO’s office, Zhou Shan’s responsibilities were directly related to Chu Yu’s work. Interns were generally outside her purview, and she wouldn’t spend much time learning about them. It was rare for her to even look at an intern’s resume.

But she couldn’t ignore the strong presence Chi Xiting had recently shown.

Hearing his name, Chi Xiting calmly stood up, carrying his laptop, and walked toward the meeting table with a composed and natural demeanor, unaffected by the gazes of those around him.

Xing Panpan leaned forward, seemingly wanting to help, but before she could stand, Chi Xiting smiled at her and slightly shook his head.

Xing Panpan hesitated for two seconds, then sat back down.

Chi Xiting had previously observed how the smart electronic screen worked, so when it was his turn, he easily operated it and projected his PPT onto the screen in no time.

—-

“Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Chi Xiting,” he said as he stood to the side, his eyes scanning the screen before naturally facing the crowd. His tone was calm as he continued, “Next, I will briefly explain my current work situation.”

“One of the projects I’m handling is the anniversary event planning for ZhiDa Commercial Center. Here is a simple outline of the event…”

Chi Xiting looked at the screen, confidently and concisely presenting the event outline to the audience. He then discussed the layout of various segments, the online and offline promotion plans for the event, potential issues, and solutions, even covering supplier selection and cross-industry cooperation.

Since this was just a work report, not a project planning presentation, Chi Xiting didn’t go into too much detail. After explaining his planning approach, he moved on to the next section.

The current challenges and future prospects.

These were just standard phrases.

After briefly going through the standard talk, Chi Xiting finished his report.

“Panpan, is this one of your interns?” a colleague sitting next to Xing Panpan asked in a low voice.

Xing Panpan nodded, and her gaze toward Chi Xiting now carried a hint of surprise and admiration.

“Did you teach him all this?” the colleague asked again. “But his planning approach seems a bit different from your usual style.”

“No,” Xing Panpan smiled. “He did it on his own.”

The colleague’s expression visibly changed, and an exaggerated look of surprise appeared on their face. “Oh, this kid is good.”

The planning proposal had a unique personal touch.

It was thoughtful, innovative, and forward-looking.

Moreover, the intern had good mental fortitude.

Chu Yu’s eyes darkened slightly as he observed Chi Xiting, his fingers tapping intermittently on the armrest. His lips were pursed, and his gaze briefly passed over Chi Xiting’s face before resting on the planning outline on the electronic screen.

Chu Yu had looked over all the resumes of the marketing department’s interns.

It was no surprise that he had paid special attention to Chi Xiting’s resume.

Chi Xiting’s resume was painfully average among the dozens of others.

His grades were mediocre, even below average compared to students in the same field. He hadn’t participated in many activities or competitions during his school years, and his only certification was a Level 4 English proficiency.

The resume was clearly a template-based, “three-no” type—no distinct features, no special qualifications, and no impressive achievements.

Chu Yu lost interest after reading it.

However, when Chi Xiting mentioned a problem with the C City project over lunch, it piqued his interest. When he heard that the marketing department was having a meeting today and he happened to have time, he decided to sit in.

Chi Xiting’s performance was unexpected.

His actual performance was completely different from what his resume suggested, creating a striking sense of disconnection for Chu Yu.

Chu Yu’s gaze on Chi Xiting deepened.

Shen Zhizhe stroked his chin and kept his attention on the electronic screen. After reading the content several times, he said, “Go back two pages.”

Chi Xiting complied, projecting the part Shen Zhizhe wanted to see.

Shen Zhizhe didn’t have time to be shocked by Chi Xiting’s abilities. All of his focus was on the planning content itself.

It was a good proposal.

Logical, with reasonable and accurate data analysis. The planning direction was unique and thoroughly considered.

It was insightful.

And mature.

It didn’t seem like something an intern could produce.

After Shen Zhizhe finished reading, he turned to look at Chi Xiting. A slight smile finally appeared on his face. After twirling his pen, he said, “Not bad.”

As soon as Shen Zhizhe finished speaking, all eyes in the room focused on Chi Xiting.

Shen Zhizhe’s praise wasn’t very common. When the work was done well, he wouldn’t hesitate to offer compliments, but considering his explosive attitude earlier today, hearing the word “not bad” from Shen Zhizhe felt like a big deal.

The interns fell silent, their eyes showing some surprise, confusion, and even reluctance.

If none of the interns had been noticed by the leadership, it wouldn’t have mattered. But the fact that someone had been singled out and even received praise as the only one stood out.

In such a situation, even those with thick skin would feel a little sour.

Did Chi Xiting perform well?

Yes, he did.

But from their perspective, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly special about it. He simply had the luck to take over a project from his mentor.

It wasn’t even certain that the planning document was written by him.

So why was he the one praised?

And to top it off, Chu Yu was there.

Would they have gotten the same attention and praise if they had gone up to present?

Most of the interns had been the center of attention their whole lives, excelling in academics and other skills, often believing that their abilities couldn’t possibly be inferior to Chi Xiting’s.

It was just that… they didn’t have that opportunity.

“Well, it’s okay. Did Manager Shen lower his standards for interns?” a male intern muttered quietly.

Huo Youshen frowned, glanced at the talkative intern beside him, and coldly snorted, “Did you write better than him?”

The intern grumbled, “I’m sure my work isn’t worse than his.”

Huo Youshen smirked. “Then apply to present, maybe Manager Shen will praise you for your enthusiasm.”

The intern was stumped and fell silent.

Shen Zhizhe wasn’t interested in the inner workings of the interns’ minds. His attention was caught by the plan Chi Xiting wrote. After tapping the table twice, he looked at the time and said, “Let’s end the meeting here.”

As soon as Shen Zhizhe finished speaking, the room erupted in a flurry of activity, as everyone’s tense nerves instantly relaxed.

“Chi Xiting,” Shen Zhizhe called, looking at Chi Xiting. “Later, bring me the project plan to review.”

The room quieted down again.

Chi Xiting didn’t have any special reaction. He just thought that this was a normal request from a leader—if he wanted to see it, then let him see it.

“Okay,” Chi Xiting replied.

—-

At 3:00 PM, the meeting officially ended.

Chu Yu didn’t stay for long and left the 27th floor after the meeting concluded.

Shen Zhizhe also returned to his office early.

The assistant kept a few employees behind to help clean up the meeting room, while the rest went back to their workstations.

The office, which had been dull and lifeless, slowly gained a bit of energy after the meeting ended. The hallway was filled with chatty gossip.

Chi Xiting was about to head back to his office when Li Yang called out to him.

“Xiting,” Li Yang quickly caught up, looking up at Chi Xiting with bright eyes. He spoke humbly, “Did you listen to my report just now?”

Chi Xiting slowed his pace slightly. “Yes, I did.”

“Can I send you my plan later? I feel like there’s something wrong with it, but… I really can’t figure out what the issue is,” Li Yang said, shrugging helplessly.

Looking at a planning document wasn’t a big deal.

Anyway, he had nothing better to do.

Chi Xiting nodded, about to agree, when he sharply heard some gossip from nearby.

“Which team is Chi Xiting from?”

“Team C, I think. I saw him sitting with Li Yang.”

“Never heard of him before. Which school is he from? Did he go to the same university as Li Yang?”

Wu Muliang sneered with some sarcasm and disdain, “Who knows what kind of second-rate university he came from? I’ve never heard of his name at B University.”

Wu Muliang and Li Yang were schoolmates, but they were from different majors and didn’t have much interaction, only knowing each other’s names.

Another male intern gleefully added, “Haha, I heard he’s from a regular first-tier university. Don’t know what kind of luck he had to get into Chu’s.”

“It’s not luck, he must have used some special means to get in,” Wu Muliang crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. He bitterly remarked, “Otherwise, why would Manager Shen treat him so well?”

Wu Muliang had been harshly scolded by Shen Zhizhe earlier. Why was Chi Xiting getting praised?

Was Chi Xiting’s education better than his? Was his school better? Was he more capable?

A joke.

It was all because of connections.

Li Yang frowned at this, about to step forward to argue on Chi Xiting’s behalf, but just as he moved, Chi Xiting stopped him.

“Their sourness is obvious. Ridiculous, what kind of people are they?” Li Yang cursed.

Chi Xiting didn’t mind and casually said, “It’s their mouths, let them say what they want.”

Considering his age from the previous life, Chi Xiting should have been six or seven years older than them. Hearing their private discussions felt like watching children play.

They were adults, but they still loved to fight with their mouths…

They were still too young. After a few more years of work, they’d calm down.

Just as Li Yang was about to say something, his words were interrupted by Fang Ben.

“Xiting!” Fang Ben called from a distance, waving when he saw Chi Xiting looking at him. “Manager Shen wants to see you. Go to his office.”