Chapter 8

What exactly happened inside?

This question almost simultaneously surfaced in everyone’s minds.

The security guards who had come up were still a bit confused: “Who’s causing trouble, him?”

It took Sun Kecheng a long moment to react before he hurriedly said, “Ah no, it seems there isn’t any trouble now.”

The security guards immediately gave him a look that said, “Are you kidding me?”

Sun Kecheng coughed awkwardly and quickly apologized, throwing a meaningful glance at the stunned Ye Xiang beside him.

Ye Xiang immediately understood and stepped forward to apologize to the security guards with kind words, soothing them before finally managing to escort them out of the company.

Sun Kecheng, however, didn’t have time to worry about others and immediately entered the conference room.

Lin Koukou and Yuan Zengxi were still sitting across from each other.

But unlike when they had first stepped out, the look of surprise, confusion, and even unease on Yuan Zengxi’s face after being chosen had completely transformed into another intense emotion. At this moment, his eyes were filled with nothing but sheer astonishment as he stared at Lin Koukou sitting opposite him, as if gazing at a deity.

Clearly, it wasn’t Yuan Zengxi who had handled Wang Liang—it was Lin Koukou.

At this moment, for some reason, Pei Shu’s earlier words, spoken with a faint smile, echoed in Sun Kecheng’s mind: “Don’t be angry. Lin Koukou does have some skills. What if she pulls it off?”

No, not “what if.”

Pei Shu probably never considered this a challenge for Lin Koukou in the first place. If he had, then Lin Koukou wouldn’t have been worthy of being his rival for so many years.

Sun Kecheng suddenly felt a sense of frustration—what kind of monsters were these two? After staring for a while, he dryly asked, “Consultant Lin, are you okay?”

Yuan Zengxi was still immersed in the brilliant exchange from earlier, unable to snap out of it.

Lin Koukou, however, acted as if nothing had happened, turning to him with a smile. “I’m fine.”

Seeing her like this, Sun Kecheng was momentarily at a loss for words. “Then, about that Wang Liang just now…”

Lin Koukou glanced outside—Wang Liang had already left by now.

Pei Shu, on the other hand, was leaning casually against the conference room door, holding a cup of coffee, watching her with amused interest.

Still as irritating as ever.

She withdrew her gaze and suddenly asked Sun Kecheng, “Is there any other Headhunter in the company currently working on the Jiang Shangbai Liquor case?”

Sun Kecheng instinctively looked at Pei Shu.

Pei Shu raised an eyebrow. “No. Are you interested?”

Lin Koukou said, “I’ll take this case.”

Sun Kecheng was puzzled. “But isn’t this a Dead deal?”

“There’s no such thing as an unworkable Dead deal—only deadbeat Headhunters who can’t close deals.” The corner of her lips curled as she looked at Pei Shu. “Isn’t that right, Consultant Pei?”

For some reason, Sun Kecheng felt a chill—who exactly was she calling a deadbeat?

Pei Shu, however, remained unruffled.

He even smiled slightly. “Consultant Lin is very confident.”

Lin Koukou stood up from her seat and said, “I wouldn’t dare.” As she walked past him, she paused, looking up at him. “My confidence in myself still pales in comparison to your confidence in me, doesn’t it?”

Pei Shu was tall, standing at 1.8 meters with a slender build.

Lin Koukou, at 1.7 meters in heels, wasn’t much shorter.

Standing face-to-face at the doorway, neither yielded an inch in presence. When their eyes met, the tension between them was palpable.

Pei Shu pretended not to understand. “Is that so?”

Lin Koukou said, “Giving directions specifically to troublemakers, making sure they find the right place—doesn’t that show great confidence in my problem-solving abilities?”  

She hadn’t witnessed it firsthand, but she could easily guess.  

Normally, when encountering someone like Wang Liang causing trouble, the first instinct would be to call security or even the police. Only someone like Pei Shu, who relished her misfortune, would dare to slyly point the way.  

Besides, he had ample motive.  

Pei Shu remained utterly composed. “After all, Consultant Lin has been out of the industry for a year. Everyone’s curious how much of her skills remain. I’m just giving her a chance to prove herself.”  

Lin Koukou replied, “How very considerate of you.”  

A hint of mockery flickered in her eyes as she tilted her head slightly, bringing her lips close to Pei Shu’s ear. “So, to live up to Consultant Pei’s thoughtful intentions, I specifically picked this ‘dead deal’ you judged. I’m sure you won’t mind me proving myself, right?”  

Her voice was deliberately low, carrying a husky undertone.  

Pei Shu felt his ear twitch involuntarily.  

His pupils constricted instantly, and when he lowered his gaze slightly, he met Lin Koukou’s utterly calm, unreadable eyes. For a fleeting moment, his heart skipped a beat.  

But then, she withdrew.  

After uttering those words meant only for his ears, she left the conference room as if nothing had happened, even cheerfully asking Sun Kecheng, “Do I have my own office?”  

Sun Kecheng snapped out of his daze. “Yes, of course. Let me show you.”  

Crossroads occupied an entire floor.  

For a small company of just over twenty people, it was almost excessively “lavish,” leaving plenty of unused space. There was a spacious pantry, a fitness room, a reception area, and an abundance of meeting rooms—each labeled with a number, likely reserved for candidate interviews.  

Lin Koukou’s office was on the left side of the hallway.  

Sun Kecheng explained, “We had it prepared last weekend after finalizing the agreement. It’s designed to match Consultant Pei’s office specifications, though the finishing touches aren’t complete yet. After the May Day holiday, it should be ready. For now, it’s a bit sparse, so you might have to make do for a few days.”  

On her first visit, Lin Koukou had noticed that Crossroads used a lot of glass in its design, resembling some American law firms—open and transparent, allowing people in the hallway to see inside the offices—  

Unless the blinds were drawn.  

She glanced around her soon-to-be office before turning her gaze to the one directly across the hallway.  

Sun Kecheng suddenly grew uneasy and coughed awkwardly. “That’s, uh…”  

She didn’t need him to say it. She already knew.  

Because the esteemed Pei had strolled over and pushed open the door to that very office.  

Lin Koukou withdrew her gaze and asked a question she’d been pondering for a while. “Director Sun, aren’t you worried we might end up brawling one day with this office arrangement?”  

“No need for formalities—just call me ‘Old Sun’ if you don’t mind,” Sun Kecheng quickly corrected her, then chuckled. “Don’t worry, Consultant Pei is a gentleman. There won’t be any brawling.”  

A gentleman?  

Lin Koukou’s eye twitched. She hadn’t seen any sign of that.

She said, “I’ve always been curious. Didn’t Consultant Pei say at the beginning that it was either me or him? Now that I’m here, he actually has no objections?”

Sun Kecheng had already asked Pei Shu about this.

With Pei Shu’s temperament, who could expect a proper answer?

But still…

Sun Kecheng glanced through the glass at the office across the way, shook his head, and snorted lightly. “With that sharp tongue of his, he’s made enemies everywhere. No one’s better at verbal sparring than him!”

Lin Koukou: “…”

She suddenly found it all quite surreal.

No matter how you looked at it, she was now working at the same company as her former archrival. Who could have imagined this a few years ago?

Sun Kecheng chatted with her a bit more, mentioning that he had booked a restaurant for dinner to welcome her, then left with a smile.

Lin Koukou walked around the office before finally stopping in front of the expansive floor-to-ceiling window.

The bustling Lujiazui district stretched out below her.

The murky waters of the Huangpu River rushed past to the west.

This was the heart of Shanghai.

Standing high above, looking down, she could almost feel the city’s pulsating rhythm—just like the warm blood coursing through her own veins.

The tranquil life in the mountain temple had been peaceful, free from worldly strife.

But Lin Koukou realized that what she truly craved was this cutthroat city, where battles were fought to the death.

After tidying up her office and arranging things to her usual preference, Lin Koukou joined Sun Kecheng and Pei Shu for a simple lunch downstairs. In the afternoon, she requested the files for Jiang Shangbai’s case and began studying them.

News that she had taken on this dead deal had already spread throughout the company by morning.

Even Meng Zhixing, who had always harbored doubts about her, and Ye Xiang, who idolized her, thought Lin Koukou’s decision was reckless.

The Jiang Shangbai Distillery case was worth 3 million, with a headhunting fee of 900,000 upon success.

While not the highest at Crossroads, it was still substantial.

Both the first and second teams of Headhunting Consultants had looked into this case, but after reviewing it, they had all chosen to pass. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been handed over to the greenhorns in the new talent pool for practice.

It was clear just how challenging this case was.

“First, she picks Yuan Zengxi, then takes on a dead deal. Am I just out of touch, or is this strategy bizarre?”

“They say Lin Koukou loves an unorthodox approach. Now I see what they mean…”

“Care to make a bet?”

“She won’t pull it off.”

“A starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Lin Koukou is on the same level as Brother Pei, after all. She wouldn’t dare make such a bold move right after arriving unless she had some confidence, right?”

…

At five o’clock, when Sun Kecheng came to fetch Lin Koukou after work, he gave her a mysterious look and whispered, “Just between us, the idle folks from the first and second teams started a betting pool in the group chat, wagering on whether you can close this deal.”

Lin Koukou was momentarily speechless.

Sun Kecheng asked, “Aren’t you angry?”

Lin Koukou replied, “I was originally from Direction, and now I’ve just landed at Crossroads. I’m an outsider parachuted in, and I’m facing Consultant Pei’s team. A little skepticism is only natural. Why should I be angry?”

She had endured far worse at Direction.

This at Crossroads didn’t even qualify as “anger-worthy.”

With a smile, she gathered the Jiang Shangbai case files from her desk and asked, “Are we heading out for dinner now?”

“Yes, I’ve got my car. I’ll drive us.”

Sun Kecheng jingled the car keys in his hand.  

But what caught Lin Koukou’s attention were the words “you all” in his statement. Her brow lifted slightly, and as she stepped out of the office, she looked up—sure enough, Pei Shu was already waiting outside. His well-tailored suit was draped with a long black overcoat, accentuating his tall, slender frame. Bathed in the slanting sunlight from the floor-to-ceiling windows, he exuded a striking aura of composed, icy stillness.