On Monday,  

Wen Yi headed to her new position, while Qin Nanshan went back to school. They rarely left together, but today, like in summer, Wen Yi leaned in to smell the scent on his body. As expected, he had just showered.  

Some were still dreaming in bed, while others were already having a fulfilling, wonderful morning. Wen Yi encouraged him, “You need to exercise well, or when our daughter is in her teens, you’ll be the one with a big belly.”  

Qin Nanshan didn’t pay much attention, handing her the bag from the hallway, “I’m not sure if I’ll have time tonight. I’ll contact you later.”  

Wen Yi replied, “No need to contact me. I’m having dinner with some new colleagues. You handle your own things.”  

“Alright.”  

They parted ways after they went downstairs.  

In just a few days, Wen Yi had already adjusted. Every change wasn’t a fall off a cliff, but a new starting point to climb upward. If she didn’t have the courage to make bold moves, she wouldn’t be able to create new opportunities.  

The past few days of learning had made her stop underestimating any department. She now felt the weight of the pressure and the challenges before her.  

The HR department held a small welcome ceremony for her, with over twenty people attending. Shanghai was the headquarters of Newan, and the COE and SSC were located there. The other R&D production bases and regional business centers had HRBPs assigned, but Wen Yi’s abilities weren’t enough to take on more, so she was only coordinating the business BP work for Shanghai.  

After the ceremony, HR Director Lily specifically held a meeting to introduce her to the overall HR operations. Lily, of course, had heard about Wen Yi’s excellent work in the marketing department. Work capability was the most important skill in the workplace, and Wen Yi’s capabilities were well reflected in her performance reports each year. With over ten years of HR experience, Lily wholeheartedly welcomed Wen Yi’s addition.  

But Lily had her own agenda—she wanted to personally guide her into the new role.  

However, she clearly underestimated Wen Yi.  

Having worked at Newan for six years, Wen Yi was a mid-level manager, so she was familiar with the HR structure. But when she was able to accurately explain the meaning of every abbreviation, the work arrangements of each department, and the responsibilities she would take over, Lily immediately realized this person was too valuable to be placed here.  

The meeting lasted only half an hour before Lily asked to speak with her privately.  

Wen Yi sat on the guest sofa, her posture upright and graceful, with the unique elegance of a Jiangnan girl. Her silk shirt was loose, and her abdomen was visibly slightly protruding.  

In a previous informal gathering, senior members from the business department had expressed regret over her pregnancy and marriage, but Lily, who had worked in HR for years, believed that a woman who had given birth was actually at a key moment in her career growth.  

In the pharmaceutical industry, headhunters were always on the lookout for mid-level professionals. When Mr. Li discussed her transfer, he was actually prepared for her to leave. But since Wen Yi stayed, Lily looked at her with a new level of respect.  

She now had to find a way to keep her. After considering for a moment, Lily smiled and asked, “How many weeks pregnant are you?”  

This was the first time someone had asked her how many weeks pregnant she was since announcing her pregnancy. Wen Yi relaxed a bit and replied, “Seventeen weeks.”  

“That’s fairly stable.” Lily calculated and added, “So your due date is in July?”  

“Yes.”  

Lily smiled, “What a coincidence. My daughter was also born in July.”  

Wen Yi responded with joy, “Really? How old is your baby now?”  

“She just started elementary school, and she’s quite the handful.”  

“A girl is great. I’d love to have a girl too.”  

The two of them warmed up to each other.  

Then Lily shifted the conversation to business, “Wen Yi, I understand your situation, but coming here marks the beginning of a new chapter in your career.”  

“In recent years, the economy has been changing rapidly, and I’m sure you’ve felt that firsthand. Newan is undergoing a fast transformation, with new departments launched and upcoming organizational adjustments. Human capital needs to be realigned, especially for mid- to senior-level leadership. Therefore, nurturing leaders with diverse backgrounds and experiences is a key focus.”  

“Wen Yi, do you understand what I mean?”  

Lily, being an HR expert, spoke both truthfully and optimistically. Wen Yi only understood part of it, so she replied, “I understand, Lily. I’m prepared to fully dedicate myself to my work here. As a newcomer to HR, I hope you will guide me.”  

“Of course.”  

After leaving the office, Jiang Yu approached her new desk. “What did Lily talk to you about for so long?”  

Jiang Yu was about the same age as Wen Yi and was the head of the recruitment team. He often found her when he couldn’t find a mid-level manager for the young sales reps. Wen Yi was easy to talk to, and she had helped him a lot. Now it was his turn to help her, providing her with all the internal learning materials.  

Jiang Yu was straightforward, like a big kid. Wen Yi joked, “If you want to know, you can ask Lily yourself.”  

“Don’t get cocky. You’ll regret it. You think being a BP is easy?”  

Wen Yi had previously worked in business, and being an HRBP was somewhat like being on the client side of a contract. She was the client now, and she had to take care of all four districts in Shanghai. It was definitely not an easy job.  

She humbly said, “Please be merciful, Manager Jiang. Help us recruit some talent for more districts.”  

“No problem, dinner’s on me tonight.”  

“Please, please.”  

After getting his promise, Jiang Yu grinned, “By the way, I forgot to tell you, BPs also need to be involved in recruitment work. Let me arrange it for

 you.”  

“…Tonight, Manager Jiang sits at a separate table.”  

“Ah, Manager Wen, you’re too polite.”  

“Go away.”  

Jiang Yu: “Pregnant women need to stay calm and avoid being irritable.”  

Wen Yi used her folder to make a playful hitting gesture, and Jiang Yu dodged as he left.  

On her first day in her new role, Wen Yi barely had a chance to drink water. In the morning, there was a big meeting, and in the afternoon, she had small meetings with the four district BPs. One of them, Zhang Xiaolan from the East District, was familiar to her and had helped a lot.  

Wen Yi deeply felt that, in both society and the workplace, having more friends meant more opportunities. Without Jiang Yu and Zhang Xiaolan, she would have been devoured in HR, all alone.  

She had told Qin Nanshan in advance that she would be treating her colleagues to dinner, but he still messaged her, asking if she was done with work and where they were going to eat.

Wen Yi looked at the message and couldn’t help but smile with a click of her tongue. Professor Qin had really changed; he was becoming more caring.  

She replied: [Getting ready, heading to Longwan Pavilion. Not drinking, I can go back on my own.]  

Feeling that their conversation was a bit dry, she searched for a cute “Don’t wait for me” dog sticker and sent it over.  

But the two messages sank like stones into the sea, and it wasn’t until she was leaving work that she received a cold one-word reply: [Okay.]  

The moment Wen Yi saw the message, she immediately retracted her previous judgment, threw it into the shredder, and crushed it! What was there to change? Nothing had changed at all!  

…