Chapter 15

The gossip in the hallway quieted down.

Wu Mu Liang and the other male intern stopped talking. They had likely realized that Chi Xiting had been behind them and had probably overheard their conversation.

Talking behind someone’s back is never a glamorous thing to do.

Wu Mu Liang suppressed the urge to turn around and look, reached out to tug at the boy’s sleeve, and the two quickened their pace to enter the office.

Li Yang saw this and said to Chi Xiting, “I’ll head back first. I’ll send you the proposal later. Sorry to trouble you.”

Chi Xiting responded, “It’s fine, you go ahead.”

Li Yang nodded with a smile and turned into the office after a few steps.

Fang Ben was still waiting for Chi Xiting not far away. When he saw Chi Xiting approaching, he smiled and bumped his shoulder, saying, “Hey, you little guy, hiding your skills, you’re this capable?”

Chi Xiting smiled, “Not really.”

To Chi Xiting, it was really just a simple, nothing-special shopping mall event plan. Isn’t it something anyone with hands could write?

It was just that the preliminary work needed a little more consideration.

Aside from that, it wasn’t particularly difficult.

“Alright, no need to be modest,” Fang Ben, not sparing his praise, kept complimenting Chi Xiting until he made him feel embarrassed.

“Alright, alright, I’ll walk you to the door.” Fang Ben patted Chi Xiting on the back, gently pushing him a step forward before continuing, “Manager Shen is waiting for you inside, grab the opportunity.”

Saying this, Fang Ben winked at Chi Xiting, signaling him to perform well.

Chi Xiting chuckled and nodded. After watching Fang Ben leave, he knocked on the manager’s office door.

Shen Zhizhe’s voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

At the sound, Chi Xiting pushed the door open, glanced at Shen Zhizhe, then closed the door behind him.

Shen Zhizhe was sitting at his desk, looking down at documents. He didn’t hurry to look up when Chi Xiting came in, simply saying, “Sit,” before continuing to finish reading the document.

Chi Xiting didn’t mind, he just found a seat in the office and sat down.

Shen Zhizhe’s office was large and full of various things. Directly facing Chi Xiting was an entire wall of filing cabinets filled neatly with folders. Next to the folders was a display case showcasing several trophies.

“The plan you made is quite interesting,” Shen Zhizhe said after signing the document and putting the folder aside. He looked up at Chi Xiting and asked, “But why didn’t you expand on the design of the venue at the end?”

Chi Xiting answered slowly, “For the aesthetic design, I need to consider whether it will be a long-term themed design or a short-term one. After this anniversary celebration, Women’s Day is coming up, which is another factor that needs consideration.”

“Also, regarding the budget,” Chi Xiting continued with his usual calm tone, his eyelashes lowering as though still thinking. “Of course, the design with a larger budget will be different from one with a smaller budget. This has to be well coordinated with other departments…”

Shen Zhizhe grew increasingly fond of Chi Xiting. After listening to him, his mood, which hadn’t been very good, lightened. He rested his chin on his hand, watching Chi Xiting, fully focused on listening to the project plan.

Chi Xiting’s voice was pleasant, soft, and clear, with just a slight trace of swallowing some words. However, his speaking logic was very clear, and it was very comfortable to listen to.

If all his employees thought so logically, that would be great.

He really had found a gem.

—-

After listening, Shen Zhizhe smiled and said, “It’s a small project, so the budget probably won’t be much. Let’s leave it at that for now. Just send me the proposal later.”

Chi Xiting looked at Shen Zhizhe’s smile and felt a little uneasy.

It was strange.

Why was he smiling like that?

After Shen Zhizhe spoke, he didn’t say anything else, continuing to smile while staring at Chi Xiting, making Chi Xiting feel uncomfortable.

“Manager Shen,” Chi Xiting couldn’t stand it any longer and said politely, “Please stop smiling, it’s making me nervous.”

Shen Zhizhe: “…”

“By the way,” Shen Zhizhe, complying with Chi Xiting’s request, stopped smiling and waved for him to come over. “I mentioned a project to you last time, didn’t I?”

Chi Xiting paused slightly as he stood up, his eyelids twitching sharply.

Oh no.

It seemed like something bad was about to happen.

Chi Xiting reluctantly walked over to Shen Zhizhe.

Shen Zhizhe was generous, directly opening the folder on the desk, standing up, and asking Chi Xiting to sit down and look at it.

Chi Xiting considered politely declining, but since Shen Zhizhe was so enthusiastic, he had no choice but to sit down on the manager’s chair.

“I went to City C earlier to handle things and paused the project. The people over there revised the plan and sent it over, here it is,” Shen Zhizhe casually pointed to the folder on the desk. After a moment, as if remembering something, he turned to take another document from the drawer, continuing, “This is the first version, take a look.”

Chi Xiting didn’t say anything and quietly looked at the document.

This version of the plan still had problems.

Chi Xiting pursed his lips and sighed inwardly. After briefly glancing through it, he picked up the first version and started reading it.

Shen Zhizhe leaned against the desk, initially staring at the papers, then seemingly bored, his gaze gradually shifted to Chi Xiting.

Chi Xiting was dressed simply, in a plain white shirt. The top button of his shirt wasn’t fastened, faintly revealing a small mole on the side of his neck. His eyelashes lowered, his thin eyelids slightly tinted with pink. He appeared fresh and clean, like a pristine white jasmine.

His appearance was truly striking.

Just looking at him was very pleasing.

“This version doesn’t work either,” Chi Xiting said, loosening his lips and looking up at Shen Zhizhe. “It needs to be revised again.”

Shen Zhizhe suddenly locked eyes with Chi Xiting, snapping back to attention. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he said, “Ah, I see…”

“Then where do you think the problem lies?” Shen Zhizhe asked, tapping his nose and letting his gaze wander before continuing.

After placing the document down, Chi Xiting thought for a moment before saying, “The promotional strategy is too mediocre and conservative. The market research was insufficient, and it didn’t focus on the real target audience for the new product. The online and offline promotional positioning was unclear, which led to poor results when it came time to implement the campaign.”

Shen Zhizhe, who had been somewhat distracted, gradually focused his attention. After Chi Xiting finished speaking, he nodded slightly.

The C city branch always had this issue—its plans were too conservative, often following the same template as past product promotion plans. They were structured and proper, but lacked innovation and uniqueness, which made them unable to keep up with the rapidly developing market trends.

However, the plan itself didn’t seem flawed. Whether it was the annual product planning, the selling points, or the sales forecast, the big picture was fine, which is why it was approved.

“You don’t have anything to do right now, do you?” Shen Zhizhe asked, testing.

Chi Xiting: “…”

Okay.

—–

The sky had fallen.

Chi Xiting had been thinking that since the second version of the plan had been released, someone might have already taken over the work, and Shen Zhizhe called him over just to look at the case.

But unexpectedly…

Chi Xiting was silent for a long time before replying, “I don’t think so.”

Shen Zhizhe snorted, “If there’s work, there’s work. If there isn’t, there isn’t. What do you mean ‘I don’t think so’?”

“…” Chi Xiting was honest, “No.”

“I’ve already sent this version back,” Shen Zhizhe raised an eyebrow and continued, “This project is quite urgent. It’s already been delayed two weeks because of them. I’m not very confident letting them redo it, so I want them to make another round of revisions.”

At least be prepared for both possibilities.

After today’s meeting, Shen Zhizhe had a better understanding of his employees’ work situations.

Those who had the ability didn’t have the time, and those with time weren’t very efficient.

After thinking it over, Shen Zhizhe made a bold decision.

He decided to have an intern do the work.

At first, he had planned to choose between Li Yang or Huo You Shen after reviewing their resumes, but after today’s meeting, Chi Xiting’s performance had impressed him more.

Smart, attentive, and adaptable.

He was keen on problems and showed great intuition.

He was the best person to handle this mess.

“Can you write a version of the plan for me in the meantime?” Shen Zhizhe, with great skill in language, threw a question at Chi Xiting.

Chi Xiting felt a chill run through him. He looked up at Shen Zhizhe and asked, “Can I say no?”

Shen Zhizhe rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looked down, and met Chi Xiting’s eyes, “You probably can’t.”

Chi Xiting: “…”

Fine.

Seeing Chi Xiting’s face turn as if he wanted to die, Shen Zhizhe laughed, poked Chi Xiting’s shoulder, and said, “Why does taking on a task make you feel so uncomfortable? You’re so young, why do you have no passion at work?”

He was so different from the other interns in his department.

Shen Zhizhe had been with Chu’s company for so many years and had seen a batch of fresh blood come in every year.

The biggest characteristic of this fresh blood was their youth and energy. Every day was filled with boundless vigor—if there was work, they’d do it; if not, they’d still do it.

“I can’t help it.” Chi Xiting stood up, his face wooden, and said, “If you want passion at work, that’s another price.”

How could he expect passion at work?

If it weren’t for the money, who would want to work?

Shen Zhizhe laughed. Seeing Chi Xiting stand up, he naturally sat back down, adjusted his chair, and then said to Chi Xiting, “Remember, I have high hopes for you, Xiao Chi.”

Chi Xiting: “…”

Thank you for the high hopes.

Please don’t have high hopes next time.

After returning to his seat, Chi Xiting’s mood became much heavier.

Sigh.

What else could he do?

Should he say he’s taking the money?

Chi Xiting comforted himself for a moment, then calmly accepted the task.

Not long after Chi Xiting sat down, Shen Zhizhe sent a friend request.

As soon as Chi Xiting accepted the friend request, Shen Zhizhe sent him a file.

[Shen Zhizhe]: This is the project plan. Remember to take a look.

Chi Xiting sighed and pressed a few keys on the keyboard.

Before two seconds had passed, Shen Zhizhe sent another message.

[Shen Zhizhe]: Also, remember to send me that event planning you did earlier.

Chi Xiting’s face remained expressionless.

Shen Zhizhe was relentless.

[Shen Zhizhe]: This project is a bit urgent. General Chu will be on a business trip next Monday, so it needs to be done before he leaves.

Chi Xiting’s fingers moved slightly.

[Shen Zhizhe]: Xiao Chi, could you maybe pay attention to your wording a bit? Don’t be so cold?

Chi Xiting paused for two seconds, then reminded himself, “This is the boss, don’t act crazy.” After a long while, he replied.

Chi Xiting: Okay (lowering tone 0.8x, super gentle version) (patting little head, mouth slightly upturned, tone affectionate, air full of sweetness~)

Chi Xiting: Are you satisfied now? Smile/

Shen Zhizhe: “…”