Chapter 21

Shen Zhizhe vaguely sensed Chi Xiting’s displeasure. Just as he was about to ask, his peripheral vision caught the clock on the wall, and in that instant, he had an epiphany. Feeling a little guilty, he averted his gaze and quickly moved on, ignoring the topic entirely and proceeding with the matter at hand.

“Do you remember the M City project?” Shen Zhizhe asked.

Chi Xiting was blunt: “No, I don’t.”

Shen Zhizhe: “…”

Why so much resentment from this kid?

Shen Zhizhe scratched his chin, looking at Chi Xiting, who seemed to want to say something but held back. For a moment, he genuinely didn’t know how to deal with this relatively rebellious kid.

His previous interns were not this cheeky.

None of them were disobedient, always following instructions without a problem. There was never a need for Shen Zhizhe to coax anyone into coming to work.

Shen Zhizhe wasn’t the type of leader who would coax people.

“Alright, if you don’t remember, forget it,” Shen Zhizhe sighed lightly and continued in a patient tone, “Let me tell you again.”

The M City project is a partnership project with a company that specializes in whole-house customization. The company is not large but has a long history and is considered a strong, well-established enterprise. However, due to the aging management team and lack of fresh blood, the company has gradually fallen behind and is now on the decline.

Under normal circumstances, the Chu family wouldn’t choose to cooperate with this type of company.

However, the product direction of this company is something Shen Zhizhe is interested in and plans to explore, so after much consideration, they decided to sign a cooperation agreement.

“Whole-house customization?” Pi Xiting was initially disinterested, half-listening to Shen Zhizhe, but when he heard the project, he became intrigued. “Is it part of the building materials industry?”

Shen Zhizhe nodded. “Yes, the building materials and home furnishing industry.”

Chi Xiting sat up slightly and thought for a moment.

Chu Yu is interested in the building materials industry?

The Chu family’s business scope is already very broad, covering almost all the popular and trending industries. Under Chu Yu’s leadership, the family has been thriving, excelling in various sectors, and many people at this stage would choose to stop and maintain their current scale rather than delve into a new industry.

It’s admirable to have the courage and determination to start fresh.

Chi Xiting couldn’t help but admire Chu Yu.

Shen Zhizhe glanced at Chi Xiting a few times, seeing that he was deep in thought. He guessed that Chi Xiting was interested, so he didn’t rush him to keep listening, instead propping his chin and watching Chi Xiting lost in thought.

“This project, is it the one you mentioned the last time we had dinner?” Chi Xiting asked, taking the initiative.

Shen Zhizhe raised his eyebrows. “Yes, do you remember?”

Chi Xiting nodded slightly.

“Initially, the market promotion plan was done by their company. They sent it over last week. After Mr. Chu reviewed it, he wasn’t particularly satisfied and wants us to do another one.” Shen Zhizhe spoke briefly. “Mr. Chu is going to M City next Monday, so he wants to bring someone from our marketing department along.”

Shen Zhizhe paused there.

Chi Xiting instantly understood.

Oh.

So, they picked him?

“I’m going?”Chi Xiting asked, surprised.

Shen Zhizhe shrugged. “Yes.”

Chi Xiting: “…”

Why him?

Who chose him? Shen Zhizhe or Chu Yu?

Chi Xiting racked his brain but couldn’t figure out why he was chosen. Was there no one else in the marketing department? That didn’t make sense; there were 12 interns, not to mention the full-time employees. With all of them together, there must be at least a hundred people, right?

Seeing Chi Xiting’s confused expression, Shen Zhizhe kindly reassured him, “It’s just a two- or three-day trip. It’s no big deal. There’s also a business trip allowance, and with Mr. Chu there, he’ll take care of everything—food, lodging, travel. You can think of it as a trip.”

Chi Xiting sharply caught the key phrase, “Business trip allowance?”

Shen Zhizhe nodded, showing Pi Xiting a figure with his fingers.

Chi Xiting fell silent.

That’s a tempting figure.

Shen Zhizhe saw that Chi Xiting was wavering and couldn’t help but smile. He encouraged him further, “Don’t worry too much. You’re just going there to understand the situation and the product information. The rest will be handled by Mr. Chu.”

“Although Mr. Chu is a bit cold, he’s a good person. Don’t be afraid of him.” Shen Zhizhe added a few more words. “If you encounter any work problems, just tell me directly.”

—–

After all, he was the manager of the marketing department.

He could still support his subordinates.

Chi Xiting hesitated for two seconds, then nodded.

Seeing Chi Xiting nod, Shen Zhizhe finally relaxed.

Although he didn’t understand why.

As a leader, he could have directly told Chi Xiting to go.

Shen Zhizhe twirled his pen, staring at Chi Xiting in confusion.

Why was he here, politely asking Chi Xiting to go?

“Alright.” After finishing his notification, Shen Zhizhe dismissed Chi Xiting. “Nothing else for now. You can go. By the way, since you’ll be going on a business trip, the C City project…”

Chi Xiting froze. His eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at Shen Zhizhe with anticipation.

Shen Zhizhe smiled and said, “Just hand it over to me early. It’s Tuesday today… Thursday is fine, right?”

Chi Xiting: “…”

Damn it.

The evil capitalists.

Chi Xiting’s face instantly lost color. He stood up with a wooden expression, too lazy to respond to Shen Zhizhe. He just turned and walked out.

Shen Zhizhe didn’t mind. He watched Pi Xiting’s back and suddenly called out to him.

Chi Xiting calmly reassured himself for a moment before turning to look at Shen Zhizhe.

Shen Zhizhe opened his mouth, wanting to tell Chi Xiting that it was Chu Yu who picked him. But after thinking twice, he realized that might add unnecessary pressure on Chi Xiting, so he swallowed his words and, after much hesitation, managed to get two words out under Chi Xiting’s confused gaze.

“Take care.”

Chi Xiting: “…?”

Chi Xiting sincerely asked, “Manager Shen, tell me the truth. Am I going on a business trip, or am I going to my doom?”

Take care?

Is the M in M City the M from Myanmar?

Shen Zhizhe’s lips twitched. He almost couldn’t suppress the smile forming at the corner of his mouth. He managed to hold it in and said with difficulty, “It’s a business trip, a business trip. Forget I said anything. Go, go.”

Chi Xiting gave Shen Zhizhe a deep look. Seeing no other subtle changes in his expression, he reluctantly turned and left, still uncertain.

Quite strange.

As soon as Chi Xiting stepped out of the manager’s office, he ran into Huo Youshen.

When Huo Youshen saw Chi Xiting, he frowned and glanced at Shen Zhizhe’s office. A flash of doubt quickly passed through his eyes.

Chi Xiting was also a bit surprised. He locked eyes with Huo Youshen for a moment before looking away, wondering whether he should say hello.

But they weren’t really that familiar.

Perhaps noticing Chi Xiting’s hesitation, Huo Youshen gave him a nod and turned away, effectively treating it as a greeting.

How nice.

The cold and distant persona really works well in the workplace.

It directly eliminates a lot of unnecessary socializing.

Chi Xiting didn’t even have time to return the greeting before Huo Youshen had already stepped into the manager’s office.

Chi Xiting looked away and lowered his head to check his phone.

—–

It was 8:45, still not yet time to start work.

What could Huo Youshen want with Shen Zhizhe at this time?

Could it be to send him on a business trip?

The thought crossed Chi Xiting’s mind, but he dismissed it as unreasonable. After thinking for a moment, he pushed it aside.

From his many years of working experience, he knew that business trips usually didn’t involve a leader taking two interns with him.

So what could it be for?

Maybe it was just because he was bored, or perhaps Huo Youshen’s status was special. Chi Xiting unusually spent a bit more time thinking about Huo Youshen’s motive for seeking out Shen Zhizhe. Before he could come to any conclusions, he suddenly heard a notification from his WeChat.

It was a message from Shen Zhizhe.

[Shen Zhizhe]: This is President Chu’s WeChat. Add him, and for the M City project, you can communicate with him directly.

Then, Shen Zhizhe sent over a WeChat contact card.

Chi Xiting glanced at it.

Chu Yu’s profile picture was a simple silhouette of a person, and his nickname was just his real name. There was no other information, which made him seem quite mysterious.

Chi Xiting thought for a moment and sent the friend request.

Just as he sent the request, he noticed the content hadn’t changed from the last time he had modified it during a slow day at work.

Oh no.

As Chi Xiting remembered the content of the request, his expression blanked for a moment, and then he subtly lowered his head, staring at his phone.

Should he just cancel his WeChat now?

Chu Yu was probably still busy. Chi Xiting nervously sat at his desk for the entire morning without receiving a notification about his friend request being accepted.

Maybe Chu Yu would think it was a spam request and ignore it.

Chi Xiting reassured himself.

He could just wait a couple of days, change his profile picture, and resend the request. It wouldn’t be a big deal.

Having convinced himself, Chi Xiting opened his computer and continued working on the proposal he hadn’t finished the day before.

The basic structure of yesterday’s draft was fine, but today, it felt like something was missing. He turned to look over the project document again, and suddenly, an idea struck him. He quickly searched for SPN, the watch brand, online.

Although it was a product launch, Chu’s real goal was to activate the SPN brand. Rather than focusing on just promoting the new product, adding the brand’s strategic planning would make more sense.

Understanding the brand would take some time.

Chi Xiting rested his chin on his hand and quickly browsed SPN’s development history, realizing that the deadline Shen Zhizhe had set for him was indeed tight.

There was no way he could finish it without overtime.

But overtime…

Chi Xiting glanced at the time.

It was five minutes before off work.

Chi Xiting hesitated for half a second, then decisively closed the webpage. He spent some time organizing his work for the day, cleared his screen at 4:59, and at exactly 5:00, he shut down his computer and left.

His day.

Probably spent 23 hours and 59 minutes slacking off, with just one minute of guilt.

Even feeling guilty for one minute was already quite moral.

While in the elevator downstairs, Chi Xiting felt his phone vibrate.

A slight chill ran down his back, and after a few seconds, he slowly pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen.

It was a WeChat notification.

Chi Xiting: “…”

Great.

Chi Xiting bit his lip and opened the WeChat message.

The chat page now had another profile picture.

Next to the avatar was the familiar text: “I’ve approved your friend request. We can start chatting now.”

Chi Xiting stared at the screen for a long time, then cautiously opened the chat.

The entire chat page only had two lines.

One was from Chu Yu, the system notification confirming the friend request approval.

The other was from Chi Xiting.

It displayed Chi Xiting’s cleverly worded friend request message:

“Do you remember me? You still owe me fifty cents from when we were kids.”

Chi Xiting stared at the line of text for a while, then silently looked away, feeling somewhat guilty. He didn’t want to face the awkwardness of the situation, thinking to himself that since it was after work, he could just ignore the message.

Chi Xiting was about to put his phone back in his pocket when he heard another notification.

[Chu Yu]: Chi Xiting?

Alright.

Now the leader had even read his name out loud.

Should he reply?

Chi Xiting blinked, silently struggling for a moment.

Not replying should be fine, but… Chu Yu was his superior, and they were going on a business trip together in a few days.

They’d be seeing each other often.

Forget it.

Chi Xiting quickly scrolled through a selection of emojis, thought about the message for a moment, then finally sent it.

[Chi Xiting]: Hello, President Chu. Little cat bows/

There was a pause on the other end, then another WeChat notification.

[Chu Yu]: I’ve transferred 1000 yuan to you.

Chi Xiting was stunned: “?”

Huh?

What’s going on?

—–

After Chu Yu made the transfer, he didn’t say anything else. Chi Xiting stared at the transfer notification for a while, then looked up at the first message he had sent. A sudden realization hit him, and he instantly understood.

As expected.

The brave enjoy the world first.

The corners of Chi Xiting’s lips unconsciously lifted.

He quickly changed the “owes 50 cents” on his friend request to “owes 1000 yuan.”