Chapter 26

As soon as Chu Yu said this, Zhao Wen deflated significantly.

He of course knew that Chi Xiting was Chu Yu’s person, after all, they came together. His bold question was just to assess Chi Xiting’s authority and his importance in Chu Yu’s eyes.

But in the end, Chu Yu decisively settled everything with just a few words.

“Listen to him.”

“Listen to him? How do I listen to him?”

Does this mean scrapping the entire plan and starting over? What about the time and effort they had already put in? Not to mention…

Not to mention this plan wasn’t even made by them, it was created by the young master of the Jiang family, Jiang Zhimiao. How could they just throw it away carelessly?

Zhao Wen felt like his head was about to explode, his scalp soaked with cold sweat. He stammered for a long time but couldn’t say anything useful. He could only give Chi Xiting a furtive, resentful glance, thinking Chi Xiting was deliberately here to make things difficult for him.

Young.

Good-looking.

Zhao Wen couldn’t help but entertain some dark thoughts.

Who knows, maybe Chu Yu was fooled by his looks.

Chi Xiting was also confused, looking at Chu Yu in surprise, his mind completely occupied by the words Chu Yu had just spoken.

“He’s with me. Listen to him.”

If those words had been spoken in another setting, there might have been some ambiguity in them, but they happened to be spoken in a work context.

Ha.

Wasn’t that just a roundabout way of giving him the job?

But he couldn’t accept it.

Just a few days ago, he had firmly refused the work that Shen Zhi Zhe had tried to assign him. Now, if he accepted Chu Yu’s task, it would be completely inappropriate.

Chi Xiting was about to refuse when Zhao Wen spoke up politely, “Mr. Chu, of course, I understand your trust in your employees, but when it comes to the product, I still believe we have the advantage. This version of the plan took a lot of effort to complete, and no matter what, I hope we can proceed with it as originally planned…”

Chi Xiting opened his mouth but closed it again, casting a sideways glance at Zhao Wen. His expression subtly shifted, but he didn’t say anything more. He obediently looked away and refrained from interfering.

Looking back, he realized it wasn’t appropriate for him to bypass Chu Yu and ask Zhao Wen questions in the first place.

It had caused trouble for him.

But it was no big deal.

When Shen Zhi Zhe persuaded him to come, he had said it would be like a trip. In the end, someone else was doing the work. He had only come to cover his travel expenses and endure the humiliation.

But he never intended to take on a major task and bring it back to the company.

Moreover, it seemed like the client didn’t particularly like him.

Clients like that are the hardest to deal with.

Chi Xiting glanced at Zhao Wen again, then silently lowered his head and began tapping his fingers.

Chu Yu listened calmly as Zhao Wen finished speaking, his eyes behind his glasses cold and sharp. When Zhao Wen finished his last sentence, Chu Yu only curled his lips slightly, the sharp curve of his mouth revealing a touch of indifference.

“I’m not a philanthropist,” Chu Yu spoke淡ly, “I never engage in business I’m not confident in.”

Chu Yu’s words were quite tactful.

But everyone present was sharp enough to understand the implication behind his words.

Zhao Wen instinctively turned his head to exchange glances with other senior executives from Ruifeng, reading similar answers in their eyes.

They only had two choices.

One was to proceed according to Chu Yu’s plan.

The other was to accept Chu Yu’s withdrawal of investment.

Zhao Wen’s face turned a little pale, and he felt that Chu Yu’s gaze, when he looked down at him, was as cold as ice. Yet, his expression remained as calm as usual, as if the potential loss from withdrawal was nothing to him.

Indeed.

It was nothing to him.

Such a small amount of money couldn’t possibly hurt Chu’s corporation.

But what about them?

Zhao Wen broke out in a cold sweat, closing his eyes and thinking deeply for a long time before opening them and looking at Chu Yu, reluctantly saying, “Alright, alright, we’ll listen to General Manager Chu, all of us will.”

Chu Yu didn’t say anything, only glanced at the time, then spoke, “In that case, we won’t disturb you. Tomorrow at this time, let’s go over the plan briefly.”

“I’ll only make judgments on the big picture,” Chu Yu clapped his hands and appropriately gave a little encouragement, as if giving Zhao Wen a morale boost, “I won’t interfere in the implementation process.”

Even so, Zhao Wen’s face still didn’t look very good, but he forced a smile and said to Chu Yu, “Alright, we’ll leave it to you, General Manager Chu.”

Chu Yu didn’t respond but turned his head to glance at Chi Xiting.

Chi Xiting pretended not to notice.

Chu Yu silently withdrew his gaze.

Chu Yu was always decisive and didn’t like beating around the bush. In just ten minutes, everything was settled.

When Chu Yu and Chi Xiting walked toward the sample room, Zhao Wen took half a step back, exchanging a troubled glance with the senior executives nearby.

—-

One of the executives spoke, “What should we do, General Zhao? Are we really going to listen to them?”

Zhao Wen sighed, “What can we do? If Chu Yu says it, he can definitely do it.”

So don’t expect Chu Yu to be bluffing.

The executive’s expression grew even more worried as they sighed, “But how are we going to explain it to Young Master Jiang?”

The plan was personally created by Jiang’s young master, and for them to reject it just like that, it’s both unreasonable and embarrassing.

Zhao Wen resignedly replied, “What else can we do? Just tell Jiang Zhimiao that Chu Yu didn’t approve the plan.”

After all, if it blows up, the trouble won’t come to him. Let them handle it themselves.

Though the reason for the trouble is his company, his product.

Zhao Wen sighed again, feeling frustrated. It was incredible how badly he’d managed the company.

“Jiang Zhimiao?” Hor You Shen, who had been quietly listening, suddenly perked up at the familiar name, his eyes narrowing as he asked.

Zhao Wen was startled and turned around to see it was Hor You Shen, who had come with Chu Yu. He didn’t delay and, seeing the question, answered honestly, “Yes, Young Master Jiang from Jiang Real Estate.”

“Your plan was written by Jiang Zhimiao?” It was a question, but Hor You Shen seemed already certain it was Jiang Zhimiao who had written the plan. His expression became complex, mixed with some admiration and an “I knew it” look.

Zhao Wen nodded, “Yes.”

Jiang Real Estate was in the property business, and they had business dealings with their company. Recently, they heard that Chu’s Corporation and Ruifeng were in talks for a collaboration, so Jiang Real Estate had increased its cooperation with Ruifeng and even sent their young master Jiang Zhimiao to work at Ruifeng for a while.

That version of the plan that everyone was satisfied with was written by Jiang Zhimiao.

After finishing the plan, Jiang Zhimiao had gone back to Jiang Real Estate and didn’t inquire further about the implementation of the plan, seemingly confident that the plan would pass.

Now…

It was hard to back out of it.

Zhao Wen’s headache returned.

On the other side, Hor You Shen had stopped listening to Zhao Wen and was fully absorbed in that name.

Jiang Zhimiao.

After handling the plan matter quickly, Chu Yu didn’t stay long at Ruifeng and left with the two interns, heading back to the hotel.

Hor You Shen didn’t say much. After bidding the two farewell, he went back to his room.

Chu Yu had other things to do. Once back in his room, he opened his computer and began focusing on his work, leaving Chi Xiting in the corner, somewhat confused.

So…

The plan wasn’t for him to handle?

Chi Xiting had been nervous all along, fearing that this tricky plan might fall on his shoulders. After entering the room, he occasionally glanced at Chu Yu, worried that Chu Yu might suddenly say:

“Little Chi, are you busy lately? Do you have any projects?”

He had heard this kind of thing plenty before.

It was very hard to answer.

Whether being honest or tweaking his answer a little, he couldn’t avoid being assigned a new project.

After all, when a leader asks such a question, they’ve already decided that this plan would be given to him to write, and no excuse could avoid it.

Chi Xiting waited for a long time but saw no sign of Chu Yu speaking. So he cautiously found a seat, took out his phone, and played with it somewhat guiltily.

It was indeed a little awkward and uncomfortable.

After all, they were sharing the same room.

The boss was working, and he was over there playing on his phone.

But what else could he do?

Chi Xiting scrolled through a few videos and became engrossed in them, his alertness slowly fading away as he began enjoying himself, his mood calming down as he continued to play.

It’s quite enjoyable, I must say.

This is quite different.

It really doesn’t feel much different from traveling.

Chu Yu had been busy for the whole afternoon, and Chi Xiting’s phone had died. When he got up to find a charging cable, he noticed that it had already gotten dark outside.

The lights in the room were still off.

Chi Xiting glanced at Chu Yu.

The desk was near the window, and the sunset was slowly being swallowed by the night. The faint, yellow light coming through the window scattered in small drops over the desk, as if a layer of fine gold was sprinkled on it.

The dim light made the computer screen appear much brighter.

Wouldn’t that strain the eyes?

Chu Yu already had myopia.

Chi Xiting glanced at Chu Yu’s glasses, picked up the charging cable, and turned on the lights in the room. After observing the brightness of each light, he specifically adjusted the light near Chu Yu to the most suitable brightness.

Chu Yu seemed to notice the change in the lighting, raising his eyes. His gaze rested on the light overhead for a second before directly looking at Chi Xiting.

Chi Xiting, with his back to him, was bending down to charge his phone.

His back slightly arched, the muscles in his back forming a smooth curve, and when he straightened up, it relaxed back into softness.

As Chi Xiting turned around, Chu Yu happened to look away and refocused on his work.

His workload was heavy. The Ruifeng project was just one of the many projects he had, not particularly noticeable or important. Though he was on a business trip for Ruifeng, Chu Yu still couldn’t entirely devote his time to it.

After a whole afternoon of work, the other tasks were barely completed, and now Chu Yu had time to look into the Ruifeng project again.

The question was, who should be assigned to this project?

The person he had in mind was Chi Xiting.

But looking at Chi Xiting’s attitude, it didn’t seem like he wanted to take on this hot potato. Chu Yu was not the kind of leader who liked to force his subordinates.

Moreover, Chi Xiting was still an intern, just graduated, and young. Assigning him to handle a project like this might put a lot of pressure on him.

But this project couldn’t be delayed any longer.

Chu Yu had written a planning outline himself.

His thoughts were very clear. After thinking for a moment, the outline, logically structured, had already appeared on paper.

When Chi Xiting passed by, he couldn’t help but glance at it and happened to see some key words.

They were the product keywords he had seen at Ruifeng earlier in the afternoon.

Chi Xiting froze.

Huh?

Was Chu Yu writing the plan?

“Mr. Chu,” Chi Xiting sincerely asked, “Is our Chu Corporation facing some difficulties?”

Are we going bankrupt?

Hearing the implication in Chi Xiting’s words, Chu Yu paused.

Chi Xiting didn’t expect Chu Yu to answer. After asking, he glanced at the computer screen again.

Chu Yu didn’t avoid it, even subtly adjusting his posture to make it easier for Chi Xiting to see. Once he figured Chi Xiting had finished, he naturally asked, “What do you think?”

“Not bad,” Chi Xiting replied, still not fully processing it. His mind was filled with the proposal and didn’t have room to think about his words. “I just think the brand characteristics can be highlighted. When they introduced the product, they mentioned the density. Their feature of achieving 9㎡ density could be a key point to promote…”

Chu Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone showing some approval. He seemed to agree with Chi Xiting’s suggestion. “Hmm, anything else?”

“Also, they added sandalwood powder…” Before he could finish, Chi Xiting suddenly realized something, his words stopping abruptly, and his gaze became clearer as he looked at Chu Yu.

Chu Yu, unusually, was smiling. When he noticed Chi Xiting looking at him, he subtly curled his lips upward, shrugged, and honestly said, “I haven’t decided yet who will take on this project.”

Chi Xiting’s heart raced, and he stood up straight, his face stiff.

Chu Yu continued, “The people in the marketing department have a lot on their plate, and Shen Zhizhe can’t spare someone to take on the project…”

Moreover, the Ruifeng project was one Chu Yu had insisted on taking on. When Chu Yu first proposed to branch out into other fields, most of the board members were against it, and it even caused trouble at Chu Yu’s grandfather’s place.

But Chu Yu’s grandfather supported his grandson, standing firm in the face of the discontent, and continued to back Chu Yu’s decision to do what he wanted, allowing the Ruifeng project to proceed.

However, Chu Yu still faced some restrictions in using company resources.

Although he was the largest shareholder and had the greatest say, it was still important to maintain internal stability, so Chu Yu used the least amount of resources to complete this project, which was not well-supported by others.

“So I’m thinking of using an intern,” Chu Yu said directly.

Chu Yu looked up, his deep gaze meeting Chi Xiting’s directly.

Chi Xiting didn’t respond.

Chu Yu continued, “You’re the one I like and have the most confidence in.”

Chi Xiting: “…”

Wow.

Such an honor.

Indeed, every leader seems to have a natural ability for PUA (manipulation) and for painting grand pictures.

Chi Xiting had heard this kind of thing many times before.

He had already become desensitized.

“Is that so?” Chi Xiting spoke slowly. “Is it because you’re getting a bargain?”

Chu Yu: “…”

Chu Yu fell silent for a moment before honestly admitting, “Not entirely.”

Chi Xiting waited for the rest.

“You’re also quite useful,” Chu Yu said.

Chi Xiting: “…”

Fine.