{None of them are even a fraction of her. 2}

“Xu Xu, are you still holding a grudge about what happened before?” Li Xiyin constantly expressed her own grievances, as if she were the only one in the world with unspeakable difficulties. “But I didn’t mean it, you know I’ve always been a poor student, and I could only go to college thanks to Shen’s previous support. After returning to China, I can’t find a job like you…”

Qian Xu realized she might not have thought this way before. She had always empathized with weakness and pain, and when she saw others in distress, she wished she could put herself in their shoes. Perhaps her parents’ good-natured personalities had influenced her to some extent.

But now, strangely, a voice reminiscent of “Zhao Buhui” echoed in her ears, urging her inner self to be more authentic. She couldn’t help but think: if someone truly didn’t have a job, shouldn’t they go look for one instead of expecting someone to have afternoon tea with them? Would drinking a cup of afternoon tea make a job come easily?

She probably didn’t have the ability to set that up for her.

Li Xiyin’s tone was undeniably urgent regarding job hunting, yet her actions didn’t seem to match that urgency.

She firmly declined, even without feeling guilty about it anymore: “I really don’t have time, and it has nothing to do with the people or events from before. If you’re bored in Jiangcheng, you can easily find someone on Xiaohongshu to hang out with.”

“Is there anyone who would want to hang out with someone like me?” Li Xiyin sighed dramatically on the other end of the call.

Qian Xu felt she had said enough, “You shouldn’t underestimate yourself.”

Used to Li Xiyin portraying herself as a victim, Qian Xu didn’t expect to see her the next day in the Zhao Tian Group office. She stood out in the crowd of job seekers, dressed sharply and wearing delicate makeup, completely unlike the woman who had lamented about her shortcomings the night before.

She wore a sky-blue shirt, and her gaze was sharper than usual, lacking the softness it typically held.

When she spotted Qian Xu in the lobby of Zhao Tian Group, she rushed over, ignoring the awkwardness between them, and linked arms with her warmly. “Xu Xu, I heard your company is hiring a bunch of people before New Year’s, so I came to interview in your HR department.”

“I was so nervous during the first interview…” she covered her chest with one hand, feigning anxiety.

“I thought, since I was in New York and you were in Ohio, it was a pity we couldn’t be classmates,” Li Xiyin said with a bright smile that radiated friendliness as she pulled Qian Xu in place. “So I selfishly thought it would be great if we could become colleagues afterward.”

“Are you sure?”

Logically speaking, as one of the company’s executives, Qian Xu should treat every job seeker fairly and impartially. She shouldn’t issue any biased instructions to her HR subordinate or unilaterally decide Li Xiyin’s fate.

But she realized she felt uneasy about the prospect of possibly becoming colleagues with Li Xiyin, even slightly repulsed, wanting to use her influence to help her find another company to work for.

But if she did that, how would she be any different from those high and mighty people?

She realized that even though she said she didn’t mind Li Xiyin’s intrusive questions, her feelings were clear: Yan Li was her friend. If she wanted to return to China and develop her career alongside Qian Xu, she would likely start celebrating right then and there—
But Li Xiyin was different.

Every word spoken by each person leaves indelible traces.

“Syline, do you really want to work at Zhao Tian?”

“Xu Xu, why would you ask that? I’m just curious why you came to Zhao Tian Group,” Li Xiyin blinked playfully at her. She hadn’t been this lively while abroad, as if she were “retaliating” for Qian Xu’s earlier words. “Are you planning to support Zhao Tian’s artificial intelligence division and compete with Shen Qi afterward?”

After she said this, she seemed to realize her slip of the tongue immediately. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up Shen Qi in front of you.”

“It’s fine,” Qian Xu sensed that from this moment on, they couldn’t easily align anymore. Even if she were a pushover, that didn’t mean she lacked her own selfishness. Given that she was unaware of the potential consequences of discussing someone else’s company, she couldn’t empathize with Li Xiyin any longer.

“Artificial intelligence is a big cake; if Shen Qi can have a share, so can we. Business is business, and I hope you don’t get too personally invested.”