Regardless of what impression Mai Suisui’s sudden appearance gave the high-level executives of ZS General Trade in the conference room, none of them were foolish enough to stand up and question it at this moment.
After all, didn’t they see the person involved, An Yingchuan, still sitting in his seat as steady as Mount Tai?
In the end, today’s meeting was hosted by the Sales Department. Since An Yingchuan didn’t object, the rest of the observers had even less right to raise doubts.
However, in their hearts, they had already begun to predict that things would develop along a different path.
If Mai Suisui successfully saved the day today, even the most arrogant fellow would list her as a key object of observation afterward.
“So, whose chess piece is this Mai Suisui exactly?”
“How can a small staff member be an important chess piece? I think this girl is just here to temporarily save the situation.”
“Save the situation? By inviting this little girl who shamelessly promoted herself at the last meeting?”
“Manager An is getting muddled in his old age. Couldn’t things just proceed according to the original trend? He had to pull a stunt like this. If it really fails, it won’t be Yu Nian’s business anymore.”
“Why do I feel like we’ve fallen into a trap set by An Yingchuan and Yu Nian?”
“…”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the conference room, Jin Enna was asking Yu Nian the same question.
“Do you… trust her that much?”
Looking at the scene where the video link was about to start, Jin Enna sat in the empty seat next to Yu Nian, lightly pursing her lips to hide the slight worry in her heart.
She understood Mai Suisui’s capabilities, but the problem was that the current situation’s rewards and risks were completely disproportionate.
Even if Mai Suisui brilliantly completed the hosting of this meeting, at most she would receive a few verbal compliments; after all, this was the Sales Department’s duty in the first place.
But if things were messed up, the pressure from the company and the department afterward would all fall on Mai Suisui’s head.
In Jin Enna’s view, Mai Suisui should not have stepped forward at this time; playing it safe was the correct way to act.
Hearing Jin Enna’s question, Yu Nian glanced at her and casually asked, “Do you know why I chose you two as my primary people after I came to the company?”
Jin Enna didn’t speak, but just turned her head to look at Yu Nian in an orderly manner. Having been a secretary for so many years, she certainly knew that sometimes not opening one’s mouth was better than speaking.
“I chose you because you are fully capable of being my assistant. I feel more at ease leaving many things for you to handle.”
Sure enough, without waiting for Jin Enna to speak, Yu Nian, sitting beside her, began to speak to herself. However, the words that followed made Jin Enna freeze in surprise.
“And the reason I chose Mai Suisui is also very simple. It’s not that I need to use her to fight for power with An Yingchuan, but because she can serve as my helper. Do you know what ‘helper’ means? Someone who has a certain ability to protect themselves while also being on the offensive—only such a person can be called a ‘helper’.”
Having said this, Yu Nian cast her gaze upon the figure in the center of the conference room, whose half-profile remained calm amidst the light and shadow, and a rare smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
“Don’t worry. Even if she doesn’t meet my requirements yet, I have more confidence in her than you do. She is the person I handpicked after repeated inspections.”
…
After the meeting officially began, Yu Nian, sitting in the main seat, didn’t show any particular emotions anymore.
But as time slowly passed, if anyone observed carefully, they would find that Yu Nian’s manner of listening to the meeting content unknowingly became more and more focused and serious.
As for the others present, their reactions were largely the same.
Since Mai Suisui, who was originally supposed to serve as a translator, personally took the stage to host the meeting, she simply started speaking the YL language. She arranged for the bilingual translator from the YL side to collaborate with the SM General Trade personnel on-site to transmit the content of the dialogue between the two parties in real-time to the laptops in front of everyone in the conference room.
What surprised people like Jin Enna and An Yingchuan was not how stunning Mai Suisui’s performance was, but that her performance was actually… too stable.
Yes, stable.
As a hastily prepared meeting, many people actually did not hold much hope for the outcome. Let alone reaching a preliminary cooperative intention, being able to maintain contact was already the best result.
This was exactly what most people required of Mai Suisui.
However, Mai Suisui’s performance was much better than they had anticipated.
Whenever the representative sent by the YL side revealed an intention to end the conversation, Mai Suisui could always hook their interest back with a few words. Moreover, the other party’s impatient mood was worn away bit by bit as time passed.
Perhaps even the other party themselves didn’t realize they were gradually treating this meeting—which was originally just meant to be a boring formality—as a formal business negotiation. Their performance became increasingly solemn, and the topics discussed by both parties gradually cut into the core issues.
All of this was witnessed by the onlookers in the conference room, who were internally astonished.
So it could be said that Mai Suisui was very stable. She didn’t have many brilliant remarks; after all, picking out usable information from the messy data collected by the Sales Department beforehand was already a very difficult task.
But under such difficult premises, Mai Suisui still relied on her own eloquence to steer the situation toward the result ZS General Trade hoped to see.
Finally, when the YL side requested that Mai Suisui provide some actual data from SM General Trade, Yu Nian, sitting in the main seat, proactively turned her head to give instructions to the person beside her.
Afterward, Yu Nian looked at the figure on the stage, remembering how she had looked at her during the company general meeting a few days ago, except that last time, Mai Suisui could only speak with empty words.
And this time, with data and eloquence combined, Yu Nian believed that Mai Suisui would not let her down.
The ending concluded with Mai Suisui’s perfect wrap-up.
“We will fax the draft contract content to your side as soon as possible. Well then, I look forward to our next meeting.”
After Mai Suisui faced the camera and said this closing remark in fluent YL with a smile, the huge projection screen in the conference room went dark, and the large conference room briefly fell into darkness.
“Clap!”
An unannounced sound of clapping rang out, followed by a burst of slow but quite powerful applause.
It wasn’t until the lights were turned on that everyone saw the source of the applause…
Yu Nian was showing a satisfied smile at this time, sitting in her seat and clapping. The point where her gaze landed was exactly the girl sitting directly in front of her who was also looking back.
“Clap… clap clap clap!”
A group of high-level executives looked at each other, and the next moment, a wave of echoing applause quickly rang out, resonating in the entire conference room for a long time!
Suddenly subjected to everyone’s applause, Mai Suisui did not panic. Her small face, which was slightly tired, was as calm as ever. She stood up and bowed slightly to all sides.
In the crowd, she could see people frowning, and she could also see people nodding to her secretly…
Many people, and many different appearances.
She knew that from this moment on, she was going to gloriously become a “thorn in the eye” for some people.
But there was no way around it; life sometimes means moving forward passively.
Sometimes, just enjoy it.
After the meeting ended, An Yingchuan did not show any reaction and left the conference room ahead of everyone. Mai Suisui, however, was specially received by several high-level executives, who said a few uninspired words of encouragement.
“Impressive! No wonder President Yu thinks so highly of you. Even if she directly announced you as the person in charge of this project, I don’t think anyone would have an objection.”
Walking side by side in the quiet and cold company corridor, Mai Suisui listened to Jin Enna’s slightly teasing words and waved her hands repeatedly.
“I’ve already stood out enough these past few days. Any more and my small frame won’t be able to handle it.”
Jin Enna also knew that what Mai Suisui said was the truth—too much is as bad as too little. However, she still teased, “Don’t say that. How can you improve yourself and become more excellent if the pressure isn’t a bit greater?”
Excellent?
Mai Suisui was stunned.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jin Enna noticed her abnormality.
“That… I have something to do, I’ll go first! See you tomorrow!”
“Eh? Hey! I haven’t finished speaking yet!”
“Sister Na, please forgive me. I suddenly thought of an important person I need to thank!”
Standing in place, Jin Enna frowned as she watched the girl who hurriedly put on her coat and ran far away, completely baffled for a moment.
“An important person to thank?”
“…It couldn’t be President Yu, right?”
At this moment, a President Yu who was passing behind her paused in her footsteps.
…
Today’s meeting took much longer than Mai Suisui had expected.
To the point that she had forgotten to charge her phone and had to catch the last subway home before her phone ran out of power.
And… and after being casually reminded by Jin Enna, Mai Suisui suddenly wanted to send a word of thanks to that stranger.
If it hadn’t been for the encouragement given by “TA” (them) at the critical moment, she wouldn’t have been able to make up her mind to be Yu Nian’s assistant.
Mai Suisui was not an ungrateful person.
She could see that today’s play was arranged by Yu Nian, but so what?
In An Yingchuan’s eyes, this was Yu Nian repeatedly utilizing Mai Suisui, but in Mai Suisui’s own eyes, this was help for her.
Logically speaking, the first person she should thank is Yu Nian, but for some reason, she couldn’t say it.
So while she was thanking that stranger, she also wanted to ask for “TA’s” opinion on this matter.
Despite only having had one communication, she was obsessed with hearing “TA’s” opinion.
However, the phrasing of that word of thanks stumped Mai Suisui, and also made a certain person’s mood worse and worse while waiting…
…
“Why the sudden invitation to dinner?”
Yu Nian didn’t answer, absentmindedly looking at the phone placed to the side.
Frowning, she reached out to light up the phone screen. Seeing no messages, she turned the screen off again.
“It’s nothing. I just thought that before I entered ZS General Trade, it must have been two years since I saw you, Senior, right?”
“More than two years, it’s almost been three.”
Xu Ya looked at her somewhat crossly, “We haven’t met once since we both resigned from the last company. I haven’t seen you send a single message usually. President Yu, have you forgotten about me, your senior, long ago?”
“How could that be?”
Yu Nian said a word, then looked down at the beer can gradually becoming warm in her palm. “Senior knows me. Usually, as long as I’m busy, I can’t look after the people close to me.”
“Saying it like that, you’re not wrong.” Xu Ya also nodded with emotion; wasn’t she also such a person?
“Ding-dong!”
Yu Nian, who had just raised her beer can, immediately put it down. After seeing it was that string of numbers, she tucked the phone into her bag. Looking up, she met a pair of meaningful eyes.
“At this hour, who sent you a message?”
Xu Ya, sitting opposite her, also held a beer can in her hand and asked curiously.
The two of them were currently sitting in a 24-hour convenience store. Except for the drowsy store clerk, there were only the two of them as guests—quiet and comfortable, perfect for sitting down to chat and drink.
“It’s nothing,” Yu Nian said with a straight face. “It’s just a psychopath who likes to harass others.”
“Is it that kind of stranger’s SMS harassment?”
“Yes.”
“Then why don’t you just put the number on the blacklist?”
Yu Nian remained silent, only focused on drinking.
Xu Ya raised her eyebrows, thoughtfully sized up Yu Nian as if she understood something, and couldn’t help but smile, “In love?”
“Cough!”