“I… I want to continue!”
Under the gaze of many, the girl, who had been hanging her head in silence for a moment, gave a solemn answer.
Yu Nian was not surprised by Mai Suisui’s decision. After all, if she were the type to give up at the first sign of a setback, Mai Suisui would never have made it this far.
However, upon hearing Mai Suisui’s reply, Yu Nian still offered a reminder: “You must be clear about this: without the help of a PPT, everything you say on stage shortly will have no data or materials to support and prove it.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“No, you don’t understand.”
Mai Suisui froze and instinctively looked up. In the dimly lit environment, she saw a pair of eyes before her, faintly reflecting light, gazing at her with absolute seriousness.
“Since things have reached this point, I am not afraid to tell you in front of the entire staff: the reason I had you prepare a PPT presentation is because the position of Sales Department Manager does not actually require a showcase of your eloquence.”
“What kind of talent does a company truly need? Eloquence is only one aspect of demand. What is most important is the mind—the rigorous logic and thinking ability to plan everything without allowing for errors or loopholes.”
“When the company asks you to make a PPT, it wants to see your ability to plan a career. It is precisely because of our reliance on eloquence that we never truly trust eloquence. We only believe in things we can tangibly see. We need data, we need proof, and we need all the materials that can verify your vision.”
“When facts are laid before our eyes, no matter how pale your eloquence may be, we will choose to acknowledge it because the facts are just that—the business you are introducing is indeed worth doing. So, do you understand? What we believe in is not the so-called explanation, but the things we see and understand for ourselves.”
“Conversely, if your eloquence is outstanding but you cannot produce any effective data to persuade us, then who would pay for your empty words?”
“At least I wouldn’t, because I must be responsible for my company and its projects. So, do you still want to try and see if any of the people sitting in the high-level executive seats will be moved merely by your explanation?”
As Yu Nian spoke, her volume was not loud, yet it suppressed all other sounds in the vicinity.
The surroundings fell into a dead silence.
Nearly all the employees who heard her words lowered their heads in thought; as for the executives not far away, many of them nodded secretly.
A company is a collective composed of rationality; everything is viewed through the lens of pros and cons.
Every executive present today, even including Jin Enna, would not sympathize with a girl over a small misfortune; in the company, things were handled strictly as business.
A PPT presentation without data and materials could only be called a “speech.” In the eyes of high-level management, any “speech” without substantive content was a waste of life!
In other words, if the materials on the USB drive were truly unsalvageable, the probability of Mai Suisui succeeding if she persisted was nearly zero.
“Whether it was the work of a villain or a genuine accident, the fact remains that you did not plan everything perfectly. Moreover, this is your most important event. If you cannot even manage this, who could believe that you could lead everyone to greater profits after taking the position of Sales Department Manager?”
Jin Enna stood to the side. Her gaze did not focus on the young girl with the bowed head, but rather fixed upon Yu Nian, who stood before Mai Suisui.
Aside from that faint, interested smile at the corner of her lips, her eyes held a strange sense of bewilderment as she watched Yu Nian.
She was puzzled: what was Yu Nian’s purpose in saying these words to Mai Suisui?
Even knowing that failure was the likely outcome, people always harbor a glimmer of hope and, nine times out of ten, will still choose to take a leap of faith.
Furthermore, things hadn’t yet reached the absolute worst-case scenario. Yu Nian’s current words felt more like she was using language to preemptively destroy the little confidence the girl had left.
Why… was she doing this?
“Having heard my words, have you made up your mind? Do you still want to continue?”
The seemingly indifferent inquiry echoed in her ears again. Mai Suisui clenched her hands tightly. Then, taking a deep breath, a look of fortitude appeared on her delicate face—the same expression she used to wear when facing difficult competitions.
It was a sense of relief and relaxation that came from being prepared to risk everything.
“President Yu, I have made up my mind. I want to continue the assessment!”
Yu Nian’s expression remained unchanged as she asked once more as if to confirm: “Are you sure?”
“I am sure!”
Mai Suisui gave her a heavy nod. Many employees watched her silently from the side; for some reason, they frowned slightly, their faces flickering with complex emotions.
They weren’t fools. From today’s situation, they could see that this was a confrontation between Yu Nian and An Yingchuan.
Whether the damage to Mai Suisui’s USB drive was arranged by An Yingchuan no longer mattered.
The moment Yu Nian said the words, “Since things have reached this point, I am not afraid to tell you in front of the entire staff,” even if it wasn’t done by An Yingchuan, it had to be his doing in the eyes of the crowd.
Humans do not actually lack empathy. After all, there are far more people born into ordinary families than those born with a silver spoon in their mouths.
Thus, they saw the Mai Suisui who refused to give up, and it was like seeing themselves—the ones who had always been struggling and striving.
An Yingchuan sat in his seat like a statue, motionless in the face of the employees’ flickering gazes.
However, Xu Ya was ultimately not as steady as the “old fox.” Using the excuse of going to the restroom, she temporarily fled the scene.
“Very well.”
At that moment, Mai Suisui noticed that a trace of gentleness, difficult for outsiders to observe, suddenly appeared on Yu Nian’s previously flat expression.
She reached out and patted the girl’s shoulder, said nothing more, and turned to look at the man who was the instigator.
“I will not take any action against someone without knowing the truth. However, through this incident—whether you did it intentionally or unintentionally—your impression score with me has already dropped to the minimum.”
“Furthermore, I remember you were recommended by Manager An as the leader of Group One a few days ago, weren’t you? As a group leader, not only did you fail to find a solution after your subordinate encountered a problem, but you’re standing here shouting for everyone to hear?”
Instantly, Xu Wenliang’s face changed. He hurriedly explained to Yu Nian as she prepared to walk back to the executive seating: “Pres—President Yu! I really didn’t do it on purpose! I really was just careless just now!”
“Is that so?”
Yu Nian, who had already walked a few paces away, turned back upon hearing this. Her face was as cold as ever as she said calmly: “Then let’s assume you were just careless. But as I just told Mai Suisui, sometimes, being clumsy is also a sin. As a group leader, it is a double sin. Since you chose to provoke my person for no reason, just consider it your own bad luck today.”
“Pfft.”
Suddenly, several stifled laughs broke out among the onlookers after hearing Yu Nian’s words.
“Wow… I didn’t expect this President Yu to be so protective of her own!”
“It’s good. It’s better than a leader who stabs their own subordinates in the back.”
“Heh, I see now.” The person next to Jin Enna heard the woman’s low chuckle and couldn’t help but look at her, asking, “Big sister, what do you know?”
Jin Enna shook her head but said no more. She simply turned back with a smile on her lips, squinting as she gazed at the tall figure who had sat back down in the front row.
Just now, President Yu was likely trying to remove the psychological burden from Mai Suisui’s heart, wasn’t she?
Given Mai Suisui’s state just a moment ago, she definitely wouldn’t have performed well even if she had gone on stage.
In that case, it was better to let her go up with a “burn the boats” mentality; perhaps there would be an unexpected harvest.
In just a few days—no, in just one meeting—Jin Enna had seen the elegance and style of this President Yu.
Whether it was the overt and covert maneuvering with An Yingchuan at the start, her subtle demonstration of her work attitude in front of everyone, her protection of her subordinates, or her final act of winning over the people’s hearts—all of it showed Jin Enna the style that a company helmsman should possess.
After this meeting, the people in the company would no longer look at this President Yu with distant eyes.
Truly… impressive.
Listening to the whispers around her, Yu Nian sat back in the frontmost position with a smile, never sparing An Yingchuan a single glance during the process.
“Now then, let us begin.”
According to the news sent back by Shen Qingqing, her USB drive could not export the files. It could be repaired, but it would take some time. However, the one thing she lacked most right now was time.
“Should we explain the situation to the company and ask them to extend your assessment time slightly?”
Looking at Shen Qingqing, whose eyes were red and who had clearly been crying, Mai Suisui shook her head and smiled helplessly: “Forget it. The company won’t open a back door for one person. I either choose to go up now, or I’ll never have to go up again.”
Shen Qingqing bit her lip: “I’m sorry, Sui Sui. It’s all my fault. If only I hadn’t insisted that you check…”
“It’s fine. Xu Ya has finished speaking; I’m going up.”
Shen Qingqing rubbed her head irritably: “Then what are you going to say up there?”
Suddenly, she saw Mai Suisui look toward the stage. After a moment, as if having made a decision, Mai Suisui bit her lower lip and stepped onto the podium one step at a time.
The gazes of many people were immediately concentrated on the young girl standing on the stage.
Yu Nian’s eyebrows suddenly shot up because she noticed that Mai Suisui was actually holding a laptop in her arms.
Didn’t they say the USB drive couldn’t be fixed yet? What was the point of bringing a computer on stage?
Then, as the girl took the stage, the content displayed on the giant projection screen was even more beyond everyone’s expectations.
It was a copy of her personal resume.
“Mai Suisui, what is going on here?”
From the very front, Yu Nian held the microphone and asked the question everyone wanted to ask.
Mai Suisui kept a stiff face and first gave a deep bow to the audience. Then, she raised the microphone and said something no one could have imagined:
“This is the content of my personal PPT presentation today. The product I want to introduce to everyone is…”
“Myself!”
In an instant, some of those present looked at each other in surprise, and a wave of clamorous discussion erupted in the conference hall.