“Mai Suisui, are you certain you want to use this as your theme for today?”
Hearing the girl’s words, Yu Nian fell into a brief moment of shock.
However, very quickly, the signing pen in her hand began to spin once more. Her eyes looked directly at Mai Suisui on the stage, and as if to confirm, she asked again into the microphone.
“I am… certain!”
The various murmurs that had flooded her ears just a moment ago had formed a wave of pressure that crashed against her psychological defenses. But after taking a deep breath, Mai Suisui gripped the microphone with both hands and gave an affirmative answer.
She knew she had no better way out.
She wasn’t confident about facing an empty projection screen and speaking empty words that she herself might not even believe in. However, she was very familiar with the “commodity” she was currently proposing—herself.
“Though it is a bit forward of me, may I ask why you decided to settle on this as your final topic?”
Yu Nian’s question caused many people to steal glances at her.
Almost everyone was aware of the commotion that had occurred earlier in the staff section. For a moment, they couldn’t tell if this young female CEO was speaking casually or if she had a deeper meaning in mind.
In any case, they couldn’t see any difference in Minister An Yingchuan’s usual demeanor, but Xu Wenliang, who served under him, was already sitting in his seat despondently, covering his face.
Upon hearing Yu Nian’s question, this man even began to tremble involuntarily.
“The reason I chose this was actually a sudden thought. But if you need me to provide a reason, I do indeed have one.”
Mai Suisui raised the microphone, her gaze circling the crowd, and she suddenly spoke a sentence that seemed completely non-sequitur: “I wonder if everyone knows about a mechanism in boxing matches called a ‘KO victory’?”
Without waiting for the audience to react, Mai Suisui, standing on the stage, continued to speak to herself.
“That is, if I knock down my opponent in a legitimate way during the match, and after a ten-second countdown, the opponent still cannot get up, then regardless of the previous score between the two sides, I will become the final winner.”
“I am unwilling to bring matters from off-stage onto the stage, just like the advice my seniors gave me when I first joined the company: do not bring your private affairs into your work. However, I believe everyone should have some understanding of what just happened off-stage.”
Seeing Mai Suisui speak so bluntly, the expressions of many people present underwent subtle changes. Many high-level executives even snuck glances at An Yingchuan.
A man with half his body already in the grave, and yet the petty tricks he played were still so low-class.
The methods were so low-class that they gave Yu Nian the opportunity to seize control. After this meeting, who would still be able to sideline President Yu?
At this thought, the gazes some people directed at An Yingchuan became somewhat unfriendly.
Furthermore, now that a lowly employee dared to give An Yingchuan “attitude” on stage while An Yingchuan could only respond with silence, it truly was… well-deserved!
Some people sneered secretly in their hearts, while others remained vigilant in the shadows; they hadn’t forgotten who had caused the current situation.
At this moment, the conference hall began to fall into a quiet atmosphere, with only the girl’s voice, amplified by the microphone, echoing around.
“As everyone has seen, if this were a boxing match, the score gap between me and my opponent would already be very large. I must think of a move to KO my opponent in one strike to achieve victory. But today’s match is very unusual…”
“Just now, off-stage, after I encountered that incident, I suddenly realized that my opponent’s performance today is no longer important. Even if I know how the opponent performs, if I cannot surpass them, I simply cannot. We do not become strong ourselves just because we realize the strength of others.”
“Therefore, I have only now realized that in today’s match, the person I am competing against is myself.”
“I must show the best side of myself today, at this very moment, for me to have the possibility of winning, the possibility of a one-strike victory. If I cannot even be my best self, how can I hope for success?”
“Then, I started thinking about how to do my best. The topic I prepared in advance is, as President Yu said, now at a point where the chance of success is minuscule. As a rational person, one should learn to give up in a timely manner.”
“Thus, after careful consideration, I selected this new theme, which is also a new ‘commodity.’ No one in the world is more familiar with her than I am. I am confident in my ability to pitch her well to all of you.”
“Of course, this resume on the screen is the one from when I first joined the company years ago. The information hasn’t been updated in time, but it is enough for me to use for now.”
“I ask the leaders and everyone else to give me an opportunity to introduce this ‘commodity’ of mine.”
After listening to the answer, Yu Nian, sitting in her seat, lowered her head thoughtfully, seemingly writing something.
“Then, let us follow the normal procedure. Mai Suisui, first tell us why you want to compete for the position of Business Department Minister.”
“My reason is simple. During these years at the company, I found that I gradually fell in love with this corporate life. At the same time, ambition gradually grew within my heart. Because of that ambition, I worked hard to improve myself. While improving myself, I naturally want to make the department and the company better,” Mai Suisui answered with an unfazed expression, holding the microphone.
“From a certain perspective, the answer is truly watertight.”
From nearby came the low laughter of some people; it wasn’t hard to hear the admiration for the girl in their voices. Jin Enna, however, remained non-committal.
She stared at the stage without saying a word, and for some reason, her brow actually furrowed slightly.
“Heh, that is indeed a very simple and most normal reason.”
Yu Nian narrowed her eyes. She put down her pen, crossed her arms, and leaned back in her chair, saying to Mai Suisui: “I think it would be better if we skipped the explanation process and started the questioning directly, shall we?”
“Mai Suisui, I want you to use the briefest words now to introduce this ‘commodity’ of yours. What is your advantage?”
The moment Yu Nian’s question was asked, amidst everyone’s attention, Mai Suisui seemed prepared. Simultaneously, her clear explanation reached everyone’s ears.
“Then I will directly state some things that are not on my resume.”
“I won’t bring up the performance results I’ve achieved at the company over the past few years, because I have always believed that there will always be someone who does better than me.”
“Therefore, I want to state an advantage for this ‘commodity’ of mine that no one else has.”
“And that is—cost-effectiveness.”
Ignoring the stares of others, standing on the stage at this moment, Mai Suisui gathered her courage, wanting only to finish the words she had prepared.
“I am well aware that with my current position, it is unlikely for me to jump directly to the position of Department Minister. Climbing up step by step is the most pragmatic state.”
“But even as a regular employee, I have been with the company for about four years. In four years, with my current state of being familiar with the company’s operations, as long as I sit in the position of Department Minister, a year from now, I will definitely be no worse than anyone else.”
“And the company only needs to pay me a salary and employee benefits that only reach two-thirds or even one-half of the original Minister’s position, and that will be enough.”
“Even after I have matured in the Minister’s position, I can guarantee that I will not mention restoring a normal salary or asking for a raise.”
“This is the greatest cost-effectiveness of my ‘commodity.'”
Finally, after hearing Mai Suisui say these words, many company executives present also narrowed their eyes, lost in thought.
The persuasion method Mai Suisui adopted today was extremely simple and blunt. She didn’t talk about empty ideals or spirits; she completely displayed every advantage she could think of, laying them bare before people’s eyes.
Since the company was concerned with profit, she would explain the profit to them.
She wanted to prove to them that choosing her was absolutely a good decision.
After the girl said those words, An Yingchuan, sitting in the first row, seemed to foresee the outcome of the people around her being swayed.
This included some people who had previously been strongly opposed to Mai Suisui taking the Minister position.
A company is indeed a place where profit is paramount; this girl had grasped that point very accurately.
To be honest, An Yingchuan truly admired Mai Suisui; otherwise, he wouldn’t have given her the only slot to go to Korea.
But now that Mai Suisui was determined not to go with him, he couldn’t force her.
Even if Mai Suisui remained that minor employee after this meeting, he would not take her with him again.
Just as Mai Suisui thought, he was taking her along to have her charge into battle for him, but now that the two of them had become estranged, taking Mai Suisui would be asking for trouble.
But giving up on that idea didn’t mean he would truly stay out of everything.
He was the only one leaving; his people were staying behind.
Factions were always his most important bargaining chip and his fallback path.
He couldn’t stop Yu Nian and Jin Enna from teaming up, but if Mai Suisui truly took the position of Business Minister and the three of them formed an “Iron Triangle,” then his people… would have a hard time next year.
So, after a moment of thought, An Yingchuan suddenly turned his head and asked into the microphone: “President Yu, Mai Suisui is your subordinate. I want to ask you, as her superior, would you buy this ‘commodity’ of hers?”
What kind of question was this?
The people present felt that An Yingchuan had asked a meaningless question. Everyone had seen the scene earlier where Yu Nian defended Mai Suisui, so naturally, she would agree?
“I… will not buy.”
However, just when everyone thought the matter was settled, a soft answer rang out like a clap of thunder.
In an instant, let alone Mai Suisui standing frozen on the stage, even Jin Enna, who thought she saw through Yu Nian, subconsciously turned her head to look, her gaze filled with immense shock.
Just as Mai Suisui had used the boxing match analogy, at the very last second of the countdown…
The situation had reversed.