Everything Shen Qing knew about the Shen Group’s fields and business came entirely from the internet.
The Shen Group was the product of generations of the Shen family’s hard work, primarily dealing in medical devices. Under Shen Xiaqing’s leadership in its early years, it entered the nation’s top ranks and became a leading enterprise in Haicheng.
Although Shen Xiaqing was cold toward her kin and only showed favoritism toward her ailing eldest daughter, Shen Qing couldn’t deny Shen Xiaqing’s business talent under her, the Shen Group had risen to even greater heights. Shen Qing and her biological father had never received a second glance from her; they didn’t even appear in the same living quarters.
Following Shen Xiaqing into the Shen Group, Shen Qing rode the private elevator up to the top floor of the building. Passing the entrance to the CEO’s office, a slightly weary-looking woman gave her a faint smile.
Shen Qing smiled back, though her mind was on her future workload. Thankfully, all the business she had handled at GEMINI had been transferred to Xuan Zhi, so she could breathe a little easier.
“You’ll be in charge of the artificial joint line.”
Shen Qing: ?
“I’m only in charge of… this one line?”
Perhaps the doubt in her tone was too obvious, because Shen Xiaqing snorted coldly. “I can’t possibly hand you the company the moment you arrive. You’re not qualified yet, and the board won’t budge on that either.”
Shen Xiaqing picked up the intercom on her desk. “Send Xiao Lin in.”
Moments later, the office door opened, and the woman who had just smiled at her walked in.
“She’ll be your direct supervisor from now on. Ask her if there’s anything you don’t understand, and follow her arrangements.”
Lin Yue was the general manager of the high-value consumables line, whose work ability was highly recognized by Shen Xiaqing. She had joined the Shen Group through campus recruitment from a prestigious university and had been working there for over ten years. She was also the first to learn of Shen Qing’s parachuting into the Shen Group.
Shen Qing followed Lin Yue to their department. They took the elevator one after the other, and Lin Yue thoughtfully introduced the department’s details to her, things Shen Xiaqing had never mentioned.
Arriving at their department’s floor, they passed several small meeting rooms and reached the product research area. Lin Yue called a halt to everyone’s work and announced, “A few days ago, we heard that a new member would be joining our big Shen family, and today we finally get to meet her. Welcome!”
“You can introduce yourself to everyone.”
“Hello everyone, my name is Shen Qing.” Calm and composed, brief and to the point.
That’s it?
Lin Yue smiled in surprise but said nothing, leading Shen Qing to her private office.
“The Chairman asked me to show you the ropes, so I’ve arranged for you to share an office with me. You don’t mind, do you?”
Shen Qing shook her head, then asked, “What’s my position?”
At this, Lin Yue sat down at her desk and rummaged for something. Only after a while did she look up at her and reply in a strictly businesslike manner: “The Chairman only said to help you get familiar with things. She never mentioned assigning you a position. I can’t make that call.”
Shen Qing found this strange. Logically, as the general manager of the high-value consumables division, Lin Yue should have been given full authority Shen Xiaqing’s earlier words clearly meant delegating power, letting Lin Yue take full charge of her work. Surely arranging a position for her wasn’t something Lin Yue couldn’t decide.
As she was thinking, Lin Yue handed a stack of printed materials to her. “These are the materials you’ll need to study first. I heard the Chairman mention that you didn’t study this field in college, and your previous work experience doesn’t match either, so I figured you wouldn’t know much about it. I found these materials for you.”
Her attitude was beyond reproach, so Shen Qing could only set aside all her doubts for the time being. She took the materials and sat down at her own desk.
……
“Once you’ve finished reading these materials, I’ll take you to see the site in person and go over some specific case data.”
“Hm? Isn’t that private information?” Shen Qing looked up from the pile of materials.
Lin Yue explained, “Personal identity information naturally can’t be disclosed, but clinical trial data can. The more you know, the better you’ll understand the product’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Inside Lin Yue’s office, things remained calm and untroubled, but outside the office, Shen Qing’s sudden parachute arrival had caused an uproar. The news spread throughout the entire department, and everyone was privately discussing just who this person was someone who had entered a core position without going through any assessment by HR or the department head.
Especially the group just one wall away, who had only just greeted her now none of them had any mind for work.
“Sister Lin mentioned it ages ago, this one came back from abroad. If she could study in America, she’s definitely rich. Look at her outfit, look at what she’s wearing on her hands, what’s hanging around her neck, tsk tsk.” Shen Ningyue recalled Shen Qing’s meeting outfit covered in luxury goods and couldn’t help clicking her tongue.
If she hadn’t said anything, it would have been fine, but the moment she did, it was like poking a sore spot for Zhang Zhizhi sitting beside her, who got worked up in a hurry. “Sucking up to the rich does you zero good. So what if she’s all in big brands? They’re just classic pieces that hold their value. With our salaries at Shen Group, we can afford them too. She’s just showing off like crazy.”
Shen Ningyue was a pushover to begin with, and seeing how angry Zhang Zhizhi was, she didn’t dare speak up. “But our department isn’t short on people at all. This parachute arrival, and her surname is Shen too, who knows if she’s one of the Shen family…”
“What’s wrong with the surname Shen? Isn’t Shen a pretty common surname? You have the surname Shen too are you one of the Shen family then?”
“I…” She was left speechless, cornered.
Someone who had been straining their ears to listen to the gossip glanced around, then quietly added, “Well, that’s true. I remember the Shen family only has one child in this generation and didn’t she pass away a while back?”
“Shh, stop talking, get back to work.”
The discussion stopped abruptly. They knew perfectly well which matters carried more weight, they wouldn’t dare openly discuss the Shen family’s eldest daughter at the company.
“Finished reading?”
Lin Yue went to the break room to pour herself a cup of coffee, then returned to the office. Seeing Shen Qing tidying up the materials, she remarked with some surprise.
After confirming that Shen Qing had read all the materials and committed them firmly to memory, Lin Yue led the office colleagues onto a shuttle bus heading to the trial site.
It wasn’t until the shuttle bus stopped at the familiar parking lot that Shen Qing realized, they had come to Ren’ai Hospital.
Then again, it made sense. Ren’ai Hospital’s first source of funding had been Shen Group, and there had been continued collaborations since. Shen Xiaqing probably held shares as well after all, businesspeople value profit, and she didn’t seem like the type to help Jiang Shan for free.
On the way to the laboratory, Shen Qing and her group passed by the orthopedics doctors’ on-duty lounge. The door wasn’t fully closed, and with a casual glance out of the corner of her eye, she actually saw Jiang Wangshu chatting and laughing with a doctor who was also wearing a white coat, the two of them seemed very close.
She hadn’t even known her sister had such a good friend.
As far as Shen Qing remembered, the internal medicine and surgery buildings were quite far apart.
At this thought, Shen Qing immediately stopped in her tracks, pressed her lips tightly together, and stared fixedly at the scene.
That woman had her hand resting on her sister’s shoulder.
“Xiao Shen, where are you going?”
Lin Yue’s call brought Shen Qing abruptly back to her senses. She couldn’t just charge up and confront them blindly, she had to think of her sister. It was her working hours right now; what if they were just discussing work?
Yes, they must be discussing work.
Shen Qing convinced herself this way.
She had always known how attractive her sister was to that crowd of women. Before going abroad, she had guarded her closely and never let any woman get a chance, but then she had gone abroad for seven whole years.
Shen Qing was so angry her eyes turned red. Unfortunately, there was still work to do. She took a deep breath, quickly composed herself, and threw herself into her work.
Who would have thought the emotion wouldn’t dissipate but instead gradually accumulate, waiting for the right moment to erupt completely.
It was already noon by the time they finished collecting and analyzing the data, and Lin Yue finally let them go out for lunch.
As they headed toward the parking lot, Zhang Zhizhi suddenly called out Shen Qing’s name: “Our department takes turns treating everyone when we go out. How about Xiao Shen this time? Give the young one a chance to show herself.”
“Fine. Where do you all want to eat?” Her mind had finally gone blank, and the scene she’d witnessed earlier instantly filled her brain, leaving Shen Qing somewhat distracted.
The hospital had a few small restaurants serving noodles and stir-fried dishes. As they happened to pass by, Lin Yue pointed at one at random: “How about this one? It’s close and cheap. What do you think, Xiao Shen?”
“I’m not picky, whatever everyone chooses.” Shen Qing glanced up and nodded. After so many years abroad, she didn’t look down on any Chinese dish at all.
However, this remark gave Zhang Zhizhi an overwhelming sense of superiority. She concluded outright that Shen Qing was a pretender, all show and no substance and secretly cursed her as a country bumpkin.
“Sister Lin, don’t we usually eat at the mall across the street? I can’t get used to the food here.”
After Shen Qing said “that works too,” Zhang Zhizhi’s face instantly darkened, and she walked off toward the mall on her own.
The restaurants in that mall all sold “pretty food”, great for photos, not at all wonderful in taste, and expensive besides. With this many people eating one meal, it would cost at least a week’s worth of their salaries.
But once one person set this precedent, everyone had to eat this way afterward, or find restaurants at the same price point, otherwise everyone felt they were getting a bad deal.
This time, Lin Yue had actually been hoping to use the opportunity to switch to cheaper places. She was different from those young girls, she had a family to support. Her child was still receiving treatment at the hospital, and the money flowed out like water. Just to fit in, she had to shoulder this big expense every month, and even her rock-solid salary couldn’t keep up.
Unfortunately, it hadn’t worked.
Zhang Zhizhi ordered without any restraint, picking out the most expensive dishes on the menu one after another. But when the food arrived, it was all stuff that neither filled you up nor tasted good. Everyone ate with green faces, exchanging silent glances across the table yet Shen Qing remained completely oblivious to all of it.
Because not far directly in front of her, Jiang Wangshu was dining with someone whose face she couldn’t see, only their back. With just one glance, Shen Qing recognized the person as the same one she’d seen at the hospital earlier.
Why was it that person again?
Hostile glances darted between them. Shen Qing made no attempt to hide her emotions. A colleague sat between them, blocking Jiang Wangshu’s view of her, but she could clearly see every move at Jiang Wangshu’s table.
Suddenly, Shen Qing set her cup down heavily and stood up.
Why was her sister eating food that woman had picked up for her?
“Huh? Xiao Shen, where are you going? Don’t tell me you think it’s too expensive and you’re running out on the bill?”