In the dining room, the three members of the Cen family, together with Tong Jingjing and Aunt Tang, sat together eating.
Father Cen and Mother Cen were chatting with Cen Sui, and Aunt Tang, who was practically part of the family, joined in with a cheerful smile. Only Tong Jingjing could not fit into the conversation at all. She kept her head down, eating quietly without saying much.
Mother Cen thought she was being reserved, so she would occasionally use the communal chopsticks to place some dishes into her bowl, encouraging her to eat a little more.
After saying a single “Thank you, Auntie,” Tong Jingjing had nothing else to say.
Besides silently eating, Tong Jingjing would from time to time glance at Cen Sui without realizing it.
No matter how she looked, she felt that the Cen Sui in front of her was different from the supporting female character described in the book.
She wondered whether Cen Sui had also been possessed by someone, or if she had merely been stimulated and was temporarily acting “abnormal” like this.
But no matter which it was, she had to stay calm, enjoy the advantages of the novel’s plot, and wait to reap the benefits as the fisherman who profits from others’ struggle.
Just as Tong Jingjing was drifting deep into thought, she suddenly heard Cen Sui calling her.
She reacted only belatedly, looked at Cen Sui, and spoke, “Wh… w… what is it?”
This was not the first time Cen Sui had called her, but the third.
Cen Sui looked at her with the same puzzled expression, curiosity hidden beneath her gaze. “Is there something on my face?”
She had only been glancing at her earlier, and now she had even spaced out while staring.
Tong Jingjing realized she had lost her composure. Feeling slightly embarrassed, she quickly said, “No, I just thought… Sui Sui, the way you’re dressed right now looks very pretty…”
Anyone who saw Cen Sui’s appearance right now would indeed feel their eyes brighten and would instinctively be a little amazed.
But Cen Sui still felt that this should not have made Tong Jingjing react the way she did.
Her gaze had been drifting constantly, as if she had been observing and scrutinizing her.
Back in the living room earlier, Cen Sui had already felt she was acting strangely. Now she was even more certain that something was definitely off in Tong Jingjing’s mind.
Lowering her eyes for a moment in thought, Cen Sui then lifted her gaze. When she looked at Tong Jingjing, she smiled slightly and asked in a casual, conversational tone, “Cousin, you’re going to report to the company tomorrow, right?”
Tong Jingjing nodded, glancing at Father Cen. “Uncle has already arranged everything. I’ll be reporting in tomorrow.”
Cen Sui asked again, “You’re not taking the graduate school entrance exam?”
Tong Jingjing shook her head. She met Cen Sui’s eyes for a split second before immediately lowering her gaze and looking away. She answered, “No. I feel like it’s a waste of time. It’s better to start working right away and accumulate more work experience.”
Cen Sui nodded as if she agreed, then asked again, “What was your major in undergrad?”
Tong Jingjing pressed her lips together. “Computer science.”
Cen Sui sounded surprised. “Computer science?”
After her surprise, she did not ask her to repeat herself. Holding her chopsticks, Cen Sui thought for a moment and said, “With your major, I don’t think there are many positions you can take in my dad’s company. If it were design or marketing, that would still work. But with your major, what would you even do in the company?”
Tong Jingjing glanced at Father Cen again. Father Cen spoke up, “We will let Jingjing join the marketing department and learn from Director Wang first.”
Cen Sui thought about it again with a serious expression, then said slowly, “Learning directly under the head of the marketing department? That arrangement… feels not very appropriate to me.”
What she meant was that this was essentially parachuting her into a management-level position in the marketing department.
Father Cen had never known that she actually paid attention to matters in their own company.
He found this rather novel and looked at Cen Sui with a curious yet indulgent smile, asking her, “What opinions do you have?”
Cen Sui grew solemn. “Cousin hasn’t even received her graduation certificate yet, and her major doesn’t match the position. How can she enter the company and go straight into department leadership? Would the employees under her be happy about that? If my cousin were truly capable, parachuting into a position wouldn’t be a problem, but she…”
She glanced at Tong Jingjing. Seeing her expression turn somewhat unpleasant, Cen Sui smiled again. “Cousin, don’t be upset. I am analyzing the situation for you. I mean no harm. With the way my dad arranged things, the dissatisfaction of other employees is a small matter. The important thing is that if you follow the department head, you will spend your days attending meetings that you cannot understand. You won’t be able to learn anything at all. If you, a complete newcomer to the industry, are handed a project directly, you definitely will not be able to manage it. Instead of entering the company only to invite jealousy from colleagues and become the subject of gossip, wouldn’t it be better to start from the grassroots level, learn things earnestly, get to know the industry first? What do you think?”
Tong Jingjing looked at Cen Sui and pressed her lips together slightly.
What could she say? How could she refute Cen Sui’s words?
No matter what she said, she would only appear to be overly ambitious and lacking the attitude of working her way up.
She did not argue further and only said, “I’ll follow Uncle’s arrangement.”
Father Cen was still thinking over Cen Sui’s words.
Earlier, he had only thought about arranging a job so that his niece would not have a hard time. He truly had not considered so many details.
For him, this matter was simple, something that could be settled with a few words.
But after hearing Cen Sui say all that, he actually began to think seriously about it.
After a moment of reflection, Father Cen pushed the decision back to Tong Jingjing. He said to her, “I feel that what Sui Sui said makes sense. Jingjing, what do you think? You need to have your own thoughts and opinions and take responsibility for your future.”
Tong Jingjing: “…”
Did they really have to force her to say that she was willing to endure hardship and start from the bottom?
Everything had already been agreed upon before. Now that Cen Sui had stepped in, why did the arrangement suddenly change?
If she were a Cen, if she were Father Cen’s own daughter, she could act spoiled and insist on what she wanted.
But she was not. Many thoughts could not be stated outright, so she could only hold them in her heart.
The atmosphere had not even turned tense yet when Aunt Tang spoke up again. “If you ask me, Jingjing, you should start learning from the bottom. That’s the best way. You don’t understand anything about this industry, and if your position in the company is higher than everyone else’s, how could you not be excluded? And if something embarrassing happens, your uncle wouldn’t be able to hold his head up.”
Mother Cen also began echoing, “Aunt Tang is right. Old Cen, you have to take responsibility for Jingjing’s future. You can’t just arrange things carelessly and end up harming her. I think letting Jingjing start from the bottom makes everything more natural when she gets promoted. Others won’t have anything to say.”
She added another sentence. “It is true that she doesn’t understand anything at all and has too much to learn.”
Tong Jingjing could no longer stop her expression from darkening, yet she still could not say a single word of dissatisfaction.
She gripped her chopsticks tightly, and the food in her mouth suddenly felt like wax.
After hearing everything, Father Cen had already made up his mind. He looked at Tong Jingjing and said, “Then Jingjing, you will join the marketing department and start from the bottom. In any case, you are my niece. No one will dare make things hard for you, so don’t worry too much.”
What could Tong Jingjing say? She could only swallow her frustration and prepare to nod in agreement.
Before she could lower her head, she suddenly heard Cen Sui speak. “Dad, I don’t think the marketing department suits Cousin either.”
Hearing this, an immediate sense of dread rose in Tong Jingjing’s heart. She snapped her head up to look at Cen Sui, thinking, What the hell do you want now? She had already been demoted from departmental leadership straight to the lowest position in the department. Was that still not enough?
Cen Sui still acted as if she were considering things for her sake, continuing in an extremely serious tone, “The marketing department handles promotions. You have to thoroughly understand the product’s strengths and selling points. Only by being familiar with marketing strategies and the products themselves can you make good promotional plans. Cousin does not understand anything about gold, silver, or gemstones. How could she do promotions? If you don’t believe me, ask her. What are the selling points of diamonds? How many types of jadeite are there? What are the characteristics of each kind of jadeite?”
Following Cen Sui’s train of thought, Father Cen pondered seriously for a moment and said, “If she really has to learn from the basics, the only place would be the retail stores. She can learn about the products, learn about pricing and the market, and also learn about customers.”
Tong Jingjing: “…”
Did she transmigrate into a fake book?
Was this supporting female character poisoned or what?
Instead of focusing on the male lead, why was she targeting her?
After speaking, Father Cen asked her, “Intern at the retail store for a period first. Jingjing, what do you think?”
Inside, Tong Jingjing was roaring. She did not think it was fine at all. She was originally supposed to enter the company at the department leadership level. How had the conversation somehow turned into sending her to stand behind a counter in a store? What was this supposed to mean?
But no matter how loudly she screamed internally, she still had to force a smile onto her face.
Tong Jingjing looked at Father Cen and said, “If Uncle thinks it is suitable, I will stay at the retail store for a while first.”
Father Cen nodded, looking very pleased. “I think it is very suitable.”
Tong Jingjing: “…”
Suitable for what?!
How was any of this suitable?!!
This topic had reached a settled conclusion and was considered finished.
The atmosphere at the table remained relaxed and warm. Only Tong Jingjing, while chewing the fragrant white rice, was roaring in her heart for the one thousand eight hundred and ninety-ninth time, feeling so aggrieved she could barely swallow.
Cen Sui glanced at Tong Jingjing twice. Seeing how dark her expression had become, she did not concern herself with her any further. She picked up the conversation again and said, “Just like Cousin, I also don’t understand anything about what our family’s business deals with. So I am not in a hurry to start working after graduation. I plan to take the postgraduate entrance exam.”
When she said this, everyone at the table looked surprised.
Mother Cen could not hold back a laugh. She looked at Cen Sui and said, “You want to take the postgraduate exam? I have never once seen you study properly. I do not even know what you like to study. Go on then, tell us, what exam are you planning to take?”
Cen Sui was not bothered by Mother Cen’s questioning.
Because she truly had never studied properly before. In her past life, the only thing that mattered was following behind Chen Yu wherever he went.
She had even chosen her university major just to chase Chen Yu, and she did not like it at all.
Cen Sui looked serious as she slowly said to Mother Cen, “I plan to apply to the jewelry program at the University of Geosciences. After graduating, I will come back and inherit the family business.”
Father Cen’s eyes lit up the moment he heard this, and he could not help feeling a bit delighted. “Really? How did you suddenly become enlightened?”
Cen Sui gave a small smile, her eyes and tone sincere. “Of course it’s real. I’m already twenty-one. It is time for me to grow up and help Mom and Dad share the burdens of the family and the company. I cannot keep letting the two of you work so hard.”
Father Cen and Mother Cen had never imagined that they would hear such words come out of Cen Sui’s mouth in their entire lifetime.
They understood Cen Sui better than anyone. Their daughter was born without great ambitions. Aside from the little romantic matters in a young woman’s heart, she had nothing else in her mind, as if she had been bewitched.
Almost at the same time, Father Cen and Mother Cen both felt a faint stirring in their hearts.
Father Cen nodded with satisfaction and placed a piece of braised pork rib and a large braised prawn into Cen Sui’s bowl.
He did not discourage her. Instead, he said, “Dad believes you can do it.”
Meanwhile, Tong Jingjing, who had been sitting beside them quietly eating and no longer speaking, could not help the twitch at the corner of her mouth as she listened to this conversation. Her mind was filled entirely with question marks.