Ji Ran did not remain overwhelmed for very long. About a minute later, he wiped away his tears and said to Asher, “I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”
“It’s all right,” Asher said, gently patting him on the shoulder. “We all have difficult times. Once you’ve had a good cry, just get back to work.”
“But I…” Ji Ran lowered his head, his mood sinking again. “But I can’t continue working here anymore…”
“Why?” Asher was taken aback. “Are you planning to resign?”
Ji Ran shook his head and said quietly, “Samuel doesn’t like me…”
“How could that be?” Asher asked in surprise. “Is there some kind of misunderstanding? He isn’t that sort of person.”
Ji Ran closed his eyes, his expression filled with pain. “Samuel had me participate in a bidding meeting yesterday and I lost the project…”
Asher seemed about to say something but Ji Ran had already continued, “But an intern would never normally be allowed to participate in something this important. If he didn’t intend to make me mess up so that he could drive me out, then why else would he have given me a task like that?”
Asher said, “But if he really wanted to drive you away, why would he have asked me to prepare new office equipment for you?”
Ji Ran was left speechless by the question. He tried to convince himself otherwise. “Maybe Samuel thinks my old computer is affecting my work.”
“Then isn’t that even better?” Asher said. “That would give him a perfectly good reason to ask you to leave.”
Ji Ran froze where he stood.
Indeed, the logic simply did not add up.
Could it be that he had misunderstood? Perhaps Han Shen did not actually want him gone after all but if Samuel had not been targeting him, then why had he assigned him such an important task…?
“Talk to him again,” Asher said, patting Ji Ran on the shoulder. “You’re an excellent employee. Losing you would be a loss for both Samuel and me.”
Asher’s appreciation made Ji Ran feel considerably better. He wiped away the last of his tears and cautiously raised his head. “Then should I talk to Samuel again?”
“Go back in,” Asher said. “He still has half an hour of free time.”
…..
Ji Ran went to the restroom and washed his face, making sure that there was nothing obviously wrong with his appearance before returning to Han Shen’s office.
“Samuel,” Ji Ran said awkwardly as he stood in front of the desk, “can we talk?”
He had tried very hard to conceal the signs that he had been crying but his voice still carried the distinctive hoarseness that came after crying and the redness around his eyes had not completely faded either. Even a three year old child could have seen that he had just been crying.
Han Shen did not expose him or point out that he had been crying, nor did he offer him any words of comfort. He knew that Ji Ran did not want to cry in front of him, nor was he willing to show him any sign of vulnerability.
“Sure.” Han Shen rose from his office chair and walked over to the small tea table in the sitting area before taking a seat. He only chose to use the tea table when discussing important matters.
Ji Ran remained standing where he was, unsure whether he should follow. It was only when Han Shen told him, “Sit,” that Ji Ran finally took a few small steps forward and sat down somewhat stiffly across from him.
Han Shen poured Ji Ran a glass of water and said, “What did you want to talk about?”
Feeling flattered by the gesture, Ji Ran thanked him before reaching out to accept the glass and taking a small sip.
Several more seconds passed before he finally raised his head and cautiously asked, “Do you still want to keep me working here?”
“Julian, that decision is yours to make,” Han Shen said, looking up at him. “In fact, I have never thought about asking you to leave.”
‘I have never thought about asking you to leave.’
For a brief moment, Ji Ran’s mind went completely blank. Even though he had already guessed that this might be the case from Asher’s analysis, actually hearing Han Shen admit it himself still came as a tremendous surprise.
His hands tightened around the water glass and after a moment of hesitation, he asked, “But why did you assign that kind of work to me? There was no way I could have completed it…”
Han Shen said, “I thought you could.”
Han Shen had trusted him so much yet he had completely messed the whole thing up…
Ji Ran lowered his head, his emotions tangled and complicated. “I’m sorry. I failed to live up to your expectations…”
The tip of his nose suddenly stung and tears threatened to spill from his eyes again.
But in the end, Ji Ran managed to hold them back. What had happened had already happened. Crying while apologizing would not improve the situation in the slightest. It would only make him feel a little better himself.
Ji Ran raised his head, seemingly having made up his mind about something. “Is there still a chance to turn this around? I want to talk to the people at Lanting Liquor again.”
Han Shen looked at him with some surprise. “What are you planning to do?”
“Since Jinshi Investment Bank was able to take the project away from us, we can completely follow their example.” Ji Ran pulled himself together again. “Besides, Fengsheng already has the capability to do this. The proposal we put forward was excellent as well. It was only because I failed to fully convey Fengsheng’s strengths during my presentation that things turned out this way. I want to meet with the people from Lanting Liquor one more time. This time, I’ll prepare properly and make sure they understand exactly what Fengsheng has to offer.”
After Ji Ran finished speaking, Han Shen remained silent for a long time.
About ten seconds later, Han Shen finally said, “The idea is good but there’s no need.”
Ji Ran’s heart sank.
Was it really too late after all?
Of course. The business world was like a battlefield. Everyone was competing against one another, so how could something like this be so easily repaired once it had happened…
“I’m sorry.” Ji Ran lowered his head and said quietly, “I was being too naive…”
“Don’t completely deny yourself because of one failure. Failure itself isn’t frightening. If you didn’t perform well this time, then continue and do better next time,” Han Shen said. “Even I have had times when I failed to secure a project. What matters is learning from the failure and striving to succeed the next time.”
Ji Ran understood the logic perfectly well but who would actually be willing to fail? Especially when it was such a major project…
If he had performed well yesterday, there was no way this project would have been lost.
Ji Ran became discouraged once again.
Han Shen said, “Besides, the project wasn’t lost.”
“The project wasn’t lost?” Ji Ran raised his head in disbelief.
“Bidding is ultimately a test of overall capability. The factors within the presentation itself only account for a very small part of the decision,” Han Shen told him. “Although our presentation wasn’t perfect, what they valued was Fengsheng’s overall capabilities. This project will be jointly handled by us and Jinshi Investment Bank.”
Thinking that Han Shen had stepped in afterward to clean up his mess, Ji Ran felt even more guilty. “Did you contact them again afterward?”
“No.” Han Shen explained to Ji Ran, “Actually, Lanting Liquor approached us a month ago because they wanted to cooperate with Fengsheng on their listing project.”
“They approached you a month ago?” Ji Ran was extremely shocked. “Then why did we still have to participate in the bidding?”
Han Shen said, “But after evaluating it, I found that the project was complicated and the returns were mediocre, so I turned them down. I didn’t expect that the chairman of Lanting Liquor had a personal connection with one of Fengsheng’s shareholders and the board put pressure on me. To reduce that pressure, I proposed cooperating with another brokerage firm and jointly underwriting the project. For this presentation, they were choosing the other brokerage firm. Fengsheng had already been decided internally. The presentation was merely a formality.”
Only then did Ji Ran understand.
No wonder, when he had previously said that he couldn’t handle the project, Han Shen had looked at him with such a puzzled expression, as if silently saying: You’re my subordinate, so naturally I’ll take responsibility for you.
Ji Ran had originally thought that Han Shen was merely giving him some perfunctory words to make him feel better. He had never expected that Han Shen had actually made arrangements long before any of this happened.
Ji Ran suddenly thought of all those companies where, whenever something went wrong, the responsibility was immediately pushed onto the interns.
He thought that although Han Shen was not exactly a considerate or understanding leader, at least he was willing to shoulder the responsibility that belonged to him.
Ji Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief, though at the same time, a faint sense of disappointment surfaced inside him. Pretending to be casual, he said, “So when you made me go up there, you were just sending me in to make up the numbers, weren’t you?”
“No.” Han Shen looked at him as though he genuinely could not understand how Ji Ran had come to that conclusion. “First of all, there was no need for anyone to make up the numbers for that presentation and if I had only wanted you there to make up the numbers, I wouldn’t have driven halfway across the city just to pick you up.”
Ji Ran froze for a moment. “Didn’t you say at the time that you were coming from the airport and it was on your way?”
Han Shen did not answer that question. Instead, he said, “I simply thought this would be a good opportunity for you to gain some practical experience but now that I look at it, perhaps I was too aggressive. It seems I…”
His gaze fell on Ji Ran’s swollen, reddened eyes and he added, “I caused you quite a shock.”
By now, Ji Ran completely understood what Han Shen had intended.
Perhaps, from Han Shen’s perspective, this had merely been an ordinary opportunity for Ji Ran to gain experience. Since the opportunity happened to present itself, he had let Ji Ran take part.
If the presentation went smoothly, of course that would be good but even if Ji Ran didn’t perform well, it was not a big deal. After all, to Han Shen, this had simply been a training opportunity. It would not have any impact whatsoever on the final outcome.
Ji Ran understood all of that completely.
And yet, he was still angry.
“Next time you do something like this, could you at least consider my situation a little?” Ji Ran suddenly stood up. “In your eyes, you might think this was nothing more than an insignificant training opportunity but I knew nothing about it. I was thrown onto that stage without the slightest warning and I spent the entire weekend worrying that I had lost the project.”
Han Shen’s expression showed a trace of astonishment.
Ji Ran felt even more aggrieved.
Especially now that he understood that Han Shen’s reasons had actually been perfectly justified, his anger only grew stronger.
“You’re so capable and you have your family there to support you, so naturally you can afford to think that one failure doesn’t matter but I’m different. Just getting to where I am today has already taken everything I have!” Ji Ran looked up at Han Shen.
He could feel himself about to cry again but he desperately forced the tears back and continued, “All these years, I’ve always been on my own. Every decision I made, I had to make by myself and whatever the outcome was, I was the one who had to take responsibility for it. I studied like my life depended on it. I treated every choice with the utmost caution and before taking any action, I had to prepare until everything was as close to perfect as possible. Because I know very clearly that there’s no one standing behind me. I don’t have the luxury of making mistakes.”
“I worked so hard just to finally achieve what I have today and yet you nearly ruined my life simply because you wanted to give me a chance to try something. You people who are so accomplished and privileged, could you at least have a little empathy for ordinary people?”
After Ji Ran finished speaking, he was caught in a powerful surge of emotions. His chest rose and fell rapidly with anger and his eyes filled with tears once again yet he refused to cry.
This was precisely the critical moment of the battle. He absolutely could not allow himself to cry now.
By this point, Ji Ran no longer cared whether he stayed or left. After having such a huge argument with Han Shen, even someone with as good a temper as Han Shen probably could not tolerate him anymore.
But Ji Ran did not regret it.
Now that he had finally said everything out loud, he actually felt much better.
Han Shen seemed genuinely shocked. Then he fell into a long silence.
Ji Ran had no idea what was going through his mind. To his surprise, Han Shen eventually held out a handkerchief toward him.
Ji Ran refused it.
Han Shen insisted on giving it to him.
Ji Ran glared at Han Shen, then snatched the expensive handkerchief, the kind that probably cost several thousand yuan, from his hand and blew his nose hard, deliberately making an extremely impolite sound.
Ji Ran was intentionally provoking him but Han Shen showed no sign of becoming angry. Instead, he said sincerely, “I’m sorry. This was my fault. I didn’t take your feelings into consideration.”
An apology was easy enough. Who couldn’t apologize?
Ji Ran didn’t believe that Han Shen was genuinely sorry at all.
He remained silent.
Han Shen handed him another handkerchief.
Ji Ran refused that one too.
So Han Shen simply placed the handkerchief on the tea table in front of Ji Ran and said, “I’d like you to stay and continue following up on the Lanting Liquor project.”
Ji Ran had practically pointed a finger at Han Shen’s nose and cursed him yet Han Shen was still willing to keep him?
Ji Ran thought he ought to be grateful beyond words. He should have responded as he usually did, said yes and then turned around and gone back out to continue working.
Yet when he opened his mouth, what came out was something entirely different.
“What if I don’t want to follow it up?”
Han Shen asked, “Do you not want to stay, or do you not want to follow up on the project?”
Ji Ran: “…”
What a cunning man.
He had immediately caught the loophole in Ji Ran’s words.
Ji Ran hadn’t thought things through himself, so he simply tried to bluff his way past Han Shen. “I’m too busy. I can’t manage it all.”
Han Shen lifted his eyes, seemingly somewhat surprised. “Is your workload putting you under a lot of pressure?”
“More than you can imagine.” Ji Ran didn’t even bother pretending anymore and answered bluntly, “There’s genuinely too much work. Ever since I came to the general office, I’ve been working overtime until the early hours of the morning almost every day. I don’t have any private time at all.”
Han Shen said, “But your workload is only half that of a full time assistant.”
Ji Ran replied, “But my workload is already twice that of an ordinary intern.”
Han Shen looked at him. “So you still want to leave?”
Ji Ran remained silent for several seconds.
Finally, he made his decision and looked up at Han Shen.
“I can stay but you’ll have to pay me more.”
Han Shen asked, “How much more do you want?”
Ji Ran took a deep breath and cautiously held up two fingers.
“All right,” Han Shen agreed readily. “I’ll give you double your current internship daily wage.”
Double?
Ji Ran was completely stunned.
He had only wanted a twenty percent raise.
And Han Shen had just said he was willing to give him double???
What did double his salary actually mean?
Ji Ran was currently earning 400 yuan a day as an intern. He could work at least twenty five days a month and once travel allowances were added in, he could already reliably earn more than ten thousand yuan a month.
And now Han Shen was offering him double that salary.
That meant…
His internship income could approach twenty thousand yuan a month?
Twenty thousand yuan.
Ji Ran had never had that much money in his entire life and this was merely what he would be earning from his internship in a single month!
Ji Ran was already so excited that he didn’t know what to do with himself but perhaps successfully negotiating a raise had given him courage. Instead of simply leaving, he continued, “I have two more requests.”
Han Shen said, “Go ahead.”
“I can work overtime when necessary but I don’t want to be asked to work overtime at the last minute,” Ji Ran said as he looked at Han Shen. He continued, “And if there’s a business trip, I hope you can notify me at least one day in advance.”
He was ninety nine percent a J personality type. He genuinely hated unexpected situations.
Han Shen was silent for a while before saying, “I’m sorry but I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to meet those two requirements.”
Ji Ran pressed his lips together. He wanted to say something but ultimately held it back.
Han Shen said, “I understand that you don’t want your life to be disrupted but you know the nature of our industry. We will always encounter unexpected situations that require immediate attention. Some opportunities for cooperation can also disappear in an instant, leaving no room for hesitation.”
Ji Ran naturally understood that reasoning as well.
His colleagues at the company often received last minute business trips, or suddenly had to produce a project proposal within two hours. Even Han Shen himself was no exception. When they had first met, something had gone wrong with the Synthetic Intelligence project and Han Shen had rushed back from overseas in the middle of the night.
It seemed that everyone else had long since grown accustomed to this kind of working pattern.
That made Ji Ran, by comparison, seem like the odd one out.
“When you first enter the workplace, there’s always a period of adjustment,” Han Shen told Ji Ran. “If something similar happens again, I’ll notify you as soon as possible and try my best to give you enough time to react and make arrangements.”
“Do you think that’s acceptable?”
The two requests Ji Ran had made after negotiating his raise had only been additional conditions. After all, he had chosen to work in investment banking, so he naturally understood the challenges and pressure that came with it.
Having received this assurance from his superior, he was already quite satisfied.
Ji Ran nodded. “That’s fine.”
Han Shen asked again, “Do you have any other questions?”
Ji Ran had originally intended to say no. He was already extremely satisfied with the outcome of their conversation.
But as he looked at Han Shen sitting opposite him in his perfectly tailored suit, a man who seemed as though he never knew what it meant to become tired, Ji Ran suddenly became curious.
“How can you keep working so efficiently all the time? Don’t you ever feel tired at all?”
Han Shen seemed somewhat surprised by the question but he still answered Ji Ran.
“Of course I get tired. I’m just used to it.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
A coffee would be extremely convenient right about now. Just saying.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · A cold-hearted bossChapter 2 · “Your skirt?”Chapter 3 · Ji Ran was caught off guardChapter 4 · Relax, you bit your lip until it bledChapter 5 · Don’t want toChapter 6 · Women’s clothing and DaddyChapter 7 · Ji Ran hunched over and began to sob softly.Chapter 8 · Rebellion, offense, and self-rewardChapter 9 · I hate it when people flaunt their wealth in front of meChapter 10 · CompensateChapter 11 · Why are you following me?Chapter 12 · Damn, he forgot to take off his leg chainChapter 13 · Ji Ran was indeed still afraid of him.Chapter 14 · A message came from OrcaChapter 15 · Self-blame, anger, and tears.Chapter 16 · You have to pay more!Chapter 17 · Did you come here just to yell at me?Chapter 18 · Just bear with it a little longerChapter 19 · Women’s clothing live streamChapter 20 · Could you come and pick me up?Chapter 21 Part 1 · It’s all an actChapter 21 Part 2 · It’s all an actChapter 22 · The actions could be even more brutalChapter 23 · A slapChapter 24 · He wanted to surrender a part of himself