“Special Assistant Zhou, you can head back first,” Su An said, waving his hand toward Zhou Ran behind him.
“Alright, Bo—”
Su An shot him a sidelong glance.
Zhou Ran’s tone shifted abruptly. “…Mr. Su.”
Zhou Ran slipped away in a flash, leaving Zhang Zhiming standing to the side, dumbfounded.
Zhang Zhiming rubbed his hands together nervously. After all, this child who had come through the back door looked quite obedient, so he asked politely, “That… Xiao Su, was it? Are you sure you haven’t come to the wrong place? For instance, maybe you were looking for an entertainment agency…?”
At this moment, Zhang Zhiming truly wished Su An had come to the wrong place. Too much had been happening recently, and he was busy and frazzled every day. Unfortunately, as soon as Su An spoke, his hopes were dashed.
“President Zhang, I haven’t come to the wrong place. I’m here to join you all.” Su An shook hands with Zhang Zhiming, his enthusiasm making it seem as if he were the CEO of the company.
The smile on Zhang Zhiming’s face looked worse than a crying expression. He said to him subtly, “Xiao Su, even though you were sent here by the higher-ups, Fanjing never keeps idle people around.”
Su An caught the subtext. He clearly approved of President Zhang’s approach and nodded to show his understanding; after all, one still had to let their work and results do the talking.
He pulled a design sketch out of his bag, unfolded it, and handed it to President Zhang. As President Zhang took it, he was still saying, “But Xiao Su, you should study hard and work hard, I still have high hopes for—”
President Zhang’s words came to a dead halt. The design sketch in front of him instantly made his eyes light up.
Hah! To hell with ‘back-door hires,’ this was simply digging up a treasure!
Although Zhang Zhiming didn’t know much about the specifics of design, his first reaction upon seeing the sketch was: Damn, I want to buy this.
“Xiao Su, you, you, you…” Zhang Zhiming was so excited he could no longer speak properly. “I haven’t heard of you having any design experience before!”
Su An still maintained that polite smile, but he was not at all humble. “I’m a natural-born talent.”
Zhang Zhiming completely reversed his previous attitude. He diligently patted Su An on the shoulder and led him into the Fanjing building.
Zhang Zhiming was currently riding high. He had a premonition that the youth in front of him would certainly become a well-known jewelry designer domestically and even internationally.
He couldn’t help but despise his previous lack of vision. How was this a “flower vase”? This was simply a cash cow! His company’s performance was saved!
Zhang Zhiming personally led Su An to the design department office. Due to the previous wave of resignations, only a few people were left in the design department, and the entire office was permeated with a low, dejected atmosphere.
Zhang Zhiming cleared his throat, and the design department employees immediately perked up, pretending to be very busy.
Zhang Zhiming felt a bit awkward and defended them, “That… they weren’t like this before…”
Su An stood with his arms crossed, watching the scene in the office with the air of a big boss. He waved his hand to show his understanding. “It’s fine.”
Zhang Zhiming nearly had his soul scared away by those two light words, fearing that Su An might regret his decision and quit on the spot.
He announced loudly to the entire design department, “Stop whatever you’re doing for a moment. This is a new designer the company has hired.”
Every gaze in the design department snapped toward Su An. Su An wasn’t shy either, stating generously, “Su An. Please look after me.”
“Tsk. Another back-door hire.” A voice broke the silence.
Sitting in the corner, Tang Yan had a look of contempt on his face. “Has Fanjing fallen so low now? They’ll take just anyone.”
Hearing this, Zhang Zhiming’s face darkened. Are you pretending I don’t exist? Just as he was about to speak, Su An stopped him.
Su An walked over to Tang Yan’s workstation, looked at the name on the desk, and stood there looking down at him. His voice wasn’t loud. “Tang Yan, just talking is boring. Why don’t we let our work do the talking?”
Sitting in his chair, Tang Yan tilted his head back slightly and smiled with disdain. “Why should I compete with you?”
Su An: “Are you perhaps afraid of someone who came through the back door?”
Provocation was often very effective against people like this.
Aggravated by the taunt, Tang Yan’s temper flared up instantly. His tone was arrogant. “Fine! I’ll compete with you. Starting right now, we each hand in a preliminary draft in three hours, and everyone will judge.”
Su An had no objection. “Deal.”
At this point, a young girl nearby gently tugged on the hem of Su An’s clothes. She whispered, “Tang Yan is always like this; he just likes to bully newcomers. We all believe in you.”
“It’s fine.” Su An gave her a reassuring smile, then turned back to look at Tang Yan with interest. “How about we add a condition: whoever loses, leaves.”
“This…” Tang Yan hesitated. Although Fanjing’s situation wasn’t great currently, the salary and benefits were very generous.
“Oh. You’ve chickened out. How boring.” Su An mocked him, then made as if he were about to leave.
“You’re on!” Tang Yan couldn’t bear to lose face, and he was very confident. The person leaving definitely wouldn’t be him. When the time came, he would ruthlessly slap this back-door hire’s face and send him packing from Fanjing in disgrace.
Mute the world and listen to the sound of Zhang Zhiming’s heart shattering.
Leaving aside the fact that Su An was sent from the higher-ups, based solely on the design sketch that had dazzled him earlier, Zhang Zhiming wished he could worship Su An like an ancestor right then and there.
He had already begun to regret not firing this idiot Tang Yan directly during the previous layoffs.
The design department office was very quiet. Everyone sat at their desks watching the competition, anticipating the final result.
In truth, everyone’s hearts were leaning toward Su An, because Tang Yan was usually overbearing and arrogant in the office. More or less everyone present had had a conflict with him, and none of them liked him. Unfortunately, Tang Yan did actually have some level of skill.
With things like design sketches, one could tell at a single glance whether it was impressive or not. Everyone still secretly hoped Su An could ruthlessly slap Tang Yan’s face and help them vent their frustration.
Time passed minute by minute, and the three hours were soon up.
Tang Yan put down his pen, looking triumphant. His recently dried-up inspiration had burst forth in that moment; this was the design sketch he was most satisfied with in a long time.
He saw Su An’s slightly furrowed brow and felt he was certain to win. He held his head high, his eyes full of arrogance. “Why the frown? You couldn’t actually draw anything, could you?”
Su An shook his head and sighed. “Three hours is still too much. It’s a bit of a waste of my time; I need to go home for dinner.”
Tang Yan’s face twisted. He stepped forward quickly and grabbed the design sketch on Su An’s desk. “I want to see what kind of thing a back-door hire can design.”
But when he flipped the paper over, he could no longer make a sound.
Su An had designed a brooch. Unlike the current popular hits on the market, Su An’s design did not imitate so-called trends. Instead, he had integrated various elements perfectly; the shapes, lines, and proportions were all exceptionally beautiful.
Even though the preliminary draft hadn’t been colored or refined, it was enough to capture the attention of everyone present.
“My god, this is too beautiful!”
The silent office suddenly boiled over. Everyone crowded around Su An, chattering and discussing, and no one cared about Tang Yan, who was standing there dazed and frozen in place.