The next day, He Wenqi went to work on time.
As soon as Ling Chen stepped into the company, he started chatting with him: “He Wenqi, I heard you were sick yesterday? How did that happen? Is it okay to work today? Why not rest for a couple more days?”
“It’s fine, just a stomach issue acting up, it won’t affect anything.”
Ling Chen’s gossipy head swayed energetically as he leaned his upper body closer to the inside of the front desk, lowering his voice mysteriously: “I heard Assistant Chen called Fang Zhenkang to ask for leave on your behalf. I couldn’t tell before—are you and Assistant Chen that close?”
He really was well-informed.
“No, isn’t it because the new boss arrived on his first day? I was afraid taking leave would have a bad impact, so I told Assistant Chen first.” He Wenqi smiled noncommittally and picked up his cup to go to the pantry to brew coffee.
“I see, you really considered things in great detail. However, the new boss only entered the company yesterday afternoon; I even arrived an hour early in the morning.” Ling Chen followed close behind him into the pantry.
“You haven’t had time to check your emails yet, have you? You should open your inbox and take a look later.”
“What’s wrong?” He Wenqi was waiting for the water to boil; Ling Chen was blocking the doorway.
“On the very first day, he set a whole bunch of rules. I can understand a new official taking office, but there’s one rule that says something like ’employees are not allowed to go to nightclubs.’ Tell me, what kind of ghost rule is that? During the day, our time is already sold to the company to work like oxen and horses—not to mention the exhausting overtime—and then after work, we can’t even go to a nightclub to relax? How can that be a restriction? Does the company have the right to control our private lives after hours? There’s no logic to it anywhere. Besides, we’re all adults, and nightclubs are places for adults, aren’t they?”
The more Ling Chen spoke, the more worked up he got. He Wenqi listened with a different calculation in his mind: This rule probably isn’t targeted at me, is it?
Fang Zhenkang entered with a cup in his hand.
“Manager Fang.” Ling Chen stepped aside to let him through; with the HR manager there, it wasn’t appropriate to continue idling and chatting. He headed back to his workstation after greeting him.
“Manager Fang, the water isn’t boiling yet. Tea or coffee? I’ll bring it over to you in a bit.” The scent of perfume on Fang Zhenkang was very heavy; He Wenqi stepped aside a little.
“Morning, Xiao He.” Fang Zhenkang put down his cup, adjusted his rimless glasses, took a step toward He Wenqi, and asked with concern: “Why did you come to work already? Is your body okay? It would have been fine to rest for a couple more days. Have you had breakfast?”
He Wenqi shifted another step away: “I haven’t had time yet.”
“Sigh, you young people just don’t cherish your health. Look at you, so thin and yet you don’t eat breakfast; I reckon there’s hardly a few ounces of meat on your body.” Fang Zhenkang spoke in the lecturing tone of an experienced elder, and as he spoke, he reached out his hand to measure He Wenqi’s waist.
The pantry had an “L-shaped” counter. As Fang Zhenkang moved a step, He Wenqi shifted a step; step by step, he retreated into the corner. Seeing the hand reach over, he tilted his waist to dodge inward, only to hear a thud as he hit the tabletop.
Hiss
He Wenqi was in so much pain he nearly bit his tongue.
“Oh my, where did you hit? How could you be so careless? Let me see, it’s not serious, is it?”
He Wenqi was in pain, arching his back and curling his body. Fang Zhenkang’s palm took the opportunity to stroke his back, smoothing down bit by bit. It looked like he was comforting him, but in reality, he was taking full advantage.
Enduring the pain, He Wenqi raised his elbow, wanting to push the person leaning in away. Fang Zhenkang’s mouth was full of worry, but his other hand gripped He Wenqi’s elbow, pulling firmly as if to pull him into his arms.
Knock, knock, knock
A timely knocking sound rang out.
The pantry door wasn’t closed; the person coming was just giving a polite reminder.
“President Han, morning.” Seeing Han Ji, Fang Zhenkang loosened his grip.
Han Ji nodded with a hum. His gaze landed on He Wenqi, paused for a moment, and he spoke a command expressionlessly: “He Wenqi, help me brew a cup of coffee and bring it to my office. The water shouldn’t be boiling—eighty-nine degrees is fine. No sugar.”
He Wenqi: “Alright, President Han.”
Having finished speaking, Han Ji turned and left.
With this interruption, Fang Zhenkang didn’t continue his groping. He poured himself a cup of water, looked left and right to see that no one else was approaching the pantry, and said to He Wenqi in a lowered voice: “Xiao He, you should know, I think very highly of you. It’s just that your situation is different from others.”
“We were previously an international communications company, and the threshold for hiring is higher than average companies. Even though we now belong to the Xingsheng Group, this aspect won’t likely be lowered. There is an issue with your academic credentials; they don’t meet the company’s basic requirements. My placing you at the front desk was also doing my best to look after you.”
“This new President Han has very strict requirements. He might re-evaluate your batch of interns. If you want to stay and successfully become a permanent employee, come find me; I can help you.”
After finishing these words, Fang Zhenkang gave He Wenqi a deep, meaningful look, smiled, and left.
Academic credentials?
He Wenqi gave a self-deprecating smile. Could it be that Han Ji would actually investigate this and fire him upon finding out he wasn’t qualified?
It couldn’t really be called firing; he wasn’t even a formal employee. At most, it would just be failing to pass the internship period.
Leave just like that? No, he wasn’t willing.
He Wenqi carried the brewed black coffee to the door of the CEO’s office. Originally, he wanted to hand it to Assistant Chen at the workstation by the door and let Assistant Chen take it in. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to bring it in himself.
He Wenqi knocked on the door.
“Enter—”
“President Han, your coffee.” He Wenqi pushed the door and entered.
Han Ji was standing by the window answering a phone call and waved his hand toward him.
The office had a very transparent floor-to-ceiling window. On the thirty-ninth floor of the Business Center building, the view was expansive, offering a bird’s-eye view of more than half the city.
He Wenqi handed the coffee into his hand.
Han Ji took a small sip, handed it back to him, and pointed to the office desk.
He Wenqi took it and placed it on the desk. Turning around, he saw Han Ji motioning with his hand for him to wait a moment, so he had to stand in place and wait, glancing around.
This was the first time he had entered the CEO’s office. It was a bit different from what he had imagined, with a minimalist decoration style; he didn’t know if it was like this before or if Han Ji had changed it.
Besides the floor-to-ceiling window and the two walls by the entrance, the remaining wall by the desk was entirely made of simple wooden cabinet doors, while the other side only held a huge cream-yellow sofa.
With nothing else to look at, He Wenqi’s gaze landed back on Han Ji.
Han Ji’s silhouette against the light was tall and slender. He was still in a suit, though not wearing the jacket. A black shirt with a gray suit vest, a dark red tie paired with a gold tie clip.
Don’t they say black makes a person look thin? He Wenqi couldn’t see that on Han Ji at all.
Broad shoulders and a thick back; the clothes wrapped him just right, making him look firm and sturdy. Especially the chest area—the curve was prominent. Combined with a pair of long legs, it had to be said, his physique was very good.
Han Ji hung up the phone, and while unbuttoning his vest, he turned the air conditioning temperature down a bit. He took off the vest and tossed it casually over the back of his chair, then picked up the coffee and took another sip. Looking up, he saw He Wenqi’s eyes dodge away from his chest, subsequently moving down to land on his leather shoes.
Han Ji leaned against the office desk, bracing his hands behind him on the edge of the desk with the corners of his mouth hooked: “Looks good, right?”
He Wenqi was puzzled for a moment. After reacting, he lifted his head, forcing himself to be calm while suppressing his heartbeat, and looked directly at Han Ji as if he hadn’t understood: “Hmm?”
Han Ji: “I said—the shoes. The style is decent, isn’t it?”
Having misunderstood the meaning, He Wenqi masked the embarrassment in his heart: “Yes, President Han’s taste is good.”
Han Ji’s shoulders shook slightly as he let out a laugh.
He Wenqi: “The coffee has been delivered. Does President Han have anything else?”
Han Ji stopped laughing and said seriously: “Is it okay to work today?”
Why was every single person so concerned about him? This was already the third person to ask today.
“Thank you for the concern, President Han. I know my own body.”
Han Ji asked again: “Didn’t eat breakfast?”
He Wenqi: “President Han, if there is no official business to arrange, I will go back to work. Although the front desk isn’t busy with key projects, there are still a bunch of trifles to handle. I don’t want to work overtime for those things.”
President Han nodded. After a moment of silence, he said: “I have looked at your resume and files. You did some promotional project designs before joining the company. Although they were private commissions and not large projects, I imagine you still have experience in design and creation.”
“I intend to start a project that won’t be divided by position or job type; everyone can participate, including you interns.”
He Wenqi’s heart trembled. After calming himself slightly, he said: “President Han, you mustn’t harbor any personal bias. Aside from having been neighbors in the past, we have no relationship. There is no need for you to help me with anything.”
“You’re overthinking it; I’m not helping you.” Han Ji looked at him. “I’ve reviewed the records of all employees, especially this new batch. Fang Zhenkang’s distribution and arrangements are unreasonable. Furthermore, the company’s talent selection is too rigid. As a design company, it’s time to bring in fresh blood.”
“This is also an opportunity for everyone; it isn’t specifically targeted at you.” He paused slightly, observing He Wenqi’s expression as if judging: “You will participate, won’t you?”
He Wenqi looked away: “If there really is such an opportunity, I will consider it seriously.”
“Good. But before that, there will be a very strict individual assessment. Fair competition. You should be mentally prepared.”
“It naturally must be fair. That would be for the best.”
“Good. You may go.”
Just as He Wenqi was about to walk away, Han Ji added slowly: “I stick to a fitness routine and go to the gym three times a week. Not just the chest—the waist and hips are also trained to look very good.”
He Wenqi: …
Having been called out, he opened the door and left quickly before his face could change color.
Just as he reached the front desk, a female colleague passed by and saw him walking hurriedly, saying casually: “He Wenqi, are you wearing too much? The company heating is so strong, and you’re still wearing a sweater. Look how red your face is—it’s from the heat, right?”
How embarrassing. He Wenqi turned and went to the restroom, turned on the faucet, and splashed two handfuls of cold water on his face, gradually calming down.
Thinking of what Han Ji just said about starting a project to let newcomers participate—that was a great opportunity he had been longing for.
He Wenqi certainly hadn’t joined the company to be relegated to front desk work, but he couldn’t meet the recruitment criteria for the design department. First of all, the hard academic requirements had filtered him out.
An international communications company, focusing on cultural and entertainment projects, designed promotions for major broadcasting, film, and entertainment companies. The core area where its competitiveness was higher than similar companies lay in animation-style promotional design, mainly including but not limited to posters and short films.
The company was extremely strict regarding academic credentials; at minimum, it required a full-time bachelor’s degree in a related major, plus work experience or participation in related design projects.
He Wenqi didn’t hit a single point. His bit of animation design knowledge was self-taught “in the wild”; he had no guidance from teachers at formal institutions.
In the personal files kept at the company, everything he filled out was true.
If he had gone to study the animation design major at the university he got into back then, things wouldn’t be this difficult today. If that were the case, there would be no need to come to this company at all.
He Wenqi shook his head vigorously.
Han Ji had asked him why he applied for the front desk; it was because he had no other choice.
As long as he got into the company first, he could take it step by step later—that was what He Wenqi had thought originally.
Regarding the opportunity Han Ji proposed, he not only had to participate but also give it his all.
As for Han Ji…
Since they were destined to cross paths, they were bound to see each other constantly.
In the past, he had overthought things and stumbled; having learned his lesson, he wouldn’t let himself develop any thoughts he shouldn’t have again.
Once he adjusted his mindset like this, He Wenqi’s whole being relaxed.