Chapter 13
1318 Words
The days when there’s no overtime and you have colleagues to work with are always full of happiness. Time flies, and the weekend is just around the corner.
As Friday approached the end of the workday, Shen Yan sent the interview draft to Zhou Xing right on the dot.
After reading it through, Zhou Xing encouraged her, "It’s well-written, but there are a few issues. Let me help you refine it and elevate the theme."
When Shen Yan heard Zhou Xing say he would "refine the theme," she felt reassured. This boss was really nice—looks like another day of work ahead.
She nodded, ready to wrap up for the day.
At that moment, neither of them noticed that their conversation had been overheard by Fan Mingxu, who had been standing behind them.
Fan Mingxu interrupted, "What draft? Print me a copy, I want to take a look too."
Shen Yan was momentarily confused.
"Okay, Mr. Fan," Zhou Xing, who was used to dealing with Fan Mingxu, responded quickly, taking Shen Yan's computer. "Which printer is yours?"
Shen Yan pointed to the printer on the desk next to Jian Hong's.
Zhou Xing asked, "This is the final draft on your desktop, right?"
Shen Yan replied, "Yes."
Zhou Xing chose double-sided printing and printed a copy of Lu Yu’s interview draft for Fan Mingxu. When handing it over, he explained, "This is for next week."
Fan Mingxu accepted the interview draft, scanning it briefly with a mock serious look on his face. "When is the latest this draft needs to be sent to the magazine?"
Zhou Xing responded, "By the end of today."
Shen Yan was momentarily stunned when she heard Zhou Xing’s answer. She hadn’t expected him to leave no time for himself. Hadn’t he just said he would refine the theme? Was he planning to work overtime today?
She felt a bit guilty. In fact, she had finished it by around 2 p.m. but had delayed it a bit out of a "deadline mentality." She hadn’t realized this small delay would result in Zhou Xing working overtime.
While she was reflecting on this, Fan Mingxu seemed completely unaware of her thoughts.
Fan Mingxu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Today’s Friday, and the magazine will be closed over the weekend. What difference does it make whether you finish it before the weekend or by Monday? Take it back and revise it."
Zhou Xing’s smile didn’t fade, and he responded, "Mr. Fan, do you have any instructions?"
Fan Mingxu replied, "The overall theme of the interview draft is lacking. It needs to be elevated."
Zhou Xing continued, "Mr. Fan, what do you think the theme of this interview should be?"
Fan Mingxu was caught off guard by the question. He had only heard Zhou Xing mention refining the theme and was just saying something off the top of his head. He quickly came up with a vague response: "The theme should have a larger scope—something about how technology can make the country stronger, about corporate responsibility, something grandiose."
Zhou Xing nodded as if he had just realized something. "So that’s what you mean. Thank you for the guidance, Mr. Fan."
Fan Mingxu felt quite smug, thinking to himself that he had managed to impress two top graduates from A University with just a few words. He felt that the high school graduates of his time were quite sharp, and if they were around now, they'd probably be grad students.
"Shen, continue revising it. Send it to Assistant Zhou before Saturday," Fan Mingxu said, handing the interview draft back to Shen Yan directly, bypassing Zhou Xing.
Shen Yan: ???
She tried to control her facial expression to prevent her confusion and frustration from showing too clearly.
Fan Mingxu pulled Zhou Xing aside and spoke in a lowered voice, "Xiao Zhou, when assigning tasks, you can’t be so honest."
Zhou Xing listened attentively.
Fan Mingxu continued, "For example, with today’s task, since the magazine wants it by the end of Friday, you should push for it to be delivered by Monday. Then when you assign it to your subordinates, you should ask them to send it to you by Saturday. This way, your employees will ‘volunteer’ to work over the weekend. Even if Shen Yan had already given you the draft on Friday, you should still send it back to her for further revisions."
Zhou Xing nodded as if he had learned something valuable. Fan Mingxu straightened his belt and concluded, "You’re still young, Xiao Zhou. Your professional skills may be better than ours, but in terms of managing people, you still need to learn more."
Zhou Xing nodded, "Yes, yes. Thank you for the guidance, Mr. Fan."
After Fan Mingxu left, Shen Yan nervously asked Zhou Xing, "Should I keep revising?"
Zhou Xing waved his hand, "No need. I’ll just add a bit to it later."
Shen Yan sighed in relief. "Good. I thought I’d have to work overtime on my first weekend."
Zhou Xing smiled, "Don’t worry, I’m not like him."
Shen Yan hesitated, "But... won’t it be hard to explain this to Mr. Fan?"
Zhou Xing replied, "It’s fine. He probably won’t remember. If he does, I’ll just send him this version again. He won’t notice the difference."
Shen Yan wondered if he was really telling her the truth. Wasn’t he worried she might use the same trick on him in the future?
Zhou Xing seemed to have read her thoughts and smiled, "I’m still quite honest. If I really need you to revise something, I’ll tell you directly. To be honest, your writing is far better than mine. I just know a bit more about the company’s situation, so I can offer some guidance."
Shen Yan was flattered. She hadn’t expected Zhou Xing to think so highly of her. She wasn’t sure how to respond, so she could only say, "Thank you, thank you."
"You can leave on time. It’s fine."
With that final reassurance, Shen Yan once again felt that Zhou Xing was pretty reliable.
Compared to the person who had greeted her on her first day, he now seemed like a completely different person.
"But what was he really here for? Was it just to give me 'management advice'?" Zhou Xing wondered after Fan Mingxu left and didn’t return.
Shen Yan wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but thankfully, Zhou Xing didn’t expect her to answer. He walked back to his own desk.
The office phone on Shen Yan’s desk was the same as Zhou Xing’s, so when Zhou Xing was around, she generally didn’t answer it because most of the calls were for him. This arrangement was very friendly to her as someone with social anxiety; she preferred that Zhou Xing be at his desk all day.
But occasionally, there were exceptions.
"Shen, phone call, someone for you," Zhou Xing called out to her across Jian Hong's desk.
As Shen Yan picked up the phone, she quickly thought about whether she had interacted with anyone from other departments this week or had any work-related connections.
The conclusion: she hadn’t. Her contacts on the internal communication software were still limited to a few people in their office and Shu Yan.
Who could be calling her?
"Hello?" Shen Yan answered, trying to recall the phone etiquette she had learned from her coworkers on her first day.
The voice on the other end of the line chuckled lightly when it heard her serious tone.
Shen Yan: ?
"It’s me, Yu Xinnian," the cheerful voice of Yu Xinnian came through the phone.
Shen Yan replied, "Uh, is there something I can help with?"
Yu Xinnian responded, "Just a reminder to not forget on Sunday."
Shen Yan was puzzled. Couldn’t this be said over WeChat?
"Okay, thanks," she replied, not knowing what else to say, since Yu Xinnian was just reminding her kindly.
- Writer
