From Secretary to Capital Queen

Chapter-11

Ning Meng's bold declaration elicited a fit of uproarious laughter from Lu Jiming. "I never thought you had such lofty ambitions, Ning Meng. You're really aiming high!" Lu Jiming pounded his fist on the table. "Let me make this clear, Ning Meng. You've got two choices. Either knuckle down and do a good job as my secretary, or pack your things and leave!"

Ning Meng looked straight at Lu Jiming. Behind her glasses, her eyes sparkled with determination. Strangely enough, this ultimatum brought her a sense of calm, dispelling her earlier nervousness. She regarded Lu Jiming with a composed gaze and shattered his presumption that she wouldn't dare to resign.

Ning Meng replied, "Fine, Mr. Lu. Then I'll resign." Lu Jiming froze, his eyes fixed on her for a full two seconds. On the third second, he slammed his hand down on the table, sent a pen flying to the floor, and pointed at Ning Meng, bellowing, "Get out! I'm waiting for your resignation letter!"

Ning Meng turned and walked out. The instant the door shut behind her, she heard the sound of a cup shattering from within. At that sound, Ning Meng almost wanted to laugh in resignation.

...He really is coddled. For a grown - up and the head of a major company, throwing tantrums like this is just ridiculous. Is it really necessary?

She returned to her workstation and opened a document to start drafting her resignation letter. When she first typed the words "Resignation Letter", a twinge of hesitation and a faint sense of loss tugged at her heart. But soon, she steeled herself and began typing the contents with resolve.

With the sound of things being thrown around inside the office, she decided that since the situation was already like this, she might as well go through with the resignation. There was no point in regretting now.

Ning Meng completed and printed her resignation letter in less than ten minutes. It seemed that once a person made up their mind, they could be incredibly efficient.

She held the resignation letter, feeling the warmth that lingered from its fresh - off - the - printer state. A freshly minted resignation letter, still warm to the touch.

This whimsical thought flitted through Ning Meng's mind, and it managed to dispel some of her nervousness about facing the irate boss again. However, what she encountered next took her by surprise.

When she re - entered the office, Lu Jiming, seated behind the imposing boss's desk, wore an unexpectedly amiable expression. It was as if the earlier outburst had never occurred. No shouting, no table - pounding, no pen - throwing or cup - smashing.

This Lu Jiming, who deviated from his usual pattern of getting angry, left Ning Meng momentarily at a loss. She pushed her glasses up and stepped forward to place the resignation letter on Lu Jiming's desk.

Lu Jiming didn't even spare it a glance. With a casual flick of his hand, the letter slid to the side. Ning Meng was left dumbfounded.

What on earth was happening...

Lu Jiming stared at Ning Meng across the large, solid - wood boss's desk. The desk's grandeur made Ning Meng, in her narrow pencil skirt, look even more slender in comparison.

This contrast tugged at a faint sense of conscience within Lu Jiming. It was as if he and the desk were ganging up on her...

Lu Jiming raised his eyebrows, maintaining an air of nonchalance as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. As if he hadn't lost his temper, hurled threats, or smashed a cup in a fit of rage.

"Ning Meng, I've given this some thought. I think you were being hasty just now," Boss Lu began in a measured tone. Ning Meng thought to herself, 'The one who was hasty is you, buddy!'

Lu Jiming continued, "Quitting on a whim isn't the smart move. You're just closing doors for yourself!" Ning Meng inwardly retorted, 'You're the one who cornered me into this choice!'

Lu Jiming went on, "I'll cut you some slack. Here's my offer. I'll give you one month to work in the Project Department. But if you can't prove yourself in that time, you'll have to come back and resume your duties as my secretary. No more nonsense! I've spent three years training you into an excellent secretary. My efforts aren't going to waste, and you can't just act on a whim without considering the consequences!" Ning Meng was left speechless.

She didn't know how to respond to this. It was as if she was being painted as the heartless one. She Lu Jiming continued, "I'll cut you some slack. Here's my offer. I'll give you one month to work in the Project Department. But if you can't prove yourself in that time, you'll have to come back and resume your duties as my secretary. No more nonsense! I've spent three years training you into an excellent secretary. My efforts aren't going to waste, and you can't just act on a whim without considering the consequences!" Ning Meng was left speechless.

She didn't know how to respond to this. It was as if she was being painted as the heartless one. She had become an excellent secretary not because of his training but because of the countless hardships she had endured. How could he have the audacity to put it like that?

Ning Meng believed that Lu Jiming was neither lacking in EQ nor IQ. He surely knew how unreasonable he sounded. So, was he deliberately saying these things to pick a fight with her?

Well, she shouldn't have forgotten that this boss loved to oppose others. The more she wanted to resign, the more he seemed determined to prevent her from doing so.

Lu Jiming impatiently tapped his fingers on the table. "Did you hear my proposal?" Ning Meng pushed her glasses and calmly bargained, "Six months."

Lu Jiming's brows furrowed, clearly showing his displeasure. "You're dreaming! Two months!" Ning Meng countered, "Four months!"

Lu Jiming reached over, grabbed the resignation letter from the side, and slapped it in front of Ning Meng. He picked up a pen, twisted off the cap, and made a show of signing it. "Ning Meng, don't push your luck! It's three months, and that's final. If you keep haggling, I'll sign this right now!"

Ning Meng pushed her glasses again and silently retrieved the resignation letter from under Lu Jiming's hand. Three months it was. At least this way, her social security and housing provident fund wouldn't be interrupted due to her resignation.

Ning Meng was assigned to Project Department Two and became Qiu Junlin's subordinate. Her transfer seemed to cause no ripples on the surface. It appeared to be an ordinary occurrence, and everyone seemed to accept it naturally. However, beneath the surface, there were all kinds of rumors and speculations.

The one most unsure of the situation was Qiu Junlin. He didn't know if this sudden transfer of the person close to the boss was a ploy by the boss to send an "imperial envoy" to spy on his department.

He was overly polite to Ning Meng for the first two days. But on the third day, he couldn't hold back anymore and sent one of his trusted subordinates to feel her out.

Ning Meng knew that if she didn't clarify things, she wouldn't be able to truly integrate into the Project Department. People here would keep treating her like an outsider.

So, she came up with a sincere - sounding story and told Qiu Junlin's subordinate earnestly. She made a small change to one detail, specifically the harsh words Lu Jiming had said - if she couldn't achieve results in three months, she'd have to go back and continue being his secretary. She changed it to if she couldn't show results in three months, she'd have to leave the company.

After laying her cards on the table, Qiu Junlin observed for a couple more days and finally confirmed that Ning Meng wasn't a spy sent by Lu Jiming. On the contrary, he sensed that Lu Jiming seemed rather and angry with Ning Meng.

Now that his suspicions were cleared and he had no more scruples, Qiu Junlin started to subtly make things difficult for Ning Meng.

For example, the next day when there was a meeting at the project - related company, he informed everyone to attend except "accidentally" leaving Ning Meng out.

Or he would send Ning Meng on business trips to other cities to conduct research on some "potential projects".

He had expected Ning Meng to make a fool of herself. After all, how could a secretary - turned - project - researcher not make a mess of things?

However, Ning Meng's research was well - organized and well - founded. Qiu Junlin was both surprised and disappointed. He had prepared so many "small shoes" for her, but none of them seemed to fit.

He didn't know that Ning Meng had been secretly working extremely hard.

Although she had gained a lot of professional insights while working with Lu Jiming, Ning Meng was well aware that she still had significant gaps in her business knowledge. In the past, when she was with Lu Jiming, she had been exposed to projects, but most of her contact was at a superficial level. She had learned a great deal, but there were also many things she hadn't had the opportunity to learn. Lu Jiming continued, "I'll cut you some slack. Here's my offer. I'll give you one month to work in the Project Department. But if you can't prove yourself in that time, you'll have to come back and resume your duties as my secretary. No more nonsense! I've spent three years training you into an excellent secretary. My efforts aren't going to waste, and you can't just act on a whim without considering the consequences!" Ning Meng was left speechless.

She didn't know how to respond to this. It was as if she was being painted as the heartless one. She had become an excellent secretary not because of his training but because of the countless hardships she had endured. How could he have the audacity to put it like that?

Ning Meng believed that Lu Jiming was neither lacking in EQ nor IQ. He surely knew how unreasonable he sounded. So, was he deliberately saying these things to pick a fight with her?

Well, she shouldn't have forgotten that this boss loved to oppose others. The more she wanted to resign, the more he seemed determined to prevent her from doing so.

Lu Jiming impatiently tapped his fingers on the table. "Did you hear my proposal?" Ning Meng pushed her glasses and calmly bargained, "Six months."

Lu Jiming's brows furrowed, clearly showing his displeasure. "You're dreaming! Two months!" Ning Meng countered, "Four months!"

Lu Jiming reached over, grabbed the resignation letter from the side, and slapped it in front of Ning Meng. He picked up a pen, twisted off the cap, and made a show of signing it. "Ning Meng, don't push your luck! It's three months, and that's final. If you keep haggling, I'll sign this right now!"

Ning Meng pushed her glasses again and silently retrieved the resignation letter from under Lu Jiming's hand. Three months it was. At least this way, her social security and housing provident fund wouldn't be interrupted due to her resignation.