From Secretary to Capital Queen

Chapter-12

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. 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. For instance, how to discover a promising project, how to conduct due diligence, and how to analyze a project's feasibility from legal, financial, and industry perspectives. These fundamental aspects were things she had no chance to touch as she sat outside the president's office.

The documents that reached the president's office were already at a stage of presenting conclusive results, having already passed through those practical steps. Ning Meng had only been exposed to these conclusive aspects and lacked practical experience.

After joining the Project Department, she quickly realized her deficiencies in practical work and began to secretly and intensively make up for the gaps in her knowledge.

She read books, memorized laws, regulations, and clauses, and delved into project cases. She studied legal risks and risk - control systems. Since finance was her major, although she had been a secretary for three years, she had never let her professional knowledge become rusty. She knew that one day she would surely need to use this knowledge and turn it into a skill that would allow her to walk confidently on the financial street.

And now was the time for her to apply what she had learned.

She completed the field research work extremely well, and Qiu Junlin failed to make her look bad. However, Qiu Junlin, undeterred, changed his approach to continue undermining her.

He still sent Ning Meng to research projects. After she returned and submitted the research report, if the project seemed viable, he would simply take the credit for her work. If the project was not suitable for investment and was introduced by someone with connections to a certain "big shot" in the company, then Ning Meng would be made to take the blame. He would distance himself completely, saying, "Ning Meng said this enterprise isn't up to par and we shouldn't invest. She's someone personally trained by Mr. Lu. If I were to push this project forward despite her advice, it wouldn't be appropriate."

As a result, not long after joining Project Department Two, Ning Meng had almost exhausted the good - will she had built up over the past three years.

Ning Meng knew exactly why Qiu Junlin was making things so difficult for her. Previously, due to the delay in the second - round financing of the clothing enterprise, Lu Jiming had lost his temper at Qiu Junlin, and Qiu Junlin resented the fact that Ning Meng hadn't come to his aid at that time.

Ning Meng knew Qiu Junlin was unhappy about it, but she never expected that a department - director - level person could be so petty. He was even less magnanimous than her primary - school classmate who used to draw the "** line" on their desk. That classmate would at least give her two chances to cross the line before getting angry. Qiu Junlin, on the other hand, didn't give her any leeway and immediately started making her life difficult.

Ning Meng was worried.

In such an environment, it seemed almost impossible for her to achieve anything. All the credit would go to Qiu, while only the mistakes and blame would be hers.

Ning Meng was anxious. Lu Jiming had only given her three months, and she felt that time was slipping away. She had barely started, and already half of the time had passed.

Just when she was overwhelmed with，Yang Xiaoyang often came to her, adding to her distress.

Yang Xiaoyang told Ning Meng that she was on the verge of developing depression. She pleaded with Ning Meng to return to the president's office. She said that Lu Jiming had been acting like a madman lately, changing secretaries every day. None of the new secretaries could meet his standards. Even if they were so outstanding that they could charm a prince in Dubai, he would still find fault with them and reduce them to tears.

"You have no idea how terrifying Mr. Lu is now! If it weren't for the fact that I'd starve if I quit, I really would resign!" Yang Xiaoyang exclaimed, pounding her chest.

In addition to Yang Xiaoyang, some of the other department heads also came to feel out Ning Meng.

They asked her what kind of conflict she had with Mr. Lu that led to her being transferred to this department. Was there any possibility of reconciling with the boss? Ning Meng firmly and decisively told them that there was no chance, and she was lucky enough not to be packing her bags and leaving the company altogether.

The faces of those department heads fell, filled with disappointment. They let out long sighs and said, almost despairingly, "Then it's over. None of us will have a good time from now on!"

After that, Ning Meng had a brief period of peace. Then she welcomed the last member of the group who came to test the waters about whether she could return to the president's office. That person was Lu Jiming.