Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 077

Chapter 77 ☆, Life’s Full of Encounters.

To be honest, Xin Xin did not really feel like she was moving. The only difference seemed to be that Zheng Zaochuan was spending less and less time at home. The new company was already in the preparation stage, and he was so busy that she would not see him for days at a time.

Xin Xin had been working for a week now.

The biggest feeling she got from moving from the branch office to headquarters was that while the volume of business had increased, the scope of business had narrowed. Ironically, because the business she was dealing with was more focused, the workload was much lower than at the branch office.

Xin Xin adapted very well.

The head office was very large; one might not even know everyone on one’s floor. On the day Xin Xin arrived, Chen Ximi, the Deputy General Manager of the Compliance Department, came over to greet her and introduced her to the eight people in her team. What followed was a busy but ordinary day of work.

Chen Ximi visited once when Zhao Xi was under investigation, and Xin Xin met her. She was a very polite and capable woman, and it was hard to guess her age. It was said that she had worked on Wall Street for a while before returning.

Han Guang and Xin Xin, who were in the same group, sat opposite each other. Han Guang was an extremely accomplished ABC (American-born Chinese) with a high level of education. After graduation, he was determined to return to China. He joined Hengyang as soon as he returned. He had only been working there for a year and had never worked at the grassroots level. He had a kind of naivety that came from not having experienced the ways of the world.

“Is Haining fun? I haven’t been there yet.” Han Guang was optimistic and talkative, maintaining a good attitude despite the high-pressure work environment, making him a breath of fresh air in the lifeless atmosphere of the big company.

Xin Xin smiled and said, “It’s not bad. The pace of life is slower than in Jiangcheng, and life is more leisurely. There are many bosses, but they don’t like to put on airs and prefer to wear slippers.”

Han Guang said with a grin, “If you want to be the top leader, Haining’s the best place. The performance level is high, and the life there is happy too.”

Xin Xin remained noncommittal, but to be fair, ABCs (American-born Chinese) were somewhat different from children raised in mainland China. In comparison, they seem to wear their ambitions more openly, and their preferences were completely evident.

“Being the head of a branch office is quite difficult. The pressure’s completely different between being a vice president at headquarters and being the head of a branch office.” Xin Xin did not express her emotions but only stated the facts objectively.

Han Guang smiled slyly. “That’s because your current leader is incompetent. I’ve heard of Chen Lisha; she’s an old scoundrel with no real skills. She’s just benefited from the times. If Haining were still under Zhao Xi’s management, you might not want to be transferred here.”

In the workplace, it was most taboo to speak too intimately with someone you did not know well.

Xin Xin did not know who Han Guang was, but seeing that he seemed to have a lot of information about her, she could not help but become more cautious.

“Ms. Chen’s very capable; otherwise, she would not be the top leader.”

Han Guang gave an “I understand” smile and went back to his workstation.

Xin Xin was not very happy. Her promotion was not the result of her own efforts, but like Haining’s situation, no matter what she said, people would think it was because of Zhao Xi.

But Zhao Xi had not contacted her since she started reporting in Jiangcheng.

Xin Xin was waiting; Zhao Xi understood her. She could even imagine that Zhao Xi was waiting for her to call.

She called him and asked if her transfer was due to his connections. He would then pretend not to know and finally give her some subtle clues to guess, thus doing her a favor.

But Zhao Xi was wrong. He could guess her intentions, but she understood Zhao Xi just as well. They were engaged in a silent contest, seeing who couldn’t hold back first and take the initiative to contact the other.

Xin Xin eventually reunited with Zhao Xi at a dinner party.

After getting off work on Friday, Chen Ximi treated their group to dinner with Xin Xin, saying she wanted to welcome Xin Xin.

When the group arrived at the private room, Zhao Xi was already sitting there waiting.

Xin Xin suddenly realized the reason. When Chen Ximi mentioned it that afternoon, Xin Xin was puzzled for a moment. After all, if the boss had to pay for everyone’s meals when they came and went in a department, that would be too extravagant.

If some people wore their ambition on their sleeves, then Zhao Xi hid his ambition beneath layers of gentle and polite masks, revealing not a trace of his sharpness.

“Xin Xin, long time no see. Have you reported for duty yet?” Zhao Xi seemed a little surprised to see Xin Xin but quickly showed a look of delight.

Chen Ximi smiled broadly and put her arm around Xin Xin’s shoulder. “I’ve long heard that Xin Xin is Mr. Zhao’s right-hand woman in Haining. This is a lucky break for me.” Then she explained to Xin Xin, “Mr. Zhao used to be your boss. I thought since you both worked in Haining, I would specially invite Mr. Zhao to welcome you today.”

Zhao Xi smiled gently, appearing very humble. “Not at all, I would not call myself a leader. I’m a few years older than Xin Xin, and she’s my most outstanding apprentice.”

Chen Ximi feigned surprise, “Wow, no wonder you’re so outstanding.”

Xin Xin watched their back-and-forth, finding it both amusing and exasperating. She had almost been fooled by Zhao Xi; if she were not familiar with him, anyone would have thought he genuinely did not know Xin Xin was there.

But Xin Xin knew Zhao Xi too well. Before attending a dinner party, he would make sure to know who would be there so that he could be fully prepared.

If he were hosting, it was even more outrageous; he would even consider whether the people he invited had compatible personalities.

Xin Xin did not say much but smiled and said, “Please take good care of me in the future, Ms. Chen. I will do my best.”

Overall, the meal was very enjoyable.

Zhao Xi was witty and easygoing, taking care of everyone’s feelings without making anyone feel neglected or disconnected.

The concern shown by those in positions of power to those in positions of power inevitably carried a touch of condescending arrogance. But Zhao Xi was different. He was very good at judging people and could quickly spot their weaknesses. He could remember the name and face of anyone he had ever met.

Han Guang had never been comfortable with the culture of toasting. He felt awkward and unsure of what to do when a bunch of people were vying to curry favor with the leader.

Zhao Xi naturally came to his rescue, saying, “Han Guang, you don’t drink baijiu? That’s a good habit. Many of our Chinese compatriots are not used to drinking baijiu. Let’s have a cup of tea instead.”

Han Guang quickly took a sip. “Thank you, Mr. Zhao.”

Zhao Xi nodded, adding a few words of praise, “I was very impressed with the risk details you provided last time; they were very instructive.”

Xin Xin witnessed the whole process from the side, and only one sentence kept running through her mind: “Zhao Xi has not changed at all.”

It was quite an achievement for the head office CEO to not only remember the managers of other departments but also to understand the people in his own department and the work each person does.

A person like Zhao Xi could make others grateful with just a few words.

Indeed, being valued and seen was a fundamental human need, and ABCs were no exception.

After toasting everyone, Han Guang, with admiration in his eyes, whispered to Xin Xin, “Having a boss like Mr. Zhao is such a blessing. He will definitely notice your work. You did not make a mistake in following him; you’re incredibly lucky.”

Xin Xin smiled, a subtle feeling stirring within her.

Han Guang was just like she was back then.

She recalled how she felt when she first met Zhao Xi, a feeling of “the joy of being affirmed and seen.”

Zhao Xi helped her out of that predicament of “wanting a raise of 1,000 yuan.”

How naive! While a large group of people were busy pledging their loyalty and acting as if they were willing to be slaves to the company, she blurted out a silly thing in a daze.

Ethan, her department head who already disliked her, disliked her even more.

But Zhao Xi at that time smiled broadly and looked at her with a particularly appreciative gaze, saying, “This young lady seems like a down-to-earth person, and this is a very good goal.”

Whether she was sincere or not, Xin Xin still did not know.

But from that day on, she decided that she must treat Zhao Xi with the utmost sincerity.

Zhao Xi knew that she was the one who made him coffee every day, and he would gently thank her. But he did not know that she carefully observed his preferences and adjusted the coffee beans she made for him.

Filled with hope, she did everything she could for Zhao Xi. A scholar would die for one who understood him; her long and diligent work was all to repay Zhao Xi’s kindness and recognition.

But later, as the two became more familiar with each other, Xin Xin began to feel confused.

That was after she had grown up and could handle things on her own. An intern joined the department, and since she had not been there long, people in the company were somewhat dismissive of her. This intern seemed to have exceptional difficulty interacting with others; she could not even complete the simplest photocopying task properly.

At the time, her department head did not want her, but Zhao Xi seemed oblivious to her slowness and casually said, “Transfer her to the secretary’s office.”

She had only one job each day: making coffee for Zhao Xi. It was then that Xin Xin noticed that Zhao Xi had never drunk the coffee she made.

Xin Xin was directly under Zhao Xi’s management, essentially his chief secretary, and reported to him quite frequently. Seeing that he had not touched his coffee, she found it strange and asked, “Why are you not drinking it?”

Zhao Xi glanced casually at the cup of coffee that had been sitting there since morning and then casually poured it into the trash can.

“It’s instant and extremely bitter.”

That was the first time Xin Xin had glimpsed a corner of Zhao Xi’s previously unknown mask. She had never seen Zhao Xi with that expression before, as if he were looking at trash. No, not even trash, but dust, something as unimportant as dust.

In this matter, Xin Xin realized that a more serious form of looking down on someone than looking down on them or despising them was simply not being able to see them at all.

Zhao Xi simply could not see anyone who was useless to him.

The reason others thought that girl was stupid and tried to teach her the job was because they still cared about her, still thought she had value, and at least still wanted to use her.

Zhao Xi’s nonchalant attitude stemmed entirely from his indifference; to him, this person was like dust in the air, not worth wasting any emotion on.

Actually, it wasn’t a big deal; the intern probably just wanted to gain experience. But for some reason, when Xin Xin saw the girl’s bright, expectant eyes as she brought coffee to Zhao Xi every day, she felt a pang of guilt.

One day, she was teaching the girl how to use the coffee machine when Zhao Xi happened to pass by and saw it.

When they went out to meet clients, Zhao Xi asked her, “Why teach her? It’s not very useful for her to learn.”

He became curious; perhaps Xin Xin’s behavior was beyond his common sense.

Xin Xin could not explain it clearly and joked, “I cannot bear to waste instant coffee.”

Zhao Xi remained noncommittal and quickly put the matter out of his mind.

Even so, he would still subconsciously strive to be the “perfect Zhao Xi.”

When the girl finished her internship and did not stay on, Zhao Xi gently wished her well.

He said, “Keep it up! Thanks for all the coffee you’ve made these past few days.”