Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 080

Chapter 80 ☆, Head-on Confrontation.

While Xin Xin was in a daze, Zhao Xi walked around from the side of the podium and sat next to her, blocking her and Su Chengjie’s view.

“What’s wrong with you?” Zhao Xi touched Xin Xin’s forehead with his hand.

Xin Xin seemed to snap out of a daze. “It’s nothing.”

Zhao Xi frowned and said, “Your face is very red.”

Xin Xin calmly replied, “It’s hot.”

As if sensing her nervousness and discomfort, Zhao Xi changed the subject, saying, “A magazine wants to interview me later. Can you stay with me for a bit? If they ask me any personal questions, can you help me refuse and temporarily act as my secretary?”

Xin Xin barely ignored her unease and smiled, “No problem, I’m an old hand at this; I guarantee you will be satisfied.”

Soon, the morning’s agenda was completed. Zhao Xi took Xin Xin to lunch, and on the way to the restaurant, they ran into Su Chengjie, who was coming from the opposite direction.

Su Chengjie walked over confidently and greeted Zhao Xi, “President Zhao, it’s been a long time.”

Zhao Xi’s expression remained unchanged, but a hint of indifference still lingered. “Mr. Su, you’re here for the meeting too?” As he spoke, he subtly blocked Xin Xin’s path.

Su Chengjie seemed oblivious to Zhao Xi’s wariness, turning to Xin Xin and extending his hand. “Ms. Xin, we’ve met before. I’m Su Chengjie.”

Objectively speaking, he was not ugly; in fact, for his age, he was quite well-preserved.

But Xin Xin felt that every expression of his was inseparable from the phrase “shifty-eyed and cunning.”

They had indeed met before all that happened. But that was seven or eight years ago, during Hanhai’s IPO and financing project. She had contacted Su Chengjie and may have even handled some business and done due diligence.

But she could guarantee that Su Chengjie would not have had any recollection of who she was, even six months ago.

Xin Xin nodded indifferently, ignoring his desire to shake hands.

Su Chengjie naturally withdrew his hand, seemingly not feeling embarrassed at all. Instead, he smiled with amusement and explained to Zhao Xi, “This Ms. Xin is a close confidante of my business partner.”

Xin Xin already found the term “confidante” jarring, but as he continued, it became even more offensive.

“I have a niece who has recently been working with my business partner.”

“That young man’s smart and talented, but he’s too young and a bit arrogant.” He then glanced at Xin Xin with his sinister eyes. “Even if he marries my niece, it’s not necessarily true that he will inherit my mantle.”

Xin Xin let it go in one ear and out the other, but seized the opportunity to retort, “I know your niece too. She’s married and living a happy life. Your matchmaking’s a bit outrageous.”

Su Chengjie neither confirmed nor denied it, saying, “Young people’s marriages are unstable. It’s normal to get married today and divorced tomorrow.”

Although Xin Xin did not want to think this way, combined with Su Meiling’s phone call the day before, her heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly worried that Zheng Zaochuan would fall into Su Chengjie’s trap.

Zhao Xi only knew that Xin Xin and Su Chengjie had some past conflicts, but he did not know anything about Su Meiling. Seeing Xin Xin’s unfriendly expression, he took the opportunity to smooth things over. “Mr. Su, I have half a day’s agenda this afternoon; let’s go have lunch first.”

In fact, from any perspective, men were relatively safe in terms of personal safety and reputational risk.

Just like in countless stories of drunken promiscuity, Xin Xin never doubted that if this man could have controlled himself, nothing would have happened.

Unexpectedly, once a person falls in love, their “love brain” automatically downplays the behavior of their partner.

Xin Xin ate absentmindedly, constantly wondering if Zheng Zaochuan had fallen into Su Meiling’s trap. Combining Su Chengjie’s words just now, she even mentally reenacted a honey trap.

Could it be that Zheng Zaochuan had been caught and drowned by Su Meiling’s husband?

Xin Xin chuckled self-deprecatingly, finding her own overthinking absurd. Everyone was a businessman—Su Meiling, Zheng Zaochuan, and Su Chengjie—ultimately, it was all about profit; there was not much love or bloodshed involved.

Zhao Xi watched as Xin Xin would sometimes furrow her brow in deep distress and other times seem to be talking to herself, trying to comfort herself. In any case, she just could not eat properly.

He helplessly waved his chopsticks in front of her eyes a couple of times. “Eat up. I’m a promising young man, at the prime of my life. You cannot possibly lose your appetite just because you see me.”

Xin Xin could not help but laugh. “No, it’s because I saw Su Chengjie’s pointed face and smug look that I could not eat.”

Seeing Xin Xin’s righteous indignation, Zhao Xi could not help but ask, “Why don’t you like him? Is it because of Zheng Zaochuan?”

Xin Xin thought for a moment and hesitated before saying, “No, it was not that. I initially started paying attention to him because of Zheng Zaochuan. But later I felt that he was unscrupulous in his actions, and I also felt that the capital market could have been very good, but because these people treat ordinary people like Chinese chives (a metaphor for exploiting ordinary people), I really started to dislike him.”

As she spoke, Xin Xin told Zhao Xi all the bad things Su Chengjie had done in the capital market and even gave a few examples of his dishonest practices, with reasoned arguments and citations.

Zhao Xi looked at her quietly, and after she finished speaking, he said solemnly, “Xin Xin, you’re truly a talent. You can see things that others cannot. Analytical work is also very suitable for you. In the future, you can consider transitioning to a research position.”

Xin Xin lowered her head a little, embarrassedly. “Now all researchers have doctorates; my academic qualifications are no longer impressive.”

Zhao Xi said with a smile, “But actually, if you only focus on product development and project negotiations and don’t think about all that, your work will be much easier.”

Xin Xin frowned slightly and asked softly, “For example? Maintaining relationships with a few male clients who like me? Choosing the right side? Doing more things that the leaders like? As long as it’s profitable, don’t worry about compliance?”

Zhao Xi sighed, “What can I say to you?”

In the finance industry, where academic qualifications were paramount and success was incredibly difficult, the key to winning essentially boils down to two words: “sales.” To some extent, being able to sell and being able to research and develop products were almost equally important.

Many people got rich overnight by dancing on the corpses of others.

Hengyang had a fund manager who caught a good wave and enjoyed a glorious period, even becoming a celebrity manager at one point. But his downfall was also swift, and he was eventually arrested for insider trading.

This situation was not even an isolated case.

So where did all these stock market gurus come from? The myth of invincibility ultimately succumbs to greed and insider trading. When they were making a fortune, did they ever think about the ordinary people in mutual funds?

No matter how many products were sold at the front desk, everyone ultimately lost money, while those who broke the rules won. Some were arrested, but what about those who were not? Were those operating in the gray area just allowed to escape?

People like Su Chengjie could manipulate the rules at will.

Xin Xin felt that, not for Zheng Zaochuan’s sake, but because she could not accept that there were people in this world who could manipulate the rules and go unpunished.

Xin Xin felt quite awkward when she first joined the company. Her research was not as relevant as others’, and she was not an engineering student; her modeling and math skills were average. But in sales, her strong sense of ethics made her more likely than most to spot risks and framework vulnerabilities.

“To some extent, a keen awareness of risk is a weakness in sales,” Zhao Xi once calmly analyzed her personality traits.

Now, Zhao Xi had a higher opinion of Xin Xin than before, but he still could not help but express his disagreement when she revealed her idealistic side.

However, this disagreement would appear in the form of “more suitable.”

At this moment, Xin Xin felt particularly sentimental; she missed Zheng Zaochuan terribly. If it were Zheng Zaochuan, he would definitely have given her that “you are so cute” look when she said these silly things.

This may be why Xin Xin eventually fell in love with Zheng Zaochuan, because he loved her for being an idealist and for the burning flame of idealism beneath her calm, rational, and realistic exterior.

But Zhao Xi would never appreciate the real her.

Zhao Xi’s liking and appreciation were a form of self-preservation; it was about knowing reality and demanding that the other person accept it as well. Zhao Xi was an extremely intelligent person; as long as his interests were not threatened, he would help you. But if his interests were affected, he would not hesitate to take action.

Xin Xin suddenly brought up something from long ago: “If you had the power to decide Fu Meng’s fate back then, and there was a conflict in her job position while she was still married to you, and she had to leave for Haining, would you have used the position you promised me to exchange for her leaving the head office?”

The answer was yes.

Zhao Xi was very sincere and did not give a direct answer but explained his motives: “Even so, it was just a transition. When I have more power, I will transfer you up. Perhaps I broke my promise at the time, but the final result’s better. I have greater development, you have better prospects and a higher position, and Fu Meng is also very happy in the branch office.”

Actually, it was impossible for Xin Xin to say that she had no expectations or resentment towards Zhao Xi at all, either now or in the past. Although she comforted herself many times during the subsequent work process, thinking that she had let go of the past.

But in reality, Zhao Xi was someone she admired. For many years, she had worked hard to gain Zhao Xi’s approval and always believed that Zhao Xi was genuinely good to her.

But now, she had finally let go.

“You taught me a lesson. After you, I completely understand that there are no true feelings in the workplace. Whether it’s love or friendship, there’s nothing there, just self-interest,” Xin Xin said with a sneer, mocking Zhao Xi.

Zhao Xi’s lips moved as if he wanted to explain, but after seeing Xin Xin’s open and honest smile, he could not bring himself to say what he had not said.

He wanted to say no, that he had even considered quitting his job to be with her. But he could not, because if he left, he would lose the right to protect her. If he stayed, she would have thought he was not sincere.

But saying all this now was futile. There were no “what ifs” in human relationships; once a relationship was defined, it was extremely difficult to change.

Zhao Xi tightened his grip on his chopsticks, subtly concealing the bitterness behind his gentle smile. “You are my most prized apprentice, and this is an important lesson I’m teaching you. In the workplace, having too high expectations of your colleagues will only lead to heartbreak.”

Xin Xin laughed heartily. “That’s right, it’s good that we’ve laid it all out. If I ever need you in the future, take me with you. If you become rich and powerful, don’t forget me. I’m willing to serve you like a dog or a horse. But if you ever do poorly, don’t blame me for having to find my own way.”

If there were some misunderstandings between them before, then during this ordinary working lunch, Xin Xin suddenly understood Zhao Xi completely and reconciled with him.