Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 086

Chapter 86 ☆, One Who Stays Near Vermilion Gets Stained Red.

Just two days after returning from Xingyao, Xin Xin received a message from Sullivan that the project was progressing smoothly. Xin Xin was understandably overjoyed to have such a major client. After all, clients with both demand and high credit ratings were rare.

Suddenly, the attitude of the people in the department towards Xin Xin became subtle.

People who were initially in her group and did not respect her were now trying to build a good relationship with her. While not exactly fawning, the change in their attitude was obvious.

However, the people in the other groups were not so happy. Even worse, the leader of the third group went directly to Zhao Xi and questioned him about whether he had given resources to Xin Xin.

In theory, Xin Xin shouldn’t know about this.

But Zhang Wentian, the leader of Group Three, clearly intended to embarrass Zhao Xi and Xin Xin, making no attempt to hide it, leaving Zhao Xi’s office door wide open and putting on this show for the entire department. Xin Xin heard their entire conversation.

The company had a resource list of potential local clients. Xingyao had always been a key client for marketing, and it was said that Zhang Wentian had been working hard on it but had not been able to close the deal.

There was a girl named Qin Yinuo in Xin Xin’s team who had only been with the company for two or three years. She was reporting to Xin Xin in her office when she heard Zhang Wentian’s loud voice outside. She frowned and said irritably, “This person has really bad manners. How can there be such a person in our company?”

Workplace rule: Never complain to your boss about bosses in other departments.

Xin Xin glanced at Qin Yinuo without changing her expression. “We don’t concern ourselves with other people’s business.”

Qin Yinuo pouted and said bluntly, “Sister Xin, don’t think I’m being mean. Everyone else is afraid of Zhang Wentian, but I’m not. This is not the first time he’s pulled this stunt; this guy really has something going on.”

Unable to contain her curiosity, Xin Xin pressed, “What’s wrong?”

Qin Yinuo was straightforward and made no attempt to hide anything. “He’s the kind of man Lu Xun described, the kind who makes you think of things you shouldn’t just by looking at an arm. You’re from Haining; do you know Fu Meng?”

Xin Xin nodded. “I’ve worked with Fu Meng before, so we are fairly familiar with each other.”

In fact, many people in the head office knew about the relationship between Fu Meng and Zhao Xi. Because of the rumors about Xin Xin and Zhao Xi, most people would speculate whether Xin Xin and Fu Meng were irreconcilable enemies.

Workplace rule number two: Do not take sides casually if you are unsure about your boss’s social circle.

But Qin Yinuo was no ordinary person. She openly expressed her appreciation for Fu Meng, saying, “I worked in the same department as her when I was an intern. It was Zhang Wentian who spread rumors about Fu Meng throughout the company.”

Xin Xin was taken aback and hesitated before asking, “What grudge do they have?”

Qin Yinuo sneered, “There’s nothing between them. This Zhang Wentian is most afraid of women who do better than him, so he keeps spreading rumors. Fu Meng writes excellent materials; even the boss says they are good, so he spreads rumors everywhere that Fu Meng has slept with high-ranking officials.”

Although Xin Xin knew she should not believe everything she heard, she was already starting to dislike this person.

Qin Yinuo glanced disdainfully at the door and said with great annoyance, “The kind of person he is, he’d practically lick someone’s shoes just to get them to have a meal with him. He’s been to Xingyao several times before, but he could not close the deal. Now that you’ve done it, he’s definitely furious.”

Xin Xin had not expected that she had unintentionally stolen someone else’s client, but she felt that there were only so many clients, and everyone should rely on their own abilities to connect with them, so she had nothing to be ashamed of.

However, unexpectedly, they met on a narrow path.

After arguing with Zhao Xi, Zhang Wentian and Xin Xin ran into each other in the cafeteria. Xin Xin remained calm, intending to pretend she did not know anything, but as the two brushed past each other, Zhang Wentian provoked her in a voice loud enough for everyone around to hear.

“Do you also use the same tactics to steal men to steal clients?”

Xin Xin accidentally spilled a bowl of soup on the other person. “I’m sorry,” she said, pulling out a hundred yuan. “Use this to wash your clothes; keep the change.”

If it were anyone else, Zhang Wentian might not have liked them, but he would at most say a few words behind their back. However, firstly, he was taking advantage of being a few years older and more senior than Xin Xin, so he wanted to put on airs. Secondly, he already looked down on Xin Xin for being transferred from a branch office, and now that they had been transferred to the same position and Xin Xin had even secured a client that Zhang Wentian had failed to do, he was even more resentful.

Most importantly, Xin Xin looked very pretty and fair-skinned, like a female college student, and seemed easy to bully.

Zhang Wentian had thought that after making such a scene, he could just say a few words to her in front of everyone in the cafeteria, and at most she would just swallow her anger and shed tears. He never expected her to actually throw soup at him.

His clothes were dirty, and he had lost face. Zhang Wentian’s face turned ashen, and his voice rose eight octaves: “You did this on purpose!”

Xin Xin smiled and said politely, “Team Leader Zhang, you’ve misunderstood. The client list is right there. If you cannot secure it, but I can, it’s for the company’s benefit. We cannot just let other companies have the clients you cannot secure, right? Am I deliberately stealing your clients? Don’t be so possessive of things that don’t belong to you.”

Zhang Wentian said anxiously, “I didn’t say that! You deliberately splashed me!”

Xin Xin looked enlightened. “I was walking along peacefully, and you insisted on coming over to talk to me. We are not even close, and you startled me. My hand trembled, but it was not intentional. Besides, I’ve already compensated you. If you’re still not satisfied, take off your clothes now, and I can take them from you for washing.”

Zhang Wentian was all bark and no bite. He only ever picked on the easy targets. He never showed any impoliteness to men who were stronger than him or women who seemed unapproachable.

So many of the female colleagues in the company had been rumored against or bullied by him in secret, but this was the first time a woman had ever been so fearless as to argue with him in front of everyone.

Thus, this comical scene unfolded in the bustling cafeteria of Hengyang’s headquarters.

Xin Xin smiled at Zhang Wentian, her attitude bordering on playful and teasing. But under her gaze, Zhang Wentian’s face grew increasingly red, and he eventually walked away with his head down.

Although everyone pretended not to care about what others were doing, they were actually paying attention to this situation both openly and secretly.

Xin Xin sat down as if nothing had happened, but before she could even take a bite of her food, a message arrived. It was a congratulatory message from a former colleague from her department who hadn’t been there for more than a few days. First, it was Chen Ximi: “Well done! The female employees of Hengyang have been suffering under Zhang Wentian’s thumb for too long.”

Next, Han Guang, who had always admired her, said, “Sister, you’re amazing.”

Xin Xin smiled and saw a plate placed opposite her. She looked up and saw Zhao Xi sitting down opposite her in a very relaxed manner.

The two exchanged a smile. Xin Xin noticed the teasing in Zhao Xi’s eyes and lowered her voice to joke with him, “Mr. Zhao, did I get revenge for you?”

Zhao Xi smiled wryly. “We might both be interviewed by the disciplinary committee.”

Xin Xin shrugged. “Let’s talk about it. Our rumors have been going on for a while now. The sooner we talk, the better.”

Zhao Xi’s smile widened further. “You are getting bolder and bolder. Have you caught the ‘boldness’ from your boss, Mr. Zheng?”

This was a line of thought Xin Xin had not considered, but following it, she felt it made some sense. Generally speaking, her personality had always been rather cautious and reserved, and Zhang Wentian might not have been wrong about that.

Since meeting Zheng Zaochuan, although they were like two sides of the same coin, with almost nothing in common, Xin Xin must admire and yearn for Zheng Zaochuan’s nonchalant, flamboyant, and casual personality.

This attitude, to some extent, diminished Xin Xin’s cautiousness in weighing the pros and cons of everything.

In the financial industry, this situation was called hedging.

Xin Xin agreed, saying, “It’s not exactly contagious; it’s more like being influenced by one’s surroundings.”

Zhao Xi shook his head helplessly. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You used to call this unreliable, but now you see it as a virtue.”

Xin Xin laughed. “That’s true.” Then, she asked mysteriously, “Guess why we are rumored to be dating?”

“Why?”

Xin Xin answered seriously, “Because we are both good-looking. When good-looking men and women are together, people will speculate. If we were both ugly, no matter how close we are, others would see us as socialist subordinates.”

Zhao Xi almost choked to death on a bite of chicken breast.

Xin Xin glanced at Zhao Xi’s meal: a few bites of vegetable salad and a few bites of chicken breast, accompanied by a cup of black coffee.

As before, Zhao Xi’s ruthlessness towards himself had reached an unbelievable level. Xin Xin wondered, “You eat so little every day; what’s the point of living?”

Zhao Xi finished his meal in a few bites, leaving behind the remark, “You are really starting to resemble Zheng Zaochuan more and more.”

When Xin Xin got home that night, she told Zheng Zaochuan what had happened that day. Zheng Zaochuan did not pay attention to Zhang Wentian but only casually asked, “Your relationship with Zhao Xi seems to be better than before?”

These words sounded neither sarcastic nor jealous.

Xin Xin tentatively asked, “Are you unhappy?”

Zheng Zaochuan looked up, his dark eyes appearing particularly focused. “No.”

Xin Xin tried to gauge his emotions, but Zheng Zaochuan grabbed her chin, kissed her, and changed the subject, saying, “You’re really good. You won the fight. Here’s a reward.”

Xin Xin, blinded by lust, once again forgot about paying attention to Zheng Zaochuan’s emotions.

Life went on smoothly like this. Ever since Xin Xin gave Zhang Wentian a hard time in public, he had become much quieter.

Friday arrived in the blink of an eye, and Zheng Zaochuan had already booked tickets, insisting on exploring their alma mater with Xin Xin and reminiscing about the happy times in college.

As soon as Xin Xin got off work, Zheng Zaochuan mysteriously covered her eyes. “There’s a surprise. Guess what I’ve prepared for our trip?”

“Pots and pans?”

“No,” Zheng Zaochuan laughed. “Am I some kind of glutton?”

Xin Xin lost her bearings and started guessing wildly, “Did you buy an airplane?”

“Guess carefully.”

Xin Xin conceded defeat and started spouting cheesy pickup lines: “Being with you is always a surprise.”

Zheng Zaochuan released her, seemingly a little embarrassed, and pointed to the bed as if showing off a treasure, saying, “Look.”

Xin Xin looked over and saw two pieces of clothing on the bed, the kind of couple outfits that college students would wear.

Well, the intention was good, but the clothes were red and had a Mickey Mouse head. For Xin Xin and Zheng Zaochuan to wear these matching outfits without looking out of place, they’d need to be with a child.

Xin Xin said with difficulty, “Can we change the color?”

Zheng Zaochuan cruelly rejected her: “No, this is my dream.”