A week later, Qian Fei’s company received a project to restructure the assets of a listed subsidiary of the renowned Qian Sheng Group.
The company’s vice president approached Qian Fei, informing her that he intended to assign this project to her, and asked if she was confident in taking it on.
It took Qian Fei a moment to process what was happening. She asked incredulously, “Vice President, there are so many experienced sponsors next door. How did this opportunity fall to me?”
The Qian Sheng Group was so prestigious that completing a project for them would allow one to hold their head high anywhere in the industry.
The vice president nodded confidently and said, “Yes, it’s been assigned to you! This was a request from the Qian Sheng Group. They asked for a beautiful female sponsor to handle this project. When the project is completed and makes the news, it might help boost their stock price. The two female sponsors next door are indeed experienced, but they fall far short of qualifying as ‘beautiful’!”
Qian Fei felt her luck was unbelievable, thanks to the Qian Sheng Group’s eccentric and flamboyant style.
Qian Fei had an initial meeting with Vice President Liao from the Qian Sheng Group and received a lot of materials from him. When they exchanged business cards, Qian Fei felt she had been having quite a connection with people surnamed Liao recently.
Thanks to her skills honed from organizing work documents in the past, she could quickly review materials and grasp the key points. Within a few days, she had a general understanding of the group and its dozen or so subsidiaries.
A few evenings later, while she was reviewing the materials at home, Li Yifei came to see her after working overtime.
Li Yifei approached her with his hands behind his back, asking in an affected tone, “Sponsor Qian, do you need my help in developing a restructuring plan for this project?”
Qian Fei looked up at him, thought for a moment, and said, “Actually, I want to complete this project independently! I figure if I can independently complete the asset restructuring for a listed company under a large conglomerate like Qian Sheng without relying on anyone, I’ll be much more confident in handling any project in the future!”
Li Yifei nodded and said, “Good girl, carry on then,” before sauntering off to the bathroom.
After closing the door, he brought the phone he had been holding to his ear and asked in a hushed voice, “Did you hear that? Still worried I might help her behind your back? Even if I wanted to, she won’t let me! Old man, your petty suspicions are why your company is poorly managed!”
A cold laugh came from the other end of the line: “Come back and gloat when she’s completely sorted this out!”
A few days later, Qian Fei led several project team members to the Qian Sheng headquarters for a meeting with the executives. Vice President Liao said the chairman couldn’t attend today’s meeting due to some personal matters, so he would be presiding over the meeting temporarily.
During the meeting, Qian Fei presented her views on the group’s situation.
Her insights were unanimously approved by all the executives, who highly praised Qian Fei’s ability to clearly and thoroughly organize the group’s situation in such a short time.
Qian Fei then presented her restructuring plan.
Her proposal was met with repeated praise from the executives.
Vice President Liao nodded repeatedly and said, “I believe none of us executives present have any objections to the plan proposed by Director Qian. However, since the chairman is ultimately the decision-maker, I still need to consult him and hear his thoughts.”
He asked Qian Fei to wait while he went out to call the chairman. After leaving the conference room, he headed straight for the chairman’s office.
In the office, Li Qiansheng and Li Yifei were both there, staring at the computer screen.
They had watched a live stream of the entire meeting process.
Vice President Liao asked, “What do you think, Old Li?”
Li Qiansheng spoke slowly, “Hmm, it’s fine. Let’s give her plan a try.”
Li Yifei scoffed from the side, “What do you mean ‘fine’? It’s brilliant, isn’t it? Your face is full of approval, yet you’re suppressing yourself and saying something against your heart. I think your heart disease must have developed from all this repression!”
When Vice President Liao returned to the conference room, he told Qian Fei, “The chairman thinks the plan is good and we can give it a try!”
Qian Fei said, “Then let’s proceed with determining the various intermediary agencies. Once confirmed, we’ll all sign a confidentiality agreement, and then quickly convene an intermediary coordination meeting!”
Vice President Liao said, “Everything will proceed according to Director Qian’s arrangements!”
After the meeting, Vice President Liao requested Qian Fei to come to his office to discuss the matter of hiring other intermediary agencies.
Qian Fei followed him to his office and after about half an hour of discussion, helped him preliminarily determine the accounting firm and evaluation agency.
Just as she was about to take her leave after discussing the issues, someone knocked on the door.
Vice President Liao called out, “Come in.”
The door opened.
Qian Fei turned her head to look and was stunned. The person walking in from outside was Liao Shiyu.
Qian Fei sat to the side, listening to the conversation between Liao Shiyu and Vice President Liao.
Liao Shiyu was there to process her reinstatement.
And she accidentally called him “Uncle.”
Qian Fei felt her mind buzzing, with many thoughts crowding to the top of her head.
She pinched the bridge of her nose, forcing herself to calm down, and gradually grasped a few key points amidst the chaotic thoughts.
When she had just broken up with Wang Ruohai, Yao Jingjing had told her, “That woman is the niece of a senior executive in their company!”
A while ago, Liao Shiyu had told her, “That wasn’t the first time we met. We had contact much earlier, but at that time I only heard your voice without seeing your face.”
That day while shopping, Liao Shiyu had asked her if she would add her ex-boyfriend on WeChat. She said no, so Liao Shiyu posted their photo on Moments, then replied to someone: “What’s the rush? I don’t bite, hehe.”
Who was she showing it to?
Then when she got home, Wang Ruohai called her strangely. When she asked what was wrong, he just mumbled, “Nothing.”
And that day when Li Yifei called her to pick up a non-existent suit, Liao Shiyu suddenly said the house was renovated and she was moving out when she returned.
What did he say to Liao Shiyu during the time she was sent away?
…
Amid the chaos, she gradually sorted out the threads. Her mind slowly presented an unprecedented clarity.
She had been so stupid, only now realizing who this woman in front of her was.
Qian Fei took advantage of the interval when Liao Shiyu was talking to Vice President Liao to say a brief goodbye.
She came out of the office and had only walked a few steps when she heard a door sound behind her.
She heard Liao Shiyu calling her from behind.
She stopped, stood still, and turned around.
Liao Shiyu walked up to her and said with a smile, “Qian Fei, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I worked before. I’m now in charge of the group’s financial work. If you have any questions about finances, just ask me.”
Qian Fei frowned slightly. She felt that the person in front of her should apologize for far more than just what she had just mentioned.
She thought for a moment and asked, “What’s your position?”
Liao Shiyu said, “Finance Section Chief.”
Qian Fei curled her lips into the most perfect professional smile: “I’m sorry, your level is not high enough. Your superior should liaise with me for work!”
After saying this, she saw Liao Shiyu’s expression freeze. She continued smiling and said “Goodbye” before turning and walking away.
As she stepped forward, she felt a mix of emotions.
What kind of mindset was this woman approaching her with? Was it to see how much inferior she was compared to her?
Fortunately, she hadn’t lost to her.
But if it had been two years ago, she would have looked like a clown in front of Liao Shiyu. The difference between them would have been obvious without even needing to compare.
However, today, she could stand on equal footing with her. No, she even stood taller with a more confident posture.
She wondered, who had caused her to change so much in two years.
A man’s name echoed in her heart.
When she got home that evening, Qian Fei called Li Yifei and asked him to come over for dinner after work before leaving. She made a large plate of stir-fried eggplant strips, beautifully presented on the porcelain plate she had decided to cherish.
Li Yifei sensed that the atmosphere was different from usual, feeling something intangible stirring in the air. He said to Qian Fei, “I feel like you’re different from usual.”
Qian Fei asked, “How so?”
Li Yifei said, “It’s like you have a belly full of gratitude that you’re looking to vent somewhere!”
Qian Fei looked at him and smiled, “You’re right! Today I just want to vent some gratitude to you!”
Li Yifei said, “I’d rather you vent something else to me, like animal desire or something.”
Qian Fei said, “My period isn’t interested in you these days.”
Li Yifei wailed. It seemed today he could only eat vegetables and not meat.
He asked Qian Fei, “Jin Jin, what’s going on with you today?”
Qian Fei looked at him, unblinking, and said, “Nothing, I just suddenly realized that all along, you’ve been doing so much more for me behind the scenes than I ever saw!” She paused, her voice becoming hoarse, and said, “I’m a bit moved!”
Li Yifei laughed and knocked her on the head, “That’s ugly! Your face is all scrunched up like a big bun! Don’t try to play the emotional card in the future, it’s too ugly for me to look at!”
Qian Fei burst out laughing.
A week later, the intermediary coordination meeting was held in Conference Room One at the Qian Sheng Group headquarters.
Originally, the attendees were supposed to be limited to the group’s senior executives, the senior executives of the subsidiaries involved in the restructuring, and core technical personnel. However, when Li Yifei went to check on the meeting room setup, he specifically instructed his assistant: “Notify Finance Section Chief Liao and Business Department Director Wang Ruohai to attend the meeting as well.”
Since Qian Fei had told him she now knew who Liao Shiyu was, he might as well let these two people witness Sponsor Qian’s captivating moment of transformation.
He had made this decision long ago. He wanted to give his woman a stage to showcase her talents, to let those who had once betrayed her see how dazzling and brilliant she had become.
Wang Ruohai was only a middle manager at the group headquarters. Given his rank, he could only sit further and further down the long conference table.
Opposite him sat Liao Shiyu.
He glanced at her; there was a mysterious and eerie smile on her face.
He didn’t know the deeper meaning behind that smile and frowned as he looked away.
He rarely had the opportunity to attend meetings of this level before. He heard that this time they were restructuring the assets of the group’s listed subsidiary, and everyone attending had to sign a confidentiality agreement. The reason he was called to attend, reportedly, was to facilitate the securities firm’s deeper understanding of the group and its subsidiaries’ businesses.
The door to the conference room beside him opened, and various executives walked in successively, moving to the front of the conference table and taking their seats in order.
Strangely, they left the middle seat empty, and even Vice President Liao didn’t sit there.
He wondered who that seat could be reserved for. The chairman? No, that couldn’t be. The chairman was recuperating, and all affairs had been handed over to Vice President Liao to manage.
So who would it be, sitting in such an important position, strategizing and directing?
More people entered through the door.
He overheard two core technical personnel beside him whispering that these were the accountants and appraisers.
They took their seats opposite the executives. The seat at the head of the table remained empty.
He thought that seat must be reserved for the securities firm’s sponsor.
As he was thinking, there was another commotion at the doorway beside him.
He turned his head and casually glanced up. With this glance, he was instantly stunned.
The person coming in was Qian Fei.
She walked at the front like a queen, head held high, confident and composed. Beneath her suit trousers, each step she took was heart-stirring. Behind her followed several men in suits, willingly slowing their pace behind her in a protective stance.
She walked to the front of the conference room, truly radiant and magnificent.
Looking at her now, he could hardly remember what she was like two years ago.
She walked to the front of the conference room. Vice President Liao personally stood up, personally welcomed her, and personally pulled out the chair at the head of the table, inviting her to sit.
She politely demurred, but in the end, couldn’t refuse and had to sit down.
He watched the person sitting at the head of the table, his heart trembling.
So that seat at the head had been reserved for her.
He sat at the lower end of the conference table, his chest aching.
This was the difference between her and him that he had never imagined possible in two years.