His bone structure was striking, his skin pale and cool-toned, and his features deep and defined. Every part of his face was so exquisite that it looked as though the Creator had taken up a pen and carefully sketched it, stroke by stroke.
The sculpted quality of his appearance was unlike that of most Asians, leaning more toward European features, with a pronounced bony elegance.
His overall air was relaxed and carefree.
A suit was a highly formal outfit, but on him, it carried an alluring, roguishly charming quality.
As Song Xinya studied Yuan Jingcheng, he was studying her too.
His gaze traveled from her face down along her fair neck before dropping a little lower.
Yuan Jingcheng spoke first. “You’re Song Xinya, aren’t you?”
His tone was one of certainty.
Song Xinya said, “I am.”
“I’ve long heard that Mrs. Qin is breathtakingly beautiful,” Yuan Jingcheng said. “Now that I’ve seen you in person, you’re even ten points more beautiful than the rumors claim.”
Ten points more beautiful?
Song Xinya asked, “Out of how many?”
“One hundred,” Yuan Jingcheng replied. “You get a hundred and ten.”
“Mr. Yuan is too kind,” Song Xinya said.
“Mrs. Qin deserves it.”
“There’s no need to be so formal, Mr. Yuan. At the company, please call me Teacher Song.”
Public matters were public matters, and private matters were private matters. In the workplace, if she constantly went around calling herself Mrs. Qin, it would make her seem incapable of separating business from her personal life.
There was no denying that some women took pride in being the boss’s woman. They could hardly wait to announce it to everyone in the company so that people would respect them, defer to them, and make things convenient for them. Not only did it satisfy their vanity, but it also brought them tangible benefits.
But Song Xinya did not want that.
The gifts of fate always came with a price already marked in secret.
Respect won that way was like a castle in the air—false and superficial. People might show you respect to your face, then mock you behind your back for throwing your weight around as the boss’s wife. They would erase all your efforts and claim that every achievement you had earned came from pulling strings.
She was someone who worked incredibly hard.
She was someone with tremendous pride.
She was someone exceptionally capable.
Besides, Song Xinya did not want Qin Yuhe dragged into a whirlpool of gossip.
She did not want people saying that Qin Yuhe was a foolish ruler who played favorites, blurred public and private matters, and knew only how to indulge the woman in his bed.
Song Xinya lived with Qin Yuhe and saw him work late into the night every day. More than anyone else, she knew how hard he worked and what a serious, responsible boss he was.
Seeing Song Xinya’s displeasure, Yuan Jingcheng smoothly brushed past the subject. “I’m half Chinese and half American, and I’ve lived abroad for a long time. I’m not very familiar with the ways of dealing with people here. I figured there was no harm in being extra polite, so I’ve always called you Mrs. Qin.”
Without changing her expression, Song Xinya offered a polite response. “Mr. Yuan, you’re simply modest and self-disciplined, and you know how to treat others with respect.”
Yuan Jingcheng accepted the way out she had given him and did not bring it up again. “The meeting starts in an hour. Teacher Song, please prepare thoroughly.”
He turned and walked into his office.
The moment the office door closed, Chen Siyan asked, “That was your first clash. What do you think? Is this Mr. Yuan really as harmless as he claims?”
“It’s too early to tell whether he’s a good person or not,” Song Xinya replied. “But I can already tell that he isn’t as unfamiliar with the ways of dealing with people here as he says.”
Chen Siyan had spent many years navigating the workplace and making his way through society. He had immediately seen why Yuan Jingcheng kept calling Song Xinya Mrs. Qin.
“That new manager calling you Mrs. Qin wasn’t simply flattery,” he said. “He was testing what kind of person you are.”
“I saw that,” Song Xinya said.
“To become the general manager of a Qin Group branch, he can’t be an idiot. Plenty of people who know the domestic education and training market inside out wanted this position, but they didn’t get it. Don’t doubt him—this guy has real chops.”
As it turned out, Yuan Jingcheng did indeed have real chops.
Like any new official eager to make an impression, he had only spent an hour reviewing the company’s information, yet at the meeting he listed ten highly specific problems within the company.
They covered everything from personnel and finance to day-to-day office administration, market research, product development, and quality control.
By the end of the meeting, everyone had realized that Yuan Jingcheng was absolutely not someone they could easily fool.
The veteran employees who had hoped to take advantage of his unfamiliarity with the company and coast comfortably for a few days had seen their plans go up in smoke.
After the meeting, Yuan Jingcheng took a reform proposal and headed for the thirty-eighth floor.
Brimming with ambition, he was eager to report something to Qin Yuhe…
Watching Yuan Jingcheng stride off with such confidence, Chen Siyan said to Song Xinya, “Bighead Yuan is about to start stirring things up.”
“Let’s wait and see what he comes up with,” Song Xinya replied.
“He listed so many problems just now, so why didn’t he bring up giving us a raise?”
“Whether it’s salary or housing funds, the employees at our company are paid less and receive lower provident-fund contributions than employees at the Group’s other companies. Did Manager Yuan not notice?”
“With eyes that sharp and perceptive, he must have noticed,” Song Xinya said.
“Then after all that nonstop talking about problems, why didn’t he mention this one?”
The problems Yuan Jingcheng had raised were all aimed at improving management and making more money for the boss.
Asking for a raise meant asking the boss to spend money.
The purpose of hiring employees was for them to make money for the boss.
If someone reached out for money the moment he took office, he would be fired on the spot. Who would be foolish enough to do that?
Chen Siyan gazed toward the elevators. “I wonder what Bighead Yuan was so excited to tell President Qin.”
…
Inside the office, two documents lay before Qin Yuhe.
One concerned the Group’s core business: finance.
The other concerned one of the Group’s peripheral businesses: education and training.
The assistant began by reporting on the core financial business. “This concerns the IPO underwriting project for a listed company. At present, the main difficulties in the negotiations are…”
Qin Yuhe interrupted him. “Report on the education and training business on the eighth floor first.”
The assistant paused, a trace of surprise flashing through his eyes. He then began reporting on the education and training business.
“Yuan Jingcheng wants to introduce a wolf-pack culture within the company and implement a rank-and-yank system, dismissing employees whose performance falls near the bottom.”
The assistant handed a list to Qin Yuhe. “This is the list of employees with the lowest performance rankings.”
Qin Yuhe’s eyes swept over it. By then, he had committed every name on the list to memory.
The assistant studied Qin Yuhe’s expression and thought that President Qin would certainly oppose implementing a rank-and-yank system. The Qin Group was financially powerful and had ample funds. It had never promoted a wolf-pack culture, nor did it need one.
But President Qin knew what he was doing. Trusting him was always the right choice.
After reporting on the financial business, the assistant left the office and relayed President Qin’s response to Yuan Jingcheng.
Delight spread across Yuan Jingcheng’s face.
It seemed President Qin was very supportive of his work.
Yuan Jingcheng believed he had won his first battle. On his very first day at the company, he had already achieved a major breakthrough.
President Qin was being incredibly supportive of his work.
Yuan Jingcheng was a man with an extremely strong desire for control. He liked having everything his way, being the sole authority, and allowing no one to challenge him.
There was already the Qin Group president’s wife at the company. From now on, everyone would show Song Xinya the utmost respect—which meant no one would take him, the general manager, seriously anymore.
Yuan Jingcheng’s plan to implement a last-place elimination system was not solely for the company’s benefit. It also served his own interests.
Like countless newly appointed leaders before him, he wanted to climb the ladder quickly—or use his achievements to jump to another company for a higher salary.
The company belonged to the owner, not him. He had no intention of working there for the rest of his life, and as for the company’s long-term interests, he certainly wasn’t going to worry about them on Qin Yuhe’s behalf.
Besides wanting to produce quick results, his most pressing concern was this:
Yuan Jingcheng needed to use the new system to establish his authority and keep Song Xinya in check.
President Qin was highly supportive of Yuan Jingcheng’s plan.
Yuan Jingcheng thought Qin Yuhe was backing him.
In reality, Qin Yuhe was treating Yuan Jingcheng as a blade—a blade to clear the way for Song Xinya.
Zhao Yinian had managed the education and training company for many years and had placed many of her trusted aides inside it.
These people collected their salaries without doing any real work, leeching off the company.
Firing all of them would undoubtedly offend them. They would hold a grudge and might even seek revenge.
Qin Yuhe had Yuan Jingcheng handle this thankless task.
