Chapter 304: Chapter 302: There’s no need to pretend anymore, to please her!

Translator: 549690339

Song Zhizhi looked at the computer screen.

It’s rare for Xin Zaozao to so actively invite her to dinner.

She responded, “What’s the theme for tonight?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to catch up with you, are you available?”

“I don’t think I have anything going on tonight.” Song Zhizhi replied.

“Then it’s decided for tonight.”

“Ok.” Song Zhizhi agreed.

Xin Zaozao looked at the answer on the screen, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Indeed, there are no specific reasons, it’s just a simple want to meet up with Song Zhizhi. Since they are friends, it’s fit to keep in touch frequently.

Her eyes flickered slightly.

She watched Yan Quan knock on the door and enter, reverently saying to her, “Madame Chairman, there are 10 minutes left for the interview. Will you be personally conducting it?”

“Hmm.” Xin Zaozao nodded.

“Alright.”

Yan Quan left respectfully.

Xin Zaozao glanced at the list of job applicants in her hand.

Because of major personnel changes before, many positions, especially key ones, needed fresh blood, she needed to put her own people in place.

She picked up the list that Yan Quan had prepared for her and walked towards the interview hall.

As the general manager of Xin Group, besides Xin Zaozao and the board of directors, Mu Cidian held the most power. However, while the board usually only made major decisions, the operation of the group, which would normally be Mu Cidian’s responsibility, was gradually shifting to Xin Zaozao.

Upon Xin Zaozao’s arrival, Mu Cidian was completely expressionless.

He sat there, constantly reading the self-introduction book in his hand.

Xin Zaozao sat next to Mu Cidian.

It seemed as though apart from work, these two people have never been this close to each other.

Recently, Xin Zaozao realized that it was very difficult to meet Mu Cidian in the villa. Either he returned home early and closed the door of his room after coming back so she couldn’t see him at all, or he returned very late while she had already returned to her room. As for the morning, she would arrive half an hour to an hour earlier, and he definitely wouldn’t show up at that time.

Xin Zaozao wasn’t particularly bothered by this.

On the contrary, she thought to herself, finally, he isn’t pretending anymore.

Pretending to still have feelings for her?!

Her eyes flickered slightly, and she said to Yan Quan, “Let’s begin.”

“Yes.”

Yan Quan rose to his feet, letting the applicants outside prepare.

Because it was the last interview and for high-level positions, it was conducted in a one-on-one manner.

Xin Zaozao watched the first man who entered, Song Lifei.

He was dressed in a very formal suit, with neatly combed hair, a pair of black leather shoes on his feet, and a briefcase in his hand, looking very serious and diligent.

An interviewer on stage said, “Please introduce yourself.”

“Yes.” Song Lifei nodded, and said, “My name is Song Lifei, 26 years old, graduated from Beixia Country’s University of Finance majoring in Human Resources Management. After graduation, I worked at the First Group’s Wen City branch, served as the head of the Human Resources Department. I chose to return to my home country for development due to family reasons.”

“You’ve worked at the First Group?” one of the interviewers asked.

The First Group is highly recognized globally, and everyone knows how strong the First Group in Beixia Country is!

Anyone who made it there won’t be too bad when they leave.

“Yes. I was recruited right after college, worked hard for 4 years, and was promoted to the position of the head of the Human Resources Department. Due to my parents, I chose to resign and develop in my home country.”

“So, you must have been quite outstanding even when you were studying?”

“I ranked third in my major in terms of academic performance.” Song Lifei modestly replied.

“That’s indeed impressive.” The interviewer did not hesitate to give praise.

“Being able to be promoted to a managerial position in such a short period shows a strong capability.” Another interviewer chimed in.

Xin Zaozao was quite satisfied with this applicant as well.

She had looked into his background, Song Lifei had indeed just returned from Beixia Country, his development had always been in Beixia and didn’t have many connections in this country, so there wasn’t any chance that he had been bought over by someone in advance.

She said, “Since you are applying for the position of Chief Assistant in the HR Department, do you have a clear understanding of the Human resources structure of Xin Group prior to the application?”

“Of course, there are.” Song Lifei replied confidently, “In my opinion, the distribution of human resources within the Xin Group doesn’t have major problems, but there are some areas that I think need adjustments. Some responsibilities are not clearly defined, and various departments lack strong coordination. For instance, the Public Relations department and the Customer Acquisition department have overlapping roles, which are vague. The Public Relations department’s main responsibility is liaising with important clients of the Group, and Customer Acquisition department’s client managers also need to engage with these important clients in order to secure partnerships. However, the client managers directly receive the sales performance results while the Public Relations departments only receive performance evaluations with no business rewards or penalties. Consequently, Public Relations department’s assistance to the client managers is not pushed to its full potential, which leads to reduced work efficiency.”

Xin Zaozao nodded.

She indeed needs someone to help her strategize now.

She has learned a lot, but certain professional issues require time to accumulate, which cannot be done in a day or two.

And now is when she needs such talents to emerge.

She nodded, “So what is your suggestion?”

“It’s quite straightforward. Inefficiency arises from unclear responsibility division and inadequate evaluations. Merging the Public Relations department with the Customer Acquisition department and committing tasks to both, with the Public Relations department also adhering to part of client managers’ performance evaluations and getting involved in commission schemes, would significantly increase the enthusiasm of many colleagues in the Public Relations department.”

Xin Zaozao nodded.

Although it was a simple answer, it was indeed a correct direction.

She said, “Alright, I have no other questions for now.”

Song Lifei kept his interview demeanour with a smile.

Others also didn’t speak up.

There was an awkward silence for a second in the room.

Xin Zaozao turned her head to Mu Cidian, “Do you have any questions?”

Mu Cidian responded, “No.”

Xin Zaozao frowned.

These days, she could not comprehend Mu Cidian more and more.

She was not sure about what tricks he had up his sleeve.

His inoffensiveness caused her to overlook his presence.

“If nobody has any questions, Mr. Song can leave first. We’ll notify you of the results in the afternoon.”

“Understood.” Song Lifei rose and left.

There are still about 10 candidates to be interviewed for four key positions, a roughly fifty percent chance.

After the interviews, all discuss the procedures.

Xin Zaozao mentioned the four candidates she felt satisfied with.

Some of the interviewers agreed, while others had different opinions, so a discussion took place for a while.

Sometimes, Xin Zaozao hopes for some opposing opinions. If everything goes too smoothly, she cannot learn more.

She listened carefully.

Throughout the whole process, Mu Cidian didn’t say a word.

He didn’t express any opinion, even his shortlist was blank.

Eventually, the four key positions were confirmed; naturally, the position of HR head fell to Song Lifei.

The meeting ended.

Everyone left.

Mu Cidian also returned to his office.

He didn’t express any opinion throughout the whole process as he thinks that Xin Zaozao’s direction is correct. He was afraid that if he shared his preferred list, Xin Zaozao would without hesitation abandon it. As such, he decided not to say anything.

He sat in his office chair, reading the new message that popped up on WeChat.

He dialed back right away, “Lifei.”

“How was it? Are you satisfied?”

“A high-profile talent returning from overseas study; no way you wouldn’t be satisfied.” A hint of a smile appeared on Mu Cidian’s face.

“But, how did you know that I was planning to return?” Song Lifei laughed, “I just made this plan and you called me. It has been years, but you are still as smart.”

“I am flattered. I bumped into your mom the other day and she seemed unwell. I casually asked about you and she mentioned your plan to return. Thus, I knew about it. I am not that smart to be a clairvoyant.”

“Alright. You just outwork everyone else.” Song Lifei laughed. “You finished studying all the high school textbooks back in freshman year. You were the most brilliant in the entire school.”

He didn’t have much time.

Other than studying textbooks, he also needed to learn a lot about business operations, which meant that he had to work harder than others.

“That is all in the past.” Mu Cidian didn’t want to talk about the past.

“Right, so much time has passed. Time waits for no one!” Song Lifei laughed, “By the way, would you like to go out for dinner tonight?”

“It’s better not to.” Mu Cidian directly declined, “Since you are in human resources, you should understand the personnel relationships in the group well.”

“You’re referring to you and Xin Zaozao?” The other side laughed.

“So, it’s best not to have any involvement with me, and don’t tell anyone you know me, otherwise your dream of working in the Xin Group would be over!”

“Does Xin Zaozao target you that much?”

“Do you think I treated Xin Zaozao that way, she wouldn’t target me!”

“I’m just curious, you can’t even handle a Xin Zaozao?” Song Lifei teased, “That doesn’t sound like you.”

“I really can’t handle her. You’ll understand when you work with her in the future, and you’ll see her real abilities.”

“It’s rare for somebody to get such high praise from you.”

“It’s not rare at all. I have a very high opinion of you too, otherwise I wouldn’t have actively invited you here.” Mu Cidian stated bluntly.

“Actually, if you hadn’t called me, I might not have come back so quickly.”

“Xin Group would be a great platform for your development.”

“I don’t doubt that. Anywhere you are can’t be too bad.” Song Lifei really admired Mu Cidian.

Mu Cidian laughed.

He might have to leave soon.

He said, “The list is finalized. You can start preparing for the onboarding.”

“There wasn’t any nepotism, right?”

“It was Xin Zaozao’s decision.” implying it had nothing to do with him.

“Tell me, are you and Xin Zaozao really like oil and water?” Song Lifei couldn’t help but probe more.

“In short, just do what she says in the future.” Mu Cidian didn’t want to explain further.

“Should I interpret that as you want me to follow her instead of you?”

“Your understanding is very correct.”

“Do you like Xin Zaozao?” Song Lifei asked directly.

“Are all HR people gossipy?”

“It’s job-related.”

Mu Cidian was silent for a few seconds, “Yes, your HR insight is very strong, you guessed it.”

“So you want me to come back, actually to help Xin Zaozao raise a confidant. After all, Xin Zaozao is having a hard time running such a large group by herself, and obviously, Xin Zaozao doesn’t trust you, so you’re looking for someone she can trust.”

Mu Cidian didn’t respond.

Usually, no response means acquiescence.

Song Lifei laughed, “Mu Cidian, I never thought that one day you would love someone so much. Our classmates back then all thought you were a study machine, all you did every day was study, you didn’t know what love was.”

“So, I understood too late.”

“Do you and Xin Zaozao still have a chance?”

“No.”

“Then you two…”

“Enough.” Mu Cidian interrupted Song Lifei directly, “I know you’re gossipy and it’s job-related, but that’s the end of it about my affairs, I won’t say more. My intentions are clear. First, assist Xin Zaozao well and help her fully manage Xin Group. Secondly, don’t have any contact with me, you don’t need to tell me about your work with Xin Zaozao, you can pretend I don’t exist.”

“Aren’t you the general manager of Xin Group?” What does he mean by pretend he doesn’t exist?

“Sooner or later I won’t be.”

“What do you mean…”

“Get ready to start your job.” Mu Cidian didn’t give any further explanation.

He hung up the phone.

Afterwards, he just sat in his office, most of the time idling.

While the office opposite was always busy.

Very busy.

Countless documents needed Xin Zaozao’s signature and countless projects needed her to make decisions.

Sometimes, Xin Zaozao found it hard to catch her breath too.

She put down the document in her hand and took a sip of water from the cup next to her.

Yan Quan reported on all the projects that needed her signature beside her, seeing her tired look, he couldn’t help saying, “Chairman, maybe you need a rest? Work can’t be done all at once.”

Truth be told, Xin Zaozao’s shoulders were aching, she had been buried in work since the end of the interview.

She moved her body, nodded, and said, “You sit down and rest too.”

“Ok.” Yan Quan sat in the chair opposite Xin Zaozao.

Xin Zaozao said, “I didn’t expect that after taking over all the work, there would be so much to do. I’ve always thought that as a company leader, my role was to give orders.”

Yan Quan laughed, “Your father used to be able to do just that.”

Xin Zaozao pursed her lips.

Yan Quan said, “The person who was as busy as you was General Manager Mu.”

Xin Zaozao smiled faintly.

It seemed that she did not want to bring up Mu Cidian.

Yan Quan did not say more.

Xin Zaozao changed the subject, “Have the candidates been notified?”

“They have, they were asked to start on next Monday.”

“After the procedures are completed, ask them to come to my office.”

“Okay.”

Xin Zaozao stretched her waist and said, “Let’s continue.”

Yan Quan nodded.

Xin Zaozao was indeed very dedicated.

With such heavy workload, she could shoulder everything despite her petite frame.

Time flies.

It was time to finish work.

Xin Zaozao set a specific alarm for herself, afraid she would forget about her date with Song Zhizhi.

Looking at the time, she said to Yan Quan, “That’s it for today, go home early.”

“Okay.” Yan Quan nodded, he seemed to hesitate before leaving.

Xin Zaozao watched him, “Secretary Yan, if you have something on your mind, just say it.”

“My eldest daughter is a senior this year and she is currently doing an internship. I’m wondering if it’s possible for her to join our group. Her major is language secretarial studies, and I can guide her.”

“Yes.” Xin Zaozao joked, “Uncle Yan, you’re not getting any younger, it’s time to find a successor.”

“I can still work for a few more years.”

“Sooner or later it will be your daughter’s turn.” Xin Zaozao said, “I hope that if Uncle Yan retires, your daughter can be by my side.”

“Thank you, Chairman. I will definitely train her well.” Yan Quan was a bit emotional.

Xin Zaozao spoke very clearly.

The secretary-general position was for his daughter.

“I trust you.” Xin Zaozao smiled.

Yan Quan was really touched.

He expressed his gratitude several times before leaving her office.

Xin Zaozao watched Yan Quan’s retreating figure.

Actually, she really desperately wanted people by her side to be her own people.

Xin Zaozao tidied up her desk a bit and said to Nie Feng, “Let’s go.”

Nie Feng followed her.

As soon as the two of them stepped out of the office.

They ran into Mu Cidian.

Mu Cidian didn’t expect Xin Zaozao to finish work so early.

At that moment he very actively turned around, went back to his own office, and didn’t even enter an elevator.

Xin Zaozao watched Mu Cidian’s actions.

He was making it really obvious, that he didn’t want to have any contact with her.

Or was it very clear that he knew whatever he did for her, she would no longer believe him, so it wasn’t worth disguising himself to please her!