Chapter 5 - Work

I hung up the phone. I could just imagine that old bastard twisting his mouth and scrunching up his eyes in fury.

Having said that, we are a little bit similar: we both like to pick up what’s cheap and convenient. He wanted a son who’s both filial and at his disposal without ever having to raise him by himself. As for me, I wanted a glimpse at what he claims to be one hundred million dollars of family estate.

But now, I don’t regard those things to be important anymore. My mother was made into a mistress and died filled with resentment in her heart. Her only request was for me to never go back to recognize that person as father.

For my dignified and proud mother, it was the humiliation of a lifetime. She could no longer take revenge against that person, nor did she want me to take revenge, but I must never involve myself with that person ever again.

However, for the sake of money and desire in the previous world, I went and called that old bastard who didn’t even raise me for a single day my father, in spite of my mother’s dying wishes. Being aware of my situation from the afterlife 1 , how could she not blame me?

The Qin family is not at all a good place. That cheap father of mine doesn’t even hold that many Qin family shares, let alone have the power to persuade or influence the stockholders. There are many wolves but not enough meat to go around 2 , and Qin Yuan’s leg 3 is the perfect example.

I looked at the diagram of the current stock market situation on my computer; controlling what I have on hand is still the most dependable thing. Next month, I will officially start my internship. Everything is developing in a good direction.

I rented a single-room apartment in a neighborhood near the company. Even though it seems a little luxurious for a recent graduate to spend two-thirds of his salary to rent a place in a prosperous district of X City, I feel that nowadays, there’s no need to wrong myself too much. I invested $500,000 of my money in stocks, plus I still have over $100,000 in surplus. Walking from here to the office takes 20 minutes; it saves a lot of time, and I can exercise.

This is a foreign IT company, and I applied for the planning assistant position in the operations department. In this world, I chose to accept this company’s offer purely to cause trouble for selfish reasons. Because Wen Yang also started a computer software company, what if there is a chance to help Wen Yang in some way?

I’m not going to do anything as far as divulge company secrets, but I can provide Wen Yang with some conveniences by being under the same circumstances in the industry.

Furthermore, I want to understand what kind of career Wen Yang is pursuing; this way, I feel like I can get a little closer to him.

“When I was clocking in, I thought, ‘where did this handsome guy come from?’ He got our beautiful little front desk lady so enthusiastic, she’s trembling in a craze. Look at her itching to directly bring you over to report the news,” Chen Peng said while placing a plie of materials in front of me.

Chen Peng is the assistant to our Chief Operating Officer (COO), and the person in the company responsible for overseeing me. He appears less than 30 years old, not very tall in stature, a little plump 4 , has meticulously combed hair without a strand out of place 5 , wears glasses, and gives off a bit of a greasy vibe.

We just met, so I couldn’t tell if this was a joke to tease me or hatred directed at me. I also returned the smile and replied, “Really? My reputation was always a ‘middle- and old-aged woman killer’. If it’s true, then that lady’s thoughts are a little on the mature side, ah.”

When Chen Peng heard me say that, he raised his eyebrows and pushed up his glasses, saying, “The ladies nowadays don’t like the so-called ‘tall-long-legs type’ 6 like you: very superficial.”

“What is Assistant Chen doing, making things difficult for the handsome new-hire? Is it possible that you’re jealous?” A beautiful female colleague from the right side leaned over. Just a moment ago, there were too many co-worker introductions, so I couldn’t remember her name.

“What nonsense, this type of youngster only lies and deceives young girls. It’s what’s on the inside that’s important in a man. What’s the use of just being good-looking?”

With a look of disdain, the beautiful female colleague replied, “What do you know? Haven’t you heard——A person’s internal attributes are like a college entrance exam, and the external attributes are like a high school entrance exam 7 .”

“That’s true, the college entrance exam is indeed more important than the high school entrance exam!”

“Ridiculous! You can’t even pass the high school entrance exam, so how do you still have the opportunity to take the college one? Without the right external attributes, who’s going to care about what your internal attributes are?” The beautiful female colleague pointed to me, continuing to say, “Look, his appearance is more handsome than yours, his attire is more tasteful than yours, and his hairstyle is more neat and orderly than yours. Girls should care about the internal attributes, but they should also choose this type to care about, ah.”

Chen Peng was fooled speechless by the beautiful woman’s fallacious reasoning; his face was a fit of red and white, and spent half a day only to muster up a few words with great difficulty, “It’s business hours. No more chit chatting and get to work.”

The beautiful colleague gave him a dirty look but obediently returned to her spot.

Chen Peng turned his head; it seems like it was a bit of a big blow. However, it can be inferred from this encounter that his temperament is quite good. Otherwise, how could that young woman dare speak out against him? After all, even though Chen Peng’s title is ‘assistant’, he is actually considered to be in a position of leadership.

I helplessly spread out my hands, pretending to be distressed, “In order to prove that I did not get in because of my face, how long do you need me to finish reading this information?”

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“So talkative, what for?! 8 ” Chen Peng said in a bad mood, “For the first week, it’s enough to just familiarize yourself with the company’s business and use the best of your ability to understand it. If you have anything you don’t understand, ask me directly. The company’s policy is that if a new-hire’s evaluation is subpar, then they go after and blame the person responsible for guiding the new-hire. Likewise, if your evaluation is excellent, then I will receive a bonus, even for your future promotions. Next Monday, you’ll need to hand in a report on the analysis of the company’s current business situation, including the advantages and disadvantages as well as your personal recommendations. It doesn’t have to be too formal, nor especially lengthy and full of dogmatic nonsense. Just control it yourself; there isn’t a strict standard.”

“Then in the future, please continue to advise me more and more. Although I can’t guarantee the bonus, I’m not very good at being a hindrance.”

“Little comrade is very good with words,” Chen Peng touched his chin, and smiled very maliciously, “But you think too much. I have not ever been deducted a bonus. I will only see if there is enough, and whether or not it is up to expectations. If a problem arises on your behalf, we can exchange sentiments privately after work.”

……

When he left, I let out a breath. I was somewhat sluggish from being so nervous. Actually, I was very tense earlier because this is my first time working, and I was absolutely not as skillfully at ease as I appeared to be.

With this information, in addition to the excessive amount of homework I’ve done in the past, I didn’t feel any pressure, but I do perceive Chen Peng to be a very interesting person.

Many people say they are unable to comprehend the world of a top student: in fact, I feel the most relaxed every time I’m learning and studying for work. I don’t need to think too much and just diligently complete the established goals. After achieving them, I will feel an unparalleled sense of accomplishment. Actually, many people will also have a similar feeling, but it may just be that my feelings are a bit more intense.

I opened the folder of materials and looked at it while taking notes on the computer, sinking into my own world.

…

Suddenly, someone knocked on the divider on my desk, “Hey handsome, let’s go eat.”

A little angry, I looked up and saw it was the beautiful female colleague from earlier. Startled, I suppressed my bad mood and quickly smiled, “Is this beautiful lady leading the way?” I don’t like to be disturbed when I’m working; it’s a little similar to the common phenomenon where people are irritated after waking up. It really isn’t my intention. It does go away after I rationally suppress it, but perhaps it can intimidate the people who don’t understand.

Evidently, the beautiful female colleague took a step backwards from fright. However, before I could apologize, she recovered her spirits and said, “My name is Fu Xiaoyu, but just call me Xiao Fu 9 . I’m the company’s secretary.

“Hello, I’m Shi Shan.”

“I know already, how can I not remember the handsome guy’s name? Besides, your name is very distinct.” She seems to not mind my offense just now at all.

The company has a special employee cafeteria, a point mentioned by human resources when I entered the company, and it’s very convenient.

By the time we finished getting our food, half of the floor was almost full. A few colleagues called us over.

“Come here, I saved you guys a spot.”

I exhaled, slowly smiling. It’s a new beginning.

Translator’s Comments:

IT SURE IS A NEW BEGINNING! MC is growing up :3 So far, it’s not been too angsty, but I’m sure once we dive deeper its gonna build…and I can’t wait </3

Thank you for your support! <3

Footnotes

“泉下” (quán xià) the “泉” refers to “黄泉” (huáng quán) or the Yellow Springs/the nether world in Chinese mythology. “狼多肉少” (láng duōròu shǎo) Literal translation is “many wolves, little meat.” Essentially means “there isn’t enough to go around.” Reminder: This is the Qin family’s son with broken leg. I believed he was only mentioned in passing in Chapter 1. “发福”(fā fú) Literally “make/develop good fortune.” Essentially, it means “fat”…. But in a good way, like a compliment that one is well-fed. “ 一丝不苟” (Yī sī bù gǒu) Chinese idiom. Literally “not one thread loose.” Meaning is as written, only Chen Peng’s hair is described literally as not one thread loose. Essentially, very meticulous/neat. “大长腿” (dà chǎng tuǐ ) Literally “big long legs.” I think the meaning is supposed to emphasize long legs which to me, would mean TALL, not BIG. Also, “big-long-legs” doesn’t sound as nice… “这人的内在就像是高考，外在就好比中考。” (Zhè rén de nèizài jiù xiàng shì gāokǎo, wài zài jiù hǎobǐ zhōngkǎo.) Translation is as written. Tbh, even I’m not sure what this means…But in China, there are examinations at the end of middle school and high school to determine which high school and college you can attend respectively. “贫什么！” (“pín shénme!”) Beijing slag for “talking excessively/garrulous.” It has a kind of negative connotation. Literal translation is “talkative what!” but that doesn’t make much sense, so I tried to keep both talkative and what in there without using too many extra words… so it became a question. “小符” (xiǎo fú) Nickname meaning “little Fu.” The “xiao” in this nickname isn’t the same one in her acutal name. It just means “little/young,” and it’s common to add before a person’s name as an informal way to address them.