The next morning, after hearing that Mi Cai had officially taken up the position of Executive CEO at Xinlv Energy, I came to the company as usual before work to handle daily affairs. The company had gradually stabilized, and the team built by Chen Jingming and the HR department was proving highly efficient. I was much more relaxed compared to the early days of taking over, which allowed me more time to focus on the “Artistic Journey” tour. I seemed to have unintentionally packaged myself into a brand, being referred to by outsiders as the entrepreneur who sings best. Meanwhile, Luo Ben, who was touring with me, was simultaneously preparing his first solo album after returning to China. All our friends in the industry were confident about this album, which had already begun production, as it was a major work following a year of accumulation, backed by his extraordinary talent.
After entering my office, I brewed a cup of hot tea and logged into my work email, where I found a job application resume sent by the HR manager. According to our company’s work protocols, only applications for managerial positions would be forwarded to me, so I opened the resume with a serious attitude, but the result surprised me. It turned out to be a resume for the position of General Manager’s assistant, but I was already very satisfied with my current assistant, and there was absolutely no such need.
As I started reading the resume, I unexpectedly discovered that the girl applying was once Mi Cai’s assistant at Zhuomei, and she had an impressively high academic background! Therefore, it was a huge surprise for me that someone who should not have to worry about employment would apply at our company. I immediately took out my phone and dialed the contact number she had left on the resume.
She answered quickly. I introduced myself first, and she didn’t seem very surprised, as if she had already anticipated it, and said to me: “President Zhao, I am indeed very sincere about applying for the position of General Manager’s assistant at your company. I wonder if your company could give me such an opportunity?”
I didn’t rush to answer but asked instead: “I really don’t understand why someone like you, with such a high academic background and outstanding ability, would be interested in our company? Your stage should be those large multinational corporations. Also, you should know that I personally don’t have a need for this position at the moment.”
“For me, a company with great potential for development can better stimulate my passion for work. I don’t really like the procedural working style in big companies… Besides, I used to be Assistant to President Mi, who was the best boss who helped me the most. No one knows better than me about her feelings for Zhuomei. I always feel that she will come back, and this feeling has become stronger over time. That’s why I’m applying at your company. After all, you are her husband. Waiting for Mi Cai’s return at your company, I think this is something you would be very willing to see, and it also provides me with the best convenience… Because, when the time comes and I return to Mi Cai’s side, you definitely won’t make things difficult for me. But if I go to another company, with contractual constraints, it probably won’t be so convenient!”
For some reason, after hearing her words, I felt greatly comforted and became even more convinced that Mi Cai would come back—she definitely would. Because it wasn’t just me who thought so. After a moment of contemplation, I told her: “I really don’t have a need for an assistant at the moment… How about this: you contact President Chen Jingming. Most of the company’s affairs are now handled by him, and the workload is very heavy. I think he could use two assistants. As for the salary and benefits, you can directly discuss them with me, and I will try my best to meet your needs.”
She weighed it for a moment and replied: “Assisting President Chen is okay too… As for salary and benefits, I don’t have any special requirements. Just follow your company’s standards… You don’t need to give me extra favors just because I was President Mi’s former assistant.”
I smiled and said a few more things before ending the call. For the first time, I felt the signal that Mi Cai would definitely return.
…
At noon, just before finishing work, Chen Jingming came to my office to talk about Ye Luo (Mi Cai’s former assistant), probably after she had already contacted him following our conversation. He said to me: “President Zhao, I have a suggestion regarding personnel coordination.”
“Please go ahead.”
“As for this girl Ye Luo, I understand her quite well. In terms of overall quality, she is definitely much better than Xiao He (my current assistant). It would be a waste for her to work under me. Therefore, I still hope she can stay by your side. Moreover, she can convey some of Mi Cai’s usual work experience to you. Working with her would also be a learning and improving process for you. As for Xiao He, you can assign her to me. I really need an assistant who is meticulous and conscientious like her.”
Chen Jingming’s suggestion was hard for me to refuse, and I even felt a bit intrigued. After all, it was quite a magical feeling for Mi Cai’s assistant to become my assistant. Yet, I vaguely sensed something else. Although Chen Jingming strongly denied it and Ye Luo had not indicated that her coming to our company was on Mi Cai’s instruction, I had reasons to suspect that. Especially after Zhou, who had previously been in charge of channels at Zhuomei, joined our company, he quickly played a significant role in his position. In this short period, he had already developed new channels for us in several famous scenic spots. Before he joined our company, our negotiations with these scenic spots had faced considerable obstacles. He seemed to have arrived at our company at just the right time.
Finally, I said to Chen Jingming: “Then let Ye Luo follow me… But…” I paused as I realized that even if I questioned Zhou and Ye Luo’s joining our company, Chen Jingming wouldn’t give me a definite answer. Instead, I should just watch how things develop. I understood that both Zhou and the upcoming Ye Luo had joined our company with good intentions.
“But what?”
I shook my head and changed the subject: “Nothing… By the way, President Chen, do you still remember when Simi Advertising was facing a debt crisis, I received an anonymous donation of 15 million?”
“Of course I remember… President Zhao, you suspect this donation is related to President Mi, right?”
“There’s no need to suspect anymore… Because I plan to return this 15 million donation to Bank President Sun recently and then have Bank President Sun pass it on to the person who helped us. So I hope you can communicate with the finance department and follow up on this matter…”
“Okay, I’ll take care of this matter.”
After Chen Jingming left, I fell into deep thought again. Although I didn’t show any concern about who had given the money, I was still eager to find out the truth, but I couldn’t be certain. When I returned the money this time, I wondered whether Bank President Sun would tell me the truth.
…
At lunchtime, I had lunch with CC. This time, we didn’t talk about the past anymore. Instead, we calmly discussed our future plans. Many things had already settled down, and her complicated relationship with Luo Ben had finally come to an end. She truly found a happy marriage after learning to let go, and she no longer needed to worry about Luo Ben’s future… As for Luo Ben, he could soon establish a family, as he had already become a successful man with many admiring women around him.
In the afternoon, I had the company driver take CC back to Shanghai. She didn’t end up meeting Luo Ben during her visit to Suzhou this time, but I knew they would meet eventually.
In the evening, I didn’t stay idle either. I bought some daily necessities for Jian Wei and delivered them to the sanatorium. Actually, she already had the ability to take care of herself now, but she was unwilling to return to independent city life. She had already gotten used to this quiet lifestyle. However, she couldn’t stay here forever. So today, besides bringing her some things, I also wanted to have a good talk with her, because I had once promised Jian Boyu to send her abroad, and now was the time to do it.
Upon arriving at the sanatorium, I took the daily necessities out of the car trunk, just as she was standing by the window looking at the world still lightly snowing. Our eyes met, I smiled at her, but she showed no expression… It seemed that since she woke up, she had a natural aversion to me. She didn’t like being around me at all. Therefore, besides occasionally lending her some daily necessities and checking on her health, I consciously avoided frequent contact with her.
I opened the door to the room and walked in, then placed the daily necessities into the cabinet next to her bed. But she suddenly said to me: “You don’t need to buy these for me anymore. I already went to the supermarket myself this morning.”
“Did you drive there?”
“No, I took a taxi. Dr. Mo said I’m not allowed to drive alone yet.”
“Oh.” I responded, then sat down on the sofa, while she continued to stand by the window looking out…
After a while, I finally said to her: “Jian Wei, there’s something I want to get your opinion on.”
She didn’t even turn around, asking casually: “What is it?”
“I once promised your family that once you recovered, I would send you abroad. Is there a specific country you’d really like to go to? I’ll try to help you with the immigration process.”
Jian Wei finally turned around and looked at me, asking me unexpectedly: “Zhaoyang, actually we knew each other a long time ago… You met Dr. Mo only after I was in a coma, right?”
My heart trembled: “Have you remembered something?”
Jian Wei turned her back to me again and didn’t look at me. After a long while, she shook her head and said to me: “If you’re just a friend of Dr. Mo, there’s no need to be so enthusiastic about helping me immigrate abroad. Your excessive kindness has made me wonder… You tell me, what exactly was our relationship before?”
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