Cheng Qiaobei dropped Chen Ningxi off at work, agreeing to pick her up after work in the evening.
On the way, Lin Hanrui’s call ca through.
Cheng Qiaobei pressed the in-car answer button. "Good morning, Mr. Lin."
Lin Hanrui chuckled. "Such a tiny company, and you’re calling ’Mr. Lin’? Without you, this place would’ve crumbled ages ago."
Cheng Qiaobei: "What’s the matter?"
Lin Hanrui said, "I want to ask you about soone—Manager Ma from Zhongren Insurance, do you know him?"
Cheng Qiaobei looked expressionless. "Have you forgotten? I’m not a local."
"...Oh, right." Lin Hanrui replied, "Never mind then."
Before Cheng Qiaobei could ask what it was about, Lin Hanrui had already hung up.
Cheng Qiaobei didn’t dwell on it and got busy as soon as he arrived at the company. In the past couple of days, Cheng Siluo had been unusually active, clearly trying to overshadow him in the company. But Cheng Qiaobei played it cool and refused to join the ga; when it ca to evasive maneuvering, he was no less skilled than Cheng Xiangheng.
Regarding the Deep Blue project, Cheng Siluo still hadn’t given up. She was determined to prove herself to Cheng Xiangheng and even more eager to establish her own sub-brand, with a target market aid at higher-end consurs—which naturally involved hefty spending.
At this morning’s routine eting, Cheng Siluo brought up the Deep Blue project again, distributing its newly revised proposal to everyone.
Flipping through the materials, Cheng Qiaobei noticed that this ti, the data had been compiled by a different big data analytics company, leaving no room to question its authenticity. But the Deep Blue project still wasn’t suitable for Jade Jiali’s future direction.
So, once again, it was rejected by Cheng Qiaobei. With a darkened expression and anger barely contained, Cheng Siluo stord out of the eting room.
She went straight to Zheng Rongxi’s office and slamd the proposal onto the desk. "Mom, I’ve revised this proposal five tis already, and at today’s eting, he still said it’s not good enough!"
Fuming, Cheng Siluo paced back and forth in the office. She took the glass of water her mother handed her, downed it in one go, and continued:
"He said the data was outdated and not reference-worthy. Fine, I changed it. I hired a new big data analytics company to redo it.
Once the data was redone, he said the content wasn’t detailed enough. So I clarified and refined every clause, step by step.
Still got rejected.
Then he said the reference cases weren’t aligned with the current national situation. Fine, I found examples of recently successful dostic hotels.
And he *still* said no.
Every single ti I bring up the Deep Blue project, he shuts it down!
Mom, don’t you think he’s doing it on purpose? He’s afraid I’ll succeed and overshadow him."
Standing by the window and staring into the city’s far horizon, Cheng Siluo’s chest rose and fell with anger.
Zheng Rongxi was equally convinced that Cheng Qiaobei was deliberately suppressing her daughter. Back in her day, she had suffered silently because of Ding Yuan. Now, her own daughter had to endure Ding Yuan’s son’s antics. How could she possibly tolerate that?
"Give the file," Zheng Rongxi demanded, stretching out her hand.
Cheng Siluo turned sharply. "Are you going to my dad?"
Zheng Rongxi replied, "Who else can I go to? He’s his son—if he doesn’t deal with it, who will?"
Fearing her mother would lose her cool and dredge up old grudges to start another argunt with Cheng Xiangheng, Cheng Siluo offered:
"I’ll go talk to him. My dad’s a reasonable person. The morning etings are for us middle managers, so who knows why Cheng Qiaobei even showed up? I’ll talk to my dad in detail now and see if I can convince him."
Looking at her daughter, Zheng Rongxi felt a swell of pride and smiled. "You’ve finally grown up, knowing to fight for your opportunities."
Adjusting her emotions, Cheng Siluo straightened her clothes and said, "I’ll go now."
She was just about to leave when Zheng Rongxi reminded her, "When you talk to your dad, don’t ntion that bastard. Keep the conversation about the project."
Siluo nodded. "Got it."
With the door opening and closing, Siluo’s figure disappeared beyond it.
In the hallway, as she crossed paths with Cheng Qiaobei, he said as they brushed past:
"Don’t get your hopes up. As long as I’m at Jade Jiali, this project won’t happen."
He repeated firmly, "This project of yours—it’s going nowhere."
Stopping in her tracks, Siluo turned and snapped angrily, "What makes you so sure it won’t work? Just because you can’t do it doesn’t an I can’t."
With a disdainful snort from his nose, Qiaobei laughed coldly. "Heh... Talk all you want, but raising your voice doesn’t make you right. The Deep Blue project is a great idea but doesn’t fit Jade Jiali right now. Do you still not get it?"
Sneering, Siluo turned away. "You’re the one making all the rules? What can or can’t succeed—you think you can predict it? Laughable."
Brandishing the proposal in her hand, she pressed on. "Of all people in this company, *you’re* the least qualified to reject . If it weren’t for my mother’s support, this company wouldn’t even be where it is today..."
Gritting her teeth tightly, Siluo struggled to keep her anger under control, fearing she might completely lose her temper and curse him out.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she finally said, "Whether Deep Blue works or not will be up to my dad to decide."
At the ntion of "my dad," Qiaobei’s brow lifted slightly before he gave her a sarcastic thumbs-up. "The Cheng Family’s eldest lady truly knows how to throw her weight around!"
With that, Qiaobei walked off, and Siluo strode away with her head held high.
A single corridor, but their destinies and paths couldn’t have been more opposite.
Knocking on Cheng Xiangheng’s office door, Siluo found he wasn’t there. She then headed to Deng Yan’s office and, radiating arrogance, asked:
"Where’s my dad?"
Deng Yan replied, "Mr. Cheng has gone out."
Siluo froze briefly. "...Where to?"
"Mr. Cheng didn’t say," Deng Yan answered.
Suspicious, Siluo scrutinized him. There was no way Deng Yan didn’t know; he just didn’t want to tell her.
"I’ll wait in his office," she commanded, resuming her imperious tone. "Bring a cup of coffee."
Deng Yan got up. "Right away, Manager Cheng."
anwhile, returning to his office, Qiaobei grasped the door handle and instructed Wei Lai, "I’ve got sothing important to take care of. No one is to disturb without my permission."
Wei Lai replied, "Understood."
Qiaobei entered his office and locked the door behind him.
Glancing at the ti, he walked to the window, dialed a number, and said into the phone:
"You can start preparing."
Ending the call, he dialed Cheng Xiangheng’s number. After a few rings, the call was declined, indicating the other party was busy.
By midday, Cheng Xiangheng still hadn’t returned. After several attempts to see him, Siluo beca increasingly frustrated. She stord over to Deng Yan again, demanding:
"Where exactly is my dad?"
Just as Deng Yan was about to claim ignorance, he was doused with tea by Siluo.
"Deng Yan, have you forgotten? With your level of education, you’d never qualify for your current position at Jade Jiali. If it weren’t for my dad’s pity, you’d probably still be working at so small factory!"
Unfazed, Deng Yan calmly pulled out a tissue to wipe the tea off his face.
Seeing his lack of reaction made it clear he was ignoring her outright.
Angrier than ever, Siluo reached for a cup of coffee nearby but was beaten to it by soone else. The next mont, half the coffee was poured over her face with a splash.
"Ah..."
Turning around, Siluo realized it was Qiaobei.
"Are you insane?!" she scread.
Qiaobei retorted coldly, "...You’re the crazy one."
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