Xia Yan took a shower, put on her pajamas, changed out of yesterday's clothes, and tossed them into the washing machine before casually returning to her bed. Catching the familiar scent, her mood slowly calmed. She pulled the blanket over her head, curled up on her side, and tucked herself into a tight ball.
"Xia Yan, get up, time to wake up..."
Just as Xia Yan finally managed to fall asleep, a noisy clamor rang in her ears. She cracked her eyes open, rubbing them groggily as she stared at Lin Xujia's enlarged face suddenly looming over her. With a jolt, she snapped awake.
"You'd better have something important!" Most people saw Xia Yan as easygoing, occasionally a bit aloof, but generally good-natured. Yet even the most patient person, when woken up right after falling asleep, would feel their irritation spike uncontrollably.
Xia Yan's stern expression startled Lin Xujia. She tugged at Xia Yan's blanket and whispered, "Did you not sleep last night?"
"I just fell asleep, and you wake me up. What do you want?" Xia Yan yawned, squinting at Lin Xujia.
"Where did you go last night? Were you with Lu Zhengting?"
"You woke me up just to ask that?" Xia Yan rolled her eyes, flopped straight back onto the bed, and closed her eyes to continue sleeping.
"Xia Yan, don't sleep yet. Did you mention my matter to Mr. Lu last night?"
"..."
"Xia Yan! Did you ask for me or not?"
Unable to stand Lin Xujia's relentless barrage, Xia Yan sat up abruptly, clutching her head and messing up her hair. "Lu Zhengting didn't come back last night at all."
"Really?" Lin Xujia eyed Xia Yan's sleepy face suspiciously, shaking her shoulder. "You're not lying to me? But if he didn't come back, why do you look so exhausted, like you're dead tired?"
"Oh my god, my dear, that's the honest truth." Xia Yan deliberately ignored the latter part of her question. Even keeping her eyes open now required effort—she was so tired that just opening them felt like a struggle.
Lin Xujia frowned, staring intently at Xia Yan. "Xia Yan, I heard the Lu Group's recruitment ends today. Why don't you call Mr. Lu now and mention it over the phone?"
Hearing this, Xia Yan forcefully shook off Lin Xujia's hand. "Xiaojia, do you absolutely have to get into the Lu Group? Can't you survive without it?"
"Xia Yan, you..."
"You know how high the Lu Group's standards are for employees. Isn't this outcome what we expected?" If it weren't for Lu Zhengting, Xia Yan might have been willing to help Lin Xujia out. But it was Lu Zhengting—a man too dangerous for her. Last night's events were still vivid in her mind.
She wasn't bold, and she knew her limits, so she never wanted any connection with him. Back in the Xia family, she had no choice, but now...
Lin Xujia looked at Xia Yan's serious face, growing annoyed. "Xia Yan, it's just one phone call. I'm your best friend, and you won't even help me with that?"
"Xiaojia, don't put me in a tough spot."
"Fine, I won't put you in a tough spot." Lin Xujia stared unblinkingly at Xia Yan, her expression cold. "You keep sleeping. I'm going out."
Xia Yan didn't notice the flash of malice and anger in Lin Xujia's eyes as she turned to leave. Hearing the dorm door close, she lay back down but found she couldn't sleep even with her eyes shut. Remembering she had to report for her internship in two days, she reluctantly got up, turned on the computer, and logged into her email. There was one unread message.
Xia Yan clicked the mouse a few times, opened the unread email, and froze in shock. Impossible! She rubbed her eyes, hoping she was mistaken, but the email remained fixed on the screen.
She had received a notification from the Lu Group!
What was this all about?
Xia Yan sat dumbfounded in her chair, staring at the screen. With her resume, there was no way she should have been hired by the Lu Group! Lin Xujia, who had left, suddenly returned, walked over to Xia Yan, glanced at the screen, and her eyes turned sharp.
"Xia Yan, should I congratulate you on being hired by the Lu Group?"
"Xiao... why are you back?"
"Don't you really not want to see me back? I can't believe it. The one who kept saying our level couldn't get into the Lu Group is now hired by them." Lin Xujia sneered.
"I don't know how this happened."
"Hmph, Xia Yan, am I supposed to believe you?"
Hearing this, Xia Yan knew no matter what she said, Lin Xujia wouldn't listen. Thinking quickly, she saw Lin Xujia grabbing her things to leave and quickly called out, "Xiaojia, wait."
"What else do you have to say?" Lin Xujia crossed her arms, her face flushed with anger. When she saw Xia Yan pull out her phone, she mocked, "Is this act really necessary?"
Xia Yan quickly found Lu Zhengting's number in her phone—he had saved it himself last time. She never thought she'd call him under these circumstances.
The call went through with a dull ringing sound.
Xia Yan called two or three times, but no one answered.
"Just putting on a show?"
That man Lu Zhengting usually showed up uninvited when nothing was happening, but now when she needed him, he wouldn't pick up!
Lu Group, Conference Room.
Lu Zhengting's cold gaze swept over everyone in the room, as if a chill hung in the air around them. He tapped the table with a black pen held in his long fingers, leaning forward. "Director Mu, the plans your team is handling need to be on my desk by the last day of this week."
"Mr. Lu, the head of MI Company will arrive in Jiangcheng in a week."
"I'll handle the arrangements then."
The conference room door suddenly opened. Lu Zhengting frowned at the secretary who burst in. The secretary handed him a phone and whispered in his ear.
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting took the phone, glanced at the missed calls on the screen, and stood up expressionlessly. "Take a ten-minute break," he said to the group.
With that, Lu Zhengting held the phone, dialed Xia Yan's number to return the call, and slowly left the conference room for his office.
Lin Xujia's aggressive questioning nearly pushed Xia Yan to lose her temper and resort to physical action. When her phone rang, she glared at Lin Xujia, saw it was Lu Zhengting calling, took a deep breath, and put it on speaker.
"Mr. Lu, I'd like to ask when the Lu Group lowered its hiring standards?"
"Xia Yan, what are you trying to say?"
"It's like this. My friend and I both submitted resumes to your company. Our resumes are similar, so why was I hired and my friend..."
"Xia Yan, are you questioning our company's selection criteria? If you want to understand, you can contact HR directly."
"You..."
Lu Zhengting sat in his leather chair, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth, cutting her off again. "I trust their decisions and judgment."
"But my friend..."
"It just means she didn't meet the Lu Group's requirements," Lu Zhengting said calmly into the phone, then added, "New hires report in tomorrow at eight in the morning."
Xia Yan wanted to say more, but Lu Zhengting hung up. She stared at the dark screen and Lin Xujia's red, furious face, her emotions in turmoil.
"Done with your act?"
"Xiaojia, I really don't know how this happened." Xia Yan felt like she was at a loss for words.
Meanwhile, the man who had stirred up trouble hung up, feeling unusually pleased as he stared at his phone. Xia Yan's almost-frustrated tone was surprisingly amusing. Thinking about how she had sneaked off that morning, he found it funny.
Lu Zhengting left his office, glanced at the nervous secretary standing outside, and returned expressionlessly to the conference room to continue the discussion.
Seeing this, the secretary breathed a sigh of relief. She only remembered the name Xia Yan because Lu Zhengting had specifically mentioned it before. When she saw Xia Yan's repeated calls, she hesitated for a long time before deciding to interrupt the meeting to tell Lu Zhengting. Her anxiety stemmed from knowing he hated being disturbed during meetings.
During the meeting, Ke Yaru sat to Lu Zhengting's lower left. She noticed every move he made. Knowing his habits during meetings, she realized the call that made him stop must be very important.
After the meeting ended, Ke Yaru followed Lu Zhengting out of the conference room, wondering how to find out who had called. But before she could bring it up, Lu Zhengting shot her a sharp look, cutting off her words before they left her lips.
Watching him enter his office, she stomped her foot in frustration. Spotting the secretary coming out, she didn't hesitate to block her path. "Secretary Zhou, was that caller a business partner of the company?"
Hearing this, Secretary Zhou looked troubled. After a moment of hesitation, Ke Yaru snapped, "Is it not a business partner?"
"Director Ke, regarding Mr. Lu's matters, I..."
"Are you new here? Don't you know my relationship with Mr. Lu?" Ke Yaru glared at Secretary Zhou and added, "You've been here almost three months. Shouldn't you understand the company's dynamics?"
As the finance director of the Lu Group, Ke Yaru often warned women who harbored illusions about Lu Zhengting when he wasn't around. She always spoke with innuendo, hinting at things to fuel gossip. Where there were women, there was gossip, and Ke Yaru used these rumors to spread the idea of an unusual relationship between her and Lu Zhengting.
Secretary Zhou looked at Ke Yaru and said quietly, "It was a woman named Xia Yan who called Mr. Lu."