“Sis, I’m going to be late.”
“You and your brother-in-law can handle it yourselves.”
As a younger sister, Li Manni didn’t feel right directly accusing her sister, so she chose to avoid the issue.
And based on her understanding of her brother-in-law, her sister’s idea of remarrying him could be described in four words: pure wishful thinking!!
In Li Manni’s eyes, her brother-in-law Yang Hao was a real man standing tall and upright.
When proud, he was loyal to his family and respectful to older people.
When down and out, he left with dignity and without a bad word to say.
He even gave his sister part of the money from selling their house for Xixi’s custody amidst such difficult times.
One could say he had done all he could.
Until now, brother-in-law’s WeChat signature was still the eight words he wrote during their divorce: Apart we stand better, each living well.
Li Manni thought these eight words were particularly good, just like the lyrics from the song “Decency”:”Leaving with grace, so the past years weren’t in vain.”
Her brother-in-law had lived up to that.
But her sister had not managed to “maintain the decency of a farewell”!
Seeing her sister get off the car, Li Manshu couldn’t just stay inside, so she followed suit.
Actually, her words just now were an attempt to probe her sister’s reaction.
After speculating last night that her ex-husband might have become wealthy, she couldn’t sleep, and after a fierce internal struggle, she decided that if her ex-husband really had become successful, she would try to remarry him.
In her opinion, there was nothing shameful about it – she could take the initiative to admit her wrongs and beg for forgiveness.
Maybe Yang Hao would forgive her for Xixi’s sake…
But before that, she needed to clear up one thing, which was the relationship between her sister and her ex-husband Yang Hao.
It’s perfectly fine for a brother-in-law to give gifts for his little sister-in-law’s birthday.
But to directly present a Porsche Cayenne, claiming there’s nothing going on between you two, I’m guessing not many people would believe that.
Besides, there was the rumor that half of the sister-in-law’s butt belonged to the brother-in-law…
So Li Manshu wanted to test the waters with her sister to see if the two were actually together.
But judging from her sister’s reaction just now, they probably were not.
She didn’t show any particular emotional outburst, indicating that, so far, there likely wasn’t an improper relationship between them.
This gave Li Manshu some reassurance. If her sister really got together with her ex-husband, things would become complicated.
“Sis, I think you’d better just live your own life well!”
Before leaving, Li Manni still shared her viewpoint, although she knew her sister might not listen.
Li Manshu didn’t respond but quietly watched her sister walk away, then turned her gaze to the Porsche Cayenne stopped in front of her, her eyes full of envy.
At the same time, she inwardly scoffed: I gave birth to your daughter, and I’ve never even driven a Porsche!!
Jiangcheng Evening News, reporters’ department.
Li Manni had just reached her work station when Group Leader Tang Lijie called her to the stairwell.
“Manni, it looks like the full-time positions have been announced.”
“Prepare yourself…” Tang Lijie said with a furrowed brow.
“Not for me?”
Li Manni detected the implication in her group leader’s words and felt disappointed.
“Sigh, I recommended you to the higher-ups.”
“But…”
Here, Tang Lijie paused, then checked to make sure no one was around before whispering, “Someone saw Guo Wei and Director Chang coming out of the same hotel.”
“So, you get what I’m saying, right?”
Li Manni nodded: “Tang, I understand, thank you for telling me this.”
“Just keep persevering, I’ll continue to highly recommend you for the next round.”
“But with Director Chang…”
Tang Lijie sighed again as she said this.
The Director Chang she mentioned was the head of the reporters’ department, and he had veto power over the intern reporters’ permanent employment status, so if Li Manni couldn’t get through to him, she wouldn’t be able to become a full-time employee.
And this Director Chang was notoriously lascivious; he had been coveting Li Manni ever since she joined the newspaper and had hinted at her twice, both times rejected by her.
The workplace is just like this: being beautiful is an advantage, but it can also bring countless troubles.
If you keep to your morals, you block your own path to advancement.
There are indeed beautiful women who rise to the company’s top ranks on their own merit, but they are rare.
More often, it’s a matter of fighting your way up through genuine effort.
There’s no helping it; that’s just how it is.
Not to mention the already exposed beautiful district chiefs, the unexposed cases are countless.
As the saying goes, when you see one cockroach, there are already many lurking in the dark!
Given Li Manni’s personality, she would naturally not submit to a greasy old man.
Tang Lijie understood this about the young intern, which is why she sighed.
“Tang, I will continue to work hard.”
Li Manni clenched her fists slightly; not getting permanent employment was not the end of the world, there would be another chance.
“Right, don’t get upset.”
“Although I can’t make you a permanent staff member, I’ll try my best to apply for more news subsidies and bonuses for you,” Tang Lijie patted Li Manni on the shoulder. She liked this young girl, who reminded her of her younger self.
Tang Lijie was also the type of person who prided herself on integrity, which was why even after all these years, she was still just a group leader.
“Thank you, Sister Tang.”
Li Manni was grateful to this leader who had always taken good care of her.
Back at her desk, Li Manni began sorting out the news information she needed to compile that day. While she was focused on her work, Director Chang’s assistant suddenly came over to inform her that Director Chang was looking for her.
When summoned by a leader, Li Manni naturally couldn’t refuse. She took a deep breath and followed the assistant to the office of the head of the reporters’ department, Chang Ruihua.
“Director Chang, you wanted to see me.”
“Manni is here, take a seat,” Chang Ruihua said with a smile, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.
“No need to sit, just tell me what you need me to do,” Li Manni said, standing still.
“Sit down. This isn’t something that can be discussed in just a few words.”
While speaking, the balding Director Chang gave his assistant a look, and the assistant immediately left the office, closing the door behind him.
Li Manni slightly furrowed her brow. Although she knew nothing untoward could happen in the newspaper office, she still heightened her alertness. She slipped her hand into her jacket pocket and silently activated the recording function on her phone, a skill she had honed as a journalist.
“Manni, this is the list of interns that the group has proposed for permanent positions this period. Take a look.”
Since Li Manni didn’t sit, Chang Ruihua stood up from his executive chair and handed her a chart titled [List of Interns for Permanent Positions, First Period of 2024].
He then began to speak, “It’s the era of new media now, and our traditional media is having a tougher time with each passing year. This year the number of permanent positions has been cut in half, leaving our newspaper with just one.”
“Manni, actually, I think highly of you. Whether it’s professional ability or overall quality, you are better than Guo Wei, who made the list!”
“But do you know why it’s her on the list, not you?” Chang Ruihua walked in front of Li Manni and looked directly at this young and beautiful subordinate as he asked.
“Why?” Li Manni instinctively asked in return.
“Because she cherishes the opportunity to progress more and has a greater sense of dedication.”
“And these are precisely what you lack.”
“It’s good for a young person to have the right attitude and to study hard in their field.”
“But you mustn’t neglect the maintenance of interpersonal relationships, and you should actively strive for opportunities to advance.”
“If you don’t strive for it, how will the opportunity fall into your lap?”
After laying some groundwork, Director Chang continued, “Tonight I’m dining with some leaders from the group above us. Later, I’ll have Liu send you the time and place.”
“Whether you can seize this opportunity for advancement is up to you!”
…
Headquarters of the Jiangcheng Newspaper Group.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was tense.
In recent years, the traditional print media had been on the decline, and the total market value of the Jiangcheng Newspaper Group had plummeted from its peak of 1.5 billion to the current 500 million.
With a two-thirds reduction in market value, if not for the significant subsidies provided by the Jiangcheng City government each year, it’s questionable whether the company could have stayed afloat.
And just yesterday, a major incident occurred within the group. The second-largest shareholder of the Jiangcheng Newspaper Group, also the President Fang Zhongwei, had cashed out and left the scene.
Because the largest shareholder, the Jiangcheng City government, does not interfere with the group’s operations, this meant that the group’s management was likely to see a shakeup.
As the group’s second-largest shareholder, Fang Zhongwei owned 28% of its shares, while the combined shareholding of all other stakeholders was only 21%. Therefore, unless the group faced bankruptcy and government intervention, Fang Zhongwei had veto rights.
Now that his veto power had been transferred, the group’s executives were naturally trembling with fear, uncertain of whom the new President would target.
In the midst of the subdued and tense atmosphere, the door to the meeting room was pushed open.
Fang Zhongwei and a tall man, flanked by seven or eight people, entered the meeting room.
Everyone’s gaze instinctively fell on the tall man, who, unsurprisingly, was the new President of the Jiangcheng Newspaper Group.
So young!
He seemed to be just in his thirties!
Calm and restrained, he must be quite capable!
The group’s executives internally offered their evaluations.
At that moment, Yang Hao, who seemed calm, was actually very nervous. Although he had reached an age of composed maturity, the most glorious days he had known were as the owner of five hot pot chain stores.
He had never experienced a situation like this before, so it was impossible for him not to feel nervous.
However, Yang Hao’s father had once taught him a little trick to mask nervousness: act aloof.
As long as you speak less and keep a straight face, others won’t be able to figure you out.
After all, the less you speak, the fewer mistakes you make.
Once seated, Fang Zhongwei took the lead, “I believe everyone has heard about my upcoming departure. Yes, the rumors are true.”
“So, this is the last time I will chair the executive meeting of the Jiangcheng Newspaper Group. Thank you all for your support over the years…” Fang Zhongwei started with a brief farewell before changing the topic, “Now, let me invite Director Hu from Jiangcheng City’s Propaganda Department to announce the new personnel appointment.”
As he finished speaking, applause erupted in the room.
The Chairman of the Jiangcheng Newspaper Group had always been concurrently served by the head of Jiangcheng City’s Propaganda Department. So theoretically, all major personnel appointments required a decision from the Chairman.
In practice, it was just a formality. However, the formality was necessary as it provided legal recognition, akin to the Queen of England appointing Governors-General of Commonwealth nations.
Then, Director Hu announced the appointment made by the Propaganda Department.
Comrade Yang Hao was officially appointed as President of the Jiangcheng Newspaper Group!!