Chapter 45: Naturally Familiar

Everyone present was clueless as to why the CEO was being so merciless, leaving them with no choice but to offer a few awkward, dry laughs.

The waiter served the hot drinks and refilled Zhao Xiangjun’s cup. Wu Ting gazed longingly at Zhang Shijie, waiting for her boss to speak; she didn't want to drink alcohol either, but Zhang Shijie acted as though he didn't see her, leaving her with a resentful expression.

At that moment, Zhao Xiangjun asked, "Assistant Wu, would you like a hot drink?"

She wanted one, but since Zhang Shijie hadn't given the word, she didn't dare ask for it herself, leaving her completely stuck.

"Assistant Wu, you should have a hot drink too."

Zhang Shijie spoke up right on cue, and only then did Wu Ting beam with joy, though inwardly she felt grateful to Zhao Xiangjun.

By now, everyone in the room could see that President Zhang was genuinely taking special care of Zhao Xiangjun. Ah well, who could blame him when she was so extraordinarily pretty!

During the round of toasts, aside from Liu Haoran, for whom Zhang Shijie stood up slightly to clink glasses, he remained seated for everyone else.

Later, when it was Zhao Xiangjun's turn, she was holding a non-alcoholic beverage. She was already feeling a bit embarrassed, and the others looked on with a sense of spectators enjoying a show.

To everyone's absolute astonishment, the moment Zhao Xiangjun stood up to speak, Zhang Shijie stood up as well, as if he had been keeping his eyes on her the entire time.

Embarrassed because she was only holding a soft drink, Zhao Xiangjun said, "President Zhang, what I have here is just a non-alcoholic drink..."

Zhang Shijie didn't mind in the least and said heartily, "No problem at all! If it's convenient later, exchange contact information with Assistant Wu so you can reach out to her directly if you run into any issues down the road!"

He finished his drink in one gulp, which only made Zhao Xiangjun feel even more self-conscious.

As soon as she sat back down, Wu Ting asked if it would be convenient to add her on WeChat.

Today's gathering felt rather strange; everyone was being excessively polite, something even the other guests couldn't help noticing.

Yet they could only attribute it to Zhao Xiangjun being too gorgeous and the CEO being overly chivalrous toward beauties.

At the same time, they all thought that with Zhao Xiangjun adding Wu Ting on WeChat, she would truly have a direct line to the powers-that-were from now on.

They really needed to watch their step around this sales assistant in the future. Fortunately, they had never treated her unfairly before—after all, finding talent with such formidable sales prowess was nearly impossible.

While adding Wu Ting's contact, she noticed a message from Chen Xiao, which she hadn't seen earlier.

He was asking where she was having dinner and said he would come pick her up.

Knowing he was worried about her drinking, she replied, "No need to pick me up. Once it's over, I'll just take a taxi back."

After a moment of thought, she added another line: "I'm not drinking!"

"Alright then. Get in the car and send me the taxi's license plate number. Also, starting tomorrow, you are going to practice driving!"

Zhao Xiangjun replied with an embarrassed sweat-drop emoji.

By the time Zhao Xiangjun returned to the apartment late that evening, the two of them did not cross paths.

Early the next morning, Chen Xiao was woken up by a phone call from Xu Wu.

This woman really had no backbone. She had hung up angrily yesterday, only to call again first thing in the morning. Couldn't she show some pride and cut ties forever?

Chen Xiao had a bit of morning crankiness, but complaints aside, he still answered the call!

Xu Wu invited Chen Xiao to drop by Zhifei Aviation today, saying their general manager hoped to meet him and express his gratitude in person.

"For the sake of the beautiful Ms. Xu, I suppose I'll go meet your general manager!"

"Oh, stop flattering me!" Despite her words, Chen Xiao's piece of flattery felt rather satisfying to receive.

After getting up in the morning, he first arranged with Zhao Xiangjun to go see "As Beautiful as Flowers" together that evening, then drove straight to Zhifei Aviation.

Zhifei Aviation's offices were much larger than Dr. Feng's, spanning roughly five hundred square meters.

Chen Xiao first toured Xu Wu's office. It was small, less than twenty square meters, furnished only with a minimalist bookshelf and an executive desk, with two chairs placed directly opposite.

There was no reception sofa because there simply wasn't enough space.

A few potted green plants stood in the corner, lending a touch of elegance to the tiny space!

"Well? Isn't this much better than your office environment?"

Xu Wu looked rather proud. Naturally, she assumed Dr. Feng's robotics company had quite modest resources with very limited office space.

Coupled with the fact that Chen Xiao was merely a sales representative, he certainly wouldn't have an independent office.

And she wasn't wrong at all; even department heads like Yuan Kai hadn't managed to snag an independent office there.

Chen Xiao smiled, unsure of what she was so smug about. This place didn't even match the grandeur of his study at Bihu Twin Mansions.

Besides, at Dr. Feng's Robotics, if he, Chen Xiao, wanted an independent office given his current performance, Feng Feifei would undoubtedly personally oversee it on the spot!

It was just that the company's current premises were too small and relocation was already underway, so he couldn't be bothered to make a fuss over it right now.

Xu Wu stepped out for a moment, and upon returning, she called Chen Xiao to accompany her to the general manager's office.

Cha Lan was quite the smooth operator. The moment he saw Chen Xiao enter the room, he quickly strode forward to greet him, shook his hand warmly, and personally ushered him over to sit on the sofa!

"Ah, brother, I've been wanting to meet you for the longest time!"

Chen Xiao felt a slight twinge in his teeth. Given their ages, Cha Lan was old enough to be his father, so being called "brother" felt rather bizarre. Still, people in the business world called each other all sorts of things—some even casually called strangers "daddy."

"Come, brother, try some of this Fuding Silver Needle I've been hoarding!"

This was a white tea known for aging well; the longer it was kept, the more valuable it became. There was even a saying that "three-year tea becomes medicine."

The implication was that tea aged three years possessed medicinal properties and health benefits.

Chen Xiao took a sip, praised it with a "Good tea!", and simultaneously thought to himself that although he was now wealthy, his lifestyle tastes truly hadn't caught up yet. He still needed to learn a thing or two from these people and become a bit more "vulgar" so as to be more down-to-earth.

"Do you like it? If you do, take some with you later. Your big brother here has plenty of other decent teas in his collection. Feel free to come grab some whenever you like!"

Cha Lan was remarkably quick to act like an old friend. In just this short span of time, strictly judging by appearances, one might genuinely think a dear biological brother had arrived.

Naturally, Chen Xiao wouldn't take his tea; it wasn't worth much, yet it would incur an obligation. That was something he refused to do.

"Brother, I heard you pulled in twenty-seven million in orders for your company these past two weeks!"

This was no longer a secret. Xu Wu knew, and Cha Lan could easily find out, so he admitted it openly.

"Sigh, if you ask me, your company doesn't quite know how to value talent. With your abilities, brother, you'd be more than qualified to be a vice president. How is it that you're still just a sales rep?"

Chen Xiao caught the hidden implication immediately, and his favorable impression of Cha Lan vanished instantly.

This President Cha was trying to cut off his source of wealth, and he was even more ruthless than Feng Feifei.

At worst, Feng Feifei could reset his dedication score to zero, but this fellow was trying to force a total system reboot.

Old Cha, you've narrowed your own path, didn't you know that?

Cha Lan remained oblivious to the fact that Chen Xiao had cursed him a thousand times over in his heart.

He continued unblushingly, "Brother, the moment we met, I felt an affinity with you. We must be kindred spirits. How I hope we can develop and grow together!"

Who was kindred spirits with him? Wasn't this practically cursing him? Chen Xiao grumbled inwardly—only your entire family are kindred spirits with you.

He smiled faintly and said, "President Cha flatters me too much. I hardly dare accept such praise; I'm in no position to be compared to you."

Cha Lan replied, "Don't be so modest, brother. One look at you tells me you're someone who is diligent in his work and completely absorbed in it, forgetting all about food and sleep."

Chen Xiao blushed inwardly, though forgetting sleep for League of Legends was indeed a frequent occurrence for him.