Chapter 8: Ripe

Lu Sheng was stunned for a moment.

Only then did she realize that the outfit she was wearing today happened to have been bought at that same shop.

It was made by the same tailor, from the same collection.

Now that it was mentioned, it really did look like a couple's outfit.

After being reminded by Shen Huai, Lu Sheng's expression changed abruptly.

She was known as the "Ice-Cold Queen" in the Public Relations Department.

If she were to walk out side-by-side with Shen Huai wearing a couple's outfit, she feared that within five minutes, rumors about them would spread through every small group chat.

Just thinking about it gave Lu Sheng a headache.

She did not want to invite unnecessary trouble for herself.

Although, the clothes they were wearing were bought at a niche designer boutique, so not many people actually knew about them.

But one had to know.

Xingyao was one of the top media companies in China.

The people who could work there were all sharp as tacks.

Especially those in the Public Relations Department; they knew fashion brands and various trendy designers like the back of their hands.

As long as they walked out together, the people in the office would definitely be able to see the clues at a glance.

No!

They absolutely could not appear together! Lu Sheng immediately solidified this thought in her mind.

She crossed her hands, propped up her chin, forcibly put on a leadership air, and pressed the internal desk phone: "Li Hao, come here for a moment."

This decision of Lu Sheng's was exactly what Shen Huai wanted.

It had to be said, Lu Sheng's brain was truly cut out for public relations.

He had only given a subtle reminder, and she immediately grasped the crux of the matter.

Shen Huai thought the same as Lu Sheng.

He did not want to become the center of the company's gossip on his first day of work.

Soon.

A light, crisp knock came from outside the door.

"Come in," Lu Sheng said in a low voice.

A sunny-looking young man walked in cautiously.

"Director, you were looking for me?"

Lu Sheng glanced slightly toward Shen Huai: "This is a new hire starting today. He's assigned to your Group 2. Take him to get familiar with his colleagues."

Li Hao turned his head to look at Shen Huai, his eyebrows twitching imperceptibly.

This kid is actually kind of handsome.

"Alright, Director."

Li Hao led Shen Huai out of the office.

The moment the door closed.

The three people inside and outside the door all let out a long sigh of relief.

"Scared the life out of me, I thought I was going to get scolded again."

Li Hao patted his chest, still feeling a lingering fear.

Seeing this, Shen Huai couldn't hide the smile at the corner of his mouth: "What, is Director Lu usually very fierce?"

"Wow, brother, you're new here so you don't understand, you'll realize it later."

"Using the word 'fierce' to describe our leader is just too mild; if anyone provokes her, it's no different from a mountain avalanche."

"That powerful?" Shen Huai couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

He only knew that Lu Sheng was on par with him in terms of theory and practice.

He hadn't expected her to be so sharp in the office as well.

"It's the experience of blood and tears; you'll slowly figure it out in the future," Li Hao sighed and patted Shen Huai on the back, "Let's go, I'll take you to meet your colleagues in Group 2."

Li Hao brought Shen Huai to the lobby on the 6th floor.

"The entire 6th floor is the Public Relations Department. Counting from here to the right, there are a total of 3 small groups."

Li Hao pointed at the transparent cubicles in front of them, introducing them to Shen Huai as they walked: "Group 1 is the Media Group; their main job is maintaining the relationship between the company and the media, planning and organizing press conferences, and so on."

"Group 2, which is the group you've been assigned to, is the Planning Group. Various public relations activities for signed brands, as well as social media strategies, are all the work of your Group 2."

Shen Huai nodded, listening very intently.

"As for Group 3, that's the Content Group. As the name suggests, all creativity and writing regarding PR content, as well as various promotional materials, need to be finalized by them."

"Alright, we're at Group 2," Li Hao said, pushing open a glass door in the middle.

Four heads inside lifted in unison, looking at Shen Huai and the other man with expressionless faces.

"Let me introduce everyone, this is your new colleague in Group 2 today, Shen Huai."

As his voice fell, the four people continued to look at Shen Huai numbly, as if their souls had been sucked away by something.

Looking at the dark circles under these four people's eyes that were almost on par with national treasures, Shen Huai couldn't help but tremble inwardly.

He hurriedly stepped forward and took the initiative to introduce himself: "Hello, my name is Shen Huai. It's my first day on the job today, please take care of me."

"Mm."

A slightly chubby man made a sound in his nose.

He pulled a business card from the card holder on his desk, shoved it to Shen Huai, and then lowered his head, ignoring him further.

Li Hao felt a bit awkward and hurriedly smoothed things over for him: "Fu Hai, Public Relations Specialist for Group 2. He's just like that; he doesn't like socializing."

"Of course, this socializing is limited to the 3rd dimension."

Li Hao secretly leaned into Shen Huai's ear and added, "He's a standard otaku."

Shen Huai's gaze quietly fell onto Fu Hai's computer.

Looking at the Hatsune Miku pins and badges filling the frame, he understood everything in an instant.

"Qi Mingfei, Specialist of Group 2."

The man beside Fu Hai stood up, shook hands with Shen Huai in a perfunctory manner, then immediately sat back down, turned his head away, and began to snore loudly.

Li Hao looked at the messy Group 2 before him and felt a headache coming on.

"Forget it, I'll introduce them myself."

Li Hao pulled Shen Huai along and quickly introduced them: "Jiang Xinxin, Specialist of Group 2, mainly responsible for the monitoring and maintenance of public relations brand accounts."

Jiang Xinxin stared at Shen Huai's face, hurriedly and flusteredly put on a mask, and subconsciously brushed her bangs with her hand, "Hello."

"Wan Dequan, also a Specialist of Group 2, same as Fu Hai and the others, responsible for public relations brand activity planning."

In the corner.

Wan Dequan, having been named, symbolically raised one hand and quickly lowered it again.

After finishing, Li Hao looked around the room, frowned, and looked at Fu Hai: "Where did your Team Leader go?"

Facing Li Hao's questioning, the three men were silent as gold.

The only girl, Jiang Xinxin, seeing this, could only bite the bullet and say: "Probably going over the proposal."

Immediately following, Wan Dequan's listless voice came from the corner: "A proposal squeezed out after two all-nighters; if it doesn't pass this time, I'm really going to drop dead right here."

No sooner had the words fallen.

A figure suddenly flashed at the doorway.

"It passed, the proposal passed!" A clear, bright female voice came.

A girl was seen holding a computer, standing at the door with a face full of excitement, the joy in her heart completely overflowing on her face.

Li Hao looked back and, as if seeing a savior, pulled the girl into the office.

"You came just in time, here, this new hire is assigned to your Group 2, lead him well."

Seeing this, Shen Huai also hurriedly went up to meet her.

However, the moment he saw the other person's face clearly, the hand Shen Huai had extended stopped in mid-air.

"... How is it you?"

Shen Huai was completely stunned.

The Group 2 Team Leader before him was also one of his, Shen Huai's, former girlfriends, Tong Yue.

The campus belle of the neighboring Jianghai University.

Back when Shen Huai represented his school in a debate competition, he and Tong Yue, who was also competing on behalf of her school, got to know each other through their rivalry.

What kind of day is today, anyway? How could he encounter former girlfriends one after another in the same company? And Tong Yue's reaction was even more intense the moment she saw Shen Huai.

Her whole person froze right there, and the computer almost fell to the ground.

If it weren't for Li Hao being quick-eyed and fast-handed enough to catch it, this computer would likely have been scrapped on the spot.

"Yo, I didn't expect Tong Yue to have such a big reaction to seeing a handsome guy; she's so excited she can't even speak."

Li Hao, unaware of the truth, was still on the side making jokes without knowing the danger.

Tong Yue threw a sharp glare at him, and Li Hao instantly and sensibly shut his mouth.

"The new employee the boss mentioned is you?" Tong Yue's tone was somewhat cold.

Seeing the Team Leader's uncharacteristically sharp attitude, everyone instantly caught a whiff of gossip.

Their original sleepiness was instantly replaced by curiosity, and one by one they secretly pricked up their ears and leaned in.

"What a coincidence, we meet again." Shen Huai bit the bullet and forced a smile.

"So you two know each other?" Li Hao realized belatedly.

Hearing this.

Tong Yue pursed her lips, clenched her teeth, and a trace of annoyance flashed in her eyes: "Not close, just met a few times at a school debate competition before."

Mere acquaintances? The group's expressions were somewhat teasing.

Looking at the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere between the Team Leader and Shen Huai, it didn't look like they weren't close.

It looked more like they were, very close.

(End of this chapter)