Chapter 42: Stage Reward
CLACK CLACK CLACK...
Twenty minutes later, when Wu Tao heard footsteps approaching from behind, he quickly turned and rushed to meet the person.
"Manager Qi..."
"We’ve known each other for over a decade."
Wu Tao walked beside Qi Min, his face fraught with anxiety. A hint of a plea colored his voice. "You have to help me this time!"
Qi Min was dressed in a white business suit and carried a black Hermes crocodile-skin bag. In the face of Wu Tao’s pleas, her expression was as cold as ice.
Suddenly, she stopped and turned to look at Wu Tao.
"Lao Wu, how exactly do you expect me to help you?"
"On the very first day Chairman Gu took over the group, you, the general manager of Sushi Yun, abandoned your post for no reason. What’s more, you drank so much that you reek of alcohol."
Qi Min stared coldly at Wu Tao. "You knew full well this is a sensitive time for the group, yet you still did as you pleased, with a complete lack of respect. Whatever decision Chairman Gu makes today, you’ve brought it on yourself."
Without another glance at Wu Tao, Qi Min quickened her pace and continued toward the private room directly ahead.
As she slid the door to the private room open, the icy mask she had just worn melted away in an instant, replaced by a bright and warm expression.
When Qi Min entered the private room, she saw that Fan Hong had already arrived. She gave him a slight nod before walking slowly to Gu Heng’s side.
"Chairman Gu, you sent for me..."
Qi Min lowered her head slightly, her voice soft.
For something like this to happen at Sushi Yun today, she, as the group’s general manager, could not escape blame. Strictly speaking, this was a failure of her management.
"I only came here for a quiet meal today. I had no intention of making a scene."
Gu Heng raised his glass and took a light sip of wine before continuing slowly, "It’s just that the work ethic of one of our group’s senior executives is, frankly, appalling."
"Chairman Gu, I am deeply sorry."
"This incident today is entirely a result of my own managerial oversight."
You have to own up to your mistakes and face the consequences.
Qi Min didn’t try to shirk responsibility; she immediately admitted her fault to Gu Heng.
"Manager Qi, I was just speaking with Assistant Fan."
"Wu Tao is one of the group’s veterans. He’s been with Zhen Cui Group since Chairman Hu first founded it. Over all these years, even if he has no great accomplishments to his name, he has certainly put in the hard work."
Gu Heng turned to look at Qi Min, his expression calm. "I’ve just taken over the group, and I don’t want to alienate the veteran employees. Therefore, I’m willing to give Wu Tao a chance."
Upon hearing this, Qi Min watched Gu Heng in silence, knowing there was more to come.
"Before you arrived, I had Xu Liang, the deputy general manager of Sushi Yun, pull the restaurant’s surveillance footage from the last two months."
"You and Assistant Fan will review it. If the footage from the past two months shows that Wu Tao has been consistently diligent and present at his post..."
"...then I’ll treat today’s incident as a one-off and let bygones be bygones."
"But if today’s events are not an anomaly..."
Gu Heng trailed off, not needing to finish the sentence.
"Nothing can be accomplished without rules. We will handle it as it should be handled!"
Qi Min took a deep breath and spoke with a solemn expression.
"Go on."
Gu Heng gave a slight nod.
Qi Min and Fan Hong bowed slightly to Gu Heng, then quickly left the private room.
Turning his head, Gu Heng saw Jiang Ruan staring at him, completely lost in thought. The corners of his lips curved into a slight smile as he reached out and gently snapped his fingers in front of her.
"Teacher Jiang, what’s on your mind?"
Jiang Ruan gradually came back to her senses at the sound of Gu Heng’s warm voice.
She looked at the handsome face and smiling eyes before her, then recalled his commanding presence in front of his subordinates just moments ago. A faint blush crept across her fair, delicate cheeks.
As their eyes met, her heart began to pound in her chest.
"N-Nothing..."
Looking shy and flustered, Jiang Ruan quickly averted her gaze. Feigning composure, she picked up the fatty tuna hand-pressed sushi that Bai Mingze had just prepared for her.
As Gu Heng gazed at Jiang Ruan’s fair, blushing profile, his expression suddenly froze.
[Challenge Mission: Conquer]
[Bound Target: Jiang Ruan]
[Current Progress: 24%]
[Progress Rewards: 20% (Claimable), 40% (Pending), 60% (Pending), 80% (Pending), 100% (Pending)]
A system screen materialized before Gu Heng’s eyes. After just one evening together, the progress on his [Conquer] challenge mission, which had been in the single digits, had already soared to 24%, successfully unlocking a milestone reward.
A flash of delight crossed Gu Heng’s eyes, but given the circumstances, it wasn’t a convenient time. He chose not to claim the reward immediately and dismissed the system screen.
’As expected...’
’Women are always drawn to power.’
Gu Heng mused to himself.
The power of his wealth, his status, and his personal charm, all on display tonight, presented an image of undeniable strength that would impress any woman in modern society.
And on top of it all, Gu Heng was so young and handsome.
Even with standards as high as Jiang Ruan’s, it would be impossible for her not to be captivated.
"I’m sure you had plenty of suitors at school, Teacher Jiang."
Gu Heng slowly savored a generously filled Bafun sea urchin hand roll as he suddenly posed a question to Jiang Ruan.
Jiang Ruan hadn’t expected Gu Heng to ask such a question. She hesitated for a moment before giving a slight nod. "I did have a few people pursuing me."
"And did any of them succeed?"
Gu Heng raised his glass to Jiang Ruan, watching her with a playful smile.
"No..."
Jiang Ruan lifted her head and met Gu Heng’s gaze directly, shaking her head. Her eyes were perfectly clear.
Hearing this, Gu Heng raised an eyebrow. "It seems Teacher Jiang is quite hard to win over."
"Well..."
"It’s not that I’m hard to win over."
"It’s just that I’d never met anyone I liked before."
Jiang Ruan held Gu Heng’s gaze as she spoke. Even without a mirror, she could tell her face must be beet-red.
"Before?"
"Does that mean you’ve met someone you like now?"
Gu Heng keenly picked up on her specific choice of words. He leaned slightly closer to Jiang Ruan and asked again in a soft voice.
Faced with Gu Heng’s rather bold gaze, Jiang Ruan’s heart began to beat even faster. She bit her lip and whispered, her face flushing, "I... I don’t know."
Gu Heng watched Jiang Ruan. She normally had the air of a cool, untouchable goddess, but now she was showing the shy demeanor of a young girl.
He found the contrast utterly irresistible.
"Cheers."
Gu Heng touched his glass lightly against Jiang Ruan’s. Then, they both tilted their heads back and drained their glasses in one go...