Chapter 100 Just Who Is He?
Sure enough, just as Mr. Zhao finished speaking and before anyone could process the news, Pan Qingfeng slammed his hand on the huge desk with a resounding bang.
The sheer force and the suddenness of the sound startled everyone in the room.
At the center of the storm, Director Cen, who was already as jumpy as a startled bird, felt his legs go weak, his body trembling with fright.
Then, Pan Qingfeng glared angrily at the two vice principals.
"Let me say this first: I, Pan Qingfeng, have always considered myself a reasonable person."
"If Liu Shang were truly stubborn and guilty of misconduct, I would never interfere with your school's internal management. In fact, I would even support your decision."
"But now? You want to expel the student who has the highest test scores in the entire school and is beloved by all his teachers?!"
"On what grounds? What is your justification?"
Pan Qingfeng's furious questions plunged the room into a dead silence.
Under his intensely powerful aura, some people didn't even dare to meet his gaze.
In desperation, all eyes turned to the only person who might be able to intervene: Pan Qingfeng's old classmate, Vice Principal Li Zhi.
With no other choice, Vice Principal Li Zhi had to bite the bullet and step forward to mediate, all while silently cursing Director Cen.
"Hey, old friend, please, calm down first..."
Before he could finish, Pan Qingfeng cut him off with an icy scoff.
"'Old friend?'"
"I, Pan Qingfeng, entrusted a boy I consider my own son to your Youda University."
"He has excellent character, excels in his studies, and placed first in the exams, yet he is being threatened and suppressed by you people. Is this the 'special treatment' you, a vice principal, give to your old classmate's protégé?"
"Let me tell you, Li Zhi, if you don't give me a satisfactory answer today, our friendship is over. I'll never acknowledge you as a classmate again!"
Pan Qingfeng's grave tone underscored the absolute importance of Liu Shang in his eyes.
Hearing his ultimatum, the last glimmer of hope in everyone's heart was shattered.
Li Zhi could only stomp his foot in frustration and force a bitter smile.
"Old friend, old friend, please, calm down."
"An incident like this is a major failure of our school's management, and I assure you, we will handle it with the utmost seriousness."
"As your old classmate, I have failed you. I couldn't even look after a boy under my care."
At this point, Director Cen made a final, desperate attempt to save himself.
"Director Pan, I admit I was wrong. I cannot shirk my responsibility in this matter."
"I sincerely apologize to you and to Liu Shang. I was wondering if you could give me a chance to make amends..."
Before he could finish, Pan Qingfeng shot him a glare and snorted coldly.
"Hmph. A chance?"
"Liu Shang said earlier that you should always leave a way out for others so you can meet again on good terms, right?"
"Well, I'm sorry to say, you were given that last chance, and you threw it away!"
"Let me tell you, I, Pan Qingfeng, have always been a man who repays kindness with kindness and enmity with enmity. You bullied my boy, so don't expect me to be magnanimous about this!"
After saying his piece, Pan Qingfeng turned to Li Zhi and the other administrators.
"You all know me. I, Pan Qingfeng, have always been a blunt man. I say what's on my mind."
"So let me be clear. Don't even think about smoothing this over or handling it lightly."
"If you handle it properly, I, Pan Qingfeng, will be satisfied. This incident will be forgotten, and I will continue to support Youda University."
"But if you don't handle this matter well, I, Pan Qingfeng, will be very unhappy."
"And if I'm not happy, then you won't be happy about Youda University's annual graduate recruitment with the oil field."
"And I don't just mean this year. As long as I, Pan Qingfeng, am in this position, you will not have an easy day!"
"Li Zhi, I've made myself clear. When the time comes, don't blame your old classmate for being merciless!"
Hearing his threat, Vice Principal Li Zhi and the others could only manage wry smiles.
"Yes, yes, of course, old friend. Please, calm down. Anyone would be just as angry in this situation."
"This matter is my fault, and our school's failure."
"Don't worry, we will deliver a formal decision that will satisfy you."
At that, Pan Qingfeng walked over to Liu Shang and patted his arm.
"Let's go. Where do you want to eat lunch? You know the area around campus, so you pick a place. We'll have a few drinks."
Liu Shang smiled and nodded. "Sounds good, Uncle Pan."
Realizing Pan Qingfeng intended to leave and eat with Liu Shang alone, Li Zhi and the others scrambled to stop him.
"Wait, old friend! We've already arranged for lunch at the university restaurant. We even got your favorite Moutai."
"You and Liu Shang must come. Please, give us a chance to make it up to you, won't you?"
Pan Qingfeng waved his hand dismissively. "Don't bother. I'm not worthy of such a lavish meal from you."
"I haven't even eaten your food, and you're already trying to expel my boy. If I actually accepted your meal, who knows what you'd do to him!"
"Besides, there's no such thing as a free lunch. If I ate your food, my hands would be tied when you come begging me not to reduce the oil field's recruitment quota for Youda University next year!"
After speaking, Pan Qingfeng turned and led Liu Shang out without another word.
As he passed Mr. Zhao, Pan Qingfeng paused.
"And another thing. This counselor, Mr. Zhao, is a good man. He's worthy of being nurtured."
"Much better than certain people who lack not only the morals of a teacher but even basic human decency!"
Then, Pan Qingfeng led Liu Shang to his car and drove away, leaving a group of administrators with bitter smiles frozen on their faces.
The moment the car disappeared from view, the forced smiles vanished from their faces.
In their place was an incomparable rage and resentment.
A perfectly good situation had been utterly ruined! And it was all thanks to Director Cen, a man who couldn't accomplish anything but was an expert at making things worse.
"Vice Principal Li, Director Zhang, about this matter, I'll write a self-criticism, I..."
Before Director Cen could finish his groveling, the two vice principals and everyone else turned their backs on him, their faces cold, and walked away.
The very same people who had been friendly with Director Cen just yesterday now treated him like the plague.
There was no doubt about it. From the moment Pan Qingfeng spoke those final, damning words, Director Cen's career was over.
It was a perfect example of the old saying: you reap what you sow.
***
In a high-class restaurant with excellent food near Youda University, Liu Shang and Pan Qingfeng sat across from each other, sharing a drink.
"Liu Shang, if I hadn't run into you today, what were you planning to do?"
Liu Shang smiled. "I suppose after leaving the office, I would have gone to Professor Xu or even President Song for help."
"I probably wouldn't have been punished in the end, but it would have felt awful."
"Being deliberately targeted and retaliated against, only to have to turn around and flatter people to get out of it... It's nothing like the way you handled it, Uncle Pan. Seeing justice served so decisively was truly satisfying."
"But Uncle Pan, this Director Cen must have some connections of his own to have reached his position."
"Handling it this way... won't it cause unnecessary trouble or even problems for you?"
Pan Qingfeng just smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "A mere director at Youda University is nothing to me."
"Besides, I gave you my word that I would help you deal with any problems at school."
"The only reason you missed so many classes was because you were helping me, wasn't it?"
"Alright, I imagine that after this, your time here at the university will be much smoother."
"You know, kid, the more I see of you, the more I like you. Come on, have a few more drinks with your Uncle Pan today!"
***
While all of this was unfolding, back when Liu Shang was first called to the office by his counselor, Jiang Ruolin had also received the news.
And the "good friends" who rushed to report it to her all had their own agendas.
They hadn't rushed over out of any concern for Liu Shang.
On the contrary, they wanted to use this incident to further damage Liu Shang's image in Jiang Ruolin's eyes.
"Ruolin, I heard Director Cen from the Academic Affairs Office is handling this personally."
"It looks like Liu Shang is definitely going to be expelled, or at least held back a year."
"You know that when a leader at that level gets involved, it's far beyond what any of us can do to help."
"That's right, Ruolin. How many times have we told you? You and Liu Shang are just not a good match."
"With your status and family background, you could find any guy you want."
"But Liu Shang? He's about to be kicked out. You two have no future together."
"Exactly, Ruolin. Listen to us. A poor kid like Liu Shang, from an ordinary family with no background, is not good enough for you."
***
As her friends chattered on, each lobbying for their own reasons, Jiang Ruolin grew deeply upset.
Her feelings for Liu Shang didn't waver in the slightest, but as they had said, Director Cen's rank was too high. This was beyond her ability to influence.
*It seems I can only ask my uncle or another family member to step in,* she thought. *But then my family will find out about Liu Shang.*
*They would definitely oppose us being together, wouldn't they?*
*That would create even more trouble. But what's the alternative? I can't just stand by and watch Liu Shang get expelled, can I?*
Just then, another student rushed over, a look of utter shock on his face.
"Latest news! Latest news! You won't believe this... It's absolutely insane!"
Seeing him panting as he shouted, everyone, including Jiang Ruolin, turned to look at him with expressions of curiosity and nervousness.
But the infuriating guy only talked about *how* shocking the news was, without actually revealing what it was.
Finally, one of the girls lost her patience. "Come on, Wang Qun! What's the news? Just spit it out!"
Wang Qun deliberately drew out the suspense. Instead of answering directly, he looked right at Jiang Ruolin, who stood in the center of the group.
"Miss Ruolin, I have to ask... your Liu Shang... what prominent family is he the young master of?"
*Prominent family? Young master?*
Hearing his question, everyone, including Jiang Ruolin, frowned in confusion.
Chapter 101 How Is This Possible?
Seeing that the damned Wang Qun was still dragging it out and keeping them in suspense, the people around him couldn't wait any longer.
"I said, Wang Qun, what the hell is going on? Can you just tell us already?"
"The director of the school's Academic Affairs Office got involved. I find it hard to believe there could be any other outcome."
"Is it true? Has Liu Shang already been punished? Or even expelled?"
Although Wang Qun often hung out with this crowd, his family background was no better than Liu Shang's.
Among them, Wang Qun was at the bottom of the pecking order, despised and ordered around by everyone.
Therefore, in his subconscious, Wang Qun always felt a faint sense of kinship with Liu Shang, seeing him as a fellow underdog.
During this incident, he was the one sent by the group to the administration building to get the latest news.
When the director of the Academic Affairs Office blatantly framed and threatened Liu Shang, he could feel the same deep helplessness and panic.
By the same token, his satisfaction was now as great as his fear had been before. When Pan Qingfeng, the two vice principals, and the others arrived like saviors and brought the hammer down on the lawless Director Cen, the incredible reversal of events was immensely satisfying for Wang Qun.
At this moment, seeing these mean and snobbish girls still mocking Liu Shang, trying to break him and Jiang Ruolin up and destroy the relationship he had worked so hard for, Wang Qun couldn't control the anger in his heart.
And so, Wang Qun let out an unprecedented "Pah!"
Then, a look of strong disdain and contempt spread across his face, as if he himself, not Liu Shang, had just defeated Director Cen.
"Who the hell does Director Cen think he is?!"
"A villain like that is only good for bullying us students and the counselors!"
"You have no idea how arrogant and lawless Director Cen was in the office, facing Liu Shang and the counselor."
"He told Liu Shang point-blank, without any attempt to hide it: 'I was asked by someone else to crush you as revenge! What can you do about it, you're just an ordinary student? I'm going to have you expelled today!'"
"It wasn't just Liu Shang; Director Cen even threatened Mr. Zhao, the counselor who sympathized with Liu Shang, intimidating everyone present into silence."
"I could only watch as Director Cen framed Liu Shang."
"And I saw all of this clearly, since I was already hiding nearby."
Listening to his vivid description, it wasn't difficult for everyone to imagine how depressing and tense the scene must have been.
At that moment, Jiang Ruolin could vividly imagine how a boy Liu Shang's age would feel when confronted with a type of darkness and injustice far beyond what he should have to bear.
For a moment, her heart ached so much that tears welled up in her eyes.
For the others, this was all to be expected.
But they didn't understand Wang Qun's triumphant tone.
"Hey, so what happened then? Did Liu Shang start shivering and begging for mercy?"
Wang Qun shook his head. "At the time, Liu Shang didn't show any emotion, but he was probably furious inside. He said directly to Director Cen: 'You should be careful not to burn your bridges. We might meet again.'"
Hearing Wang Qun's words, everyone started talking and laughing.
"What? Be careful not to burn his bridges?"
"Has this kid lost his mind? An ordinary student talking like that to the director of the Academic Affairs Office?!!!"
"Doesn't he know his place? What gives him the right to say something like that?"
After hearing Wang Qun's description, Jiang Ruolin, who knew Liu Shang very well, could almost perfectly picture his tone and expression at that time.
This was his usual style.
In the face of any kind of pressure, Liu Shang always managed to remain much calmer than other boys.
It was just that this time, Director Cen was completely out of his league, and Liu Shang had suffered this collateral damage entirely because of her.
At this time, facing the ridicule and criticism from all the snobs, Wang Qun sneered.
"After hearing Liu Shang's words, Director Cen probably had the same reaction as you, maybe even more intense."
"He told Liu Shang directly that he wasn't worthy!"
"But at that very moment, guess what happened?"
"The newly appointed deputy director of the oil field—the one in charge of personnel and graduate recruitment—burst in, accompanied by two vice principals and a group of school leaders."
"Right then and there, that deputy director pointed at Director Cen's nose and asked him, 'Liu Shang isn't worthy? Then what about me? Am I worthy?'"
Hearing this, Jiang Ruolin's expression grew tense, but her eyes had begun to shine brighter and brighter.
The others also frowned. "No way."
"That Liu Shang actually knows the deputy director?"
"So that settled it, then?"
"This Liu Shang's luck is a little too good, isn't it?"
Wang Qun smiled. "It's not just that they know each other!"
"If that were all, it would be too boring, wouldn't it?"
"You can't even imagine how furious the deputy director was."
"He chewed out our very famous Vice Principal Li Zhi. The vice principal didn't dare to say a word in response; he could only smile wryly."
"It seems the deputy director and Principal Li are old classmates with a good relationship."
"In the end, the deputy director slammed his hand on the table and told the school that if they didn't come up with a satisfactory solution, then none of your graduates from the University of Oil will have an easy time in the future!"
"Tsk tsk, the annual recruitment from Fengcheng Oilfield and the graduate employment rate are the school's lifeblood."
"You can't possibly imagine the priceless expressions on the school leaders' faces at that moment."
"As for Director Cen, his face went completely pale."
"Unsurprisingly, he's finished. Completely finished!"
"And to think he was just boasting that Liu Shang wasn't worthy enough for him to not burn that bridge."
"Now, think about it. For a deputy director who just happened to appear to support him so fiercely, even threatening the school to get that Director Cen dealt with..."
"The background behind Liu Shang is definitely not as ordinary as we imagined."
"Or, to put it another way, how could the boyfriend chosen by our beautiful Jiang Ruolin be an ordinary person?"
At this moment, everyone present was stunned.
They really couldn't imagine such a situation unfolding!
The powerful head of the Academic Affairs Office, a man everyone looked up to and who seemed practically invincible, was crushed so easily?
And this Liu Shang… what kind of connections did he have to make a deputy director of an oil field stand up for him like that?
This was too exaggerated, too unbelievable, right?
While everyone was still dumbfounded, lost in Wang Qun's story, Jiang Ruolin suddenly rushed out of the crowd and ran off in the direction Liu Shang had gone.
Chapter 102: When Gods Clash, Mortals Suffer
Outside the university, after having a few drinks with Pan Qingfeng, Liu Shang was walking back toward campus when he was met by Jiang Ruolin, who rushed toward him.
As soon as they met, Jiang Ruolin threw herself into his arms.
Tears immediately began to stream down her face.
"Liu Shang, I'm so sorry..."
"It's all my fault. You were threatened and framed by those awful people because of me."
Liu Shang gently and pityingly wiped away her tears.
"Shh, it's okay. It's all over now, and everything turned out well, didn't it?"
As he spoke, perhaps prompted by the alcohol, he lowered his head, drawn to Jiang Ruolin's red lips.
At that moment, Jiang Ruolin gently brushed her lips against his in a fleeting kiss, then turned her head to the side.
"No, not until the smell of alcohol is gone."
...
Afterward, they held hands and walked aimlessly around the campus.
Liu Shang explained what had happened. "Part of the reason I skipped class so often this semester was to help Uncle Pan with some technical projects."
"At the time, Uncle Pan promised that he would help me solve any trouble I had with the university."
"And that's what led to what happened."
"So you see? The final exams were passed smoothly, and all the trouble has been resolved, hasn't it?"
After hearing his explanation, Jiang Ruolin couldn't help but frown.
Based on her experience and understanding of the world, she found it hard to believe that a deputy director would take down the Director of Academic Affairs at the University of Oil so easily, all for a simple promise.
In the world of adults, this kind of complete falling-out, where all pretenses are dropped, was incredibly rare.
That, combined with the high-value supermarket gift cards Liu Shang had previously…
The relationship between Liu Shang and the deputy director was definitely not that simple.
But seeing that Liu Shang didn't want to go into detail, Jiang Ruolin didn't press the matter.
That infuriating guy, Liu Shang, seemed to have surprises waiting around every corner.
Leaning intimately on his arm, Jiang Ruolin let out a rare, playful huff.
"You seem so confident, always making your own decisions about everything."
"Meanwhile, you had me terrified the whole time."
...
On the other side of campus, Song Jia, Tan Feng, Zhou Liang, and the others had also gathered.
Unsurprisingly, they all knew what had happened at the university.
Song Jia had known about Liu Shang's acquaintance with Pan Qingfeng.
However, she had never expected that Pan Qingfeng would take down the university's Director of Academic Affairs over Liu Shang.
If she had been in the same situation, she imagined Pan Qingfeng would have, at most, laughed it off and helped her smooth things over. That would have been the end of it.
So, she couldn't figure it out. What kind of charm did Liu Shang possess to make Pan Qingfeng go to such lengths?
And it wasn't just Pan Qingfeng. People like Professor Xu, Mr. Zhong, and even her own parents all treated this guy differently!
At this point, Tan Feng chuckled lightly.
"Now let's see if those people can still laugh at me."
"They brought in Director Cen from the Academic Affairs Office, and what happened? They failed completely and were sent packing."
Lu Kai, sitting to the side, inadvertently recalled what Liu Shang had said to Yuan Hui that day—and to him as well.
*Fighting and trying to crush people is too naive. A truly mature man competes on success, status, and societal influence.*
At the thought, Lu Kai frowned deeply, raised his glass, and downed his beer.
Zhou Liang took a sip of his own drink with a wry smile.
"See? What did I say when we first heard they were going to plot against Liu Shang?"
"Liu Shang is definitely not as simple as we think."
"He's not some weakling who's easy to deal with!"
"People call me 'Little Zhuge' (a famous strategist) for a reason. Even if they didn't, I'm at least not dumber than the average person, right?"
"Think about the traps I've carefully laid these past few times. If it were Tan Feng, Yuan Hui, or any of you caught in them, you wouldn't have been able to get out, right?"
"But look at Liu Shang now. He's made fools of us all!"
"Putting it all together with this latest incident, I've had an epiphany."
"The main reason for all our past failures is that our intelligence was fundamentally flawed."
"This Liu Shang has been playing weak, putting on an act the whole time. This guy is definitely not that simple!"
...
A few days later, the situation with Director Cen was resolved very quickly.
To show their determination and sincerity, the university's leadership team unanimously agreed to conduct a thorough investigation into Director Cen.
Unsurprisingly, they found far too many major problems.
In the end, the university saved Director Cen some face by not sending him to prison, merely accepting his resignation.
For a single student, Liu Shang, the deputy director of the oil field had personally stepped in, and the university had even brought down a powerful director from the Academic Affairs Office.
This incident undoubtedly caused an uproar among both students and faculty.
Among the teachers, they now had a very different impression of Liu Shang.
This student had excellent English, especially his spoken English, and clearly had rich experience interacting with foreigners, perhaps even from living abroad.
At the same time, he demonstrated a solid grasp of the fundamentals in all his subjects.
He could inspire professors like Xu and Zhong to teach him with everything they had, and he could get a deputy director from the oil field to stand up for him. It was clear that Liu Shang's family background was anything but ordinary.
His family had clearly spared no effort in his upbringing, and with great success.
But among the students, the feeling was an unspeakable misery, as if they'd all been forced to eat bitter melon.
This guy Liu Shang was like a superman, single-handedly challenging the authority of the entire grade's professors.
As a result, he provoked the teachers into creating brutally difficult exams meant to suppress him.
But in the end, how did this battle between titans conclude?
Liu Shang passed every exam with excellent grades, and the professors spoke of it as an honor to have trained such a student.
But the regular students—the ones who obediently attended class and studied their hearts out—were the ones who ended up suffering miserably.
Faced with exams of such hellish difficulty, even after fighting with every last ounce of their strength, many of them still failed multiple subjects.
It was a classic tale of joy for some and sorrow for others.
...
That night, Song Jia returned home and tugged at her father's arm as he sat on the sofa, her face full of curiosity.
"Dad, I really don't get it. How long has Uncle Pan even known Liu Shang?"
"How could he possibly go to bat for him like that?!"
"You won't believe the latest news from the university today. They actually fired Director Cen from the Academic Affairs Office because of Liu Shang!"
"It's just unbelievable!"
"It makes absolutely no sense!"
Seeing his precious daughter chattering away, her face alight with excitement and curiosity, Song Guangyuan dotingly patted her head and spoke about Liu Shang with a knowing smile.
Chapter 103: The New Personal Secretary
"Haven't you been on your laptop chatting with Liu Shang every day recently?"
"Why don't you ask him yourself?"
Hearing her father's sudden question, Song Jia felt inexplicably nervous.
"Hmph, that guy is acing all his subjects now and has become a big shot on campus. And to think I was the one who worried about him and gave him a heads-up."
"He definitely owes me a nice meal!"
But then, Song Jia's expression shifted, and she became that sharp-tongued little tiger once more.
"Hey, Dad, what do you mean I'm on my laptop chatting with Liu Shang every day?"
"I chat with plenty of my other good friends, okay?!"
At this, Song Guangyuan took a breath and said with a smile, "Actually, it's not just you. Even I didn't expect Pan Qingfeng to stick his neck out for Liu Shang like that."
As he spoke, Song Guangyuan's mind drifted back to Pan Qingfeng's office at the production plant. He recalled how Pan Qingfeng had told him how optimistic he was about the young man, Liu Shang.
Previously, Song Guangyuan had thought Pan Qingfeng's words were just empty praise, but now it was clear that wasn't the case.
***
With the release of the final exam results, the freshmen finally began their first winter vacation.
Just as students were happily leaving school one after another to return home, Jiang Ruolin wrapped her arms around Liu Shang's neck in the VIP box of an internet cafe just off campus.
She sat sideways on Liu Shang's lap.
They kissed deeply and passionately until their minds went blank and time seemed to stop. One of his wandering hands slipped past the layers of her clothing to cup the soft peak beneath.
Jiang Ruolin, completely lost in the moment, dotingly ignored his bold advances, surrendering to his offensive.
After some time, a slightly breathless Jiang Ruolin snuggled into Liu Shang's arms. Her eyes were filled with attachment and reluctance to part.
"Liu Shang, I'm heading home this afternoon."
"Tomorrow, I'm taking a bus to the capital to study English at the best tutoring center in the country."
Jiang Ruolin sighed softly and explained further.
"Actually, ever since high school, I've had to go to these tutoring sessions every year."
"Otherwise, my grandmother's family would definitely drag me to Shanghai again."
As she said this, a trace of heartfelt disgust and coldness appeared in her eyes.
"I really don't like them!"
Liu Shang affectionately stroked Jiang Ruolin's beautiful hair, not pressing for details.
"Liu Shang, are you sure you want to stay in Fengcheng to continue your internship?"
Liu Shang nodded. "Yeah. There's not much to do at home anyway."
Jiang Ruolin pouted and rested her head on his chest coquettishly.
"Then be good and wait for me. I'll make it up to you when I come back next semester, okay?"
***
Eventually, all the students had left the campus, heading home early for the Spring Festival. Jiang Ruolin also left Fengcheng for the capital to avoid her grandmother's family.
And Liu Shang, with arrangements made by Song Guangyuan, moved out of the deserted school and into the company's accommodations. After all, the now-deserted campus was inconvenient for daily life, a far cry from the high-end guest room provided for him at the company.
Around this time, some major personnel changes took place within the company.
Yang Xu, who had been soundly defeated and lost any prospect of promotion, finally buckled under the pressure and resigned.
And Liu Shang, with the support of Mr. Zhong, Xu Tiande, and others, was promoted by Song Guangyuan to the position of Senior Engineer and Deputy Technical Manager.
Yang Xu's private office naturally went to Liu Shang.
At his age and with his qualifications, becoming a deputy technical manager with a six-figure annual salary, his own office, and a private car was an incredible achievement. It was a position that would make anyone green with envy.
In the period before the Spring Festival, client projects at the oilfield basically came to a halt, so there wasn't much work at Huahai Company. Everyone had worked hard all year, so management turned a blind eye to the relaxed pace. The atmosphere was cheerful and harmonious.
Sitting in his new office without much specific work to do, Liu Shang idly browsed the web.
With his school semester over and the company in a rare lull, he decided it was the perfect opportunity to start his own entrepreneurial journey. After a quick calculation, Liu Shang figured he had about 800,000 yuan on hand.
It should be enough to buy a small company or a small, workshop-style chemical plant.
Then, with his much more advanced formulas for petroleum additives, opening up a market would be incredibly easy. Take Huahai Company, for example. The value of petroleum additives they used each year was around 10 million yuan.
Given Liu Shang's current connections, as long as his additives were genuinely superior, he could definitely monopolize the market.
At that point, the profit could reach 2 million yuan.
Just as Liu Shang was searching for chemical additive companies in Fengcheng, Song Jia sashayed in with a smile.
"Well, well, Manager Liu. This office of yours is quite nice. I like it."
The two of them were very familiar with each other by now from their frequent chats.
Liu Shang smiled and joked back.
"Well, as it happens, I, Manager Liu, am in dire need of a secretary."
"A clever girl like you seems like a suitable candidate."
Hearing Liu Shang's joke, a flicker of coyness appeared in Song Jia's eyes.
She took two steps forward, her body swaying like a water snake as she approached him. She leaned in and asked softly, her tone ambiguous and seductive.
"If I really offered to be your personal secretary, would you dare to accept?"
At that moment, Song Jia stared so intensely into his eyes that he hardly dared to breathe. It was the first time he had been so thoroughly flustered, completely losing his composure.
Seeing his embarrassment, Song Jia chuckled, clearly pleased with herself.
"Hmph. You coward. That doesn't match your reputation on campus at all."
"By the way, when are you going to make good on your promise to treat me to that nice meal?"
Liu Shang leaned back in his office chair and spread his hands slightly.
"Treating you to a meal is easy."
"The cafeteria downstairs at noon. Eight dishes and a soup. Plenty of food."
Song Jia gave him a hard look. "Treating me to food from my own family's company? How cheap can you be?"
"You, a big-shot manager with a six-figure salary, are being a little stingy, aren't you?"
"By the way, I forgot to tell you something."
"Your big office is about to get a new desk... and a new colleague."
She explained further, enjoying Liu Shang's surprised expression.
"Your new colleague is me."
"But my position isn't the personal secretary you were imagining."
"I'm the Assistant to the Chairman, assigned to be your expert assistant!"
Finally, under Liu Shang's steady gaze in the privacy of his office, Song Jia couldn't help but feel a little nervous and flustered.
She added unnecessarily, "Hey, don't get me wrong. I just thought the holidays would be boring."
Chapter 104 Dying of Shame
That afternoon, a desk identical to Liu Shang's was moved into his office.
It was placed directly opposite his original one.
Song Jia had truly moved in, taking on the role of assistant to the chairman.
But even her father, Song Guangyuan, didn't believe her excuse that she was "bored during the holidays."
Song Jia was lively, outgoing, and cheerful, with a personality that made her very popular. She had countless classmates and friends.
Every year during the holidays, she was always out having fun. With friends inviting her out every day, how could she possibly be bored?
However, he figured it was no big deal for young people like Song Jia and Liu Shang to spend time together.
And since the last fight, Song Guangyuan and his wife had grown increasingly worried about their daughter's safety.
Their daughter had grown up without them noticing and was now a young woman.
If she got involved in another fight, or was bullied and taken advantage of by some shady, ill-intentioned people, the blow would be more than the couple could bear.
And Liu Shang was a mature, stable, and self-motivated young man.
No matter how one looked at it, having Song Jia spend time with Liu Shang was, at the very least, a relief in terms of her safety.
It was far better for her to be around Liu Shang than those other spoiled rich kids.
Furthermore, Liu Shang had unique insights, especially regarding oilfield technology and foresight.
It would be beneficial for Song Jia to learn from him.
After all, the company and its assets would be handed over to Song Jia and her future husband sooner or later.
Now that Song Jia had officially started her internship at the company, Xu Tiande and Mr. Zhong assigned her some simple, basic tasks, like organizing construction data and compiling statistics.
Unsurprisingly, Song Jia's skill with office software like Word and Excel was rudimentary at best.
"Hey, Mr. Zhong!"
"Did you come here just to bully me?"
"All this work you've given me at once will probably take me days to finish!"
"What is all this? It looks so troublesome!"
Seeing the young woman looking so overwhelmed and complaining dramatically, Mr. Zhong couldn't help but smile happily.
"I'm telling you, Jiajia, if we were as efficient as you, Professor Xu and I wouldn't get anything done all day."
"Believe it or not, this little bit of work would only take Liu Shang half an hour."
Hearing Mr. Zhong's words, Song Jia pouted unconvinced.
"Hmph, I don't believe it!"
"Although I've never done it myself, I've seen you all work plenty of times."
"No matter how fast he is, it would still take a long time, right?"
Mr. Zhong chuckled. "You still don't believe me? Fine. Pass all the documents to Liu Shang, and I'll let you see what real work efficiency looks like!"
With that, the old man and the young woman both stood behind Liu Shang, their eyes wide with anticipation.
Liu Shang could only sigh helplessly before he mechanically began to process the daily Excel data.
As time ticked by, Song Jia watched in amazement as Liu Shang's mouse flew across the screen. With a dazzling flurry of formatting brushes, hyperlinks, and formula substitutions, the work was completed at a rapid pace.
Mr. Zhong smiled proudly, while Song Jia stared with a look of utter disbelief, as if she'd seen a ghost.
Finally, the moment all the work was finished, Song Jia leaned against Liu Shang's desk, tilting her head to stare at him.
"No way. Do you have to be so amazing?"
"I couldn't even follow those operations and tools you just used!"
"Did you learn all this by yourself?"
Liu Shang smiled. "This is just standard office software. It's like eating or sleeping—a basic part of life."
Hearing his words, Song Jia gritted her teeth in frustration.
This hateful guy was so infuriatingly cool!
Mr. Zhong patted Song Jia on the head.
"I'm telling you, Song Jia, this is just ordinary Excel, the most basic kind of job."
"You haven't seen this kid use PowerPoint to create technical reports."
"The results are just beautiful, truly a work of art."
"You have no idea how easy our lives have been since Liu Shang came to the company."
"If we imagine him graduating or leaving one day, Professor Xu and I really don't know what we'd do."
"You should really take this chance to learn more from him."
***
In the days that followed, Song Jia began her formal internship.
As Mr. Zhong had suggested, she started learning the basics from Liu Shang.
Sometimes, Liu Shang would take the opportunity to make playful jabs at the perpetually proud Song Jia.
This would earn him a fierce glare, an indignant huff, and occasionally, she would grab his collar with both hands and shake him, pretending to be fierce.
But honestly, Song Jia was much smarter than Liu Shang had imagined. After he showed her how to use the office software just two or three times, she was able to master it completely and apply it correctly.
So, after three or four days, Liu Shang found himself as relaxed as Mr. Zhong and Xu Tiande.
Most of the work was handed over to Song Jia.
Liu Shang's hateful behavior made Song Jia complain and fume.
Her dramatic shouts and protests only made Liu Shang and the others laugh out loud.
Because Liu Shang's desk was against the wall, Song Jia, sitting opposite him, was directly facing the door.
Due to the glass wall, she always had to face the gazes of people passing by, which made her quite unhappy.
So, Song Jia simply rearranged the office furniture completely.
She placed her desk and Liu Shang's side by side, with her on the inside and Liu Shang on the outside. Now, their desks and computers both faced the glass wall.
This way, it was much more difficult for people outside to see what was happening in the office.
In fact, Song Jia moving into Liu Shang's office had already stirred up countless rumors and speculation.
Now that the two had rearranged the office like this, it made others even more envious and jealous.
It wasn't just that Song Jia was the beloved only daughter of the boss, Song Guangyuan.
Just the idea of being in a small, enclosed room with a young, beautiful, and vibrant girl like her was a wonderful thought for many.
This was especially true for Ma Yuan. He had once imagined countless scenarios where he would be valued by Song Jia and Song Guangyuan.
Ultimately, he would become Song Guangyuan's son-in-law, winning both the beauty and the business.
But now, it seemed all of this was being realized by Liu Shang.
After lunch one day, Liu Shang wanted to go back to his room for a nap but was forced by Song Jia to sit beside her and watch an NBA Lakers game.
Song Jia was different from other girls; she really enjoyed playing basketball and watching the NBA.
Her favorite player was Kobe. As she put it, after Kobe retired, she started watching LeBron.
In short, she liked the most dominant man on the court.
Liu Shang, consistent for many years, preferred the more cerebral Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.
At this point, the game had entered the fourth quarter, the most intense part.
While watching nervously, Song Jia didn't forget to hand Liu Shang one of her earbuds.
Just like that, the two of them huddled close together, heads touching, sharing a single pair of headphones as they watched the game on the laptop.
But at that very moment, the boss, Song Guangyuan, suddenly walked into the office.
And this was the scene that greeted his eyes.
The instant she saw her father, Song Jia's pretty face turned beet red.
She was so ashamed she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole.
---
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