Three days later, Wan Zhu Group welcomed its most important event of the year—the annual end-of-year conference, which spanned two days, well, actually a day and a half. This day and a half consisted of various work reports, summaries, evaluations, plans, administrative decisions, and other such headache-inducing matters, with meetings large and small following one after another. When the grueling last half-day arrived, it was time for the traditional year-end celebration: a banquet where the executives, all employees, and project managers who had traveled especially for the meeting could dine and enjoy performances together. Of course, the popular raffle and awards ceremony were not to be missed.
It was at this meeting that the board of directors officially passed the resolution appointing Lin Hui as Deputy General Manager of Wan Zhu Group. Truthfully, Lin Hui had known about his promotion for some time and had even prepared the documentation himself, but the significance of the resolution became somewhat different when He Jian Shan personally announced it.
Sitting directly across from He Jian Shan, Lin Hui couldn’t help but look up when he heard his name being pronounced, and their gazes met in mid-air. Afterwards, He Jian Shan lowered his gaze to finish reading the document before softly smiling and saying, “Assistant Lin, congratulations.”
This “Assistant Lin” was both a sincere blessing from a superior to a subordinate and an unspoken flirtation between lovers.
All eyes in the conference room turned to Lin Hui, who struggled to suppress the heat on his face and quietly said, “Thank you, President He.”
Fortunately, a break followed right after the resolution process; otherwise, Lin Hui didn’t know how long his flushed face would take to return to normal.
Previously, the Wan Zhu annual meetings didn’t include a break midway, and the amusing reason for the change was due to smoking. He Jian Shan couldn’t stand the smell of smoke, and all public areas of Wan Zhu were smoke-free. Regrettably, the majority of men in the company did smoke, and some would lose energy if they didn’t smoke for a while. The air conditioning made them sleepy, too. To ensure the meetings ran efficiently, the administration arranged for breaks during long meetings so these heavy smokers could have a smoke and relax.
Lin Hui was fully supportive of this change. Although he didn’t smoke, the back-to-back meetings were also exhausting for him. He stepped out of the conference room intending to get some fresh air by the window, but he hadn’t gone far when a group of people came up to congratulate him:
“Assistant Lin, congrats on the promotion!”
“Don’t just say anything, it’s General Manager Lin now, hahaha!”
“General Manager Lin, when are you treating us to dinner? I’ve already cleared my schedule!”
Being in a high position at Wan Zhu meant each of these speakers was shrewd. Although their positions were not lower than Lin Hui’s, they clearly saw how He Jian Shan had been nurturing Lin Hui over the years. Other things aside, among the many important decisions the company had made, only this modest deputy general manager appointment was announced by He Jian Shan personally.
Don’t be fooled by Lin Hui’s title of deputy general manager, who knows what the future holds?
Lin Hui was laughing and chatting with the crowd when he saw He Jian Shan approaching from a distance. As He Jian Shan drew near, the crowd around him dispersed instantly, leaving Lin Hui to quip, “Shouldn’t you reflect on that?”
He Jian Shan held a cup of coffee, looking like he just wanted a suitable place to catch some fresh air and revitalize. Hearing Lin Hui’s comment, he felt quite innocent, “I didn’t do anything.”
Lin Hui playfully complimented him, “But your presence is commanding.”
He Jian Shan took a sip of coffee and looked into the distance, remarking lightly, “General Manager Lin, you’re much slicker with words than I am.”
Lin Hui was taken aback, then suddenly thought of something, his face flushing red again, not even sparing his ears.
He Jian Shan couldn’t help but chuckle, and Lin Hui fell silent.
After a while, Lin Hui pulled an orange from his pocket and handed it to He Jian Shan, “Here.”
He Jian Shan was puzzled but accepted it.
Lin Hui explained, “Old Pan and Qian Wen, those heavy smokers, will be near you later, and they’ll definitely smell of smoke. Eat this orange; at least it smells better.”
He added in a low voice, “I picked the biggest and best orange from the meeting room for you.”
He Jian Shan couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He slowly peeled the orange and shared half with Lin Hui, “Let’s eat it together.”
So, the two of them stood by the window, eating the orange in silence, then returned to the conference room one after the other, carrying the fresh citrus scent with them.
After enduring a day and a half of meetings and resting for another half day, it was finally time for the much-anticipated annual celebration, eagerly awaited not only by Wan Zhu employees but even by outsiders.
This year, to accommodate some international project managers, the annual meeting was scheduled earlier than usual, coinciding with December 31, the last day of the year. After days of end-of-year overtime nightmares, what awaited everyone was a feast full of delicious food, the excitement of the New Year, and the forthcoming holidays, lifting everyone’s spirits.
Unlike other companies that require employees to perform and even practice after hours, Wan Zhu has a professional event planning team and professional performers. Anything that money can solve, they don’t fuss about. Of course, the company also welcomes employees to sign up for performances, with everyone participating receiving a red envelope; those who don’t want to perform can just enjoy the food, drinks, and raffle.
At 7 o’clock, the annual celebration began on time.
This year, Lin Hui didn’t sit with He Jian Shan at the main table. With several international project managers rarely in town, Lin Hui sat at a secondary table to accompany them. According to the annual meeting tradition, He Jian Shan would give a speech, which was the first segment and Lin Hui’s favorite part: all the lights would dim except for a spotlight on He Jian Shan, who would stand there, speaking calmly about his expectations and blessings for Wan Zhu and all its employees.
For the past eight years, Lin Hui had sat quietly below, cherishing this time because it was the only time of the year he could openly and unreservedly gaze at He Jian Shan without fear of being discovered. But this year was different. Mid-speech, He Jian Shan suddenly looked up at Lin Hui’s position and smiled slightly.
Lin Hui smiled back.
Despite the dimness, Lin Hui knew He Jian Shan was watching him.
After the proceedings, as music and the clinking of glasses filled the air, the banquet officially started. Lin Hui ate and frequently raised his glass, chatting and laughing with his tablemates. After a while, he received a WeChat message from He Jian Shan: [You can finally enjoy your meal this year.]
Lin Hui burst out laughing.
In previous years, his banquet seat was always next to He Jian Shan’s, and from the start of the meal, people continually came to toast He Jian Shan, one batch after another. After toasting He Jian Shan, they usually toasted everyone else at the table, resulting in Lin Hui hardly eating a few bites before having to stand up and continuously thank everyone with a smile.
After getting to know He Jian Shan better, Lin Hui had complained, “Sitting next to you, I can hardly eat a few bites. Annie always says the company hired chefs from so-and-so place this year, but I’ve rarely experienced it; I just get full from drinking.”
He remembered He Jian Shan giving him a look and saying leisurely, “Should I pack some for you next time?”
Lin Hui immediately laughed, “That would be embarrassing—really, can you pack it?”
Recalling this, Lin Hui quickly replied to He Jian Shan: [Annie said this year’s chef was your choice, quick, tell me which dish is the tastiest?]
He Jian Shan: [They’re all pretty good. Try the cold lotus root slices, I think they’re quite refreshing.]
Lin Hui tried a chopstickful of the white lotus root slices, flavored with pickled peppers, and indeed, they were delicious; he gave a positive review: [Five stars]
Just then, the hot dishes were served, and he took a few bites before again getting distracted by messaging: [The braised sea cucumber seems a bit salty.]
He Jian Shan replied quickly: [Haven’t had it, not really a fan of sea cucumber.]
Lin Hui: [Then that day at Mr. Xue’s—]
Before he could finish typing, Li Fenghai sitting next to him nudged him, “Stop looking at your phone, President He is coming to toast.”
Lin Hui quickly stood up and noticed everyone had already raised their glasses, waiting for him.
A sharp-eyed executive teased, “General Manager Lin, were you busy messaging your girlfriend?”
Li Fenghai suddenly realized and joined in the teasing, “That explains it. Yesterday, Annie said Assistant Lin had something going on. Just now I saw him not eating, always on his phone, even smiling stupidly, he didn’t even notice President He coming to toast!”
He Jian Shan looked at the flustered Lin Hui with a smile and gently clinked glasses with him, “Assistant Lin, hurry up with your messaging, don’t keep your girlfriend waiting.”
The whole table burst into laughter.
With He Jian Shan joking around, the people at the table began to let loose:
“General Manager Lin, when are we drinking wedding toasts?”
“General Manager Lin, what does your wife do?”
“Ah, my wife was just saying she wanted to introduce a girlfriend to Assistant Lin, too late now!”
“General Manager Lin is reaping success in both love and career today, you must drink more!”
…
Even He Zhao at the main table got curious and gossiped with Jiang Qing, “Lin Hui got a girlfriend? I hadn’t heard.”
Lin Hui’s face turned bright red, and he nearly couldn’t hold his wine glass. Unsure of what to say, he simply downed his drink in one go, and only then did the table give him a break.
After sitting down, Lin Hui took out his phone and sent a WeChat to He Jian Shan: [What are you doing!]
In his rush, he couldn’t help but revert to a more formal “you.”
After a while, He Jian Shan replied: [What did I do?]
Lin Hui: [Girlfriend?]
He Jian Shan: [Oh, it’s boyfriend, sorry, I misspoke.]
Lin Hui was both annoyed and amused by He Jian Shan’s insincere apology and decided to stop looking at his phone. He focused on his meal for a while but couldn’t resist checking his phone again, finding another message from He Jian Shan: [I miss you.]
In the vast banquet hall, the dinner party had just started.
On stage, a lively magic show was underway, the lights bizarre and dreamlike, while the colleagues toasted and laughed, bidding farewell to a year’s worth of hard work. Lin Hui and He Jian Shan, now alone at their table, raised their glasses in a toast to each other.
Despite the noisy crowd and dazzling lights, Lin Hui saw He Jian Shan smile and say:
“Cheers.”
Author’s note:
Subtle flirting.
Next week will focus on President He’s family matters.
