After ending the call, Zheng Yanshu went to report to Jian Hang.

Mr. Luo’s willingness to take the lead in making payments, and even to pay two months’ worth of products, was both unexpected and reasonable. Jian Hang listened without any change in expression, “Okay, then let’s sign next year’s distribution rights with him.”

With payment secured, next year’s new products could be launched smoothly.

Jian Hang breathed a sigh of relief; she had finally taken the first step and now had a sense of security.

She announced, “There will be a meeting at ten o’clock.”

They have distributors and advance payment, but no new products yet.

… …

Jian Hang brought eight bottles of soda, one for each person at the meeting, saying, “Try them carefully and tell me what you think of the taste.”

Zheng Yanshu pushed the carbonated drink away, saying, “No need to try it. I’ve drunk countless bottles of this. You think there’s too much carbonation and want to improve the taste, right?”

Jian Hang nodded. “Yes.”

She added, “Some people think the bubbles are just right, but most people think there are too many bubbles.”

Zheng Yanshu kindly reminded her, “Ms. Jian, closing distributor accounts is an internal matter for our Fourth Division, but R&D is a company-wide matter and also President Qin’s bottom line.”

Zhou Yi went online to play games, having been so annoyed by Jian Hang these past few days that he couldn’t concentrate on work. But playing games during a meeting was something even he himself couldn’t tolerate.

He stood still, waiting to be killed and exited the game.

“Don’t even dream about getting the company to improve the taste.” He sat up straight. “The head of the R&D department, Ji Xianggu, is a grumpy old man with a terrible temper. Lemeng has been in business over 20 years, and in that time he developed all of Lemeng’s blockbuster products.

“Lemeng has remained popular for over 20 years, leading the beverage industry trend. He deserves a lot of credit for that. Even Chairman Qin, President Qin’s third uncle, gives way to him and respects him very much. 

“You still want to question his products? What do you think you’re trying to do?”

He glanced at Zheng Yanshu across from him and said, “The products in the Second Division were also developed by Mr. Ji’s team. They still sell very well. Instead of looking for reasons within ourselves, we blame the products when we can’t sell them. This is a classic case of blaming the bed for not being able to sleep.”

Jian Hang gave Zheng Yanshu a look that stopped him. If he dared to argue with Zhou Yi again at the meeting, she would take action against the Sales Department.

Zheng Yanshu was filled with anger, but he held back.

Jian Hang turned her gaze to Zhou Yi, gesturing with her chin towards Zhou Yi’s phone, “You were already defeated after just two minutes online? That’s really unacceptable.”

Zhou Yi: “…”

He really couldn’t take it anymore, “Ms. Jian, I will no longer use my phone in meetings. Please stop making fun of my gaming ability!”

Jian Hang smiled, “Okay. Here’s one more thing: you’re not allowed to make sarcastic remarks to anyone anymore. Otherwise, you’ll be demoted to Deputy Director. At that time, Mr. Zheng will concurrently serve as your Marketing Director. He won’t need to do any of the work; he’ll just need to supervise your work.”

Zhou Yi: “…”

He was so angry he wanted to throw his phone.

The meeting lasted another half hour.

“Meeting adjourned.” Jian Hang gestured to Zheng Yanshu, “Come with me to the market.”

Zheng Yanshu asked, “Whose car are we driving?”

“My car.”

She changed her clothes today so it would be easier for her to go to the market.

Jian Hang sent Qin Moling a message: [I have fieldwork today and might not be able to make it back in time. Have lunch with Vice President Wu.]

Qin Moling: [Don’t overwork yourself.]

He looked at his black shirt. He had gone upstairs to change into it before leaving home that morning. She wasn’t wearing her usual work clothes, so he changed into one too.

It turned out she had changed her clothes for a field assignment.

Secretary Gao knocked and came in. “President Qin, the cups you ordered have arrived.” She placed the cups on the corner of the table.

They were two identical glasses.

Qin Moling nodded and gave her some instructions, “At the executive meeting next Monday, notify the R&D center to attend as well. After the June sales data is released, have each department summarize the data for the new products and provide feedback to the R&D center as soon as possible.”

Secretary Gao took out her phone, opened the memo app, and quickly made a note.

“The Fourth Division successfully got the distributors to make payments in advance. Notify the finance director, have them assign a dedicated person to handle this matter for the Fourth Division.”

“Notify the HR director to sign confidentiality agreements with everyone in the finance department, and have the legal department draft the contracts.”

Qin Moling thought for a moment but had nothing else to add.

Secretary Gao made a note of it, “I’ll pass the notification down immediately.”

Qin Moling randomly picked one of the two cups on the corner of the table for himself and put the other away to give to Jian Hang after the meeting next Monday.

“Prepare some more gifts, like watches and water cups,” he instructed Secretary Gao.

A watch or a water cup—what kind of gift would that be?

Secretary Gao sifted through the information and understood that these were couple items suitable for him and Jian Hang. “I’ll make a list when I get back and then bring it to you to choose from.”

Qin Moling nodded and told her to get on with her work.

At 11:40, he went to the cafeteria to eat alone.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

At 11:41, Lin Xiao anxiously checked his watch; his interview was still not scheduled.

He submitted his resume yesterday and received an interview invitation today. He thought he had it in the bag, but when he got to the Lemeng HR department, wow, there were hundreds of people interviewing for different positions.

He’s been waiting since nine o’clock.

After waiting another two minutes, he was suddenly called.

Lin Xiao followed a human resources assistant inside, secretly encouraging himself.

He thought there would be several interviewers, but when he opened the door, there was only one.

Lin Xiao stopped in his tracks when he saw the other person’s face clearly.

Mrs. Gao?

Liao Yongmei was slightly taken aback when she saw him.

Clearly, Mrs. Gao recognized him as well.

Lin Xiao would never forget the scene outside Jian Hang’s office a few months ago. The security guard almost couldn’t stop the furious and raving Mrs. Gao. 

At that time, he was probably the only one in the entire company who believed that Jian Hang wasn’t a mistress. This was because his parents sometimes tried to help Jian Hang, but she always refused.

Taking advantage of his height, he practically dragged Mrs. Gao to the door of Yinlin. At that time, he yelled at Mrs. Gao, “She doesn’t even like Qin Moling. Even if she’s blind, she would never like a man as old as your husband!“

Mrs. Gao completely lost her temper and tried to grab him, but luckily he jumped fast and his face wasn’t scratched.

Then several security guards arrived and took Mrs. Gao away.

After Mrs. Gao left, he went downstairs to buy coffee to calm his nerves. He was much relieved that Mrs. Gao hadn’t scratched his face. He even chatted with the cashier for a while.

As a result, he was late for the meeting and almost got locked out of the meeting room by Jian Hang.

Liao Yongmei politely said, “Sit down.”

Lin Xiao snapped out of his daze and said, “Thank you.”

Sitting down only made things worse; he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. He wanted to cover his face and hide his embarrassment, not wanting to face Liao Yongmei.

Who could have imagined that one day he would fall into Liao Yongmei’s hands?

Who could escape the wrath of fate? His professional career hasn’t even begun and it was already about to be cut short.

Marriage First, Love Later translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: Lin Xiao has zero Male Lead energy but I do like him very much hahaha.

Also, Qin Moling catching strays 😂

An update about my ko-fi: my appeal got rejected so it seems I have to find a new home for my supporters. I’ve opened a Patreon; do check it out. You can opt to access advance postings for all translation works, just specific novels, or bundled works. Thanks for your support ☺️