Zhou Yi'an stood there, her mind filled with nothing but profanities.
This is clearly him showing off to her!
He keeps calling me "wife," ha!
I've never seen you two so affectionate before, are you putting on an act now?
However, it was still because Liang Shi was too fond of her.
Those who are favored naturally become fearless.
The elevator doors opened again, and a group of new colleagues who had just finished eating out saw the new designer with a look of utter disgust.
Someone mustered up the courage to strike up a conversation, "Designer Zhou, have you eaten yet?"
Zhou Yi'an then snapped out of her daze and, without thinking, angrily replied, "Eat shit!"
Then she took her iced Americano back to her workstation.
The crowd was left standing there, bewildered: "..."
Wow, the new designer has such unique tastes!
//
Xu Qingzhu arrived at the president's office without any obstacles.
Xu Guangyao was brewing a pot of tea in his office and casually glanced at the marketing plan handed to him by the marketing department. When he saw Xu Qingzhu enter, he only frowned slightly before looking down at the document again.
Xu Qingzhu didn't react much either. The lunch break was short, so she walked to her desk and asked bluntly, "Do you know who Zhou Yi'an is?"
Xu Guangyao looked up at his daughter, who was already quite adept at handling her new job, and replied, "I know."
“Dad,” Xu Qingzhu called out to him, “I know what you’re thinking. Right now, all the celebrities in the circle are trying to win over Mr. Zhou, so Zhou Yi’an has become the object of everyone’s flattery. But even if a pie falls from the sky, don’t you know what kind of filling it is? Not just any pie is edible.”
Xu Guangyao poured her a cup of tea and said in a gentle and calm tone, "Sit down."
Xu Qingzhu sat opposite him, not drinking the tea, but continuing, "Dad, haven't you ever thought about why Zhou Yi'an came to Minghui? With her status and qualifications, plenty of big companies would want her, why did she come to Minghui?!"
"Then you'll have to ask Zhou Yi'an." Xu Guangyao suddenly frowned. "You're here to question me?"
Xu Qingzhu took a deep breath. "No, I just came to ask you why you brought Zhou Yi'an in. Our temple is too small to accommodate such a big Buddha."
"If you can tolerate her, why can't you?" Xu Guangyao said, "It was only when I met Miss Zhou by chance at the banquet that I learned that she was a top student in the design department of a famous foreign university and had just returned to China not long ago. She wanted to find an internship at a jewelry company. Her understanding of Minghui Jewelry was still based on the Minghui Jewelry of many years ago. What's wrong with her working at Minghui?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
She ignored her father's earlier sarcastic remarks and only took his later words as an example: "Dad, as the Zhou family's daughter and having worked in this industry for several years, how could she not know Minghui's current situation? How can you be so naive..."
Halfway through his sentence, Xu Guangyao's expression changed.
Xu Qingzhu picked up the water glass, drank the tea in one gulp, and swallowed all her words back down.
That innocent thought was never uttered.
After calming down, she continued, "Did Zhou Yi'an contact you on her own initiative?"
“Yes,” Xu Guangyao said. “I met her by chance at the dinner party. She said she wasn’t working yet, so I extended an olive branch to her. RT’s New Designer of the Year—that title alone is enough. If her work is featured in our fall product launch, how could we not make a splash?”
At this point, Xu Guangyao's eyes and brows were filled with smugness. "I've seen the works of those two people you invited. Aren't they just superficial? Young people these days won't like them."
"Who said that?" Xu Qingzhu said, "That's clearly a very innovative design. I don't care, the main design for the autumn new products must be Lin Luoxi's work. I had to swallow my pride and beg her to do it. She stayed up all night to finish so many drafts. If you want to replace her work at this crucial moment, then I..."
The words "I'm quitting" were stuck in my throat.
I just can't put it into words.
There's no way she wouldn't do it.
If she quits, she will be pushing Minghui into an abyss, and it will go bankrupt sooner or later.
But Xu Guangyao picked up on her words, "You're not going to do it anymore, huh? Then resign. Regardless of Lin Luoxi's designs, as long as we use Miss Zhou's name, the media and celebrities will definitely buy into it, and our marketing will definitely be in a favorable position. And those socialites, in order to get to know Mr. Zhou, they will have to give our products some face. This autumn's new products must feature Miss Zhou's design as the main product."
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
She knew that was what her dad was planning!
Short-sighted!
During her time at the company, she probably came to understand why the company was gradually declining.
Nepotism is rampant in the company, and most of the employees have some degree of nepotism. Take the head of the design department, for example. He is the nephew of a certain shareholder. After graduating, he couldn't find a job and was assigned to the marketing department of Minghui Jewelry. Later, when Qin Sisi left the company, this ignorant guy was directly sent to the design department.
This phenomenon also exists to varying degrees in other departments.
Xu Qingzhu wanted to implement sweeping reforms, but right now she had to focus on the autumn new product launch. Only if she did well this time could she have a voice in the company and salvage Minghui Jewelry's reputation.
Moreover, Hsu Kuang-yao's excessive focus on marketing is probably related to the shortcomings he left over from his time as a designer.
Originally a designer, he felt his work was good, but he never got the opportunity. Those who got the opportunity were those who used high-concept and marketing skills. So after becoming the chairman of Minghui Jewelry, he has always focused on marketing. He firmly believes that good marketing is like a pig standing on the cusp of a wind; no matter how heavy it is, it can fly.
Even as Minghui Jewelry declined year by year over the years, he still firmly believed that his theory was correct.
“Dad, I’ve told you before, for all companies that produce content, content is king,” Xu Qingzhu said. “We do need marketing to let the public know about our products, but back then our marketing was enough; almost everyone knew Minghui. Marketing is very important for new companies, but for an established jewelry company like ours, content is king. Only by ensuring that our product styles and quality don’t decline can we maintain our old customers and have a good reputation, which will naturally attract new customers. But now you’ve put the cart before the horse!”
"Are you teaching me how to do business?" Xu Guangyao asked in a deep voice.
Xu Qingzhu pursed her lips and remained silent.
The atmosphere between the father and daughter suddenly became tense.
Xu Qingzhu was stubborn and refused to back down no matter what.
After a long silence, Xu Guangyao broke the silence first, "Qingzhu, everything Dad does is for the good of this family. Your health has never been good, and working so hard at the company will ruin your health."
"I heard from Zhang Qiyi that you worked overtime for five days in a row last week. How can your body possibly take it if you keep going like this? Dad doesn't want you to come to the company because he doesn't want you to have to worry about things. Why are you going against me? Anyway, you've already married into the Liang family. Dad will take care of all the problems. After that, don't ask the Liang family for money anymore. Be good to Liang Shi. She loves you so much and won't let you suffer."
Zhang Qiyi is the head of their design department.
"If I don't come in, Minghui will go bankrupt and be liquidated!" Xu Qingzhu suddenly shouted.
She hadn't uttered a single word despite all the hardship and exhaustion these past few days; she just wanted to do everything in her power to preserve her grandfather's family business.
But what about her father?
Her father wanted her to stay out of trouble.
And it still relies on a person with an unpredictable personality.
She clearly wanted to help, but ended up opposing her.
All the pent-up grievances from these past few days burst forth in an instant, startling Xu Guangyao. But after a moment, he replied, "I've been running Minghui for so many years, and it hasn't gone bankrupt! It still supports the family very well. You attend a prestigious high school, and I haven't let you suffer any hardship."
“But four months ago, if it weren’t for the money Liang Shi brought, Minghui would have gone bankrupt long ago,” Xu Qingzhu said. “Even the villa we live in had to be mortgaged to the bank.”
"That was given to me by Liang Shi on his own initiative!" Xu Guangyao still refused to admit that it was his management mistakes that led Minghui into such a predicament.
"But why should Liang Shi give it to you? Can't you use your brain? Or are you just creating a fantasy for yourself, so that as long as Minghui doesn't go bankrupt, you can continue to live in your ideal world!" Xu Qingzhu suppressed a sob. "It's the same with this matter. Don't you really know why Zhou Yi'an came? She came because of me! She's here to oppose me! I slapped her at the banquet last time, so she came to cause me trouble. Do you understand now that I'm saying this? Or are you planning to continue pretending not to understand, continue making decisions with your eyes closed, regardless of Minghui's fate?"
Xu Guangyao was almost mortified by her words, but he still maintained his last shred of dignity and carefully analyzed her words, asking, "Why did you slap her?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
She suddenly realized that everything she had just said was like talking to a brick wall.
In her father's eyes, there were only two types of people: those who could be used and those who could not.
Zhou Yi'an is someone who can be exploited.
He wouldn't think that this was a knife that could stab him in the opposite direction at any moment.
For him, this was the last straw.
"Dad," Xu Qingzhu sighed, "there's no point in saying all this now. I just want to ask you, I'm in charge of making all the decisions in the design department, right?"
“Make Ms. Zhou’s work our flagship item,” Xu Guangyao said.
Xu Qingzhu: "...I will never back down on this matter."
Xu Qingzhu knew that reasoning wouldn't work, so she simply changed to a more forceful approach: "I will never leave Minghui. No matter how tired I am, I will protect this family business."
"Why do you have to force yourself to live such a peaceful life?" Xu Guangyao said angrily. "Is Liang Shi treating you badly? I'm going to find her! She said she would treat my daughter well when we got married! It's only been a short time since we got married, and she's already changed!"
“It has nothing to do with Liang Shi.” Xu Qingzhu stopped him, took a deep breath, and said, “Dad, I’ve studied for so many years, I can’t just stay at home as a full-time housewife. I need to work.”
“Then you should find a relaxed job. Let Liang Shi arrange one for you in her company. You don’t need to worry about Minghui’s affairs.” Xu Guangyao said, “I will take care of it.”
“But your solution is just to drag it out,” Xu Qingzhu said. “You’ll drag it out for as long as you can until Minghui goes bankrupt and is liquidated. This company can’t withstand your meddling like this.”
Xu Guangyao: "..."
Xu Qingzhu said in a deep voice, "I don't need to rely on anyone to get opportunities, nor do I need an easy job. If you really care about me, then don't stop me from doing these things. As for Zhou Yi'an, don't make any deals with her behind my back. That will only make me more passive and put me in a more difficult position."
//
Xu Qingzhu was deflated in the elevator.
The moment the door closed, she leaned against the corner and took several deep breaths.
To be honest, my mind was completely blank.
She was unaware that her father had always held that view, hoping she would marry Liang Shi and become a full-time housewife.
Of course, there are still quite a few Omegas in this society who rely on Alphas to support them, but most of the time it's the two of them working together.
In high society circles, most of the women are Omgea's wives who don't go to work.
But Xu Qingzhu didn't want to become that kind of person.
After arguing with Xu Guangyao, I was in a low mood, but I had to pull myself together and work when I got back to the office.
Until Lin Luoxi came in to find her.
Xu Qingzhu asked, "What's wrong?"
"Are you alright?" Lin Luoxi handed her a cup of brown sugar water. "You look very weak."
"It's alright." Xu Qingzhu smiled, afraid they would worry. "It's nothing serious. Have you spoken with the marketing department?"
“There’s a problem.” Lin Luoxi hesitated for a moment before saying, “I heard that the higher-ups want to use Zhou Yi’an’s design as the main product, and all our previous proposals have become backup options, including Sally’s meticulously designed Starry Night.”
"No, it won't happen." Xu Qingzhu was already mentally prepared for this and reassured Lin Luoxi for the time being. "Just continue doing what you're doing. I promise you, your autumn collection will definitely be the main piece at this new product launch. And Sally, tell her to relax. I won't let her come back from the US for nothing. If I send you here just to make you suffer, then what kind of person am I?"
Lin Luoxi was just worried about her. "Actually, I came here just to tell you that Sally and I are here to help, so it doesn't matter whether we use our work as the main design or not. The main issue is Zhou Yi'an's design draft. Although it looks pretty good, the style is too dark and doesn't match Minghui's previous concepts."
"I understand." Xu Qingzhu smiled bravely. "Thank you, Luo Xi."
"It's nothing," Lin Luoxi said. "You should rest. I just came to let you know."