Chapter 204: This Guy Isn’t President Hai

On January 4th, many tourist buses were parked outside the Heaven Mansion at Paradise Group Headquarters. These were rental services provided by the travel agency, responsible for transporting the company’s travel participants to the pier, and then taking a ferry to Carefree Island.

Everyone was pretty excited about this trip, and most people joined in. Because there are many company affairs, everyone usually has their own arrangements, and it’s only for collective travel once a year. Heaven Headquarters is full of beautiful women; male colleagues are eager to participate, and female colleagues are happy to have such a stage to showcase themselves.

Except for a few people who frequently visit others, most of the activities are department-specific. While Paradise Group’s rules don’t prohibit dating within the company, it is forbidden within the same department. So, events like this also provide an opportunity for networking. Some single men, whose social circles are small and focus solely on work, want to take this chance to get closer to the girls from other departments. Of course, for most people, the main aim is to have fun. For the female colleagues, it’s merely an eye-catching experience.

Li Yan arrived at the company relatively early, but quite a few people were already there. Because of the holiday, everyone dressed more casually, not as formal and rigid as usual, and since it’s a colder winter now, there isn’t limited summer attire, allowing for a variety of outfit combinations. This is also a chance for the younger folks to show off; dressing trendy might attract girls, dressing too old-fashioned would mean mingling with older colleagues.

The planning and arrangements for the event are handled by the Administrative Department, many of whom were present onsite coordinating arrangements. Li Yan saw Xu Ping busy checking something, greeted him, and was ready to meet Sun Hui, who was joking with several girls.

But Xu Ping pulled him aside, winked and whispered with a laugh, "Old Li, I’m being pretty decent, right?"

"What do you mean by decent?" Li Yan felt a bit puzzled, glanced around, "Are you going to introduce me to a girl?"

"Get lost!" Xu Ping cursed with a smile, then whispered, "Heavenly Film is an independent subsidiary, and it’s newly established, so it wasn’t included in previous department statistics as they didn’t count your company. Later, during meetings, I spoke out for you, saying that Heavenly Film is part of Headquarters too, and operates in the Headquarters building. You must be included, otherwise, people will feel disheartened."

Li Yan scoffed and said, "So that’s how it is, I thought President Hai decided to include us since we didn’t have many people."

"Heh... Well, I did mention that too, but President Hai immediately approved it." Xu Ping wasn’t bragging; even though Hai Fu had the intention and authority, it wasn’t appropriate to make it too obvious. So, she deliberately brought up the issue during the meeting, seeking everyone’s opinions, and then casually appointed Xu Ping. She knew Xu Ping and Li Yan were familiar, and sure enough, Xu Ping said what she wanted to hear, allowing her to ’follow the popular sentiment’ and agree.

"But I’m not talking about that. Since your department was notified late to join, although there aren’t many people, some arrangements are already made. How to fit you guys in is our issue to solve." Xu Ping smiled smugly.

Li Yan was a bit surprised, "Everyone is taking the buses; you arranged for us to take cars?"

"..." Xu Ping was speechless.

"During accommodation, normally men share a room with men, and women with women. You arranged for me to share a room with a woman?" Li Yan laughed mischievously.

"Wishful thinking!" Xu Ping rolled his eyes and then whispered, "When taking the bus soon, I’ve arranged for you to be in the Business Department’s bus. Seats are free to choose, so you can either get on early and grab a good spot or get on a bit later, after Wen Qianyi has seated, then sit next to her and have a sweet conversation all the way!"

Li Yan felt exasperated; after all the boasting, it turned out to be about this! "Do you want the whole company to know or what?"

"Haha, I and Old Sun didn’t say anything! I’m thinking for you, right? Would you want to see another man rushing to sit with Wen Qianyi?"

"That’s true; it’s best if I sit next to Qianyi. By the way, I also want to sit next to President Zhang; surely you can help with that, Old Xu?" Li Yan smiled.

Xu Ping broke out in a sweat; greed knows no bounds! You already have a thing with Wen Qianyi, and I’m creating chances for you, yet you’re not satisfied and want to sit with the President as well?

While they were talking, there was a bit of commotion in the crowd on site. The two looked over and saw Wen Qianyi and Zhang Yurong appearing together! They must have arrived at the parking lot, then took the elevator upstairs, and came out from inside.

Paradise Group is full of beautiful women, and among the countless beauties, Zhang Yurong is the absolute top beauty! Her advantage remained until Wen Qianyi joined. This lovely, charming, and approachable, stunningly sexy and powerful presence hasn’t taken much time to conquer most of the company’s men and women by word of mouth, making her the only one who could rival Zhang Yurong. Thus, she became one of the company’s unmatched beauties.

When either of the two stunning beauties appeared, they naturally drew everyone’s attention. Now, seeing both of them together in such a joyful informal setting immediately caused a sensation. Wen Qianyi was approachable, while Zhang Yurong commanded respect and awe. Normally, very few would dare to greet her proactively, but today, being a holiday and a trip, many plucked up the courage to greet them.

Zhang Yurong tried to ’enjoy with the people’ a little, managing only a slight smile and a wave to signal everyone, briefly expressing her gratitude for their hard work for the company. Wen Qianyi, on the other hand, fully demonstrated her interpersonal skills; she seemed to remember everyone’s name and even if she couldn’t greet each, she’d offer a smile or a glance, making no one feel neglected.

...

"If you manage to have President Zhang sit in the bus to the business department, won’t you have a chance to sit alongside the president? You might even sit beside the two of them. Satisfied now?" Xu Ping teased.

Li Yan smiled and said nothing. What difficulty was there in sitting with the two of them? On the night of the 31st, I was with them, along with Hai Fu, who leaves you speechless...

As he thought of Hai Fu, Hai Fu arrived. Compared to the distinct aura of Wen Qianyi and Zhang Yurong, she was even more unique. She exuded an air of dominance and aggression!

When an employee in the administrative department mumbled quietly, "The master arrives, be careful everyone!" this aggressive aura rapidly spread, making many realize Hai Fu had come. Those in the administrative department, as well as others who dealt with it and Hai Fu, unconsciously stood a little taller, afraid of receiving a barrage of scolding or criticism.

Xu Ping immediately grew serious too, no longer daring to talk to Li Yan, fully focusing on completing the not-so-busy tasks at hand.

The lively atmosphere instantly became quiet. This change, especially Xu Ping’s evident transformation beside him, amused Li Yan secretly; wasn’t this a bit exaggerated?

But soon, he realized that what rendered everyone collectively speechless wasn’t just the accumulated authority Hai Fu held under the title of the master. It was because her appearance today was almost like she was a different person!

As he watched, he saw that Hai Fu’s usual old-fashioned, stiff hairstyle had changed, becoming youthful and fashionable; her wardrobe, usually all-black, was replaced with clothes that, while not cutting-edge, presented a stark contrast; most notably, her signature large, thick black-framed glasses were absent, revealing the two-thirds of her face usually hidden.

This version of Hai Fu, Li Yan had seen countless times and was fully accustomed to and familiar with as another side of Hai Fu. But to others, it was genuinely astonishing. Especially some veteran employees and leaders who had worked at headquarters for many years found it hard to believe their eyes, unable to believe that the unchanging Hai Fu seemed to have suddenly shed ten years.

"This is not Hai Fu... This is not Hai Fu..."

Having heard or sensed Hai Fu’s arrival and instinctively snapping into work mode, Xu Ping now clearly saw the mature beauty whom everyone stepped aside for. He couldn’t believe this was the division head he saw daily in the administrative department. Hence, he unconsciously mumbled, guessing that she might be Hai Fu’s younger sister or cousin?

Almost everyone who saw Hai Fu doubted this was her. Yet, upon reflection, they realized that although they revered her to her face and bantered behind her back, they didn’t have a precise mental image of her. To put it bluntly, what left a deep impression was not her face, but her persona! And now that this persona hadn’t appeared, they couldn’t confirm it was truly her. If it weren’t for the powerful pressure she exuded, they might have mistaken her for someone else entirely.

Aside from Li Yan, neither Zhang Yurong nor Wen Qianyi appeared too surprised. Zhang Yurong had known Hai Fu for years and was familiar with her unmasked appearance; Wen Qianyi, living in the same building, had seen Hai Fu’s off-duty image. Witnessing everyone’s dumbfounded reactions, the two couldn’t help but chuckle silently.

’This is not Hai Fu’? Li Yan felt a bit sweat-drop, reaching out to tap Xu Ping on the back of his head, "Focus on your work! Even though Hai Fu arrived with a surprising transformation, are you sure her temper has changed?"

Xu Ping came back to his senses — indeed, the grand change was merely in outward appearance, while her sort of high-pressure presence remained as dauntingly clear as before!

"President, Director Wen." Though Hai Fu had changed in appearance, she did not smile and ignored all the onlookers, walking straight to Zhang Yurong and Wen Qianyi to greet them.

Zhang Yurong smiled sincerely and said in a low voice, "Sister Hai Fu, congratulations! You’ve finally set aside the facade, the invisible pressure, and become yourself again, allowing you to experience a new transformation!"

Hai Fu also smiled; heaven knows how much pressure she had just endured under the company’s scrutiny!

(Thanks for yesterday’s rewards: Shadow Earl, Yuxuan’s father, Yagami Light II, Reader 100912214610120, Obba, Guo Pai, dongmin8061, CP Pampas) (To be continued. For more about what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com, more Chapters available, support authors, and support legitimate reading!)