Chapter 46

Chapter 46: So They Treated Her Like an Idiot

“Miss Qiao.” A clear, pleasant male voice sounded from outside the door. “Long time no see.”

The conference room door was transparent glass, and the man had paused there for a while before stepping in.

Qiao Qing Yan had noticed him long ago. Her earlier words hadn’t been for Wu Lan alone.

She repeated them now with the same calm, as if sealing them into place. “So the company wants me to be the scapegoat. Did you ask if I agreed?”

The man smiled, polite and composed. “Let me introduce myself. My surname is Xu. I currently serve as the company’s Deputy General Manager.”

He spoke with confidence, orderly and smooth. “Regarding the hotel incident, what insight does Miss Qiao have?”

“If we can all win,” he added, “that would naturally be best.”

Qiao Qing Yan’s gaze settled lightly on him.

It matched a face she’d looked up on the way here.

Xu Zhong Qin. Thirty. Unmarried. Deputy General Manager. A native of the Capital. His influence in the company was no less than the general manager’s—sometimes the general manager even had to give him face.

Rumor had it his family background was no small matter, which made everyone treat him with an extra layer of caution and respect.

He was also, unsurprisingly, the dream lover of many employees.

Young. High position. Gentle. Warm. Polite.

A standard rich, powerful, handsome Young Master.

Power, money, and looks.

But Qiao Qing Yan didn’t buy the gentleness.

Her lips lifted slightly. Her gaze drifted away with faint coolness as she looked down at the contract by her hand.

“Manager Xu,” she asked calmly, “what do you want?”

Xu Zhong Qin narrowed his eyes.

Had his intuition been wrong? He’d thought the person who once dominated the scene had returned.

Instead, she looked like a withered flower that had begun to bloom again—beautiful, quiet, and not at all obedient.

Xu Zhong Qin’s tone didn’t change. “Xu Shu Jing is the newcomer the company is pushing. Naturally, the company doesn’t want anything to happen to her.”

“Of course,” he added, “the company will offer corresponding compensation.”

“That program Director Liang is planning can give you a spot. The anticipation for it is very high. It will definitely be a huge hit.”

“It won’t count toward your main contract,” he said smoothly. “It’s a personal contract. It has nothing to do with the company.”

Qiao Qing Yan tapped the tabletop with her fingertips, thoughtful, peach blossom eyes still and bright as if she were weighing the offer.

In the quiet that followed, no one dared to speak.

A few minutes passed before her voice rose, soft and sweet as a night bird’s song.

“Are Xu Shu Jing and Manager Xu relatives?”

Xu Zhong Qin froze for half a beat, then recovered. “Distant. You could count it as… half.”

Qiao Qing Yan lifted her head. A faint smile curved at her lips.

“No wonder.”

Her tone turned colder, amused in a way that cut. “So the company treated me like an idiot?”

“Do you think, in my situation, I care about a spot?”

Xu Zhong Qin clearly hadn’t expected her attitude to shift so abruptly.

Wu Lan, on the other hand, flared instantly.

“Qiao Qing Yan, don’t be ungrateful. That spot was originally Jingjing’s. Now it’s been given to you. Do you know what a huge bargain you’re getting?”