Chapter 37: President Su's First Directive

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But Lin Ye could not keep his eyes closed forever.

His tightly shut eyes first opened by the tiniest sliver, like a child receiving a present and cautiously unwrapping an exquisitely packaged gift box.

With a box, after all, once it has been opened even a little, you can see whether there is anything inside—and whether it is what you wanted.

To put it more plainly, when a gift box is placed in your hands, you can often guess without opening it whether it contains the latest game console or an all-in-one guide to solving problems.

The coffee shop was still the same coffee shop, the lighting still cast the same warm orange glow, and the seat opposite Lin Ye was just as empty as before.

Holding the now-empty cup of hot cocoa, Lin Ye put the lid back on. He felt that the hot cocoa had done its very best.

After all, it had tasted wonderful. It was delicious without being overly sweet. As a cup of hot cocoa, what more could anyone ask of it?

You are a successful cup of hot cocoa. A successful cup of hot cocoa should not be abandoned on a table and eventually thrown into a trash can.

Lin Ye carried the cup to his car. The empty hot cocoa cup now sat in the cup holder between the seats, and the car contained not only the distinctive scent of a new vehicle, but also a faint aroma of chocolate.

He lowered the window just a crack to keep the air circulating. Lin Ye truly spent the entire night in the car, and he slept surprisingly soundly.

Perhaps it was because the car offered less space than his home. It gave him a sense of security different from what he felt at home. If he bought a quilt today, then tonight he could fold down the back seats and sleep in the car as though it were a bed.

Oh, and he would need a pillow too.

The alarm Lin Ye set that morning went off about half an hour earlier than usual. After waking, he got out of the car and stretched, then drove back to the place he rented.

He went upstairs to wash up. There was no helping it—the car could serve as a place to sleep, but he could hardly bring all his toiletries along as well.

Zhang Wen’s shoes were still on the rack by the door. At this hour, he probably had not woken up yet, so Lin Ye abandoned the idea of calling him downstairs for breakfast.

That fellow seemed to suffer from a bit of morning temper. Waking him was an ordeal in itself.

After eating a few simple bites downstairs, Lin Ye got back in his car and headed to the office to begin another day as a wage earner.

At around ten that morning, Lin Ye received a call from General Manager Su.

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“Hello, Lin Ye. Tomorrow at ten in the morning, I’m holding a video conference in the company’s third conference room. Notify all personnel at the managerial level.”

“Have Zhao Zhi prepare the conference room’s screen in advance.”

At last. It had finally come.

Lin Ye had been the leader’s secretary for several days, and he had finally received an assignment directly from General Manager Su.

His heart thrilled, his hands trembled. He picked up his pen and wrote it all down in his notebook. As the saying went, the dullest pen was better than the sharpest memory. The task had to be recorded first.

“Understood, General Manager Su. I’ll notify everyone immediately. Please rest assured.”

General Manager Su seemed quite pleased with Lin Ye’s response. Just as he was about to hang up, he appeared to remember something. When he spoke again, his tone was rather hurried.

“Oh, right. Lin Ye, make the arrangements ahead of time. Don’t leave yourself saddled with unfinished business. You don’t need to attend tomorrow morning’s meeting. Go to the coffee shop where I met you last time. I have something else to assign to you.”

Lin Ye felt a little puzzled, but did not dwell on it. He quickly replied, “Understood, General Manager Su. I’ll be there on time.”

After hanging up, Lin Ye took a deep breath. This was the first task he had been given on behalf of the general manager, and he did not want anything to go wrong.

He first turned on his computer and sent a group notification through the company’s Chui Chui app to all department managers, informing them that General Manager Su would be holding a video conference at ten the following morning and that they were to gather in the third conference room.

He then left the office to speak with Zhao Zhi about arranging the conference room.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

“Secretary Lin? What brings you here? Have you run into some kind of problem?”

When Zhao Zhi saw Lin Ye standing outside the door, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

“It’s like this, Manager Zhao. General Manager Su just called me…”

In only a few words, Lin Ye explained the matter clearly.

Understanding dawned in Zhao Zhi’s eyes. He patted Lin Ye on the shoulder and said with a faint smile, “Then let’s go, Secretary Lin. The two of us can take a trip to the third conference room together.”

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Lin Ye nodded. He happened not to know where the company’s third conference room was. It was a lapse on his part. Before his position had risen to its current level, the senior people from his department had always been the ones summoned to meetings. Afterward, they would call everyone together in the department’s small conference room.

The two chatted and laughed as they went, taking the elevator to the fifteenth floor. The third conference room occupied a considerable portion of the floor and, according to Zhao Zhi, was the most advanced conference room in the entire company.

A screen covering an entire wall, speakers on either side, recessed displays built into every desk, microphones, and more—all of it confirmed what Zhao Zhi had said.

Zhao Zhi led Lin Ye to the enormous screen and pulled his employee identification card from his breast pocket.

“You should have received one of these already, right?”

At that, Lin Ye pulled a card from his trouser pocket. It looked similar to the one in Zhao Zhi’s hand, though the color was different.

“Mine doesn’t seem quite the same as yours.” Lin Ye examined the differences between the two cards carefully, speaking with some confusion.

Zhao Zhi smiled and waved his hand dismissively. He then inserted his card into a slot at the bottom of the giant screen. With a beep, a small display appeared near the lower part of the screen, directly in front of where the two men were standing.

“The conference room settings and equipment adjustments can be handled here as needed. Normally, there isn’t much to change, but this is for emergencies. The card you have can do the same thing. Remember that—the next time, this will be your responsibility.”

“Oh, and as for the different designs and colors, employees at different levels have different cards. This card is fairly important and can be used in quite a few places, so take good care of it.”

With that, Zhao Zhi patted Lin Ye on the shoulder and gave him a meaningful look.

Lin Ye stared at the thin card in front of him. He felt that it was not something he should simply leave in his trouser pocket.

Only after checking his email and confirming that everyone attending the meeting had indicated they could arrive on time did Lin Ye finally relax.

The morning passed quickly. What should one do when the lunch break arrived?

You guessed it—go to the coffee shop.

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