Chapter 44: Fate works in mysterious ways

The two of them chatted to pass the time. Zhao Xiangjun also informed Chen Xiao that the company was having a dinner banquet tonight, telling him to dine alone.

Upon learning that the CEO of Eon Group was coming to inspect the work, the corners of Chen Xiao's mouth inevitably curved upward; everything was such a coincidence.

Fate was truly a wonderful thing!

Zhang Shijie and his entourage headed downstairs. Walking at the very front, he subconsciously glanced back at Zhao Xiangjun, though no one else found it abrupt.

That young woman was an eye-catching scenery wherever she was placed.

There were a total of three cars for the store inspection. Liu Haoran was naturally accompanying Zhang Shijie, while the front passenger seat was occupied by the head of business expansion because he was more familiar with the commercial district.

Wu Ting took the commercial vehicle of Eon's Jiangzhou branch, which was also a Buick GL8.

Since there were many people for the inspection, someone needed to be arranged for the third row of Zhang Shijie's car, and Li Lei proactively assigned Zhao Xiangjun to that vehicle.

He did this to curry favor with Zhang Shijie, having noticed that the CEO had glanced in Zhao Xiangjun's direction several times just moments ago.

Zhao Xiangjun shook her head and said, "I'll take the car behind, or I can just take a taxi!"

She was reluctant to be with senior executives because it felt restrictive, and she had no desire to suck up to superiors.

Feeling that he was losing face—failing to even arrange a companion for the CEO when asked—Li Lei grew displeased.

He said in a stern tone, "Zhao Xiangjun, just execute the company's arrangements!"

Zhao Xiangjun was extremely unhappy, but she also possessed a sense of the bigger picture and did not want to make things difficult for the leaders.

At that moment, Zhang Shijie frowned and asked, "Director Liu, are all the supervisors in your branch this bureaucratic?"

Liu Haoran instantly broke out in a cold sweat, while Li Lei began to tremble slightly.

Wu Ting chimed in at the right moment, "Why don't you accompany me in car number two, Manager Li? You can take the front passenger seat!"

Zhang Shijie nodded and got into the car. Liu Haoran quickly followed, and Li Lei, feeling as though he had received a grand pardon, scrambled into the front passenger seat of the second car.

Zhao Xiangjun also developed a favorable impression of the CEO's assistant who had rescued her from the awkward situation, and said, "Thank you, Assistant Wu!"

Wu Ting smiled brilliantly and replied, "You're too polite! Please get in."

Though she found it strange why this chief assistant was being so polite, seeing that everyone else in front was boarding, she followed them in. Two more sales associates got into the back row, and the remaining staff took taxis to meet directly at the destination.

Inside car number two, it was exceptionally quiet as everyone harbored their own thoughts!

Wu Ting was curious as to why this Chairman Zhao was hiding herself in a store working as a sales associate, while Li Lei was still shaken and terrified from his recent reprimand.

He was deeply afraid that the CEO's criticism would ruin his future career progression.

As for Zhao Xiangjun, she did not know what to say. She was naturally a woman of few words, only bickering and revealing her mischievous side in front of Chen Xiao.

The lead car drove very steadily, which made it difficult for the trailing vehicles to keep up. To avoid falling behind, they frequently needed to accelerate.

After several consecutive sudden accelerations, Zhao Xiangjun began to feel carsick.

Wu Ting, who had been keeping an eye on her all along, asked with immediate concern, "Are you not feeling well?"

Upon learning that she suffered from motion sickness, Wu Ting instructed the driver, "Stop trying to keep pace forcefully. Drive more steadily!"

Both Li Lei and the sales associates sitting in the back were left gasping in astonishment. After all, if you failed to keep up with the lead car, who would be there to provide service when the senior executives stepped out?

However, Wu Ting held the highest authority in this car, so her orders naturally had to be obeyed.

Zhao Xiangjun felt somewhat apologetic and said, "Don't mind me, work comes first!"

Wu Ting replied, "It's fine. You rest for a bit, and I'll explain it to President Zhang."

She kept using the polite form of address, though the others didn't pay it any mind, assuming she was just habitually courteous to people.

The car drove all the way to Wansheng Plaza. When a CEO conducted a store inspection, drivers usually drove right up to the main entrance of the mall.

Coincidentally, the path from the main entrance of Wansheng Plaza to the roadside was blocked by stone bollards, preventing the car from driving any further.

Then, Zhao Xiangjun watched as several bodyguards from the third car stepped out and called for all the men at the scene, except for Liu Haoran, to get out and move the stone bollards.

Finding it a bit over the top, she turned to Wu Ting and asked, "When leaders travel, are they always this showy?"

It was because Wu Ting had consistently shown such an approachable demeanor that she felt comfortable asking this.

Little did she know that this question gave Wu Ting a severe jolt of panic, prompting her to quickly explain, "Chairman Zhao, this must be the subordinates acting on their own accord. President Zhang is not someone who cares about pomp and circumstance!"

Zhao Xiangjun found it very strange why Wu Ting kept calling her Chairman Zhao, assuming she had used the wrong title, while also finding the assistant's nervous, stammering explanation rather amusing.

Did a CEO's assistant care this much about public opinion?

"I didn't mean anything else by it, just asking out of curiosity. You don't need to overthink it!"

Wu Ting finally let out a sigh of relief. *My good lady, how can I not overthink it? You are the third boss.*

The group got out of the car and began their store inspection. The staff from the Jiangzhou branch all noticed that the CEO's assistant wasn't accompanying the CEO, but instead kept walking and talking with Zhao Xiangjun.

Moreover, it was mostly Wu Ting doing the talking while Zhao Xiangjun listened.

This felt very strange, but upon reflection, they figured that since they were in Jiangzhou, having Liu Haoran accompany the CEO was enough, and Assistant Wu was probably just seizing a rare moment of leisure.

Still, they couldn't help but feel envious of Zhao Xiangjun; after all, maintaining a good relationship with Assistant Wu was something even Liu Haoran desired.

Little did they know that Zhao Xiangjun was already finding Wu Ting too talkative, her buzzing voice making her head spin. Zhao Xiangjun loved peace and quiet the most, and the only time she talked a lot was when she was bickering with Chen Xiao.

If there was anything that made the others even more envious, it was the dinner banquet.

Zhao Xiangjun was the only sales elite designated to attend the dinner. Being able to sit at the same table as the CEO was an opportunity countless people dreamed of, and Li Lei was so excited his speech was trembling.

Those who failed to attend the banquet envied Zhao Xiangjun, while Zhao Xiangjun envied them—heaven knew how much she loathed such occasions.

Especially since alcohol was bound to be served at night, which she detested even more!

At dinner, Zhao Xiangjun was seated next to Wu Ting. Wu Ting repeatedly urged her to move to a more prominent seat further up the table, but Zhao Xiangjun stubbornly refused, inwardly blaming this Assistant Wu for knowing nothing about workplace etiquette. How could someone of the lowest rank sit further up?

It wasn't until Zhang Shijie said to leave the seating as it was that Wu Ting finally abandoned the idea of placing her in a seat of honor.

The waiter opened two bottles of Moutai and filled all the decanters, prompting Zhang Shijie to smile and ask, "Everyone can handle a little drink, right?"

Liu Haoran hurriedly chimed in, "We can all drink. How can people in sales not drink?"

Zhang Shijie specifically looked toward Zhao Xiangjun's direction, and Wu Ting instantly grasped his intent, asking, "Do you drink?"

Zhao Xiangjun was already worrying about the drinking aspect, so upon hearing this, she quickly countered, "Can I choose not to drink?"

Liu Haoran was somewhat displeased. *Aren't you dampening the CEO's mood and slapping me in the face?*

Seeing the look of displeasure on Liu Haoran's face, Li Lei harshly rebuked, "Everyone is drinking, you should just force yourself to have a little!"

To everyone's surprise, Zhang Shijie waved his hand and said, "If she truly can't drink, then don't force her. Have the waiter bring some hot beverages instead!"

"And Manager Li, was it? I wanted to mention this back during the store inspection. We are a fashion brand, so you don't need to wear a full business suit—you look like an insurance salesman!"

Li Lei's face instantly turned scarlet.

Heaven knows, to welcome the CEO, he had purposely spent over ten thousand to buy a high-end suit. He had originally thought he was the sharpest-looking guy in the room, but the CEO's remark about looking like an insurance salesman completely shattered his defenses!