Becoming a Confidence Coach to an Arrogant Director - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: A.I. Face vs. Smiling Lips

Yuan Yishan quickly headed to the director’s office. In the hallway, she ran into Ji Xiu, who was coming from the other direction, also on her way to Gu Jin’s office. The two of them met, one with an A.I. face, the other with smiling lips.

Neither spoke first, but both knew what was going on.

At that moment, the door to the director’s office opened from the inside.

Gu Jin looked at them, who were staring wide-eyed at each other, a little confused.

“What are you two doing standing here?”

The smiling lips spoke before the A.I. could use her sweet voice.

“I came to go over some requirements with Senior Sister. Is Yishan here for Senior Sister too?”

Her pleasant expression didn’t falter, and Yuan Yishan also went into “obedient” mode.

“Yes, Sister Xiu, I also have something to talk to Sister Gu about!”

It was a seemingly harmonious scene, but there was a palpable tension. Gu Jin looked at Ji Xiu, then at Yuan Yishan, not understanding what was going on between them.

She looked at Ji Xiu and said politely, “Come in.”

Yuan Yishan was left standing there for a few seconds, her cherry-like mouth pouting, feeling a little resentful.

As Ji Xiu was about to enter, she gave Yuan Yishan a faint look.

“You, too, come in!”

Director Xiu had just started to feel a sense of superiority, but seeing Gu Jin let Yuan Yishan in, her heart suddenly felt unbalanced.

Gu Jin saw Ji Xiu go in, followed her, and held the door open for Yuan Yishan.

Morale Booster Yuan squeezed in sideways behind her.

Gu Jin saw that the two of them had been silent for a while and hadn’t started talking about business, so she asked.

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

Ji Xiu glanced at Yuan Yishan, and Yuan Yishan did the same. They were at a stalemate, waiting for the other to speak first.

Gu Jin looked at them again, her expression serious.

“Is there a problem? Huh?”

Ji Xiu was still wary of her. Her smiling lips lifted, and her words became softer, more gentle, and approachable.

“Actually, I came here to tell Senior Sister about the prototype draft. It was my carelessness that caused trouble for Senior Sister!”

Yuan Yishan rolled her eyes. Oh, Sister, you’re a really good actress!

Gu Jin’s words were concise, and her attitude was clear and professional.

“The draft has already been uploaded to SVN. Everyone in the R&D department has access to it. You don’t have to blame yourself.”

Ji Xiu’s lips turned upward, and she glanced at Yuan Yishan out of the corner of her eye.

Gu Jin noticed this subtle movement.

“You don’t have to look at her. I know what’s going on.”

Director Gu’s tone was cold and firm. Ji Xiu didn’t say anything more. She maintained her elegance on the surface, but her heart was furiously stabbing a voodoo doll.

Yuan Yishan felt a surge of protection from her sister. Her electronic brain was filled with joy, and it seemed as if a proud and charming smile appeared on her porcelain-like face.

Gu Jin looked at Yuan Yishan and said abruptly, “What do you have to talk to me about?”

Morale Booster Yuan’s porcelain face instantly froze. She awkwardly touched her nose.

“Hehe.”

“I just wanted to ask you, Sister, if you want to eat some sour and spicy pickled chicken feet for lunch. I found a restaurant that’s really good!”

Gu Jin: …

Ji Xiu: !!!

A short silence fell over the room. Just then, all three of their chat apps chimed.

It was Pei He. He had messaged everyone in the group to come to the conference room for a meeting at 9:40 AM.

He then privately messaged Gu Jin and Ji Xiu, asking them to come to his office to discuss something.

Ji Xiu received the message and left first. As she left, she gave Yuan Yishan a “just you wait” look.

Only Gu Jin and Yuan Yishan were left in the office.

“Which shameless person made my sugar mama sister so angry?”

Gu Jin squinted at her, furious. It was as if she was telling her with her silent look, You know who it is, don’t you?

After Director Gu returned from the R&D office, she had turned on the camera monitor. This person wasn’t doing her job, but on top of that, she was annoying her employees so early in the morning, making it impossible for them to work properly.

Double Eleven was coming up, and everyone needed to be highly focused. But here she was, causing one problem after another, constantly creating chaos for the R&D department. How could she not be angry?

“From now on, if I see you annoying your colleagues again, don’t bother coming to work!”

“Oh, no!”

Yuan Yishan was about to argue when Gu Jin’s glare instantly made her shrink back. She started muttering again.

“It was Li Cheng and Gua Ge who were bothering me first! Why are you scolding me instead of them?”

Gu Jin glared at her and retorted, “Are you trying to justify yourself?”

Yuan Yishan remembered the 10 points she had just lost and immediately bowed and apologized.

“No, no, I’m not. I was wrong, Sister. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have made you angry. I’m sorry!”

She had activated her internal program with too much force and was so immersed in her sincere apology that she didn’t realize her user had already left the office. She had been bowing to an empty desk for a long time.

“Stupid genie, get out here!”

Host, I’m here. Do you need any help?

“My user already left. Why didn’t you stop apologizing?”

Sorry, Host. You activated the loop mode. I have to perform the required number of repetitions before I can stop.

Yuan Yishan: …

Host, is there anything else I can help you with?

“Go away!”

The stupid genie was gone before Yuan Yishan could finish her curse.

…

In the CEO’s office, Ji Xiu had been chatting with Pei He for a while. As Gu Jin approached the door, she heard Ji Xiu subtly encouraging Pei He to fire Yuan Yishan.

Pei He was weighing his options and didn’t reply to her quickly. For one, he wasn’t sure what to do, and for another, Yuan Yishan’s relationship with Gu Jin was clearly unusual.

Now, all the core technical responsibilities were in Gu Jin’s hands. If she got angry and quit, the entire technical department could be paralyzed with Double Eleven approaching. It would be safer to wait for her to come and hear her opinion before making a decision.

“S-Senior Sister?”

Ji Xiu saw Gu Jin at the door and suddenly felt guilty.

“Y-you’re here. I was just talking to Senior about how to solve this problem!”

Gu Jin looked at them expressionlessly and walked straight in without a word.

Boss Pei had also been in a bad mood due to this incident, but when faced with Gu Jin’s stern face, he still greeted her with a smile.

“Senior Sister, please sit!”

Gu Jin went to the sofa. As she sat down, the pain in her waist made her frown, but she held herself straight.

Boss Pei gentlemanly poured her a cup of warm water.

“It’s just a coincidence that this happened right before Double Eleven. I’m at my wit’s end, so I called you two here to discuss it together!”

Gu Jin didn’t say anything, but Ji Xiu’s mood changed quickly.

“Actually, I don’t think Yishan is the type of person who would leak confidential documents. But the file did come from her computer, and the camera did capture her uploading a file.”

She sighed again.

“This is so difficult! And it happened to be right before Double Eleven! How about we let her stay at home for a while? Until we find out the truth? Or until Double Eleven is over and then she can come back?”

Director Xiu glanced at Gu Jin and then looked at Pei He.

“Senior, what do you think?”

Pei He thought this was a good delaying tactic. After all, Double Eleven was very important for an e-commerce company. So, he passed the ball to Gu Jin.

“Senior Sister, what do you think?”

Gu Jin was silent for a few seconds before saying in a deep voice, “The design draft is already shared on SVN. Everyone in the R&D department has access. Her probation period hasn’t ended yet, so she can continue to work as normal.”

It was a simple sentence, but her tone was firm and beyond question. Boss Pei understood her intentions and immediately made a new decision.

“Then let’s do as Senior Sister says. I’ll emphasize this to everyone in the meeting later!”

He looked at Ji Xiu.

“Xiao Xiu, if you’re not going back abroad yet, you can start working on the project for S-house.”

“Okay, Senior. I’ll get started right away!”

“Mhm. Let’s consider this project a loss. 780,000 isn’t that much. We can make it up in other areas!”

“My main concern isn’t the loss itself, but that the leak has planted a seed of unease in all of our hearts!”

He looked at Gu Jin.

“Since Senior Sister has a plan, we can just strengthen our security on the technical side!”

Gu Jin didn’t say anything. As the leader of the R&D department, she had no choice but to silently accept all the responsibility.

She knew very well that if anything happened to Yuan Yishan or if a similar incident occurred in the R&D department again, she would have to bear all the blame herself.

At this moment, Ji Xiu was extremely dissatisfied, but on the surface, she still maintained her usual elegance and poise. After the three of them reached a simple agreement, it was almost time for the meeting.

…

In the conference room, all the employees had arrived. Boss Pei’s expression was not as friendly as usual. His handsome face was a little serious, and he looked like a true CEO. Everyone sat up straight, not daring to be careless.

“Today, I’ve called everyone together to talk about the internal document leak. It’s less than a week until Double Eleven. I don’t want any more problems at this critical moment.”

Everyone bowed their heads in silence. Pei He glanced at Yuan Yishan as a warning.

“Yishan, do you have anything to explain about the internal document being leaked from your computer’s IP address?”

As soon as he said this, everyone’s eyes darted to Yuan Yishan.

Director Gu noticed everyone’s gazes. She sat even straighter, maintaining her expressionless face, so that no one would dare to exchange secret glances.

Her wound was very painful, and a few imperceptible beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. The clothes underneath were soaked in a cold sweat and clung to her back.

From the moment Gu Jin entered the room, Yuan Yishan’s attention had been entirely on her. Now that Boss Pei had called her out in front of everyone, she stood up without hesitation, her electronic voice sweet but not weak.

“That’s right. It was uploaded from my computer, and I’m the one who uploaded it!”

Everyone was stunned, and all their eyes fell on her.