The Green Tea Supporting Girl Is Still Playing Her Role Today (GL) - Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Two days later, the results of the marketing plan came out. This time, two-thirds of the people were eliminated again, and the eliminated groups all received reasons for their elimination. Everyone accepted it willingly and could only continue to focus on their work, waiting for next year’s selection.

“We actually passed?!” In the cafeteria, Lin Zhimin confirmed incredulously with her team members.

“Yes!” Another team member said excitedly.

“Oh my God, I just signed up with the attitude of giving it a try, and I never thought I could make it to the final stage!” Lin Zhimin was so excited that she picked up a chicken leg and put it into Wen Pinghan’s bowl. “Thank you, Han Sis, for letting me hug your thigh!”

“It’s because you were willing to work hard,” Wen Pinghan said with a smile.

Although Lin Zhimin usually liked to slack off, she was still very serious when it came to doing things. She was young and full of energy, which made her quite suitable to be a cheerleader in the team. She completed all the assigned tasks very well.

“Everyone has worked hard this half month. Let’s go out for a good meal tonight. It’s on me,” Wen Pinghan said.

“Great! I’ve been exhausted lately, so I need to eat more to make up for it!” Lin Zhimin was the first to respond.

In the afternoon, Wen Pinghan received a notice asking the group leaders who had passed the assessment to attend a meeting, where the final assessment task would be announced soon.

The meeting was still hosted by Fang Ningshu, who concisely explained this task: it was time for real combat.

The remaining people would regroup, still in free combinations, but with no limit on the number of people. If someone was confident enough, they could even form a group by themselves.

The task was to randomly select from some of the company’s current projects. Whoever could complete the collaborative task would let their results speak for themselves. Notably, even if the team won through collaboration, the final outcome did not necessarily mean everyone would advance.

No one expected that the evening gathering meal would turn into a farewell dinner.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, everyone started discussing regrouping.

Some people thought that the current team had too many members. Since not everyone could advance, a large group would definitely affect the chances of standing out. It was best to have two to four people, so they could collaborate with each other while also showcasing their own strengths.

Wen Pinghan noticed that some of them wanted to break off and form their own groups. She smiled and said, “It’s fine. We were just a temporary collaboration to begin with. Now that there’s a better opportunity, we have to face choices. Everyone should follow their own ideas. At this point, there’s no need to worry about favors or saving face.”

The others nodded one after another. Then, a few people said they wanted to find new team members. In the end, only Wen Pinghan, Lin Zhimin, and another employee remained.

The three of them smiled at each other. Lin Zhimin asked, “Do we still need to find more people to team up with? Jiajia is at least a supervisor, but I’m just a team member. Should we find one or two more supervisors or sales managers to join?”

Wen Pinghan looked them over and thought carefully for a moment. After considering their abilities, she said, “No need. They’re right. Too many people mean high efficiency in getting things done, but fewer chances to stand out, and the time cost of communication is also considerable. With just the three of us, it’s just right to leave an impression in front of the leaders. Even if we don’t succeed this time, at least we’ll get familiar faces.”

Neither of them had any objections. In fact, they hadn’t really held out hope for selection in the first place. Their goal was just to get familiar faces, so that in the future when promotions came up, the leaders would think of them first.

The next day, Wen Pinghan went to the manager’s office to submit the list. She knocked on the door, and the person inside called out, “Come in.”

“This is our group’s list.” Wen Pinghan placed the list on the desk and looked up at Fang Ningshu.

“Got it. Are you busy? Wait over there for a bit first. Once everyone has submitted, I’ll assign the specific projects,” Fang Ningshu said.

“Okay.” Wen Pinghan stepped back to sit on the sofa and glanced around, hesitating to speak.

“Are you wondering where President Xie went?” Fang Ningshu looked up and asked.

Wen Pinghan was stunned for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“She’s out entertaining.”

“Why didn’t she bring you along?”

Ever since Fang Ningshu joined Qisheng, Xie Zhifei had almost always taken her everywhere. Many meetings were also hosted by Fang Ningshu. The employees all knew how important Fang Ningshu was, so Wen Pinghan was a bit puzzled to suddenly see only Fang Ningshu alone in the office.

“It’s a private entertainment.” Fang Ningshu paused, then added meaningfully, “With President Li, Li Hongyan.”

“Oh…” Wen Pinghan slowly turned her head back and stared at the cup on the coffee table. After a long moment, she picked it up and took a sip, feeling that the tea tasted a bit bitter.

Not long after, the others arrived too. This time, surprisingly, more than a dozen groups formed. It seemed everyone’s ideas were similar.

“To ensure fairness, we’ll use a lottery method to decide.” Fang Ningshu handed the box to them. “Whatever project you draw is what you get. You can’t exchange privately. The business world is like a battlefield, and you might face any kind of opponent. If you’re unlucky, you just have to accept it. There’s no chance for a redo.”

Everyone reached in and drew one. Wen Pinghan’s luck had always been poor, so she waited until everyone else had drawn before taking the last one. When she opened it, her expression changed slightly.

When Fang Ningshu recorded it, she saw the project on Wen Pinghan’s slip of paper, and the corner of her mouth twitched. Then she recorded it—Gu Family Group.

“These are the relevant materials for each project. Take them back and study them carefully. The assessment period is a full two months. Of course, if any group finishes early, they’ll get extra points. After all, it’s real combat. If you encounter difficulties, you can ask me questions or seek help, though that will also be recorded. The most important point is that your goal is to secure the project successfully, not to let it fall through. If the project in your hands gets completely ruined, you’ll be directly eliminated,” Fang Ningshu said.

In simple terms, the worst you could do was maintain the status quo. Even if you had to compete, you couldn’t damage the cooperative relationship between other companies and Qisheng. Several people were already starting to feel like slacking off—not aiming for the best, just hoping not to screw up the project.

Wen Pinghan took the materials she received back to the office, then sent the electronic versions to Lin Zhimin and the other team member. Over the next few days, they discussed task divisions and how to secure the collaboration. They even gathered on the weekend to talk about it.

On Saturday, they found a coffee shop, but Lin Zhimin felt it was too crowded and not convenient, so she suggested, “How about we go to my place tomorrow? It’s just that the apartment is small—a studio—so we might have to sit on the bed to chat.”

The two others: “…”

Wen Pinghan sighed and said, “Let’s go to my place instead.”

The next day, Wen Pinghan made a simple lunch, cleaned up the place, washed some fruit, and waited for the two team members to arrive.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. She hurried to open the door and froze abruptly when she saw who was outside.

“Surprise!” The person at the door flashed her a brilliant smile.

“Why didn’t you say something in advance?” Wen Pinghan thought to herself how lucky it was that she had cleaned the apartment.

“I just left the company and thought I’d come over to hang out. It’s been a while since we saw each other,” Xie Zhifei said with a beaming smile.

“Have you finished with everything?”

“It’s temporarily wrapped up.” As soon as Xie Zhifei sat down, she spotted the fruit platter on the coffee table and said delightedly, “Did you guess I was coming?”

“No…”

“Huh? This is the first time I’ve seen Sis in loungewear. It’s so cute.”

Wen Pinghan looked down. It was still the best-friend-style loungewear that Wu Qianqian had given her a few years ago, covered in Mickey Mouse patterns. She felt a bit embarrassed and went back to her room to change into a set of sportswear before coming out.

Xie Zhifei took off her coat, ate a cherry tomato, and looked puzzled when she saw Wen Pinghan come out changed. “Sis, why did you change? It was so cute.”

Hmph, she just didn’t want to be called cute!

“Last time, Fang Ningshu said you went out for private entertainment with Li Hongyan?” Wen Pinghan sat down across from her and casually picked up a cherry tomato to eat as well.

“Yeah.” Xie Zhifei leaned forward a bit, getting closer, and smiled smugly. “I wanted to learn from their overseas company’s experience, so I thought I’d send a few people to his company to learn.”

“Will he agree?”

“That’s why I’m still negotiating.”

Wen Pinghan nodded.

Knock knock knock—

“Hm? Who’s that?” Xie Zhifei looked puzzled toward the front door. “Delivery?”

“No, it’s Lin Zhimin and the others arriving.” Wen Pinghan got up to open the door. Suddenly, she heard footsteps rushing behind her. When she turned back, she saw Xie Zhifei had already run into her bedroom and closed the door.

“Han Sis, are you home?” Lin Zhimin called from outside the door.

“Yes, coming right now.” Wen Pinghan opened the door, saw that both of them had arrived, welcomed them in, and handed them two pairs of slippers.

“Huh, these shoes are so pretty. How come I’ve never seen you wear them?” Lin Zhimin said, pointing to a pair of high heels nearby while changing her shoes.

“Um… who wears high heels at the office? I only wear them when going out,” Wen Pinghan said.

“That’s true. Oh, right, we brought you coffee.” Lin Zhimin cheerfully handed the coffee to her. The other colleague was coming for the first time, so Lin Zhimin enthusiastically led her further in. “Come on, don’t be nervous. Make yourself at home—look around as you like. The rent here is so expensive. Although Han Sis rents a one-bedroom with a living room, the bedroom is huge… Huh, Han Sis, why is your bedroom door closed? Can you let Jiajia take a look for reference? She’s thinking of changing apartments lately.”

Wen Pinghan hurriedly stood in the doorway to block them and smiled awkwardly. “…It’s too messy inside. Wait until I tidy it up, then you can visit. For now, let’s get to business.”

“Yes, let’s talk business.” The other colleague said as well.

“Sure thing.” Lin Zhimin plopped down on the sofa and spotted the coat draped over the armchair. She picked it up excitedly and looked at it. “Wow, I’ve been eyeing this jacket for so long, but it’s just too expensive—I could never bring myself to buy it. Han Sis, you’re too generous!”

Wen Pinghan looked at the coat and explained stiffly, “I wear it occasionally when meeting big clients outside.”

“That’s awesome. I want to make big money like you too, so I can buy whatever I want!” Lin Zhimin suddenly felt fired up with ambition.

In the bedroom, Xie Zhifei lay at the door and eavesdropped for a while. Once she heard them start discussing business, she carefully took a step out. She thought for a moment, then took off her shoes and tiptoed a few steps, trying not to make any noise.

Besides the bed and vanity in the bedroom, there was also a bookshelf with quite a variety of books—English textbooks, literary works, social sciences, and professional ones. On top, there was a graduation photo. No one knew what had happened during the shoot, but the expression on it was one of deep bitterness and resentment.

She reached out and touched the person in the photo, as if trying to smooth out those tightly furrowed brows.

But upon closer look, Sis looked so pretty even when she wasn’t smiling!

By the time Lin Zhimin and the other left, it was almost five o’clock. After saying goodbye to them, Wen Pinghan closed the front door and quickly headed to the bedroom. When she pushed the door open, she saw Xie Zhifei already lying on the bed asleep.

Wen Pinghan walked in quietly and stared at the other’s sleeping posture for a long moment. She smiled silently, then lay down beside her as well. Carefully, she reached out, wanting to brush aside the hair that had fallen on her cheek.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, Xie Zhifei woke up in a daze and met Wen Pinghan’s eyes.

“How long have you been asleep?” Wen Pinghan still smoothed her hair back.

Xie Zhifei struggled to lift her hand to check the time and said in surprise, “More than two hours!”

“That’s quite a while. Is your head dizzy?”

“I don’t know.” Xie Zhifei sat up, shook her head, and then flopped back down onto the bed. “It feels a bit groggy. I don’t want to get up. I want to keep sleeping.”

“Take it easy first. Don’t sleep anymore.”

“But I’m still sleepy,” Xie Zhifei said in a hazy tone.

“Then I’ll keep you company and chat?”

“Okay.”

“What should we talk about?”

“Whatever you want.”

After a long silence, Wen Pinghan still didn’t know what to say. She smiled and asked, “Is there anything you want to know?”

“Yes.” Xie Zhifei rolled over and scooted right up to her face. She mumbled, “Does Lin Zhimin come over to your place to hang out often?”

“A few times, I guess.”

Xie Zhifei pursed her lips, turned her back to her, and fell silent.

“What’s wrong?” Wen Pinghan rubbed the back of her head.

“I really envy her. She’s so outgoing and enthusiastic. She comes to your place like it’s her own home~ You’re not the only one who’s so reserved, right?”

As soon as the words were out, Wen Pinghan pulled her hand back.

Xie Zhifei heard the sound of her getting off the bed, turned back to look at her, and blinked. “Sis, are you mad?”

Wen Pinghan opened the drawer, took something out from inside, and tossed it over.

She caught it and looked closely—it was a key!

Xie Zhifei instantly felt no dizziness or sighs left. She held up the key with a squinty-eyed smile and asked, “Is this for me?!”

“It’s a spare. Keep it at your place. In case I lose my key someday, I can ask you for it,” Wen Pinghan said.

“No problem!” Xie Zhifei happily kissed the key and threw her arms around the person standing by the bed. She said contentedly, “Sis is the best!”