Chapter 14
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Chapter 14: In the life of Mao Huizhu...
Mao Huizhu returned to her work in good spirits, even though when she stepped through the door there would endless problems waiting for her. To be honest, this year has been a busy one.But today she was happy about Zhengqing, though there had been a brand name wearing attractive younger lady declaring war to her, Zhengqing behaved in a manner that was respectful to her. Even though he did not choose her in the end, she knew he respected her and that was good for her and she knew she had made the right decision.As she entered her office, Wu Fei came up to her, ‘Zoe jie, you’re back.’‘How is it going?’ she asked.Wu Fei was the general Manager, Cui Yingwei’s (Zuben: Another bloody Y name) great personal assistant. His work brought him into contact with her a lot and he sometimes came to her for guidance. Though he was not her direct subordinate, but it sometimes was like he was.He quickly reported on the current status to her. He also told her that Cui Yingwei was on his way, he had to meet someone at the airport, so she must read the report first.‘Why is he anxious?’ she asked, she was extremely dissatisfied. The HQ’s surprise inspection does not require manipulation or exaggeration. The work is fine, they have not done anything that they needed to hide, they had nothing to fear (Zuben: How sure are you about that?)‘Does Zoe jie have time to look through the report first?’‘Send it through,’ Huizhu entered her office. He told her he’d sent the documents to her email. He also printed out the report for her and handed it to her.‘These are the work Peter was asked to do first, there was something else I was doing first.’‘Very well,’Wu Fei went back to his work.Huizhu called her own subordinates to confirm the situation on her side of things, after she began to look at Wu Fei’s reports.The reports Wu Fei was dealing with, she mostly knew about, but there were a few projects she was not familiar with. She was unfamiliar with the content and unclear about the details. These were projects Cui Yingwei was responsible for. They had a clear division of labour between them. (Zuben: Why can’t we hear about this in a summary later on?)There were several reports that she looked through quickly everything was fine except one; the data was a little strange. She was running a similar project and the data was not the same. But she thought the issue was not big, she read through the reports again. There was some connection. She called for Wu Fei to bring the related materials.She looked through them and discovered the discrepancies.She called Wi Fei again,‘There is something off in these three documents, but it has you and Peter’s signatures on it.’Wu Fei looked like he was thinking carefully, ‘He was especially busy, so he allowed me to sign the documents.’‘And Molly?’ Huizhu asked. Molly was Cui Yingwei’s other assistant, more than Wu Fei, Molly should have looked through and signed this.Wu Fei was puzzled, but wanted to speak for himself, ‘Peter wanted to give me the opportunity for more responsibility, so he allowed me to do this. I completed it.’Huizhu nodded. Wu Fei was about to leave but then the turned back and asked, ‘Zoe jie, what is the problem here?’Huizhu thought for a moment, then shook her head. He left.Huizhu read through the documents again then made a decision. She could not help but fish for her cigarettes. She lit it up and took a long drag, then blew the smoke back out. The smoke wafted up into the air obscuring her vision.As she finished her smoke, Yingwei returned. She heard him call for Wu Fei to get him a file. Huizhu crushed her cigarette butt in the ashtray. She grabbed the documents in question and left her office. She intercepted Wu Fei, taking the requested file from him, ‘I will take this to him, you are very busy,’Wu Fe thanked her. He seemed to be aware something was not quite right. He watched Huizhu head to Yingwei’s office.Huizhu entered Yingwei’s office without alerting him, and placed the documents on his desk. He looked up and his expression changed to surprise when he found her there. She did not wait for him to speak before she took a seat.He looked at the documents, then at her, ‘Zoe. Are your team’s reports done?’‘Almost,’‘Very good, when I am going to the airport to meet the investigators, we will go together.’Huizhu did not want to beat around the bush; she asked him directly, ‘What are your plans with this? The investigators will certainly scrutinise this,’ she asked referring to the documents.There was a flash of surprise and panic in his expression, but he quickly got himself back together, ‘What? What did you find?’ he said in feigned confusion.Huizhu looked at him directly for a while before she smiled and said, ‘Everything is fine,’Cui YIngwei also laughed, ‘Zoe, you have always been very smart. You said before you wanted to return to domestic development? I will give you the position to prove my vision is good. You have done the right thing.’Huizhu nodded and rose from her seat, ‘I will return to my office. Call me when you’re ready to leave for the airport.’Yingwei nodded and watched closely as Huizhu left his office. He followed and watched her return to her office.Huizhu sat thinking for a while before picking up her phone and text Wu Fei. She informed him that the figures on those documents were wrong, and may be an indication of fraud and a violation of regulations (Zuben: China has regulations?). Since he signed the contract and documents, he needed to gather all related emails, materials and evidence, just in case he was discredited.Wu Fei saw the text, and paled. He did not dare look at Huizhu’s or Yingwei’s offices. He stared at his mobile phone wondering what to do. He remembered the documents that Huizhu had been looking at. He replied; they were mostly verbal instructions. I will check.Huizhu read the text and lit another cigarette. She had guessed so. He would be cautious and not leave behind anything that could be directly traced back to his office. The board was certainly aware of something going on, why else would there be a surprise inspection. If she pretends not to know what was going on, she would not have the slightest trouble. (Zuben: Are you sure about that?)But did she really want to pretend not to know?As she smoked, she looked at Wu Fei’s desk. It sat between her and Cui Yingwei’s offices. She could see him diligently working through the glass. He was only twenty-six, hard-working, earnest, polite and modest. The kind of person she appreciated. There were not many people like him, who graduated from a good university and had a good family, who were still willing to work hard. Most of them just liked to boast.She text Wu Fei again: Find out the costings, whether other projects are involved, background information about the companies, email correspondence etc. She had always taught Wu Fei, to always do background checks on companies they did business with. Huizhu guessed that all the pre-contract cautionary measures would not have been taken because Cui Yingwei arranged things.Wu Fei was quick to reply: Yes.Huizhu did not manage Wu Fei after that. Before she left for the airport with Yingwei, she told him, ‘If anything comes up, make sure you call me,’Collecting the auditors was very smooth. Yingwei behaved like he had no care in the world. He laughed and chatted merrily with the auditors and coordinated well with Huizhu. If Yingwei doesn’t know why they are here, she didn’t know why they were here. From the auditors' point of view, HQ truly believed something was going on. They asked to be at the offices at 9AM, and requested Yingwei give them the preliminary reports that evening.Yingwei readily agreed, Huizhu maintained her composure.The auditor did not want them to have time to adjust the reports. She knew, tomorrow was key.After they ate, and got the auditors settled in their hotel, Yingwei and Huizhu returned to the company together,‘Zoe. I have been in this company for twenty years, to get to where I am now. The company trusts me. I have lovingly led subordinates how are loyal to the company. If you coordinate well with me, naturally, you will have boundless prospects in this company. The headquarters also highly regard your ability, perhaps, when I retire, my position would be yours.’Huizhi smiled in reply and thanked him.Huizhu did not return to her office, but got into her car and went directly home. On the way, she called Wu Fei, ‘Peter returned. He asked me about a few things and to get everyone to be at the office at 9AM tomorrow and then left,’‘Oh,’ then she said, ‘With everything you can find come to my house. We would look everything over and come up with a plan of action. Tomorrow will be very important.’When she got home, she poured herself a glass of wine and gave her old boss in the US a call,‘Zoe! To what do I owe the pleasure?’She took a sip of wine and told him what was happening.Jan was very surprised, ‘What do you plan to do?’‘Jan, what do you think I should do if I lose all I have presently?’Jan did not speak for a long time then said, ‘ You know, I will support any decision you make. When you said you were returning home, although I could not bear it, I did not argue and let you go. You always know what you want to do. Though now you are back in that environment, can you say you have no regrets?’‘Yes,’‘So do what you think you must. Although, it has nothing to do with you and you won’t lose anything,’Huizhu was silent this time, then she said, ‘Jan, you know that I am diligent. My kind of diligence doesn’t allow me to help an evildoer commit crimes. I will certainly lose something; that is my conscience.’‘But, you cannot go back from that, Zoe’ Jan said.Huizhu knew as well, that there was no escape route. ‘I know,’ she replied‘Good luck,’ Jan said.(Zuben: Typical useless white person in an Asian book/drama. Honestly, what a waste of time conversation. It’s like a robot sounding board.)Later that evening, Wu Fei arrived and he and Huizhu went through the contenscious documents again. They tried to predict how the auditor might find the discrepancies, Yingwei’s response, how Wu Fei might be affected.‘You have little experience, not many qualifications and little to fear. It can’t be proven that you got any benefits from these arrangements, that is what he is counting on. His best excuse would be that he was too trusting of you, therefore did not pay attention, he has given you an opportunity but you have misused it. He will say he will bear responsibility as your boss. Despite you as a fall guy, he will be hoping it is not discovered because a criminal investigation may be launched, which eventually implicate him. So he will ask that you’re not reported to the authorities, it will be detrimental to the company’s reputation and so on…’Wu Fei was very anxious, but he bore it well and nodded.‘His personal accounts would have already been cleaned of evidence, so I believe the worst case scenario is that you will be fired.’Anger burned in Wu Fei’s heart. It was so unfair. This had been a very good job, of course, he did not want to kick the black pot, their field was a small one; most people knew each other, if he was fired because of this, how would he find a good job later?‘But, he can’t prove he is completely ignorant of this matter,’ she said to Wu Fei. If Cui was questioned directly, it would be difficult for him to claim ignorance. ‘I have a lawyer friend,’ Huizhu continued as she handed her friend#s business card to Wu Fei, ‘call him and he will help you deal with this matter. Tomorrow speak to Peter(Yingwei), tell him you’re aware of the situation and you have a lawyer,’Wu Fei gratefully took the business card, ‘But he will know someone in the company is behind me,’‘He will know that it is I. Once this matter is exposed, I will know whether he will open his eyes to talk nonsense and throw dirty water about,’Wu Fei could only say a heartfelt, ‘Thanks,’Later that evening, Huizhu could not sleep. She did not know if she would regret her actions, but she hoped things did not turn out too badly. She picked up her phone intending to call Zhengqing, but she looked at the time and saw it was late. So she decided not to bother him.Zhengqing had not gone to bed. He just finished bathing, and was checking his emails, no new mails. Zhengqin was very confused. The next day, many people were suffering.Zhengqing arrived at Yongkai, and saw Yufei was on time to work. The sun must be rising in the west. She had a lot of make-up on, but all that bright make-up did not help her dark expression. Zhengqing decided it was not his concern, as long as she did her work properly, he did not care.It really did seem as though Yufei had eaten the wrong medicine, for she was going all out and working earnestly, Zhengqing was quite puzzled.Later, Yingjie called Zhengqing and asked about Yufei. They were in a cold war, quarrelling. Yingjie decided to ask Zhengqing for help.Zhengqing got a headache, he did not have any interest in dealing with other people’s personal matters, and certainly had no skill in dealing with this kind of mother-in-law emotional issues. This is why he thought he did not need love, as long as he got along well with his partner, the marriage would be good. Yet, he didn’t know how he was going to let Yingjie down, but he suddenly had a brainwave, ‘Why don’t you ask Xiaoting, she is friends with Yufei, perhaps she knows how to coax her,’‘Yes, I will call Xiaotime. She is an angel, she will know what to do.’ Yingjie apologised for troubling him and rang off.Xiaoting is an angel? Zhengqing put his phone away, then thought of Yin Ting saying Yingjie was like a prince on a white horse.Do these people appreciate each other? Really should not.He had a lot of emails, but none from Yin Ting. He was really curious about what that girl wanted to send him.At lunch time, he was eating when Huizhu called him, she sounded tired.There was an audit meeting, and there had been trouble. She had been prepared for it but there was going to be fall out. She knew no matter what the outcome was, she was not afraid.She seemed very tired, but she wanted to talk to someone.She did not have much time, but Zhengqing understood that her work had many twists and turns, though she was obstinate and argumentative, she was really anxious.Zhengqing was listening to her as he looked at his mail. There was a mail from Tingting Yuli 413. Zhengqing jumped, but he could not give it his attention because he was still speaking to Huizhu.‘Do you know why the moon has phases?’ Zhengqing asked Huizhu when she finished speaking,‘Beacause humans are always parting and meeting?’ she asked backZhengqing smiled, that would be the original answer,‘Or should I give the scientific answer?’Zhengqing laughed,Huizhu also laughed. Zhengqing was helping her feel relaxed.‘Because change is beautiful, don’t be afraid of change.’ Zhengqing replied, ‘This is what a child told me yesterday,’Huizhu laughed, ‘Thank you,’ she said.Change was also beautiful. (Zuben: If the change was from mansion to hovel, is it still beautiful…?) Zuben: This chapter currently owns the title of most boring chapter in Please Be More Serious. If I were reading and not translating, this chapter would have been skipped once I read the first paragraph. Actually, I would be surprised if anyone makes it to this point to read my complaints.Foreigners in Asian dramas are my pet peeve, I never understand what they are going for when they shoehorn a foreigner, it is so cringe! Nothing they are ever told to say makes any sense; it is usually this weird generic collection of words that make little sense in context. They are even worse that the ‘black best friend’ go-gurling her heroine.
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Chapter 14: In the life of Mao Huizhu...
Mao Huizhu returned to her work in good spirits, even though when she stepped through the door there would endless problems waiting for her. To be honest, this year has been a busy one.But today she was happy about Zhengqing, though there had been a brand name wearing attractive younger lady declaring war to her, Zhengqing behaved in a manner that was respectful to her. Even though he did not choose her in the end, she knew he respected her and that was good for her and she knew she had made the right decision.As she entered her office, Wu Fei came up to her, ‘Zoe jie, you’re back.’‘How is it going?’ she asked.Wu Fei was the general Manager, Cui Yingwei’s (Zuben: Another bloody Y name) great personal assistant. His work brought him into contact with her a lot and he sometimes came to her for guidance. Though he was not her direct subordinate, but it sometimes was like he was.He quickly reported on the current status to her. He also told her that Cui Yingwei was on his way, he had to meet someone at the airport, so she must read the report first.‘Why is he anxious?’ she asked, she was extremely dissatisfied. The HQ’s surprise inspection does not require manipulation or exaggeration. The work is fine, they have not done anything that they needed to hide, they had nothing to fear (Zuben: How sure are you about that?)‘Does Zoe jie have time to look through the report first?’‘Send it through,’ Huizhu entered her office. He told her he’d sent the documents to her email. He also printed out the report for her and handed it to her.‘These are the work Peter was asked to do first, there was something else I was doing first.’‘Very well,’Wu Fei went back to his work.Huizhu called her own subordinates to confirm the situation on her side of things, after she began to look at Wu Fei’s reports.The reports Wu Fei was dealing with, she mostly knew about, but there were a few projects she was not familiar with. She was unfamiliar with the content and unclear about the details. These were projects Cui Yingwei was responsible for. They had a clear division of labour between them. (Zuben: Why can’t we hear about this in a summary later on?)There were several reports that she looked through quickly everything was fine except one; the data was a little strange. She was running a similar project and the data was not the same. But she thought the issue was not big, she read through the reports again. There was some connection. She called for Wu Fei to bring the related materials.She looked through them and discovered the discrepancies.She called Wi Fei again,‘There is something off in these three documents, but it has you and Peter’s signatures on it.’Wu Fei looked like he was thinking carefully, ‘He was especially busy, so he allowed me to sign the documents.’‘And Molly?’ Huizhu asked. Molly was Cui Yingwei’s other assistant, more than Wu Fei, Molly should have looked through and signed this.Wu Fei was puzzled, but wanted to speak for himself, ‘Peter wanted to give me the opportunity for more responsibility, so he allowed me to do this. I completed it.’Huizhu nodded. Wu Fei was about to leave but then the turned back and asked, ‘Zoe jie, what is the problem here?’Huizhu thought for a moment, then shook her head. He left.Huizhu read through the documents again then made a decision. She could not help but fish for her cigarettes. She lit it up and took a long drag, then blew the smoke back out. The smoke wafted up into the air obscuring her vision.As she finished her smoke, Yingwei returned. She heard him call for Wu Fei to get him a file. Huizhu crushed her cigarette butt in the ashtray. She grabbed the documents in question and left her office. She intercepted Wu Fei, taking the requested file from him, ‘I will take this to him, you are very busy,’Wu Fe thanked her. He seemed to be aware something was not quite right. He watched Huizhu head to Yingwei’s office.Huizhu entered Yingwei’s office without alerting him, and placed the documents on his desk. He looked up and his expression changed to surprise when he found her there. She did not wait for him to speak before she took a seat.He looked at the documents, then at her, ‘Zoe. Are your team’s reports done?’‘Almost,’‘Very good, when I am going to the airport to meet the investigators, we will go together.’Huizhu did not want to beat around the bush; she asked him directly, ‘What are your plans with this? The investigators will certainly scrutinise this,’ she asked referring to the documents.There was a flash of surprise and panic in his expression, but he quickly got himself back together, ‘What? What did you find?’ he said in feigned confusion.Huizhu looked at him directly for a while before she smiled and said, ‘Everything is fine,’Cui YIngwei also laughed, ‘Zoe, you have always been very smart. You said before you wanted to return to domestic development? I will give you the position to prove my vision is good. You have done the right thing.’Huizhu nodded and rose from her seat, ‘I will return to my office. Call me when you’re ready to leave for the airport.’Yingwei nodded and watched closely as Huizhu left his office. He followed and watched her return to her office.Huizhu sat thinking for a while before picking up her phone and text Wu Fei. She informed him that the figures on those documents were wrong, and may be an indication of fraud and a violation of regulations (Zuben: China has regulations?). Since he signed the contract and documents, he needed to gather all related emails, materials and evidence, just in case he was discredited.Wu Fei saw the text, and paled. He did not dare look at Huizhu’s or Yingwei’s offices. He stared at his mobile phone wondering what to do. He remembered the documents that Huizhu had been looking at. He replied; they were mostly verbal instructions. I will check.Huizhu read the text and lit another cigarette. She had guessed so. He would be cautious and not leave behind anything that could be directly traced back to his office. The board was certainly aware of something going on, why else would there be a surprise inspection. If she pretends not to know what was going on, she would not have the slightest trouble. (Zuben: Are you sure about that?)But did she really want to pretend not to know?As she smoked, she looked at Wu Fei’s desk. It sat between her and Cui Yingwei’s offices. She could see him diligently working through the glass. He was only twenty-six, hard-working, earnest, polite and modest. The kind of person she appreciated. There were not many people like him, who graduated from a good university and had a good family, who were still willing to work hard. Most of them just liked to boast.She text Wu Fei again: Find out the costings, whether other projects are involved, background information about the companies, email correspondence etc. She had always taught Wu Fei, to always do background checks on companies they did business with. Huizhu guessed that all the pre-contract cautionary measures would not have been taken because Cui Yingwei arranged things.Wu Fei was quick to reply: Yes.Huizhu did not manage Wu Fei after that. Before she left for the airport with Yingwei, she told him, ‘If anything comes up, make sure you call me,’Collecting the auditors was very smooth. Yingwei behaved like he had no care in the world. He laughed and chatted merrily with the auditors and coordinated well with Huizhu. If Yingwei doesn’t know why they are here, she didn’t know why they were here. From the auditors' point of view, HQ truly believed something was going on. They asked to be at the offices at 9AM, and requested Yingwei give them the preliminary reports that evening.Yingwei readily agreed, Huizhu maintained her composure.The auditor did not want them to have time to adjust the reports. She knew, tomorrow was key.After they ate, and got the auditors settled in their hotel, Yingwei and Huizhu returned to the company together,‘Zoe. I have been in this company for twenty years, to get to where I am now. The company trusts me. I have lovingly led subordinates how are loyal to the company. If you coordinate well with me, naturally, you will have boundless prospects in this company. The headquarters also highly regard your ability, perhaps, when I retire, my position would be yours.’Huizhi smiled in reply and thanked him.Huizhu did not return to her office, but got into her car and went directly home. On the way, she called Wu Fei, ‘Peter returned. He asked me about a few things and to get everyone to be at the office at 9AM tomorrow and then left,’‘Oh,’ then she said, ‘With everything you can find come to my house. We would look everything over and come up with a plan of action. Tomorrow will be very important.’When she got home, she poured herself a glass of wine and gave her old boss in the US a call,‘Zoe! To what do I owe the pleasure?’She took a sip of wine and told him what was happening.Jan was very surprised, ‘What do you plan to do?’‘Jan, what do you think I should do if I lose all I have presently?’Jan did not speak for a long time then said, ‘ You know, I will support any decision you make. When you said you were returning home, although I could not bear it, I did not argue and let you go. You always know what you want to do. Though now you are back in that environment, can you say you have no regrets?’‘Yes,’‘So do what you think you must. Although, it has nothing to do with you and you won’t lose anything,’Huizhu was silent this time, then she said, ‘Jan, you know that I am diligent. My kind of diligence doesn’t allow me to help an evildoer commit crimes. I will certainly lose something; that is my conscience.’‘But, you cannot go back from that, Zoe’ Jan said.Huizhu knew as well, that there was no escape route. ‘I know,’ she replied‘Good luck,’ Jan said.(Zuben: Typical useless white person in an Asian book/drama. Honestly, what a waste of time conversation. It’s like a robot sounding board.)Later that evening, Wu Fei arrived and he and Huizhu went through the contenscious documents again. They tried to predict how the auditor might find the discrepancies, Yingwei’s response, how Wu Fei might be affected.‘You have little experience, not many qualifications and little to fear. It can’t be proven that you got any benefits from these arrangements, that is what he is counting on. His best excuse would be that he was too trusting of you, therefore did not pay attention, he has given you an opportunity but you have misused it. He will say he will bear responsibility as your boss. Despite you as a fall guy, he will be hoping it is not discovered because a criminal investigation may be launched, which eventually implicate him. So he will ask that you’re not reported to the authorities, it will be detrimental to the company’s reputation and so on…’Wu Fei was very anxious, but he bore it well and nodded.‘His personal accounts would have already been cleaned of evidence, so I believe the worst case scenario is that you will be fired.’Anger burned in Wu Fei’s heart. It was so unfair. This had been a very good job, of course, he did not want to kick the black pot, their field was a small one; most people knew each other, if he was fired because of this, how would he find a good job later?‘But, he can’t prove he is completely ignorant of this matter,’ she said to Wu Fei. If Cui was questioned directly, it would be difficult for him to claim ignorance. ‘I have a lawyer friend,’ Huizhu continued as she handed her friend#s business card to Wu Fei, ‘call him and he will help you deal with this matter. Tomorrow speak to Peter(Yingwei), tell him you’re aware of the situation and you have a lawyer,’Wu Fei gratefully took the business card, ‘But he will know someone in the company is behind me,’‘He will know that it is I. Once this matter is exposed, I will know whether he will open his eyes to talk nonsense and throw dirty water about,’Wu Fei could only say a heartfelt, ‘Thanks,’Later that evening, Huizhu could not sleep. She did not know if she would regret her actions, but she hoped things did not turn out too badly. She picked up her phone intending to call Zhengqing, but she looked at the time and saw it was late. So she decided not to bother him.Zhengqing had not gone to bed. He just finished bathing, and was checking his emails, no new mails. Zhengqin was very confused. The next day, many people were suffering.Zhengqing arrived at Yongkai, and saw Yufei was on time to work. The sun must be rising in the west. She had a lot of make-up on, but all that bright make-up did not help her dark expression. Zhengqing decided it was not his concern, as long as she did her work properly, he did not care.It really did seem as though Yufei had eaten the wrong medicine, for she was going all out and working earnestly, Zhengqing was quite puzzled.Later, Yingjie called Zhengqing and asked about Yufei. They were in a cold war, quarrelling. Yingjie decided to ask Zhengqing for help.Zhengqing got a headache, he did not have any interest in dealing with other people’s personal matters, and certainly had no skill in dealing with this kind of mother-in-law emotional issues. This is why he thought he did not need love, as long as he got along well with his partner, the marriage would be good. Yet, he didn’t know how he was going to let Yingjie down, but he suddenly had a brainwave, ‘Why don’t you ask Xiaoting, she is friends with Yufei, perhaps she knows how to coax her,’‘Yes, I will call Xiaotime. She is an angel, she will know what to do.’ Yingjie apologised for troubling him and rang off.Xiaoting is an angel? Zhengqing put his phone away, then thought of Yin Ting saying Yingjie was like a prince on a white horse.Do these people appreciate each other? Really should not.He had a lot of emails, but none from Yin Ting. He was really curious about what that girl wanted to send him.At lunch time, he was eating when Huizhu called him, she sounded tired.There was an audit meeting, and there had been trouble. She had been prepared for it but there was going to be fall out. She knew no matter what the outcome was, she was not afraid.She seemed very tired, but she wanted to talk to someone.She did not have much time, but Zhengqing understood that her work had many twists and turns, though she was obstinate and argumentative, she was really anxious.Zhengqing was listening to her as he looked at his mail. There was a mail from Tingting Yuli 413. Zhengqing jumped, but he could not give it his attention because he was still speaking to Huizhu.‘Do you know why the moon has phases?’ Zhengqing asked Huizhu when she finished speaking,‘Beacause humans are always parting and meeting?’ she asked backZhengqing smiled, that would be the original answer,‘Or should I give the scientific answer?’Zhengqing laughed,Huizhu also laughed. Zhengqing was helping her feel relaxed.‘Because change is beautiful, don’t be afraid of change.’ Zhengqing replied, ‘This is what a child told me yesterday,’Huizhu laughed, ‘Thank you,’ she said.Change was also beautiful. (Zuben: If the change was from mansion to hovel, is it still beautiful…?) Zuben: This chapter currently owns the title of most boring chapter in Please Be More Serious. If I were reading and not translating, this chapter would have been skipped once I read the first paragraph. Actually, I would be surprised if anyone makes it to this point to read my complaints.Foreigners in Asian dramas are my pet peeve, I never understand what they are going for when they shoehorn a foreigner, it is so cringe! Nothing they are ever told to say makes any sense; it is usually this weird generic collection of words that make little sense in context. They are even worse that the ‘black best friend’ go-gurling her heroine.
Chapter 14: In the life of Mao Huizhu...Mao Huizhu returned to her work in good spirits, even though when she stepped through the door there would endless problems waiting for her. To be honest, this year has been a busy one.But today she was happy about Zhengqing, though there had been a brand name wearing attractive younger lady declaring war to her, Zhengqing behaved in a manner that was respectful to her. Even though he did not choose her in the end, she knew he respected her and that was good for her and she knew she had made the right decision.As she entered her office, Wu Fei came up to her, Zoe jie, you're back.'How is it going?' she asked.Wu Fei was the general Manager, Cui Yingwei's Zuben: Another bloody Y name great personal assistant. His work brought him into contact with her a lot and he sometimes came to her for guidance. Though he was not her direct subordinate, but it sometimes was like he was.He quickly reported on the current status to her. He also told her that Cui Yingwei was on his way, he had to meet someone at the airport, so she must read the report first.Why is he anxious?' she asked, she was extremely dissatisfied. The HQ's surprise inspection does not require manipulation or exaggeration. The work is fine, they have not done anything that they needed to hide, they had nothing to fear Zuben: How sure are you about that?Does Zoe jie have time to look through the report first?'Send it through,' Huizhu entered her office. He told her he'd sent the documents to her email. He also printed out the report for her and handed it to her.These are the work Peter was asked to do first, there was something else I was doing first.'Very well,'Wu Fei went back to his work.Huizhu called her own subordinates to confirm the situation on her side of things, after she began to look at Wu Fei's reports.The reports Wu Fei was dealing with, she mostly knew about, but there were a few projects she was not familiar with. She was unfamiliar with the content and unclear about the details. These were projects Cui Yingwei was responsible for. They had a clear division of labour between them. Zuben: Why can't we hear about this in a summary later on?There were several reports that she looked through quickly everything was fine except one; the data was a little strange. She was running a similar project and the data was not the same. But she thought the issue was not big, she read through the reports again. There was some connection. She called for Wu Fei to bring the related materials.She looked through them and discovered the discrepancies.She called Wi Fei again,There is something off in these three documents, but it has you and Peter's signatures on it.'Wu Fei looked like he was thinking carefully, He was especially busy, so he allowed me to sign the documents.'And Molly?' Huizhu asked. Molly was Cui Yingwei's other assistant, more than Wu Fei, Molly should have looked through and signed this.Wu Fei was puzzled, but wanted to speak for himself, Peter wanted to give me the opportunity for more responsibility, so he allowed me to do this. I completed it.'Huizhu nodded. Wu Fei was about to leave but then the turned back and asked, Zoe jie, what is the problem here?'Huizhu thought for a moment, then shook her head. He left.Huizhu read through the documents again then made a decision. She could not help but fish for her cigarettes. She lit it up and took a long drag, then blew the smoke back out. The smoke wafted up into the air obscuring her vision.As she finished her smoke, Yingwei returned. She heard him call for Wu Fei to get him a file. Huizhu crushed her cigarette butt in the ashtray. She grabbed the documents in question and left her office. She intercepted Wu Fei, taking the requested file from him, I will take this to him, you are very busy,'Wu Fe thanked her. He seemed to be aware something was not quite right. He watched Huizhu head to Yingwei's office.Huizhu entered Yingwei's office without alerting him, and placed the documents on his desk. He looked up and his expression changed to surprise when he found her there. She did not wait for him to speak before she took a seat.He looked at the documents, then at her, Zoe. Are your team's reports done?'Almost,'Very good, when I am going to the airport to meet the investigators, we will go together.'Huizhu did not want to beat around the bush; she asked him directly, What are your plans with this? The investigators will certainly scrutinise this,' she asked referring to the documents.There was a flash of surprise and panic in his expression, but he quickly got himself back together, What? What did you find?' he said in feigned confusion.Huizhu looked at him directly for a while before she smiled and said, Everything is fine,'Cui YIngwei also laughed, Zoe, you have always been very smart. You said before you wanted to return to domestic development? I will give you the position to prove my vision is good. You have done the right thing.'Huizhu nodded and rose from her seat, I will return to my office. Call me when you're ready to leave for the airport.'Yingwei nodded and watched closely as Huizhu left his office. He followed and watched her return to her office.Huizhu sat thinking for a while before picking up her phone and text Wu Fei. She informed him that the figures on those documents were wrong, and may be an indication of fraud and a violation of regulations Zuben: China has regulations?. Since he signed the contract and documents, he needed to gather all related emails, materials and evidence, just in case he was discredited.Wu Fei saw the text, and paled. He did not dare look at Huizhu's or Yingwei's offices. He stared at his mobile phone wondering what to do. He remembered the documents that Huizhu had been looking at. He replied; they were mostly verbal instructions. I will check.Huizhu read the text and lit another cigarette. She had guessed so. He would be cautious and not leave behind anything that could be directly traced back to his office. The board was certainly aware of something going on, why else would there be a surprise inspection. If she pretends not to know what was going on, she would not have the slightest trouble. Zuben: Are you sure about that?But did she really want to pretend not to know?As she smoked, she looked at Wu Fei's desk. It sat between her and Cui Yingwei's offices. She could see him diligently working through the glass. He was only twenty-six, hard-working, earnest, polite and modest. The kind of person she appreciated. There were not many people like him, who graduated from a good university and had a good family, who were still willing to work hard. Most of them just liked to boast.She text Wu Fei again: Find out the costings, whether other projects are involved, background information about the companies, email correspondence etc. She had always taught Wu Fei, to always do background checks on companies they did business with. Huizhu guessed that all the pre-contract cautionary measures would not have been taken because Cui Yingwei arranged things.Wu Fei was quick to reply: Yes.Huizhu did not manage Wu Fei after that. Before she left for the airport with Yingwei, she told him, If anything comes up, make sure you call me,'Collecting the auditors was very smooth. Yingwei behaved like he had no care in the world. He laughed and chatted merrily with the auditors and coordinated well with Huizhu. If Yingwei doesn't know why they are here, she didn't know why they were here. From the auditors' point of view, HQ truly believed something was going on. They asked to be at the offices at 9AM, and requested Yingwei give them the preliminary reports that evening.Yingwei readily agreed, Huizhu maintained her composure.The auditor did not want them to have time to adjust the reports. She knew, tomorrow was key.After they ate, and got the auditors settled in their hotel, Yingwei and Huizhu returned to the company together,Zoe. I have been in this company for twenty years, to get to where I am now. The company trusts me. I have lovingly led subordinates how are loyal to the company. If you coordinate well with me, naturally, you will have boundless prospects in this company. The headquarters also highly regard your ability, perhaps, when I retire, my position would be yours.'Huizhi smiled in reply and thanked him.Huizhu did not return to her office, but got into her car and went directly home. On the way, she called Wu Fei, Peter returned. He asked me about a few things and to get everyone to be at the office at 9AM tomorrow and then left,'Oh,' then she said, With everything you can find come to my house. We would look everything over and come up with a plan of action. Tomorrow will be very important.'When she got home, she poured herself a glass of wine and gave her old boss in the US a call,Zoe! To what do I owe the pleasure?'She took a sip of wine and told him what was happening.Jan was very surprised, What do you plan to do?'Jan, what do you think I should do if I lose all I have presently?'Jan did not speak for a long time then said, You know, I will support any decision you make. When you said you were returning home, although I could not bear it, I did not argue and let you go. You always know what you want to do. Though now you are back in that environment, can you say you have no regrets?'Yes,'So do what you think you must. Although, it has nothing to do with you and you won't lose anything,'Huizhu was silent this time, then she said, Jan, you know that I am diligent. My kind of diligence doesn't allow me to help an evildoer commit crimes. I will certainly lose something; that is my conscience.'But, you cannot go back from that, Zoe' Jan said.Huizhu knew as well, that there was no escape route.I know,' she repliedGood luck,' Jan said.Zuben: Typical useless white person in an Asian book/drama. Honestly, what a waste of time conversation. It's like a robot sounding board.Later that evening, Wu Fei arrived and he and Huizhu went through the contenscious documents again. They tried to predict how the auditor might find the discrepancies, Yingwei's response, how Wu Fei might be affected.You have little experience, not many qualifications and little to fear. It can't be proven that you got any benefits from these arrangements, that is what he is counting on. His best excuse would be that he was too trusting of you, therefore did not pay attention, he has given you an opportunity but you have misused it. He will say he will bear responsibility as your boss. Despite you as a fall guy, he will be hoping it is not discovered because a criminal investigation may be launched, which eventually implicate him. So he will ask that you're not reported to the authorities, it will be detrimental to the company's reputation and so on'Wu Fei was very anxious, but he bore it well and nodded.His personal accounts would have already been cleaned of evidence, so I believe the worst case scenario is that you will be fired.'Anger burned in Wu Fei's heart. It was so unfair. This had been a very good job, of course, he did not want to kick the black pot, their field was a small one; most people knew each other, if he was fired because of this, how would he find a good job later?But, he can't prove he is completely ignorant of this matter,' she said to Wu Fei. If Cui was questioned directly, it would be difficult for him to claim ignorance. I have a lawyer friend,' Huizhu continued as she handed her friend#s business card to Wu Fei, call him and he will help you deal with this matter. Tomorrow speak to PeterYingwei, tell him you're aware of the situation and you have a lawyer,'Wu Fei gratefully took the business card, But he will know someone in the company is behind me,'He will know that it is I. Once this matter is exposed, I will know whether he will open his eyes to talk nonsense and throw dirty water about,'Wu Fei could only say a heartfelt, Thanks,'Later that evening, Huizhu could not sleep. She did not know if she would regret her actions, but she hoped things did not turn out too badly. She picked up her phone intending to call Zhengqing, but she looked at the time and saw it was late. So she decided not to bother him.Zhengqing had not gone to bed. He just finished bathing, and was checking his emails, no new mails. Zhengqin was very confused.The next day, many people were suffering.Zhengqing arrived at Yongkai, and saw Yufei was on time to work. The sun must be rising in the west. She had a lot of make-up on, but all that bright make-up did not help her dark expression. Zhengqing decided it was not his concern, as long as she did her work properly, he did not care.It really did seem as though Yufei had eaten the wrong medicine, for she was going all out and working earnestly, Zhengqing was quite puzzled.Later, Yingjie called Zhengqing and asked about Yufei. They were in a cold war, quarrelling. Yingjie decided to ask Zhengqing for help.Zhengqing got a headache, he did not have any interest in dealing with other people's personal matters, and certainly had no skill in dealing with this kind of mother-in-law emotional issues. This is why he thought he did not need love, as long as he got along well with his partner, the marriage would be good. Yet, he didn't know how he was going to let Yingjie down, but he suddenly had a brainwave, Why don't you ask Xiaoting, she is friends with Yufei, perhaps she knows how to coax her,'Yes, I will call Xiaotime. She is an angel, she will know what to do.' Yingjie apologised for troubling him and rang off.Xiaoting is an angel? Zhengqing put his phone away, then thought of Yin Ting saying Yingjie was like a prince on a white horse.Do these people appreciate each other? Really should not.He had a lot of emails, but none from Yin Ting. He was really curious about what that girl wanted to send him.At lunch time, he was eating when Huizhu called him, she sounded tired.There was an audit meeting, and there had been trouble. She had been prepared for it but there was going to be fall out. She knew no matter what the outcome was, she was not afraid.She seemed very tired, but she wanted to talk to someone.She did not have much time, but Zhengqing understood that her work had many twists and turns, though she was obstinate and argumentative, she was really anxious.Zhengqing was listening to her as he looked at his mail. There was a mail from Tingting Yuli 413. Zhengqing jumped, but he could not give it his attention because he was still speaking to Huizhu.Do you know why the moon has phases?' Zhengqing asked Huizhu when she finished speaking,Beacause humans are always parting and meeting?' she asked backZhengqing smiled, that would be the original answer,Or should I give the scientific answer?'Zhengqing laughed,Huizhu also laughed. Zhengqing was helping her feel relaxed.Because change is beautiful, don't be afraid of change.' Zhengqing replied, This is what a child told me yesterday,'Huizhu laughed, Thank you,' she said.Change was also beautiful. Zuben: If the change was from mansion to hovel, is it still beautiful?Zuben: This chapter currently owns the title of most boring chapter in Please Be More Serious. If I were reading and not translating, this chapter would have been skipped once I read the first paragraph. Actually, I would be surprised if anyone makes it to this point to read my complaints.Foreigners in Asian dramas are my pet peeve, I never understand what they are going for when they shoehorn a foreigner, it is so cringe! Nothing they are ever told to say makes any sense; it is usually this weird generic collection of words that make little sense in context. They are even worse that the black best friend' go-gurling her heroine.
