Dating should happen after get off work.

Jiang Sheng reclined the seat back at a 45-degree angle, almost lying back on the chair, with his legs crossed and his hands clasped on his knees.

He acted as if he were the leader, and Zhao Wenxuan was the employee reporting to him.

"Speak, Xiao Zhao, what's the trouble?"

Unusually, Winston Chao didn't argue with him, and his serious expression remained unchanged.

"The client contacted me and said that a competitor company would be doing a demonstration with us on Wednesday."

"Is it really such a small matter?"

"This is a risk point, not a trivial matter." She said sternly, "It means our strategy may need to be changed, and the PowerPoint presentation will need to be reconsidered."

What was their policy again?

Jiang Sheng was unaware that Zhao Wenxuan had been handling this matter alone.

At best, he participated in the demonstration as a pre-sales technical support representative, responsible for answering customers' technical questions and showcasing the features of the company's products.

Upon closer inspection, the anxiety on Zhao Wenxuan's face didn't seem to be acting.

You can see faint dark circles under her eyes—though it's not exactly a flaw for a beauty like her—but they are definitely there.

Yesterday, Lu Sanqian was busy with work, but he spent the whole day having a great time with Zhao Wenxuan.

After letting go of her inhibitions, Zhao Wenxuan no longer held back, and Jiang Sheng was able to see her most authentic self.

When recommending anime, she talks non-stop, becoming even more talkative than usual, paying no attention to her image, and having no sense of boundaries.

In fact, Jiang Sheng enjoys the concept of "boundaries".

When she got excited, she would grab Jiang Sheng's arm and run around, or get close to him, and these were all unconscious behaviors.

They probably let their guard down around Jiang Sheng and didn't even realize he was a man.

...then,

Such a lovely person,

Why did she show that anxious expression in front of me?

"Don't worry at all," Jiang Sheng reassured him. "With me here, this project won't fail."

"Why are you always so confident?" Zhao Wenxuan pouted and glanced at him. "You're just an ordinary employee."

"Do you think you are fully capable of handling this project, or do you feel you can't?"

Jiang Sheng recited the Bible directly from memory.

This is the PUA script she recited when she first met Winston Chao.

This applies perfectly to her at this moment.

According to the "Winston Chao User Manual," she should have said "I really will kill you" at this point.

She simply glared at Jiang Sheng with dissatisfaction, sat there sullenly, and didn't say a word.

"Wenxuan Zhao, where's your spirit?!"

"Shut up! You don't understand at all!" she said. "I'm under a lot of pressure!"

Jiang Sheng got up and walked to Zhao Wenxuan.

He reached out and slammed the laptop lid shut, then plopped down on the table in front of her, reaching out to lift her chin. If she hadn't dodged quickly, she would have been bitten.

Seeing Zhao Wenxuan grinning at him, he found it cute, so he changed from lifting his chin to rubbing his head.

"Your hair is messy!"

"Tell me about it," Jiang Sheng said with a smile. "Maybe I can help."

A week ago, Jiang Sheng was more concerned about the project, since he could connect with "Zhang Li," the key figure who led him to urge Zhang Li to get married.

After talking with his grandfather over the weekend, Jiang Sheng realized that Zhang Li's influence had plummeted, and the project was no longer relevant to him.

Right now, he's simply interested in Winston Chao.

Zhao Wenxuan pouted as she tidied her hair, which Jiang Sheng had messed up, and stared into his eyes for a long time.

Ginger.

"explain."

"I'm so tired."

Jiang Sheng didn't know whether she was thinking about yesterday's romance or she was simply too tired.

But this was the first time since they met that he had seen her "vulnerability".

This was the first time I'd heard her say such things in such a wronged and bitter tone.

Jiang Sheng opened his mouth, but gestured with his eyes for her to continue, saying he was listening.

"There are four marketing managers in the company, including me. The other three are all shrewd people. They ganged up on me because I was new."

"Most of the people in the marketing department are people they trained. They flatter me on the surface, but nobody listens to me behind my back."

"My boss set such high KPIs for me because he wanted me to shut up with my performance. But I have no experience as a leader, and I don't even have anyone I can trust. I have to start from scratch."

"According to company policy, if I fail to secure this project, others can snatch it away halfway through. They're all waiting to see me fail. The first demonstration is the day after tomorrow, and the client has just notified me that a competitor will be demonstrating together."

As he was talking, Zhao Wenxuan slumped onto the table, his face down so his expression was not visible.

He simply spoke slowly.

"Ginger, I'm so tired."

Jiang Sheng wanted to hug her, but ultimately held back. He thought that Zhao Wenxuan was not so weak as to need to be pitied.

He truly didn't know these hidden details. If Zhao Wenxuan hadn't brought it up himself, Jiang Sheng would never have imagined that the free office area (usually the place for implementation and maintenance) and the marketing department were separated by only a corridor, and that the opposite side was so dark.

He recalled when Qian Mei first joined the company, she was regarded as a treasure by the entire team—fresh graduates are so novel.

Jiang Sheng placed his hand on Zhao Wenxuan's head. The latter struggled for a moment and said that he had messed up his hair, but he did not break free and let Jiang Sheng stroke him.

"You've had it pretty tough too, Winston Chao."

"Why is it so hard to be a beautiful person and do beautiful things?" She kept her head down and didn't look up.

"I disagree with that."

"No, it's not allowed."

"I think you should be yourself first, rather than focusing on being pretty," he said. "Besides, you are pretty enough."

"No, no!" Zhao Wenxuan shook his head vigorously, "We're not talking about the same thing at all!"

"Everything a beautiful person does is beautiful," Jiang Sheng said with a smile. "Of course it is."

"Does 'getting me angry' really get you a promotion and a raise?!"

Zhao Wenxuan raised his head in dissatisfaction, slapped Jiang Sheng's hand away, and reopened the laptop's front cover.

"Alright, enough chit-chat, let's look at the plan."

"It's restored already?"

"If you're given all the negative energy, of course you'll recover."

"Can I apply for workers' compensation?"

"no."

Zhao Wenxuan had indeed recovered, and a confident smile returned to his face. He then discussed the demonstration plan with Jiang Sheng.

He didn't hear a word of what was being said.

All I can remember is that Zhao Wenxuan's eyes still held a hint of weariness and unease, and he was probably forcing himself to look energetic now.

He thought that Zhao Wenxuan's indomitable spirit was very similar to Lu Sanqian's; both wanted to become the perfect version of themselves.

Whether someone is truly "perfect" remains to be seen, but Jiang Sheng still believes that there are no perfect people in this world.

He preferred her brokenness to her perfection.

"By the way, Winston Chao."

Jiang Sheng suddenly interrupted her.

"If the project goes through, how are you going to thank me?"

"I'll treat you to a big meal."

"That's all?"

"Then what else do you want?" Zhao Wenxuan glanced at him.

"Let's go on another date," he said. "Wear what I like."