12dz Chapter 32 Childish
Chapter 32 Childish
Lu He sat in her office mechanically flipping through documents, not reading a single word. She felt that the morning was passing by so slowly; she had never felt it was so long before.
She opened her phone and browsed through food delivery apps, thinking about what to eat for lunch, but after looking around, she couldn't find anything she wanted to eat.
I'm so annoyed. Is it because the weather is getting warmer and I've lost my appetite?
Xia Lan acted as if nothing had happened, diligently completing the work tasks assigned by Xu Chen. Finally, she could catch her breath. She glanced at the clock; it was almost noon. She would go to the staff canteen for lunch with her colleagues later.
Xia Lan put down her documents and turned to ask Xiao Ai, who was working at the next desk, "Want to go to the cafeteria for lunch together?"
Xiao Ai nodded in a friendly manner: "Okay, I also made plans with Judy and Tina. We'll meet up after they finish what they're doing..."
Before he could finish speaking, the office phone rang urgently. Johnny quickly answered the phone, nodding repeatedly as if he was talking to someone.
"This is bad!" When Xiao Ai saw this situation, the familiar routine in her mind came back to her. Usually, when Johnny received a call, he would notify everyone to hold an emergency meeting.
"Huh? Why?" Xia Lan looked at Xiao Ai with an innocent expression.
Those clear, naive eyes made Xiao Ai envious that she hadn't experienced the harsh realities of society: "I guess she won't get lunch."
"Huh? Why?" Xia Lan was still confused when she saw Johnny rush out of the office in a panic: "Everyone get ready, come with me to the conference room upstairs for a meeting!" He then glanced at the workstations: "Call back everyone who has already run out!"
"See? You're new here, you don't know. Every time someone calls from above around this time, it's usually for an emergency meeting." Xiao Ai was on the verge of tears: "It's so frustrating. Aren't employees human? Don't they need to eat? They're not robots."
Tina coughed twice as she passed by, signaling to Ai to stop howling, as Johnny would be coming soon.
So Xiao Ai gave Xia Lan a helpless wink, shut her mouth, and took the materials to go upstairs.
"Ah, Sister Xiao Ai, wait for me! I don't know where the meeting room upstairs is." Seeing this, Xia Lan quickly picked up her laptop, ready to follow along.
“You don’t need to go, you’re an intern,” Tina kindly reminded her. “You can go down for lunch as usual. Interns won’t be held accountable for not attending these urgent meetings.”
“Yeah, you don’t have to go up there. I’m so envious…” Xiao Ai chimed in.
Before Xia Lan could even ask if it was true or not, Xu Chen, who was in charge of guiding her, came over and said, "Xia Lan, take your laptop and come up with me!" He pushed up his glasses as he spoke.
"Huh?" Tina and Xiao Ai exchanged puzzled glances. What was Xu Chen up to? Could it be that there was something going on between these two?
The two didn't wait any longer, linked arms and hurried away, frequently turning back to whisper to each other.
Xu Chen also looked helpless. He didn't know why Johnny suddenly came to him, acting suspiciously, and asked him to bring the intern to the meeting.
As Xu Chen walked up, he kept instructing Xia Lan: "When you go up later, you don't need to speak. Just follow along. Observe and learn more. Answer the questions when the leader asks you. Don't speak on your own. Do you understand?"
"Does it mean try not to talk?" Xia Lan simply summarized Xu Chen's meaning.
"Hmm...that's what I mean. It's to protect you newcomers by not talking too much. Talking too much can easily lead to mistakes and attract the jealousy of the older staff." Xu Chen was willing to tell Xia Lan the truth. After all, the workplace isn't that friendly. The primary goal for an intern is to keep a low profile, pass the probation period, and become a full-time employee.
The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind. Xu Chen understood this principle all too well. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been suppressed by his previous leader for so many years. Only recently did he apply for a transfer to another group and escape his previous misery.
"Okay, thank you, senior!" Xia Lan was very grateful for Xu Chen's instructions.
Xu Chen didn't say anything more after that; he had done his utmost for this intern.
They quickly reached the floor where the president was located, and the president's assistant, Mina, led everyone to the company's conference room, which was second only to the board of directors in terms of scale.
Everyone's hearts pounded with anxiety. What could be so important that they had to open such an important conference room? Was it to announce that their department would be laid off after this event? And that the annual celebrations would be canceled?
Everyone nervously followed Mina into the conference room, where a sumptuous lunch was laid out according to the seating arrangement. Seated at the head of the table was the company's president, Xiao Wen Zong—Wen Shiyu.
Everyone looked at each other, wondering what was going on.
But seeing this, Xia Lan immediately understood: How naive, Xiao Yu…
Seeing that no one was moving, Mina immediately urged everyone to take their seats according to their names. As she spoke, she pointed to the name tags on the table.
After everyone took their seats, they noticed that Xia Lan's name tag wasn't there.
Xia Lan could have easily noticed; she had noticed it from the beginning. Her name wasn't on any of the seats, but a seat had been added next to Wen Shiyu.
Sure enough, Lu He pretended not to know there was an intern and said apologetically, "I'm so sorry, I forgot your department had an intern. It was my fault. To express my apology, Xia Lan, come sit here next to me." As she spoke, Lu He patted the seat next to her with expectant eyes.
Xia Lan was almost speechless. She blushed with embarrassment, feeling that Lu He's acting was really clumsy. Anyone could tell that the two of them knew each other.
To avoid further embarrassment, she quickly sat down next to Lu He under everyone's gaze.
Lu He was very happy that her scheme had succeeded. She said generously, "Everyone, I'm personally treating you to a big meal today to reward you for your hard work over the past three months. The event date is coming soon, so I'm here to cheer you on!" She even stood up and raised her glass, which startled everyone into standing up and raising their glasses as well.
Xia Lan covered her face, feeling utterly humiliated...