42: The previous year's undisputed school beauty

The next day, Lin Chao arrived at the company feeling refreshed.

The first thing he did was hand over the orders for the three top-tier massage beds he had closed at the Rich Womens Club last night to the administrative staff.

When the administrative staff announced this news in the work group chat...

The entire Marketing Department instantly exploded!

"Holy crap! Three more sets?!"

"And it's the top-tier model for 128,888?!"

"That adds up to nearly four hundred thousand! My god!"

"What exactly is Supervisor Lin's background?"

In the office, everyone's eyes, whether intentionally or not, all flickered toward Lin Chao.

Envy, jealousy, confusion—all sorts of emotions were on display.

Zhang Wei felt as if his heart had been ruthlessly soaked in lemon juice.

It was sour and bitter!

Three sets!

That was over thirty thousand in commission!

Even if he worked his tail off for a month, he might not even earn a fraction of that amount!

No, he had to go and learn some secrets of the trade!

Zhang Wei grit his teeth and had just stood up from his workstation when the office door was pushed open.

The HR Manager walked in, leading a young woman.

The girl was tall, wearing a proper professional skirt suit. She had a clean, oval face, and her temperament was pure yet carried a hint of efficiency.

"Ahem, everyone quiet down for a moment."

The HR Manager clapped his hands.

"Let me introduce a new colleague, Yan Qiaoqiao. From today on, she will be joining Market Department Two."

After saying that, he specifically looked at Lin Chao with a face full of smiles.

"Supervisor Lin, this is your new recruit. She'll be following you to get familiar with the work from now on."

"Qiaoqiao, this is your department's Supervisor Lin. He's our company's current sales champion. You should learn a lot from him in the future!"

The girl named Yan Qiaoqiao's gaze fell upon Lin Chao.

She was slightly stunned at first, a flicker of imperceptible surprise flashing through her eyes.

Then, she gracefully extended her hand.

"Hello, Supervisor Lin."

Lin Chao looked at the familiar yet strange face before him, and his entire body froze.

His eyes instantly widened like copper bells!

Holy crap!

Wasn't this the recognized campus belle of their previous class at Linhai University, Yan Qiaoqiao?!

Lin Chao felt as if he were nailed to the spot.

His brain buzzed, going completely blank.

It took a full three seconds before he found his voice again.

"Yan Qiaoqiao?"

There was a hint of a tremble in his voice that even he hadn't noticed.

"How... is it you?"

The campus belle who had once made countless boys swoon in university curled her lips into a brilliant smile.

Her eyes curved into beautiful crescents. "Why can't it be me?"

Her voice was crisp and pleasant, like wind chimes.

"Senior Lin, long time no see."

A flash of surprise crossed the HR Manager's face, which was immediately replaced by intense delight.

"Oh! It turns out Supervisor Lin and our new employee are old acquaintances!"

He clapped his hands, his smile becoming even more genuine. "This is truly wonderful!"

It was as if he had gotten rid of a hot potato; he immediately said to Lin Chao with a smile.

"Then Supervisor Lin, I am officially handing this recruit over to you!"

"Show her the ropes regarding the work!"

After saying that, he nodded kindly to Yan Qiaoqiao and turned to walk away quickly, as if afraid Lin Chao would change his mind.

In the office, the gazes of the colleagues swept back and forth between the two of them even more brazenly.

Especially Zhang Wei, whose eyes were practically popping out of his head.

Lin Chao took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the stormy waves in his heart and regaining the composure of a supervisor.

"Follow me."

He pointed to an empty workstation next to the Marketing Department.

"You'll sit here from now on."

"Okay."

Yan Qiaoqiao nodded obediently and followed him over.

Lin Chao helped her turn on the computer and conveniently grabbed some office supplies to hand to her.

The surrounding chatter gradually died down as everyone returned to their work, though those curious gazes still drifted over from time to time.

Lin Chao pulled out his chair and sat down, speaking as if casually.

"How did you end up at our company?" He kept his voice very low. "As far as I know, our company's reputation in the industry isn't exactly high."

He was putting it very tactfully.

To put it bluntly, this was just an obscure little company.

While tidying her desk, Yan Qiaoqiao replied nonchalantly.

"I just resigned from my previous company."

"I sent out hundreds of resumes, and only this place gave me an interview and was willing to take me."

Lin Chao's brow immediately furrowed.

"That shouldn't be right," he looked at her. "Even though our school is just a crappy second-tier university, weren't your grades always at the top of the class?"

"When we graduated, so many companies were fighting over you."

"How could you end up in a position where no company wants you?"

Yan Qiaoqiao's hand tidying the desk paused slightly.

She shrugged, a helpless, bitter smile appearing on her face.

"Maybe because... I offended someone."

Lin Chao's heart skipped a beat.

Offended someone?

He was about to press further, but Yan Qiaoqiao had already turned her head, that bright smile back on her face.

"Let's not talk about those unhappy things."

Her beautiful large eyes blinked with a hint of playfulness.

"I didn't expect to run into an old classmate here."

"And that old classmate has now become my direct superior."

"Supervisor Lin, you must take good care of this newcomer in the future."

Looking at her familiar smiling face, Lin Chao couldn't help but laugh as well, the sense of distance in his heart fading quite a bit.

"Don't worry," he patted his chest, "leave it to me."

Yan Qiaoqiao looked at him, her smile unchanged, but a hint of testing appeared in her eyes.

She spoke as if casually: "By the way, how are things between you and Wu Ruolan?"

"You two have been dating for so long, you should be getting married soon, right?"

The name 'Wu Ruolan' was like a needle, instantly piercing Lin Chao's newly relaxed nerves.

The smile on his face stiffened visibly.

His brow also unconsciously twisted into a knot.

The originally relaxed atmosphere in the office seemed to drop to freezing point in that instant.

He was silent for a few seconds before squeezing out a few words from between his teeth.

His voice was cold and hard.

"We've already broken up."

"Huh?" The smile on Yan Qiaoqiao's face also froze instantly.

She couldn't help but be stunned, her voice rising a few notches.

"Broken up?!"

"How can that be? I remember you two always had such a good relationship!"

Her face was full of disbelief. "Weren't you... dating for almost three years?"

Lin Chao's gaze swept across that pretty face full of disbelief, and he twitched the corner of his mouth into a self-mocking curve.

"There's no 'how' about it," he shrugged. "She found someone better and dumped me."