Lin Qingle is no stranger to business trips; she also frequently went on business trips in her previous job.
Early Wednesday morning, she packed a small suitcase for her business trip and headed for the airport.
There were five people on this business trip, Xu Tingbai and his assistant Jason, Manager Huang from the marketing department, Designer Li Heng from the design team, and her, the deputy manager of the planning department.
When Lin Qingle arrived at the first-class waiting hall of the airport, the marketing manager and the designer were already there. She went over to greet them and waited there with Xu Tingbai and the others.
More than ten minutes later, designer Li Heng reminded: "Mr. Xu is here."
When Lin Qingle followed everyone's gaze towards the door, she saw Xu Tingbai and his assistant coming in. Everyone around her stood up, so she had to stand up as well.
"Mr. Xu."
"Well, you guys sit down." Xu Tingbai said, his eyes falling on Lin Qingle.
Lin Qingle and he looked at each other, not knowing what he was going to do.
Xu Tingbai waited for a while before saying, "Are you in charge of the planning department?"
Lin Qingle quickly said seriously: "Because the manager is following an important project, and I am also very familiar with this smart home planning case, so the director sent me here."
"Oh, OK." Xu Tingbai nodded slightly and was about to leave, but suddenly turned back and asked, "Have you eaten?"
Lin Qingle: “Ah?”
"breakfast."
“I ate a little at home…”
Xu Tingbai nodded, said nothing more, and turned to talk to the manager of the marketing department.
Lin Qingle breathed a sigh of relief, and she was secretly glad that he didn't say anything else. Because she felt that... in the company, if two people seemed to be very familiar with each other, it shouldn't be a good thing.
—
Lin Qingle got up very early this morning, so she basically slept after getting on the plane.
The branch in Hangzhou sent a special car to pick them up, and after landing and leaving the airport, they went to the hotel where they were staying first.
It must be said that Aurora is very generous to its employees.
Not only did he fly first class on the business trip, but he also stayed in a five-star hotel. The company Lin Qingle worked for before didn't have such good conditions for business trips, and if he were to travel on his own, it would be impossible for him to stay in such an expensive hotel.
After arriving at the room, she walked around inside and lay down on the bed, trying to feel the difference between a five-star bed and an ordinary bed.
However, she didn't have much time to experience it because of the tight schedule. After a short rest, she followed Xu Tingbai and others to the opening reception of Aurora HME.
The reception was held inside aurra hme.
Aurra hme has three floors, covering an area of 51,000 square meters, which includes all their brand products such as furniture, household items, smart products, and of course, more than 200 simulated showrooms.
Lin Qingle is mainly responsible for the smart home furnishing area, so after attending the reception, she went there to contact the staff in Hangzhou to learn more.
They later split up because they were from different departments and had their own tasks.
It was almost six o'clock in the afternoon when Lin Qingle finished the work at hand. She collected all the documents and hurried to the office area.
"Qingle, you're here." Designer Li Heng raised his hand and greeted her when he saw her come in.
Lin Qingle walked over and asked, "Where is Manager Huang?"
"He has other things to do, so he'll go to the branch first. Mr. Xu and I will be waiting for you here, and we'll go have dinner with the client later."
"You guys are waiting for me..." Lin Qingle glanced at Xu Tingbai who was sitting in his seat with headphones on and talking on the phone, and whispered, "Why don't you go first? I'll take a taxi when I'm ready."
"That's what I said just now. I asked Mr. Xu to leave first and I would stay and wait for you." Li Heng said, "But Mr. Xu didn't leave."
Lin Qingle glanced at Xu Tingbai again: "Oh..."
"Okay, right?" Xu Tingbai finished the call.
Lin Qingle nodded quickly.
Xu Tingbai: "Let's go."
Tonight we are discussing cooperation with a large real estate company. Although Aurra HME mainly adopts a retail model, we will also cooperate with such partners, and have them purchase a large number of Aurra HME furniture when decorating their fine houses.
But tonight is just a prelude to cooperation. We can have a meal together to test each other's intentions.
Lin Qingle knew about this schedule, and their company also hoped to promote this cooperation. So as a person from the planning department of Aurra HME, she had to attend the event together with the designer, so that she could answer any questions from the client in a timely manner.
At seven o'clock in the evening, they arrived at the hotel for dinner.
"Mr. Xu, I've heard a lot about you. You are indeed a young and talented man with great potential." As soon as I entered the box, the other party came to greet me.
Xu Tingbai shook hands with the man and said calmly and politely: "Mr. Guo, you are too polite. Please take a seat. I'm sorry to bother you to stand up and greet me."
Lin Qingle followed behind Xu Tingbai and glanced at Mr. Guo. Mr. Guo's name was Guo Dongxu, and he was the person they were talking about today. He looked to be in his early forties, but he was actually over fifty. In terms of age alone, he was much older than Xu Tingbai.
But... Lin Qingle glanced at Xu Tingbai.
Xu Tingbai is not very old, but when standing in front of these people, he does not feel at all inferior. Although he is young, he looks calm, reserved and very important.
Guo Dongxu: "Okay, Mr. Xu, please sit over here, let's sit down and talk."
"Um."
Everyone sat down and the dinner officially began.
Lin Qingle is not the protagonist, so she will only talk to the other party when the other party asks about their future marketing plan for smart home and Xu Tingbai needs her to speak.
However, I didn't have many opportunities to speak, because at the dinner, the other party didn't seem to want to talk about the content of the work. They asked a few questions at the beginning, but then stopped talking after drinking some wine. They only said some irrelevant things.
…
"Oh, you guys in Aurora are really talented. They are so capable at such a young age." Guo Dongxu raised his glass towards Lin Qingle, "The young girl is already a planning manager. I think she is only 20 years old."
Lin Qingle smiled politely: "Thank you Mr. Guo for the compliment."
"What I said is true, not exaggerating. Mr. Xu, does your company still look at appearance when recruiting people? You, as a planning manager, have a very iconic appearance."
The people around him echoed: "Yes, yes, just like Mr. Xu, both are talented and good-looking."
The four people on the other side were obviously a little drunk and spoke in a much more casual manner.
Xu Tingbai's face was indifferent: "When recruiting people, we naturally look at their abilities, Mr. Guo."
"Tsk, I don't think so. Appearance is also very important. Just looking at it makes me feel good." Guo Dongxu stared at Lin Qingle and said, "Come on, Manager Lin, let's have a drink."
Lin Qingle knew her alcohol tolerance, which was very low, so she just drank boiled water from the beginning.
"Then I'll drink water instead of wine, and I'll drink with you—"
Guo Dongxu retracted his hand: "Hey! You can't use water instead of wine. That's so insincere. Of course, I have to use wine."
Lin Qingle frowned slightly, thinking that she couldn't let Xu Tingbai hold her back. Although she couldn't drink much, it didn't matter if she drank a little.
So she pursed her lips and reached out to take the wine beside her.
But before his hand touched it, someone stopped him.
"Mr. Guo, my manager is a terrible drinker. I brought her here to explain to you what you need to know. Forget about drinking, I'm afraid I'll disturb you later." Xu Tingbai picked up his own glass and raised his hand to clink it with his. "I'll drink with you. Cheers."
Guo Dongxu's smile froze for a moment, but when he saw Xu Tingbai finish the glass in one gulp, his mood immediately shifted again, "Okay, you have a good alcohol tolerance. Come on, let's have another drink!"
…
After that, it was basically Guo Dongxu's people chatting about all sorts of things. Xu Ting didn't say much, but he was never dull. No matter what others said, he would say just the right thing so that the other party wouldn't feel like he was talking to a wall, nor would he make the other party feel embarrassed.
Other than that, there's drinking.
Lin Qingle was the only woman on Aurora's side, and she was pretty, so the other side's people couldn't help but like to pick on her when they were drunk. However, they came a few times, and were stopped by Xu Tingbai each time.
The result was that Xu Tingbai was forced to drink a lot.
Although he looked calm, Lin Qingle was a little anxious. Li Heng had drunk a lot for him... but she forced him to drink even more.
"Mr. Xu, you protect your subordinates so well." After this happened many times, Guo Dongxu's words began to sound sarcastic.
"People who can't drink well naturally don't need to drink, so as to avoid any trouble. I'm only bringing this girl out, and it would be hard to explain if she goes back drunk." Xu Tingbai smiled and said calmly, "Mr. Guo? Continue?"
Guo Dongxu was already drunk and his face was red. He stood up swayingly: "Then I have drunk enough with you. Manager Lin, please give us a favor and have a drink with the four of us. After that, we will let you go tonight. How about it!"
Xu Tingbai's lips curled slightly, but his eyes turned cold: "Why, Mr. Guo thinks that I'm not giving you face by drinking with you?"
Guo Dongxu was stunned when he saw his expression, and he sobered up a little: "Well, of course not."
Xu Tingbai: "Then why don't I have a drink with the four of you?"
Guo Dongxu: "Wait a minute, since you have to drink for me again, then Mr. Xu will have to do the same as before. Mr. Lin originally only had to drink four cups, so you have to double that to eight cups."
Eight glasses of red wine... He had already drunk a lot.
Lin Qingle knew that it was not easy to offend the partner in front of her, and that it would be a big loss, so Xu Tingbai had the patience to chat with him tonight. However, she really watched him drink a lot, and if he continued like this...
"No, I'll drink it." Lin Qingle quickly poured himself a glass of wine.
Xu Tingbai frowned and turned to look at her.
Lin Qingle stood up and smiled at the person opposite him: "But Mr. Guo, you have to keep your word. After I drink these four cups, you have to let me go."
"Of course!"
"Okay." Lin Qingle said, "I'm really sorry, I really can't drink much, but since it's Mr. Guo tonight, I think I should drink a little."
After Lin Qingle finished his polite words, he closed his eyes and drank the whole drink!
Hmm... It's really hard to drink... How did Xu Tingbai drink one cup after another!
Lin Qingle didn't dare to pause, and immediately poured another glass and forced himself to drink it.
"You have a good alcohol tolerance, Mr. Xu. I think your subordinate is pretty good."
After the second cup, Lin Qingle felt nauseous.
She reluctantly poured a third glass.
"Okay." Xu Tingbai held the wrist that she was pouring wine with, he stood up and took the wine away from her hand.
Lin Qingle endured the churning feeling in his throat and stomach, and whispered: "You, you can't drink anymore, let me do it..."
Xu Tingbai lowered his eyes and glanced at her: "It's not your turn to fight so hard yet."
"… "
"Mr. Guo, I think it's almost time for tonight." Xu Tingbai said directly to everyone, "I'm a little drunk. Let's just leave it at that. We can talk about cooperation another day."
“Eh—”
However, Xu Tingbai did not stop at all. He pulled Lin Qingle and walked straight out of the box.
Assistant Jason remained standing outside the door, staying awake.
After Xu Tingbai came out, he said, "Take Li Heng back."
"Okay." Jason glanced at Lin Qingle beside him, "What about you?"
Xu Tingbai: "I'm fine."
"good."
Xu Tingbai led Lin Qingle through the corridor, and when they were almost at the elevator, Lin Qingle suddenly stopped.
Xu Tingbai turned around: "What's wrong?"
Lin Qingle lowered his head: "Don't move... I'm dizzy."
Xu Tingbai looked at her face which quickly turned red, and said unhappily, "Your face is so red after two glasses of wine, and you dared to drink just now?"
Lin Qingle snorted: "Then I just want them to stop using me to get you drunk..."
Maybe she was really dizzy, her voice was soft and she sounded very aggrieved.
Xu Tingbai's heart softened immediately. He held her arm and whispered, "Can you still walk?"
Lin Qingle's alcohol tolerance was really poor, and she got drunk very quickly. She took a step and said, "Floating..."
"Then I'll carry you."
As he spoke, Xu Tingbai turned around and bent down.
Lin Qingle looked at his back in a daze. Although his mind was in a mess, he vaguely remembered that there were colleagues behind him.
"Don't... Not good."
"It's okay, come up."
"Not good..." Lin Qingle thought for a moment and stumbled, "I, I'm heavy!"
Xu Tingbai looked back at her and smiled helplessly: "Are you still fooling me like you did when we were little? Lin Qingle, I can see it now."