The next day—
Qiu Xi arrived at the company precisely on time, following the schedule Guo Qi had provided the previous day.
The company held three morning meetings a week, and the specific days depended entirely on Sister Tong’s mood.
If everyone happened to complete their tasks exceptionally well on occasion, she might even cancel one or two of these meetings, meaning they would only have one or two morning meetings for the entire week.
Being able to skip even one meeting was a relief, as it meant they would avoid several scolding sessions.
“Qiu Xi, sit over here.”
As soon as Qiu Xi entered, Guo Qi called her over and pointed to a seat for her.
Qiu Xi glanced around the room before walking over.
Most of the people were already present. She counted fifteen chairs in total.
The meeting room was designed in a “U” shape, with seven chairs on each side and one placed in the center. Opposite this central seat was a blank wall with a projection screen.
Behind the chair in the center, there was also a projector, with one at the front and one at the back.
“Qiu Xi, you can sit here,” Guo Qi, already seated in the first chair on the left, gestured to the seat next to her.
“From now on, when we have meetings, you can sit here. You can come to me with any issues.”
Qiu Xi looked at the empty seat next to Guo Qi. Everyone who had arrived was filling seats from the back, leaving the front seats vacant.
After scanning the room, Qiu Xi sat down, heeding Guo Qi’s words.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. If you don’t mind, you can call me Xiao Qi, or even Qi Qi. I’ll call you Xiao Xi, okay?”
“Of course, you can call me whatever you like.”
“Great~”
They exchanged a few words, and by then, everyone else had arrived.
Excluding the person in the main seat, all fourteen other seats were occupied.
As time ticked by, the room grew increasingly quiet.
Guo Qi, who had been chatting with Qiu Xi earlier, slowly lowered her head and focused on her notebook, no longer speaking.
Although Qiu Xi was curious, she remained silent, only occasionally glancing at the people in the meeting room.
“Tap, tap, tap~”
“Tap, tap, tap~”
The sound of high heels approached. Qiu Xi could feel that their breathing had become much softer, as if they were holding their breath in anticipation.
“Good morning, everyone~”
It was Tong Mei, carrying a small bag and her laptop.
“Sister Tong, good morning~”
“Mm……”
Qiu Xi noticed that the moment Sister Tong smiled and greeted them, Guo Qi subconsciously straightened her back.
This made Qiu Xi even more curious.
Sister Tong appeared amiable and harmless on the surface, but she must have been a person of great capability, otherwise, these people wouldn’t be so… “afraid.”
“Alright, one by one.”
With that, Tong Mei opened her laptop, and the projector behind her lit up.
“You people have truly impressed me. Looking at what you submitted yesterday, I don’t even know how to praise you…
The group, “……”
Sister Tong, you say you’re impressed every day, but we haven’t actually seen you impressed…
On the contrary, the more you look, the worse it seems…
And this one!
This use of ‘praise’ is incredibly artistic!
They didn’t know how to respond…
The group lowered their heads, listening to Tong Mei’s words. Internally, they echoed her sentiments with every sentence, but not a single person dared to make a sound, terrified of being the first one she called out.
“Why are you all looking down? Look up!”
“Take a look at these. Identify them. See who they belong to…”
At her words, a group of heads immediately shot up, eyes wide as they stared at the projection.
Then, they carefully examined the content, internally strategizing what to say.
How should they phrase it to avoid infuriating Sister Tong?
Would they be the worst case?
Please, not the first!
……
“Come on!”
“Take a look at this. Whose is it?”
A gentle smile, a blade to the bone.
Under the wandering gazes of Tong Mei and the others, Qiu Xi saw Guo Qi next to her cautiously raise her hand.
“Sister Tong, it’s mine…”
“It’s yours, is it…” Tong Mei stretched out her voice. “Is this what you submitted after working overtime until 9 PM?”
“Look at this, is this word used correctly?”
“And here, this annotation you made, is it for yourself, or for the people above?”
“And finally, look at this!”
“You are the one being paid to work here. They hired you, not to ask you how to solve problems for them!!!”
As she spoke, the atmosphere grew even quieter.
Even though Tong Mei wasn't saying much, her tone was normal, and she hadn't raised her voice at all. Everything was exceptionally normal.
Yet, the meeting room grew progressively silent. Even turning their heads required careful consideration.
Although Qiu Xi hadn't experienced such a situation before, she could sense that the atmosphere was somewhat suffocating…
However, whether it was because it was her first time or because she was experienced, despite it being her first time, Qiu Xi felt no unusual emotions. She calmly observed everyone present.
Perhaps, at this moment, besides Qiu Xi, even Tong Mei in front didn’t feel as relaxed.
……
“Guo Qi, Guo Qi, how many times have I told you!”
“Have you remembered it this time?”
“I remember…” Guo Qi nodded blankly.
If she didn’t remember this time, Sister Tong might just start teaching her on the spot.
“Alright, good that you remember. Go back and revise the work, then send me another copy later.”
Hearing this, Guo Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, Sister Tong.”
After saying that, Guo Qi’s shoulders slumped slightly. She felt relieved…
If she were questioned any further, she would truly be unable to bear it…
“Next!”
A tense atmosphere spread once again…