Chapter 1 The First Day
In the afternoon, Qiu Xi arrived at the school punctually at the time agreed with Ding Yujing.
As it was the holiday, the school wasn't crowded, so Ding Yujing arranged to meet her at the fitness area downstairs of the faculty apartment building.
When Qiu Xi arrived, she saw Ding Yibai accompanying the elder exercising from a distance. Grandma Ge was leaning back in a chair not far away.
Although it looked peaceful, Qiu Xi couldn't help but sigh!
This "good" weather in July, if this were the south, and this fitness area were surrounded by green trees, she would only say:
Teacher Ding is brave!
After thinking a bit more, Qiu Xi walked towards them.
"Teacher Ding, Grandma Ge~"
Before getting close, Qiu Xi called out twice.
Seeing them turn around, Qiu Xi reached the front.
"Brother Yibai."
Ding Yibai nodded, "Xiao Xi, it's been a while."
"Isn't it~ But someone mentions you every day~"
This statement made the usually composed Ding Yibai blush slightly.
However, Qiu Xi wasn't speaking without basis; Shen Yan, that girl, really mentioned him from time to time in the dormitory.
Although, to be fair, none of them spared each other, and they mentioned everyone together.
"Xiao Xi ah~ You're here." Hearing Ding Yujing call her, Qiu Xi turned her head briskly, "Teacher Ding said it, so how could I be late!"
"It's Teacher Ding though, the place you chose... it's really good..."
"I told you! You're the one with vision, unlike this old woman..." Ding Yujing said, glancing at Ge Jiaojie beside him.
Qiu Xi was momentarily stunned. This Teacher Ding was actually playing along with her!
Did her hesitant tone make it seem really good?
Qiu Xi didn't believe it!
Yet, someone was so skilled and confident.
"Come, let's go over there, we can chat while playing chess."
Saying that, Ding Yujing pointed to the stone table for chess not far away.
Qiu Xi nodded, "Okay."
After saying goodbye to Ding Yibai and Grandma Ge, she followed Teacher Ding.
"Teacher Ding, what did you want to see me about?"
If there was nothing, he wouldn't have called her.
So as soon as she arrived, Qiu Xi got straight to the point.
Ding Yujing nodded, fanning himself with a small palm-leaf fan he'd produced from somewhere, "Mm, it's about your internship."
Pausing for a moment, Qiu Xi asked, "Internship? Mine?"
She didn't have any specific plans herself. How did a ready-made opportunity appear now?
"Yes. You just returned, and I assume you haven't finalized your internship plans yet, right?"
Ding Yujing asked casually, wanting to confirm.
Qiu Xi shook her head, "Not yet. I planned to rest for a couple of days before starting my job search."
Although she hadn't started yet, she was prepared. Before the holiday, she and her dorm mates had consulted the department and gathered information. Now, she was just waiting for a suitable time to go for interviews.
Qiu Xi was quite confident in her abilities.
"That's good~"
"I called you here today to discuss this matter."
"A few days ago, I ran into an old friend and made a casual remark, asking for an internship opportunity for you. I'm not sure if you're interested, so I called you over."
"Teacher, couldn't you have just sent Xiao Xi to me? Why bother calling me over~"
Ding Yujing chuckled, "It's because I wanted to see you, this little girl~"
"..."
Qiu Xi's face went dark.
No one would believe that statement!
If it were Grandma Ge saying it, she might believe it, but Teacher Ding...
Forget it!
Qiu Xi shook her head vigorously, "Teacher Ding, please tell me about the internship. That's more important!"
Ding Yujing, suppressing a laugh, coughed twice, "Alright, I'll talk about the internship with you first."
"This company, it's quite large, you might have heard of it, called Yi 'Jia'."
"Yi 'Jia'..." Qiu Xi murmured.
She seemed to have heard that name somewhere before.
Right!
Song Daiyao had mentioned it!
Back then, they were discussing where to intern and had looked for a lot of information.
Yi 'Jia' was the one they had discussed the most!
However, they hadn't actually expected to be able to intern there.
From what they understood, the company never hired fresh graduates, let alone recent undergraduates!
They had even consulted with teachers, who confirmed that they had never seen the company openly recruiting.
According to the teachers in the department, when they needed people, they would directly approach suitable candidates themselves.
It was a bit… outrageous.
They didn't look for applicants; they went out to find them themselves.
But in fact, this approach had led to their continued success.
As Qiu Xi was lost in thought, Ding Yujing spoke again after a while.
"How about it? Do you have any thoughts?"
He had called her here today specifically for this. If she was interested, they could finalize it then and there.
Ding Yujing's words brought Qiu Xi back to reality, and she replied, "Teacher Ding, I have indeed learned about it before, but they don't recruit newbies like us..."
Indeed!
No matter how smart she was, or how capable she considered herself, it seemed she couldn't just walk in now.
She was still a greenhorn!
"Hahahaha~"
"Newbie! Your description is quite fitting."
Yi 'Jia' could arguably be considered a dominant player in its field now, and its most distinctive feature was its hiring policy.
However, there were always exceptions to every rule, and rules sometimes had special cases.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have called this girl over today.
After his laughter subsided, Ding Yujing became serious, "What you said is true, but there are exceptions to everything, and I'm here to tell you about this exception."
Qiu Xi nodded, "Please tell me, Teacher Ding."
She understood the principle, but she didn't know what kind of exception it was.
"Yi 'Jia' has always recruited externally as you described, but what people don't know is that the company actually has an internal recommendation system, or 'nei tui' as people call it."
"However, this internal referral is different from the usual company referrals; it's quite strict. Only a few of the company's partners have referral slots, and there's only one per year."
"..." Qiu Xi was silent after hearing this.
This exception was truly exceptional.
For such a large company, the number of partners was not that many.
And with only one slot per year, it was indeed quite rare.
"Teacher Ding, can I take advantage of this exception?" Qiu Xi asked, perplexed.
"Normally, you couldn't, but that's where I come in!"
"Your teacher has a wide network, and I shamelessly managed to get you a spot."
"..."
Qiu Xi was initially moved by the first part of the sentence, but upon hearing the latter part, she was rendered somewhat speechless.
"Teacher Ding, please just tell me directly, I'll listen."
"Sure, sure, I'll tell you now!"
"A few days ago, I met an old friend. Her student happens to be at Yi 'Jia'. As we were chatting, this matter came up, and I inquired about you."
"Coincidentally, one of her students is a partner there, and they can offer you a slot. So, I wanted to ask for your thoughts."
Qiu Xi inwardly marveled at how influential Teacher Ding truly was.
"If you're interested, I'll inform them back quickly. If not, I'll also let them know, so as not to delay them."
Qiu Xi didn't hesitate and nodded decisively, "Teacher, I'll go!"
"But I'm only going as an intern. Will they accept me?"
According to her plan, after the internship, she would need to prepare for her thesis and further studies, so she couldn't stay for long.
"Hahaha~ Don't worry about that."
"Yi 'Jia' has another difference from other companies: after passing the company's assessment during the internship period, the decision to stay is up to you. It's not mandatory, so you can rest assured."
This was a testament to the company's confidence, and indeed, the company had proven itself capable of retaining talent.
"That's good~"
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Teacher. I'll go!"
At a place like this, she would surely learn more!
She would treat it as an opportunity to broaden her horizons!
"Okay~ I'll inform them right away."
"But I still need to remind you, although the internal referral slot is secured, you still need to pass their assessment to intern there."
After all, in a large company, relying solely on connections without competence wouldn't get you anywhere.
In a way, this was also the reason why only partners had referral slots.
"Teacher Ding, please rest assured. If I can't get in because I'm not capable enough, I'll just work harder."
"Good~ It's great that you understand!"
"I'll message my old friend now~"
Saying that, Ding Yujing took out his phone and sent a message.
As luck would have it, the other party was available and replied shortly.
"Xiao Xi, it's done!" Seeing the message, Ding Yujing beamed with joy. "In three days, you can bring your resume and head over directly!"
Qiu Xi felt a surge of excitement again!
Although it was just the beginning, it was truly good news!
"Teacher Ding, thank you for your trouble!"
"In a couple of days, bring Grandma Ge to my place. We can have a few drinks with my master~"
Her home-brewed wine was harmless, so Qiu Xi confidently invited Teacher Ding over.
"Okay!"
"And you better have your homemade cooking!"
Speaking of which, he had been looking forward to her cooking for a long time.
Qiu Xi simply smiled and said, "Alright!"
"Then it's settled. I'll be over in a couple of days!"
With the matter settled, he stood up and went to discuss with his wife.
Qiu Xi watched from behind, chatted with Ding Yibai for a while longer, and then said goodbye.