The company dismissed a batch of employees and had to recruit new ones, leading to a complete overhaul of the staff at Mishang Company.
As the saying goes, "new officials make three fires." As many people expected, those who were not dismissed felt fortunate that they hadn't caught Qin Yaxuan's eye, thus retaining their good jobs.
Gu Susu, snatching a moment from her busy schedule, also went to the human resources department to observe a few recruitment sessions. While it was just a perfunctory inspection, she was looking for any exceptionally outstanding candidates.
Qin Tianyi's intention was to find talented individuals in the fashion industry to reorganize the design department and establish a new research and development department. Since Gu Susu understood design, he asked her to select personnel in that area.
On this day, the company hired a group of new employees, and Qin Tianyi asked her to say a few words to them.
When she arrived at the conference room where the new recruits were gathered, she was astonished to see Chang Qingchuan standing among them.
Chang Qingchuan's expression upon seeing her was no better.
"General Manager Gu, General Manager Gu, it's your turn to speak," the secretary beside her nudged her discreetly, reminding her to address the group.
Gu Susu avoided Chang Qingchuan's gaze. All the encouraging words she had prepared for the new recruits vanished. She found herself speaking incoherently, unsure of what she was saying.
As soon as she left the conference room, she told the accompanying secretary, "Bring me the resumes of all the new recruits. How did HR recruit them?"
"Is there a problem?" Secretary Emily asked, bewildered. "Does General Manager Gu feel that any of these new recruits don't meet the job requirements?"
"No, before finalizing the new hires, shouldn't I have reviewed these resumes!" Gu Susu was furious and could no longer control her temper.
Emily quickly explained, "General Manager Gu, these resumes were sent to the CEO's office. You weren't in the office at the time; President Qin was. I assumed you and President Qin had already seen them. If there's anything wrong, I'll speak to HR immediately."
"No need," Gu Susu stopped her, suppressing her confusion and anger. "It's nothing, I was just asking casually. You can go back to work."
Emily nodded and returned to her desk.
Gu Susu calmed down and thought. Chang Qingchuan's presence among the new recruits must have been Qin Tianyi's doing.
She had never seen the resumes of these newly hired employees, but Qin Tianyi had. What was he trying to achieve?
She knew that a possessive and petty man like him would never let her have an easy time!
She suppressed her anger and walked into her office, closing the door with a bang.
Qin Tianyi was looking down at some documents and didn't even look up at her. He said with a playful tone, "How are the new recruits? I'm sure you'll be quite pleased with them."
Gu Susu sat in front of her small desk and said angrily, "It was you, wasn't it? You did it on purpose! Why did you hire Chang Qingchuan into the company?"
"For you," Qin Tianyi finally looked up at her. "This way, you can spend time together daily, which should alleviate your longing."
"Are you crazy? I've told you before that there's nothing between him and me, and it's not what you imagine. He helped me, and I only consider him a friend..."
"You're the one who's crazy," Qin Tianyi interrupted her coldly. "Don't think I can't feel it; you have lovesickness. You lie in my arms every night, but your heart belongs to someone else. This illness needs to be treated."
As he spoke, he stood up, walked to her desk, and casually sat on the corner of it. He reached out and pinched her chin, forcing her to look up and meet his gaze.
Gu Susu looked at him with a clear conscience and said, "You're overthinking it. There's no one in my heart; it's been like a stagnant pool for a long time."
A stagnant pool? Qin Tianyi's expression turned even colder. If there was no one in her heart, that included him!
"Self-deception," Qin Tianyi didn't believe her. He always felt she was thinking of someone. Before she could retort, he leaned in and kissed her.
"This is the office..." Gu Susu urgently tried to distance herself from him, leaning back abruptly, losing her balance and tilting backward.
Qin Tianyi leaned into her, tightly gripping her wrist. The pose made it seem as if she were initiating it.
They ended up lying tangled on the swivel chair. Qin Tianyi looked at her with a meaningful smile and said, "You say no with your mouth, but your body is seducing me."
Gu Susu's face turned bright red. She couldn't explain herself and struggled, gasping for breath, "I didn't..." But every struggle seemed to push her closer to him.
"Move again, and I won't wait until tonight to go home," Qin Tianyi's voice carried a hot breath near her ear.
She dared not move again, her whole body tense. "Then you get up first."
"Since we're already like this, why don't we continue what we were doing?" Qin Tianyi said, leaning towards her lips again.
Gu Susu felt dizzy from his kiss. She dared not move, yet feared that he might impulsively disregard everything and do something here. If someone were to knock or enter the office, she couldn't even imagine the consequences.
Qin Tianyi became increasingly aggressive. His kisses turned into gentle bites, and his hands began to wander restlessly.
She truly wished she could kick him in the face and send him sprawling on the floor.
But she also knew that with her limited self-defense training in Taekwondo, she was no match for him. As long as he didn't go too far, she had to endure it.
Gu Susu waited anxiously for an unknown amount of time. Qin Tianyi finally released her, as if tired or perhaps bored, and straightened up.
Gu Susu quickly sat up straight, tidied her clothes, and wanted to bring up the matter of Chang Qingchuan again.
Qin Tianyi said directly, "You don't need to explain anymore. Whether there's anything between you and him is clear to me. Facts always triumph over a woman's words."
Gu Susu didn't want to involve Chang Qingchuan, but he had been dragged into it. Now, every move she made was under Qin Tianyi's control. She felt helpless and at a loss.
However, one thing she couldn't understand was that Chang Qingchuan had a job before. That advertising company was quite good, and his internship performance was excellent, with assurances of a full-time position. Why would he apply to Mishang?
Had Qin Tianyi threatened him? Or was there some other reason?
Looking at Qin Tianyi, who seemed capable of devouring her at any moment, she felt angry but dared not question him further.
Besides, the more she reacted to Chang Qingchuan's presence at Mishang, the more Qin Tianyi would suspect something between them, which would only harm Chang Qingchuan.
A clear conscience fears no accusation. The relationship between her and Chang Qingchuan was inherently pure. What did it matter if they worked at the same company? She had nothing to hide and a clear conscience.