He Xiaoyuan’s first thought: all the scores were 9.2. How did they decide first place?
Was it based on the group scores?
So perhaps his group’s overall team score was higher than Group Two’s.
Surrounded by Zou Fanping, Yuan Miao, and the others, their pats on his shoulder and playful punches gradually brought a sense of joy rising in his chest: first place! 400,000!
Only then did He Xiaoyuan realize and smile.
Yuan Miao draped an arm around his shoulder from the left. “Why such a slow reaction? Are you a snail or something?”
Zou Fanping draped an arm from the right: “Stop talking, we’re celebrating!”
The others chimed in: “Celebrate! Celebrate! Celebrate!”
The office was filled with laughter and excitement—after all, they had beaten Qin Chengfei, KO’d Group Two, how could they not be happy?
After everyone returned to their desks and started planning dinner spots for the evening, He Xiaoyuan had originally planned to send Xu Ruomeng a private message on OA to share the good news about the bonus. But suddenly he hesitated, deleting the half-written line in the chat box.
He picked up his phone instead, ready to message Lu Chen. Just then, a flickering icon caught his eye on the OA page.
He set the phone down, reached for the mouse, and clicked on the flashing icon to see who it was.
It was Qin Chengfei.
HR — Management Trainee (Group Two) — Qin Chengfei: 【Can you come out for a moment?】
—
He Xiaoyuan walked out, coming onto the floor corridor, and saw Qin Chengfei approaching from Group Two’s office.
Qin Chengfei’s appearance was exactly as He Xiaoyuan remembered from their first meeting: refined, tall and thin, wearing gold-rimmed round glasses.
Seeing Qin Chengfei heading purposefully toward him, He Xiaoyuan walked over. As they got close, Qin Chengfei stopped, quickly opening his mouth: “I have some doubts about the first-place judgment. I’d like you to come with me to HR.”
He Xiaoyuan had anticipated Qin Chengfei reaching out over the scoring, but hadn’t expected he’d head straight to HR.
He hesitated briefly, then replied, “Sure.”
Qin Chengfei nodded. Without turning immediately, He Xiaoyuan silently followed.
After walking a short distance, because Qin Chengfei’s stride was quick, He Xiaoyuan unconsciously lagged behind slightly, giving him a view of Qin Chengfei’s tall, lean, and brisk back.
He Xiaoyuan glanced over, instinctively thinking: Should he just go to HR now, or should they go together? Clearly, Qin Chengfei couldn’t accept this first-place result.
He also wondered: Is going straight to HR too abrupt? Had Qin Chengfei at least notified HR before calling him over? Surely he wouldn’t just show up unannounced.
He Xiaoyuan was puzzled but quickened his pace to catch up.
Arriving at the HR office, he saw the supervisor’s unusually surprised expression. He Xiaoyuan couldn’t help but think: So Qin Chengfei really hadn’t given any heads-up.
Even bolder, Qin Chengfei, upon entering the office, immediately and efficiently stated his purpose, catching the supervisor completely off guard—eyes wide in astonishment.
The supervisor then looked at He Xiaoyuan, confused as to why he had come along. He Xiaoyuan could only give a helpless smile: “I was called.”
HR Supervisor: “Alright then.”
The supervisor gestured for both to sit. “Come, sit. Let’s talk.”
Qin Chengfei pulled out a chair and sat down with an air of entitlement, as if HR owed him a proper explanation. The supervisor, slightly troubled, nonetheless maintained composure. Sitting down, he first discussed the assignment matters with He Xiaoyuan:
“Assignment confirmed now, right? You can rest easy?”
He Xiaoyuan politely replied: “Thank you for handling it these past few days.”
“No problem, it’s my duty. I can’t be at ease doing anything else until you’re all properly assigned,” the supervisor said. “Go work diligently under Yang’s guidance.”
He Xiaoyuan nodded, and the supervisor smiled, pleased.
Qin Chengfei remained silent, observing them, waiting until the supervisor finished talking with He Xiaoyuan and then turned his attention to him.
“Xiao Qin,” the supervisor said warmly, finally addressing Qin Chengfei. “Let me ask first: Are you sure you want to discuss this with Xiao He present?”
Qin Chengfei’s expression was firm. “Yes.”
He explained: “I think having both of us present ensures a fair and transparent understanding of how first place was decided.”
Upon hearing the phrase “fair and transparent,” He Xiaoyuan instinctively glanced at Qin Chengfei.
The supervisor, hearing this, nodded silently. “Alright. Wait a moment; I’ll get something.”
He rose, walked to a cabinet, opened the glass door, and retrieved a folder. Returning to his desk, he opened it, rifled through a few sheets, and handed some to Qin Chengfei.
Qin Chengfei took them, and He Xiaoyuan subconsciously glanced at the page, spotting his own name. He didn’t look further, while Qin Chengfei silently lowered his eyes.
The supervisor leaned back in his chair, sitting quietly for a moment, observing Qin Chengfei, then finally spoke:
“Since you are questioning how He Xiaoyuan was awarded first place, I’ll show you his evaluation sheet.”
Qin Chengfei looked at the sheet as the supervisor explained:
“Your rotation scores are the same, both 9.2. On this basis, HR considered your other performances.”
The supervisor elaborated: “For example, group evaluations, behavior within the rotation teams, interactions with other departments during rotations, and feedback from colleagues in other departments.”
Qin Chengfei continued to study the sheet. The supervisor, looking at him steadily, said plainly:
“Xiao Qin, aside from rotation assignment scores, you don’t surpass He Xiaoyuan in any aspect.”
Finally, Qin Chengfei looked up. The supervisor kept his gaze on him, continuing:
“Do you know how well He Xiaoyuan managed interpersonal relationships during his one-and-a-half-month rotation?”
“First, his team’s atmosphere was excellent. According to HR colleagues who supervised your rotations, the group was harmonious largely because He Xiaoyuan shared everything with everyone from the start. He genuinely maintained good relationships with every member.”
“Second, for every rotation, we asked the teams about your performance and impressions. Whenever He Xiaoyuan was mentioned, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.”
“Third, remember the previous Yu Yuexing assessment? The atmosphere was tense, yes, but during that evaluation, very few paid attention to others’ presentations while someone else was on stage. He Xiaoyuan was one of the few who did.”
“This shows he wasn’t nervous, had prepared well, and maintained good composure, leaving him the mental bandwidth to notice others.”
“Xiao Qin, do you remember what you were doing at that time?”
“You were on your phone.”
“You weren’t paying attention. You had the capacity but chose not to observe, dismissing others’ presentations as irrelevant.”
“Fourth, regarding the assignments, when other department leaders wanted to recruit talent, how did you act? How did He Xiaoyuan act?”
“How you acted aside, do you know what He Xiaoyuan did?”
“When he refused, he proactively spoke with Ms. Lu from PR. Afterwards, she praised him highly, even saying that if things didn’t go smoothly in other departments, the PR department’s doors would always remain open for him.”
He Xiaoyuan was momentarily stunned.
The supervisor continued:
“Xiao Qin, a company isn’t a school; it’s not just about grades. You are capable, accomplished, with an impressive resume. But a company is society—interpersonal skills and character can influence your career trajectory.”
“Since you’re questioning how first place was determined, I’m explaining it to you.”
“You see now. I hope you go back and really think about it—reflect on your shortcomings, figure out where you can improve.”
“And going forward, once you’re officially on the job, don’t just show up at a manager’s office without a heads-up.”
“I’m not your direct supervisor; you’ll be leaving HR once your rotation ends.”
“If I were your direct supervisor and you barged in like this, I’d take it as disrespect, even provocation.”
“If I were even a slightly petty manager, you’d have a hard time living it down!”
…
Exiting the supervisor’s office and leaving HR, Qin Chengfei was visibly silent. He Xiaoyuan wasn’t particularly close to him, so he didn’t say much.
They walked back to the office quietly. After a few steps, Qin Chengfei paused, turned to He Xiaoyuan, and politely said, “Thanks for coming with me on this.”
He Xiaoyuan: “No problem.”
Qin Chengfei, clearly still a little unsettled, added: “I looked at your evaluation sheet. The supervisor was right—you deserve first place. Congratulations.”
He Xiaoyuan: “Thank you.”
Qin Chengfei didn’t say more and walked on.
On his way back to the office, He Xiaoyuan replayed the incident in his mind but didn’t form any particular opinion of Qin Chengfei. Instead, he was struck by what the supervisor had said to him about Qin: ‘You’re capable, strong, and have an impressive resume.’
No wonder Qin could go straight to the project team. Unlike him—He Xiaoyuan, even with first place, had to go through a “detour” via the commercial services department.
He Xiaoyuan reflected quietly, thinking: Once I start my formal work, I need to work hard. I want to be capable, competent, and have a strong resume.
Back in the office, Jiang Weiwei casually asked: “Where did you go?”
He Xiaoyuan leaned back in his chair, holding his phone, and didn’t say anything about being summoned to HR because Qin Chengfei questioned the first-place ranking.
Jiang Weiwei, not caring much, quickly switched topics: “What about dinner tonight? We can splurge a bit—don’t mind paying, right?”
He Xiaoyuan, sending a message to Lu Chen about the 400,000-yuan bonus, replied: “No worries, within 400,000.”
He teased Jiang Weiwei: “Then we won’t be able to eat that much anyway.”
After sending the good news, he set his phone down by the computer.
Meanwhile, Lu Chen saw the message and smiled—his expectations of He Xiaoyuan had never been misplaced; he hadn’t misjudged him.
After a moment, Lu Chen replied: 【Worth celebrating together with a meal.】
He Xiaoyuan quickly responded: 【What do you want to eat, Lu Ge? This time, I insist on treating.】
They briefly discussed when, what, and where to eat.
Before finishing, Lu Chen scrolled up the chat, captured the message He Xiaoyuan had sent about the 400,000 bonus, and forwarded it to Qiao Sihang.
Qiao Sihang almost laughed when he saw it:
Yes, yes, yes—President Lu, your judgment was right. He Xiaoyuan is truly capable; no need for me to push the money through. He secured the 400,000 himself.
He didn’t respond further and returned to work.
A few seconds later, Qiao’s assistant suddenly realized—President Lu sent this specifically; why does it feel like showing off?
He paused his work, considered it carefully, and finally replied to Lu Chen: 【President Lu, you’re proud now.】