Dawn of Life

She racked her brains for a moment, recalling that no one else in the company besides Su Ling knew about her family situation. Although her emotions had been fluctuating between collapse and self-healing lately, she believed she had hidden it well, and that she had almost adjusted herself to this point.

Considering that her project wasn't finished yet, and that Shengxing couldn't possibly be looking for her today to fire her, she mustered her courage and asked, "Mr. Sheng, is there something you need from me today?"

Sheng Xing was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing and said, "You've been in great shape lately. Before, when you first reported to me, you would always look away and not really look me in the eye. Now you can not only meet my gaze, but also ask me questions directly."

As she spoke, she picked up the kettle that had just boiled, used tongs to hold two teacups, warmed the cups, added tea leaves, and brewed the tea with skillful and graceful movements.

He took a sip of tea and said, "The Human Resources Department currently has no head, and with so many people reporting directly to me, I don't have the energy. I've been observing you for a while now, and your attitude is excellent, your professional skills are solid, and the tasks I assigned to you have yielded some initial results. So I'm going to have you temporarily take over as HR Director, with a three-month probationary period. If you pass the evaluation after three months, your salary will be adjusted to the director level."

Shengxing had been considering this decision for days. Originally, he didn't plan to appoint a human resources director so soon. He could have set up a "horse race" mechanism to let the team members compete for a while longer.

As a result, the managers got into an argument in the meeting room last time. In order to gain control over personnel, he restructured the HR team to work under him. They still have a lot of work to do and certainly don't want internal strife within the team. If the management department is in such a mess, what are the business departments supposed to think? Besides, it's obvious that the managers' abilities are indeed far inferior to Lin Yue's.

Lin Yue quickly racked her brains, thinking about Sheng Xinggang's words: giving half the power, adding all the work tasks, but not adding a single penny. She soon understood that this was like wanting the horse to run fast but not feeding it.

But thinking about it, it's not such a bad thing. Lin Yue has always believed that as a professional, you're not working for your boss, but for your own resume. Even if she gets fired a few months later, her resume will still show her experience as the HR director of a mid-sized internet company.

The fact that she has the opportunity to try out means that she has the ability to do so. Moreover, if she can successfully become a full-time director after three months, her salary will be several thousand yuan higher than it is now, which will solve her and Xiaoyu's immediate financial difficulties.

Now, aside from the regular mortgage payments, rent to her ex-husband, and after-school care fees, she only has 5500 yuan left for living expenses each month, and she also has to maintain her car.

My living expenses have suddenly decreased by 7500 yuan, which is like going back to more than ten years ago. I've switched from buying clothes from boutiques to online shopping. I used to be able to get a laser skin rejuvenation treatment every two or three months, but now I've switched to affordable alternatives to big brands for cosmetics. My habit of taking Xiaoyu out for a big meal every week has also been changed to buying two pounds of pork ribs from the supermarket and cooking them at home.

After a moment of contemplation, Lin Yue looked up at Shengxing again and said firmly, "Thank you, President Sheng, for giving me this opportunity. I will do my best."

She paused, then continued, "Will the acting position also be officially appointed? However, I hope the appointment won't include the word 'probationary period,' as this is our agreement, because issuing it would hinder my work."

Sheng Xing recalled the argument in the HR department that day and felt that Lin Yue's words made sense. Only by eliminating other people's thoughts could they cooperate with her work more at ease. So he nodded and said, "The appointment of 'HR Director' will be issued directly."

Lin Yue's request stemmed not only from a desire to facilitate her work but also from another consideration: if Shengxing wanted to fire her after three months, others would think, "This boss fired Qin Lan so soon after taking office, then promoted a director, only to have her fired after three months." Shengxing was someone who cared about others' opinions, and this point also gave him pause.

Lin Yue walked out of Shengxing's office and saw Su Ling sitting at her workstation. Su Ling was resting her chin on her hand, deep in thought. This was completely different from her usual carefree demeanor. A hint of worry crossed Lin Yue's mind, and she quickly walked over and patted Su Ling's shoulder. Su Ling was clearly startled, and the two of them almost simultaneously asked, "Are you alright?"

It turned out that Su Ling casually asked Lin Yue about her workstation as she passed by, and the person next to her said that Lin Yue had been called away by the big boss for a while. Feeling a little worried, Su Ling simply sat down at Lin Yue's workstation to wait for her.

Lin Yue checked the time on her phone and said, "It's lunchtime. Let's go have lunch together."

Just a few meters from her workstation, Lin Yue leaned close to Su Ling's ear and reminded her, "The situation at the company is quite complicated right now. Your behavior of sitting at your workstation waiting for me, which was originally a trivial matter, will now be magnified by those with ulterior motives and eventually become the conclusion that you are not working hard enough. When we came out, the expressions on the faces of those people in the shared service center were indescribable."

Su Ling curled her lips slightly and said dismissively, "I'm a marketing person, I let my performance speak for itself, I'm not afraid of what people say behind my back."

Afterwards, they went to a tea restaurant. Lin Yue recounted how Sheng Xing had come to see her, and Su Ling smiled throughout, genuinely happy for Lin Yue.

Lin Yue put down her chopsticks, looked at Su Ling, and said seriously, "Once the email is sent, I can no longer remain neutral. Your direct supervisor, the marketing director, is one of Vice President Liu's people. Everyone in the company knows we have a good relationship, and I'm worried that he might make things difficult for you later."

Su Ling waved her hand dismissively and said, "Don't worry, even if he tries to make things difficult for me, my big clients won't allow it. You're supporting the family all by yourself now, and I'll support you unconditionally no matter who you side with. Besides, he's just an opportunist; I've disliked him for a long time."

Afterwards, Su Ling told Lin Yue about the marketing director Shi Potian: "When he saw that Shengxing was gradually gaining more and more management power and influence, he acted like a peacock, trying all sorts of ways to make his presence known to Shengxing. If he had worked hard and relied on his real abilities, that would have been one thing, but he was just up to crooked ideas."

"For example, if you buy a painting from an art student, and Shengxing writes calligraphy well, you have to get him to write an inscription, then you hang it in the most conspicuous place in your office, showing it off to everyone who comes to you. But it turns out this trick doesn't work, and after a few days you quietly take it down." After saying this, Su Ling covered her mouth, looked around, and let out a giggle.

Lin Yue listened with disbelief and said, "He's still reporting to Liu Zheng. With his emotional intelligence, it seems more like he's just putting on a show."

Su Ling shrugged and said, "Who knows? Anyway, our team members talk about it as a joke behind his back. But it doesn't seem to have affected his relationship with Liu Zheng."

On the way home, while waiting at a traffic light, Lin Yue glanced over and saw a family of three sitting in the car next to her. The mother kept turning back to talk to her son in the back seat. The father in the driver's seat had a smile on his face, a peaceful scene of the family of three.

A pang of sadness swept through Lin Yue's heart. It had been almost two months since the divorce, but this emotion would still resurface when she thought of something or saw a scene. Although she could adjust quickly, the fleeting moment it passed through her heart would still cause her a dull ache.

Work will get busier and busier in the future, how will I take care of Xiaoyu?

Just then, the phone rang. Lin Yue glanced at the car's screen, and a long-lost smile immediately appeared on her face.