Dawn of Life

Time seemed to stand still. Lin Yue's mind went blank, and she only reflexively replied, "What...do you mean?"

Gao Ming said calmly, "We're not a good match. I want freedom, and I want to be able to spend the money I earn on my own. I hardly ever go home these days, but I still have to pay half of the mortgage. I don't think that's fair."

Lin Yue's heart pounded at the sudden news. After a long pause, she finally understood his words, a cold smile playing on her lips—it was utterly ironic. They split the mortgage, and she handled almost everything at home. She understood how difficult it was for him to run the shop, but she never imagined that in his eyes, she was the one taking advantage.

She opened her mouth, wanting to argue her case, but found her chest felt like it was weighed down by a stone, making even breathing difficult. Was this the real reason he wanted a divorce? Lin Yue didn't know, but she knew she would be making her first public appearance in front of the general manager's office tomorrow—a tough battle—and it wasn't the right time to be distracted by this issue. She managed to squeeze out a few words with great effort: "You should go back to the store first. We won't get anywhere today."

Gao Ming nodded, got up and left, saying before closing the door, "You should pick up the child; I don't want to get involved."

Lin Yue lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Everything happened without warning, catching her completely off guard.

Before this, she had never considered divorce. Although they met through a blind date, she had fantasized in the past few years that they could develop feelings for each other over time. Later, the heavy work pressure and trivial family affairs left her extremely exhausted, to the point that all that remained was numbness and resignation.

She had no expectations for marriage, feeling that all marriages were the same, and in the end, they were just about living together peacefully. She wanted to live peacefully together and, when disagreements arose, she adhered to the principle of being tolerant and forgiving.

Besides, they also have a son.

Unexpectedly, when she encountered difficulties at work, her husband, who had always treated her with respect, dealt her a heavy blow.

She didn't know how much time had passed before she finally managed to fall asleep. She had many dreams, including one where she was arguing with Gao Ming and another where the company was laying off employees again, and she was on the list.

At 6:10, the alarm rang, and Lin Yue struggled to wake up. After getting up and washing up, she first steamed shumai, corn, and eggs, then put beans and water in the soymilk maker and turned it on. At 6:30, she went to her son's room, helped him get dressed, and urged him to wash up. They ate breakfast at 7:00, and at 7:30, she grabbed her car keys and left, first dropping her son off at school, then heading to work.

When she arrived at the company at nine o'clock, she first poured herself a cup of hot water, and then made a list of her tasks for the day. This was her work habit, which helped her avoid forgetting anything. Today, she added an emphasis mark after the item "10:00 Project Report".

She looked at the plan and worked out the logic of the presentation. This draft was for internal discussion within the department. There wasn't enough time to make a formal presentation, so she planned to use this as a base draft and then force her way through with her own mental draft.

Lin Yue and Zhang Wei, the manager of the Organizational Development Department, arrived at the conference room early, while Sheng Xing, Liu Zheng, and Qin Lan had not yet arrived.

Zhang Wei and Lin Yue are managers at the same level. According to the division of labor in the department, Zhang Wei should be the project manager for this kind of project. However, Qin Lan was not satisfied with several versions of the plan he made. With the project start date approaching, Qin Lan asked Lin Yue to take over.

Lin Yue was looking at the plan, listening to Zhang Wei's incessant chatter fading into the distance, when suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She pressed her hand to her stomach, her face contorted with pain, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Zhang Wei noticed her unusual behavior and asked her what was wrong, but before she could answer, her stomach churned, and she couldn't hold it in any longer, rushing to the bathroom and dry heaving into the sink.

This has been happening for the past few years. When I'm in a bad mood or under too much stress, I get insomnia, stomach aches, and nausea and dry heaving. She's said she'll go to the hospital many times, but she's been too busy and it's been delayed until now.

She stared at herself in the mirror. Despite applying several layers of foundation, she couldn't hide her heavy dark circles. She rinsed her mouth, took out lipstick from her pocket, and touched up her makeup in front of the mirror. Today's meeting was her show; she had to maintain a commanding presence no matter what.

She glanced at the time on her phone; it was already 10:05, five minutes late! She quickly shuffled towards the conference room in her high heels, her heart skipping a beat.

When I got to the conference room, I was relieved to see only Qin Lan and Zhang Wei; the other two big bosses hadn't arrived yet. As I entered, I was met with Qin Lan's gaze, which was noticeably different from her usual look.

After sitting down, Lin Yue took a deep breath, and gradually, her mind calmed down. Sheng Xing and Liu Zheng then entered the conference room one after the other.

Qin Lan joked, "Since the two bosses are late, shouldn't we give them red envelopes as per company custom?"

Liu Zheng chimed in, "President Sheng arrived last, so he should go first."

Then the group burst into laughter, all seemingly amicable. "Each harboring their own secrets," Lin Yue heard the voice in her heart.

Seeing that the atmosphere had warmed up enough, she began, "This is my first time reporting to President Sheng and President Liu, so let me introduce myself first. I am Lin Yue, currently in charge of the HRBP team. I officially took over this project a week ago, and I appreciate the company's trust."

Sheng Xing leaned close to Qin Lan's ear and whispered, "Didn't the project start quite a while ago?"

Qin Lan replied, "Zhang Wei was in charge of the earlier part, and Lin Yue just took over."

Sheng Xing nodded thoughtfully and turned his gaze back to Lin Yue.

The logic of presenting a solution is generally: what it is, why it's necessary, and how to do it. Simply put, it includes: project background, action plan, and project division of labor. When reporting to the General Manager's office, Lin Yue focused on the parts that the leaders cared about most: which problems this project could solve for the company.

Firstly, it can solve the problem of salary inversion; secondly, it can solve the problem of mismatch between job position and ability.

She also cited typical examples from her team, such as how many managers in the company do not earn as much as their newly hired supervisors; and how many employees, despite holding the title of manager, actually only have the abilities of supervisors, and there are no clear standards or criteria for their dismissal or demotion.

Although the general manager and deputy general manager didn't understand the professional aspects, they listened attentively after Lin Yue handled things this way, and then came the interactive session.

Shengxing and Zhou followed the same pattern: a gentle tone but sharp questions: "The plan mentions that job levels will correspond to titles. If the newly assigned job levels don't match the existing titles, how do you plan to handle that? I've received complaints from some departments that HR has done many projects that are all show and no substance and don't solve management problems. So how do you plan to resolve the difficulties in pushing these projects forward?"

It is well known that the human resources department and the business departments are inherently at odds. HR does not directly generate revenue, so when performance is good, no one will think of their contribution, but when performance is bad, it is all their responsibility, such as because they did not recruit the right people, the process was unreasonable, or the performance plan was not effective in motivating others.

Lin Yue instinctively looked up at Qin Lan for help, only to meet Sheng Xing's intense gaze. She could only steel herself and reply, "According to the current plan, if the job level and position don't match, we will assess them according to the new job level. Unsuitable personnel will ultimately be eliminated or demoted. All the plans from the Human Resources Department are management tools for the business departments. Before finalizing them, we will hold a kick-off meeting to gather opinions from each department. Ultimately, what we present to everyone is a shared plan."

Liu Zheng knew perfectly well that Sheng Xing's words were directed at him. Previously, when the HR department reported to him, Sheng Xing would always appear dissatisfied with HR in front of the management team. Some managers, trying to curry favor with Sheng Xing, would take the opportunity to complain, which Sheng Xing would then amplify, portraying as widespread complaints. Ultimately, he used this as a pretext to restructure the team and place it under his own control.

He frowned and said, "President Sheng, which departments are you referring to with all these complaints? I think if people have opinions, they should sit down together and discuss the issues clearly. Over the years, as the head of the Human Resources department, I've always encouraged everyone to come knocking on my office door if they have any problems. What's the use of complaining? The key is to solve the problem."