The engagement was with the younger brother, but I've fallen for the older brother.

Monday, Yu'an headquarters.

Si Yimian strolled into the office carrying an iced Americano, in a good mood.

Before I could even put my bag down, project assistant Mandy knocked on the door and came in.

"Commissioner Si".

She stood at the door, holding a brown paper envelope in her hand.

"The expert review meeting on Chenxi's side has been rescheduled to 9:30 this morning."

Si Yimian paused in unbuttoning her bag and glanced at the clock on the wall.

10:03.

"The time has been changed?"

She frowned slightly, the sheer volume of information making the melon seeds buzz.

Why didn't anyone notify me?

There were no notifications on her phone, not even the slightest sound of a fly rubbing its leg.

Mandy placed the envelope on her desk and took a half step back.

"I sent the notification at 8 PM last night, but I forgot to share it with you."

Oh, I'm waiting here.

Mandy was sent by Chen Xi and was originally Si Ningyou's subordinate.

After Si Yimian arrived, Mandy was assigned to assist her.

He is usually quiet, works efficiently, and has a very low profile.

"The notification was delivered to you, but you didn't forward it to me."

Si Yimian put down the iced Americano she was holding.

"You didn't just neglect your duties, you did it on purpose."

Mandy's lips moved, but she didn't offer any explanation.

Si Yimian looked at her and suddenly didn't want to ask anymore.

The answer is written all over their faces.

If I'm not mistaken, Si Ningyou won't just let her lose face.

Her absence from the review meeting was just an appetizer; the main course was definitely waiting for her at Chenxi.

She didn't have time to argue with Mandy here.

"Leave it for now, I don't have time to deal with you right now."

She pushed her resignation letter back.

"Let's talk again when I get back."

With that, she picked up her bag and left.

……

Chenxi Headquarters, 23rd floor.

When Si Yimian arrived, the review meeting had already ended.

The meeting room door was wide open, and staff were organizing meeting minutes.

She walked quickly forward.

"When did it end?"

The staff member was taken aback.

"The expert left ten minutes ago to catch up on his schedule."

"And the result?"

The staff member told her in a low voice.

"Did not pass."

Si Yimian didn't say anything.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind me.

"Mianmian, why are you so late?"

Si Yimian didn't turn around, but the smell was already wafting over.

Green tea boiled with aged vinegar results in a sour and slightly rancid taste.

"The review meeting is over. Dad wants you to go to his office."

Si Yimian turned around.

Si Ningyou stood at the entrance of the conference room with a cup of black tea in her hand, looking like an old lady in a village waiting to watch the excitement while eating melon seeds.

"He didn't seem too happy about the judging panel."

Si Ningyou took a sip of black tea and looked up from the rim of the cup.

"You'd better be prepared and wish yourself good luck."

She stepped aside to make way and gestured for them to pass.

"Thank you for letting me know in advance, sister. It's very thoughtful."

As Si Yimian walked past her, Si Ningyou added insult to injury in a low voice.

"Mianmian, take your time with work."

"After all, you were parachuted in, so people won't have too high expectations of you."

Si Yimian paused, turned around, and smiled at her.

"With so many things on your mind, you must have been staying up late, right?"

"They had to come over to make their presence known, as if they were afraid I wouldn't know it was you who did it."

After saying that, she brushed past Si Ningyou's shoulder and walked over.

Si Ningyou stood there, unable to suppress her smile.

Let's see if she can still smile when she comes out of her dad's office.

……

When Si Yimian knocked on the door and went in, Si Congshan was standing in front of the French windows making a phone call.

Hearing the noise, he turned around and glanced at her, his eyes like a homeroom teacher looking at a student who was late and forgot to bring their homework.

Si Congshan hung up the phone and walked back to his desk to sit down.

Si Yimian stood obediently in front of the table.

"dad."

Si Congshan looked up at her, his expression not good, but he didn't fire directly.

"sit."

Si Yimian sat down, her posture upright.

"It was my oversight regarding the review committee; I didn't receive the notification and was late."

Si Congshan pushed the cup of cold tea on the table aside.

"Put being late aside for now."

He turned the stack of documents in front of him around and pushed it over.

"The data in this report, after being reviewed by experts on-site today, does not match the original records."

"The deviation was close to 17%, the preclinical data was questioned on the spot, and the project was temporarily suspended."

"The clinical resources at Yu'an have already been arranged, and now everything needs to be re-coordinated."

Si Yimian lowered her head and flipped through a few pages, her brows furrowing more and more tightly.

The summary of preclinical data she submitted was stamped with a bright red return stamp on the title page.

The threads in my mind were connected one by one.

The review meeting was rescheduled, not to prevent her from being absent.

The intention was to ensure that once she was absent, she wouldn't even have a chance to defend herself.

"The original data in the handover materials was separated."

She raised her head, her voice still steady.

"I missed it."

Si Congshan tapped the table with his knuckles.

"You've only been in charge of the project for half a month, your professional knowledge is not up to par, and there are loopholes in your process control."

"You can't even get the expert review meeting to be held in person."

"Your sister worked at Chenxi for a year, rising from the bottom to become a project manager."

"She never made a single mistake with the data she handled."

In the workplace, only those who execute the decisions are held accountable.

"If the data you hand over goes wrong, it's your problem."

"You can feel wronged, but you can't cry foul."

Si Yimian remained silent.

This is the only thing she can't defend today.

The handover materials consisted of hundreds of pages and thousands of data sets.

She worked overtime studying materials and data, thinking that following them would prevent mistakes.

Following the results exactly is the biggest pitfall.

After all, the workplace isn't a crash course; professional barriers are something that can't be overcome by last-minute cramming.

Si Ningyou had hit that vital spot.

Once Mandy resigned, she found herself in a dead end, unable to hold anyone accountable, unable to prove her incompetence, and unable to mount a counterattack.

Such unexpected mishaps are impossible to prevent.

Si Ningyou was able to take everything from the original owner not just because of tea.

They are truly skilled; their methods may be dirty, but their hands are clean, and they never leave anyone with any leverage against them.

Si Yimian closed the returned report and put it back on the table.

"I didn't thoroughly verify the data, and I didn't oversee the process; it's my fault."

Si Congshan looked at her, and his anger suddenly subsided by half.

His prepared speech suddenly became useless.

"So what do you plan to do?"

Si Yimian took a deep breath.

If she doesn't say something quickly, Si Congshan will make Si Ningyou take over the mess with a single sentence.

"Data cannot be understood by sitting in an office."

"Therefore, I request to have all the data re-verified in the clinical setting."

"Following the entire process from sample collection to experimental recording."

Si Congshan's eyebrows twitched slightly, and his tone softened.

"Clinical work is very tough, with irregular hours and no weekends."

"Even if you're being overly sensitive, you have to put up with it. Are you sure you can handle it?"

Si Yimian nodded.

"You have to eat it even if you can't handle it."

"Dad, give me a month."

"I'll recreate the data and submit it to the review meeting again."

"What about a month from now?"

Si Yimian thought for a moment.

"If I still can't figure it out a month from now, you can kick me out of the project team and replace me with someone more capable."

Si Congshan was so angry he laughed.

This child was hit quite hard today.

She didn't cry, make a scene, or shift the blame; she admitted her mistake and even found her own way out.

He leaned back in his chair and tapped his index finger twice on the armrest.

"Okay, I've approved it for clinical trials."

"If you make another mistake, you'll have to come back and be Ning You's assistant."

"You'll have to go to He Sichen yourself to re-coordinate the clinical resources at Yu'an."

Si Yimian thought for a moment and nodded.

"Understood, I'll clean up my own mess."

Si Congshan coughed, amused by her crude words.

"Girls should speak more politely."

"Okay, Dad."

"I'll take care of appeasing He Sichen."

For her, coaxing He Sichen was a piece of cake.

She knew all too well which approach he would take and which he wouldn't.