Xu Zixi took out the CD and examined it carefully under the light. She noticed that the read - write area on the back showed a faint cyan color. She wiped it with her fingertips and found that it had been coated with a layer of jelly - like substance, which had completely solidified by now. If she were to submit this CD for the competition, nothing could be read from it, and she would lose her qualification in the preliminary round.
Tsk tsk. One had to admit that this was a really insidious move.
However, the mastermind behind this was probably not the same person as the one behind the morning's robbery.
Such an obvious trick was clearly the work of Pei Weiwei. She just didn't want Xu Zixi to participate in the competition.
But sorry, Miss Pei might be disappointed again.
Miss Xu threw the useless blank CD into the trash can, put the real work CD into the box, and openly carried it in her hand as she left to submit the manuscript.
In the design department, An Ping's phone rang twice. It was a message from her informant. After reading it, she immediately got up and went to find Pei Weiwei.
"Director Pei, Yuan Xi has gone to submit her manuscript! My informant saw it clearly. She's taking the CD that we tampered with!"
Pei Weiwei said, "Really? An Ping, you've done a great job. You're much more reliable than Wen Li and that other person! Don't worry. I'll remember your contribution. I'll promote you to be the supervisor of the design department."
Imagining that Xu Zixi would be directly disqualified because of the CD problem while she herself could smoothly enter the finals, shine in the competition, and win the favor of Master Yan, Pei Weiwei couldn't stop smiling.
When Xu Zixi went to the human resources department to submit her competition manuscript, she ran into Cui Jiandong, who was also there to submit his manuscript.
Although Cui Jiandong's attitude towards her had been a bit strange since her identity was exposed last time, Xu Zixi still took the initiative to greet him.
"Manager Cui, are you here to submit your manuscript too?"
Cui Jiandong was startled. Looking back and seeing it was Xu Zixi, he still kept a certain distance from her and nodded. "Yes, Assistant Yuan."
Xu Zixi casually asked, "Didn't you say last time that you weren't going to participate in the competition? Have you changed your mind?"
Cui Jiandong scratched his head and said, "I didn't plan to participate before because I lacked confidence in myself. But after my family's persuasion, I changed my mind. Anyway, it's good to give it a try. Winning a third - prize would be a great affirmation for me."
"You're the one who won against me and got the position of project manager. How can you be so lacking in confidence? A third - prize is nothing. You should aim for at least a second - prize!" Xu Zixi said with a smile.
Cui Jiandong said with a smile, "I'll take your good word for it."
In the human resources department, Xu Zixi and Cui Jiandong each signed the copyright commitment form, then put their works into sealed bags for safekeeping and handed them to the person in charge of receiving the manuscripts. When leaving the human resources department, Xu Zixi "happened" to see Pei Weiwei strutting towards them on her ten - centimeter high heels, chin up and hips swaying.
Miss Xu smiled at Pei Weiwei and said, "What a coincidence, Miss Pei."
Pei Weiwei rolled her eyes at her and let out a snort from her nose, looking like she didn't want to talk to her. When passing by Xu Zixi, Xu Zixi suddenly raised her hand. Pei Weiwei was so scared that she took two hasty steps back and almost sprained her ankle on her high heels.
Hastily steadying herself, Pei Weiwei stared at Xu Zixi with wide eyes. "What are you up to again?! I'm warning you, don't mess around!"
Xu Zixi gently played with her hair, blinked her eyes, and looked at Pei Weiwei innocently. "Miss Pei, what are you talking about? I'm just tidying my hair."
Cui Jiandong couldn't help laughing. Pei Weiwei was furious. She pointed at Xu Zixi and said,
"Yuan Xi, just you wait! In the finals, I'll make you lose face in front of the whole company!"
"Sure, Miss Pei. I'm really looking forward to that day." Xu Zixi said with a smile.
Pei Weiwei stamped her foot and left in a huff. Cui Jiandong said, "Assistant Yuan, she's the daughter of the Pei family and the chairman. You're really brave to offend her."
"Can I take that as a compliment?" Xu Zixi said with a smile. "So what if she's the chairman's daughter? It's like she's the only one who was ever a young lady. She's still too inexperienced to act all high - and - mighty in front of me."
Cui Jiandong remembered the gossips about her in the company. She used to be the daughter of the Yuan family in Fengcheng. Besides feeling sorry for her, he admired her even more. If he also had the courage to strive upward without losing hope even when stuck in a quagmire, what couldn't he achieve?
The registration period for the product design competition ended smoothly, and then came a long fifteen - day waiting period. Although the competition manuscripts had been submitted, Xu Zixi's workload didn't decrease at all. She still worked overtime day and night for the next few days.
However, because of the robbery in front of the Pei Group headquarters, Xu Zixi's reputation in the Pei Group actually improved a little. The employees of the Pei Group no longer deliberately avoided and ignored her as they did when her identity was first exposed by Pei Weiwei. When they ran into each other, they would even nod at her.
If she met Zhou Yaru from the marketing department during commuting, Zhou Yaru would enthusiastically pull her to talk and would even save a seat for her at lunch. The two of them officially became friends.
Time slipped away quietly in the busy work. Xu Zixi didn't deliberately pay attention to the day of the finals. It was only when Pei Mingyuan mentioned it that she realized that in two days, the list of finalists would be announced, and she would have been working in the Pei Group for almost a month.
"Yuan Xi, you've always performed very well at work. You're efficient and never procrastinate. You always complete the tasks I assign with high efficiency and quality, which proves that my judgment was right. In view of your excellence, I've decided to end your probation period early. So on the day of the design competition finals, you'll be a full - time employee of the Pei Group."
Pei Mingyuan handed over a regularization application.
Xu Zixi happily took it and sighed. "It doesn't really matter to me whether I'm a full - time employee or not. It would be great if I didn't have to work so many overtime hours. I haven't had a good time with my kids for a long time."
Hearing her mention her two children, Pei Mingyuan felt a pang of sadness and a bit of guilt. "How about leaving work earlier these two days? It doesn't matter if you can't finish all the work. The finals are in two days. You should get enough rest and prepare for the finals."
Xu Zixi's beautiful almond eyes curved into crescent moons. "Since you said so, Mr. Pei, I'll feel free to slack off!"
However, Xu Zixi still finished all her work before leaving. When she turned off the lights, locked the door, and left the office, she happened to run into Dai Sha, who was also about to leave.