Chapter 174

If she were to throw it away after obtaining it, wouldn't that be absurd? What would Zhong Ning think? Would she believe that this relationship, from beginning to end, had just been an act? A means of manipulation? Pure revenge?

At the very least, she had to manage the Zhong Corporation properly.

The employees at Zhong Corporation didn't know much about Xie Shiqing and had never worked under her before. They thought that with the arrival of a new superior, there would surely be a show of authority — that some of the existing staff would be cleared out and replaced with her own trusted people. But Xie Shiqing didn’t do that. The vast majority remained in their original positions. Only two people were transferred, reassigned to a branch office. Their positions were promoted, their salaries raised — it wasn’t disgraceful in the slightest, in fact, it was a very dignified approach.

Some made minor mistakes at work, and what they received was leniency.

Everyone was saying that the new boss was far too easygoing, her temperament truly kind.

The old hands from Xie Corporation found it strange.

In the past, President Xie had often worn a smile, but anyone who truly believed in her seemingly good-natured appearance would end up suffering.

She was someone who was absolutely strict when it came to work. Xie Corporation offered abundant and generous benefits, and the overtime pay was more than sufficient. But high benefits demanded high returns — anyone who made mistakes or failed to deliver would definitely be reprimanded and have their performance bonuses docked.

She would never allow anyone to sit idle at their workstation without doing real work.

If you wanted to work here and earn this high salary, you had to bring genuine skill to the table. Slacking off simply wasn’t allowed.

But in recent times, President Xie hadn’t been smiling, yet her temper had improved.

There was once an employee who made a typo in a published advertisement — a major mistake. It was reported to her, but President Xie didn’t say much. She only told the employee to quickly correct it, without a single harsh criticism. On the contrary, she even offered a few words of comfort.

It was jaw-dropping.

Xie Shiqing started replacing her coffee with various sweet fruit teas. She began eating and resting on schedule.

She took off her form-fitting cheongsam and the restricting high heels, switching to simple, loose-fitting outfits in solid colors. Her long hair, which reached past her waist, was left to hang down naturally.

She no longer spoke in lengthy, hypocritical social pleasantries. Instead, she used simple and direct language, lightly polished so that it didn’t sound stiff or insincere.

At times, Xie Shiqing felt exhausted. Changing one’s habits — it could be said to be easy, but also incredibly difficult.

She was gradually replacing parts of her lifestyle, trying to make herself resemble Zhong Ning a bit more, as if by doing so, she could be a little closer to her.

Whenever she felt tired, Xie Shiqing would think of Zhong Ning — think of her efforts, how she never complained about how hard her own life was, how after a busy day, she still came back to comfort her and take care of her emotions.

The moment she thought of that, she no longer felt tired.

Sometimes, Xie Shiqing felt annoyed too. Clearly it was simple work — how could mistakes still be made? Especially the newcomers, who always seemed to cause problems. While the issues weren’t major, for someone like Xie Shiqing, who was used to working with elites, it was hard not to feel they lacked competence.

The company wasn’t her own home. Her attitude was very clear — this was an employment relationship. I pay you, you give me your labor. If you're here to earn money, then show the proper attitude for it. She was paying them quite well, wasn’t she? After taking over Zhong Corporation, she even raised the salary baseline for all employees.

She compared it with her own experience — making mistakes should lead to reprimands and punishment. That was only natural.

But when she saw someone make a mistake and opened her mouth to scold them, the words stopped on her lips.

Would Zhong Ning scold them? Would she rebuke them so mercilessly?

If it were their first mistake, she would definitely forgive them with kindness and remind them not to repeat it. Only after a second mistake would she take a more serious stance.

Giving someone who made a mistake a chance — that was her gentleness.

Xie Shiqing opened her mouth and turned the reprimand into words of understanding.

The first time she did that, she felt deeply agitated inside. But surprisingly, those employees never repeated their mistakes. They adapted quickly and performed well at work, which greatly astonished her.

Originally, she had serious doubts. By her old standards, once the probation period ended, such people would have definitely been dismissed — because people like that always kept making mistake after mistake.

Surely her luck couldn't be that bad — always hiring people who were lacking in intelligence or competence. If they could pass the interview, it meant they definitely had their strengths.

So the problem lay in her own attitude?

Could proper leniency and encouragement be a better approach than unrelenting pressure? Was that why… why Zhong Ning always encouraged her, praised her, forgave her?

She seemed to understand a little now.

It was just that this understanding came too late. Only after Zhong Ning had left did she truly begin to gradually understand this person’s heart, to reach for those things hidden beneath the surface of the sea — the real things.

Zhong Ning was still in Country S, just no longer in the small town. But Yeseilena was still by her side, using the old phone Zhong Ning gave her. She had even created her own account, and with Zhong Ning’s popularity, her followers were growing quickly.

It was said to be an old phone, but where did Zhong Ning ever have anything old? The one she was using was a model released only six months ago. Zhong Ning had bought a new one and deliberately said the original was old and had been sitting unused, so she gave it to her.

Yeseilena had truly become a tour guide. While using her phone to self-study English and Chinese, she also memorized the history and cultural highlights of various locations and planned travel routes. She even helped take care of Pine Mushroom, staying busy all day long.

Michelle was also quite happy to see the young girl "steal" her job.

"I was also working part-time and self-studying before I got into college."

Who wouldn’t feel fondness for someone trying hard to live a better life?

In the videos, Yeseilena appeared more and more often. She spoke more and more, and her personality was becoming increasingly cheerful.

The three people and one dog were always joyful, laughter constantly ringing out.

Zhong Ning didn’t have a fixed schedule for posting videos, but Xie Shiqing had set a special alert for her, so she could always click in the moment one was uploaded and send tips through the platform.

She maintained her place as the top supporter, but never too far ahead of the second place — she didn’t want to draw too much attention.