Lin Fan followed Zhao Jiayi and entered the headquarters building of Celestial Aviation.
"Chairman, the meeting starts in 10 minutes, shall I take you to the office first?" Zhao Jiayi said.
Lin Fan said, "Give me a moment, I need to go to the restroom."
Zhao Jiayi replied, "Sure, Chairman, the restroom is over there."
Zhao Jiayi pointed in a direction.
Lin Fan walked over, and soon found the restroom. As he was about to enter, a woman in professional attire came out of the women’s restroom, bumping right into Lin Fan.
The two looked at each other and felt that the other person seemed somewhat familiar.
Lin Fan didn’t think much of it and was about to enter the restroom.
But the woman suddenly said, "Lin Fan?"
Lin Fan stopped in his tracks, a bit curious: "You know me, and you are?"
The woman smiled and said, "It’s me, Liu Guixiang, back in high school, you sat behind me, remember?"
Lin Fan thought for a moment and finally remembered, couldn’t help but smile and said, "Liu Guixiang, I remember now, your math was not very good back then, you often asked me to help you with problems."
Liu Guixiang laughed, "Wasn’t that the case, my grades weren’t good, and yours were better than mine."
Lin Fan sighed, "We haven’t seen each other since high school, I never thought I’d run into you here."
Liu Guixiang said, "Yeah, I’m working here as the HR manager. You know my grades weren’t good back then, I got into a third-tier university, and after graduating, I managed to become an HR manager in this 50 billion company, not too bad, huh!"
Her tone carried a hint of pride. Indeed, considering her qualifications, graduating from a third-tier university and achieving the position of HR manager at Celestial Aviation, it was quite commendable.
Lin Fan smiled and said, "That’s really impressive."
Liu Guixiang, feeling proud, glanced over Lin Fan, finally noticing that he was dressed in cheap clothes.
Liu Guixiang asked curiously, "And you, what brings you here? Are you here for an interview? Our company doesn’t have many job openings recently, except for a handyman position. You wouldn’t be..."
She looked Lin Fan up and down, becoming more convinced that Lin Fan was actually here for the handyman position!
Lin Fan felt a sweat break out. It seemed Liu Guixiang misunderstood, he wasn’t here for a job interview.
Lin Fan was just about to explain.
But Liu Guixiang spoke up first, "Lin Fan, you made it to a first-tier university back then, didn’t you? No way, why would you interview for a handyman, that’s just too bad. Look at your clothes, are they even worth 100 bucks?"
Her tone had turned mocking, the initial joy of meeting an old classmate had vanished, replaced by a condescending disdain.
Lin Fan sighed inwardly, why so snobbish, even if I really was here for a handyman job, there’s no need to sneer, we’re old classmates after all.
Lin Fan smiled, "If I were here to interview as a handyman, as the HR manager, would you give me a chance for the sake of old classmates?"
He was just testing Liu Guixiang, hence using the hypothetical "if".
But Liu Guixiang ignored the "if", assuming Lin Fan was indeed here for a handyman position, thinking she guessed right.
Her mind filled with disdain for Lin Fan, while a sense of superiority surged.
Indeed, a third-tier graduate did better than a first-tier, this sense of superiority was hard to suppress.
"That would depend on your work abilities. I don’t play favorites, but as an old classmate, I’d give you an interview opportunity. Come to my office later, and I’ll personally interview you!" Liu Guixiang said.
Lin Fan replied, "Alright, I’ll go to the restroom first."
Liu Guixiang laughed, "Lin Fan, let me be frank, didn’t you go to a first-tier university? Why are you doing so poorly, even worse than me with a third-tier, where did all your time go, chasing girls?"
Lin Fan smiled, "Handsome guys can’t help it, beauties are always around, there’s no time to study. And you? You must have been a diligent student, did you ever date?"
Those words struck a nerve as if stepping on Liu Guixiang’s tail.
Liu Guixiang’s face instantly darkened, "Lin Fan, what do you mean, are you implying I’m ugly and no one chased me?"
She indeed had never dated, not even someone pursuing her, which was her deepest pain.
Lin Fan chuckled, "I didn’t say that, don’t overthink it, I’m heading to the restroom."
Liu Guixiang snorted, "You clearly meant it, so what if you’ve dated, you’re still here interviewing for a handyman position!"
Lin Fan heard her but ignored it and walked into the restroom.
"Hit where it hurts, infuriating! Filthy pauper, I’m not interested in you anyway!"
Liu Guixiang muttered as she walked away.
In the lobby, Liu Guixiang spotted Zhao Jiayi, who seemed to be waiting for someone.
"Secretary Zhao, waiting for someone? I heard you went to pick up the new chairman, did you?" Liu Guixiang greeted proactively.
Though Zhao Jiayi was just a secretary, being the chairman’s personal secretary, her status was no small matter, even as HR manager, Liu Guixiang needed to curry favor.
Zhao Jiayi replied, "Yes, I picked him up."
Liu Guixiang smiled, "I heard our new chairman is very young, can’t wait to meet him, but the higher-ups have kept it under wraps, and we still don’t know the chairman’s name."
Zhao Jiayi smiled, "The Chairman is here already, he’ll be present at the board meeting soon, you’ll know then."
After chatting with Zhao Jiayi for a bit, Liu Guixiang returned to her office.
Zhao Jiayi was waiting for Lin Fan to come out. Suddenly, she received a phone call and temporarily left as Lin Fan had not come out yet.
After a while, Lin Fan returned to the lobby.
Not seeing Zhao Jiayi.
Lin Fan assumed she went ahead inside, so he planned to go in by himself.
But at the front desk, he was stopped by the receptionist.
Seeing Lin Fan, the receptionist stood up and asked, "Sir, who are you looking for?"
Seeing Lin Fan with his shabby appearance, he didn’t look like he was there for an interview. Celestial Aviation wasn’t a small company; even for interviews, formal attire was expected.
Lin Fan smiled, "It’s my first day at work."
The receptionist frowned, looking skeptical, "At work? May I ask which department and your name?"
Lin Fan replied, "Lin Fan."
"One moment." The receptionist searched the computer, "I’m sorry, sir, but I couldn’t find any employment information for you. You can’t enter."
Lin Fan said, "It’s normal not to find it. I’ve instructed to keep it low profile; I’m your chairman."
Indeed, there were rumors that the company had changed ownership, but Lin Fan didn’t seem like a chairman at all.
The receptionist didn’t believe him and warned, "Sir, please don’t make trouble, leave immediately, or I’ll call security."
Lin Fan said, "If you don’t believe me, you might as well call my secretary, Little Zhao."
The receptionist got a bit annoyed, "You better be sensible, just leave quickly. If you’re our new chairman, then I’m the chairman’s wife!"
At this moment, Zhao Jiayi came rushing over, somewhat hurriedly.
"Apologies, Chairman, there was an important document to handle, so I stepped away for a moment."