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Gu Chen had barely returned to his workstation when he was surrounded by Sales Team One. A group of girls chattered away, asking, "He won't file another report with headquarters, will he?"

"Probably not," Gu Chen replied with a smile.

"That's good! That's good!" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Someone patted her chest. "Gu Chen, you've just arrived, so you don't know. Our company's rules about salespeople competing for clients are especially strict. Something happened before—"

Before she could finish, a colleague nudged her. She abruptly fell silent.

Liao Chunhua clapped her hands. "All right. Stop gossiping during work hours. Cao Yan is already in a bad mood, so don't let him take his anger out on you."

After saying that, she turned to Gu Chen. "You're new here. Sales Team One has a tradition: on a newcomer's first day, we hold a welcome event in the evening. We have dinner, chat, drink, sing—get to know each other better. It'll make work easier going forward."

After a pause, Liao Chunhua added, "Cao Yan has always been petty. He hates it when anyone outshines him. What happened today embarrassed him. Be careful around him at work from now on. Don't let him catch you slipping and use it as an excuse to make trouble."

Gu Chen nodded. "Thank you for speaking up for me earlier, Sister Chunhua."

"Ah!" Liao Chunhua waved her hand. "What are you thanking me for? You work under me. Looking out for you is what I should do. Besides, I didn't really help much."

As she spoke, Liao Chunhua could not help advising Gu Chen, "You're still young, and you're a top student from A University. I understand that you've just started working and can't stand being wronged. But I have to remind you: sometimes, you need to endure what you can. No matter how wrong Cao Yan is, he's still your direct supervisor. If you keep butting heads with him like this, you're the one who'll suffer."

Gu Chen gave a bitter smile. He was not really eighteen years old. How could he not understand that enduring for a moment brought calm waters? But he could not endure what had happened today. On his first day, Cao Yan had been eager to make things difficult for him and establish his authority. It was obvious Cao Yan intended to target him. Gu Chen worried that if he appeared too easygoing and low-key, the people at the sales office would step all over him to curry favor with Cao Yan.

Gu Chen had experienced this sort of thing too many times in his previous life. He had long since learned how to handle it. So, as a newcomer—especially when his direct supervisor was confronting him at every turn—Gu Chen had to show that he was not someone to be trifled with. Only then would the others not dare provoke him. After all, people's worst instinct was to pick on the weak.

As for Cao Yan, since he dared stir up trouble, he could not blame Gu Chen for making an example of him to warn the others.

At the very least, after today, Gu Chen believed no one in the sales office would scheme against him just to please Cao Yan.

There was no need to lay that out plainly, though. Gu Chen smiled at Liao Chunhua. "Thank you, Sister Chunhua. I'll pay attention to my work attitude when I deal with Manager Cao in the future."

Talking to smart people was easy. One hint was all it took. Liao Chunhua gave Gu Chen a thumbs-up. "That's right. No matter what, he's your direct supervisor. Keep any objections in your heart, but your attitude still needs to be proper."

The sales office worked from nine in the morning until six in the evening. Once six o'clock came around, employees could change and leave work if no clients came by. Just before quitting time, a male colleague from Sales Team Two walked over and patted Gu Chen on the shoulder. "Your team is all women, and you're the only guy. That's pretty inconvenient. If you have nowhere to go during lunch break, come over to Team Two. Our team leader is a man. The few of us hang out in the office with him, chat, and play games."

After saying that, the male colleague from Team Two asked Gu Chen, "Hey, do you play games?"

Gu Chen shook his head.

The male colleague from Team Two laughed. "Figures. A top student who scored seven hundred on the college entrance exam must spend all his time studying."

When Liao Chunhua emerged from the break room after changing with her team members, she saw the male colleague from Team Two trying to get friendly with Gu Chen.

She walked over with a smile. "What, did Pang Chunming send you to win him over?"

The male colleague from Team Two chuckled. "How could I dare poach Sister Liao's capable general? Our team leader just thinks it's inconvenient for Gu Chen, as a man, to stay in the break room with a bunch of women during lunch. He said Gu Chen could sit in his office whenever he had nothing to do."

Liao Chunhua snorted. Her gaze passed over the grinning male colleague and landed directly on Team Two's leader as he emerged from the office. "Pang Chunming, we're holding a welcome dinner for Gu Chen tonight. Want to come make up the numbers?"

Pang Chunming twirled his car keys and spread his arms with a shrug. "Sister Liao has personally invited me. I can hardly refuse such hospitality. Of course I'm joining."

Liao Chunhua said, "Same place, same rules."

Pang Chunming snapped his fingers. His gaze swept over the female salespeople behind Liao Chunhua, and he clicked his tongue twice before shaking his head at Gu Chen with a sigh. "What a riot of beauties. Little brother, you're a lucky man!"

When Cao Yan came out of the office, he saw Sales Team One and Sales Team Two getting along harmoniously. His expression darkened further. He walked stiffly through the group, and Pang Chunming kindly asked, "Manager Cao, we're throwing a welcome dinner for Gu Chen. Are you coming?"

"I have something to do." Cao Yan paused, then praised them against his will. "Sales Department One has a good tradition. The experienced staff guide the newcomers so they can integrate into the team faster. It's just hard on you veterans. Newcomers aren't easy to train. I'll think of a way to compensate you old hands later. We can't have you sacrificing your own working hours to train newcomers."

Liao Chunhua smiled. "Gu Chen is all right. He's smart and sensible. He knows all the contract clauses by heart and understands the calculations too. With him around, Sales Team One's efficiency has increased quite a bit. We signed ten deals in total today."

"Is that so?" Cao Yan smiled faintly. "That's good, then."

With that, he left without waiting for Liao Chunhua to respond.

Pang Chunming watched Cao Yan's retreating back and raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. "Why do I feel like Manager Cao was implying something?"

Liao Chunhua merely smiled and said nothing.

That evening's dinner was set at a barbecue restaurant near the sales office. The moment they entered, the place was smoky and stuffy, though the aroma was enticing. Liao Chunhua had already reserved a large private room. More than twenty people from the two sales teams sat down inside. Before they had even ordered, five cases of beer were brought over.