Yuan Kai was stunned for a long moment before he finally stammered, "He... he landed a five million order?"
"That's right," Feng Feifei said. "Weren't you the one who gave him the client's information?"
'Damn it, I gave him the clients that were basically impossible!' Yuan Kai thought. 'What kind of dogshit luck is this? He just steps out the door and stumbles into an order, while I spent all day kissing a client's ass just to land a dinner meeting!'
"President Feng, could there be a problem here? It's impossible with his skill level. His luck must be off the charts!"
Feng Feifei looked a little disappointed. "Luck is a part of skill, Manager Yuan," she said calmly. "This deal is the company's top priority right now. Please be sure to give it your all."
Yuan Kai persisted, "I understand. I'm just worried Chen Xiao's sales skills are too poor and he'll drop the ball on this deal. Should I perhaps take over and handle it personally from here on out?"
"You need to have faith in your colleagues. Manager Yuan, you can go back and work on the proposal. Oh, and when you're done, have Chen Xiao review it. After all, he's the one liaising with the client, so he understands their specific needs. Let him see if anything needs to be changed."
Sensing Feng Feifei's impatience, Yuan Kai could only leave dejectedly.
'Damn it, that bastard is so lucky! If I'd known, I would've gone myself. If Chen Xiao can do it, so can I! Five million! That's a 250,000 commission. That's enough for a bride price!'
With a dark expression, Yuan Kai walked over to Chen Xiao's desk. "Chen Xiao, President Feng said there's a project and I'm supposed to guide you on the proposal and detailed quote... What the hell, Chen Xiao? Are you playing games during work hours?"
Damn it, the office was empty, so Chen Xiao had gotten a little bold. Was Yuan Kai a ghost? He walked so silently that Chen Xiao didn't even have time to switch screens.
'It's over. My teammates are going to flame me for going AFK.'
He closed the game, turned his head, and said, "Manager Yuan, you must be seeing things. I'm studying our product information. Look!"
He said, pointing to the study materials on his desktop.
"You!" Seeing how brazen he was, Yuan Kai felt like he was about to explode with rage. He bitterly regretted not taking a photo for proof. Now Chen Xiao had plausible deniability, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.
"Also, Manager Yuan, let me correct you on something. You'll have to handle the proposal and the quote. I won't be involved in that part. I'm just responsible for the negotiations. Paperwork isn't my strong suit. Everyone has their own area of expertise, right?"
'Specialty my ass! So what, I'm your assistant now?' A thousand curses erupted in Yuan Kai's mind.
'Forget it. I'll swallow this. I'll do it for the 0.5% override I get as department head if this deal closes, and I'll do it because President Feng assigned this task.'
Seeing Yuan Kai with his head down, working on the proposal, Chen Xiao opened his game again.
As if sensing something, Yuan Kai glanced up at him. Chen Xiao, on high alert, switched screens with incredible smoothness.
"Manager Yuan, you should be focusing on the proposal. Why do you keep looking at me? It'd be a shame if there was a mistake and you had to redo everything from scratch, wouldn't it?"
Yuan Kai kept looking up every few minutes, causing Chen Xiao to die several times in his game. 'Damn it, can't I even play in peace? This job... Making a little money is so damn hard!'
Yuan Kai ignored him, knowing the kid was definitely gaming again. 'I'll just wear you down.' He started getting up and wandering around periodically, causing Chen Xiao's character to die several more times.
"Oh? Manager Yuan, is the proposal ready?"
Yuan Kai had just gotten up for one of his customary strolls when Feng Feifei came out and saw him. Assuming he was finished with the proposal, she asked the question.
"Ah, not yet. I'm still working on it!"
Chen Xiao chimed in at the perfect moment. "Manager Yuan, the client has already followed up a few times. Please try to speed it up. I'll just be over here reviewing the materials, so you don't need to keep checking on my 'study' progress!"
Feng Feifei looked at Yuan Kai, confused. "Manager Yuan, on a deal this important, you need to be completely focused to avoid any errors. Just let Chen Xiao manage his own time. You've both worked hard on this proposal today!"
Yuan Kai stared resentfully at Feng Feifei. 'Is she for real? I'm here racking my brain on this proposal while he's playing games, and she says we *both* worked hard? Boss, how can you call a deer a horse like that?'
Feng Feifei paid him no mind, turning and heading back into her office.
After that, Chen Xiao was finally able to play a couple of rounds in peace, shaking off his earlier frustration. His teammates even praised his "prodigal son returns" performance.
He glanced at the time. It was almost 5:30 PM, nearly quitting time, but Yuan Kai was still clattering away at his keyboard, not even close to finished.
'Shit, don't tell me he expects me to stay for overtime with him. Isn't that just asking me to do unpaid grunt work?'
[Ding! The System encourages the Host to perform grunt work, but it does not encourage unpaid grunt work! A special task is hereby issued:]
[Random Task: Receive one (1) random reward package based on the duration of your overtime grunt work today. The longer you work, the better the reward.]
'Hell yeah, let's do this! I'm going to get to King rank! I'm going to play until midnight! Oh, wait, no. I'm going to do *grunt work* until midnight!'
Yuan Kai let out a sigh of relief, finally finishing right before quitting time. He sent the proposal to Chen Xiao. "The proposal's done. Go ahead and send it to the client."
'That was fast?' Chen Xiao opened the file. 'Damn, this really is better than anything I could have done.'
"This won't work, Manager Yuan. This proposal doesn't meet the client's requirements. The client wants a side-by-side comparison of the technical specifications for our equipment versus what's currently on the market, and also..."
"What the fuck! Why the hell didn't you say so earlier? I spent all afternoon on this, and now you're telling me to scrap it and start over!"
Just then, Feng Feifei, who was getting ready to leave for the day, heard the commotion. "What's going on? Is the proposal finished?" she asked.
Chen Xiao beat him to the punch, playing the victim. "President Feng, I reviewed Manager Yuan's proposal, and it doesn't follow the client's requirements. Manager Yuan is upset I didn't say so earlier, but I had no idea! The client said these are just basic, common-sense requirements and that every company includes this in their proposals. I just assumed that with Manager Yuan's professionalism, he wouldn't overlook something like that. Who could have known... Sigh, I guess it's my fault."
Feng Feifei waved her hand. "Chen Xiao, don't blame yourself. You're new, after all. You wouldn't have experience with this."
"Manager Yuan, I've seen your proposal. It's excellent! However, the client's requests are also perfectly reasonable. To make sure there are no hiccups with this deal, we should do our best to meet their requirements. Wouldn't you agree?"
'Agree? What the hell is there for me to agree to? The two of you have already said everything!'
'Damn it. Chen Xiao, you smug bastard. You landed a five million order, so you have the upper hand for now. I'll tolerate it this time. Let's see how long your arrogance lasts. You'll slip up eventually, and when you fall into my hands, I'll make you wish you were dead.'
In his heart, Yuan Kai was spewing the vilest curses while doing the most grueling work.
Chen Xiao was exhausted, too. After all, anyone would be worn out after 'grinding' all afternoon. He wondered if he should go out to grab a bite before coming back to keep on 'grinding'... no, wait, to keep on doing grunt work.
Just then, Feng Feifei said, "Chen Xiao, Manager Yuan is busy and needs to work overtime. If you don't have anything else, why don't you head home first."
Huh? Why?! Yuan Kai and Chen Xiao protested simultaneously.
"President Feng, Chen Xiao needs to stay and help review my work to see if anything else fails to meet the client's needs."
"President Feng, how could I possibly let Manager Yuan work overtime all by himself? I have to stay and keep him company!"