Gu Zixuan felt a tremor as she looked at An Ran, who didn’t seem friendly, and swept her eyes up and down. An Ran glanced jealously at Gu Zixuan’s outfit: a Chanel high-neck fringed skirt, a Paul Smith coat, Jimmy Choo silver high heels, and a Damiani pink diamond ring. Each piece was expensive, each something she read about in magazines but couldn’t bear to buy the genuine item. Gu Zixuan naturally knew what An Ran was looking at. She folded her hands slightly, blocking the ring’s shine, and smiled faintly, "Assistant An, what’s the matter?" An Ran gave a mocking laugh, stepped forward, and without waiting for Gu Zixuan to speak, took a seat on the sofa across from the office desk. Gu Zixuan’s office had been specially chosen by Feng Chengjin, the largest one by the window. The transparent light, along with the white office desk and green potted flowers, made it comparable to a vice president’s office. "Here to discuss taking leave with Director Gu." An Ran gave another light laugh, then pretentiously handed the folder she was holding to Gu Zixuan, "Director Gu, it’s , everyone formally recruited by our company has official leave and annual leave. At your level, annual leave increases by one day per month, twelve days a year. Casual leave can be taken indefinitely, but each time, the day’s salary is deducted. Director Gu parachuted in, so far, no documents have been submitted to our HR department, so we don’t know how to settle your salary. But..." An Ran paused, suddenly smiling with false coldness, "Shouldn’t Director Gu consider going through the normal leave process? At the very least, log in to the company’s internal network and make a personal leave record?" Thinking of how in the past two weeks Gu Zixuan had been with the company, she was almost always late or leaving early. She even had Xi Ruo take leave on her behalf. To be honest, as the person responsible for overseeing the leave procedures and registration of the entire company’s middle and senior management, An Ran felt this was a slap in the face! An Ran spoke with a tone lacking any pleasantness. Beside them, Xi Ruo, who had been watching, was a bit flustered, her eyes wide in disbelief. Gu Zixuan lowered her eyelashes, feeling somewhat guilty. After all, Xi Ruo had told her that when requesting anything in the company or taking leave, one must log into the company’s internal network and use their account of the appropriate level to fill in all the details. Although... Feng Chengjin indulged her whims, the company required management, and if she truly acted so willfully, it would be quite disrespectful to the company’s procedures and corporate culture. The company belonged to Feng Chengjin, and it was also an enterprise where everyone adhered to professional ethics. So, she smiled and said, "Alright, I’ll make sure to do it later." "Make up for it?" An Ran was completely infuriated, laughing lightly, "Director Gu? Are you joking with me or pretending to play dumb? You’ve just joined, with no accumulated annual leave, your salary is confidential, and we can’t deduct it. How do you make up for it? Make up for it and then continue being late or leaving early whenever you please? Writing blank checks?" Although An Ran’s words weren’t wrong in principle, her tone was excessive. Xi Ruo had an expression of being at a loss for words. Gu Zixuan also looked at the rather aggressive An Ran, her brow slightly furrowed. Yet she didn’t react harshly. She continued to endure, politely raising the corner of her mouth, "Then what does Assistant An suggest?" An Ran sneered, thinking Gu Zixuan wasn’t much, probably just being kept by some vice president. This update is available on novel·fire·net Youyou said, "It’s nothing much, just familiarize Director Gu with the procedures to avoid such incidents in the future. As for the leave, I’ve deducted it for you. But from now until April next year, I’m afraid you can’t take leave at will anymore." Having said that, An Ran retrieved the folder on the table and prepared to leave. But this time, Gu Zixuan lightly laughed, "Who do you think you’re talking to in that tone?" With her gentle yet firm tone, Xi Ruo suddenly felt invigorated, almost ecstatic. An Ran’s face turned cold, she slowly turned back, "What do you mean by that?" Gu Zixuan smiled, speaking calmly, "I think if Assistant An’s literacy isn’t lacking, you should understand the difference between a director and a director’s assistant." The straight-to-the-point comment made An Ran’s body tremble, "You!" Gu Zixuan continued, "Although the HR department governs all the company’s trivia and personnel management, our e-commerce department is still an independent department. In terms of influence, it’s indeed not as great as HR, but no matter how you look at it, my rank is higher than yours, right?" An Ran’s face turned completely ashen. As a senior assistant in the HR department, she was naturally familiar with every level of classification. She just didn’t expect Gu Zixuan, who seemed so gentle and weak, to actually be so blunt... And Gu Zixuan laughed lightly, even more pointedly delivering a final verbal slapback, "Most importantly, no matter how influential your HR department is, it’s still a service department. And while our e-commerce department is just one of many project departments, it generates profit for the company. You can personally believe your position is more important, as having a passion for one’s job is the minimum professional belief for any employee. However, if you truly can’t distinguish between what’s light and heavy, or understand the company’s strategic development, if you can’t even tell who’s generating the revenue to pay your salary..." Extending the tail of her word, Gu Zixuan said, "Shouldn’t Assistant An perhaps take a refresher course on business?" In an instant, the entire office atmosphere froze. Xi Ruo watched Gu Zixuan’s voice, not heavy, yet every word and sentence hit An Ran’s face, finally understanding what she meant when she said on her first day, ’I’m not gentle with everyone.’ At present, her awe for this future CEO’s wife rose inexplicably from the bottom of her heart. However, An Ran’s expression was not as pleasant. To be honest, ever since she joined and worked alongside Musa, she had always been respectfully addressed as Assistant An by many. After all, their HR department managed a lot, and if certain relationships were handled well, some matters could be given preferential treatment, like departmental resources and benefits. But Gu Zixuan, being , was the first one to dare openly challenge within less than two weeks of joining! So, narrowing her eyes coldly, she said, "Director Gu, are you sure you want to speak this way? It’s you who’s been taking leave early and leaving reports for our HR department incomplete. I kindly come to discuss this matter with you, and you’re mocking me and my department?" Gu Zixuan shrugged with a smile, "I have no intention to insult the HR department; I’m just questioning Assistant An’s professional abilities, which makes..." Seeing the defiant look on An Ran’s face, Gu Zixuan smiled even more elegantly. "I just want to be late and leave early. I make money for the company, even if I take a year’s worth of leave, as long as I bring back the profit in the end, and my superior doesn’t criticize me, what could you possibly do about it?" This slap was indeed too harsh. If what was done before was a slap in the face, now it surely felt like knocking the entire person into the ground. Therefore, not only XI Ruo was stunned, An Ran was stunned, even a few employees passing by the office door were stunned. Time froze amidst the mutual gazes of several people. An Ran’s heart beat powerfully again and again, strongly and clearly shaking. An Ran’s hand clenched tighter into her palm, with a freshly done diamond-studded nail broken due to excessive force. "Director Gu, you’re... something else." After An Ran said this, she let out a cold laugh, rolled her eyes dramatically, and turned to leave. Gu Zixuan glanced at the ground, saying, "Wait." Gu Zixuan pointed her chin towards the direction of the ground, "Take the trash with you." After speaking, she faced An Ran’s momentarily murderous look calmly and instructed Xi Ruo, "Xiao Xi, see Assistant An off, there’s a pantry to the right." Then she smiled gently, as if she had never gone through such a confrontation, and began working. As soon as An Ran left, the news about Gu Zixuan seemed to have sprouted wings and flew through the company’s internal chat groups in an instant. Everyone went into an uproar. A: "Did you hear! Assistant An just went to discuss leave issues with Director Gu and was practically swept out like trash from the office." B: "Heard it! I heard Assistant An’s face was twisted in anger, and I must say, Director Gu is too powerful, actually daring to say such a thing? ’As long as I bring back the profit, and my superior doesn’t criticize me, what can you do about it?’ My goodness! So commanding." C: "Whether or not it’s commanding doesn’t matter, where the confidence comes from is what matters! After all, everyone knows Assistant An is Director Mu’s person, and Director Mu was previously recruited back by the CEO with a high salary as the former vice president of Shengyun International! Back then, she was a rose that brooked no argument in the business world. What do you think, Director Mu has the CEO as her backer, who’s the backer behind Director Gu?" D: "I want to know too! Oh my gosh, I’m just dying of curiosity!" A group of people were enthusiastically chatting in the group. In an office of about the same size as Gu Zixuan’s, Musa with her arms folded, leaned against an Apple MAC computer, staring at the constantly updating screen content. Glancing at An Ran, who was already extremely frustrated over there. The corners of her lips slightly curled up, "Didn’t I tell you not to act impulsively; see the result now?" An Ran, unconvinced, yet face turning green with anger, eyes full of grievance, said, "It’s just I can’t stand her ignoring our HR department!" Musa didn’t respond, just laughed lightly, her almond-shaped eyes leisurely sweeping towards the direction of Gu Zixuan’s office. In her heart, she murmured. It seems, this Gu Zixuan is more complicated than imagined.