novelraw Chapter 571: Interview, Ascending
Chapter 571: Interview, Ascending
Thursday, October 26, 2023.
7 a.m.
Inside the executive suite of the Four Seasons Hotel, a faint woody fragrance lingered in the air.
In the master bedroom, a sliver of morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a streak along the edge of the bed.
The moment Lin Muxue opened her eyes, she instinctively glanced sideways.
The other side of the bed was already empty, the blanket neatly folded.
Shen Yuyan had gotten up at some unknown hour.
“What’s with the act of being so diligent…” she murmured with a hint of complaint, turned over, and closed her eyes again.
She had just flown from Yancheng to Hong Kong yesterday, the first day of her business trip.
She had also picked up a few limited-edition handbags exclusive to Hong Kong and, combined with the excitement of sharing a bed with a rival, she hadn’t slept well. More than thirty minutes passed.
Outside came faint sounds of movement.
Lin Muxue yawned and reluctantly rolled out of bed.
She put on soft slippers and walked out.
Passing a full-length mirror, her steps involuntarily paused; she switched to a professional smile, struck a few poses, and admired herself.
In the mirror, her features were delicate, hair slightly messy, yet exuding a lazy kind of sexiness.
Undeniably, having Shen Yuyan as a contrast had sparked a lot of fighting spirit within her, even making her more “ambitious.”
She stepped out of the bedroom.
Sunlight poured into the living room through half-open curtains. The hotel’s constant temperature system made the room comfortable and pleasant; Hong Kong’s morning was humid and warm.
Lin Muxue’s gaze swept around, but she saw no sign of Shen Yuyan.
She walked casually a few steps and faintly heard the sound of typing from the study.
Raising an eyebrow, Lin Muxue gently pushed the door open.
Shen Yuyan sat at the desk, wearing a fresh-looking tracksuit, eating breakfast while typing, her expression focused.
Her hair was still a bit damp, cheeks slightly flushed, looking like she had just finished exercising not long ago, emanating a healthy aura.
“Morning, Shirley.” Lin Muxue leaned against the doorframe, her voice lazy.
“Good morning, Luna.” Shen Yuyan smiled and looked up, her tone relaxed. “Just got back from morning exercise and went through the documents for today’s meeting. I ordered your favorite shrimp dumplings and English breakfast; they’re in the dining area.”
“Uh… thank you for being so thoughtful.” Lin Muxue’s expression was a bit awkward.
To be honest, this was her first real business trip. Her mindset was more about traveling and enjoying herself, not thinking so much.
Also, since she was attending a meeting where headquarters employees would report to her, she hadn’t bothered to look at the meeting files on Teams beforehand.
By comparison, it made her look like a bit of a slack assistant.
Shen Yuyan smiled softly and got up, walking over. “It’s what I should do. After all, we’re teammates now. And we even sleep in the same bed, right?”
Her tone was warm and ambiguous, her gesture natural as she lightly patted Lin Muxue’s arm.
Lin Muxue raised her eyebrows and chuckled lightly but didn’t reply.
Teammates? If it weren’t for the lack of an audience for my pretense, I wouldn’t have let you move in!
“I’m going to freshen up first. You eat early too, then we’ll go to the company together. Go, go, go!” Shen Yuyan gave an energetic cheerleading gesture and left, swaying her full hips.
Watching her back, Lin Muxue couldn’t help but purse her lips and head toward the dining area.
Immediately, she switched into photo-taking and check-in mode, recording her life.
This time in Hong Kong, she was here for the full experience!
To completely cement her “socialite” and “elite” persona!
8:30 a.m.
Lin Muxue changed into a tailored Loro Piana suit, sharp, elegant, and bright, and stepped out of the walk-in closet.
She happened to bump into Shen Yuyan coming out of her room, still in the familiar gray professional attire.
Lin Muxue raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Shirley, don’t you have a one hundred thousand yuan clothing allowance from your assistant position? Why are you still wearing the same outfit? Want me to accompany you to buy some decent clothes? There are a few private tailoring shops right here in IFC.”
Shen Yuyan’s expression remained calm, her tone gentle and composed. “I value occasion and matching more than labels and tags.”
Lin Muxue responded with an “Oh,” her eyes briefly scanning the Chanel small square bag on Shen Yuyan’s shoulder before casually smiling, “And that bag—if I remember correctly, it belongs to Qingqing, right?”
Shen Yuyan’s lip twitched barely noticeably. “We’re close, so we sometimes swap bags to match our outfits.”
“That’s true.” Lin Muxue nodded, smiling warmly. “I have plenty of bags here. If you’re short, just say so. No need to always borrow from others. After all, we’re all direct team members under Tang now. We have to maintain our image and not embarrass him, right?”
Shen Yuyan’s breathing paused slightly; she forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Thanks, Luna, but no need. I’m actually planning to get some new clothes soon and will go shopping tonight when I have time.”
She had just recently joined the company, with nearly all her past savings invested in the Youjie project and Xu Qing’s stock options. She didn’t have much liquid cash.
So her professional wardrobe was mostly bought in Yancheng before, the most expensive piece costing no more than seven or eight thousand yuan.
Lin Muxue’s eyes brightened, her smile growing wider. “That’s great! I’m planning to buy a few limited edition pieces tonight too. Perfect—we can go together.”
“Uh, okay.” Shen Yuyan exhaled and her eyes flickered. Suddenly she said, “Xiaoxue, actually, since we’re both assistants under Tang, we should be more harmonious. Especially now that we’re at headquarters, work must come first. At least we shouldn’t let others laugh at us, right?”
This trip to Hong Kong had truly shaken Shen Yuyan and made her temporarily change her mindset.
She no longer wanted to confront Lin Muxue head-on but aimed to soften first, then proceed gradually.
“Oh?” Lin Muxue smirked. “I’ve always thought that way.”
“That’s good. Looking forward to our cooperation ahead.”
9 a.m. sharp.
The two left the executive floor of the Four Seasons Hotel together and took the dedicated elevator directly to the lobby.
Outside the hotel, one side faced the Victoria Harbor view with sea breeze blowing; the other led to the passage connecting to the International Finance Centre Phase 2.
Because both belonged to the IFC complex, there was a special internal passage from the Four Seasons to IFC, extremely convenient and the main reason they booked here.
The sharp clicking of high heels on marble tiles was crisp and professional.
At the other end of the passage, the IFC mall’s lighting was soft and temperature pleasant, with glass display windows showcasing seasonal limited editions from CHANEL, Valextra, Brunello Cucinelli, and other brands.
Walking along, Lin Muxue casually introduced the design concepts and prices of luxury goods, “These shoes are a collaboration between Jimmy Choo and a Hong Kong designer, exclusively launched at IFC… I just got this bag last night; you should’ve seen it…”
Her tone was casual but carried a natural sense of superiority.
Shen Yuyan listened and watched with a smile, her pace steady, though her hands kept instinctively wiping.
Soon, the two arrived at the entrance of IFC Phase 2 office tower.
This skyscraper truly stood at the pinnacle of Asian finance, gathering the world’s top banks, hedge funds, and law firms.
The automatic doors opened, and a unique financial aura hit them.
The spotless lobby was quiet, orderly, and expensive.
Well-dressed men and women lined up quietly to swipe cards and go upstairs, exuding calm energy and restrained manners.
Standing in this space, Lin Muxue and Shen Yuyan both subconsciously held their breath.
They struggled to suppress their excitement and intoxication.
They glanced at each other briefly, eyes meeting then quickly averting.
The atmosphere was strangely tacit and subtle, making both a little uneasy.
Shen Yuyan took a deep breath and was the first to pull out the headquarters badge she had received upon joining, swiping to enter. This update is available on N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
Lin Muxue followed closely.
The elevator slowly ascended, mirrored walls reflecting two very different auras but equally elegant and bright figures.
“Ding—”
The elevator doors opened slowly.
An entire floor of floor-to-ceiling windows stretched out, sunlight flooding in and illuminating the company’s logo ahead.
[ConfluentCapital]
The iconic infinity symbol (∞) was composed of two abstract rivers intertwining, symbolizing capital flow and strategic closed loops: simple, modern, and highly recognizable.
Behind the reception desk, two people had been waiting for some time.
Shen Yuyan immediately recognized them as two executives she had seen in Modu before—
Brand and Public Relations Director Zhang Weiran (Vivian) and Operations Director Chen Qihang (Harlan).
Upon seeing them, the two quickly approached.
Shen Yuyan responded gracefully, “Good morning, Vivian, Harlan. This is my assistant Luna.”
“Luna, Shirley, welcome to headquarters.”
“Hello, both of you.”
Lin Muxue’s expression tightened slightly.
She hadn’t expected Shen Yuyan to already be acquainted with headquarters personnel, and their relationship seemed quite familiar.
Truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing! Plotting to harm the emperor!
But she showed no emotion, instead smiling and calmly walking in the middle.
The Rongliu Capital headquarters office area unfolded before them.
Dark gray sound-absorbing carpet, high-end furniture, custom Herman Miller office chairs, and a uniquely designed pantry,
all fitting the style of a financial company.
The meeting area was in the east wing, with each conference room named after rivers around the world.
Further inside were the executive offices and the chairman’s office.
Notably, as assistants to Tang Song, Shen Yuyan and Lin Muxue shared an office at headquarters, right next to Tang Song’s office.
9:30 a.m., the meeting started on time.
Eleven headquarters executives were present; the conference room’s atmosphere was calm and restrained.
Harlan and Vivian reported in turn, introducing the core structure of headquarters, current asset allocation, and future investment directions.
Shen Yuyan sat upright, hands clasped on the table, focused.
She occasionally exchanged glances with others, mentally mapping names and resumes.
Within Rongliu Capital, ranks were clearly defined.
Analyst → Associate → Investment Manager → Director → Vice President (VP) → Managing Director (MD).
The highest-level executive present was Vice President Vincent Wong (Wang Jiajun), responsible for investments.
Former head of Blackstone Asia strategy, in charge of global LP relations and top-level strategic coordination.
Chief Financial Officer Alice Li (Li Anlan), senior finance and tax expert, former KPMG audit partner; Investor Relations Director Steven, former VP at Kate Fund…
These people were not just resumes on paper but genuine top-tier elites in the finance circle.
Compared to them, Shen Yuyan and Lin Muxue’s resumes seemed particularly ordinary.
Fortunately, she had once been the executive director of a startup, so her credentials were somewhat respectable.
At least stronger than Lin Muxue’s.
Thinking this, she slightly turned aside, her eye twitching.
This VP-level assistant, though sitting upright and formal, was tightly squeezing her long legs together, toes lightly tapping—obviously very excited.
“Useless!” she silently complained.
Shen Yuyan also clenched her legs tightly.
In the heart of the International Finance Centre, surrounded by billions in capital flows, companies, cases, and projects she had only seen in financial news.
This was the world she had once yearned for.
And now, she was part of it.
In a sense, she had reached a spiritual climax.
Her hostility toward Lin Muxue also became insignificant.
10:50 a.m.
Shencheng.
Qingning Technology Tower, 52 stories tall, was a super A-grade office building integrating offices, R&D, exhibition, and conference functions.
Qingning Technology had about 1,200 employees, with offices concentrated from the 35th to 52nd floors.
The other floors were occupied by upstream and downstream ecosystem enterprises, strategic partners, and high-end brand exhibition areas.
On the 42nd floor, the Qingmi AI office area, large conference room.
Outside the window was a blue sea and a city skyline dotted with skyscrapers; faint coffee aroma filled the air.
Liu Qingning sat at the main seat, brows focused, fingers lightly flipping notebook pages.
“Our current performance in the semantic understanding module is better than GPT-4, but there is still some ambiguity recognition bias in handling complex multi-turn conversations.
“In the coming month, everyone needs to work hard to refine the optimization tasks in these three directions to ensure validation is completed before the next version goes live.”
Low voices of discussion rose in the room as everyone quickly took notes on assignments.
“Knock, knock, knock—”
The glass door was gently tapped; the room quieted instinctively.
Qingmi AI’s HR Director Cai Sisi quickly walked in, leaned toward Liu Qingning, and lowered her voice: “Director Liu, there’s an interviewee you must meet personally.”
Liu Qingning raised her brows slightly and asked in surprise, “Which position?”
As head and general manager of Qingmi AI, the candidates she personally interviewed were always top talent and management.
Recruitment at this level usually required prior notification during project initiation, so sudden interviews were rare.
“Referred internally by headquarters, senior product manager. Former product director at Wisdom AI, led voice assistant projects, experience very fitting.
“No resume, urgent appointment, currently in Q5 meeting room.”
“Oh?” Liu Qingning’s eyes lit up. She immediately stood up, “I’m going right over.”
Qingmi AI was now at a critical phase of product richness, most lacking product managers, especially for the core voice interaction area—perfect fit!
She got up swiftly and nodded to her colleagues, “Let’s pause the meeting here. Other matters will be followed up by email.”
With that, she strode out of the conference room.
Walking through the corridor, passing through the dappled light of the office area, turning two corners, she arrived at Q5 meeting room.
The door displayed a “Meeting in Progress” sign, unusually quiet.
Liu Qingning paused briefly, wearing a courteous smile, reached for the door handle, gently pushed the door open, and entered.
Facing her was a seated figure.
He wore a deep gray shirt with sleeves rolled neatly to the elbows. Long fingers rested on his knees. Jet-black hair swept over handsome brows.
He appeared tall and upright, exceptionally outstanding.
Time seemed to freeze.
Liu Qingning stood frozen, unmoving, her eyes inexplicably misty.
The man slowly stood up, a familiar smile curling his lips, “Hello, are you Director Liu?”
Liu Qingning bit her cherry lips; her eyes suddenly brightened as if filled with starlight.
They stared at each other for a moment; heartbeats intertwined, as if electric currents flowed between them.
But the next second, Liu Qingning blinked and quickly composed herself, adopting a serious tone: “Yes, you are the interviewee today, right?”
“Mm, candidate for senior product manager. Sorry for the sudden visit.” Tang Song cooperated with a nod.
Liu Qingning sat down opposite, unable to hide a slight smile but kept a professional tone, “Then let’s start.”
“Okay, you ask.” Tang Song’s expression was cooperative, sitting upright.
“Please give a brief self-introduction first.”
“My name is Tang Song, 25 years old, from Quancheng in Yan Province, graduated from American Yamaha University, and was product director at Wisdom AI for three years, mainly responsible for…” Tang Song began to ramble.
Liu Qingning barely restrained her smile, “How do you understand the ‘data closed loop’ in AI products? How do you build it in actual products?”
“Designing user behavior touchpoints, establishing data labeling processes… planning model iteration cycles…”
“Please explain the core structure of the Transformer model and its advantages in NLP.”
“The Transformer model is mainly based on the self-attention mechanism… effectively capturing global dependencies…”
Tang Song had graduated from computer science and had seriously studied AI-related knowledge due to Liu Qingning’s involvement, so these basics were easy for him, and he spoke fluently.
However, as Liu Qingning’s questions grew deeper, touching on many underlying principles and logic,
he began to hesitate and answer off-topic.
Liu Qingning didn’t expose him but kept a straight face and continued to exchange nonsense with him.
Their eyes remained locked, and the atmosphere was inexplicably charged.
More than ten minutes passed.
“Alright, Mr. Tang, I have understood your basic situation.”
“Director Liu, are you satisfied with me?”
“Emm, so-so.” Liu Qingning cleared her throat and, as usual, asked, “One last question: Why do you want to join Qingning Technology? Which of our products interests you the most?”
Tang Song leaned forward slightly, eyes blazing, “I’m most interested in your company’s Liu Qingning, eager to explore her, get to know her, and develop her.”
Liu Qingning’s heartbeat instantly lost rhythm, her cheeks flushed visibly like a freshly washed apple.
She quickly turned her head, arms crossed, pretending to be angry, “Sorry, Mr. Tang, but you don’t fit our company’s culture and requirements.”
“Pfft—” Tang Song couldn’t help but chuckle.
He stood and slowly walked to her side, bending down close to her face.
He studied this familiar face that could not be more familiar.
The damage from past overtime and sleepless nights had all been repaired.
Plus, the system item [Jade Gourd] had nurtured her well; her condition was excellent.
Her skin was delicate and smooth, faintly glowing.
She seemed to have become that fresh and radiant first love again.
Liu Qingning awkwardly shrank back, lightly patting his chest, “Hey, please behave, Mr. Tang. This is an interview.”
Tang Song didn’t respond, just slowly lowered his head and kissed her cherry lips.
Liu Qingning made a soft sound, leaned back in the chair, closed her eyes, letting this sudden wave of emotion sweep over her like a tide.
Their breaths mingled, temperature rising fast.
Tang Song kissed very seriously, savoring the sweetness of the first love bit by bit.
The meeting room air quietly turned a warm, ambiguous rosy hue.
After a long while, the two slowly parted.
Liu Qingning patted him lightly, coquettishly saying, “Why did you suddenly come? Didn’t you tell me in advance?”
“Someone teased me last night, so I came to make her keep her promise today.” Tang Song looked at her unwaveringly.
Though she wore a loose top today, it still couldn’t hide her full E-cup.
Back in school, during puberty, Tang Song had fantasized more than once about his first love.
At this moment of reunion after a long time, his heart was already shaken.
“I never promised you anything.” Liu Qingning looked away, unwilling to meet his fiery eyes.
Suddenly, Tang Song raised his hand and gently placed it on her shoulder, fingertips slowly sliding down.
Liu Qingning let out a low breath, immediately pressed his hand, whispering, “What are you doing… This is a company, be careful!”
Feeling the warmth and smoothness of her skin.
Tang Song took a deep breath, softly said, “You’re wearing [Jade Gourd] today, right?”
“Yes…”
“Let me touch the gourd, see how well it’s been nurtured by you.”
Liu Qingning’s eyes widened in shock, cheeks nearly bleeding, “No.”
“I promise, only touching the gourd, no funny business. You should trust me, Qingning.”
She pursed her lips, eyes flickering as if in a battle between heaven and earth.
After a long moment, she lost to his warm and passionate eyes.
As if making a great decision, she slowly pulled out the jade gourd tied with a red cord from her chest, her movements slow, fingers trembling slightly.
“No messing around.”
Liu Qingning glanced at him, struggling in her eyes for a moment, and slowly withdrew the [Jade Gourd].
“Beautiful.” Tang Song kissed her cheek and held the gourd.
The jade’s texture transmitted through his fingertips, with an extremely subtle feeling—warm, smooth, and with the warmth of her body.
The meeting room suddenly fell so silent that a pin could drop, only the faint sound of his fingers rubbing the jade stone remained.
Minutes later.
The two walked out of the meeting room one after the other.
Liu Qingning’s gaze lowered, her expression seemingly calm but her steps somewhat light and floating.
Tang Song smiled with satisfaction, his long fingers hanging naturally at his side, face showing contentment.
Just outside the general manager’s office, a voice suddenly sounded:
“Director Tang, Qingning.”
Liu Qingning stiffened, quickly composed herself, and looked up to see Qin Yingxue standing calmly and sharply at one side of the corridor.
“Director Qin.”
Tang Song nodded, “Yingxue.”
Qin Yingxue stepped forward, lowered her voice, “Director Tang, I want to confirm the funds arrangement for Rongliu Capital with you in person. Is now convenient?”
Liu Qingning quickly said, “You talk first, I’ll go to the restroom.”
With that, she quickly left, disappearing at the corridor’s end.
Outside the quiet office door.
Qin Yingxue lowered her voice and cut directly to the point: “Director Tang, the 10 billion USD from Kate Trust and Tangjin Family Office has successfully passed cross-border compliance reviews in America and Huaxia. The documents were officially stamped last night. Hong Kong SFC and the Monetary Authority have preliminarily approved it; formal release is expected tomorrow afternoon.”
“Good.” Tang Song’s eyes flashed with uncontrollable joy.
For cross-border movement of funds at the billion-dollar level, this approval speed was almost a “miracle.”
Achieving this required not only fully compliant and clear capital paths but also the deep resources and high-level reputation of Kate Consortium and Tangjin Family Office in multiple national regulatory systems.
Seeing Tang Song’s good mood, Qin Yingxue took a step forward, her tone gentle but probing, “One more thing: Since a large portion of this capital will be used for equity acquisitions in several listed companies, once involved, it may cause short-term violent fluctuations in the secondary market, or even premature leaks. When would you like us to announce this news publicly?”
Tang Song pondered for a moment, then calmly said, “Tomorrow is Friday. Announce after market close, giving the market a full weekend to absorb the news. By Monday’s open, the first wave of fluctuations should be absorbed.”
Qin Yingxue’s expression turned serious; she solemnly replied, “Understood. I will arrange the investor relations team to draft the statement and complete synchronized pre-heating across all channels tonight.”
Tang Song nodded lightly, his brows radiant with confidence and momentum.
Charm 80 meant he was about to truly step onto the spotlight stage.
This billion-dollar capital movement was his ascending command.
He believed it wouldn’t be long before his name and Rongliu Capital appeared on the front pages of major financial media, becoming one of the hottest topics in the capital market.