Chapter 20 I don't like to force things. ...

What happened recently? Mercury retrograde?

Zhao Manzhi felt helpless about the bad luck that kept coming. She even wanted to use the power of metaphysics to find the horoscope app that she had thrown into the corner and collected dust. She looked at her fortune and found that everything matched her -

bad love, quarrels with friends, and a moody boss...

"What should I do? Go to worship?" Chen Hang suggested.

"I worship the Eastern gods with a Western horoscope. Is that okay?"

"Sincerity

is the key to success. There are no taboos." Zhao Manzhi exited the chat interface dejectedly. Chen Hang looked at Wen Jing and well-behaved. After getting to know her, her words became more and more unreliable. It was useless to ask her.

She was an atheist and believed in dopamine and endorphins more than the horoscope. Thinking too much was useless. It was better to exercise.

When it was time to get off work, Zhao Manzhi packed her gym bag and prepared to go downstairs. She remembered Eric's pursuit and hesitantly found the access card given by Uncle Ning. After thinking for two minutes, she walked into the gym on this floor.

Unlike the clean and bright employee gym downstairs, this one is extremely hidden. The secret door is next to the conference room and rest room. If no one reminds you, it will hardly be discovered that there is another room hidden here.

Just as Lu Qianning said, this place is quiet, the equipment is brand new, and the air is filled with a faint scent of white agarwood. There are almost no signs that anyone has been here.

Is it not put into use yet, or is it reserved for someone?

Zhao Manzhi thought of Zhuang Youkai almost immediately. As a young master of Huanye, there is no doubt that he can enjoy such special treatment, but Zhuang Youkai spoke to her so harshly these two days. Could it be his instruction?

No matter how hypocritical he is, it shouldn't be to this extent.

It's possible that Uncle Ning is kind-hearted and can't stand Eric's entanglement. He also thought that he would not be favored by Young Master Zhuang here, so he secretly helped her.

Once she had the idea that "this is Zhuang Youkai's territory", she would exercise like a thief, moving very cautiously. She didn't do anything, but she felt sore all over.

"I should have known not to come." She muttered as she changed her clothes and rubbed her shoulders and neck. "I'm so unlucky, maybe I should really go to worship."

When Zhao Manzhi went downstairs, the phone rang. She answered it subconsciously, but heard Chen Muchuan's voice.

"Chen Muchuan?" She quickly confirmed the time, "What time are you, getting up so early, are you going to die?"

"Oh, I thought you would feel sorry for my international roaming fee across the Pacific Ocean. Can't I get up early?"

Zhao Manzhi was not in the mood to chat, and her tone was very straightforward, "If you have something to say, just say it."

"Well, I'm taking my time. I just woke up." Chen Muchuan's voice was still hoarse, "Did you have a quarrel with your best friend, that someone, Fang Ling?"

He was from the north, and when he said Fang Ling's name, he naturally brought out the erhua sound, which sounded like "Fang Ling'er", very intimate. Zhao Manzhi's heartstrings tightened a little, and she hummed, "How do you know that Xiaoling came to you to tell you? That's impossible."

In her impression, Xiaoling was introverted and shy, and it was rare for her to open her heart to others. Chen Muchuan and her were even more unrelated, so when she heard that the two had a connection, Zhao Manzhi immediately sounded alarm bells, thinking that Chen Muchuan had extended his evil claws to her, "Chen Muchuan, stay away from Xiaoling. She is a good girl and I can't let you harm her."

"Zhao Manzhi, you are quite interesting. What's wrong? Are you jealous?"

"Get as far away as possible."

"Although I have a lot of bad deeds in the past, this time, I am really innocent. Fang Ling'er added me, and she was the one who came to me. She said that she had a quarrel with you and felt sorry for you, but she was embarrassed, so she asked me to help reconcile."

Hearing this, Zhao Manzhi felt a little bitter in her heart, "Why is she so roundabout? I obviously took the initiative to find her..."

"I'll forward the chat history to you. I have to get up and go to class now. If we continue chatting, I'll be late."

Soon, Chen Muchuan forwarded the chat history with Fang Ling. It was just a few sentences, and they were very polite and restrained. Fang Ling really thought that Chen Muchuan and Zhao Manzhi had a close relationship, so she was desperate and asked him to mediate.

Zhao Manzhi read the chat history over and over again, and always felt a little sad. She thought that her friendship with Fang Ling was close, but she didn't expect that one day, there would be words that could not be said face to face. 

The night wind in August was almost stagnant. Under the shade of the trees, there were grandpas and aunts in the old community enjoying the cool. Zhao Manzhi walked downstairs of her house and stopped. She hesitated and called Fang Ling. 

The other party answered the phone almost immediately, but did not say anything. 

"Xiaoling." 

"...Yeah, I'm here." 

"How have you been these past few days?" 

"Do you want to hear the truth?" 

Although she couldn't see, Zhao Manzhi nodded on the other end of the phone, "Yeah." 

"Not at all. I couldn't sleep for several days. I didn't know how to reply when you called me. I wanted to say sorry, but I was afraid it would be too abrupt. Manman, I regret saying those things to you. In fact, I was just afraid that you would get hurt..." 

"If you are so upset, why don't you tell me directly?" As she spoke, Zhao Manzhi's nose felt sour and a mist appeared in front of her eyes. "Xiaoling, when you hide and don't contact me, I always can't help but think a lot. I'm afraid that you will hate me and alienate me because of the quarrel that day. I'm even more afraid that if this goes on, you will adapt to life without this friend. How can I get along with you in the future? It's only been a week, and you don't know how to communicate with me anymore. You even have to ask for help from Chen Muchuan, whom you are completely unfamiliar with. If we really wait for a month or two, can we still be considered friends?" 

Fang Ling was choked up by what she said, "Manman, I really couldn't think of a way, so I thought of him. I thought he had a very good relationship with you..." 

"Can he be as close to you as you are?" 

"I'm sorry, Manman. I'm really sorry." Fang Ling sniffed. "I'll tell you everything directly in the future." 

Zhao Manzhi burst into laughter and snorted. "That's better." 

"Well, are you free 

this weekend? Let's go to Disneyland. We said we'd go to Hong Kong Island last time, but we didn't make it—" "This weekend? I have an appointment." Zhao Manzhi still remembered that Shen Hang rarely came back, so she had to welcome him. "My childhood friend Shen Hang finally came home, and I'll go to see her. How about you wait for me to come back from Hangzhou? Or wait until next week, and we'll go together." 

"Oh, so..." Fang Ling lowered her eyes. "Then we'll make an appointment again." 

* 

The sky was clear and cloudless. The Huangpu River sparkled, as if it was coated with a layer of gold foil. 

The office of Huanye's executives had an excellent view. Looking down, you could see the traffic and people merging, and the busy Bund was like a tributary flowing into the long river of time. Lin Zhuowen simply poured a cup of tea and pushed it in front of Zhao Manzhi: "Sit down, let's talk slowly." 

"Thank you, Mr. Gavin." 

Her internship period is coming to an end, and Huanye HR needs to evaluate her performance and job report. Excellent interns can be included in Huanye's talent pool and have priority in getting a formal offer. 

Although Zhao Manzhi just wanted to enhance her resume, as a patient with top student syndrome, she would be a little nervous every time she took an exam, and even Lin Zhuowen's gentle smile could not relieve her tension.

"Okay, let's get straight to the point without any more nonsense. Raymond and I have witnessed your performance, and everyone has a very good evaluation of you. But I took a look and found that your personal preference is not to take a formal offer. Why?"

"I'm not particularly satisfied with my current abilities and knowledge, and I plan to continue my studies. Therefore, it will definitely be difficult for me to find a job in the next two years, so I don't have that inclination."

"That's great, it's a good thing to continue studying." Lin Zhuowen nodded, and he agreed with her ambition. "Where do you plan to go, go abroad, stay in Hong Kong Island, or return to the mainland?"

Zhao Manzhi said with a smile, "I want to try Lausanne for now. After all, it is the authority in the hotel management profession."

"Ok, that's great. Lausanne's graduates are indeed the trump cards in this industry. Mandy, you will start year 4, right?"

"Yes."

"Have you considered continuing to work part-time in year 4? It can be extended from the end date of summer intern--"

"I have plans for the future, but I don't have much energy to take care of both. Thank you for your kindness."

Does the beautiful girl have such a rich extracurricular life? Lin Zhuowen didn't give up and asked, "What are you going to do specifically? Is it convenient to tell me? If it's not convenient, forget it."

"It's nothing. I signed up for Ocamp with my classmates. I can't just give him a break." Zhao Manzhi thought that since Lin Zhuowen could ask her about her intentions for so long, he probably got a good grade for the evaluation report. She relaxed and smiled more charmingly, "But I like Huanye very much. If I submit my resume after finishing my master's degree, I hope you can take care of me."

Lin Zhuowen sighed in his heart. It was a pity that this drama of chasing girls had to end before it even began. Even so, he still responded decently with a businesslike attitude, "Of course, I hope we can continue to be colleagues in the future."

After the interviews with the outstanding interns were over, he handed the evaluation report to Zhuang Youkai for review. It was obvious that he could feel that the other party had stayed on Zhao Manzhi's page for a long time.

"Just for Ocamp?"

"Yes, just for Ocamp."

Lin Zhuowen didn't know whether to say that Zhuang Youkai was not charming enough or Zhao Manzhi was stubborn. Such an attractive olive branch was thrown in front of her, but she could refuse it for an insignificant student activity.

Zhuang Youkai raised his eyelids slightly. The photo of Zhao Manzhi in the CV was still immature, but her smile was as bright as ever. This was probably her ID photo taken when she just graduated from high school. There was still some baby fat on her face, and she was a bit childish and cute.

That was Zhao Manzhi he didn't know. Except for the short one month of getting along with her now, her past and future were all unfamiliar to him.

After pondering for a long time, Zhuang Youkai signed the final review opinion with a few strokes, closed the folder and handed it back, his expression showing little emotion. "By the way, confirm with Cynthia when she can return to work, and make sure the handover is done well."

His indifference made Lin Zhuowen sigh, "Is it really like this?"

"What? This should be the norm." Zhuang Youkai put away the Montblanc Wilde and pinned it to his vest pocket on his chest. "Respect everyone's wishes, I don't like to force things."