Chapter 676 - 301: You’re Planning to Sleep With Me and Not Take Responsibility?

"Surely not. Something this important, and Gao Xing didn’t tell you?" Dong Hongping deliberately feigned surprise.

In truth, she was doing it on purpose.

Otherwise, why would she have gone out of her way to find Jian Shiwai and help her out? Was it really because she valued her skills?

That was part of the reason.

But in reality, it was mostly about Xu Yun.

To win someone over, you first have to express goodwill, casually drop some useful information, or promise some tangible benefits.

Furthermore, she didn’t like the idea of a branch that was completely loyal to the general manager.

Especially not one with a VIP client who had ten billion in personal savings.

After all, this client had now caught the chairman’s attention, meaning he was on the Capital Headquarters’ list of important clients.

That was why it wasn’t just the other branches who were interested—her own branch was too, and they wanted to get him under their control.

Because once you had control of a client like that, it counted as your own performance metric, your own achievement.

Otherwise, the general manager wouldn’t have called and said he was going to pay the client a personal visit.

To put it bluntly, if she, Dong Hongping, could get to Jian Shiwai before the general manager returned, she would, by extension, gain control over the mega-rich Xu Yun.

And with that, she could go head-to-head with the general manager.

She might even have a chance to replace him, or get promoted directly to a position at the Capital Headquarters.

And Dong Hongping knew full well that the best way to do this was to sow discord from within, to make Jian Shiwai and Gao Xing suspect each other and drive a wedge between them.

Once Jian Shiwai and Gao Xing had a falling out, either Gao Xing would have to leave, or Jian Shiwai would be sidelined at the branch, forced to look for a position elsewhere.

But with her backing, Gao Xing certainly wouldn’t be the one transferred out.

So, Jian Shiwai could either swallow her pride and endure being sidelined, or she could accept the position at the main branch that Dong Hongping was offering. And at that point, Dong Hongping would have the perfect excuse to transfer the super-client, Xu Yun, to the main branch as well.

Of course, Jian Shiwai had one other option.

She could refuse to swallow her pride, refuse Dong Hongping’s offer, and instead convince that rich bumpkin to jump ship with her to another bank.

But Dong Hongping felt the chances of that happening were slim to none.

If she tried to poach a client—especially a super-client like him—the resistance from both the Capital Headquarters and the main branch would be immense.

The bank would do whatever it took to keep him, offering terms that were sure to satisfy him.

’You think you’re pretty enough to have him wrapped around your finger, Jian Shiwai?’

’Fine. We’ll just send eight, or even ten women to Xu Yun, all of them more exceptional and more beautiful than you.’

’When that happens, do you think he’ll still give you the time of day?’

’Are you really that important to him?’

Dong Hongping, for one, didn’t think so.

The richer a man was, the more he cared about personal gain; they were always the most ruthless when it came to the women in their lives.

She had seen it far too many times over the years!

That was why, sometimes, it seemed like your superiors were giving you many options, but when you analyzed the situation, you’d realize you only had one real choice.

This was Dong Hongping’s way of subtly putting psychological pressure on Jian Shiwai.

And once Jian Shiwai came to the main branch, having been promoted by Dong Hongping herself, everyone would naturally assume she was one of Dong Hongping’s people.

Jian Shiwai would feel indebted to her for the favor.

"It’s probably because I’ve been so busy running around outside the office lately. I guess that’s why I didn’t hear about it."

Jian Shiwai was no fool. On the contrary, she was quite sharp. She didn’t take the bait, instead feigning loyalty to her superior.

’In this world, no one besides your own parents is kind to you for no reason.’

’She couldn’t believe that Manager Dong was suddenly treating her so well today without some ulterior motive.’

’She was perfectly aware of this tactic—using a kernel of truth to sow discord.’

At the same time, she also understood a certain truth.

An innocent man becomes a criminal simply by possessing a treasure.

’If it were the Xu Yun from before, maybe she could still have him.’

’But now, the amount in Xu Yun’s personal account had far exceeded what she—or rather, what her branch—was equipped to handle.’

’Whether it was the main branch or the Capital Headquarters that had their eyes on him, she was powerless to stop it!’

’She had no grounds to resist.’

’Because all of her leverage came from Xu Yun.’

’But she wasn’t naive enough to think Xu Yun would burn his bridges with the bank’s top brass just for her sake.’

’She wasn’t that confident in her importance to him!’

’And the terms and benefits the bank’s leadership could offer were on a completely different level from anything a lowly deputy branch manager like her could provide.’

’Because she knew that what she and Xu Yun had was just a simple relationship between a man and a woman.’

’Whatever she could offer, others could offer more—and better.’

’It was possible that in just a few days, after the general manager returned and paid his visit to Xu Yun, she would be cast aside.’

"Alright, I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll leave you to it."

Seeing this, Dong Hongping didn’t press the issue. The seed of conflict had been planted; saying any more would be overdoing it.

"I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Think it over and give me an answer."

"Yes, Manager Dong."

Jian Shiwai did indeed have a lot to think about.

Dong Hongping and Jian Shiwai hadn’t spoken in private. Everyone around them was furtively watching, trying to guess what the two were discussing.

Gao Xing was watching as well, his attention fixed on them more than anyone else’s.

He had noticed that, at one point during their conversation, both of their gazes had simultaneously shifted toward him.

It was only for a brief moment, but he’d caught it.

When the banquet finally ended, a sullen Jian Shiwai, having thought through a great deal, found that she had unwittingly drunk quite a bit. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was slightly tipsy.