Chapter 158: Bai Yinnian Extra: Intern (1)
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
“Why do you want to intern at our company, considering that Boros University’s law program has high admission scores? Most students wait until their third or fourth year to start internships, as indicated in your resume that you’re currently in your sophomore year.”
The woman in a sharp professional outfit sat behind the long table and asked in fluent English, disregarding the face from Hua Country, her pronunciation indistinguishable from a local.
Before coming, Jian Chi had practiced many times the questions he might face in the interview. After a prolonged exchange of questions and answers, he took a brief two seconds to consider before providing his answer, “The accumulation of experience doesn’t necessarily depend on the one-year difference between sophomore and junior years. I hope to gain practical experience while studying. Your company has always been a leader in the industry. This internship not only aligns with my major but also matches my strengths and interests. I believe that while contributing value to the company, I can enhance my professional skills.”
Jian Chi couldn’t discern whether the other party was satisfied with this answer. The fingers on his knee curled slightly. The woman’s gaze once again fell on the resume he had handed over moments ago, and the sound of flipping paper, light and airy, magnified in his ears.
“Graduated from Saintston? What a coincidence.”
Jian Chi paused for a moment. This was an unexpected remark. The normal response might be, ‘Did you also graduate from this high school?’ Clearly, this was not applicable to the woman who was now the interviewer. She raised her head, revealing the first smile since the interview began. “Our chairman is also an alumnus of Saintston’s. It’s a pretty good high school.”
Although he couldn’t agree, Jian Chi responded with a polite smile, “I’m honored.”
The woman briefly organized the resume information, “I’ve got a rough understanding of your situation. You’ll receive an email about the interview result in two days. Good luck.”
The last four words were in Chinese. Jian Chi shook the hand she extended after standing up, a touch and parting. “Thank you,” he also replied in the most familiar language.
In fact, being notified for an interview was already surprising enough for Jian Chi. The outcome didn’t seem as important.
This multinational company was the most renowned among the resumes he submitted. Most employees were Chinese, either transferred from the headquarters or settled overseas in Boros. For Jian Chi, whose spoken language wasn’t yet fluent, this was an ideal choice. However, he didn’t dare to hope that such a large conglomerate would select a sophomore student with no internship experience. On the day he received the interview invitation, he almost doubted if it was a scam email.
Exiting the company building, the air conditioning’s cold breeze was instantly dispersed by the scorching wind. Jian Chi still felt a sense of unreality. On HS, he recounted his fluctuating emotions throughout the entire interview to Zhang Yang.
Zhang Yang: With your resume, there’s absolutely no problem. Just relax and wait for the internship. When the weather isn’t this hot, I’ll come to Boros for a two-week visit. By then, you must take me around, and there’s also Xiao Yu.
For the playful Zhang Yang, as long as it was a not-so-bad university and an easy-to-graduate major, it was enough to satisfy him. After graduation, he chose to stay in the same city as Fang Yu, fulfilling their wish to end the long-distance relationship. Jian Chi often saw his HS filled with their affectionate photos and occasional screenfuls of koi retweets, which hadn’t changed from before.
The results of the interview quickly arrived in Jian Chi’s inbox. Surprisingly, everything went smoothly, just as Zhang Yang confidently assured him. Jian Chi received the seemingly distant opportunity. The reason he wanted to intern was actually straightforward. Amid a bit of watered-down explanation in response to the interviewer’s question, more plainly, Jian Chi didn’t want to continue working at a coffee shop. He wanted a job that would allow him to both learn and earn money. The learning, of course, didn’t refer to how to use a coffee machine.
On the first day of the internship, Jian Chi arrived at the company ten minutes early. Under the guidance of the legal department manager, he first learned about the company’s business introduction materials and the department’s work content. English documents filled with professional vocabulary made Jian Chi struggle for an entire day to digest only half of it. He felt the difference between school and work for the first time.
Although he was the manager’s assistant, Jian Chi didn’t need to do much. The work for the first week could be summarized as organizing documents and cleaning. Despite being the simplest tasks, Jian Chi did them very seriously. Perhaps due to this seriousness or maybe his age still in university, he got along well with colleagues in the office.
“Would you like to go for lunch?” As lunch break approached, the man in glasses sitting in front of Jian Chi warmly invited.
Jian Chi, of course, wouldn’t refuse this kindness. He followed a few people to the salad shop across the street from the company. For white-collar workers, sitting in front of a computer all day is unhealthy enough, so salad shops around the office are always the busiest places, ensuring that their figures don’t completely deteriorate.
During the meal, Jian Chi sat quietly on the side, listening to colleagues talk about their lives and the recent developments in the company. A plate of salad quickly disappeared, and Jian Chi, who couldn’t leave early, looked at the bustling main street outside the glass. There were hurried white-collar workers and students going out with their companions during holidays. Vehicles moved and stopped intermittently. Jian Chi, lost in thought, stared at the figure descending from a black car. Suddenly, a voice broke in, “Jian Chi, what about you?”
The topic somehow shifted to Jian Chi, and facing his colleague’s inquiry, he had to retract his gaze. A few minutes later, he looked back, but the car and the figure had disappeared from view. He wasn’t sure where that man had finally gone, and he was even less certain if the person was someone from his memories.
Perhaps he had made a mistake; that person couldn’t possibly appear on the streets of Boros. An hour later, Jian Chi returned to his workstation. The manager briefly inquired about his day’s progress and then asked him to deliver the neatly organized materials to another department. Over the past few days, Jian Chi had figured out the company’s departmental structure. After a few errands, he hadn’t made the same mistake of approaching the wrong person as he did the first time. After delivering the last set of materials, Jian Chi waited with others in front of the elevator. The adjacent dedicated elevator opened its doors first.
Seeing the figure coming out from inside, Jian Chi’s heart uncontrollably skipped a beat.
Dressed in a black suit exuding an all-around dignified aura, Bai Yinnian walked steadily, not too fast nor too slow. Following behind him were several managers and a man who seemed like an assistant. Jian Chi heard the surrounding employees greeting Bai Yinnian with a respectful “Hello, Mr. Bai,” to which he nodded in response. As his gaze inadvertently swept over a certain spot upon withdrawal, he suddenly stopped, and the people behind him stopped too.
Jian Chi was so captivated by this gaze that he forgot what he was just thinking and even forgot to enter the elevator when the doors opened. It wasn’t until Bai Yinnian’s familiar yet cold and stern face occupied his entire field of vision that Jian Chi regained his slightly altered voice, mixed with a slight daze and disbelief.
“Mr. Bai?”
Bai Yinnian’s deep voice perfectly matched Jian Chi’s memory.
“Long time no see, Jian Chi.”
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Thank You for the new chapter ( ˘ ³˘)♥