Put It On Her
You need to be a little cuter
Lin Shu stood before the table, her face cold as she swept her eyes over the chair.
Shen Man immediately understood, pulling the chair out and saying, “Shushu, sit down.”
“President Shen doesn’t even understand this bit of courtesy? You don’t even know how to say ‘please’?” Lin Shu mocked in a cold voice.
Shen Man smoothly corrected herself, smiling as she said, “Shushu, please, sit.”
Only then did Lin Shu sit down.
Looking at the table full of dishes, she impatiently found fault with every single one.
Shen Man sat beside her, listening with a serious expression.
After Lin Shu had finished, she spoke as if she had been taught a lesson, “I’ve noted it all down. I’ll correct it next time.”
Lin Shu didn’t see the reaction she had anticipated. Her little face puffed up in annoyance, and she began to eat without another word.
Shen Man chuckled lightly, picked up her chopsticks, and placed a piece of meat into Lin Shu’s bowl.
Lin Shu’s movements paused, and she prepared to scold her.
Looking up, she saw Shen Man’s gentle, smiling face and forcefully swallowed the words that had reached her lips. She stuffed the meat into her mouth and chewed on it with force.
The smile on Shen Man’s lips widened.
She ate in quiet contentment, not putting any more food in Lin Shu’s bowl.
After dinner, Shen Man cleared the table.
Lin Shu sat down on the sofa and took a red string out of her bag.
Her eyes were lowered, her fair, tender fingertips stroking the knot of the red string. She stared at it for a good while, the corners of her lips slowly hooking into a smile.
Shen Man came out of the kitchen and walked straight to the sofa to sit down.
“Who told you to sit?” Lin Shu’s eyes went cold, her brows knitting in displeasure.
Shen Man immediately stood up and moved to the side.
Her expression was placid, without the slightest hint of anger or resentment at being deliberately provoked.
Lin Shu let out a cold snort, a contemptuous smile appearing on her face. “President Shen, a golden bell would suit your neck very well. If you were to wear it, I think it would certainly be quite a scenery.”
As she spoke, she dangled the red string in her hand.
Shen Man instantly understood her meaning.
She took a bell out of her bag, half-knelt, and held it out, saying with a smile, “I’ll have to trouble Shushu to help me put it on.”
Lin Shu froze, the red string in her hand falling onto the sofa.
She was clearly trying to humiliate Shen Man, but not only was Shen Man not the least bit angry, she was being utterly cooperative.
This was the result she had wanted, but it brought her no joy.
She was clearly the one holding the initiative, yet it felt as if she wasn’t in control of anything at all.
Seeing Lin Shu remain motionless, Shen Man reached out and picked up the red string.
She lowered her head and carefully threaded the bell onto it.
Lin Shu gazed at her features, so close they were within a zhi and a chi1. If she just reached out a finger, she could touch her.
This wasn’t the lingering phantom from a dream one wakes from at midnight; this was a real, tangible person.
“Shushu, it’s done,” Shen Man said with a smile, handing over the threaded bell.
The combination of gold and red was dazzling and eye-catching, carrying an air of exquisite nobility.
Lin Shu snapped back to her senses, her expression sinking.
She reached out, took the bell, and said flatly, “Come here.”
Her tone was cold and hard, carrying a commanding attitude, as if looking down from a great height2.
Shen Man obediently moved closer.
She tilted her head up slightly, revealing a fair, slender neck. Those shrewd eyes of hers held a gentle smile.
A wave of panic hit Lin Shu’s heart. She said sharply, “Close your eyes.”
Shen Man smiled and obediently closed her eyes.
Lin Shu pressed her lips together, bending over to put the bell on Shen Man.
The two of them were extremely close.
Unable to see, Shen Man’s senses of smell and hearing grew sharper.
She could smell a pleasant, fresh fragrance, and it seemed she could hear the sound of a heart beating rapidly beside her ear.
“You are to wear this bell properly. Without my permission, you are not allowed to take it off. Otherwise, I’m afraid your company’s reputation won’t be guaranteed,” Lin Shu said coldly, every word laced with a threat.
Shen Man nodded, her expression calm and composed.
“Alright, you can go now.” Lin Shu’s lips curled into a cold smile as she leaned back comfortably on the sofa.
It was as if this person beside her was someone she could have come when called and leave when waved away3.
Shen Man lowered her gaze.
She stood for a moment, then smiled faintly. “If Director Lin has any other requests, feel free to bring them up at any time. I will satisfy them all.”
“Got it,” Lin Shu said without turning her head, her tone utterly indifferent.
Shen Man raised a hand, touched the bell on her neck, and turned to leave.
The door was gently closed.
The moment she left, Lin Shu shot up from the sofa.
She stared at the empty hallway, feeling a moment of loss, then fiercely pounded the throw pillow in her hands.
“Idiot Shen Man…” she said, her voice unconsciously tinged with a sense of being wronged.
Shen Man got into her car.
She took a small mirror from her bag and looked at the bell on her neck.
This bell was originally from a giant stuffed doll, and it looked a bit large on her neck.
You could say it didn’t suit her at all.
Shen Man smiled lightly and put the mirror down.
She took out her phone, her expression turning cold, and called Wen Lan. “Tomorrow at nine in the morning, assemble the entire design department for a meeting. No one is to be absent.”
“Understood, President Shen,” Wen Lan replied, her expression serious.
Based on Shen Man’s tone, she had a premonition that something big was going to happen tomorrow.
At nine o’clock the next morning, the entire design department had gathered in the conference room.
Shen Man walked in with a cold expression and swept her gaze over one person in particular.
That person’s heart leaped with fear, and he subconsciously lowered his head, avoiding her line of sight.
Seeing Shen Man’s foul expression, the others couldn’t help but carry their hearts in their hands4.
Shen Man sat down, an intimidating aura radiating from her.
She had Wen Lan bring up the projector and said in a cold voice, “All of you, take a good look at these two designs.”
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone in the design department looked up.
The two designs clearly marked the design time and the author. People like them could tell what was going on with a single glance.
Everyone exchanged looks, but no one spoke.
“Wu Hong5, the work on the right is your design. Do you have nothing to say?” Shen Man asked, her face stern.
Wu Hong trembled and scrambled to his feet, explaining, stumbling over his words, “President Shen, I don’t know… This is my de-design… I really don’t know…”
As he spoke, cold sweat streamed down his face, and his eyes couldn’t help but dart toward his team leader.
Shen Man noticed this small movement and looked at the other person. “He is a member of your team. You have a responsibility to supervise the works they design. Now that this has happened, it has already had a very serious impact on the company.”
“According to company regulations, what should be done?”
That person kept his head bowed, not daring to speak.
After a moment of waiting, still no one spoke.
Seeing this, Wen Lan said sternly, “Anyone who causes huge losses to the company shall be dismissed and must compensate for these losses. If the circumstances are serious, the matter will be handed over to the relevant departments for processing according to procedure.”
“President Shen, I know I was wrong… I won’t do it again, please just let me off this one time…” Unable to bear the pressure, Wu Hong fell to his knees and begged for mercy.
In an instant, snot and tears flowed all over his face.
Shen Man was unmoved.
Her cold, sharp eyes scanned the room as she said in a heavy voice, “All of you, go back and carefully check your own designs. I do not wish for a similar incident to happen again.”
“Yes, President Shen,” the crowd replied, frightened and cautious, with different mouths but the same sound6.
The meeting was concluded.
Shen Man, her face cold, was the first to leave.
Wen Lan followed behind her, her heart full of questions.
She had only found out last night that Wu Hong’s design was suspected of plagiarism, but she hadn’t received any news of the original author filing a complaint or demanding compensation.
In the space for the original author’s signature, the two characters ‘Lin Shu’ were written for all to see.
She seemed to understand a little, but at the same time, she felt even more confused.
Upon reaching the president’s office, Shen Man sat down and said, “Pull all products using that design from the shelves, and recall all previous products.”
Wen Lan was shocked and quickly said, “President Shen, we can purchase the usage rights from the original author. That way, the company’s losses can be minimized.”
“Shushu won’t sell,” Shen Man said, her tone certain.
Hearing this intimate form of address, Wen Lan didn’t have time to ponder the relationship between the two and hurriedly said, “President Shen, why don’t we try talking to the original author first?”
“I already spoke with her last night. She’s unwilling,” Shen Man said.
Her fingertips couldn’t help but stroke the bell at her neck, a trace of a smile appearing in her cool eyes.
Wen Lan’s attention was immediately drawn to it. After a moment of surprise, she dutifully tried to persuade her, “President Shen, pulling products from the shelves is relatively easy, but recalling them is very difficult, and it will affect the company’s reputation.”
“The best solution is still to persuade the original author.”
Hearing this, Shen Man lowered her eyes in thought.
In exchange for her wearing the bell, Lin Shu would temporarily not sue their company, but she had not given them the usage rights.
From the very beginning, she had mentally dismissed the option of buying the rights from Lin Shu.
After considering for a good while, Shen Man said, “I understand.”
Delighted, Wen Lan turned and left to attend to other matters.
Shen Man played with the bell on her neck, giving it a gentle tug.
She took out her phone and dialed Lin Shu’s number.
Lin Shu answered in a second, asking in a very busy tone, “What is it, President Shen?”
“Director Lin, I’d like to discuss the usage rights for that design,” Shen Man said with a smile, her attitude completely business-like. “I hope Director Lin can sell the usage rights to our company. I am willing to purchase them at a price higher than the market rate.”
“Am I short on that little bit of money from you?” Lin Shu raised an eyebrow, her sarcasm undisguised.
Shen Man was instantly rendered speechless. After a moment of contemplation, she said, “I wonder what Director Lin’s requirements are? If it’s something I can do, I will certainly do it.”
“Is that so?” Lin Shu let out a sneer. Tapping her foot, she thought for a moment and said nonchalantly, “If President Shen is willing to post a photo of herself wearing the bell to her Moments7 with the caption ‘Am I cute?’, I might consider it.”
“You have to show your face, and you have to smile a little cuter,” she said, the corners of her lips unable to stop from turning up.
Shen Man frowned.
“If President Shen is unwilling, then forget it. I won’t make things difficult for you,” Lin Shu said, seizing the opportunity, her voice full of regret.
Shen Man understood that this was the only way.
She was silent for a moment, then made an expression and took a photo to send to Lin Shu.
“Tsk, not cute at all.” Lin Shu suppressed her laughter and gave a merciless critique, instructing her, “Puff out your cheeks, widen your eyes and look up, and hold the phone camera a little higher.”
Shen Man did as she was told.
Nearly five minutes later, Shen Man sent the new photo over.
The moment Lin Shu saw it, she quickly covered her mouth to keep her laughter from escaping.
She cleared her throat and said in a reluctant tone, “It’s acceptable, I guess.”
In the photo, Shen Man was pouting her lips and widening her eyes. It was a pose that would look cute on others, but she just looked a bit fierce, as if she were very unhappy.
Lin Shu pressed her lips together to hide a smile and saved both photos.
Shen Man began to post to her Moments.
After a long hesitation, she finally typed out the ‘three words’8 Lin Shu had demanded.
The moment she posted it, many people commented ‘Cute’ below.
Shen Man looked at the comments, her elegant brows furrowed tightly.
This Moments post completely subverted her image as a cold, aloof, and shrewd corporate executive.
Someone commented below, questioning if it was really her. Shen Man replied, ‘It is.’
“You’re not allowed to delete it,” Lin Shu said forcefully.
Shen Man sighed helplessly in her heart.
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