As soon as she stepped out of Dubai International Airport, waiting for a taxi, Lu Xiaoxiao rushed to apologize: "Xiao Wen, I'm really sorry! If it weren't for me being late, you wouldn't have missed the company's charter flight!"
Song Xiaowen adjusted her glasses, "It's okay. You've apologized so many times on the plane, it wasn't your fault, I chose to wait for you."
"It's all because of that jerk Wang Qiang. Just because I wasn't around for a week during the business trip, he exploited me so much when I got back that it caused me to oversleep and miss the flight. It's painful to think about it! The company chartered the whole plane, just to reward our hard work for the past year, damn Wang Qiang!”
"Alright, Xiaoxiao, stop cursing your boyfriend. So what if we missed the charter flight? We're in Dubai now, it's not a big deal for us to get to the hotel ourselves." Song Xiaowen remained relaxed.
Lu Xiaoxiao was full of regret: "At this point, we probably missed the dinner and the dance. We can only catch the last award ceremony. Sigh..."
"Hehe, I think it's great. We get to the hotel and we can just take the money. Amazing!" The thought of the 100,000 yuan prize made Song Xiaowen feel entirely refreshed, as if she had been injected with a shot of adrenaline.
When the two arrived at the hotel, they headed straight for the banquet hall without changing their dresses as they were late and didn't have time to check into their hotel rooms.
Taking the side door, their sharp-eyed manager from the administrative department, Zhang, caught them and gave them a muted telling off.
Knowing they were at fault, the two nodded in acceptance of their chastisement, after all missing the flight was quite an elementary mistake.
"In case you two disturb others, your seats have been temporarily arranged at the very back. Next will be the President delivering his speech..." Before Manager Zhang finished her sentence, the surrounding area burst into warm applause. The speech had begun.
On a very design-conscious award stage, a dazzling man stepped up, and the whole venue fell silent.
Song Xiaowen looked up. They were quite far away and could only see the figure. The president was a very handsome young man.
He was the recently rumored parachuted-in boss, Gu Jue xi!
Although he was a parachuted executive, the young master had set up his own investment company in Europe five years ago, with businesses all over the world.
His return to the country this time was only to substitute for the old chairman for three months.
Soon, the short official speech came to an end, followed by the award ceremony.
First were the company executives handing out other awards, the last one would be personally awarded by the president; after all, it's the company's annual grand award.
"Xiao Wen, you and four other colleagues won the Innovation Award, so you will get the chance to get a close look at our big BOSS later. What a pity I don't have that opportunity..." Lu Xiaoxiao said with a sigh and shook her head.
Song Xiaowen just smiled without saying anything. Before long, the host announced her name.
There were over 500 people at the venue, aside from the executives and department managers, more than 200 of them were outstanding employees selected from different departments of the headquarters and branch companies.
Around her were all sorts of gazes. Some were filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred, others were filled with disdain and mocking. Song Xiaowen was underdressed.
"It's one thing to be ugly, but how could she not even know how to dress up? When she goes on stage later, it will spoil the boss's eyes. Fortunately, she's not from our department.” Yao, the director of the marketing department, who had always disdained Song Xiaowen, could not help but scoff at her.
Hearing the whispers all the way, Song Xiaowen just turned a deaf ear.
Song Xiaowen always kept a low profile, she was clear on both public and private issues. The people she made as an enemy at work were close to none. But now, given her high-profile circumstance, it made many people displeased – to put it bluntly, they were just jealous.
There were five award-winning employees standing on the stage, all dressed in formal suits or evening gowns, looking dignified, except for Song Xiaowen who stood out conspicuously in her drab attire.
Song Xiaowen just stood there quietly, feeling unfit in the face of more than 500 pairs of eyes and the bright spotlight. She had to look down at the ground, and when there was applause, she would clap along enthusiastically. For her, receiving the bonus was of utmost importance.
Under the stage, there was always a restless and uneasy mood, like excitements, like shocks...
Song Xiaowen was not unfamiliar with such a phenomenon – that was how her female colleagues would react when they saw a handsome guy.
A pair of shoes, which were clearly expensive at first glance, came into view. "Hello, President, thank you very much for the company's cultivation and rewards! I will work harder in the future…"
The voice was very excited. It was Bai Xue, a female colleague standing to the right of Song Xiaowen. She rattled off a string of platitudes, which was not like her usual proud style.
Could the presenter be the one who caused such an anomaly in Bai Xue?
Out of curiosity, Song Xiaowen looked up, and saw Gu Jue Xi. The atmosphere around her suddenly became chilly.