The meeting ended, and everyone returned to their workstations. The female colleagues sent messages in a group chat without Tong Anan, complaining.
"It's different when you have connections. She was the one who sent me the wrong version, wanting to embarrass me in front of Manager Jiang, and deliberately invited him to the meeting. She's really something!"
"She always acts like a delicate little flower, I never realized she was so calculating! I'm truly amazed. We're colleagues in the same team, what benefit would it bring her if I were embarrassed?"
Where there are many women, there is much gossip. Among a group of women who thought highly of themselves, Tong Anan didn't know how to navigate social dynamics, yet she happened to have such a good boyfriend.
To be honest, except for Anna, everyone was jealous.
They preferred to believe the female colleagues' words rather than hers.
Discussions began to spread.
"What? Is that really how it happened? Manager Jiang openly shielding her, how shameful!"
"What's so great about her? Do rich men always act like this? After indulging in too many delicate pastries, they want to try something rough and unappealing to change their taste? Otherwise, why would he be interested in her?"
"I think it's just a change of taste, and it won't last long. What kind of family are the Zhan family? For someone like her to want to marry into it is a fool's dream."
"Should we guess how long Manager Jiang will be interested in her?"
The group maliciously started a poll in the chat.
Some voted for a month, some for two months, and some said three months at most.
While they were chatting, the supervisor walked in again, clapped his hands, and signaled for everyone to be quiet.
"I have a last-minute announcement for everyone. Anna's team went to Shenzhen to attend a technology exhibition and encountered some unexpected situations."
"Except for Anna, the other three colleagues suffered severe acclimatization issues and were all admitted to the hospital. She's now overwhelmed and can't manage on her own."
"I just received the news. We need to urgently reassign personnel. Whoever has work that is not urgent and can be postponed, please volunteer. Hurry up. You need to leave now."
Something like this happened? Severe acclimatization issues that led to hospitalization?
Nancheng is a northern city, more than a thousand kilometers away from Shenzhen. With the huge north-south difference, anyone could suffer from acclimatization issues.
These ladies were all pampered daughters of wealthy families, and as soon as they heard about potential illness, not one of them wanted to go.
The most crucial point was that none of them liked working with Anna.
Anna came from the wealthiest family among them.
Her parents were senior executives in large corporations, and her brother had started his own company.
It was rumored that their family owned houses, cars, shops, and villas, totaling almost half a street.
While not considered a second-generation rich in a city like Nancheng, which had hidden talents, they were definitely a well-off family.
Anna came to work here purely to pass the time. She disdained engaging in office politics with her colleagues and also disdained putting on a show.
She arrived at work on time and left on time. Her personality was truly exceptional; she didn't even show much regard for the supervisor, so a considerable number of people couldn't accept her straightforwardness.
On the contrary, Tong Anan was quite close to her.
After the supervisor finished speaking, no one volunteered. They all made excuses.
"I can't. My workload is very tight, I work overtime every night, and clients are constantly chasing me. Several product templates haven't been finalized yet, and I still need to go to the factory to urge them on the progress later."
"I can't either."
"Me neither."
Suddenly, someone said sarcastically, "Oh, Anan should be able to. After all, there are three people in our project team, so her absence won't make much of a difference."
"Besides, she's usually quite close to Anna, isn't she? At a critical moment, good sisters should step forward."
The supervisor cast a hopeful gaze at Tong Anan.
Tong Anan immediately stood up: "Yes, I can go."
"It's just that I don't have much experience. I'm afraid I won't be much help when I get there."
Knowing she was Manager Jiang's official girlfriend, the supervisor was very polite to her now, not daring to proactively ask her to go on a business trip.
He politely said, "How about this, Anan, why don't you come to my office with me?"
Tong Anan followed him to the office, and the director politely asked her to sit down.
He first inquired about her recent life and then asked about her work situation, before saying,
"As you can see the current situation, we are really short-handed and can't spare anyone. If you were to go on this business trip, Manager Jiang's side..."
After much hesitation, it turned out he was worried about Jiang Jingyu being unhappy.
Tong Anan said, "It's okay, he can understand."
"This is a sudden departure, and I'm afraid there won't be time for you to prepare. Would you like to inform Manager Jiang first?"
Tong Anan also wanted to take this opportunity to relax and, to put the supervisor's mind at ease, she called Jiang Nan Jingyu in front of him.
Jiang Jingyu was quite happy to receive her call unexpectedly.
But when he heard Tong Anan say she was going on a business trip, he became worried.
"Do you need me to assign more personnel to your department? After all, it's over 1000 kilometers away, and the climate differences are quite significant. What if you can't handle it either..."
Tong Anan interrupted him: "Anna can handle it, so why can't I? I'm not a flower in a greenhouse, why should I be so pampered?"
Hearing her genuine words for the first time today, Jiang Jingyu finally felt a bit happier.
"It seems you really want to go, alright then. I'll have Zhang Yang book your flight and take you to the airport."
"No need, I can manage myself."
"I'm not at ease. If you refuse again, I'll take you myself."
The supervisor's old face was filled with embarrassment. Listening to their ambiguous conversation as they finished the call, he politely escorted Tong Anan out.
Soon, Zhang Yang came down to pick up Tong Anan.
"Manager Jiang has a very important meeting shortly, otherwise he would have wanted to accompany you personally. Miss Tong, please don't be upset."
Watching her being escorted out of the office by Zhang Yang as if she were a pampered concubine, several female colleagues were so angry they threw their pens.
What a disgrace!
After more than four hours of flying and various transfers, Tong Anan finally met Anna in Shenzhen as it got dark.
She left in a hurry and didn't bring any clothes or makeup. Fortunately, Anna brought plenty, so they could share clothes and supplies.
None of this was important. Anna hurriedly explained the products in her hands to Tong Anan, helping her familiarize herself, and then shared her sales experience.
They worked almost through the night, and the next morning, they rushed to the exhibition center.
Jiang Jingyu calculated the time and sent her a message, estimating when the plane would land. Tong Anan replied that she had arrived.
Later, when he sent more messages, her replies were always delayed.
She was eating, reviewing documents, and studying.
Her last reply was past one in the morning.
Jiang Jingyu was really worried about her health and hadn't rested well all night.
The next morning, he sent her another message, but the two girls were in a hurry, needing to change clothes, do their makeup, and confirm their materials. They had no time to look at their phones.
After breakfast, they rushed to the exhibition center.
The international technology exhibition had a very large flow of visitors. Many self-media bloggers, tech influencers, and radio reporters would approach them for consultations, take videos, and ask for explanations.