Chapter 267: Chapter 267: She Rode in Mr. Huo’s Car

Lin Qi raised an eyebrow: “What kind of relationship? I think, there’s no rush to make our relationship public. We can disclose it when we’re legally married and officially husband and wife.”

She then got out of the car.

Huo Tingdong watched her walk towards the company’s entrance, rubbing his temples with a headache.

Upon arriving at her floor, Lin Qi performed a facial recognition check-in, nearly arriving late by a minute.

Just in time, she walked into the office, sat down at her desk, and her manager came over and said, “I’ve read the email from yesterday. Your training notes were well done; President Qi specifically praised you.”

Lin Qi humbly smiled and responded, “Thank you.”

The manager asked, “Have you done similar work before? It seems you have considerable experience.”

Lin Qi replied, “I’ve worked at many companies before and have held various positions. Regarding the project you showed me yesterday, I’ve studied it carefully. Coincidentally, I’ve also worked on a project targeting the elderly market before and have done extensive research on this demographic.”

The manager inquired, “What insights or thoughts do you have about the elderly care industry?”

Lin Qi candidly said, “I think Huace’s project development targeting the elderly care industry has issues in the model.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the bustling office suddenly fell silent.

Her colleagues looked over at her with either scrutinizing or skeptical gazes that seemed to pierce through her invisibly.

As soon as the words escaped her mouth, Lin Qi felt the statement may have offended many.

The development of elderly care projects was being followed by a particular team.

Her remark was directly undermining their efforts.

The manager asked, “What issues do you see with the model?”

Lin Qi explained, “The problem lies in the understanding and stereotype of elderly care. The aging population issue in our country is quite severe. The prevalent one-child and low-birth scenarios combined with a 2+2+1 family structure are very common. Especially now with the policy allowing three children, the matter of providing for the elderly is a pressing concern for many young people in the future. However, most investors approach the concept of elderly care from the perspective of the youth, not the elderly.”

The manager listened quietly, allowing her to continue.

Lin Qi earnestly added, “Many elderly care facilities, especially the high-end ones, are located in scenic vacation areas or places far from home. In reality, most elderly do not want to leave their homes. They prefer to receive care at home or nearby. Therefore, many institutions face financial losses, with high investment and low returns, leading to many bad debts.”

The manager nodded in acknowledgment, “I understand now. Later, I will listen to your thoughts more carefully.”

After finishing, he announced Lin Qi’s schedule for the day: “There’s a morning meeting you need to attend, followed by training in the afternoon. Once the training modules end, I’ll send you some project sheets from last term. After reviewing them, send me the meeting notes and project research notes like yesterday, and CC President Qi.”

Lin Qi nodded, “Understood.”

The manager then turned and went back to his desk.

Lin Qi stood up, walked to the coffee machine, swiped her card, and got an espresso.

At noon.

Just as she was about to head to the cafeteria, Qi Lichuan suddenly called out from his office, “Lin Qi.”

Lin Qi turned around and looked at Qi Lichuan, “President Qi, is there something you need?”

Qi Lichuan gave a concise order, “Wait for me at the entrance, let’s have lunch together.”

“…Oh!”

Lin Qi waited at the entrance.

After finishing his tasks, Qi Lichuan came to the entrance and called her to go downstairs.

As soon as Lin Qi left, the office started buzzing again.

“The President is actually eating lunch with her.”

“Could she really have gotten her position through President Qi’s influence?”

“President Qi is one of the veteran generals at Huace Group. Even if he really did pull strings to insert someone into the company, it can’t be helped.”

“Could she be President Qi’s girlfriend? It seems she’s quite close to him!”

…

Qi Lichuan is well-known at Huace Group as a ‘diamond bachelor’ with a distinguished background, high education, and impressive assets. Many female subordinates admire him.

However, mentored by Huo Tingdong, he shared the same workaholism and odd temperament. He was impartial, treating men and women equally; anyone falling short at work would face his severe reprimand.

And now, Lin Qi, as if a purple star had descended from the sky, joined his project team. Among so many female subordinates, Qi Lichuan was particularly kind towards Lin Qi, inevitably inviting criticism.

Qi Lichuan took Lin Qi out of the office building, and Huo Tingdong’s car was parked outside.

Qi Lichuan opened the back door and told Lin Qi, “Get in.”

Lin Qi got into the back seat and saw Huo Tingdong, her lips twitched fiercely.

Qi Lichuan took the passenger seat, “I’ve brought her out. Now, where shall we go for lunch?”

Lin Qi mentioned, “I only have one hour for lunch.”

Lunch and break combined were just an hour, and after spending the morning in meetings and note-taking, she was already feeling dizzy, with a training session still due in the afternoon.

Huo Tingdong said, “I’ve already booked a restaurant in advance; we’ll eat as soon as we arrive.”

As the car sped away.

Back inside the office building.

A colleague standing by the window saw Lin Qi getting into Huo Tingdong’s car, and exclaimed loudly, “The President took the newcomer in Mr. Huo’s car!”

All colleagues gathered around, “Really?! How does this newcomer have such high treatment to share a meal with Mr. Huo?”

“President Qi and Mr. Huo are privately close, but what’s the deal with this newcomer?”

The entire lunch hour, the workplace was abuzz with talks about Lin Qi’s relationship with Qi Lichuan.

When Lin Qi returned after lunch and sat down at her desk, her female colleague was peeking at her.

Lin Qi couldn’t hold back and asked, “You’ve been staring at me since I got back. Is there something wrong?”

Caught, her colleague felt somewhat embarrassed.

She moved her chair closer and asked, “What exactly is your relationship with President Qi?”

Lin Qi naturally responded, “A relationship between a boss and a subordinate.”

The colleague muttered, “I don’t think so! President Qi treats you very specially. As a newcomer, he attends to you so meticulously, and people even saw him having lunch with you and Mr. Huo.”

Lin Qi pursed her lips.

Her colleague pressed, “You aren’t President Qi’s girlfriend, are you?”

Such speculation made her extremely cautious in her demeanor towards Lin Qi.

Lin Qi nearly spit her coffee onto the screen, quickly clarifying, “No, my relationship with President Qi is purely professional, I swear.”

She must nip this baseless rumor in the bud!