The Only One With a Mouth in the CEO Novel - Chapter 35: Not Even Speaking During Meetings?

Chapter 35: Not Even Speaking During Meetings?

Assistant Yan must be very busy lately.

His email replies to Ye Jin had become increasingly brief.

But Ye Jin didn’t mind at all.

As long as he still replied to her, that was enough. After chatting for a longer period, Assistant Yan’s favorability toward her would increase, and he would eventually share some insider information with her again.

Recently, a major incident occurred in the President’s Office.

Several new Projects had encountered issues—some stalled, some faced increased costs, and some were outright canceled.

After these incidents emerged, everyone in the President’s Office felt uneasy.

No one dared to provoke Gu Chenxi, who was already in a foul mood.

Thus, Ye Jin became the savior in this crisis.

As the most core department of Vastness, every employee’s work in the President’s Office was crucial.

Upward, they needed to report directly to Gu Chenxi.

Downward, they respectively managed and monitored all departments of Vastness, requiring frequent trips outside the President’s Office for meetings and inspections.

This also meant they possessed significant autonomous decision-making power.

When encountering minor to moderate problems, they defaulted to making their own decisions rather than consulting Gu Chenxi.

With this happening repeatedly, it was inevitable that one or two mistakes would occur.

With many people adopting this approach, it was also inevitable that several would make mistakes simultaneously.

Ye Jin: Simply put, this is actually a probability issue.

Assistant Ye, never mind the probability, a colleague said anxiously, disregarding the unspoken rule of silence in the President’s Office and whispering, Please think of a way to save us.

Ye Jin stroked her chin: Is he really going to scold you?

She was quite looking forward to that.

I’d rather President Gu scold us a couple of times, the colleague fretted. We’re having a meeting today to discuss solutions, and we’ll have to go on stage one by one. We’ll all be executed by his glare.

But I didn’t receive a meeting notification. Ye Jin patted her shoulder. Take care, sister!

Colleague:

She walked away with a gloomy expression.

Although Ye Jin said this, she still shamelessly attended their meeting.

And she even openly sat beside Gu Chenxi.

Gu Chenxi glanced at this uninvited guest but said nothing, tacitly acknowledging her presence.

Meanwhile, everyone else in the meeting cast grateful looks toward Ye Jin.

Ye Jin tapped her own shoulder, silently conveying to them: Good sisters, in my heart.

Assistant Ye was indeed softhearted.

Gu Chenxi sat perfectly composed, but his peripheral vision captured all of Ye Jin’s movements.

Assistant Ye might be softhearted, but that absolutely shouldn’t be reason for them to take advantage of her.

Thus, his expression grew increasingly stern, and his fingers suddenly tapped sharply on the table.

Just one tap.

The sound wasn’t loud, but it carried considerable pressure, clearly conveying his displeasure.

Everyone quickly averted their gazes, beginning to cautiously focus on their own thoughts.

Ye Jin started acting as the spokesperson, presiding on Gu Chenxi’s behalf: Then let’s begin our meeting.

When it came to work-related matters, Ye Jin was always serious and responsible: There have been quite a few work incidents recently. I believe everyone has done some review. The purpose of today’s meeting is to resolve the issues that have emerged in these Projects.

After the opening remarks, Ye Jin scanned the room: So, who would like to go first?

In the silence, Panda Sister shakily stood up.

Don’t be nervous, Ye Jin said with a warm smile to break the ice. Our President Gu doesn’t bite.

Hearing this, Panda Sister cautiously glanced toward Gu Chenxi.

Then her hands trembled even more violently.

Assistant Ye was sitting beside President Gu and couldn’t see his expression.

Had she looked at President Gu just once, she would have known his stare was even more terrifying than being eaten alive.

Panda Sister held her breath and opened the PowerPoint.

Unlike traditional presentations, her slides were densely packed with text, clearly outlining the incident’s background, self-reflection, and three proposed solutions.

There were about seven or eight slides in total.

Panda Sister switched through them one by one, carefully timing each transition.

When the presentation ended, she quietly sighed in relief and bowed before leaving the podium.

Ye Jin, who had watched the entire presentation:

Wait, they don’t even speak during meetings?

This is just ridiculous.

Ye Jin was speechless.

Still, she thoughtfully gave Panda Sister a way to save face.

President Gu, I think this presentation was quite good, Ye Jin proactively asked. What do you think?

Not great.

Just barely passable.

Gu Chenxi maintained his stern expression while mentally answering Ye Jin’s question.

Good. Ye Jin leaned slightly to glance at Gu Chenxi before relaying, President Gu says he’s very satisfied.

Next presenter, Ye Jin directed.

Panda Sister shot Ye Jin a grateful look.

With Ye Jin mediating, the tense and intimidating atmosphere in the conference room lightened somewhat.

However, Ye Jin didn’t blindly cover for everyone.

Whenever she identified issues, she would point them out immediately.

Thus, colleagues who were questioned had no choice but to speak up, hesitantly discussing the problems with Ye Jin.

This approach significantly improved the meeting’s efficiency.

OK. Ye Jin casually twirled a carbon pen between her fingers, completely immersed in her work. Let’s implement it this way for now. If the other party raises new requirements, we’ll address them in our next meeting.

The colleague responded promptly: Yes, Assistant Ye.

Gu Chenxi, having remained silent throughout, was completely overlooked.

Ye Jin had been so busy today that she hadn’t had time to drink water. After more than an hour of meetings, her throat felt parched.

She coughed lightly. Everyone, please wait a moment while I get some water.

Previously, since no one spoke during meetings, there had been no need to keep water in the conference room.

As Ye Jin started to rise, someone pressed down on her shoulder.

Gu Chenxi stood up before her, signaling for Ye Jin to stay put, then left the conference room.

Ye Jin: ?

Still immersed in her workflow, she instinctively asked: What’s President Gu doing?

The others nearby understood perfectly well, letting out soft exclamations and gossiping:

He’s getting water, right?

Getting water for Assistant Ye~

Ye Jin even overheard someone whispering: I’m shipping them.

That black-hearted capitalist just wants me to continue working through the meeting.

Ye Jin could easily guess what Gu Chenxi was thinking.

She was running the meeting while Gu Chenxi was observing.

So when someone needed to step out temporarily, Gu Chenxi would naturally choose to go himself.

What nonsense are you shipping? Ye Jin said. Be careful not to lose your front teeth.

The colleague who mentioned shipping silently zipped their lips.

Ye Jin: Alright, let’s move on to the next issue.

If Gu Chenxi came back and found them slacking off,

He would definitely feel that his trip out had been a waste.

Today, Ye Jin had descended like a divine savior, rescuing them from dire straits, and then calmly reorganized the strategy during the meeting. As a result, her credibility instantly soared.

Thus, her colleagues obediently followed Ye Jin’s lead and resumed discussing work.

Amid the buzz of discussion, Gu Chenxi returned.

He placed a bottle of purified water in front of Ye Jin.

Some below couldn’t resist slacking off, sneaking glances toward Gu Chenxi.

Then they noticed that President Gu had only brought three bottles of water in total.

One was already placed in front of Ye Jin.

Two remained.

Gu Chenxi set one beside his own hand, then, with a long reach, placed the last bottle in the center of the conference table.

He settled into his seat with perfect composure and continued to observe the meeting as a silent attendee.

For a moment, everyone’s gaze unconsciously converged on that lone bottle of water in the middle.

A unified silence fell over the room.

Thank you, President Gu.

Ye Jin hadn’t noticed it at first. She unscrewed her own bottle, took a few gulps, and finally felt her throat relieved.

Ahem!

Ye Jin spotted the solitary bottle in the center and couldn’t help but question Gu Chenxi, With so many people here, you’re only giving one bottle?

Gu Chenxi shot her a look in response: What else did you expect?

It was already generous enough to bring an extra bottle for them.

Ye Jin:

The workplace dilemma of how to diplomatically share water, which troubles ordinary employees, simply doesn’t exist for capitalists like him.

Just one bottle—take it or leave it.

A colleague whispered, We’re not thirsty.

Right, right, Assistant Ye has been working hard. You should drink it.

They were joking.

What status did Assistant Ye hold in President Gu’s eyes, and what status did they hold?

Dare they drink the water President Gu specifically brought for Assistant Ye? Did they want to keep their jobs?

Gu Chenxi was pleased with their response and glanced at Ye Jin again, as if to say: See, they think so too.

Ye Jin:

In that moment, Ye Jin suddenly felt that perhaps college students’ efforts to reform the workplace were justified.

How had they not yet managed to reform an inhumane capitalist like Gu Chenxi?