After being reborn, I raised my childhood sweetheart.

Chapter 42 There's no going back in life! (Please read on, and vote with your monthly tickets!)

In 2004, the hotel did not have a very complicated management structure. The largest departments were the food and beverage department and the housekeeping department, and these two departments had endless work every day.

Under normal circumstances, the finance department in a functional department doesn't actually have that much work to do; for nine out of 12 months of the year, they're just slacking off.

However, the situation was different in the three months before the Lunar New Year, which included almost the entire year's workload. The finance department had to work overtime until 10 p.m. almost every day.

Finance manager Sister Zhang is known for her meticulous and responsible work, which has caused several accountants in the finance department to complain endlessly.

He Xiaona has been working overtime for a week straight.

As a newcomer, she was unfamiliar with the hotel business. As a veteran employee of the hotel, Sister Zhang did not give her any special treatment just because she was brought by Xu Jingguang. In fact, she was quite difficult to her.

Although she majored in finance in college, He Xiaona had become accustomed to using her beauty to gain advantages for herself.

In college, she had a bunch of admirers who helped her with assignments and reports. After starting work, although she learned some skills, she still relied more on the help of the men around her.

She doesn't even need to give any real value; just a flattering compliment like "You're amazing" is enough to easily gain the other party's strong support and make her career go smoothly.

Achievements gained through beauty will eventually disappear when beauty is lost.

Once youth fades, new young women become the center of attention for men, and once those who relied on her fall from grace, she becomes destitute and has nowhere to turn in Shanghai.

To be honest, if she hadn't heard about Xu Jingguang's rise to prominence, who had pursued her for so long, she would have had no reason to return to Baimei County, a place that was dirty, dilapidated, poor, and unsophisticated.

Although life in a county town is not as convenient as in a big city like Shanghai, nor as beautiful and prosperous, one must recognize the fact that one's advantages are gradually being lost.

If one can live the so-called "upper class" life in the county town, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Although the work at the hotel was tough, it was still a way to share the joys and sorrows with Xu Jingguang.

Xu Jingguang wasn't completely indifferent to her. After all, the general manager's office was right across from the finance department. Sometimes Xu Jingguang and He Xiaona would bump into each other in the corridor, and Xu Jingguang would comfort her about how hard she worked. Although He Xiaona was an accounting assistant, her salary and benefits were the same as the other accountants in the finance department.

Xu Jingguang would often bring drinks and fruit to the finance department staff. He Xiaona heard from her colleagues that the department had never received such treatment before.

These are all very good omens for development.

But the only thing He Xiaona regrets is that she hardly has any opportunities to be alone with Xu Jingguang.

Noon was originally a good opportunity for He Xiaona to get along well with Xu Jingguang.

At first, Xu Jingguang would eat with everyone in the staff canteen, and He Xiaona also chatted with Xu Jingguang for a while.
But later Xu Jingguang became busy and was rarely seen in the staff canteen.

He Xiaona wanted to show her care for Xu Jingguang, so she cooked a meal for him, but instead saw their housekeeper, Lin Jing, outside the office.

Lin Jing always waited until Xu Jingguang finished eating before leaving. After finishing his meal, Xu Jingguang would quickly return to his work, leaving He Xiaona no opportunity to take advantage of him.

This clueless nanny...she has absolutely no sense of flexibility.

When I become the lady of the house, the first thing I'll do is fire you.

Whenever He Xiaona was engrossed in planning for the future, she would soon be urged by Sister Zhang to prepare financial statements.

It was Sunday, and the finance department was once again facing a crucial day of working overtime.

"Everyone, let's work harder! We must finish calculating the performance reviews today. Everyone in the hotel has worked hard all year, and we can't afford to miss a single penny of their year-end bonus. He Xiaona, come here for a moment."

"Coming, Sister Zhang." He Xiaona, carrying her work notebook, jogged over to Sister Zhang with light steps.

"Xiaona, I'm reminding you again, please don't make the same mistake again."

Sister Zhang's voice suddenly became very loud, "Our General Manager Xu hired you to help out in the finance department. You can't make things worse by doing more work. That would be a burden on you, the entire department, and even the whole hotel, and it would also damage General Manager Xu's reputation."

He Xiaona had an embarrassed expression on her face. "I understand, Sister Zhang... I'm sorry, I will definitely work harder."

"Everyone, get back to your work now! No one is allowed to go home until the performance review is finished! Got it?"

Everyone responded listlessly.

Who the hell likes working overtime? It's not like it pays much more; what else is that but being cheap?

He Xiaona returned to her workstation and sat down. Her female colleague, Xiao Chen, gently patted her hand to comfort her.

"You mean, Xiao Chen, does Sister Zhang have some issues with me?"

He Xiaona's voice sounded somewhat aggrieved, "I always feel... she's deliberately targeting me, but I don't know what I did to offend her."

In the first few days after He Xiaona joined the company, she gave small gifts to all her colleagues in the department. She was very good at building relationships.

"Sigh, you don't know Zhang Jie's situation. I have to tell you all about it."

Xiao Chen was clearly a gossip-loving little expert. "Sister Zhang was originally planning to resign last week, but General Manager Xu persuaded her to stay until next spring, saying that there weren't enough people. She only agreed because of General Manager Xu; otherwise, she would have resigned long ago."

He Xiaona asked in surprise, "So there's such a thing? Then why are you still doing this to me—"

"It's like this..." Xiao Chen and He Xiaona whispered, "Actually, her husband was having an affair behind her back. Last month, she caught him red-handed at the Bai Mei Ren Jia Hotel. It was a very ugly affair, and everyone in the neighborhood knew about it. It's said that there was even bloodshed."

"So, I don't think Sister Zhang is targeting you. I guess she just has a general aversion to pretty women, after all... you saw it yourself."

Xiao Chen glanced at Sister Zhang's burly, broad-shouldered figure and shrugged helplessly.

"I see, I understand now."

He Xiaona nodded gently, "So Sister Zhang has such a sad story behind her, then it's understandable that she treats me this way."

It doesn't matter if Xu Jingguang isn't targeting me.

If he knew I had suffered this injustice, that would be even better; let him feel guilty!
"Xiaona, you're really unlucky. If you had come after the New Year, Lin would definitely be the supervisor. He's such a nice guy, he wouldn't have made things so difficult for you."

"Indeed, whenever I have a question, Brother Lin patiently helps me answer it."

If I had known there would be such a big difference between starting before and after the New Year, I definitely would have come after the New Year, hmph.

But there's no going back in life!

Since we've already come all this way, if we back down now, how will we ever manage to control Xu Jingguang again? We might as well find someone else.

Xiao Chen had also gossiped about the new employee, He Xiaona: "But I heard that you and President Xu are old classmates. I heard that President Xu used to pursue you. Even if he didn't give you a supervisor position, he shouldn't have assigned you to such a hard job, right?"

"Haha...that's all in the past. As for taking this position, it was my own idea."

He Xiaona tossed her hair. "He also tried to persuade me, and even said he was going to arrange a secretarial assistant position for me, but I insisted on working in the finance department."

He Xiaona said, "Although it's a bit tough, I'm making rapid progress. After all, I used to do similar work in Shanghai, and I just want to be able to help in any way I can."

"Mr. Xu is a great boss in our hearts. I think you have a very likable personality, are so beautiful, and are destined to be with him. You two are a perfect match."

Xiao Chen whispered in a secret, "It would be so great if you could become the boss's wife! And when that happens... don't forget our friendship!"

"Okay, don't talk about that. It's already good enough that they assigned me the work! It's most important to do the work at hand well first."

He Xiaona paused for a moment, then said softly, "However, I think Xiao Chen, your work skills are quite strong. Your current salary should definitely be increased, um... doubling it wouldn't be a problem!"

"Hehe, I think so too!"

He Xiaona's skills in winning people over are clearly very effective. While hinting at a future development between herself and Xu Jingguang, she has already brought Xiao Chen into her team.

However, just as Xiao Chen and He Xiaona were chatting happily, "smack!" Sister Zhang slammed her hand hard on the desk.

"Ahem, ahem! Who among you has been chatting and talking the whole time? If you don't get your accounts sorted out, are you planning to stay at the company tonight?"

He Xiaona and Xiao Chen then quieted down and worked hard until noon.

Everyone gradually went to the staff canteen for lunch, but He Xiaona always insisted on waiting until everyone else had left before going herself.

On the surface, it was to show the newcomer's diligence and humility, but in reality, it was to secretly observe the activities in the general manager's office across the street.

I wonder if that country bumpkin nanny came to bring me food today.

Hmph, bringing home-cooked meals to a hotel owner, what a ridiculous idea! The chefs in the catering department would be furious if they knew.

Xu Jingguang is easily influenced; even a nanny can't control him.

How can someone with this personality run a hotel well? In the future, I'll have to make it bigger and stronger.

He Xiaona stretched and then secretly glanced at the general manager's office. She found the door locked and knocked, but no one answered.

Did Xu Jingguang go to the cafeteria for lunch today?
He Xiaona was overjoyed to hear the news. She immediately went to the restroom to touch up her makeup and prepared to go to the staff cafeteria to meet her boss, old classmate, and yesterday's simp.

But on her way to the cafeteria, He Xiaona, humming a little tune, suddenly overheard some shocking news from the passing employees:

"What's the relationship between Mr. Xu and that beautiful woman he met in the cafeteria today? It's the first time I've ever seen her."

"They even brought the young master along. Yuanyuan seems quite close to her; their relationship seems rather unusual."

"Do you think she might be our hotel's new owner's wife?"

"I think that's very likely, probably 80% true. In all of Jiangnan, who would dare to speak to the boss like that?"

Upon hearing this news, He Xiaona's pupils dilated suddenly, and her usually gentle and elegant expression flashed with an unprecedented ruthlessness.

You keep saying you're keeping your distance from other women, but are you really the same kind of heartless men as those in Shanghai?

While stringing me along, he went and started relationships with other women!
He Xiaona was so angry that her teeth were chattering. She was in a hurry to meet this mysterious woman.

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(End of this chapter)