The Big Shot Hidden Among the Rookies' Company

Around 9:40 in the morning.

The sun was shining brightly, and a gentle breeze swept by.

Today was a beautiful day.

“I’ve given you a pretty good tour of the company. From now on, this is your workplace, Xu Mo. You’ll be sitting right next to me,” said the smiling young woman standing before him, Lin Shanshan.

Xu Mo returned her smile. “Thanks, Lin Shanshan.”

The two were about the same age.

Xu Mo wasn’t one for pretense.

Besides, even though he was new here, being shown around and helped to get familiar with the place was, at its core, part of Lin Shanshan’s assigned duties.

What? You’re saying he should treat her to a meal as thanks?

Xu Mo could barely afford to take care of himself at this point—where was the budget for a meal? Treating her to a milk tea or some other drink was still doable. But whether she’d accept or not—that was another story.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s part of my job anyway,” Lin Shanshan said with a polite smile as she waved her hand.

Xu Mo nodded and refocused on tidying up his desk.

There wasn’t much to tidy up,.

The desk was already clean and spotless.

Since this was his first day at work, he was still in the orientation phase, so no tasks had been assigned to him yet.

Though he figured it wouldn’t take long—by the afternoon at the latest, he’d probably have plenty to do.

Things with Lin Shanshan and Xu Mo might have ended there for the moment.

But then, another coworker in the office chimed in, smiling as they spoke.

“Xu Mo! Now that’s not very gentlemanly. Shanshan here—the gem of our office—spent so much time showing you around. At the very least, you should treat her to a meal, don’t you think? And you know, Shanshan is single!”

The remark came from a cheerful woman in her forties, her tone good-natured.

She had a fairly good relationship with Lin Shanshan.

Plus, ever since Xu Mo had joined their team and stepped into their little office space, he’d left a solid impression on everyone.

Sure, he wasn’t exactly a head-turner.

But he had something—personal charisma.

And personal charisma, simply put, is a certain vibe.

Most people can relate to this: when you meet someone for the first time, sometimes you just don’t click, and after a few words, the conversation feels tedious.

But then, there are others. Even if it’s also your first time meeting them, the more you talk, the more you realize you get along.

Xu Mo was one of those people.

His charm was no joke.

Even with an average appearance, he radiated personal magnetism.

“Hahaha… I agree, Xu Mo’s a great guy. Shanshan, you should consider it. Don’t let someone from another department snatch him up—or worse, someone from outside,” quipped a married middle-aged man with a good-natured laugh.

What followed was a chorus of agreement from the rest of the coworkers.

Even Lin Shanshan’s would-be suitors were chiming in to sing Xu Mo’s praises.

Wait, what? You’re saying these are people who liked her? So why were they speaking on Xu Mo’s behalf?

The answer was simple: they’d already been rejected.

Lin Shanshan’s beauty was that of someone slightly prettier than the average girl—she had some charm.

Talk about being a devastating beauty or a showstopper? That would be a stretch.

That said, to be fair, in this department, she was one of the more attractive women around.

Now, when the beauty standard is lower, the criteria naturally can’t be set too high.

Lin Shanshan waved her hand, a helpless smile on her face. “Alright, alright, stop teasing me. Xu Mo just joined us; can we let him settle in first?”

She actually thought pretty highly of Xu Mo.

But what could she say?

Lin Shanshan was unapologetically someone who appreciated good looks.

Well, there's nothing wrong with admitting it.

Just like guys like beautiful women,

why can't girls like handsome men?

With Lin Shanshan speaking up and silencing the crowd,

Xu Mo couldn't be more pleased.

After all, he's a married.

Office romances?

Impossible.

The lively atmosphere in the office lasted for a while,

then it gradually quieted down.

Although there was a newcomer in their midst,

work still had to go on.

Xu Mo took this time to familiarize himself with the tasks assigned to him

and review any trending projects in Jiang City.

Big players eat the meat; small players sip the soup.

Over in Magic City, major ventures were typically handed off to the likes of the she-devil, silly woman, and Yang Jingying.

As an emerging first-tier city,

Jiang City couldn’t compete with the deep-rooted legacy of established first-tier cities.

Even though Xu Mo might be inclined to help this company grab a slice of the pie,

whether a company worth around one billion yuan could actually take it on was another matter.

Sure, he could make a move—

but whether they'd trust a mere employee like him to pull it off was doubtful.

Not unless he revealed his cards.

Or unless he gave them a taste of success first.

But these weren’t things Xu Mo was concerned about for now.

He came to play, enjoy himself for a while, and worry about the rest later.

“Everyone, stop what you’re doing for a moment. I have an announcement to make,” a middle-aged man in a sharp suit entered from the door. He was Xing Leshan, the leader of this team.

The group obediently paused their work and looked toward him.

Xu Mo also looked up curiously, giving the man a once-over.

Xing Leshan strode confidently to the center of the office and began, “Here’s the situation: Manager Li has requested that each team leader assign personnel to handle a batch of financial projects. Normally, I’d make all the arrangements myself, but after reviewing the project details, it’s clear that these tasks are quite challenging. I’ve uploaded the relevant project files to the group folder; you can take a look first.”

“Each team will need two capable members to collaborate with others on the tasks.”

The crowd wasn’t exactly enthusiastic.

And for good reason—

these troublesome, thankless tasks weren’t exactly inspiring.

Xing Leshan had seen this reaction countless times before. Smiling wryly, he added, “If everything’s done successfully, there’ll be a bonus of 20,000 yuan per person, paid out with your salary!”

Suddenly, the group looked as if they’d been injected with adrenaline.

People began diving into the files, scanning through them at lightning speed.

Xing Leshan looked on with satisfaction.

Earlier, when Lin Shanshan introduced Xu Mo to the company, she had pulled him into the work group chat as well.

While the newer employees brimmed with excitement,

the old-timers remained unimpressed.

They knew full well that if this task was as promising as it sounded,

Xing Leshan would’ve already cherry-picked his team members.

Why make such an open announcement if that were the case?

Xu Mo, sitting off to the side, quietly opened the files and began reviewing them.

Within ten minutes,

the initial excitement waned,

leaving the office back in its morale-sapping silence.

The reality was clear—

the tasks were daunting, the workload heavy.

In simpler terms:

the reward was tough to earn, the process even tougher to endure.

Success led to bonuses,

failure led to... well, nothing was directly mentioned.

But one could guess—

you wouldn’t be free of blame.

Nobody wanted to take on something this risky—

it simply far exceeded their capabilities.

Xing Leshan froze in place, puzzled by the turn of events. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked, “What’s going on? Why has everyone gone silent? No one has anything to say?”

The group continued to exude the vibe of carefree indifference—

like pigs unafraid of boiling water.

Xing Leshan’s face twitched visibly as he suppressed his frustration. “Fine, if no one’s going to speak up, I’ll start naming names!”

The room remained silent.

At that moment, a voice came from the back corner of the office.

"I'll go."

Xing Leshan’s face lit up with delight, and he couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up in that direction. “Excellent! Did everyone see that? You should all learn from this... this comrade here!”

Since Xing Leshan had never heard this voice before, he opted to use the word "comrade" for the time being.

After all, this was someone from their own team, so there wasn’t any awkwardness in doing so.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------