The first chapter is a little bit voice-activated

There are many industries that are notoriously open for three years and open for three years. Qiaoqiao is one of those things, and she has been in investment banking for more than five years since graduating from college.

Qiaoqiao is lucky, not only because she entered the industry after graduating from undergraduate, but also because she encountered a few years when she bent down to pick up money and couldn't win, and the year-end bonus was soft. But now she is also unfortunately in a very important year on the road to promotion, encountered the cold winter of the industry.

Rumors or official news of school recruitment freezes, social recruitment offers withdrawn, and peer layoffs are constantly coming. This year, it is the turn of an employee of Qiaoqiao's level to be promoted to VP (note), but because of the poor market environment and the tightening of the number of promotions, even if there are relatively few foreign offices, everyone is still secretly fighting for the head.

The more the economy is in a downturn, the more undercurrents are surging in the company. Everyone wants to hold the olive branch of promotion, rather than usher in the dragon slayer knife of layoffs.

On the seventeenth floor of the office building at four o'clock in the morning, Qiao Qiao, who was still working, locked the laptop screen, stood up and moved his shoulders and neck, and brewed a cup of strong coffee, trying to clear his brain.

She walked to the floor-to-ceiling window with her coffee in her hand, looked down at the empty road outside the window, and then looked back at the brightly lit office filled with keyboard sounds, and for a moment exhaustion welled up in her heart.

She suddenly remembered the joke that many industries love to make. The original intention was that the reporter asked Kobe Bryant why he was successful, and Kobe Bryant asked rhetorically: Do you know what Los Angeles looks like at four o'clock in the morning? I know because I get up at four o'clock every day to practice.

As a result, many "migrant workers" in finance, IT, and many other industries who often work overtime all night laugh at themselves, and we know it, because we haven't gotten off work at 4 o'clock in the morning.

In the past few years, Qiaoqiao has long been accustomed to working 100 hours a week, and occasionally all-nighters for two or three days in a row can be regarded as within the scope of patience. She still remembers the question session of the induction training that year, Li Jinzhou answered in English to the new employees: "Work-life balance? Work is all there is to your life and there is no need for balance. ”

After a few years, Qiaoqiao can only sigh that the boss is honest and does not deceive me. In this world, there is no easy money.

Qiaoqiao, who was standing by the window, casually swiped his mobile phone, flipped through the circle of friends, and saw that another classmate had forwarded the popular resignation letter - "The world is so big, I want to go and see it." ”

She smiled and shook her head, locking the screen of her phone.

No money, look at the.

But in fact, ask yourself, Qiaoqiao really wants to resign. In the past five or six years, she also feels a little tired. No, it should be said that it is very tired. Endlessly staying up late, counting jù, models, diagrams, meetings, business trips with clients, she now occasionally drinks too much coffee, and she has a feeling of palpitations and nausea until the next morning.

And today, it's an all-nighter again. Jojo rubbed her fingers lightly over the rim of the warm mug in her hand, it was her sixth cup of coffee of the day.

She had long since lost the mellow aroma of the so-called coffee.

Take a bite and feel two words, overtime. Two mouthfuls into the throat, feel the four words, stay up late and work overtime. Between the three residual lips and teeth, I felt six words, and stayed up all night to work overtime. Jojo even suspected that he had developed a coffee resistance. Oh no, maybe it's not as good as when I just graduated. After all, it is a legend that when you are young, you exchange your life for money, and when you are old, you exchange money for your life.

Thinking about the annual physical examination report, those occupational diseases such as cervical spondylosis, lumbar spondylosis, stomach disease, etc., the doctor's warning of her sub-healthy living state, and the advice that made her go to bed early and get up early and exercise more, Qiaoqiao has been thinking, maybe it's time to give herself a long vacation to rest?

Some people say that the most difficult thing to earn in life is the first million, and it took five years to exchange his life for money, and Qiao Qiao has already done the first step, well, even far more than the first step of primitive accumulation. Qiaoqiao felt that he didn't have much desire for luxury, he had all kinds of investments in houses, cars, savings, and various investments, and the training school he opened with Liang Wei was already on track to open a branch school. It is not difficult for her to take a long vacation after quitting her job and find a job, and there is not much financial pressure.

It's just that even if she wants to resign, it won't be before this critical moment of promotion.

But with this fantasy that he can sleep until he wakes up naturally after resigning in the future, Qiaoqiao instantly comforted himself and succeeded, and his mood improved. After draining the sixth cup of coffee, she survived another all-nighter.

worked all the way until six o'clock in the evening of the next day, and Qiaoqiao was actually able to call it a day and leave work. Tsk, it's only about 30 hours of continuous reel, compared to the first two or three years of joining the company, this is simply a victory.

Qiaoqiao, who had turned off his phone and was ready to go home to sleep quickly, had just left his desk only half a step when his mobile phone rang suddenly. The ringtone is a mobile phone issued by the company, unknown. Don't be an urgent task again, please.

She wanted to sleep, wanted to sleep, sleeped. Don't want to answer the phone, don't want to answer, don't want to.

However, after closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, giving himself two seconds, and adjusting his feelings, Jojo still took out his phone and connected to the call. Taking money to work, getting a high salary to work more, and doing hard work is the basic professional quality. If she doesn't want to answer again, she won't pretend she didn't hear the call.

Caller ID, Li Jinzhou, Qiaoqiao's superior's superior, Qiaoqiao's top boss in this group. Qiao Qiao was recruited by Li Jinzhou when he was an intern, and he was also strongly recommended by Li Jinzhou when he officially joined after graduation.

At that time, Li Jinzhou was still a senior VP, and he was also the one who once scolded Qiao Qiao, who had just joined the company, to the point of blood. Now it's Jojo's turn to be promoted to VP, and he has become the one who directly decides whether Jojo can be promoted to VP or not.

"Qiaoqiao, it's time to get off work?" Li Jinju's voice came from his phone.

This question was asked, and Qiao Qiao was not sure if he felt that he had left too early, so he replied: "It's still in the office, you can turn on the computer." Boss, is there anything I need to do? ”

Li Jinzhou is a weirdo in some ways, and he is a returnee in foreign capital, but he never refuses to follow the local customs to give himself an English name. Sometimes foreign investors have to pretend to have an English name, because you can call him by his name no matter how big the boss is, but Li Jinzhou is not. So the people below him all called him "head" angrily.

"I saw you leaving in the office. Wait five minutes for me, go out for a drink, and talk to you about something. Without waiting for Qiao Qiao to answer, Li Jinzhou hung up the phone. The immediate boss has an invitation, do you still need to wait for your reply?

Qiao Qiao turned his head and looked, since Li Jinzhou was promoted, he had an independent office with floor-to-ceiling glass windows on this floor, unlike Qiao Qiao, who only had a workstation. So today Jojo was so busy that he didn't even notice that he was actually in the office, instead of flying around for meetings. Qiao Qiao thought to herself, working overtime until she was tired and had to go out for a drink, Li Jinzhou was quite a returnee in this habit. However, when I talk to myself, eighty percent of them are because of promotions or layoffs, is it happy or worried?

The perfectionist workaholic boss said that five minutes is five minutes, and the two left the office on time, found a familiar bar near the company, sat down, and ordered two glasses of wine.

Before the wine was served, Li Jinzhou, who was in a suit and leather shoes, took off his coat and hung it on the back of the chair, stretched out his hand to loosen his tie, and casually asked Qiao Qiao a few words about work. However, the boss can ask casually, and Qiaoqiao answers carefully and carefully.

Li Jinzhou glanced at Qiao Qiao with a smile in his eyes. Even though he was tired after more than 30 hours, Qiao Qiao's big black and white eyes were still bright and vivid, full of aura. Dressed in concise and capable professional attire, he spoke in a well-organized manner, and his words were rigorous and professional, and he could hardly see the youthful and immature appearance when he first graduated.

However, he never forgot the stubborn and strong summer intern Qiao Qiao at the beginning.

When the wine came, the two clinked glasses lightly and took a sip. Li Jinzhou opened his mouth and asked: "The market has not been good recently, and there are a lot of rumors in the company, have you heard about it?" ”

Qiao Qiao secretly rolled his eyes in his heart, the bosses always talk like this, and start with a sentence that the market is not good. If layoffs or year-end bonuses are dismal or promotions are unsuccessful, it is the pot of the market. If you are not laid off or you are given some year-end or successful promotion, you see, the market is not good, and the boss has fought so much for you, should you work harder?

In short, routines, these are all routines of conversation!

"I've seen some industry news, but my colleagues are busy and don't have much time to discuss." Jojo replied cautiously. In fact, no matter how busy everyone is, this kind of sensitive information can still spread quickly, especially among colleagues at the same level. Of course, Li Jinzhou, who has been in the company for many years, must also know about these things, but Qiaoqiao doesn't want to say it clearly.

Li Jinzhou smiled and said bluntly: "Layoffs and the tightening of promotion quotas are not rumors, the market environment is not good, and temporary strategic contraction and adjustment are necessary." But......" He paused, paused to take a sip of his drink.

Qiao Qiao complained silently, sure enough, it is the pot of the market, "temporary", "strategy", "contraction" and "adjustment", look at the word used, the official fly. But since the boss added a "but" and stopped drinking and selling off, it seems to be good news.

"Well, even if I only have one place to upgrade to VP, you're indispensable." Sure enough, good news.

Qiao Qiao picked up the wine glass and replied, "Thank you, Boss, you must do your best and die." ”

Li Jinzhou clinked glasses with her, took a sip of wine, and said with a smile: "This line of work is too much, don't say that." You deserve it, and the table has been very good in recent years. He leaned back lazily, put his hand on the back of the chair at his side, and admonished: "There will be a lot of layoffs in this wave, but the final decision has not yet been decided." If you've been meeting at your level lately, be cautious when you speak. ”

Qiao Qiao nodded, she was not a person of many words.

"Do you have any plans after being promoted to VP? Now the market is not good, in fact, it is also an option to go to the United States to study for an MBA and come back with the company's project. Li Jinzhou asked Qiaoqiao.

Even if Qiao Qiao graduated from the top bachelor's degree in China, most of them are at least master's degrees, especially MBA for returnees. And if there are no connections, no backstage, and not enough wrists, many people go to the VP step, and the title in the investment bank will rise to the top.

Jojo thought to herself, what my plan is...... After taking the title of promotion, he resigned and rested for a few months......

Taking the company's money to study for an MBA is not a free lunch, and you have to sign a contract for the number of years of subsequent work in the company.

However, she couldn't say this to her boss right now.

She even has a little bit of guilt, when this kind of competition is fierce, every promotion place, it is also torn back by the bosses in countless meetings. And she was going to take it and leave.

Qiao Qiao looked sideways at Li Jinzhou, remembering that when he first joined the company, he often heard the words on his lips: capital is profit-seeking, capital has a price, and capital has no feelings.

She couldn't help but laugh at her senseless guilt in her heart, it was really naïve.

Whether to resign before or after getting the VP title is a fundamental difference between Jojo's career and the resume she gives to headhunters in the future. It will give people the illusion that you are going up and then leaving, or if you can't go up before leaving. At the end of the day, she didn't want to slack off, and she didn't want to be sorry for the hard work of the past five or six years.

Cleaning up these messy inner thoughts, Qiaoqiao began to flicker, seriously planning his career prospects for continuing to develop in the company, there are many things that need to be studied well when he has just been promoted, and he will not make plans to go abroad for the time being.

After sitting in the bar for more than an hour, the conversation about career development came to an end, and after a few more small talks, Jojo could finally say goodbye and go home to catch up on sleep.

By the time Jojo finished washing up and finally threw herself into the quilt in the bedroom, it was almost half past eight in the evening. She buried her face in the fluffy pillow, thinking that she would be tired of having to talk to her boss about these high-sounding topics after working all night. Chatting is chatting, and you have to drink, even if it's red wine, it's a tired stomach.

Why don't you give her a cup of hot milk? Somehow save her stomach from being soaked in alcohol and coffee.

She closed her eyes, her consciousness was in a trance almost for a second, and every cell in her body was frantically shouting: I want to sleep! Go to sleep! Go to bed!

However, the phone rang again......

But this time when he heard the ringtone, even if he was sleepy and didn't want to open his eyes, Qiaoqiao still gently raised the corners of his mouth, closed his eyes and fumbled for his mobile phone to connect. She even spoke in a soft and cute voice, "Hey, grandma~ Haven't you slept yet?" ”

"Jojo, we didn't sleep. Your grandfather and I were guests at your grandmother's house. You're not working overtime, are you? In the country? Grandma asked with concern. Qiaoqiao's private mobile phone often can't get through, it is said that some meetings often have to confiscate private mobile phones because of confidentiality, and sometimes Qiaoqiao goes abroad too often and keeps trapeze artists, and he can't be contacted on the plane.

"In China, I didn't work overtime, and I was getting ready to sleep at home. What's wrong with Grandma? Qiaoqiao never cries to her family about how tired she is from work, but her family often can't contact her, so her grandmother also knows how busy she is, and she basically won't take the initiative to call her if she has nothing to do.

Hearing Qiaoqiao say that she was ready to go to bed without working overtime, her grandmother was immediately relieved and said, "Hey, that's the case." Do you remember Grandma Zhao? ”

Since Qiaoqiao has worked, she has only gone home for the Spring Festival once a year, so she only has a rough impression that this Grandma Zhao seems to be her grandmother's old classmate, and after she retired, she moved and met in the same elderly chess and card room, and became a card partner to kill time, so she responded: "Remember, what's wrong?" ”

"Hey, her grandson plans to take the two of them abroad to the island. She said that her grandson didn't like to talk and was too boring, so she invited me to go on a trip with your grandfather, and everyone would be a companion and lively. ”

"Oh, yes. You can go, don't save money, buy what you like, play what you like, and I'll reimburse you! Jojo agreed. Before Qiaoqiao worked, his grandparents almost never traveled, let alone went abroad. After Qiaoqiao worked, he took them abroad for a trip every year on annual leave. However, her annual leave time is limited, and it is impossible for her to accompany the elderly every day to enrich their retirement life.

"Hey, you kid, who made you pay, you get so many red envelopes every year. Just call and ask you what the passport numbers of me and your grandfather are, and Grandma Zhao's grandson is buying air tickets for us. When you're free this week, send your passport back. "Because I was taken out by Qiaoqiao every year, my grandparents' passports have always been placed with Qiaoqiao.

"Okay, I'll give you the passport number first, and the passport will be sent to you tomorrow morning when it arrives at the company." Qiaoqiao, who had been answering the phone with his eyes closed, finally opened his eyes and leaned out to pull the drawer of the bedside table to get his passport.

"Hey, Qiaoqiao, don't report it to me, I'm confused when I hear the English alphabet. Wait, I'll go to the living room and let the guy answer the phone. "When my grandmother heard the number at the beginning of the letter, her head was dizzy.

Qiao Qiao waited for a while, and then heard a low and magnetic voice coming from there, "Hello, I'm Lu Ze." ”

Qiaoqiao, who was a little sleepy and a little unconscious, was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered a famous sentence that described the sound of a subwoofer - "I listened to my ears before going to bed to get pregnant......

When Lu Ze's voice came, Qiao Qiao inexplicably felt that what he was holding in his hand was not a mobile phone, but a small speaker......

"Hello, Jojo?" Lu Ze didn't hear a reply over there, and confirmed it in a low voice.

"Well, hello, I'm here." Jojo came back to her senses and leaned close to her phone to answer. Then she took her phone away and pinned the hair from her ear. She always felt that there were strands of hair falling out of her ears and scratching a little bit, but she didn't.

This is just an illusion caused by Lu Ze's slightly raised, low and sexy tail note because of doubts when Lu Ze just called her name.

Note: VP is a mid-level position in investment banking. However, if it is translated, it becomes a vice president, which is easy to misunderstand, so the abbreviation used in the text is no longer translated.