Chapter 123: The Intern with Connections

When Lin Luyou arrived at work on Monday, things unfolded exactly as she had anticipated.

Although Cheng Li had started the task of extracting detailed product data two days later than Lin Luyou, she possessed a solid foundation in programming. Aside from a minor hiccup with the output of her first morning assignment, she completed all subsequent tasks with remarkable speed and efficiency. Throughout the entire day, Cheng Li handled the bulk of the data requests, while Lin Luyou managed to finish only three.

Just before the end of the workday, Wang Shi approached them with a mysterious look on his face.

"I have an announcement to make in advance! Tian Qi, please clear off the desk next to yours. An intern will be joining your team on Wednesday, and you’ll be in charge of mentoring them."

"I have to mentor them?"

Yang Tianqi was currently juggling a joint project with the Business Operations team and felt as though he were being stretched in four different directions. Hearing that he was expected to take on an intern, he was immediately displeased.

"Old Wang, look at how busy I am. If you were assigning me someone with strong professional skills who could hit the ground running, I’d be all for it, hands down! But an intern? Why don't you just hand them off to the two newcomers in our group? They’re just as familiar with the workflows and project progress as any of us by now."

Yang Tianqi glanced at Lin Luyou and Cheng Li, who were still hunched over their computers, and sincerely recommended them to Wang Shi.

Hearing her name, Cheng Li couldn't help but sit up straight, thinking her moment to shine had finally arrived. But before she could volunteer herself, Wang Shi flatly rejected the idea.

"Them? That won’t work. Regardless, I’ve made up my mind. It’s either Tian Qi or Xu Jia. You two can figure it out between yourselves."

"It’s just an intern, why all the fuss?" Chen Xujia asked, equally bewildered. She couldn't fathom who this intern could possibly be to require supervision from a team lead.

"I heard..." Wang Shi lowered his voice, acting cryptic, "this intern has significant connections. They’re the child of one of our company’s executives. They’re a senior in college and are here to get familiar with the business."

A company executive? Level ten or above? Did that mean it was the child of someone in the top brass?

The team members stopped working, their eyes wide with shock and shared gossip.

"You are not to speak of this to anyone outside!" Wang Shi immediately regretted sharing the information and hurriedly cautioned them to keep it quiet. "Also, when you assign work, don't give them anything too critical, but don't leave them with nothing to do either. Xu Jia, you two will have to find that balance yourselves."

Chen Xujia gave an 'OK' sign to show she understood. Still uneasy, Wang Shi reminded them to watch their tongues once the intern arrived and to avoid their usual unfiltered chatter.

"Got it, we need to maintain a professional atmosphere!" Su Zhenxin chimed in. "Sigh, this means we won't have any chance to gossip anymore, doesn't it? Work just got a lot less interesting."

Having delivered his instructions, Wang Shi grabbed his bag and left for the day. Once he was gone, Lin Luyou and the others began wrapping up their tasks and retreated into their own private lives.

On the way home, Lin Luyou passed by Qin Shishen’s coffee shop, which sat directly on her route. She stood at the intersection for a moment, contemplating, but remembering that her thesis still needed finishing, she reluctantly chose to pass by without stopping.