Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Deng Wenchang had said before that Qiao Nan was a woman after all and that she was bound to be softhearted. In reality, when she was faced with a problem, Qiao Nan’s style was much tougher than He Yi’s.

  Now that she was not giving Li Dawei any opportunities to show off, Qiao Nan was not at all afraid that Li Dawei would publicize this situation and complain that Qiao Nan was bullying newbies by suppressing them. Even though she was in a high position and had to set an example, as long as she did not go against her conscience, Li Dawei would have nothing to hold against her and threaten her with. What a joke!

  In her current position, even if she did not abuse her power, it was still not an excuse for her to be threatened because of her management style. As for those lobbyists that Li Dawei found, they had, unfortunately, come in vain.

  Qiao Nan had ever encountered such a situation in the past. The lobbyist that Li Dawei had found was not a simple person. In the face of persuasion from the other party, he expressed that Li Dawei had made mistakes while he was younger but had changed for good. As such, she should give Li Dawei a chance. Everyone was bound to make mistakes in life after all.

  On the surface, Qiao Nan smiled and nodded continuously. With that, the lobbyist that Li Dawei had found was elated. It seemed as though this female minister was not as arrogant as Li Dawei had described, and she even looked rather eloquent. It seemed to him that his status had made things easier for them.

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  But no one had expected that Qiao Nan continued treating Li Dawei with the same attitude even after continuously agreeing. This stunned Li Dawei, who had just been on cloud nine. He felt as though someone had just beaten him down.

  At that time, Qiao Nan eyed Li Dawei with her eyes that were curved into crescents yet gave off an eerily cold feeling. Even if Li Dawei found a more impressive lobbyist, it would be of no use. Unless Li Dawei had a way of finding a ‘big shot’ over to force her out of her ministerial position.

  After Qiao Nan rose to the ministerial position, her performance at work had remained consistently good. Perhaps, it had even improved. In this case, no matter who Li Dawei invited over, nothing was going to move Qiao Nan from her position.

  Li Dawei did not have a high status, nor did he have anyone backing him up. In comparison, Qiao Nan was Zhai Yaohui’s daughter-in-law, and Zhai Sheng’s wife. Zhai Yaohui and Zhai Sheng held high positions in society. As long as they wanted to, they could easily kick Li Dawei out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  As such, Li Dawei had thought of pulling some strings to beg Qiao Nan for an opportunity, but it was to no avail. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was not just this path that was impassable. Every path was impassable to him.

  Qiao Nan disallowed Li Dawei from doing anything, yet she put up a warm front when faced with Li Dawei. Qiao Nan had never ignored Li Dawei, let alone treated him coldly. What Qiao Nan was using was an invisible weapon. No matter how furious Li Dawei was, he had nothing of Qiao Nan that he could pit against her with.

  Although Li Dawei had a burning desire to perform well, it was as though Qiao Nan extinguished that flame with an ambiguous statement to ‘finish whatever work you have on hand’.

  The fire in Li Dawei’s heart could hardly put up a fight against Qiao Nan’s ice-cold water. In the end, this small flame was extinguished.

  Qiao Nan had not used force, but her firmness had caused the dispirited Li Dawei’s lips to twitch. He could not understand. Wasn’t Qiao Nan younger than him by two years? Why was Qiao Nan acting like such an old soul? His father had said that even he might not be able to act like Qiao Nan. There was none of that temper that a young woman of thirty should have in Qiao Nan.

  Quite the contrary, Qiao Nan was even more open-minded than those in their seventies and eighties. She did not get into a rage easily but was mature and level-headed. There was only one word for her: respect!

  Once again, he had failed to achieve his goal. In the face of Qiao Nan’s lukewarm and business-minded attitude toward him, Li Dawei’s expression when he came out of Qiao Nan’s office was so bad that one might have mistaken that Li Dawei had been constipated for an entire week.

  The newbies could only ‘admire’ Li Dawei for his persistence and dauntlessness. The moment they saw their senior exit the minister’s office, they could not help but laugh. “His spirit is really worth learning!” Li Dawei was only good at talking. He could do a little of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ work. Saying that he was capable and skillful was utter rubbish.

  Li Dawei was not very capable of getting things done. All he knew was to brag, and he was arrogant and snobbish. He never cared to interact with these newbies but was always eager to follow behind the minister, begging Minister Qiao for mercy and hoping that she would give him a chance.

  As a newbie, the work that they did on a daily basis exceeded that of Li Dawei, who was already a senior. To be honest, if Li Dawei were to be promoted, these newbies would definitely be angry about it. It was a fact that Li Dawei was older than them and had been in the department for a longer time. But in less than three years, they would definitely be able to surpass Li Dawei.

  Anyone could be promoted, except for Li Dawei.

  Especially when they saw how Li Dawei was so snobbish when meeting them, these newbies grew even more dissatisfied. They had no good feelings toward Li Dawei at all. What these newbies were most worried about was that Qiao Nan would eventually give in to Li Dawei’s sweet talk and be unable to resist Li Dawei’s flattery, eventually giving him a promotion.

  These newbies were not very old, but they were rather knowledgeable. They had already learned that most superiors would always keep one or two jesters around them. The only reason for their existence was to liven up their moods.

  To the newbies’ delight, they had been in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more than a year, and they had seen how Li Dawei had never given up his plan to win over Minister Qiao. Minister Qiao always silently deflected Li Dawei’s flattery and kept things professional. She did not care to give Li Dawei special treatment just because of this.

  Thinking about how the documents in their hands were even more important than what Li Dawei had, these newbies were extremely proud. ‘Ha, don’t think Minister Qiao is easily coaxed just because she’s a woman! Minister Qiao is indeed a wise and intelligent leader, so she will never give people like Li Dawei a chance to prove themselves.’

  The newbies had joined later and did not care to spare Li Dawei a glance, so they hardly had any interactions with or understanding of Li Dawei. Therefore, they did not know that Li Dawei often stuck around Qiao Nan to flatter her.