Zhang Yihan lowered her voice and spoke again.
"Who knows? These days, every back-door hire claims to be a relative. But I doubt it's that simple—there's definitely more to the story. Look, Third Uncle is technically a relative too, yet the Bank Manager doesn't treat him any better. At my last bank we also had a 'relative'; she told everyone she was the manager's cousin. Turns out she was really his mistress. One day she was suddenly fired—only later did we learn the manager's wife had found out about their affair."
Wang Jing's mouth dropped in exaggerated shock. "That's shameless."
Zhang Yihan said sourly, "No wonder she's exempt from this quarter's review—there's obviously something going on behind the scenes."
Thinking of how her own numbers would fall short this quarter, cutting her pay and demoting her a rank, Wang Jing glared at Zhu Yan even more bitterly.
"Look how polite Zhu Yan is to that Handsome Guy—they don't seem like friends. Did she bring him in as a client?"
Seeing her chance, Zhang Yihan fanned the flames. "Sis Jing, that Handsome Guy is driving a lamborghini reventón worth tens of millions, and from the look of his clothes he probably has eight-figure deposits. If we can reel him in, your quarterly review is in the bag."
Wang Jing lowered her voice. "But he's sitting with Zhu Yan right now—how do we steal him?"
Zhang Yihan's lips curved in a sly smile. "Easy—ruin his opinion of her." Triumph flashed in her eyes.
"What if he isn't her client?" Wang Jing frowned, uncertain.
"Sis, are you dense? If he isn't, even better! We can still hook him—his bank card isn't empty." Zhang Yihan was brimming with confidence.
Zhang Yihan tugged her blouse a little lower.
Noticing it was almost too revealing, she shyly inched it back up a centimetre. "Don't worry—if we land this business, I'll split it fifty-fifty. You'll be safe, okay?"
Wang Jing knew Zhang Yihan wanted to drag her in as the bad cop while she herself played the sweet lamb in front of Jiang Cheng.
She didn't like it one bit.
But she couldn't compete in looks or figure.
With a silent sigh, Wang Jing gave in.
She decided to follow Zhang Yihan's script.
In this cut-throat environment, any chance to boost performance was worth taking.
"Good idea," she said. "Want to 'accidentally' bump into them?"
The moment Wang Jing agreed, Zhang Yihan pulled her toward Zhu Yan and Jiang Cheng.
"Hey, Zhu Yan, you're eating here too?"
Their chatter was interrupted by the sudden greeting.
Zhu Yan, seeing two colleagues she barely nodded to, smiled politely. "You're here for lunch as well?"
After Zhu Yan spoke, Wang Jing asked, "Yes, and this is…?"
Zhu Yan hesitated. "An… important client of mine."
The two women exchanged quick glances.
Wang Jing pressed on. "How come you're not eating with Bank Manager Xu? Don't you usually have lunch in his office?"
When Jiang Cheng glanced their way, Zhang Yihan quickly swept her hair back and angled her body to show off her curves,
her eyes offering a subtle invitation as she threw him a flirtatious wink.
She waited for a reaction, but Jiang Cheng's expression never changed.
He gave her a brief look and went back to picking at his food.
Zhu Yan sensed something odd in their questions but couldn't pin down what.
She assumed they'd learned that Xu Lei was her uncle.
Zhu Yan smiled and answered, "Usually I eat alone."
Wang Jing chimed in, "Oh, we're so jealous! You're the only one who can waltz into the manager's office anytime. Talk about enviable perks!"
Certain now they knew about her connection to Xu Lei,
Zhu Yan wasn't surprised—such secrets never stayed buried.
She'd never advertised their relationship, but she hadn't hidden it either.
After all, getting in through the back door wasn't something to boast about.
With a perfunctory smile she replied, "Manager Xu is friendly to everyone. If you have questions, feel free to drop by his office."
Before the words had settled, Zhang Yihan feigned surprise. "Really? You won't get jealous? Just kidding—someone as pretty as you has nothing to fear. We'd better knuckle down and work hard, right?"