Chapter 132: The Project Spot Replaced

Returning to her workstation, the colleagues in her group had also woken up and were preparing to start their day.

"Oh, back from petting the cat?" Tang Xiao teased as she saw Lin Luyou arrive just in time.

"So, was it cat-petting or eye-candy? You were gone for quite a while," Su Zhenxin chimed in, glancing over with a playful grin.

"It was definitely for the cat!" Lin Luyou straightened her face, trying to sound serious. But she immediately changed her tune, adding, "Though, of course, the handsome guy was a must-see too! We’re all adults; why choose one when you can have both?"

It was that last remark that successfully sent everyone into a fit of laughter.

"Alright, alright, let's talk business." Once everyone began settling into their work, Tang Xiao pulled Lin Luyou aside for a whisper. "We were just discussing the staffing for the various project teams. Since you weren't there, we decided that you and Su Zhenxin will continue to oversee the main dashboard."

Monitoring the dashboard?

In plain terms, it meant keeping a constant eye on the sales performance of products across various categories and brands, issuing alerts when stock ran low, and analyzing the reasons behind poor sales figures—not much different from what they had done last Friday night.

"And what about the labeling task?" Lin Luyou couldn't help but ask.

Usually, anyone who participated in the project team meeting would become a member of the project team, provided they didn't have too much on their plate. After the meeting, Lin Luyou had even thought she was lucky to have insisted on attending, convinced she had landed a major project.

"Oh, about the labeling... we discussed it just now, and we felt Cheng Li was a better fit than you. You know how it is—her programming skills and accuracy are just a bit higher than yours. And during the meeting, you surely must have..."

Tang Xiao wanted to offer some comfort, worried that Lin Luyou might harbor resentment since they had handed her task to someone else without consulting her first.

"Mm-hmm, I understand," Lin Luyou interrupted with a smile before Tang Xiao could finish. "This project is on a tight deadline, and my efficiency really isn't up to par yet. Cheng Li handles it better than I do."

Although it was the truth, and Lin Luyou accepted it, a sudden, inexplicable wave of frustration washed over her.

"Right, just keep working hard, and you'll catch up eventually."

Tang Xiao offered a rather hollow consolation before turning back to her own work.

After taking a moment to adjust her mood, Lin Luyou put on a determined smile, gathered her laptop, and headed over to Su Zhenxin’s desk.

"Zhenxin! Xiao said I’ll be working with you on the dashboard for the next few days. What do I need to do?"

Su Zhenxin, typing away at her keyboard, replied without looking up, "Hang on, give me a few minutes! I'm currently reporting this morning's figures to Da Ming. Once I'm done, I'll walk you through the details."

Lin Luyou nodded. She initially thought about standing behind Su Zhenxin to wait, but then reconsidered. Back in her student days, whenever she had an exam, her biggest fear was a proctor standing right beside her; the pressure alone was enough to make her want to scream while she was busy writing.

Even though the setting had changed and she wasn't exactly a high-stakes player, Lin Luyou put herself in her colleague's shoes and felt that hovering like that might seem like she was pressuring her to hurry up.

With that thought, Lin Luyou hugged her laptop and returned to her own seat.

Watching everyone around her busy at work—even Zhao Mian had a task—while she sat there as if she had nothing to do, Lin Luyou felt as though she had been transported back to her very first day on the job with the team.