Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
âThe exam venue is just up ahead,â Qi Chengyue said.
âIâll be fine on my own. You can go ahead and deal with your stuff,â Ruan Danchen said. She did not want to attract attention to herself.
Qi Chengyue read her thoughts and smiled naughtily, saying, âOkay. If thereâs anything, you can call me right away.â
Ruan Danchen nodded. Her eyes trailed on Qi Chengyue until the latter left. Midway through, Qi Chengyue even turned around and waved at her.
When Qi Chengyue returned to her office, the first thing she saw was Qi Chenglin sitting on the seat opposite her desk. She was given quite the fright.
She gasped and placed her hand on her chest before rolling her eyes at Qi Chenglin. âBrother, why did you come in without saying anything? You scared me.â
âWhy are you all scared for? Itâs not like you did anything wrong.â Qi Chenglin twitched his lip and said plainly, âYou sent her off already?â
âI did. Donât worry.â Qi Chengyue looked at him teasingly. She sat on her seat and twitched her lip. âWhat youâre doing as a boyfriend is good enough. Why didnât I realize last time that youâre a wife slave when youâre in a relationship?â
Qi Chenglin ignored her teasing and put on an air of arrogance before getting up and leaving.
...
...
Ruan Danchen made the turn and saw two lines of people standing before the entrance to the meeting room. They stood rather untidily and the lines were far enough apart for a pathway to form in the middle.
Even though it was only a written exam, everyone was dressed quite formallyâeither in a knee-length skirt or a professional-looking pencil skirt. As for Ruan Danchen, she wore the kind of clothes she used for work. Although it looked professional and up-to-standard, it did look slightly more casual compared to the rest of them.
Ruan Danchen looked at herself and felt helpless. Despite it only being a written test, the examiners would be supervising them and she had hoped to make a good impression.
Helpless though she may feel, there was nothing she could do about it. Ruan Danchen simply walked to a relatively unnoticeable spot and stood in line as well.
As she waited, she saw a woman coming from the same corridor that she came from earlier.
At about twenty-four or twenty-five years of age, the woman was wearing a blue top and a red umbrella skirt, all of which were branded. Her heat-curled hair was tied in a messy yet meticulous-looking bun, held in place by a pearl hair clip. The hair on top of her head was rather fluffed up and a few loose curls draped down from her temples.
A pair of Jimmy Choo high heels adorned her feet, and when she walked to stand beside Ruan Danchen, the latter noticed a pair of Chanel earrings on the womanâs ears.
Ruan Danchen saw the womanâs irritated expression while on the phone. âComing to apply for the job is merely a formality for me anyway. Why must I line up with all these people just to take the exam?â
â...â
âYes, I know,â the woman said.
â...â
âWhat do you mean âwhat ifâ? My daddyâs a board member at Qilin and he calls the shots. Heâs already spoken to those below him. Who else are they going to choose if it isnât me? How about this, I have the same set of questions that are coming out in todayâs exam, so Iâm clearly different from the others who came here just to try their luck.â Ruan Danchen felt a sting on her face when she heard the womanâs words, for she went to the exam cheating too.
â...â
âYes, I know. Iâll keep a low profile. But the point is, what use is there for me to keep a low profile? The outcome will be the same anyway. Itâs better if those other people know about it and decide to leave early. Itâll save them from wasting time here. With this kind of time on their hands, they might as well use it to find other jobs. Iâm doing this for their good.â
â...â
âMm, I know. Ugh, Mom, just stop worrying. Iâll do my job properly. My daddyâs a board member here and this isnât something I can just change. Iâm just born with his superiority. What can I do about it? Itâs not like I can swap my father. Besides, I graduated from a famous school, so even without his help, I can still get this job by myself. I just donât like wasting time.â
â...â
âYes, I know. Okay, Iâll hang up now.â
After hanging up, Yao Jingfei tossed the phone into her bag and glanced at Ruan Danchen without even trying to hide the fact that she was looking at Ruan Danchen from head to toe.
There was a look of disgust on her face and a twitch of disdain on her lips; perhaps due to Ruan Danchenâs rather plain-looking clothes.
âYou must have heard me talking on the phone just now?â Yan Jingfei smirked and said sarcastically.
Ruan Danchen gave her an insipid gaze and kept quiet, shifting her eyes away and looking straight up ahead.
Yao Jingfei believed that Ruan Danchen was showing her indefatigableness after hearing the phone call earlier. She chortled and said, âSince you already heard it all, my advice to you is not to waste your time. From what I see, your clothes are so plain and simple. You probably didnât expect to come up against such an adversary, right?â
Ruan Danchen still kept quiet.
Yao Jingfei continued, âYou seem like an honest kind of person. Such a shame. Word of advice for you, stop wasting your time here. You heard that my daddy is a board member here. He has already informed all the persons-in-charge as well as the design departmentâs manager. In other words, all these job application procedures were created specifically for me. The new position in the design department popped out as soon as I graduated. Donât you think thatâs a lucky coincidence?â
Qi Chengyue did not think so, however, because Qi Chengyue would not have told her about the opportunity if that were the case. As a member of the Qi family, Qi Chengyue could not have been in the dark over it. She would definitely have said something if that really was the case.
Yao Jingfei decided that she might as well turn to Ruan Danchen and smirked contentedly. âYou can say that everyone here is like the background props for all this, and the only reason Iâm here is because of the formalities. Yâall can try as hard as you want, but itâll still be useless.â
She swept her eyes across the room and saw how nervously the candidates were still preparing.
Shaking her head, she said, âThese people are all so pitiful. They have no idea how useless their efforts are. All that hard work to end up with nothing. Even I feel heart-wrenched.â
Yao Jingfei said all that to Ruan Danchen without thinking to keep her voice down. It was like she never intended to be low profile in the first place.
A good portion of the people waiting there heard what Yao Jingfei had to say. Those who could not hear her received the message from others who did, and naturally, all of them were incensed.
One of them said immediately, âIf youâre that good, you donât even need to come here today. Itâll be easier to just walk straight into the design department. Why must Qilin go through so much trouble just to create this recruitment drive?â
âExactly. Why do you need to come here and strut your stuff?â another chimed in without lowering their voice one bit.
At the end of the day, Qilin was only recruiting one personâeither one of them would make the cut, or that woman would go in through the back door. In any case, none of them would meet each other in the future, so none would remember the other. That was the reason all of them were unafraid of offending Yao Jingfei.
She snickered. âSuch ignorance. Donât talk if you donât know anything. Making such fools of yourselves.â
âTch. I wonder whoâs the one making a fool of herself. Would someone who claims to be so capable go around acting like a pretentious prick? Those who are really that good wonât need to prove themselves to others. Those who suck will feel unconfident and try to be cocky. So, donât be so cocky that you look like a pretentious idiot,â someone from the crowd sniggered.
âWHO THE HELL SAID THAT!â Yao Jingfeiâs face began to warp. âShow yourself then if you have the guts and see if Iâm capable or not! Itâs a bit reckless of you to be provoking me on Qilinâs turf! If youâre here to apply for the job, then you might as well keep it down, or else I guarantee you wonât be able to submit your application!â
âYo, you probably donât know that thereâs only one position advertised, right? Either you get the job, or one of us does, so once we walk out of Qilin, neither of us will meet again. No oneâs scared of you. If youâre so sure the job is yours, then you donât need to make life difficult for us. If our efforts to apply for the job end in failure, then what use is it to grumble about here? Idiot.â
Ruan Danchen said not a single word throughout the entire sequence of events. However, she could not help but think about how much of a dunderhead the woman beside her was.
Yao Jingfeiâs face turned redder and redder. Everyone else there had no chance of getting the job, yet they were all calling her a pretentious fool!
Her anger was so great that she wanted to give her daddy a call and ask him to show them who was boss!
At that moment, a voice echoed from the corridor. âThis way, please.â
Manager Luo then appeared. Behind him were two people who were pushing a cart of mineral water.
Ruan Danchen looked over in amazement. She thought to herself, âI canât believe that Qilin is showing such hospitality. Theyâre even giving water to those who came for the written exam.â
She then watched as Luo Yushu smiled at her, took two bottles of water from the cart, and walked over to her.
Before he reached her though, he was stopped.
Yao Jingfei blocked his way. Her expression suggested that she was extremely familiar with him and she smiled, saying, âManager Luo.â
It was a far cry from her despotic manner earlier.
Luo Yushu was stunned for a moment. He blinked his eyes a few times, and from his actions, it seemed as though he did not recognize who Yao Jingfei was.
She did not get angry and simply said sweetly, âManager Luo, you couldnât possibly forget me, right? My daddy brought me to Qilinâs annual party last year.â
Luo Yushu racked his brains to try and recall it. All of the companyâs employees would bring their family members to Qilinâs annual party. He, too, brought his wife and daughter over. With so many people making introductions to one another, the influx of information was so overwhelming that no one could have remembered who was who.
As for Yao Jingfei, however, Luo Yushu had some recollection of who she was.
He would have long forgotten the family members of some normal employee, and the only ones that made an impression on him was those higher-ups.
Luo Yushu dug up his memories fervently and finally let out a chuckle. Although he was not too sure, he feigned his confidence to make him look like he remembered everything clearly, and said, âHehehehe, I remember, I remember. Youâre the darling daughter of Board Member Yao. Miss Yao, right?â
Yao Jingfei knew all along that a figure as important as her father would have to be remembered by a small-time manager like Luo Yushu. Under normal circumstances, it was beneath her to be greeting Luo Yushuâin her mind, Luo Yushu was supposed to be the one greeting her.
However, she did not wait for him to do so because she wanted to use that as an opportunity to showcase her reputation.
âYou have a good memory, Manager Luo,â Yao Jingfei smiled and said.
âAre you here for the exam, Miss Yao?â Luo Yushu looked at Yao Jingfei and snuck a glance at Ruan Danchen.
What was he going to do if the examiner kicked the general managerâs future wife in order to please Board Member Yao?
Board Member Yao was nothing more than a member of Qilinâs board, far more inferior than the Qi family. He had a feeling that the general manager would know if Ruan Danchen came to apply for the job, especially since Qi Chengyue personally brought her up.
Getting into Qilin was a tough task, and those who came for the exam were determined to see it through. Under normal circumstances, few would leave unless a pressing matter forced them to. That was the reason prospective applicants came in hordes whenever one or two of vacancies popped up on rare occasions.
The vacancy popped up only a few days earlier, and after saying goodbye to Qi Chengyue and Ruan Danchen earlier, Luo Yushu could not shake the feeling that something was off. It was like the particular position was specifically opened up for Ruan Danchen.
Thus, he went to the design department and asked the manager there, but the answer he got was that the manager had no clue either. Human resources simply emailed and asked for a vacancy to be advertised.
âYes,â Yao Jingfeng said confidently. âImmediately after I graduated, my dad told me that there was an opportunity here in Qilin, so here I am.â
âOh, hehe,â Luo Yushu laughed dryly. âI didnât expect that you studied design?â
âWell, since my dadâs a board member here, Iâve always wanted to be a part of Qilin. Luckily, I also have an interest in design,â Yao Jingfei smiled and said. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at everyone who was standing there and felt incredibly pleased to see all of them looking exceedingly unhappy.
âI see.â Luo Yushu nodded and smiled. The only thing on his mind was to escape from Yao Jingfei, since he did not care much for Board Member Yao at all. It was not like Board Member Yao was the ultimate authority in the companyâthe most important thing was to make sure that the Qi family was happy.
Luo Yushu waved to the subordinates behind him and said, âGo ahead and give everyone some water. They must be really tired from waiting here so long.â
He placed one of the bottles he was holding to Yao Jingfei, and before the woman could open her mouth, he went past her and walked to Ruan Danchen. He did his best to refrain from accidentally calling her the general managerâs woman, but his eyes were filled with reverence as he handed over the other bottle to Ruan Danchen. âYou must be tired from waiting here so long.â
â...â Ruan Danchen was well aware that Luo Yushu wanted to come over to her. It was just by chance that Yao Jingfei blocked his way.
Yao Jingfei still sported a smug look, perhaps because she continued to believe that Luo Yushu came just to see her.
âThank you,â Ruan Danchen said and took the bottle from him.
Luo Yushu said immediately, âYouâre most welcome. Have you been waiting here long? Are you tired? Is everyone else tired?â
One after the other, the crowd courteously said no, and Ruan Danchen followed suit as well.
Yao Jingfei snickered from beside. âThese people are just trying to fawn over Luo Yushu by answering as a crowd. Luo Yushu wasnât even asking any of them. Heâs obviously worried that Iâm tired of standing here.
âAnd all these bottled water? Everyoneâs just benefiting from my presence. Luo Yushu probably felt awkward to make it too obvious.â
âHehe, alright then. Itâs almost time for the exam. The examinerâs coming here soon, please be patient, everyone,â Luo Yushu said. He left one of the workers there and said, âIf any of you need anything, just let him know.â
Once he said that, he left immediately. Thinking that it was probably inappropriate to just ignore Yao Jingfei, he went up to her and courteously said a few things before leaving.
Yao Jingfei was elated that Luo Yushu paid special attention to her. She thought to herself how kind of a manager he was. It would not be good to let his hard work go unnoticed, so she decided that she would say a few good things about him to her father when she got back.
Luo Yushu made a mad dash to Qi Chengyueâs office and knocked on the door a few times.
He went in and saw Cheng Dongge there, and at the same time, Qi Chengyueâs face was slightly red.
Luo Yushu smiled and greeted, âSpecial Assistant Cheng.â
Cheng Dongge returned the smile and greeting before turning to Qi Chengyue, saying, âIâll go back now.â
Still blushing, Qi Chengyue answered, âMm.â Her awkward uneasiness was still present even though Cheng Dongge had left.
âMiss Qi, when I went to check up on Miss Ruan, I didnât expect to see Board Member Yaoâs daughter as a candidate for the exam,â Luo Yushu said.
âBoard Member Yao?â Qi Chengyueâs brain was a bit slow at that moment. She needed some time to mull over it. âWhatâs she butting in here for?â
At that instant, Luo Yushu understood that the position was created specifically for Ruan Danchen. He heard rumblings about Ruan Danchenâs issues in Chengshi, and Qilinâs General Manager seemed intent on keeping a close eye on her and taking care of her.
âI heard that Board Member Yao told her about the opportunity and allowed her to come,â Luo Yushu explained. âIf Miss Ruan wasnât there, Yao Jingfei would be the insiderâs choice to take the position. When I was on my way here, I also managed to find out that Board Member Yao has spoken to a few of our people and told them about his intentions to let his daughter get in Qilin.â
âWhat a loony! He thinks Qilin belongs to his family, doesnât he? Does he think that he can do as he pleases and let anyone in?â Qi Chengyue said unhappily.
âWhat Iâm worried about is that the examiner this time is one of those people that he had a word with. What if they donât know Miss Ruanâs status and eliminated her for real?â Luo Yushu asked.
âI understand.â Qi Chengyue made a phone call right away.
...
...
After some more waiting, Ruan Danchen was surprised to see Qi Chengyue coming over with Luo Yushu behind her.
âEveryone, Iâm very sorry, but the invigilator cannot make it today. Iâll be taking over,â Qi Chengyue said. She then told Luo Yushu to open up the entrance to the meeting room.
âMiss Chengyue.â Once again, Yao Jingfei walked over and greeted, causing everyone else to roll their eyes.
Qi Chengyue was no Luo Yushu, and never in hell would she give face to that woman. She stopped walking and looked at Yao Jingfei with much suspicion. âAnd you are?â
Yao Jingfeiâs smile tensed up and she said embarrassedly, âYao Qingzhi is my daddy. You and I met during the annual party.â
âIs that so?â Qi Chengyue smiled plainly. âI probably couldnât remember because there were so many people there.â
She went into the meeting room immediately after answering the question with composure, leaving Yao Jingfei drowning in shame.
Someone then pfft-ed, and the rest of them joined in the laughter.
âWell, apparently sheâs not that great,â someone whispered.
Yao Jingfei was so incensed that her face looked like she suffered a stroke. She followed everyone into the meeting room and waited for Luo Yushu to hand out the papers for everyone to answer.
As expected, Yao Jingfei was the first one to hand in her paper. She puffed out her chest and passed it up confidently before heading out. She did not forget to shoot a look of sarcastic disdain toward everyone there. Ruan Danchen wanted to avoid attracting too much attention, so she did not hand in her answers immediately even though she knew all the questions beforehand and finished rather quickly. She waited to hand in until after a few people handed in theirs.
Qi Chengyue took the paper and gave Ruan Danchen a sly wink. Ruan Danchen could not help but smile in return, and she left soon after that.
Once she reached the elevator, she looked at the time and saw that it had not struck three yet. She then felt torn between going home immediately or giving Qi Chenglin a visit.
She was already at Qilin and felt like going to meet him. She had been missing him since she stepped foot into the building.
âYouâre not coming in?â Two candidates who attended the exam asked her as they were also waiting for the elevator.
Ruan Danchen shook her head. âYou guys can go first. Iâll head to the restroom for a bit.â
The other two then left.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Ruan Danchen took out her phone and gave Qi Chenglin a call.
It took only three rings for Qi Chenglin to pick up. Ruan Danchen smiled uncontrollably when she heard his rich gentle voice through the phone. A warmness came over her entire being.
â-
Bonus scene:
Yan Beicheng: âSuch convoluted plans just to give your wife a job. Itâs too embarrassing for us men to see how the Qi familyâs men spoil their wives.â
â...â Qi Chengzhi was still holding the cell phone, and all of a sudden, he said, âDid you hear that, Lin Chu? I canât imagine how good of temper you must have. If it was me, Iâd lose it by now.â
Yan Beicheng: â...â