Shen Yan rushed as fast as she could and finally, with the guidance of the receptionist, stepped into the Lu Corporation’s HR department meeting room at exactly 9:00 AM.
The room was already filled with people, which startled Shen Yan.
She quickly found an empty seat in the corner and sat down.
Had they put her in the spring recruitment group?
With so many people here, were they going to do some kind of icebreaker game or team-building activity?
That would be terrifying.
She didn’t recognize anyone in the meeting room.
The only familiar face was the student council president from her university the same guy who had co-hosted the freshman welcome event with Yang Ming.
Once again, Shen Yan marveled at her mother’s influence.
She had actually managed to get her and the student council president into the same company.
If the student council president found out she had gotten in through connections without taking the written test, interview, or personality assessment, would he be furious and feel like he had chosen the wrong job?
As she glanced around, her eyes accidentally landed on the résumé of the girl sitting next to her.
The school listed on it was one of the Ivy League universities in the U.S.
It really was a battle of elites.
The Ivy League graduate seemed to notice her gaze and turned toward her.
“Hey, which university are you from?”
Shen Yan: …
If she had known there would be a round of introductions, she wouldn’t have looked around!
She should have just kept her head down and played on her phone!
“I’m from A University.”
Shen Yan had no choice but to answer.
Luckily, A University was still considered one of the top nine schools in the country though only two schools were truly in that league.
The Ivy League girl nodded.
“A University has the advantage of being a local school in S City.”
Shen Yan was momentarily stunned.
The girl noticed her surprise and explained.
“You don’t recognize them?
There are actually quite a few A University graduates in this room.”
Shen Yan shook her head.
Other than the student council president, she hadn’t seen anyone familiar.
Besides, the top economics student from her school didn’t even get an offer.
She had assumed Lu Corporation didn’t value A University students.
The girl smiled and pushed her résumé toward Shen Yan, pointing at her name.
“My name is Shu Yan.
What about you?”
“Shen Yan.
‘Yan’ as in fireworks.”
Shen Yan didn’t bring a résumé, so she could only introduce herself verbally.
Shu Yan nodded.
“I majored in computer science.
One of my senior classmates is a project leader in the R&D department.
I’ll probably be working under him.
What about you?”
Shen Yan touched her nose.
“I majored in Chinese Language and Literature.
I’ll probably be in the President’s Office?”
Shu Yan’s eyes lit up.
“Looks like I didn’t chat with you for nothing.
You’ll be a great connection for me in the future!”
Shen Yan: ?
Shu Yan enthusiastically invited her to add her on WeChat.
Just as they finished adding each other, a few employees in business attire, wearing company ID badges, walked into the room.
“Everyone, quiet down.”
The speaker was a woman with shoulder-length hair, wearing a casual business suit exactly what Shen Yan had imagined a corporate employee to look like.
“Find a seat anywhere.
I’ll start by taking attendance.”
Shen Yan waited a long time, and her name was the very last one on the list.
That made sense, given that she had been added in at the last minute.
During the roll call, two people didn’t show up.
Their friends explained that they had passed the civil service or public sector exams and wouldn’t be joining.
“Alright, now that most of us are here, let’s have Manager Xu from HR say a few words.”
Only then did Shen Yan notice a short, chubby middle-aged man who had entered the room earlier.
She hadn’t expected him to be the HR manager of Lu Corporation.
The HR manager briefly introduced himself, gave an overview of Lu Corporation’s structure, and then introduced the people who had walked in with him.
They were department managers or deputy managers, all there to take their new hires.
“And this is Zhou Xing, the Executive Assistant to the President.”
When she heard that, Shen Yan froze.
That was the same guy who had randomly chatted her up while she was running this morning.
He was the Executive Assistant to the President?
For the first time, Lu Corporation’s prestigious reputation dimmed a little in her mind.
“Shen Yan.”
Just as Shen Yan was lost in thought, Zhou Xing called her name.
She instinctively raised her hand.
“Alright, come with me.”
Zhou Xing waved at her.
Only then did Shen Yan realize that the whole room was watching her.
She felt a little awkward but had no choice but to clutch her canvas bag and walk forward.
“I thought the President’s Office only hired through direct recruitment.
I didn’t know fresh grads from the spring recruitment could get in.
If I had known, I would’ve put that as my preferred department too.”
“Are you stupid?
As an intern in the President’s Office, all you’d be doing is serving tea and running errands.”
“You’re the stupid one.
That’s the President’s Office!
What if the President notices you?”
“You’ve been reading too many romance novels.”
On her way to the front of the room, Shen Yan overheard the whispered conversations of her future colleagues.
So even top students read novels, huh?
But hearing their discussion actually made her feel a little relieved.
If she was just going to be running errands, she might actually be able to handle this job.
When she reached Zhou Xing, she put aside her inner doubts and greeted him respectfully.
“Assistant Zhou.”
Zhou Xing had no idea that Shen Yan had been mentally roasting him.
In fact, he was quite pleased.
A few days ago, HR had shown him Shen Yan’s résumé and told him that the President’s Office was getting a new hire.
He had been excited back then.
A University graduate in Chinese Language and Literature.
He had read some of her articles in the school’s journal.
Her logic was clear, her arguments were fresh, and she had strong writing skills.
Apparently, she had scored over 80 on the written exams for the national and provincial civil service tests.
The President’s Office desperately needed someone who could write reports well.
And now that he had met her in person, he was even more satisfied.
She wore a T-shirt and wide-leg pants.
She carried a canvas bag.
She had black-framed glasses.
She looked like an honest, hardworking person.
Plus, he had seen her running to work that morning.
He knew there was a subway station in the direction she had come from.
She had probably transferred between multiple subway lines and, miscalculating her time, had no choice but to run at the last minute.
A hardworking, frugal young woman like her definitely wasn’t someone who got in through connections.
She was different from the previous hires in the President’s Office, who all had ulterior motives.
There was a special desk in the President’s Office.
Every now and then, a new person would sit there.
They were always hard to deal with either the daughter of a board member, the child of a city official, or, in one ridiculous case, the son of the chairman of a rival company.
None of them lasted long.
The longest one had been a director’s daughter.
She worked there for five months before President Lu rejected her so harshly that she left in tears without even getting severance pay.
All of them had only one goal for coming to work at Lu Corporation:
To become the President’s wife.
Lu Corporation was an established industry leader in S City.
It was one of the companies that had benefited from the first wave of economic reforms.
The Lu family, who controlled the company, was one of S City’s old-money elites.
Three years ago, the chairman, Lu Haifeng, announced his retirement, and his son, Lu Yu, took over.
At first, people didn’t have high hopes for this young heir who had just graduated from university.
Some vice presidents even planned to give him a hard time.
But Lu Yu, along with his trusted team, carried out bold reforms within Lu Corporation.
He led the acquisition of the internet company he had co-founded in college.
That was when everyone realized that this “heir” was actually the head of the rising tech giant, Shenyu Technology.
Lu Corporation’s core business was real estate.
But with the market declining year after year, the industry was becoming less and less profitable.
Just as the company was heading downhill, Lu Yu and his internet firm turned things around.
By integrating traditional and new industries, they positioned Lu Corporation as the dominant force in S City.
Many men and women had tried to get close to Lu Yu.
But he was rumored to be a workaholic, spending nearly 18 hours a day at the office.
So, the smarter ones figured out a better approach “the closer you are, the better your chances.”
As a result, a spot in the President’s Office was unofficially reserved for those who could pull strings and had ambitions of winning over their CEO.
Zhou Xing felt that Shen Yan was a breath of fresh air in their department.
For once, HR had actually done something useful by sending them a proper new hire.
Shen Yan had no idea that Zhou Xing thought so highly of her.
She just found his gaze a little strange.
But then she remembered how he had randomly struck up a conversation with her that morning and figured he probably just wasn’t all there.
“Let’s go.
You’re the only new hire in the President’s Office, so I’ll show you around.”
Zhou Xing said.
Shen Yan obediently followed him.
“I’ll give you a quick overview.
Our company owns this entire building.
Floors 1-9 are for business departments.
Floors 10-11 are the cafeteria.
Floors 12-16 house administrative departments.
Floors 17-18 are for vice presidents and board members.
And the 19th floor is where the President’s Office and the CEO’s office are located.”
As they walked, Zhou Xing continued,
“Once we get upstairs, I’ll apply for your employee badge.
It’s linked to the cafeteria.
Every month, you get 600 yuan on it.
Lunch and dinner at the cafeteria cost around 10 yuan per meal.
If you have extra, there’s a supermarket on the 11th floor where you can use it.”
Shen Yan quietly listened and thought the benefits sounded pretty decent.
“You’ll start light for now.
These first few days won’t be too busy.
Have you graduated yet?”
Zhou Xing asked.
“Not yet.
I’ll get my diploma and degree certificate next month.”
Zhou Xing did some quick math.
“Right, it’s only May.
Have you defended your thesis yet?”
“Yes, I passed.”
As they stepped into the elevator, Zhou Xing pressed the button for the 19th floor.
Then he suddenly said, “I read some of the articles you published in your university journal.”
Shen Yan: ?
Zhou Xing explained,
“I looked you up after I heard you were joining.
Lu Yu and I both graduated from A University, so technically, I’m your senior.”
Shen Yan blinked in confusion.
Zhou Xing continued, “You do know who Lu Yu is, right?”
Shen Yan: …
Could she admit she actually wasn’t that sure?
But thinking logically, since this was Lu Corporation, Lu Yu had to be the CEO.
So she nodded.
“Why didn’t you submit your articles to higher-level publications?”
Zhou Xing asked.
“With your skills, you could have published in external magazines or even won awards.”
Shen Yan was surprised he knew about that.
“Because I didn’t need to.”
Now it was Zhou Xing’s turn to be confused.
“Huh?”
Shen Yan replied matter-of-factly,
“Submitting to the school journal already gave me enough academic credit.”
Zhou Xing: …
He hadn’t expected that answer.
As they talked, the elevator arrived at the 19th floor.
Stepping out, they were greeted by two meeting rooms one large, one small.
“When our department has meetings, or when Lu Yu holds small discussions, we use the smaller room.
For bigger meetings with department heads, we use the large one.”
Zhou Xing led her further inside.
“Beyond here is our office.
Including you, there are seven of us in the President’s Office.
I’m the Executive Assistant to the President.
Then we have two secretaries Jian Hong and Meng Gulan.
Jian Hong and Meng Jie have been with the company since the former chairman’s time.
Meng Jie has about three or four years left before retirement.
Wang Yuwei, or Master Wang, handles building maintenance.
If there are any hardware issues or security concerns, he’s the one to call.
Cheng Rong is in charge of the company’s fleet.
Lu Qing manages logistics, including the cafeteria.”
Shen Yan listened carefully.
Then she suddenly realized should she be taking notes?
Before she could act on that thought, they reached the entrance to the office.
“That’s the general layout.
Now, let’s go in and introduce you to everyone.”
Shen Yan followed Zhou Xing inside.
The employees, who had been working, all stopped and looked up.
Even without a notebook, Shen Yan remembered everything Zhou Xing had said.
Near the copy machine, two women were standing one younger, one older.
The younger one was probably Jian Hong.
The older one should be Meng Jie.
“Jian Jie, Meng Jie, what are you pretending to be busy with?”
Zhou Xing said, exposing them.
“Every time I go to HR to pick up a new hire, you two are the first to stick your heads out and watch.”
Jian Hong rolled her eyes.
“You may have gone to get a new hire, but Lu Yu is in his office right now.
Who dares slack off?”
Zhou Xing smirked.
“You’re telling me you weren’t gossiping about the new hire?”
Standing behind Zhou Xing, Shen Yan suddenly felt awkward.
Something about this office’s atmosphere felt… off.
“Don’t be scared, little sister.
Just ignore Assistant Zhou.”
Meng Jie walked past Zhou Xing and addressed Shen Yan.
“This guy’s mouth is the reason he’s still single.”
Shen Yan: ?
That conversation changed topics way too fast.