Standing by the door with a stack of documents in her arms, Lin Weiwei snapped back to attention, then lowered her head and silently stepped aside.
Ruan Yao’s gaze shifted between Su Mingyuan and Lin Weiwei before finally settling on Lin Weiwei, as if she had only just noticed her presence. Her eyes curved into a smile.
“What a coincidence, Sister Weiwei is here too.”
Lin Weiwei’s tense body relaxed slightly as she replied softly, “Miss Ruan.”
Ruan Yao didn’t look at her again, instead turning to Su Mingyuan with a pleading expression. “Cousin, I came specifically to ask for your help.”
She shook the file folder in her hand, which contained a resume.
“I want to find a job, but I don’t understand anything about it, so I thought I’d ask the most capable person in our family to take a look for me.”
Upon hearing this, Su Mingyuan’s smile deepened.
He reached out, his tone tinged with curiosity.
“Looking for a job? Yao Yao, if you want to work somewhere, you could just say the word to your dad. Why bother submitting a resume yourself?”
Ruan Yao deliberately feigned a hint of embarrassment as she handed over the resume.
“I have no interest in the family business at all. I just want to find a relaxed design job, but I’m afraid I’ll mess things up if I send out resumes randomly.”
As she spoke, she leaned in closer, looking at Su Mingyuan with an expression of utmost admiration.
“Cousin, you’re so impressive. You’re so young, yet you’re already in charge of such important projects. Mom was praising you in front of me just the other day, saying how capable you are now. Yesterday, I even overheard Dad telling my brother that they’re considering giving you an even more important position.”
Su Mingyuan was utterly delighted by her flattery, feeling as if he were floating on air.
He took the resume and pretended to flip through it, though he had no idea how to evaluate such a thing.
When he had joined the Ruan family’s company, it had been on Ruan Minghui’s word alone—he had never even written a resume.
His gaze shifted to Lin Weiwei, who was still standing nearby, and he immediately had an idea.
“It’s nothing.” He casually handed the resume to Lin Weiwei, instructing her in an offhand tone, “Help Yao Yao take a look and give her some advice. Our little princess is applying for her first job—her resume can’t be sloppy.”
Lin Weiwei instinctively took it.
Ruan Yao’s face showed a hint of disappointment. “Huh? Aren’t you going to help me look at it, Cousin?”
Su Mingyuan was amused by her dependent demeanor and tapped her forehead lightly. “Such a small matter doesn’t require my personal attention. Lin Weiwei is a top student—she’s more than capable of helping you.”
Ruan Yao immediately smiled again, nodding obediently. “Thank you, Cousin. You’re so kind.”
With that, she turned and affectionately took Lin Weiwei’s arm. “Sister Weiwei, let’s go downstairs to talk, so we don’t disturb Cousin’s work.”
She pulled Lin Weiwei along, giving her no chance to refuse, and left the office directly.
Downstairs, in the café.
The two of them sat by the window.
Ruan Yao shed her innocent and lively demeanor, looking sincerely at Lin Weiwei, who seemed somewhat reserved across from her.
“Sister Weiwei, I’m sorry for taking up your work time and asking you to do these extra things for me.”
Lin Weiwei shook her head, stirring the coffee in front of her. “It’s fine, Miss Ruan. It’s nothing.”
She knew all too well that Su Mingyuan often asked her to do tasks outside her duties—writing reports for him, organizing client information for his private dinners, and even drafting wedding speeches for his college classmates.
In comparison, showing a resume to the young lady of the Ruan family was already the easiest "extra task" she had ever done.
Ruan Yao handed over the resume she had meticulously prepared for half a day.
As soon as Lin Weiwei took it, the slight restraint and politeness on her face instantly vanished completely.
She almost immediately shifted into work mode, her expression serious and her gaze focused, making Ruan Yao feel a bit nervous herself.
A few minutes later, Lin Weiwei looked up.
"Miss Ruan," Lin Weiwei furrowed her brows, "forgive my bluntness, but this resume of yours wouldn’t even pass the AI preliminary screening at Lexingdao."
She pointed at the resume and continued with clear logic.
"Miss Ruan’s educational background is impressive, but for a design position, this is just the entry ticket. The lack of any internship or project experience is the biggest weakness."
"And here," her finger moved to the portfolio overview section, "the description is too vague, lacking focus. You say you excel in visual effects, but there isn’t a single word explaining what your design philosophy is or what value you can bring to the company."
"Lexingdao urgently needs designers who can hit the ground running and have their own mature style. The impression this resume gives HR is that of a graduate who needs to be taught from scratch. They won’t invest that kind of time and cost…"
As Ruan Yao listened to her clear and logical analysis, she didn’t feel the slightest bit discouraged.
Looking at this version of Lin Weiwei, so different from her usual quiet and reserved self, scenes from her past life surfaced in her mind.
After Lin Weiwei was framed by Su Mingyuan and left the Ruan Corporation, she helped a little-known small company become a remarkable dark horse in the industry within just a few years.
Such talent must not be buried by Su Mingyuan again.
Ruan Yao and Lin Weiwei discussed the resume until their coffee grew cold.
Once they had revised it into a version that fully highlighted Ruan Yao’s strengths, both of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sister Weiwei, you really know so much." Ruan Yao took the initiative to hold Lin Weiwei’s hand resting on the table, her gaze sincere. "Please don’t call me ‘Miss Ruan’ anymore—it sounds so distant. Just call me Yaoyao."
Lin Weiwei’s fingers stiffened slightly, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the favor. "This… this wouldn’t be appropriate."
"Why wouldn’t it?" Ruan Yao affectionately shook her hand. "I know nothing about business matters and will need to seek your advice often in the future. Let’s be friends and discuss work together, okay?"
Faced with such a down-to-earth and warmly approachable daughter of the Ruan family, Lin Weiwei found it impossible to refuse.
Looking at Ruan Yao’s beautiful and sincere face, she finally nodded, a little embarrassed.
"Alright… Yaoyao."
Ruan Yao smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons. She felt the timing was just right.
Her smile slowly faded, replaced by a look of worry and difficulty, and she lowered her voice slightly.
"Sister Weiwei, actually, besides the resume, there’s something more important I came to the company for today… I wanted to ask for your help."
Lin Weiwei immediately straightened up attentively. "Go ahead."
"My parents are considering promoting my cousin this year and having him take charge of more core business operations." Ruan Yao's expression showed a hint of hesitation and concern. "But, as you know, my cousin… can be a bit impulsive at times. My parents aren’t entirely at ease either, but they can’t directly investigate him—after all, he’s family."
Lin Weiwei’s eyes flickered slightly, but she remained silent.
Ruan Yao looked at her with trust. "My father privately asked me to find someone absolutely reliable and trustworthy within the company to help us… keep an eye on my cousin. To see how he really performs in his day-to-day work."
"After thinking it over, among the people I know, only you, Sister Weiwei, are the most dependable. You work under my cousin, so you understand his work habits and abilities best. That’s why I wanted to ask you… if you could help keep an eye on him."
Ruan Yao took a bank card from her bag and gently slid it toward Lin Weiwei.
"I know this puts you in an awkward position and takes up your extra time. This is the 'information consultation fee' my father gave me—it’s not much, but consider it a small token of appreciation."
Ruan Yao’s voice was sincere and earnest. "Sister Weiwei, besides you, I can’t think of anyone else I trust more."
Lin Weiwei’s gaze fell on the bank card before her, her emotions churning intensely inside.
For over a decade, it was the Ruan family’s support that allowed her to leave that impoverished mountain village and complete her university education.
She had always remembered the kindness the Ruan family had shown her.
Now, simply keeping an eye on a relative for her benefactors was nothing to her.
Without hesitation, Lin Weiwei pushed the card back.
"Yao Yao, I can’t accept this money." Lin Weiwei agreed. "Don’t worry, I’ll help you with this."