Monday, early morning.
The sky was still dark when Ruan Li arrived at the company.
“Lily, you’re here so early?” a colleague from the algorithm department greeted her.
“I came early to prepare for this morning’s presentation,” Ruan Li replied.
She was interning in the planning department at Jiang Corporation, where employees were required to use aliases when addressing each other.
“The younger generation is truly formidable!” the colleague patted her shoulder.
Then, leaning in conspiratorially, they added, “I heard the Fu Family Crown Prince will be attending the presentation today. He’s fully responsible for the new product line, and this is his first step to establishing himself within the Fu Corporation. If you secure the promotional contract for Fu Corporation’s new product, your full-time position will be guaranteed, and the bonus will be substantial—at least this much.”
As they spoke, the colleague gestured with a six.
“Six thousand?”
“No, six figures.”
Ruan Li’s eyes lit up. “That much?”
She planned to buy a house and move her household registration out of the Ruan family.
Houses in Haicheng were expensive. She had some savings over the years, but it still wasn’t enough for a down payment.
If she could really secure this deal—
Ruan Li took a gulp of coffee, feeling energized.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz.” Her phone vibrated—it was a call from Manager Chen.
Ruan Li felt a pang of resistance.
This was the person who had been holding back her internship certificate, refusing to sign it.
She answered the call, only to hear the other party’s dissatisfied voice:
“Why did it take you so long to answer?”
“You’re at the company, right? I’ll send you a location. Drive over to pick me up now, then head to Haicheng University to pick someone up.”
Rank truly had its privileges.
As for who she was picking up, Ruan Li had a vague guess in her mind.
When she drove to the entrance of Haicheng University and saw An Shengnan dressed in a chic Chanel-style suit, her suspicions were confirmed.
【Little Sister Treasure looks so beautiful!】
【The Female Lead is especially adorable. She has a tomboyish personality, so when she found out she had to wear this outfit, her face scrunched up like a little bitter melon!】
【No wonder she’s wearing such a girly outfit—poor Little Sister Treasure~】
【Hehe, I remember Little Sister Treasure wears this outfit when she and the Male Lead go wild in the office, and the pencil skirt gets torn~】
Ruan Li: “…”
Sometimes, seeing these Bullet Comments made her feel utterly helpless.
“Miss An, sorry to keep you waiting!”
Manager Chen, who had been sitting in the back seat, shed his usual acerbic demeanor and eagerly stepped out of the car to greet her, fawning like a Shiba Inu meme.
Ruan Li simply pulled up the partition, preferring not to see it.
An Shengnan seemed to be live-streaming. She waved at the screen and said, “Babes, today is my first day of internship. My supervisor sent a car to pick me up, so I can’t be late. See you all tonight~”
“Miss An, are you an influencer?” Manager Chen tentatively asked after getting into the car.
“Not really. I just document my daily life, and some people happen to like it.”
Manager Chen glanced at the screen and exclaimed in surprise, “Over three million followers? This platform has strong monetization potential. Miss An, you must be earning tens of millions a year, right?”
“It’s not that much,” An Shengnan shook her head. “But I do earn over a million a year.”
Ruan Li overheard the conversation.
Was being a blogger really that lucrative?
While waiting at an unusually long red light, she searched for An Shengnan’s account.
“A Day in the Life of a Comfortably Well-Off Girl”
“Unboxing! A Comfortably Well-Off Girl’s Cozy Day at Home”
Every post had a high number of likes.
The comments were overwhelmingly positive.
When the light turned green, Ruan Li continued driving.
“I wonder how Miss An and our Young Master Jiang met?”
“We grew up together. We attended the same international classes in middle school and high school and were desk mates for several years.”
“No wonder Young Master Jiang specifically assigned you to this project—it shows how much he values you! I wonder if Young Master Jiang has any dietary restrictions? I’ve booked a private restaurant for lunch, and I’d appreciate Miss An’s help in selecting the dishes.”
“No problem, A Si’s tastes are similar to mine. He once said you should find someone with the same palate, otherwise disagreements might arise after marriage.”
“So the two of you—is there good news on the horizon?”
“Manager Chen, this isn’t work-related, is it?” An Shengnan replied with a smile.
“Of course, I spoke out of turn!”
[Why does the female lead sound so strange?]
[Yeah, didn’t the Bullet Comments say she was just acting with the Male Lead and wasn’t really a homewrecker? She doesn’t even know Ruan Li is driving, so why is she speaking so ambiguously?]
[Kinda tea-ish, can I say that?]
[You’re the tea-ish one! Your whole family is tea-ish!]
The meeting was scheduled for ten in the morning.
But the traffic light at the intersection ahead was broken.
From behind came Manager Chen’s scolding:
“Hurry up and drive! Don’t you know what time it is? If we’re late and it affects the project with the Fu Group, don’t blame me if I refuse to sign your internship certificate.”
“Manager, the traffic light at the intersection is broken,” came the reply as the partition slid open, revealing a beautiful oval face.
An Shengnan’s expression froze.
Ruan Li smiled at her. “What a coincidence, Junior An.”
A flicker of guilt flashed in An Shengnan’s eyes.
After all, An Shengnan had just subtly hinted to Manager Chen that she was Jiang Siyan’s girlfriend.
Little did she know that the real fiancée had heard every word clearly.
Who wouldn’t feel guilty?
Meanwhile, Manager Chen was growing increasingly anxious:
“How are you driving? Couldn’t you have checked the road conditions earlier? Do you know that the Crown Prince of the Fu Group is coming to the company today to hear the drone proposal? Are you deliberately trying to make me late?”
Crown Prince of the Fu Group.
Those five words had been popping up far too often in Ruan Li’s life lately.
She spoke up, “There’s a sample of this drone in the car. We could use it to communicate with the drivers and clear a path.”
“No! The Fu Group’s ‘Cloudview’ hasn’t been launched yet. If something goes wrong due to your poor coordination and causes a major public relations crisis, who’s going to take responsibility?”
“I’ll take responsibility,” Ruan Li said. “Manager, today’s proposal presentation is very important to me.”
“Still not acceptable,” Manager Chen frowned. “Miss An and I will take a taxi via the side roads. As for the presentation to the Fu Group—”
Manager Chen hesitated.
At that moment, An Shengnan spoke up:
“I can handle the presentation.”
“As a blogger, I think this would be a plus for the client.”
Hearing this, Ruan Li’s eyes darkened. “No!”
“Senior Ruan, I know you girls tend to be petty, but now isn’t the time for you to act on a whim. If it’s beneficial for the company, you should sacrifice your personal interests. Don’t you agree, Manager Chen?”
“Exactly, let’s do it this way!” Manager Chen made the decision. “Lily, look at Miss An’s broad-mindedness. You should learn from her in the future!”
With that, he tried to get out of the car.
But the doors were locked.
Ruan Li took out her internship certificate and handed it over.
“Manager, I can let Miss An take this presentation opportunity, but please sign this internship certificate first.”
Manager Chen: “You’re doing this on purpose!”
Ruan Li: “There’s still half an hour until the meeting. I’m just an intern—at worst, I won’t get the certificate. But Manager Chen, if you lose the Fu Group’s big contract, will you get fired?”
The atmosphere in the car grew tense.
Manager Chen gritted his teeth and signed.
【The female supporting character worked hard on that proposal for half a year, only to have it snatched away by the female lead at the last moment? Even if she got the internship certificate, I still feel indignant on her behalf!】
【Who cares about her! Just thinking about Little Sister Treasure taking credit for the female supporting character’s half-year effort and showing off in front of the male lead and the client is so satisfying!】
【? So there really are people who like protagonists who succeed through underhanded means.】
【The female supporting character is beautiful, capable, and tragic—I feel so sorry for her!】
【Since the female supporting character is so beautiful, she might as well marry the Fu Family Crown Prince. Only the Fu family can deal with that crazy couple, the male and female leads.】
【This ship I can get behind!】