At 8:20 the next morning, Chu Yiran arrived at the company.
She wore a light gray shirt with the cuffs neatly buttoned, her hair tied in a low ponytail.
At 8:45, she met Lin Yuan and the logistics supervisor Tao Lei at the corridor entrance on the 35th floor.
Tao Lei was a middle-aged man in his early forties, slightly overweight, usually quiet, and the type in the administrative department who kept his head down and worked diligently.
The three of them entered the elevator together.
“Are you nervous?” Tao Lei asked.
“Not really,” Lin Yuan said.
Chu Yiran smiled without saying a word, her fingers clenching slightly beside her pant seam before relaxing.
The reception area on the 62nd floor remained quiet and upscale.
Wang Yan was waiting for them in the reception area, holding a notebook.
“Good morning, all three of you. Today’s interviews will be conducted one by one, each lasting about ten minutes.”
“The order is Tao Lei, Lin Yuan, Chu Yiran.”
Chu Yiran was last.
This meant she had to wait an extra twenty minutes in the reception area. Twenty minutes was enough time for her to rehearse every possible disaster scenario in her mind three times over.
Tao Lei went in first.
He came out about eight minutes later, his expression relatively calm. He nodded to them and said, “It was pretty normal. They asked about daily work matters.”
Next was Lin Yuan.
His interview lasted a bit longer, around twelve minutes.
When he came out, he adjusted his glasses and walked over to Chu Yiran, whispering, “He asked about the progress of the summit preparations and how the department has been functioning since President Sun left.”
“Did he ask about specific people?”
“No.”
Chu Yiran nodded.
Wang Yan walked over and said, “Chu Yiran, you’re up.”
When she stood up, her knees were steady, and her steps were firm.
Three times now. No matter how scared she was, she had to learn to control her muscles.
The moment she stepped into the CEO’s office, the familiar scent of wood greeted her.
Shen Yu sat behind the desk, wearing a dark blue suit today, with the top button of his shirt collar undone as usual.
Several documents were spread out in front of him, one of which Chu Yiran recognized as the audit liaison work summary she had submitted last time.
“Sit.”
She sat down, placing her hands on her knees, her gaze fixed at the height of the desk.
Shen Yu flipped through the documents beside him without speaking immediately.
The office fell silent for a few seconds, with only the faint sound of the air conditioning blowing.
“How is the situation in the administrative department?”
The question was broad, and Chu Yiran chose to answer in the most concise way.
“Since President Zhang Mingyuan took over as acting head, summit preparations and daily tasks have been progressing normally.”
“I’m responsible for supplier liaison, and there have been no delays so far.”
“Hmm.”
Shen Yu turned to the next page.
“How long have you been working here?”
“Twenty-three days.”
“In twenty-three days, you’ve become the audit liaison and the supplier contact. Can you handle the workload?”
“I can handle it.”
Chu Yiran paused for a moment before adding, “There’s been a bit more overtime, but the workload is manageable.”
Shen Yu looked up and glanced at her.
Chu Yiran’s gaze met his for half a second before she immediately shifted her eyes back to the desk.
In that half-second, she saw his eyes.
Deep-set, with high brow bones and irises so dark they resembled a bottomless pool of water.
“Where did you work before?”
Chu Yiran had prepared for this question long ago—she had mentioned it during her interview.
“Working as a personal assistant involves handling the employer’s daily schedule and task arrangements.”
“Why did you leave?”
“Personal reasons. I wanted a more stable work environment.”
Shen Yu didn’t press for specifics about those personal reasons.
His gaze returned to the documents, flipping to a particular page.
“This audit summary was written by you.”
“Yes.”
“In it, you mentioned that Hengyuan Trading’s historical cooperation assessment records were already missing before you joined the company.”
“Besides noting this in the summary, who else did you inform about this information?”
Chu Yiran’s heart skipped a beat.
This was a difficult question to answer.
She truthfully described the procedure: “After discovering the missing files, I immediately confirmed with the then Deputy Director of Administration, Sun Wanqing, via email.”
“At the same time, I noted this point in the materials submitted to the external audit team.”
“Other than that, I mentioned it once during my last report to you.”
“That’s all.”
Shen Yu looked at her, his gaze containing something she couldn’t decipher.
It was as if he were weighing the weight and texture of an object.
“Understood.”
He closed the file.
Chu Yiran thought it was over, already adjusting her posture slightly to stand up.
Then Shen Yu said something that nailed her to the chair.
“Starting tomorrow, you are temporarily transferred to work in the CEO’s office.”
Chu Yiran’s mind went blank.
“The CEO’s office is currently short-staffed for administrative tasks.”
“Wang Yan alone can’t handle it all. Zhang Mingyuan is overseeing the Administration Department and can take over some of your work.”
“Your position remains unchanged, but your salary will be adjusted according to the CEO’s office standards.”
Chu Yiran opened her mouth, using all her strength to keep her voice sounding normal.
“Mr. Shen, I’ve only been here a short time, perhaps…”
“This isn’t a discussion,” Shen Yu said.
Chu Yiran closed her mouth.
“Go back and hand over your current work to Zhang Mingyuan. Report to the sixty-second floor at nine tomorrow morning.”
“Yes.”
Chu Yiran stood up, bowed slightly, thanked Mr. Shen, then turned and walked out.
The moment she stepped out of the office, she felt her soul had floated up to the ceiling, looking down at the body below that appeared normal on the surface but was crumbling inside.
Wang Yan was waiting in the hallway, handing her a cup of water.
“Mr. Shen told you?”
“Yes.”
“Come report tomorrow, and I’ll show you around.”
Wang Yan smiled. “The pace in the CEO’s office is faster than in Administration, but you should be able to adapt.”
Chu Yiran took the water and drank a sip.
It was warm, not cold.
Clutching the paper cup, she entered the elevator. After the doors closed, she leaned the back of her head against the elevator wall.
The CEO’s office. Sixty-second floor.
Next to Shen Yu. Every day.
When she first joined Shen Group, she told herself the safest place was right under the light.
The CEO was on the sixty-second floor, she was on the thirty-fifth—twenty-seven floors apart, everything perfect.
Now, forget being under the light—she’d been stuffed directly into the lightbulb.
The elevator reached the thirty-fifth floor. Chu Yiran returned to her workstation and told Lin Yuan what had happened.
Lin Yuan’s eyes widened.
“Transferring you to the CEO’s office?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve only been here a little over twenty days, and you’re being transferred to the CEO’s office?”
“Yes.”
“How did you manage that?”
Chu Yiran looked at him, her expression genuinely bewildered.
“I’d like to know too.”