“Little Huan.” Chen Jiahao held her coffee cup with both hands, pursing her lips. “I heard from my mom that you’re in a relationship.”
Yu Huan was taking small sips of the cream on top of her mocha. Hearing that, she barely spared Chen Jiahao a bit of attention.
Tilting her head, she asked, “So?”
“Your boyfriend… is the President of Beijing Zhu Corporation, right?”
Chen Jiahao’s grip tightened slightly, her tone somewhat strained. “After graduating, I submitted my résumé to Zhu Corporation, but I haven’t heard back yet. Could you… help introduce me to President Zhu?”
Chen Jiahao had always been a top student growing up, which made her personality somewhat aloof.
She had always looked down on cheating or using connections, believing from the bottom of her heart that people who relied on such methods were not good.
Chen Jiahao firmly believed that truly capable people would never be buried.
When she entered middle school, her mother became pregnant and gave birth to a younger brother. From then on, all her time was taken up by that so-called younger brother. School became her only chance to breathe.
After finishing nine years of compulsory education, her mother didn’t want her to continue studying, hoping she would enter society early and earn money for her brother.
Fortunately, she scored well in her high school entrance exams and was admitted to the best high school in the city. Teachers even came to her home to persuade her family, eventually allowing her to continue her studies under the condition that her tuition and fees would be waived.
The monthly allowance her family gave her was pitifully small. She often went hungry, and the constant hunger made it hard for her to focus, causing her grades to fluctuate.
Her mother, holding her son, spoke with a sharp expression. “What’s the use of doing well in middle school? In high school, you still can’t beat others, and you’re just wasting my money. I say you should just stop studying. It’s not like you’ll achieve anything anyway—better to start working early.”
Chen Jiahao bit the inside of her cheek and remained silent, offering no rebuttal.
Once she reached the legal age to take part-time jobs, she began working to save up for university tuition.
Back then, she always thought that once she got into university, everything would get better.
But after actually entering university, she realized that its so-called “goodness” was just an illusion people projected onto it.
A snobbish counselor, roommates with hidden agendas… university was a miniature society where appearance and background mattered everywhere.
Over four years, Chen Jiahao’s long-held beliefs were shattered by reality.
True ability could not compete with a good family background.
Ironically, the academic excellence she had once been so proud of was nothing more than a grain of sand in a field of gold—completely insignificant.
“Jiahao, where are you planning to work after graduation?” her roommate asked, looking troubled. “My dad wants me to go straight to his company, but I want to join my fiancé’s company instead.”
Chen Jiahao forced a tired smile and silently packed her luggage.
Some people never had to worry about finding a job, while others couldn’t even get a single offer.
After returning home, her mother peeled shrimp for her brother while sneering at her. “I told you long ago—what’s the point of studying so much? You might as well have started working earlier and then found a man to marry.”
“Now you’ve graduated from university and still can’t find a job. All those years of education were wasted. So what if your grades were good? You’re not pretty, you don’t know how to handle people, just a blockhead.”
“Look at the daughter of the Yu family. Her grades aren’t as good as yours, but she’s beautiful. She got pursued by a rich man as soon as she entered university… I heard he’s the top figure at Zhu Corporation—rich and powerful… Hah, how did I end up giving birth to such a useless daughter like you?”
“Mom, hurry up. My bowl is empty,” Chen Jiahao’s younger brother urged while playing a game.
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop talking and focus on peeling for you.” Chen’s mother sped up her movements, then glanced at Chen Jiahao. “Weren’t you close with that Yu family girl before? Her boyfriend is so capable—go talk to her and ask her to let her boyfriend pull some strings for you.”
“I’m telling you, your brother starts school in September. You must give me two thousand every month. If you can’t, I have plenty of ways to deal with you.”
Dragging her suitcase, Chen Jiahao returned to her tiny “room” partitioned off from the living room and cried silently.
Coming back to the present, Chen Jiahao suppressed her embarrassment and forced a smile. “You don’t need to do much. Just give me a chance to interview. Whether I get hired or not, I’ll remember this favor.”
At that moment, Yu Huan’s eyes widened like a startled cat.
She remembered now.
In that so-called “original plot” that had forcibly appeared in her mind, there was mention of a loyal yet malicious follower who stayed by her side, doing dirty work.
Although this villainous follower didn’t have much screen time, she had caused many twists and turns in the relationship between the male and female leads—almost preventing them from ending up together.
The memory Yu Huan had received was from her own perspective, where this follower was described in more detail:
Because of a casual act of kindness from Yu Huan, the follower regarded her as a benefactor and worked tirelessly to assist her in wrongdoing.
She first helped monitor Zhu Heqing’s every move. Later, knowing that Yu Huan disliked Xu Yunshu, she watched as Xu Yunshu drank a spiked drink at a banquet, deliberately guiding her to the wrong room to rest.
She even pretended to have a relationship with the male lead, forcing him into a long pursuit afterward.
When Yu Huan was eventually retaliated against by Zhu Heqing and left wandering the streets, the follower even tried to secretly send her money. Unfortunately, before the money could go through, she was set up by the male lead and ended up in prison.
That loyal follower… was Chen Jiahao.
Yu Huan’s expression turned serious.
She might not be particularly clever, but she wasn’t oblivious either.
The plot seemed to be unfolding step by step according to some predetermined script.
The silence dragged on too long. Chen Jiahao, who had finally convinced herself to lower her pride and ask for help, was now filled with regret.
It made sense.
They hadn’t been in contact for so long, and now she was reaching out only to ask for a favor.
With such obvious ulterior motives, refusing her would be the normal response.
Chen Jiahao blinked quickly, pretending not to care. “Little Huan, don’t take it to heart. I was just saying it casually. If it’s inconvenient, forget it.”
Yu Huan raised her delicate brows but didn’t answer. Instead, she took out her phone and directly called Zhu Heqing.
The call was answered instantly.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
Chen Jiahao’s heart skipped a beat.
“Is your company hiring?”
Zhu Heqing was a little surprised, since Yu Huan had never shown interest in company matters before.
“Yes. Are you bored and want to come to the company to play?”
“Not me.” Yu Huan licked a bit of cream from the corner of her lips. “There’s someone named Chen Jiahao among the applicants. She’s my friend—let her into the interview.”
On the other end, Zhu Heqing silently repeated the name Chen Jiahao.
He knew Yu Huan’s social circle well. None of her close friends had that name.
When had she gained a friend called Chen Jiahao?
Though puzzled, Zhu Heqing still agreed to her request. “Of course. I’ll have HR keep an eye on that résumé.”