Su Yan walked into the lobby of Wenxin Garden Beauty Center, where the employees were huddled together, whispering about something, oblivious to her arrival.
"Instead of being at your respective workstations during working hours, what are you babbling about?" Su Yan stood at the reception for nearly two minutes without being noticed, and her anger immediately flared up.
"Good morning, Mr. Su!"
"Good morning, Mr. Su!"
"..."
The crowd scattered like birds and beasts at the greetings, while receptionists Wang Ai and Yu Zining, steeling themselves, came over with heads hanging down like broken-necked chickens, knowing that it wasn't General Manager Wen Xin who was to be feared, but this Vice President Su Yan who held in her hands the power over their salaries and their lives.
Su Yan's voice was authoritative: "What are you whispering about?"
"Nothing... nothing!" The two exchanged glances and shrank back.
"Mr. Su..." Wang Mengjie quickly ran over, wanting to reach out to pull Su Yan, then awkwardly retracted her hand: "It's like this, President Wen's daughter arrived this morning and is currently in President Wen's office. We were just discussing this!"
"Brown-noser!" Wang Ai muttered under her breath.
Su Yan glanced at Wang Ai, then turned to Wang Mengjie: "Discussing? What is there to discuss?"
Wang Mengjie hurriedly replied: "President Wen's daughter says she will come to work every week from now on, but she looks only about sixteen or seventeen, resembling President Wen a lot. Her personality, though, doesn't seem quite like President Wen's; she seems pretty strict!" As beauticians, they were naturally accurate in guessing ages.
Su Yan's expression relaxed: "Just say you were gossiping, stop trying to gloss it over!"
Wang Mengjie shuffled her feet; wasn't discussing a nicer word than gossiping? Had she misread the situation, that perhaps Mr. Su didn't want absolute control after all?
"You go back to work!" Su Yan walked a few steps, then looked back: "Wang Mengjie, fill out another promotion application and submit it to me!"
"Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Su! I'll work hard, and I won't let down... Mr. Su's great kindness!" Wang Mengjie stuttered excitedly. With the promotion, her salary would increase by 300 yuan, and she wouldn't have to do menial tasks like cleaning. More importantly, her status would be elevated!
Wang Ai and Yu Zining clearly understood that Mr. Su's public promotion of Wang Mengjie served as a warning of who held sway in the company. They looked at the radiant Wang Mengjie with envy while looking down upon her bootlicking even though they regretted missing the opportunity themselves. They had thought Mr. Su would be angry about them gossiping behind President Wen's daughter's back!
"Li Yue, work hard, and I won't let you down!" As she passed Li Yue, Wang Mengjie's face was smug.
Li Yue glanced at Wang Mengjie indifferently and continued to measure the ingredients for the special facial masks, a habit of hers. She always prepared in advance for customers who had appointments for facials that day, to avoid mistakes during the rush.
...
"Why didn't you knock?" Luo Ye, who was carefully examining the employee information from various departments, frowned at Su Yan abruptly entering without knocking, visibly displeased.
Su Yan was stunned; it was as Wang Mengjie had said. The girl resembled Wen Xin and was even prettier, but her personality was worlds apart from Wen Xin's. But why did Wen Xin always say her daughter was gentle in nature?
"Heh... you must be Luo Ye, right? I often hear your mother talk about you. I just heard them say you were in President Wen's office and I didn't quite believe it. Turns out it's true, heh..."
Luo Ye's little face was taut: "When my mom is here, do you just walk into her office like this?"
"Ah?" Su Yan's complexion turned unsightly: "Miss Luo, I don't know what's going on with you coming to the company today, but as the company's vice president, shouldn't you at least show me some basic respect?
That's right, when I usually enter President Wen's office, it's just like this. All along, I've been the one managing the company, President Wen understands my hardships, and has never demanded too much protocol from me. Is that clear enough for you?"
Luo Ye stared at Su Yan for a while, then suddenly the corners of her lips curled into a faint smile: "Understood, but my mother is my mother, and I am myself. Today, I came to the company to take my mother's place, so I am President Luo, and President Luo has her own rules. Is that clear enough for you?"
"You!" Su Yan was so angry she was lost for words. When had she ever been humiliated like this? In the past two years, Wen Xin had handed everything over to her to manage, fearing burdening her too much, and was always soliciting her good graces.
But today, she was being lectured by a little girl who even imitated her tone with her last sentence. How could she swallow this insult?
She did want to question if this brat was really President Wen's daughter, but their strikingly similar features made it impossible for her to even begin.
Before Su Yan could say anything, Luo Ye spoke again: "Since you said you've always been managing the company, let me talk about what I've seen.
I arrived at the company at 8:45. On the first floor, there were three staff members cleaning, two of them just pretending to wield mops. The second floor's internet café and book café were deserted, and so was the third floor's fitness center.
At 9 o'clock, the employees started coming in one after another, and the second and third floors began cleaning. By 9:20, you, Mr. Su, finally graced us with your presence. As for whether there are still employees who haven't arrived, I'm not familiar with the situation and won't leap to conclusions.
But as a leader of the company, setting an example is expected, right? Don't tell me this is a special privilege my mother gave to you. Privileges are meant to elevate status, not for you to indulge in!"
"Heh..." Su Yan laughed sarcastically, "President Wen's leisure center has been established for 9 years now, I've been with the company for 8 years, I think I've covered both credit and hard work. It's your first day here and you're pointing fingers and criticizing me, do you think you're qualified?
Also, you say you're President Luo now? Without notice from President Wen, you're not President Luo. In my eyes, you're just President Wen's daughter. The respect I have is for her, not because I'm scared of you!"
"Oh, you're late, haven't checked your emails, have you? There's an email from my mom in the company inbox, take a look, and you'll understand whether I'm President Luo or not!" A look of disgust flashed in Luo Ye's eyes. This woman, daring to talk about credit and qualifications, what a joke!
Su Yan really wanted to walk away, but she couldn't be sure of the situation and feared making a mess of things, so she suppressed her anger: "Fine, I'll go back and check!"
"Go ahead, and remember to knock before you come in next time, or else beware of my darts!" As Luo Ye's words fell, a small dart firmly stuck itself in the dartboard behind the door, the little red silk on the dart's tail fluttering mockingly, startling Su Yan into taking a step back.
"You... you're so rude!" Su Yan's face turned a livid hue.
"Thanks for the compliment!" Luo Ye had an almost infuriatingly nonchalant air.
"You..." Su Yan stormed out, muttering to herself, wondering what on earth Wen Xin was thinking?
If Wen Xin knew her daughter was acting so appropriately in her role as President Luo, she'd probably be laughing and crying. She let her daughter come by herself, thinking her daughter's personality had become more outgoing and she definitely wouldn't be bullied, hence she didn't inform anyone in the company. Little did Wen Xin know her daughter arrived and started "bullying" people. Awkward!
Nu'an is especially thankful for Tangbao and Demon Treasure's pink ticket PK tickets, sending a kiss, hehe.... off to continue writing.