Chapter 27: The CEO
Following the slender figure of Wu Yue, Yang Chen rode the elevator all the way to the top floor of the Yulei Building, where the entire floor was dedicated to CEO offices and lounges. Fashionable and avant-garde transparent materials, along with various potted plants with dewy leaves, decorated the entire floor with a fresh and elegant atmosphere, making it bright and spacious. Every subtle detail demonstrated the dignity of the CEO identity within the family's large enterprise.
"Wu Secretary, what does the CEO want with me?" Yang Chen asked curiously, trailing behind her.
Wu Yue didn't answer, continuing to walk silently, the rhythmic sound of her high heels tapping on the floor.
Yang Chen, feeling helpless, thought to himself that this woman was probably cold-hearted, so he didn't bother asking further. However, he regretted not checking the profile of the CEO of Yulei International yesterday. He shouldn't have just looked at the recruitment materials. If he had done some research beforehand, he wouldn't be so clueless now, feeling at a loss facing his immediate superior who suddenly wanted to see him.
"We're here," Wu Yue said as they reached a gorgeously decorated, milky-white elegant door. She looked coldly at Yang Chen and said, "The CEO is inside. Go in by yourself, and mind your tone. It's best to be respectful!"
Yang Chen didn't get annoyed by Wu Yue's inexplicable stern tone. Instead, he felt more pity for her. If she wasn't cold-hearted, why would she look at men so unfavorably? He exuded such a masculine aura, hadn't other female employees noticed and liked him?
Ignoring the pitiful secretary, Yang Chen naturally pushed open the door and entered the power core of the Yulei Building.
As soon as he entered, Yang Chen smelled a familiar scent in the air—a faint jasmine fragrance, gentle and refreshing, reminding him of his wife, Lin Ruoxi. Wasn't that cold-looking girl also emitting this scent?
The CEO's office was unexpectedly spacious, spanning over a hundred square meters. It was semi-circular, with a row of clean and solid floor-to-ceiling windows around it, offering views of the bustling scene in the downtown area of Zhonghai City. Thin white curtains swayed with the cool breeze from the central air conditioning.
The soft Mediterranean wool carpet on the floor had intricate floral patterns. Several lush potted plants were placed around the office desk and corners, complementing the light in the office perfectly.
The crystal chandelier on the ceiling was also a rare collection, its delicate craftsmanship reflecting brilliant light in the office, bringing a touch of elegance and mystery to the entire room.
Several silver-metallic bookshelves were filled with various albums, next to which was a massive mahogany desk. However, behind the desk, where the CEO's chair was positioned, it was empty.
Yang Chen was wondering why the CEO had summoned him but wasn't present when he noticed the slowly opening door to a lounge on the right side of the office. A figure gracefully emerged.
The atmosphere in the office suddenly felt extremely peculiar, as if all the oxygen in the air had been sucked out, and both individuals seemed to forget how to breathe.
Their eyes met, and the complex emotions mixed within were difficult for even the parties involved to articulate, because it all felt so contrived!
"Um... you... I... I mean... I..." Yang Chen had always considered himself to have decent psychological endurance. However, now he realized that it was limited to certain specific environments. In unexpected encounters like this, Yang Chen felt tongue-tied, his mind a mess, unable to figure out what to say.
The woman before him wore crystal stilettos, showcasing slender and graceful legs. Black lace hugged her fair skin, revealing a subtle allure.
She wore a well-fitted beige professional suit on her upper body, accentuating her perfect figure with its exquisite proportions, especially her perky and voluptuous buttocks, which were even more enticing under the tight waist of the suit.
Her ink-like long hair was neatly tied up, accentuating her elegant swan-like snow-white neck even more. And if that wasn't enough, heaven had also bestowed upon her a stunning face that was utterly irresistible.
"What's wrong with you?" Lin Ruoxi saw the rascal-like man in front of her, looking like he had seen a ghost and unable to utter a word. The complex tension from before evaporated, replaced by a hint of teasing and mockery as she said, "Aren't you always good at talking and pretending? Why, can't string together a sentence now?"
Yang Chen opened his mouth for quite a while but couldn't manage to say a complete sentence. In the end, he could only resentfully walk to the corner of the office, pour himself a large glass of water from the water dispenser, gulp it down, wiped his mouth, and then stabilized his emotions a bit. Turning around, he faced Lin Ruoxi, who had suddenly appeared again.
At this moment, Lin Ruoxi had already displayed the authority of the helm of Yulei International, a behemoth in the fashion industry. She sat quietly on the slightly oversized CEO chair, her expression calm and indifferent as she looked at Yang Chen. She appeared like an untouchable goddess statue, solemn and immaculate.
"Life is like a drama, and drama is like life," Yang Chen quietly looked at the woman in front of him for a long time, unable to resist a smile. "My obedient little wife Ruoxi, if you were the CEO of Yulei, you should have said so earlier. It would have saved me the trouble of searching for a job, only to be assigned as a little security guard, sitting so clean and tidy in the office."
"Mr. Yang, mind your address. In the company, I am your immediate superior," Lin Ruoxi's beautiful eyes flashed with a cold light. This man had just seemed quite honest, but now he was starting to talk nonsense again.
Yang Chen grinned, "So, in the company, you're my boss. Does that mean I can call you something else outside of work?"
"No!" Lin Ruoxi quickly vetoed, feeling disgusted at the thought of the nauseating nickname he might come up with. She frowned and said, "You can call me by my name, but don't add those disgusting things."
Ignoring her, Yang Chen's mood had calmed down by now. The excitement from earlier had diminished to almost nothing. He pulled over a chair rudely and sat down opposite Lin Ruoxi's desk, crossing his legs and sighing, "Alright, let's not talk about that. What did President Lin call me here for?"
Lin Ruoxi finally remembered why she had called him up. After giving Yang Chen a disdainful look, she rotated the computer screen on her desk by 180 degrees and pointed to Yang Chen's application data on the computer. "Your profile states that you graduated from Harvard University with a master's degree in marketing management, and you were a full scholarship recipient. It also says you are proficient in English and French."
Yang Chen glanced at his own profile and roughly understood what Lin Ruoxi was getting at. He could only nod and say, "That's correct. What about it?"
"A master's degree from Harvard University, proficiency in English and French," Lin Ruoxi looked at Yang Chen as if she was seeing him for the first time, scrutinizing him from head to toe. "Weren't you selling lamb skewers in the Western District? How do you have such an educational background?"
Yang Chen, who had already prepared his explanation, recited it like a well-rehearsed script. "When I was young, I got lost and was sold to the United States. I was adopted by kind people and grew up there, went to college, and learned French. But I'm not an ambitious person. After my foster parents passed away, I returned to China to sell lamb skewers and live an ordinary life. You can ask the vendors in the Western District; they all know I only returned to the country six months ago."
Lin Ruoxi, being the head of a major company like Yulei International, naturally wasn't a fool. She couldn't easily believe Yang Chen's story. A hint of displeasure appeared on her pretty face, and she coldly snorted, "Then how do you explain getting a perfect score in the German and Italian language proficiency tests?"