First and foremost, stamina must be good.
After the wedding, everything and everyone returned to the dull routine of daily life.
In truth, the wedding ceremony only mattered to Ada and her new husband—it marked the turning point from romance to mundane trivialities. For most people attending the banquet, it was just a day spent idling away.
But for someone like Jiang Ruoqi, who had low energy levels, an unexpected schedule meant she hadn't rested enough over the weekend, and then came the dreaded Monday.
Bleary-eyed, she ordered a triple-shot Americano to keep herself alive. If she weren't such an experienced corporate slave, she'd have collapsed at her desk by now.
However, what was worse than the bitterness in her heart was that the taste of the Americano hadn't even faded from her mouth when she was summoned to the top-floor CEO office.
The boss was rarely at the company, and even rarer that he wanted to see her.
She got off the elevator, passed through the outer secretarial office, exchanged glances with Sophia, who was in a professional suit, gave a helpless smile, and then hurried into the boss's office.
As an established jewelry brand, Jiang Ruoqi's company occupied floors 18 to 22 in the central area of Gangcheng. The boss's office was on the top floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view that spoke more of money and power than scenery.
If her Bald Boss weren't sitting at his desk, Jiang Ruoqi might have taken a moment to enjoy the view.
What a pity.
Once seated in front of the boss, with the executive assistant standing behind her, all she could see was his sunlit bald head.
With a heads-up from Sophia, it wasn't hard to guess what the boss wanted to say. But she hadn't expected such a minor personnel matter to require the boss's personal involvement.
Probably as a favor to her stepmother.
The boss's Mandarin was even worse than Sophia's. Jiang Ruoqi had to guess most of what he said, maintaining a tired smile while nodding in agreement.
Who was fooling whom? Finally, the executive assistant escorted her out of the office, leaving her with the eager gaze of her nearly 60-year-old Bald Boss.
To summarize the pie-in-the-sky promise: the group had decided to send her to the Xinhai subsidiary to save the day, promoting her to marketing director. The sooner she arrived and took over, the better.
And given that the subsidiary was currently without a COO, if she could turn around sales in the next quarter, they might even consider promoting her to a senior management position.
What a big pie, and it smelled stale. Just smelling it made Jiang Ruoqi feel choked.
But Jiang Ruoqi accepted without hesitation, smiling so readily that the boss didn't even have time to react.
She guessed that the boss had prepared a whole speech, but hadn't expected her to agree so easily. His eyes even held a hint of suspicion.
Although she didn't fully understand the reason for his suspicion, she had a compelling reason to leave Gangcheng. Even if the pie was stale, she had to accept it with gratitude.
After more encouraging words and empty reassurances, the boss finished his spiel and had the executive assistant see her out. Jiang Ruoqi was familiar with the assistant, so she asked about contact details in Xinhai. Everything was ready, even a personal assistant had been arranged for her.
As Jiang Ruoqi pondered this, she caught a glimpse of Ada peeking around a corner, so she turned slightly to block the assistant's view.
Someone was waiting for her, so she didn't linger. She said goodbye to the assistant and walked down the corridor. Ada immediately pounced on her, dragging Sophia, who had just gotten free, to the outdoor garden outside the break room downstairs.
Ada was waiting for Su Yansheng to take leave for their honeymoon. After the wedding, she'd come back to the office to coast. She hadn't seen Jiang Ruoqi go in; she'd only heard about it from Sophia and had waited at the door for her.
The boss only came to the office once every ten days or so, and the first thing he did was summon Jiang Ruoqi. This unusual move piqued Ada's curiosity, and she was determined to get the latest gossip.
"What's up, what's up? The boss rarely comes in, and he calls you over first?"
Jiang Ruoqi stretched lazily on a bench and didn't directly answer: "Don't rush off tonight; I'm treating you to dinner."
"What kind of reaction is that? Got promoted? Hit the jackpot?" Ada was puzzled. "No way. Promotions only happen in April and September, not now."
"Something like that." Jiang Ruoqi avoided Sophia's complicated gaze and added softly, "I've been promoted. Marketing director for the Xinhai subsidiary."
At the mention of Xinhai, Ada felt a blackout. She put her hands on her hips, hurried over, and sat next to Jiang Ruoqi, glaring at her smiling face. "Are you crazy? A promotion to Xinhai? That's not a promotion—that's exile!"
"Tell me the truth. Did you cause some major loss to the company? Did you curse the boss to his face? Or... is your stepmother out to get you?"
"Did you agree? Please tell me you didn't! I'm going to talk to my dad right now. At the very least, staying in Gangcheng shouldn't be a problem!"
Jiang Ruoqi quickly held Ada back, but before she could speak, Sophia chimed in with a cold laugh: "Ha, you think she doesn't want to go back to the mainland? She never said it, but her heart has been there for a while, just waiting for the right moment. Now that it's finally here, she agreed the second the boss brought it up."
Jiang Ruoqi was helpless. Although it was true, she still tried to win back her two friends: "Come on, it's not a bad thing. Don't be like that. They're sending me to Xinhai with a promotion and a raise. I won't have to eat with flimsy paper spoons when I order takeout. And being based in Xinhai means I can visit my mom more often. If I miss you guys, it's easy to come back to Gangcheng. Isn't that good?"
She looked at them expectantly, hoping they would realize she wasn't from Gangcheng and had no special attachment that would keep her there.
"Nothing to do with that Dr. Meng?" Sophia asked coldly.
Jiang Ruoqi immediately raised three fingers, as if swearing to heaven: "I swear, this important decision has nothing to do with any man."
"Then why did you two talk for so long that day?"
"Your Honor, I'm innocent! You're the chief secretary; you gave me the inside scoop. So I knew it was probably me. I thought Dr. Meng has been working in Xinhai for a while—he's a good connection to have. I was just preparing early."
Jiang Ruoqi glanced up sneakily. Sophia was standing with her legs crossed, arms folded, giving her a cold stare. After a moment's hesitation, Jiang Ruoqi decided to come clean: "Of course, he's also my type."
"Yeah, the type that looks like Shen Xuyan," Sophia said mercilessly.
Jiang Ruoqi knew she couldn't smooth things over anymore. She tugged at Sophia's shirt hem and shook it, conceding: "If you're angry, be angry, but why bring up old history?"
"Ohhh! I knew there was something familiar about Meng Shang. Now that you mention it, it's true! But..."
Ada was lost in the exchange between Jiang Ruoqi and Sophia. When she finally caught up, she realized she had missed a lot during her wedding prep: "Wait, you two already knew Seven might be sent to Xinhai?"
What could they say to that?
Sophia couldn't keep a straight face anymore. She let her guard down and shook her head. Jiang Ruoqi couldn't help but laugh. She patted Ada on the shoulder, mimicking Sophia's tone from the other day: "Honey, use your brain at work."
Ada's pretty face twisted in frustration: "How is this my fault? You never tell me anything—how was I supposed to know!"
Ada's cluelessness broke the tension.