Su Ning's motorcade was very fast.
At least when they arrived at Taikoo Shipping, the entrance was still deserted, and walking inside, there was hardly anyone around.
Tap, tap, tap.
The listless receptionist looked up impatiently. Going to work was annoying enough as it was; if her superiors hadn't forced her to come, she wouldn't be here at all.
Who didn't know how chaotic it was going to get later?
Bah.
It was all because she didn't have any backing. That bitch Beatriz relied on her uncle being a supervisor to successfully get time off, even showing off that she could participate in the parade. After it was over, she might even get a promotion.
Thinking of this, the receptionist gnashed her teeth.
"What is it..."
Her voice suddenly weakened. Without her noticing, a group of Easterners had appeared in front of her. Most importantly, the person this group was surrounding—even though there was an exceptionally handsome young man standing next to her.
But anyone sweeping a glance over them.
The first person they would notice would absolutely be her. The receptionist subconsciously opened her mouth wide.
Could this person be Su Ning?
...
"This is everyone?"
Su Ning casually swept her gaze over the sparse crowd in front of her.
"Y-yes."
The receptionist's scalp went numb, and she almost burst into tears, stuttering as she spoke, wishing she could raise her hand and swear. "I promise I've called everyone who came to work today. Not a single one was left out. I even asked someone to search the men's restroom stall by stall!"
The pitch of her last sentence was extremely high.
Su Ning: ...
Even the men's restroom was searched. Alright, she really put in a lot of effort.
"Where is everyone else?"
Faced with this fatal question, the receptionist looked at the others for help, but they all avoided her gaze. Those who remained here were basically the frustrated and unaccomplished ones.
Those with a bit of ability were either ambitiously participating in the schemes of the executives and shareholders.
Or playing it safe.
They had all taken leave to go home and watch the struggle between the two sides coldly from the sidelines—in short, they had no intention of standing on the side of Su Ning, this "outsider."
The remaining group hadn't expected to actually run into Su Ning coming over. They cursed their bad luck internally, not daring to confront her openly, but passive resistance was always a safe bet.
So they all lowered their heads and stayed silent.
The receptionist almost choked up.
Cursing endlessly in her heart, she also wanted to just give up, but when she looked up and met Su Ning's pitch-black eyes, it was like being stared at by a demon from the Bible, and her whole body stiffened.
"They, they probably all took leave, so they didn't come to work."
"Is that so?"
Su Ning sneered, suddenly launching an attack. "Are you saying that more than half of the people took leave on a workday, and their superiors approved it all? Oh, my mistake, those 'superiors' aren't at their posts either."
"And I, the chairman, didn't know the slightest bit about any of this."
"Not a single person came to notify me!"
The crowd was dead silent.
Notify you? They took leave precisely to drive you out of power, someone grumbled in dissatisfaction. She can only bully us. Damn it, why isn't the parade here yet?
Su Ning was also wondering, why aren't they here yet?
Forget it, if the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain. She exercised her subjective initiative.
Pointing casually:
"I don't care if someone in their family died, or if they are sick and dying. As long as they are still breathing, tell them to get their asses over here. If they don't come, they will bear the consequences!"
"You, take a few people and go notify them."
The pointed-at receptionist: ...
What?
Make her go!
"Is there a mistake, Chairman? Actually, I'm just a receptionist, I don't really have any abilities. How about changing to someone else?"
These were words from the bottom of her heart.
You have to understand, the requirement for a receptionist is just to be pretty and articulate. No one asks them to have any special skills. After working for a couple of years and finding a suitable partner, just when the novelty of the job wears off, they get married and return to family life.
Maybe some are different.
But she wasn't!
She just wanted to muddle through life ordinarily.
Oh, not allowed.
Su Ning frowned, speaking with unquestionable authority. "What are you dawdling for? You have absolutely no efficiency. I said it's you, so it's you. You are no longer a receptionist."
"You are now my secretary."
Secretary?
This kind of position could be big or small; its specific status depended entirely on who she served. Like the chairman's secretary, of course, that was incredible—a textbook case of low rank but high power. Anyone who saw her would have to be polite.
Not to mention, in terms of salary and benefits, compared to a receptionist, it was a world of difference.
So even though she was filled with reluctance.
Hearing this, the receptionist was stunned for a moment, and then she felt countless gazes piercing her from all around—unfriendly, suspicious, mocking... With a shudder, she snapped back to reality and smiled bitterly.
A promotion is a good thing.
However, not only was Su Ning's position as chairman precarious, she was also a racist!
She was white, after all.
Wait, then why was she chosen to be the secretary?
She finally managed to attribute the answer to her long, black, curly hair. That's right, although she was white and her eyes were green, her hair was black. Even if it wasn't pure black, it was close enough.
If I had known earlier, I would have dyed it blonde...
What a pity.
Hindsight is 20/20.
Ultimately, the receptionist—no, now Miss Secretary—led people with heavy footsteps to run errands and deliver notifications.
"What a pitiful child, being forced to rebel like this,"
the system said with pity.
"I have to say, Lil' System, you really need to evolve," Su Ning said with a heavy tone. "Look, even your choice of words doesn't fit the specific situation. What do you mean 'forced to rebel'? She clearly stepped onto the stairway to heaven ahead of time. It's fine if others don't know, but don't you know how lucky she is?"
Heh, lucky?
The system was silent for a second, then said faintly, "You mean the luck of being used as your target, being hated by her own kind, and walking on thin ice from now on?"
A receptionist, suddenly leaping up to become a secretary.
Who could be genuinely convinced.
To use an analogy, it was like those treacherous officials who rose to power through illegitimate means.
And to make matters worse, the emperor she served was Su Ning, a textbook "tyrant" and "incompetent ruler" in the eyes of Taikoo Shipping's employees.
"There is no free lunch in this world."
Su Ning said softly:
"Taking my benefits naturally means she has to play her part. Besides, I'm not some devil. If she really doesn't want to, she can go back to being a receptionist."
Anyway, it was just an idle chess piece.
If this one doesn't work.
There is always the next one.
...
On the other side.
The newspaper's editor-in-chief received a call, hastily packed his things, gathered his staff, thought about it, and decided to bring Miguel along, hurriedly getting into the car and rushing to the battlefield!
"Quick, quick, quick, drive faster."
Because there were too few cars, everyone had to squeeze into one. It was incredibly crowded to begin with, and with the editor-in-chief constantly rushing them, someone immediately complained.
"What are you complaining about!"
The editor-in-chief excitedly loosened his tie. "As long as we grab this exclusive headline, the newspaper might be able to buy an extra car, and your bonuses won't be small either."
How is that possible.
The reporters curled their lips. Wasn't it just those people at Taikoo Shipping plotting a parade to overthrow that Eastern racist? One could easily guess that the situation would take time to brew.
The parade was just one step to create momentum. Who knows how long it would take for the dust to settle.
Besides, they had already sent people there.
Yet he insisted on making such a big fuss.
Seeing this, the editor-in-chief, afraid they wouldn't take it seriously enough, relayed the information he had received, and added:
"My peers know far too little about Su. She might be a racist, but she is also genuinely capable. She is arrogant, vicious, and makes absolutely no effort to hide it. There is only one possible reason she would go to Taigu Shipping at a time like this."
The excitement in the editor-in-chief's eyes practically leaped out.
"To trample her enemies right when they are at their most smug and joyful, and to declare her victory!"
A momentary silence filled the car.
"I don't think so."
Someone scoffed, "In my eyes, she's just someone whose head has been clouded by gold, thinking the whole world has to revolve around her."
"I agree."
Clearly, as Caucasians, they didn't like Su Ning either.
The editor-in-chief didn't argue with them, simply saying, "Even if I guessed wrong, it just means we made an extra trip. We have nothing to lose. It's worth the gamble!"
...
Evidently, he bet right.
Because as soon as they arrived, they saw a massive protesting crowd. At the front, a man raised the banner in his hands and mockingly shouted at the few people standing before him:
"Go back and tell that demon-possessed Eastern woman that unless she leaves Taigu Shipping, our home, no one will listen to a word she says!"
"That's right, tell her to get lost!"
"Get lost!"
"Leave Taigu Shipping and go back to the East to eat dirt!"
"Hahahahaha."
