Big brother, please don't be impulsive. I've worked so hard to build a career woman persona. If you ruin it with one sentence, I'm taking you down with me.
"Su Jin is not just the head planner. She's also my wife. My fiancée."
"Fiancée?"
"We haven't registered the marriage yet, but the status is set. From today on, she runs the company. I answer to her, and you all answer to her, too."
"Hello, Madam Boss."
This is clearly a forced marriage being shoved down our throats. It's over. It's over. My chance to buy a standing ticket and run away overnight has been completely blocked. Lin Chaoshang, you scheming, calculating CEO.
Being Madam Boss, however, has certain compensations.
"Manager Wang, what is going on with this offline promotion budget? It's way too padded, isn't it?"
"Madam Boss, these are all PR expenses. You can ask President Lin about them."
"Cut it in half. Redo it immediately."
"President Lin, what do you think?"
"Just do what she says. Redo the budget."
So satisfying. Is this what it feels like to be the lead in a girl boss drama?
"Hm?" Lin Chaoshang said, once the room had emptied. "Was that enough pressure?"
"The table was too hard."
"Next time, just let me know. I'll slam the table for you."
"No need. It's more imposing when I do it myself."
Shen Miao came in with a stiff cream envelope and a face like a weather warning.
"Boss, the invitation for the Asian Cultural Innovation Annual Summit has arrived for Jin Jin. But the organizer said the requirements are strict. Only corporate legal representatives are allowed to attend. Strictly no family members or unauthorized persons allowed."
What is that supposed to mean? Unauthorized persons? I can't even step across the threshold of a summit? Who do these organizers think they are? I refuse to go.
"If you aren't going," Lin Chaoshang said, "I'm not going either."
"We're going. Why shouldn't I go? I'll just take on the title of co-founder and walk right in through the front door. Miao — bring me all the files for the S-tier projects for the second half of the year. Bring them all here. This lady is about to make some real moves."
"Jin Jin, that's hell-level difficulty. Coming up with a full proposal in five days? If you mess this up, your reputation is going to be ruined."
"Exactly because it's hard to pull off. Finishing it is the only way to shut the board of directors up for good. I absolutely refuse to just be Lin Chaoshang's accessory. I want to be a partner in every sense of the word. The whole company is talking behind my back, saying I climbed the ladder by using my looks. I, Su Jin — I'm going to open their eyes today."
Let the storm rage on.
"It's two in the morning. Time to sleep. Your health is the most important thing."
"Stop it. Stop it. Be a good boy and go play in the living room."
She just brushed me off like she was coaxing a golden retriever. I'm a dignified CEO, and in my fiancée's eyes I'm not even as important as a slide deck?
"Drink some milk. Do it tomorrow."
"Do what? Your presence is seriously slowing down my blade-wielding speed. Get out. Get out."
Five days later I was standing at the head of a conference table in a building that was not mine, watching a man throw my proposal down on it.
"Miss Su, don't waste my time with this kind of useless paper that changes nothing. Not only is it full of nonsense, but the budget is a complete rip-off. Do you take me for a sucker or an ATM? If this is the only level Chaoshang Creative is at, then today's meeting is over."
"Watch your tone, Mr. Zhang." Shen Miao was on her feet. "She's been working non-stop for three days. We've done our best. We're dropping this project. Let's go."
"Mr. Zhang," I said, "you were absolutely right to yell at me earlier. I also think that proposal was trash. Because that was actually an old, rejected draft from the planning department. I showed it to you on purpose. I just wanted to test your intuition for the market. Now, take a look at the big screen."
The lights went down.
"This is the real trump card of Chaoshang Creative. A reverse marketing strategy based on the core pain points of your target users. I'll sign a performance bet with you right now. I guarantee a conversion rate increase of at least forty percent. If I don't hit it, I'll pay you back out of my own pocket."
Oh, man. The way she's commanding the room is just dazzling. I think I'm even more head over heels for her now. But wait — why did she keep this whole trap hidden from even me? Lin Chaoshang, seriously? Not only is your status at home gone, but now your IQ and your presence have been completely crushed by your fiancée. How am I supposed to survive the days ahead?
"The payment came through," Shen Miao said three weeks later, walking backward in front of me down the corridor. "The final balance from Shiguang Tech is all in. The conversion rate beat the target by fifty percent. Mr. Zhang just called asking to extend the contract for the second half of the year. Jin Jin, you are incredible. The organizing committee just sent a car over. The invitation doesn't just list you as a co-founder of Chaoshang Creative. It even gave you a front row seat. The center-most VIP seat. You are going to absolutely outshine everyone tonight."
Right. The opening is tonight. I've been staying up all night working on that presentation. I haven't even bought a gown. I'm doomed. I'm totally doomed. Is it too late to hit the wholesale market? Can I just grab a two-hundred-dollar black skirt and hope no one notices?
The car did not go to the wholesale market. It went to a shop with three dresses in the window and no prices on any of them.
"Pick whatever you want. If that's not enough, we'll get more."
"Hey, are you crazy? Any one of these could pay for an apartment back in my hometown. I'd be wearing an entire apartment to a meeting."
"Go try this one on. Don't be ridiculous. My fiancée, Lin Chaoshang's woman, is not showing up in a two-hundred-dollar dress. Today, you're not just going to outshine the crowd. You're going to make sure those people who look down on you can't even hold their heads up. My woman has to shine."
"You look like a fairy, Jin Jin," Shen Miao said. "Your beauty is literally off the charts."
"Isn't this a bit too much? I feel like a walking disco ball. And this hem is so long. I won't even be able to run to grab the buffet food."
"It's perfect. Don't you dare take it off. I'll bring the buffet to you."
Seriously? This isn't a meeting. This feels like we're heading to a royal gala. Lin Chaoshang, that evil capitalist. He's totally crushing my humble spirit. Why'd I think he's incredibly hot right now?
"Time's up. Time to go crash the party. Tonight, you are the only one that matters."
"Stay sharp, Jin Jin," Shen Miao whispered at the door. "Don't let him corrupt you."
He was stopped in the lobby by three people with clipboards and a man from the committee, and I went ahead alone, which is how Mr. Sun got his chance.
"Well, well. If it isn't the vase from Chaoshang Creative, the one who only gets by on her looks. How did someone like you even manage to sneak into a summit of this caliber? Where's Mr. Lin? Didn't bring your leash? Did he get bored of you already? Or did he dump you? I bet that high-end knockoff dress cost you half a year's salary. Trying to play socialite, are we?"
"Mr. Sun, did you forget to brush your teeth before coming out? Your mouth is absolutely filthy. And as for whether I get by on my looks — as for your Xingyao company, those two S-tier big clients were snatched away by us last month. And yet the proposal was written by a pretty face like me. Those dark circles under your eyes today must have come from pulling all-nighters working on those rejected drafts, right?"
"Cut the bluffing. You're just a country girl who doesn't know the first thing about anything." He raised his hand and snapped his fingers at the wall. "Security. There's someone here who snuck into the banquet without an invitation. Throw her out."
I took the card out and held it up level with his nose.
"Open your dog eyes and look closely. This was issued to me by the organizing committee personally. A co-founder's black card. Someone like you, stuck in the back row without even a name tag — you think you have the right to have security throw me out?"
Man, no wonder CEOs love crushing people with status. This feeling of slamming a black card in someone's face is even more thrilling than winning five million. President Sun's old face is practically as green as a rotten cucumber. Today, I'm going to take this fox-pretending-to-be-a-tiger act to the extreme.
"President Lin. You're finally here." Mr. Sun had turned around so fast his glass slopped. "This woman under your watch has absolutely no manners. She is actually using a fake black card to swindle people here. I was just having security clear out the riffraff."
"These macarons are too sweet," Lin Chaoshang said to me, handing me a glass. "Have some water to wash it down." Then, without turning his head: "She is my wife. And she is the largest shareholder of Chaoshang Creative. Who do you think you are? How dare you question her invitation? Security — throw him out. He's an eyesore."
Holy crap. The lethality of President Lin is way off the charts.