Episode 3: The Unlikely Assistant

​Mu Gao stood outside the interview room door, her typically bright expression dimmed by nerves. Her fingers, which she twisted anxiously, left faint indentations on the smooth, black fabric of her blazer. This was it. This internship was the last critical step to securing her graduation and, more importantly, her independence.

​The door clicked open. A professional, stern-looking woman with perfectly coiffed hair and a sharp suit stood in the doorway. "Mu Gao?"

​"Yes, that's me," Mu Gao replied, and the moment the HR woman called her name, the nervousness vanished, replaced by a straight-backed, fighting spirit.

​The HR professional, Mei Qian, shut the door behind them. She immediately held out her hand, a firm, welcoming gesture. "Welcome. I'm Mei Qian, Senior HR Manager."

​Mu Gao shook her hand, matching her firm grip, and greeted her politely. Mei Qian gestured toward the room. "Please sit down, Mu Gao. Let's begin."

​The initial questioning was flawless. Mu Gao answered every technical query and behavioral question with intelligence and precision. Indeed, her academic background was highly impressive, clearly demonstrating a mind capable of complex analysis.

​Mei Qian leaned back, linking her fingers thoughtfully. "I must admit, I'm confused. With your educational background, you should have applied for a junior analyst position, or even project management. Yet, you applied for a mere assistant role. Why?"

​Mu Gao maintained eye contact, her response delivered with sincere self-awareness. "I realized with surprise that my family letting me come to the university shows I understood they held a very tight control over my life, and that they always expected me to be dependent. But that surprise is the first step toward me appreciating my own agency. Now, the challenge ahead is real: having always been spoiled means I have a large skill gap to fill—specifically in budgeting, self-discipline, time management, and facing rejection or difficulty without a safety net. This is where the real learning happens for me."

​Mei Qian’s expression shifted, intrigued and subtly amused by the honesty. She stood up, pulling her chair away from the imposing mahogany desk. "Well, then, let's prove it to yourself."

​Mu Gao looked confused. "Prove what?"

​"Come, sit," Mei Qian instructed, indicating her vacated seat.

​Mu Gao moved quickly to the chair, sitting down in front of the large monitor. Mei Qian turned on the computer. "In this file is a budget and contract draft for a non-profit acquisition. There are exactly five mistakes in the data and seven grammatical errors in the drafting. Find them and fix them. The clock is running."

​Meanwhile, somewhere high above them in a secured viewing room, the CEO, Li Liu, watched the feed. Her appearance remained unrevealed, but a slight, cold smirk played on her lips as she leaned toward the screen, observing Mu Gao's focused intensity. This was the girl who had caught Xu Lee's eye, the very girl Li Liu had subtly ensured would appear on her radar. The ultimate chess piece.

​Mu Gao immediately began scanning the page. She instinctively started scratching at her arms and hands, a nervous habit she’d never broken. Then, her fingers flew across the keyboard. She didn't pause to deliberate; she typed, deleted, and corrected with relentless speed. Fifteen minutes later, Mu Gao finished, gave one final scratch to her wrist, and announced, "I'm done."

​Mei Qian, who was monitoring the time, was genuinely shocked. This test normally took candidates two hours. She looked up directly at the camera in the corner of the room. She knew the CEO was watching.

​Through the security feed, Li Liu whistled, a low, impressed sound. "Damn. She's good."

​Li Liu immediately shut off the camera feed, causing the small red light in the corner of the interview room to blink off. That was Mei Qian’s signal.

​Mei Qian looked back at the stunned Mu Gao. "Congratulations, Mu Gao. You've got the internship."

​Mu Gao’s bright eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait—you didn't check it? You don't even know if I did it right?"

​Mei Qian laughed, amused by Mu Gao's genuine honesty and innocence. "While you were performing your test, I was watching, Mu Gao. You didn't just fix it, you optimized the structure. We will see you tomorrow morning at 8 am sharp to get you started."

​Mu Gao jumped up, shaking Mei Qian's hand with both of her own. "Thank you so much! I won't let you down!"

​"I look forward to it," Mei Qian replied, smiling gently as Mu Gao departed.

​The door closed, leaving Mei Qian alone. She looked back at the desk. The red light was off, and the silence of the room was heavy. She knew Li Liu hadn't hired Mu Gao for her skills alone; the girl was now a strategic pawn in the complex, brutal game Li Liu was playing.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***