Chapter 10: The Interrogation Room Interview

The moment Zhou Ruoyu took a seat before Gu Jiachen’s desk, she instantly felt as though she had entered an interrogation room, poised to endure a truly terrifying ordeal. The room was already dim with the curtains drawn, and the desk lamp before her shone with a blinding intensity, much like an interrogation light directed at her face.

The female interviewer sat opposite her, her expression stern and unyielding. Beside her sat Gu Jiachen, radiating an overwhelming pressure, his gaze fixed upon Zhou Ruoyu. She felt as though he might, at any second, slam his hand on the table and demand to know the time, place, and instruments of her supposed crime.

Faced with the unwavering scrutiny of her nemesis, Zhou Ruoyu naturally grew even more nervous. She was so flustered that her mouth felt glued shut, making it impossible to articulate her words properly.

Having only temporarily abandoned her graduate school admission for this interview, the young woman, despite preparing extensively for the Dragon Feather assistant position, still lacked considerable experience. Performing well under such intense pressure was almost out of the question.

From the outset, this interview seemed destined to be a one-sided battering of a young applicant by the female HR manager.

“Hello, Miss Zhou Ruoyu, do you have your resume with you?”

The HR manager went straight to the point, coldly scrutinizing Zhou Ruoyu from head to toe. She then clicked her tongue, seemingly still utterly displeased with the young woman’s attire. Zhou Ruoyu, the black-haired girl, froze in awkward embarrassment.

Though she sensed the other party already had an inexplicable issue with her, she had no idea where this mysterious displeasure stemmed from. She could only clear her throat twice before responding,

“Ah, hello… I apologize, I didn’t bring a physical resume today. However, I did submit an electronic version through the recruitment software. Would that be acceptable?”

Zhou Ruoyu sighed inwardly, exasperated. ‘My previous printed resume had my name and photo on it; how could I possibly bring that? The electronic version was updated just last night, and I left early this morning, so I didn’t have time to print it. It’s not as if Chensi doesn’t have printers… and the interviewers aren’t without computers or phones.’

“Hmph, I knew it… young people nowadays are becoming increasingly lackadaisical in their job searches. Tsk… if you can’t even approach finding a job with the right attitude, how can you possibly perform well and bring value to the company once you’re employed?”

The HR manager spoke without reservation, scoffing coldly in front of Zhou Ruoyu and shaking her head. The black-haired girl was momentarily stunned, then blinked in confusion and terror. She stammered out,

“I-I-I… I apologize, it was thoughtless of me…”

Hmph. Hearing the young woman’s panicked voice, the female interviewer smiled to herself, silently. Crushing an applicant’s confidence was a trick she had perfected in this job.

It allowed her to easily recruit many high-caliber talents into the company while offering them salaries far below their actual worth. Even if they failed the interview, they would still leave feeling grateful.

Moreover, with the boss present, she believed Mr. Gu would surely be impressed by her astute work capabilities, creating a prime opportunity for promotion and a raise. She certainly wouldn’t miss it.

With a cold smile, the HR manager shook her head once more, then continued,

“Alright, go ahead and introduce yourself first.”

“Um… yes, alright. Hello, interviewers. My name is Zhou Ruoyu, twenty-two years old, ma… ah, no, female…”

Zhou Ruoyu’s self-introduction began with a stutter. She actually knew the lines quite well, and this time, there was no mysterious, unseen boss to interrupt her. Unfortunately, upon feeling Gu Jiachen’s gaze suddenly fix upon her, the black-haired girl immediately began to tremble with nerves, her self-introduction becoming completely incoherent.

“Uh… in, in short, that’s it.”

Only after uttering her conclusion did Zhou Ruoyu suddenly realize she had omitted a rather lengthy section. The corners of her mouth twitched twice, but there seemed to be no way to salvage it.

The HR manager in front of her frowned deeply upon hearing Zhou Ruoyu’s self-introduction, then stated,

“Your work experience is far too sparse, and your major doesn’t quite meet the requirements for this position. I must ask, were you truly prepared to apply to Chensi? I find you rather presumptuous.”

…

Upon hearing these words, Zhou Ruoyu could no longer hold back. After a long moment, she slowly began to speak.

“My major is clearly listed among your professional requirements. If you believed it didn’t meet the criteria, why would you include it? Furthermore, as I mentioned in my self-introduction, I had secured admission to graduate school but chose to forgo it and seek employment due to certain circumstances. And your requirements also state you’re looking for recent university graduates, don’t they? Isn’t demanding work experience a bit… I don’t think there’s anything ‘presumptuous’ about interviewing. The choice is mutual, isn’t it? You could have chosen not to invite me for an interview, but since you did, I naturally came as agreed. Why do you make it sound as if… my honoring the interview arrangement is akin to causing trouble?”

Faced with Zhou Ruoyu’s rebuttal, the HR manager’s eyes widened in fury, as if contradicting her was an act of sacrilege. In her exasperation, she snorted coldly and then spouted nonsense.

“Heh, Chensi Group receives countless talented applicants every year; we have plenty of Tsinghua and Peking University graduates. Do you think… you have any advantages compared to students from Tsinghua and Peking University?”

‘Compared to… Tsinghua and Peking University?’

Upon hearing this outrageous question, the corners of Zhou Ruoyu’s mouth twitched. A moment later, she took a deep breath, completely disregarding her commercial spy mission. She narrowed her eyes and then stated coldly,

“I have absolutely no advantages compared to Tsinghua and Peking University graduates. I have significant disadvantages in terms of academic qualifications, intellectual thinking, and learning ability. For instance, Tsinghua and Peking University graduates would never be manipulated by you; they would have run off the moment you spoke like that. Yet, here I sit, still arguing with you. My decision-making isn’t decisive enough; that is something I need to improve upon in the future.”

The black-haired girl spoke with a cold expression. Beside her, Gu Jiachen raised an eyebrow with interest, surprised that this seemingly delicate young woman possessed such a fierce side. He pinched his chin, then subtly glanced at the HR manager beside him.

“Heh, with that attitude, you might as well get lost now! You’re right, contradicting me here isn’t a good thing. Believe it or not, I’ll put you on the HR blacklist when I get back, and then I’ll tip off other companies’ HRs, making sure you can’t find a job anywhere in Lihua City? Heh… I’m going to the restroom. When I return, I’ll ask you professional questions. If you know you can’t answer, then scurry away quickly, you shameless wretch…”

The HR manager stood up, still arrogant, and stalked off to the restroom after delivering her threat. However, this kind of intimidation had no effect whatsoever on the equally infuriated Zhou Ruoyu. ‘What the heck, the mission was going to fail anyway! Why would I fear your punishment for the same outcome?’

Zhou Ruoyu stood there, puffing with indignation, waiting for the HR manager to return, ready to unleash another volley of retorts. But then, suddenly, without warning, an A4 paper was handed to Zhou Ruoyu. The young woman froze, looked down, and saw…

‘Assistant Position Professional Question Bank?’

She quickly looked up, only to see that the person who had offered her the answers was none other than the rival she had been thinking about: Gu Jiachen!