What to Do When Mistaken for the CEO’s Brother? 2

Chapter 2

Mu Haoqiong’s suspicions proved to be well-founded.

While the initial enthusiasm of his superiors and colleagues could be attributed to his pleasant appearance and their general goodwill, the special treatment Murong Cheng received over the next two weeks confirmed Mu Haoqiong’s theory. Guangyu’s employees all believed he was connected to the CEO.

Murong Cheng had heard about CEO Murong Yan’s demanding nature even before joining Guangyu.

A wealthy and accomplished young man, Murong Yan had founded Guangyu, a subsidiary of the leading automotive company Lingyu Group, two years prior. Focusing on high-tech and new energy, Guangyu quickly became Lingyu’s most promising division, rapidly growing into a major corporation that ultimately acquired its parent company.

Guangyu Group was a legend in the automotive industry and a textbook example of a successful high-tech enterprise. Its employee benefits were unmatched, but so was the workload. In Mu Haoqiong’s R&D department, all-nighters were common during crucial project phases. Fortunately, Guangyu strictly enforced overtime compensation and time-off policies, providing not only hourly overtime pay but also compensatory time off during project lulls. While demanding, the CEO was generous with his employees.

Although the workload in the Brand Marketing Department wasn’t as intense as in R&D, working from morning till night was the norm on the 8th floor. The general manager, Xu Yayun, was constantly on the move, either in meetings, traveling to meetings, or on business trips. Across from Murong Cheng sat Zou Xun, a woman who had joined the company a year earlier. She was perpetually glued to her computer, battling over new product promotion details on the phone while simultaneously reviewing promotional copy, multitasking effortlessly.

Everyone on the 8th floor seemed perpetually hurried, except for Murong Cheng.

Another day had passed, from 9 am to 5:30 pm, without a single task. Murong Cheng glumly shut down his computer.

[Cheng: Going home together?]

Having been rejected numerous times, he no longer held any hope when messaging Mu Haoqiong.

The reply came quickly, just as he expected.

[PoorPoor: In a meeting.]

[PoorPoor: How are you so free every day???]

Murong Cheng sighed deeply.

Some were parched, others were drowning.

Who could understand his plight? He didn’t want this either!

They said the ideal job was high pay, low workload, and close to home. Being treated as an inside man, receiving a salary without doing any work, was something many would envy. But he was just a recent graduate! He was an ambitious young man who wanted to work hard, build a career, and achieve something! He didn’t want to coast!

In the two weeks since he joined, General Manager Xu Yayun had been too busy to pay him any attention, and his team leader, Pan Yueyi, hadn’t assigned him any tasks. She had simply given him a work manual and a case study on promotional campaigns, telling him to study them independently without specifying a deadline or following up. The department had numerous meetings after work hours, but Yueyi never included him, instead reminding him daily to avoid overworking and to go home early to rest.

Was this what it felt like to be an inside man?

Initially, Murong Cheng had been puzzled. Although “Murong” was an uncommon surname, it wasn’t so rare that everyone with that name must be related. Why were his superiors and colleagues so convinced he was part of the Murong family?

With ample free time at work, Murong Cheng found the answer on the company’s app forum.

The Murong family was notoriously private, rarely appearing in public, and their photos were never leaked to the media. Even Guangyu employees weren’t familiar with CEO Murong Yan’s appearance. However, it was known that besides Murong Yan, there was a younger brother. Because he hadn’t yet taken over the family business, his name wasn’t widely known. But everyone knew Murong Yan had a brother.

Rumor had it that Murong Yan’s younger brother was in his early twenties and expected to join Lingyu Group this year or next.

Knowing this, Murong Cheng understood why everyone at Guangyu was convinced he was related to the CEO.

They all mistook him for the CEO’s brother!

Eating breakfast, waiting for lunch, eating lunch, waiting for the end of the workday. The days were mind-numbingly boring.

Finally, one afternoon during his lunch break, Murong Cheng returned from the pantry and bumped into Xu Yayun, who was back from a business trip, wheeling her suitcase towards her office.

“Hello, Manager Xu!”

Seeing the general manager, the young man’s eyes lit up, causing some of the water in his cup to spill.

Xu Yayun was pushing a 20-inch suitcase with one hand and scrolling through messages on her phone with the other. She would have walked past him with a cursory glance, but seeing it was Murong Cheng, she paused and gave him a friendly smile.

“Ah Cheng, are you feeling tired from work lately?”

Without any actual work to do, just clocking in and out, how could he be tired?

Murong Cheng shook his head vigorously.

Manager Xu nodded in satisfaction and glanced at her phone. “Then go take your lunch break!”

If he rested any longer, he would sprout roots! Seizing the opportunity, Murong Cheng blurted out, “Manager Xu, I’ve been studying since I joined. Are there any specific tasks you could assign me?”

Xu Yayun was momentarily taken aback, then said, “Specific tasks? I’ll ask Xiao Pan later. But new employees are expected to learn the ropes first. Don’t be anxious, your team leader will assign you work as appropriate.”

It seemed like another brush-off. Before approaching Manager Xu, he had asked his team leader, Yueyi, several times about work assignments, but she always put him off, telling him to continue studying or saying there wasn’t much to do at the moment.

After speaking, Xu Yayun remained in place, her fingers rapidly typing a reply on her phone. Seeing how busy she was, Murong Cheng didn’t want to disturb her further, so he simply thanked her and returned to his workstation dejectedly.

He napped on the sofa bed at his workstation. When he woke up, long past the end of the lunch break, the overhead lights were still off. Zou Xun was working in the dim light, the quiet clicking of her mouse a constant rhythm.

Why was everyone so busy? Murong Cheng ran a hand through his hair in frustration and turned on the lights in his area.

It felt like he was the only idle person in the world. Although he was mistaken for the CEO’s brother and didn’t have to worry about losing his job, this feeling was still strange! He hadn’t gotten used to it after two weeks.

His inbox was empty, the only emails being the department’s daily updates, notifying everyone of important meetings and urgent projects.

Resting his chin on his left hand, Murong Cheng clicked and closed, closed and clicked the emails he had read countless times, then refreshed the page.

A new message!

His eyes lit up.

The sender was Jiang Han from Human Resources.

[Hello, Mr. Murong,

The company will hold a new employee orientation next Wednesday. You have been selected to speak as an outstanding new employee representative. Your speech should be 8 minutes long. Please prepare your speech in advance and send it to me by the end of the workday this Friday.

Best regards.]

New employee orientation? Outstanding new employee representative? Murong Cheng’s eyes widened.

He quickly realized that he was chosen because of his “outstanding” last name.

Well, a speech. He would prepare a speech. This was, after all, the first real task he’d been given in two weeks. He wondered if it was a coincidence that he received this email right after asking the general manager for work.

With a task at hand, time finally passed more quickly.

The following Wednesday afternoon, Murong Cheng, once again formally dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and black dress pants, arrived at the auditorium on the first floor of Guangyu Group’s SKYLINE Building II. To project an air of authority, he had even added a black suit jacket.

However, the same shirt-and-jacket combination that exuded power on General Manager Xu looked…different on him. Passing a large reflective window, Murong Cheng couldn’t help but sigh.

He looked like he was wearing his older brother’s clothes.

Or a real estate agent.

He walked backstage, reviewing his well-rehearsed speech one last time.

From the front, he heard the emcee’s voice, inviting everyone to welcome CEO Murong with applause.

Murong Cheng’s hand tightened around his speech. He instinctively wanted to move closer and see what the legendary CEO looked like. After all, so many people mistook him for Murong’s brother; it seemed odd to have never even seen the man.

But as soon as he took a step forward, Jiang Han, the deputy general manager of HR and organizer of the orientation, called out to him.

“Ah Cheng, how’s your speech coming along?”

Jiang Han was wearing a black and white knit dress, not quite formal wear, but still professional.

Murong Cheng stopped and turned around. “Manager Jiang, I’ve pretty much memorized it.”

Jiang Han nodded approvingly. “Good, try to deliver it without reading, but bring your notes on stage just in case you forget something.”

Murong Cheng obediently nodded. “Okay, Manager Jiang.”

“Right now, it’s the leadership address. CEO Murong will speak, then our HR general manager, both for about eight minutes. Then it’s your turn.” Jiang Han checked her watch, organizing the proceedings methodically.

Applause erupted from the front; CEO Murong must have finished speaking.

His plan to catch a glimpse of the CEO foiled, Murong Cheng continued to respond to Jiang Han somewhat absentmindedly, thinking he would definitely find an opportunity to look at the audience while he was on stage. As CEO, Murong would typically sit in the center of the front row, theoretically the closest to the stage. He shouldn’t be hard to find.

After the HR general manager finished speaking, the emcee finally called his name.

“Now, let’s welcome the outstanding representative of this year’s new hires, Murong Cheng from the Brand Marketing Department, to the stage!”

Murong Cheng adjusted his collar one last time, gripped his speech, and walked onto the stage.

The speech he had memorized perfectly suddenly vanished from his mind, and he ended up reading most of it.

Finished, his shirt damp with nervous sweat, Murong Cheng finally relaxed and looked out at the audience.

The seat behind the nameplate that read “Murong Yan” was empty. A flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes as he glanced at the other executives in the front row.

Manager Xu from his department was sitting at the edge of the front row, smiling at him. The other department heads were also applauding and looking his way, except for one younger-looking executive sitting near the entrance.

The man was looking down at his phone, his expression unreadable. He wore a dark gray suit jacket, his handsome face angular and cool, captivating yet intimidating.

Murong Cheng’s gaze shifted downwards, landing on the nameplate in front of the man.

General Manager of Legal Affairs, Cheng Geng.