What to Do When Mistaken for the CEO’s Brother? 1

Chapter 1

High summer.

The scorching sun blazed, the air thick and humid. Cicadas droned sleepily in the trees.

Murong Cheng emerged from the side gate of the old residential complex, a plain black backpack containing only a laptop slung over his shoulder. The young man wore a crisp white long-sleeved shirt tucked into black dress pants. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, tracing a path across his delicate features. He blinked, stopping at the intersection’s traffic light.

Behind him were elderly residents pulling shopping carts and the slightly faded gray exterior of the old complex. Before him, across the road, stood a towering skyscraper, a testament to technology and design. The building’s silver-gray spire rose arrogantly, its vast expanse of windows reflecting the intense sunlight, almost blinding.

It was as if space had been cleaved into two worlds, yet both existed simultaneously in this area.

The somewhat dilapidated complex behind him, built twenty years ago, housed the apartment Murong Cheng rented after graduation. The magnificent structure piercing the sky before him was Guangyu Group, the company he was about to join.

Murong Cheng wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, a smile playing on his lips.

With average grades and an unremarkable internship, being hired by Guangyu Group, a leading domestic high-tech automotive company, was a complete surprise, a stroke of luck he hadn’t dared to imagine.

Although the expensive apartment he shared with his roommate was in poor condition, and he’d barely slept last night due to a cockroach hunt, Murong Cheng’s spirits remained high on this, his first day of work.

The light turned green. He took a deep breath, crossed the street, and entered the heavily guarded grounds of the Guangyu Group building.

Occupying 50,000 square meters, the Guangyu Group building was located in City A’s central business district. In the most expensive part of the city, Guangyu Group had created a garden-like courtyard.

Stepping inside, he was greeted by lush greenery, the scent of earth filling the air, creating the illusion of being immersed in nature. After passing two tree-lined paths, he arrived at the office building, where the surroundings abruptly transformed.

The tower stood tall and imposing, its walls a sophisticated silver-gray. A row of turnstiles requiring card access lined the entrance. Through the glass doors, he could glimpse the spacious lobby within.

A wooden sign nearby read “SKYLINE: Building I.”

Murong Cheng checked his offer letter. “SKYLINE: Building I, 21st Floor.” This was the correct building.

After registering with security and receiving a temporary elevator pass, Murong Cheng stepped into the elevator.

The 21st floor was divided into east and west zones, but his offer letter didn’t specify which one, only mentioning the Human Resources Department. He switched off his phone screen, hesitant, and entered the east zone’s workspace.

There was no reception desk. As far as the eye could see, there were rows of neatly arranged workstations.

Guangyu’s workstations were relatively private, each a cubicle with a large L-shaped desk, a standard office chair, and a leather sofa bed on the other side for employee naps.

The walls were painted a pale blue, the lighting warm and bright, and large windows offered panoramic views.

His eyes wide with curiosity, Murong Cheng stood there, his hesitation contrasting with the surrounding activity. He quickly drew attention, especially given his attractive features: a small, luminous face, beautiful peach blossom eyes that seemed to hold a hint of a smile, a high-bridged nose, and full, delicate lips. He was a striking presence anywhere.

“Little one, who are you looking for?” a woman with long, curly hair from a nearby workstation stood up and greeted him.

Slightly embarrassed at being called “little one,” Murong Cheng replied, “Hello, I’m a new employee here to report for duty.”

“Oh, reporting for duty!” The woman smiled. “Welcome to Guangyu! Go that way, to meeting room 2101. Manager Jiang is waiting for you all inside.”

Following the corridor to the end, Murong Cheng found the meeting room. He knocked and entered after hearing a response. Inside the bright and spacious room, a woman in a black Chanel-style dress sat on one side of a long table. On the other side, four or five other new graduates, seemingly just like him, were seated, filling out onboarding paperwork and receiving employee items.

Murong Cheng took a seat at the end of the line, discreetly observing the spacious meeting room. Guangyu Group was even more luxurious than he had imagined, from the Rolls Royce at the entrance, the two towering office buildings, to the spacious workstations with sofa beds. To be hired by Guangyu during the spring recruitment supplementary round, for an operations position with only one opening, he really had, as his parents said, stepped in dog poop luck.

“Next.”

Lost in thought, Murong Cheng hadn’t realized the HR representative was now looking at him.

He quickly composed himself and respectfully handed over his printed resume and offer letter.

“Hello, I’m Murong Cheng, a graduate of S University’s International Economics and Trade program.”

His introduction was unremarkable, but Murong Cheng noticed the HR representative’s eyes light up when she heard his name.

Right, it must be his unusual last name again.

Growing up, Murong Cheng had been teased countless times by teachers and classmates for his last name, “Murong.”

Because it sounded like the last name of a rich young master often used in novels, his nickname had always been “Young Master Murong.”

Even though his family were ordinary citizens of H City, he had never ridden in a luxury car or attended a private aristocratic school.

“Your last name is Murong?”

Sure enough, after barely glancing at his resume, the HR representative’s first question was just that.

Murong Cheng forced a polite, slightly awkward smile. “Yes.”

The HR representative let out a meaningful “Oh” and then stood up from her seat.

“You’re in the operations role, right? The Brand Marketing Department, like HR, is in Building I, but on the 8th floor. Here’s your employee ID, access card, and meal card. I’ll have someone bring your computer over later. Come on, let me show you around.”

Murong Cheng was taken aback by the sudden warmth and attentiveness.

While waiting in line, he had clearly seen the other new hires go through a different process. Weren’t they supposed to fill out forms first, then get their employee IDs, and finally carry their computers to their workstations themselves?

“Do I need to fill out any forms?” Murong Cheng couldn’t help but ask.

The HR representative gave him a friendly smile. “I’ll fill out the new employee information form for you later. I have your resume. Let’s go.”

With that, she opened the meeting room door and gestured for Murong Cheng to precede her.

He was flattered, utterly flattered.

Could it be because he was the last one to arrive for orientation and there was no one else in line, that he received such special treatment?

Pondering this, Murong Cheng quickly reached the door and politely held it open for the HR representative.

Escorting Murong Cheng to the Brand Marketing Department on the 8th floor, Jiang Lan headed straight for the department general manager’s office. She knocked lightly on the door and entered.

“Manager Xu, let me introduce you to our new recruit from the spring intake.”

The office layout was similar to the meeting room, except this was Manager Xu Yayun’s private space.

The woman, around forty years old, wearing a dark blue silk shirt, was holding a phone to her ear with her shoulder while her fingers flew across the keyboard.

“A new recruit? Have Xiao Pan show him around.” Xu Yayun gave Jiang Lan, the deputy general manager of HR, a cursory glance and was about to dismiss them.

Dismissed, Murong Cheng began to step back, but his backpack was tugged from behind.

“Wait, Manager Xu, say a few words! This is your new colleague, his name is Murong Cheng—”

Jiang Lan drew out the last syllable, her voice rising unconsciously. As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Yayun practically slammed down the phone.

The capable-looking woman stood up, walked around her desk, and approached the doorway. Her gaze fell upon the youthful Murong Cheng, a hint of inquiry in her eyes. She blinked and gave him a polite, curious smile.

“Young man… your last name is Murong?”

“Yes, Manager Xu,” Murong Cheng replied, steeling himself.

Was the surname “Murong” really that rare? Why did everyone at Guangyu Group seem so fascinated by this seemingly over-the-top last name?

Half an hour later, Murong Cheng uneasily realized that his new colleagues seemed to have a strange attachment to the name “Murong.”

General Manager Xu Yayun had cut short three or four seemingly urgent calls just to welcome him and personally introduce him to every colleague in the department.

Similarly, the entire department had been incredibly busy, even seemingly indifferent to Manager Xu walking around with him. However, everyone, upon hearing his name, exhibited unusual enthusiasm.

On the first day, aside from reporting for duty and setting up his computer, there wasn’t much else for a new employee to do. Yet, Murong Cheng had spent the afternoon answering the question, “Is your last name Murong?” hundreds of times, his face aching from forced smiles.

[Cheng: Something’s off with my colleagues.]

He pulled out his phone and messaged his roommate, Mu Haoqiong.

They had shared a dorm for four years in college and both received offers from Guangyu Group, so naturally, they rented a small two-bedroom apartment together across from the company. He was in International Trade, working in Brand Marketing, while Mu Haoqiong, a computer science major, joined the company’s core R&D department.

A quick reply came back.

[PoorPoor: What’s up?]

[Cheng: Is Guangyu a scam? They’re being weirdly enthusiastic towards me.]

[PoorPoor: Enthusiastic towards you? Isn’t that a good thing?]

[PoorPoor: No one even acknowledged me today, everyone’s super busy.]

[Cheng: Our department’s busy too… but they’re really enthusiastic towards me.]

[PoorPoor: Oh?]

[Cheng: Everyone became enthusiastic after hearing my name.]

[Cheng: Is the surname Murong that strange? You didn’t react like this when we first met.]

[PoorPoor: They became enthusiastic after hearing your last name?]

[Cheng: Yeah.]

A minute later, Mu Haoqiong sent a cryptic message.

[PoorPoor: Did you download the company app?]

[Cheng: Huh?.jpg]

Mu Haoqiong sent a link.

The company used an app for attendance and clocking in/out. Jiang Lan had indeed sent him a QR code to download it earlier.

Murong Cheng clicked the link. It was Guangyu’s company profile.

Murong Cheng was confused. Why send him the company profile? He was just joking about Guangyu being a scam. As if he didn’t know what Guangyu did.

Wait a minute…

Guangyu Group, the founder’s name—was Murong Yan?

“The powerful and low-profile Murong family controls several well-known enterprises, including Lingyu Group, one of the top two automotive companies in the country, and Kaile Chain, a leading retail company. The eldest son, Murong Yan, a graduate of a top European business school, founded Guangyu Group after taking over the management of Lingyu Group.”

[Cheng: The CEO’s last name is Murong?]

How could the CEO of Guangyu Group share his last name?

[PoorPoor: Yep.]

[PoorPoor: You said they became enthusiastic after hearing your name. Could it be they think you’re related to the Murong family?]

Murong Cheng: How could that be???