Chapter 10
Autumn in A City was always fleeting.
One day it was summer’s sweltering heat, then a few cool rains, and suddenly, a biting chill filled the air.
Thursday evening, Murong Cheng retrieved a stack of winter clothes from the top of his closet.
“What are you wearing for your review tomorrow?” Mu Haoqiong asked from the next room, also sorting through his clothes.
“Shirt and suit jacket,” Murong Cheng replied.
What else could he wear? It was a formal occasion, and he only owned two suit jackets: a linen summer jacket and a slightly thicker one for spring and autumn, which he planned to wear tomorrow.
“I’m a bit nervous,” Mu Haoqiong laid his clothes on the bed, smoothing out barely noticeable wrinkles on his shirt. “Do you think… they’ll ask us difficult questions?”
“Probably… not,” Murong Cheng replied, feeling a flicker of anxiety himself.
According to the company forum and Zou Xun, the pass rate for probationary reviews was 100%. There was no official performance requirement.
Mu Haoqiong: “Will our general managers conduct the interviews?”
“Not ours, but I don’t know about yours.” Murong Cheng had specifically inquired about this earlier and learned that Manager Xu was out of town, much to his relief.
If it was just HR conducting the interview, they probably wouldn’t ask too many technical or business-related questions, right?
“Ours… I don’t know,” Mu Haoqiong sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Forget it. Time for bed. Need to be well-rested for tomorrow! Oh, right, I have a date on Saturday.”
Murong Cheng: “Oh, right. I’m going to bed too.”
“I said I have a date!” Mu Haoqiong raised his voice.
Seeing Murong Cheng’s confused blink, he explained, “The double blind date! I arranged to meet two girls.”
Murong Cheng shrugged indifferently. “Oh, that. Whatever, you decide.”
Mu Haoqiong: “Why aren’t you excited? I booked an escape room. Haven’t you heard of the suspension bridge effect? If two people do something exciting that increases their heart rate, they might mistake the physiological response for romantic attraction.”
“You actually did your research,” Murong Cheng chuckled.
Mu Haoqiong: “Of course, I’m serious about finding a girlfriend.”
“Then I’ll just follow your lead. Wherever you choose is fine with me.” Murong Cheng’s right eyelid twitched, but he ignored it, yawning and heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth.
He had taken out his winter clothes but forgotten to switch to a thicker duvet.
He shivered all night, too tired to get up and find a warmer blanket.
The next morning, he woke up with dark circles under his eyes.
The dark shadows seemed to foreshadow the unfortunate events of the day.
He arrived at the company and joined the queue of new employees waiting to be interviewed by HR on the 21st floor. The interview was uneventful, and he answered most of Deputy General Manager Jiang Lan’s questions adequately. After the interview, everyone returned to their departments, awaiting the results.
But just before the end of the workday, he received a call from Jiang Lan, summoning him back to the 21st floor.
This time, both Jiang Lan and Yuan Ziming, the general manager of HR, were present. Yuan Ziming looked older than their department heads, probably in his forties or fifties.
Seeing him enter, Jiang Lan gave him a strained smile. Yuan Ziming’s face was impassive.
Murong Cheng’s heart sank.
Jiang Lan closed the door behind him.
He was alone in the enclosed space with the two HR executives.
Despite the spacious room, he felt suffocated.
No one spoke. After a moment of silence, Jiang Lan handed a printed document to Yuan Ziming.
Yuan Ziming took the thin sheet of paper.
Jiang Lan cleared her throat, trying to sound gentle. “Mr. Murong, we heard that your work with the brand ambassador, Fan Hechang, hasn’t been progressing smoothly? We’d like to understand the situation.”
Asking questions after the review results were out was simply a way to soften the blow for those who didn’t pass.
Murong Cheng’s gaze was fixed on the paper in Yuan Ziming’s hand.
“Yes, it hasn’t been smooth. Mr. Fan’s training schedule is very demanding, so he hasn’t had much time.”
He carefully chose his words, trying to shift the blame to Fan Hechang.
But Yuan Ziming shattered his efforts.
“Mr. Murong, after speaking with your project contacts and your department’s leadership, we believe Guangyu might not be the right fit for you.”
His voice was firm and serious.
Murong Cheng’s mind went blank. He couldn’t process the words.
“Mr. Yuan…”
Yuan Ziming met his gaze. “You might not be the right employee for our company. We hope you can find a more suitable company and position soon. Please complete your handover procedures within the next month.”
Like Murphy’s Law, what he feared most had come to pass.
Murong Cheng didn’t remember how he left the meeting room.
The events of that afternoon were a blur. How he got downstairs, how he walked home, how he faced Mu Haoqiong, who was excitedly celebrating passing his review, how he responded to his mother’s video call asking about work.
They said that during times of extreme distress, the mind would suppress memories as a self-preservation mechanism. It seemed to be true.
Saturday morning, before his alarm went off, Mu Haoqiong knocked on his door.
“Murong Cheng! Cheng Cheng! Wake up! Time for our date!”
Wake up? Date?
Murong Cheng rubbed his eyes, the memory slowly resurfacing.
But he wasn’t in the mood. He didn’t even have the energy to get out of bed.
He grabbed his phone and texted Mu Haoqiong.
[Cheng: I don’t want to go. You go.]
[PoorPoor: ??? We already made plans! How can you cancel on them? Do you want to stay single forever?!]
No, he didn’t. Not anymore.
Murong Cheng closed his eyes.
He had failed his review. He needed to find a new job. Or perhaps find a way to change Yuan Ziming’s mind.
“Murong Cheng!” Mu Haoqiong knocked again. “Get up, lazybones!”
Murong Cheng sighed and opened the door.
He leaned against the doorframe, his head resting on the wood. “I’m really not going.”
The dark circles under his eyes were evident. Even Mu Haoqiong, initially eager to leave, paused, looking at him with concern.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well?”
“Yeah,” Murong Cheng nodded. “Don’t want to go.”
“But we already made plans,” Mu Haoqiong said, looking troubled. “Canceling now…”
Not only would Murong Cheng’s date be ruined, but his as well.
Unable to resist Mu Haoqiong’s persistent pleas, Murong Cheng reluctantly got ready and left the apartment.
Sensing his low spirits, they changed their plans from an escape room to brunch at a cafe.
He ordered the same pancakes as Mu Haoqiong, then rested his chin on his hand, staring blankly at the tablecloth.
This was incredibly rude.
Mu Haoqiong had clearly put some effort into this. The two women across from them were dressed up, one in a pretty dress, the other in more casual but equally stylish attire.
But Murong Cheng couldn’t focus.
They tried to engage him in conversation, asking about Guangyu. Mu Haoqiong chatted enthusiastically, while he remained silent. Guangyu was no longer his company, or rather, soon wouldn’t be.
He had messed up the Fan Hechang assignment, but it wasn’t entirely his fault. Fan Hechang was the one being uncooperative. And Pan Yueyi had quickly replaced him with Zou Xun. The slight delay in the promotional materials hadn’t caused any serious consequences. None of his superiors had spoken to him about his performance or told him not to come to work. Why had HR decided to terminate his employment?
And during this crucial review period, his “CEO’s brother” status hadn’t helped him at all.
Had HR discovered he was an imposter? Were they using this opportunity to correct their mistake?
Murong Cheng bit his lip, his head hanging low.
He had barely touched his pancakes, poking at them listlessly with his fork. The other three chatted animatedly, while he remained detached.
The sky outside was gray, a thick haze hanging in the air.
Mu Haoqiong was talking about the team-building event at the beach, and the two women expressed their envy.
Murong Cheng stood up abruptly, unable to endure the meeting any longer.
He gave them a pale, apologetic smile. “Sorry, I have something to do… I’ll be going now.”
Outside the cafe, a black Rolls-Royce sped past.
Having unexpectedly spotted Murong Cheng with a man and two women in the cafe, Murong Yan frowned, a flicker of annoyance in his chest.
He hadn’t expected to feel this way, seeing the young man, whom he barely knew, on what appeared to be a date.
“CEO Murong, we’ve arrived,” Duan Shao said from the front seat.
Why was he annoyed? He reached for his cigarettes.
A few minutes ago, Duan Shao had mentioned his troublesome brother’s interference with a new employee’s probationary review. The unlucky employee happened to be the young man he had encountered a few times. He had been traveling between cities and had just returned to A City this morning, heading home when he heard the news. He immediately changed his plans and decided to go to the company.
He rushed to HR to intervene, only to find the supposedly distraught employee casually having coffee with two women.
Murong Yan closed his eyes and exhaled a smoke ring, a dark cloud enveloping him, reflecting his darkening mood.
This young man was remarkably carefree.
Duan Shao opened the car door. Murong Yan sighed and got out.
It was Saturday, and the office building was deserted, except for the perpetually busy R&D department in SKYLINE Building II.
On the 21st floor of Building I, only Jiang Lan and one of her subordinates were present.
They had just finished the morning interviews and were sorting through the documents in the empty meeting room.
Seeing Murong Yan, Jiang Lan was startled and quickly stood up. “CEO Murong, what brings you here?”
Her subordinate also stood up and greeted him.
The moment their boss’s gaze fell upon her, Jiang Lan knew why he was there.
“You can leave,” she said to her subordinate.
The young woman left, closing the frosted glass door behind her.
“A new employee failed their probationary review?”
Murong Yan asked directly.
“Yes, CEO Murong,” Jiang Lan nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Lingyu Group contacted Mr. Yuan directly.”
It was as he expected. Yuan Ziming was from Lingyu, his father’s spy within Guangyu.
“Change the result. Keep all the new employees.”
He turned to leave.
“CEO Murong…” Jiang Lan hesitated. “If this was Lingyu Group’s decision, as a subsidiary…”
The parent company had certain decision-making powers over its subsidiaries, especially regarding minor matters like new employee retention.
“No one else decides who stays at Guangyu.”
Murong Yan’s voice hardened. Reaching the door, he paused.
“Duan Shao will speak with Yuan Ziming. You change the review result and inform Murong Cheng.” He didn’t bother hiding that he knew who had failed. “Since Brand Marketing doesn’t need him, transfer him to my office as my assistant.”
