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Chapter 10: CEO’s Heartbeat Value: 3.6% — Early Promotion
“You’re drunk.”
Mu Ruye’s voice was cold and composed. He showed no trace of emotion even when accused by Su Shangfei. Instead, he replied with a tone of reassurance: “Go to sleep, I’m hanging up now.”
Drunk, Su Shangfei had a complete change in personality. Perhaps it was due to holding back too much for too long. With the alcohol loosening her tongue, the usually calm and reserved woman became unexpectedly stubborn.
“I’m not drunk! What’s wrong with wanting to handle things myself? Wang Nan was the one who schemed behind my back. I was just seeking justice—how does that make me the one in the wrong?”
Mu Ruye had originally intended to pick her up from home, but once he realized she was clearly not in the right state, he turned the car around and headed straight for the airport.
In the quiet car, Su Shangfei kept venting her frustrations. Every word came straight from her heart.
Even though he should have hung up immediately, Mu Ruye left the call on speaker and continued listening carefully. The sparkling city lights reflected off the windshield of the speeding business car, casting flickering shadows across his face.
Su Shangfei became frustrated when she didn’t hear a response. “Hello? Say something! Hello? Ugh, bad signal again.”
Mu Ruye finally replied, “I’m listening.”
That one deep, magnetic reply instantly calmed the drunken rage. Su Shangfei gave a silly laugh, but her tone turned a bit sorrowful:
“Someone like you—so outstanding in everything—who would dare look down on you or trip you up? You wouldn’t understand the struggle of having to fight for everything yourself. If I don’t fight, don’t argue, don’t even stand up for myself—then I’ve already lost.”
At first, Mu Ruye listened silently, but her words eventually moved him to interrupt:
“If you never speak up, how would I know I couldn’t help?”
Su Shangfei, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol, looked momentarily stunned by those words. Her tone grew clearer as she blurted out:
“A mountain can collapse. Leaning on someone only works once or twice. But if things keep escalating to you, wouldn’t you get annoyed?”
Mu Ruye rarely made promises—especially ones he wasn’t sure he could keep. And certainly not to a drunken person who might not even remember this conversation tomorrow. Yet this time, he opened his mouth:
“I’m your direct supervisor. Try trusting me. And decide for yourself whether I genuinely want to support you.”
As soon as the call ended, Meng Lu entered the room in her pajamas. She saw Su Shangfei sitting dazedly by the bed, walked over, and began wiping her face with a warm towel while mumbling:
“You little drunkard. Get to bed. Tomorrow’s a new day.”
Not wanting to worry Meng Lu, Su Shangfei obediently slipped under the covers. Once the lights were off, she opened her eyes again, her mind replaying Mu Ruye’s words.
Could it be… he really does see her differently? Does he actually intend to mentor her?
The following Monday morning, Mu Ruye returned from a business trip with two new projects in hand. After briefly introducing the details to Su Shangfei, Shu Rui, and Qiu Tian, he placed two folders in front of them:
“Which project do you want to follow up on?”
Shu Rui, after evaluating the pros and cons, was quick to choose the one with the larger order value:
“I’ll take this one. I took related courses in college and am more familiar with this client’s background. And since I’m a guy, I can travel solo easily, which would save on travel costs.”
Qiu Tian, not to be outdone, argued:
“I can travel alone too. It’s not just guys who can go on business trips. This is a big project—one person handling everything is too much. I should help.”
Despite Shu Rui’s annoyance, Mu Ruye allowed both of them to jointly handle the project. He had no choice but to accept it.
Su Shangfei, meanwhile, was still occupied with other assignments Mu Ruye had given her. The smaller project with a shorter timeline suited her perfectly.
She successfully delivered the small order within two weeks and secured full payment. Through this project, she gained a much clearer understanding of the company’s operations and even secured interest in future cooperation.
After reading her project summary report, Mu Ruye nodded with rare approval:
“Good job. From now on, this client is yours.”
Su Shangfei was stunned. Though small, the client had a high repeat order rate and considerable accumulated profits.
Mu Ruye handing over such a mature client was unexpected.
She quickly tried to clarify:
“I’m fine with assisting you. After all, you developed this client and have followed them for over a year—it’s not right for me to just take over.”
Leaning back in his chair, Mu Ruye cut her off:
“Don’t question my judgment. Just follow instructions. You’re not at the stage yet where you can think independently or express your own opinions freely.”
Silenced by his blunt tone, Su Shangfei nodded.
“Understood. I’ll maintain the client relationship well. Thank you, Team Leader.”
Mu Ruye glanced at her outfit, then pulled a thick envelope of hundred-yuan bills from his drawer and slid it toward her.
“Take this. Buy some formal office clothes this weekend.”
Su Shangfei glanced awkwardly at her casual T-shirt and black knee-length skirt—definitely out of place among the suit-clad coworkers.
But she shook her head:
“I’ve got money. I’ll go shopping on Saturday.”
Mu Ruye insisted:
“It’s a wardrobe allowance I applied for on your behalf. Consider it your early promotion gift.”
All her initial embarrassment vanished. Replaced by surprise, she exclaimed:
“But I’ve only been here a little over a month! Isn’t the internship period three months?”
Mu Ruye answered calmly:
“Your performance already meets the criteria for early promotion. I spoke with HR—go finish the paperwork this afternoon. Welcome officially to Business Team One.”
Thrilled, Su Shangfei hugged her file and bowed slightly:
“Thank you, Team Leader. I’ll keep working hard.”
As she turned to leave, Mu Ruye called after her:
“Take the money.”
Out in the hallway, Su Shangfei slipped the cash into her purse, her face glowing with joy. More than the promotion perks, what delighted her most was the feeling of being acknowledged—that her hard work paid off.
When she went to HR to finalize the paperwork, she couldn’t help gushing:
“The company benefits are amazing! Even new hires get a wardrobe allowance.”
Indeed, the sales department provided a ¥3,000 wardrobe stipend for employees who made it past probation. However, this was usually issued in next month’s paycheck.
The HR staff, unaware that Mu Ruye had fronted her the money, just assumed she was a recent grad who’d heard about the benefit and got excited.
Seeing her so joyful, the HR rep was infected by her enthusiasm and smiled:
“Yes, the company is quite considerate. The sales department has great potential—best wishes on soaring performance!”
Su Shangfei beamed.
“Thank you! And thank you for giving me the chance to interview.”
While Su Shangfei basked in happiness, Shu Rui and Qiu Tian were a mess.
They were working on the same client project, each eager to outdo the other. Their conflicting ideas caused constant arguments—even in the client group chat, which eventually annoyed the client manager so much that he called Mu Ruye to complain directly.
“Team Leader Mu, I trusted you, that’s why I handed you this project. But these two interns are impossible—so full of themselves and can’t get anything done. They both want control, each with their own plan. Shu Rui is constantly trying to cozy up to me privately, clearly just looking to snatch resources. He hasn’t moved the actual work forward at all. Honestly, if you’re not personally involved, this project won’t succeed.”
Mu Ruye apologized diplomatically:
“Sorry, Manager Yuan. They’re young and too competitive. I’ve been swamped lately and neglected to supervise them. We’ve recently upgraded our materials—there’s still 20% of your order in production. I’ll have the factory use the new material at no extra cost. Will that be acceptable?”
Manager Yuan was initially just venting, but now that he was getting free upgrades, his mood improved immediately.
“Oh come on, that’s too much. We’ve got a good relationship, no need for all this.”
Mu Ruye knew Manager Yuan was fighting for a director-level promotion. By yielding now, he gave Yuan a chance to claim credit with higher-ups.
Yuan understood the gesture and offered to take Mu Ruye out to dinner:
“Tomorrow night, Peace Hotel. Don’t be late.”
Mu Ruye, ever patient with clients, agreed with a smile:
“Of course. I have a lot I’d like to consult with you.”
After hanging up, his expression went cold, and tension filled the office.
He had been silently observing the interns’ behavior all along and saw all their arguments in the chat.
But he hadn’t stepped in—until now.
Now that Manager Yuan had complained, he finally summoned Shu Rui and Qiu Tian to hear them out.
Shu Rui, knowing he was in the wrong, tried to take the initiative:
“Sorry, I should’ve handled things better. I let Qiu Tian’s emotions affect me and shouldn’t have argued in the group chat. I was actually planning to apologize to Manager Yuan privately—but he misunderstood.”
Qiu Tian found his words infuriating. It was he who repeatedly acted without consulting her, took all the credit, and ordered her around—she only fired back in frustration.
Worse, she discovered he’d contacted the client privately using a personal account—against company policy.
She knew his motives were shady, yet he was now playing the victim?
Later that day, while Su Shangfei was shopping for work clothes with Meng Lu, she got a string of notifications from their work chat.
When she opened it, she was shocked to see Shu Rui had completely lost it—he’d just posted the project’s cost spreadsheet directly into the client group chat.