Chapter 4: CEO’s Heartbeat Level: 0% – Interview Selection

Six years ago, during university graduation season—

The tightly shut dorm door was suddenly knocked. Outside stood Meng Lu in formal attire. The moment Su Shangfei opened the door, Meng Lu couldn’t help asking, “So? Any news from Guishang yet?”

Su Shangfei placed the two take-out boxes of spicy hotpot onto the table and calmly transferred them into clean bowls, pulling out chopsticks and a spoon from the drawer. Her tone was detached, almost indifferent: “Not yet.”

Worried that Su Shangfei might be upset about not finding a job, Meng Lu wrapped an arm around her shoulder and playfully rested her chin in the crook of her neck.

“There are so many good companies out there. Why are you dead set on getting into Guishang? If you ask me, just send your resume to the company where I’m interning. It’s not big, but the environment is great! And look—our dorm’s kicking out seniors soon. Neither of us have family here in Shanghai. If we work at the same place, we can rent an apartment together, split costs, and take care of each other like we always do. Wouldn’t that be great?”

Su Shangfei popped a cherry tomato into Meng Lu’s mouth and motioned for her to let go. She turned and met her roommate’s concerned gaze. “I have my reasons. I have to get into Guishang.”

Meng Lu swallowed the tomato and sighed.

In the three months between being a student and becoming a worker, her once-idealistic dreams had already been crushed into reality. No longer brimming with hope, she had become just another cog in the system.

She worried that her own beaten-down state had discouraged Su Shangfei from job hunting—that Su was just using Guishang as an excuse to delay entering the real world out of fear.

“Let’s face it—every graduate wants into the big companies. Guishang is a leading name in the industry, offering great prospects and benefits. Even just interning there looks good on a resume. But because of that, it’s insanely competitive. PhDs, Master’s grads, overseas returnees, and top-tier university students are all gunning for it. Sure, we’re from a 985 university, but let’s be honest—we’re still a notch below.”

Su Shangfei remained silent, calmly eating her vegetables.

After four years of sharing a bunk, Meng Lu knew her well. Su had no one to fall back on—no family support.

Now their other two roommates had already moved on—one returning home to prep for civil service exams, the other landing a good job through family connections.

Even Meng Lu, with average grades and no background, had landed an internship and officially become a full-time employee last week. She had at least found some stability in Shanghai.

But Su Shangfei… it was like she was possessed. She’d only been applying to Guishang since the New Year, tailoring dozens of resume versions for different positions, yet hadn’t received a single interview. She wouldn’t even consider applying anywhere else. Her obsession was starting to seem irrational.

Anyone else—no matter how focused—would understand not to put all their eggs in one basket. Most people would apply elsewhere as backup while they waited to hear from their dream company. Gain experience, practice interviewing, and keep options open.

But not Su Shangfei. She was all-in on a single path, no turning back, no detours.

“Shangfei, you’re top of our department and everyone loves you. I know you’re capable. But society isn’t fair. Employers care about degrees, experience, resumes… all things we can’t control. Sometimes, you just have to admit there are better people out there. Please, be kind to yourself. You still need to eat, right?”

Moved by Meng Lu’s genuine concern, Su Shangfei pulled out her old, laggy phone and opened her banking app. She showed Meng Lu her account balance.

Meng Lu went from being a passionate advocate for working life to stunned silence in one second. She stared at the six-digit figure beginning with a “1” and lowered her voice in disbelief: “Where the hell did you get all this money?!”

“I saved it.”

“Don’t mess with me!” Meng Lu snatched her chopsticks away. “No wonder you’re so calm. You’ve been keeping secrets from me while I’ve been running around worrying about you—seriously?!”

Su Shangfei quickly explained, “I never spent my scholarship money. I’ve been tutoring high schoolers on weekends and breaks, doing freelance writing and graphic design. I saved it all over time. You knew about this—I never hid it from you.”

Meng Lu had seen how hard she worked, and she didn’t envy a cent of it. She was just upset she hadn’t known how much Su had managed to save.

They had lived together for four years. She couldn’t believe Su had managed to squirrel away that much money and kept quiet about it. Meng Lu had even asked her opinion when buying underwear, yet Su had kept her future plans secret?

“I get it now—you don’t trust me! I’m not your real friend!”

Su threw an arm around her and soothed her, “How can you say that? If I didn’t think of you as a friend, would I still want to live with you? I’ve already looked at a dozen apartments this week—wore my feet out doing it—and you still doubt me?”

Meng Lu, easily placated, switched from anger to concern. Rubbing her face, she said, “Aww, you poor thing. Tomorrow’s Friday. After work, I’ll come with you. Then we’ll go out to eat something nice to celebrate becoming real adults. Deal?”

Su Shangfei smiled genuinely. “Deal. I’ll listen to you.”

Accompanied by a real estate agent, they toured three places after work.

Both extremely frugal, they had a very limited budget, which meant they had to choose between comfort and convenience.

Eventually, they settled on a primary bedroom in an old complex near the city center with metro access. The current tenant of the secondary bedroom worked late and traveled often, so the three co-renters likely wouldn’t run into each other much.

Later that evening, Su Shangfei returned to the table with her hotpot dipping sauce. The spicy, bubbling broth released a pungent aroma.

Each of them picked up a slice of beef tripe with long wooden chopsticks, counting seconds to achieve the perfect texture.

Just as Su’s tripe hit the pot, her phone rang. Starving, she was annoyed—until she saw it wasn’t a telemarketer. She picked up. “Hello?”

A couple sentences later, her fingers loosened, and the tripe slipped into the bubbling broth, tumbling like the swirl of emotions inside her.

Meng Lu quickly rescued the tripe with a skimmer and dropped it into Su’s bowl, looking mildly annoyed. “You can’t even hold onto your food during a call?”

Su ended the call, dazed.

“What’s wrong? You just said ‘see you Monday.’ What’s happening Monday?”

“I have an interview.”

Meng Lu paused mid-bite, thrilled. “That’s great! So you’re finally applying somewhere besides Guishang. I knew it—once you move on, things will start happening! With your ability, landing a job will be easy!”

“It’s Guishang,” Su Shangfei said softly, the weight in her heart finally lifted. She sounded a bit emotional. “Guishang called me for an interview.”

Meng Lu froze. Then immediately sprang up, hugging Su tightly. “You did it! Shangfei, you really did it! This is amazing!”

Su felt her heart settle. She murmured, “Yeah… I really did it.”

---

Monday, 10 AM.

The first round was a large-scale leaderless group interview. Su had heard horror stories about these—she was naturally quiet and not much of a talker, so this format put her at a disadvantage.

But for Guishang, she pushed herself. When the debate got heated, she seized a moment to deliver the closing summary:

“The distribution model these two proposed has flaws that would likely result in three key problems during execution.”

Su was excellent at identifying and resolving issues. Once she got going, her logical reasoning shone through. In three minutes, she clearly presented her argument, critiqued flaws in the other proposals, and offered improvements.

Her opponents quickly fought back, trying to defend their ideas. But Su countered with detailed examples.

The chaotic scene reversed. Su began to dominate the room. Other candidates jumped in to debate her, but none gained the upper hand.

Sitting silently in the corner, Mù Rùyè—who had been casually replying to clients on his phone—finally looked up, intrigued. He peered through the crowd at the woman whose sharp brilliance could no longer be hidden.

When the session ended, only a few interviewers remained in the large conference room.

Unlike the cautious, indecisive team leads of other groups, Mù Rùyè swiftly filled out his evaluation form and handed it to HR.

Seeing only one name, HR asked, “Didn’t you have two slots? Why only pick one?”

Closing his laptop and grabbing his phone to leave, he answered coolly under the weight of everyone’s gaze:

“I only want the strong. Better to train one capable person than waste time on a bunch of useless ones.”