She lowered herself into the chair opposite, spine straight, hands folded lightly in her lap. Her bag rested neatly against her knees.
For a long moment, Zhao Junhao didn't speak. His eyes, dark and unwavering, studied her face with a weight that pressed against her chest. Then he reached for a pen and clicked it once.
"You've been unemployed for a few weeks."
"Yes, sir."
"You were at Zhenhua Media Group for three years as a content writer. Correct?"
"Yes."
His gaze flicked down at his notes, then back up at her. "Why were you dismissed?"
The bluntness tightened her throat, but Li Meilin forced her voice steady. He'd done his research on her anyway, so she didn't need to lie.
"I've thought long and hard about this question myself, and I'll say it was due to office politics. My superiors probably preferred silence over correction. I spoke up too often, volunteered to do all the leftovers no one would touch and even sometimes stepped into roles that weren't mine because deadlines demanded it. Eventually, that made me expendable."
"Expendable." Zhao Junhao leaned back, the word rolling off his tongue with mild skepticism. "And yet you're here."
"Yes," Li Meilin said softly, but her eyes didn't falter. "Because I'm not expendable to the work itself. I delivered. Always."
A flicker of interest crossed his expression. His pen moved across the page.
"Tell me your strengths."
Li Meilin drew a breath. "I was hired as a content writer. But my work wasn't limited to content. I edited colleagues' slides before client presentations. I ghostwrote proposals when our team lead was absent. I proofed and polished minutes from meetings so they could be sent to executives. I caught typos in urgent documents at midnight. I wrote memos, sometimes drafted executive letters. I wasn't asked to. But if I hadn't, deadlines would've collapsed...and it just felt like I...should. So I did."
"So you were the department's safety net." He said casually and she almost refuted his words, but stopped herself, because they were true.
Li Meilin tilted her chin. "Yes. I was invisible when things went right and blamed when things went wrong. But it gave me speed, versatility, and discipline."
"Flexibility can be exploited."
Her lips curved faintly as she subconsciously tilted her chin higher a little. "And it was. But I don't regret the skills I walked away with after three years of working with Zenhua Media."
The silence that followed stretched taut, but Li Meilin refused to look away. Zhao Junhao's eyes narrowed slightly, as though measuring how long she could endure the scrutiny.
Finally, his pen tapped once against the desk.
"What would your former colleagues say about you?"
"That I work too hard," Li Meilin answered without hesitation. "That I might've made them look unqualified on more than a few occasions. And probably that I don't know when to stop. But they would also commend me on always showing up and coming through for them."
"And your enemies?"
Li Meilin allowed herself the ghost of a smile. "That I should have stayed quiet and unnoticed at the event the night I got laid off."
Something flickered in his gaze — not amusement exactly, but approval. His lips curved the faintest degree.
"Interesting," he murmured, scribbling one final note. Then he set the pen down. "Ms. Li, most candidates try to present themselves as perfect. You haven't. That works in your favor because the CEO does not require perfection. He requires capability."
Li Meilin's shoulders loosened slightly, though her pulse remained quick.
"This was not a standard interview," Zhao Junhao continued, closing the folder in front of him. "Consider it an assessment. You'll hear the decision soon. It was nice having a chat with you."
Li Meilin rose, bowing politely. "Thank you for your time, sir."
As she turned, he stopped her by calling her name and Li Meilin turned around, praying he wouldn't suddenly say he had changed his mind and she couldn't be considered for the position.
"Yes?"
"The CEO would also like to have a chat with you. You can consider that as the last phase of this interview session. And your chat with him will determine if you'll be getting the position or not."
Li Meilin's heart slammed against her ribcage.
The CEO would interview who? Her?
Her brain almost went into an overheat as she tried to do the math because it just wasn't adding up at all. Was she dreaming? Would she really be meeting the CEO of Su Corp?
"Ms. Li, are you alright?"
"Huh?" Li Meilin blinked foolishly and then her eyes widened as she realized she'd been staring into space. She nodded, clutching her bag handle tightly to calm her nerves as her whole body tingled anxiously. "Yes, I'm- I uh, I'm okay. I-"
"Not to worry, I'll call the Secretary to guide you to the waiting room. When the CEO is ready, you'll be directed to his office."
"Oh." She nodded again.
Li Meilin finally turned around, still dazed as she left the office. The air outside felt lighter yet her nerves were alive, humming beneath her skin. Whatever role this was, it wasn't ordinary.
If not, why would a whole CEO of such a large enterprise be conducting an interview? On...her? Not to look down on herself, but Li Meilin knew she wasn't all that. There was nothing special about her. Was this a trap?
If so, she would brace herself for whatever would come next!