Pretending To Have Amnesia - Chapter 4

“I heard our company’s capital chain has broken and we’re about to go bankrupt. Is that true?”

“No way. President Mu looks pretty calm to me.”

“Have you ever seen a boss let the employees notice the company is about to go under? They all run away in secret.”

“President Mu isn’t that kind of person, right?”

“I heard a little rumor too. A friend of a friend of mine is a rich second-generation heir. She said one of our company’s shareholders wants to keep President Mu as his mistress, and even threatened her that if she didn’t agree, he’d sell his shares.”

“Seriously? Then what did President Mu say?”

“I don’t know. My friend only mentioned it casually and told me to hurry up and find my next job.”

“…”

There were still twenty minutes before work officially began. Inside KM’s office, several employees who had arrived early gathered together to chat, growing more worried the more they talked.

“Good morning, President Mu!”

The receptionist’s voice came from the entrance.

The group immediately returned to their own workstations and sat upright.

“Good morning, President Mu.”

A girl with a single ponytail had just finished getting coffee when she ran into the big boss head-on in the corridor. She greeted her respectfully, her smile carrying a little awkwardness and nervousness.

“Morning.” Mu Qingran nodded and smiled at the employee.

The ponytailed girl returned to her workstation and patted her chest. “President Mu smiled at me! Ahhhhh! That’s so unfair!”

“What’s wrong with you? How dare you have improper thoughts about the big boss! Do you not want to work here anymore?” The colleague beside her pulled a stern face and pretended to be serious.

“If the big boss could fall for me, I could be an obedient, non-clingy little girlfriend. I’d stay home every day, wash clothes, cook, do housework, and wait for her to come back.” The ponytailed girl smiled shyly. “Although I’ve said before that women should prioritize their careers, the big boss is more tempting than a career.”

The colleague who had been teasing her instantly broke character and burst out laughing. “Are you poisonous or what?” She raised a hand to cover the ponytailed girl’s eyes. “Close your eyes. Dreams have everything.”

The two of them were too busy laughing and joking to notice that the finance director was walking over.

The ponytailed girl peeled her colleague’s hand away. The moment she looked up, her gaze met the finance director’s.

A textbook-level social death!

The ponytailed girl curved her trembling lips and gave the finance director a polite smile, then awkwardly shifted her gaze to her computer screen.

The finance director was not petty enough to make things difficult for an employee over such a small matter. Pretending she had heard nothing, she walked straight past them, knocked on the door, and entered the boss’s office.

“President Mu.” Su Li stood in front of the desk, guilt on her face. “I’m sorry. I went to several partner banks, but none of them were willing to lend to us.”

“It’s all right,” Mu Qingran said. “I know you did your best.”

Su Li said, “I’ll think of another way. Don’t worry, I…”

Mu Qingran said, “No need. A new investor will come over today. Prepare the company’s financial statements.”

“Today?” Su Li was a little surprised.

Under normal circumstances, if an investor was interested in the company, materials would be prepared one or two weeks in advance. This kind of sudden notice was a first.

“Mm.” Mu Qingran did not explain further.

“All right. I’ll go right away.” Su Li left the boss’s office and let out a heavy sigh.

She really was useless as a finance director. In the end, President Mu still had to personally step in to find money.

She rubbed the space between her brows, drove the negative emotions out of her mind, pulled herself together again, and called two accountants into her office to start organizing the materials.

At ten in the morning.

He Mu stepped through the doors of KM, followed by four capable-looking people, two men and two women.

“Hello, may I ask who you are?” The receptionist came forward with a smile.

These people were all unfamiliar faces, but based on experience, she could tell at a glance that the beautiful young lady walking in front held the highest position.

“I have an appointment with your President Mu,” He Mu said. “He Mu from Maple Leaf Investment.”

“President He, hello.” The receptionist bowed slightly. After greeting He Mu, she did not forget the four people behind her and nodded politely to them as well. “Everyone, please follow me.”

He Mu raised her brows slightly. The receptionist was the face of a company. An excellent receptionist could add quite a few points to a company’s impression. On this point, KM was doing fairly well.

He Mu was dressed in a red, waist-cinching suit. Under it was a simple black camisole. Her neck was fair and slender, and her delicate straight collarbones were especially eye-catching.

The employees in the office, who had already thrown themselves into work, could not help following the beautiful woman who had just entered with their eyes, right until she disappeared through the meeting room door.

Very soon, the phones on everyone’s desks began frantically popping up with messages.

Every company group chat exploded.

[Employee A: What kind of absolutely stunning super-A lady did I just see?!]

[Employee B: She’s a queen, right? Right?! Even a steel-straight woman like me couldn’t help feeling my heart move!]

[Employee C: Ahhhh! I can be a “0” for love!]

[Employees A, B, D, E, F: Get lost!]

[The handsome guys and pretty girls behind the queen are also so insanely A!]

[They’re the real workplace elites. I’m just a humble worker bee!]

[The contrast is too cruel. I’ve shut down.]

[…]

After the group chat was flooded by bootlicking for quite a while, a clear-headed employee finally reminded everyone: Isn’t everyone’s focus strange?! Shouldn’t we be concerned about what they’re here for?!

This message pulled the office workers back to reality.

Recently, there had been all sorts of rumors: that the company was closing, that the boss was changing, that there would be layoffs… Their hearts had already been unstable to begin with. Now that such an imposing team had suddenly arrived, some people began guessing in the worst possible direction.

“President He, please wait a moment. President Mu will arrive soon.”

The receptionist held a tray and placed a cup of tea in front of He Mu.

“Thank you.” He Mu looked up and smiled.

“You’re welcome.”

The receptionist then served tea to the others one by one.

Mu Qingran pushed open the door and entered. Her gaze collided with He Mu’s, and she gave a formulaic smile and nod.

He Mu was seated at the head of the conference table, some distance from the door. Seeing Mu Qingran greet her, she acted as though she had not seen it. She moved her gaze away, picked up her cup, blew on it a few times, and took a sip of tea.

She did not like the feeling of being treated by Mu Qingran as just any random passerby.

Mu Qingran did not show the slightest displeasure at being ignored. She walked in and sat down opposite He Mu.

“Our finance director is organizing the materials. I’ll have to trouble President He to wait a moment,” she said.

“President Mu looks well. Did you sleep well last night?” He Mu bloomed into a bright smile, as though she had not been the person who had refused to give Mu Qingran face just moments ago.

Mu Qingran said, “Thank you. Very well. President He also looks quite well.”

He Mu said, “President Mu doesn’t need to flatter me for business purposes. I didn’t rest very well last night. Perhaps I overdid the strength training. My hands are very sore.”

Mu Qingran said, “Then perhaps President He is young and recovers quickly. You truly don’t look tired.”

He Mu’s smile deepened. “Thank you. President Mu has given me great confidence. Looks like I can increase the intensity of my training.”

To everyone else, the two of them were merely exchanging polite pleasantries. No one would have imagined that these two presidents, who looked so unfamiliar with each other across the conference table, had just finished an intense battle last night.

Even less would anyone know the true meaning behind the “strength training” President He had said so seriously.

…

Su Li pushed open the meeting room door. “Apologies for keeping everyone waiting. I’m Su Li, KM’s finance director.”

She walked quickly to Mu Qingran’s side and sat down. Behind her, her assistant distributed several folders to everyone present.

“These are our company’s financial reports from the past three years. If you have any questions while reading, you can ask me at any time,” Su Li said.

He Mu picked up the folder, gave it only a brief scan, then put it back down and began sizing up the finance director instead.

Financial reports were naturally for professionals to read. What she wanted to look at more was the people of this company.

It was true that KM was a company with great potential, but it also had certain problems. Otherwise, no one would have been able to seize the opportunity while its cash flow was tight and try to snatch away the company’s shares.

The biggest issue was cash flow control, and the finance director could hardly shirk responsibility.

Su Li realized that President He’s gaze across from her had stopped on her. She returned the look with a smile, poised and composed.

He Mu said, “Director Su, your company’s employee benefits account for a very high proportion.”

As she spoke, she picked up a ballpoint pen from the table.

“Yes.” Su Li smiled and nodded. “Our company’s corporate culture is people-oriented, and we place great importance on employee benefits. I believe this helps improve employees’ combat effectiveness and brings higher returns to the company.”

“Of course. If you want the horse to run, you have to feed the horse grass. Otherwise, the employees will start cursing the boss as an evil capitalist.” A faint smile hung at the corners of He Mu’s lips. “It’s just that I noticed the proportions for the sales department and the technical department differ greatly.”

Su Li froze for a moment. “That’s because our company’s main business is big data analysis, so the requirements for the technical department are higher. They often have temporary overtime, and…”

What followed was a long-winded explanation.

He Mu pressed the end of the ballpoint pen with her thumb. The refill poked out from the barrel. Her fingertip exerted force again, and the refill retracted. She repeated this over and over, and the ballpoint pen continuously made clicking sounds.

Su Li immediately felt a wave of invisible pressure.

“Actually, the sales department’s benefits aren’t considered poor, but if the technical department’s welfare continues to be improved one-sidedly, colleagues in the company will inevitably feel psychologically unbalanced at times,” He Mu said.

Su Li nodded. “We’ve discussed this issue internally. The colleagues in the sales department also acknowledge the hard work of the technical department. The company atmosphere is very harmonious. Actually… our company… our company pursues excellence, so…”

The ballpoint pen was still clicking continuously. Her thoughts were unable to focus, and her words became somewhat incoherent.

Mu Qingran spoke. “It was my decision-making mistake before. I failed to control personnel costs properly. We’ll carry out rectification afterward. President He, please rest assured.”

He Mu’s original intention had been to pressure this finance director and make her expose the company’s problems on her own, but it seemed that she had exposed some other problem instead.

In the instant Mu Qingran had spoken up to rescue her, He Mu had seen a fleeting trace of… bashfulness on Director Su’s face.

Someone who had reached the level of director could not be too young. This Director Su looked at least twenty-nine. For her to show that kind of expression toward the big boss—only a ghost would believe there was no problem.

He Mu placed the ballpoint pen back on the table and leaned forward slightly.

“A qualified finance director has the responsibility to remind the boss of possible financial risks. I’ve seen many excellent finance directors who would promptly stop their bosses’ unreasonable decisions. It seems Director Su does not possess that ability.”

Su Li lowered her head. “I’m very sorry. This was indeed my dereliction of duty.”

After saying that, she looked at Mu Qingran. “President Mu, if President He doubts my ability, I can apply for a demotion.”

He Mu laughed softly. “Director Su is very cute. Other people resign to take responsibility, but you certainly know when to bend and stretch. With KM on your résumé, if you jumped to another company at the same level, your salary could even increase by several thousand yuan.”

Su Li looked at Mu Qingran, bit her lip, and said nothing.

Author’s Note:

He Mu: I’m furious, but I won’t say it.