The Sickly Girl Becomes a Scum Alpha - Chapter 25

Chu Ci followed Chu Xiong into the Chu Corporation headquarters building. This landmark building in the city center was not only grand in appearance, but its interior was also impressive. The magnificent, modern, and minimalist style was infused with a sense of high technology. Elite professionals in business attire moved through it, everything in perfect order.

Standing in front of the dedicated elevator, a specialized attendant waited to swipe a card and open the door. Passersby frequently greeted Chu Xiong, who maintained his publicly reserved image and responded to each one.

Once inside the elevator, which went straight to the top three floors—the domain of the Chu Corporation’s highest management—Chu Xiong’s office was on the very top floor.

“When we get up there, show your face to everyone, then have someone take you on a brief tour, and then go to your Project Department to get acclimated.”

Chu Xiong looked at the composed Chu Ci, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes. Since his daughter had curbed her arrogance and impulsiveness, she was completely different from before, showing some potential as an heir.

“I’ll follow your lead, Dad.”

Chu Ci nodded in agreement.

Her joining the Chu Corporation, especially starting immediately as the head of the Project Department, was a significant event for the entire group.

The Chu Corporation, on the surface, was Chu Xiong’s absolute domain, but many beneath him had restless ambitions. This was especially true for the veterans who had worked with the Chu family for decades, relying on their seniority, forming cliques, and hoping to seize more power.

The Chu family originally rose from humble beginnings. In the youth of Chu Xiong’s grandfather, during a time of extreme poverty, he gathered a group of men and ventured into the underworld, rapidly building influence.

By the time of Chu Xiong’s father, they caught the wave of reform, entered legitimate business, and started the rough outline of the Chu Corporation.

When Chu Xiong took over, he boldly initiated new reforms, seizing the trends of technological development, the network economy, and the virtual economy. The Chu Corporation soared, successfully transforming into a modern, diversified group, essentially achieving monopolies in multiple fields. It became the leader in Jiangcheng and a preeminent wealthy enterprise nationwide.

Thus, after three generations of accumulation and development, seizing every shift in the times, the Chu family cemented its unshakeable status.

Chu Ci was deeply impressed by this. The Chu family’s spirit of always being on the cutting edge—their adventurous nature—seemed like a family legacy that continued down to the original host.

In the novel, the original host, starting from such a high foundation, did not choose to merely preserve the family business. She radically innovated the Chu Corporation’s management structure, ensuring long-term sustainable development, while simultaneously expanding both domestically and internationally, dominating both the legitimate and underworld sectors. On the bedrock of immense capital, she built an impregnable commercial empire and sought even higher goals.

Of course, the outward glory could not hide the blood-soaked process of primitive capital accumulation. If any of the four generations of the Chu family had been law-abiding, this magnificent edifice would not have collapsed so spectacularly in the end.

The power and influence Chu Xiong’s grandfather wielded in the underworld were undoubtedly built on countless lives. Chu Xiong’s father’s method of using violence to eliminate all obstacles to development was no less brutal. By Chu Xiong’s time, in the context of a progressively established legal system, a new form of “civilized oppression” had emerged.

The final original host was the culmination of these three generations: frenzied, meticulous, and taking the essence of capital to its extreme.

It’s safe to say that if the original host in the novel hadn’t died, her future would be truly unpredictable. The Chu family’s genes for talent were powerful, but their genes for madness were equally strong. The combination of the two became a disaster.

“Ding!”

As Chu Ci was reflecting, the elevator arrived. The doors opened, and a group of people, presumably from the President’s Office, lined up on both sides.

“Mr. Chu, Xiao Chu, the board members and heads of various departments are waiting in the conference room.”

Someone led the way. Chu Xiong and Chu Ci walked forward without stopping.

The two solid wood doors of the conference room slowly opened. An inappropriate image of an emperor bringing the crown prince to court, complete with an automatic soundtrack, played in Chu Ci’s mind.

The shocking part was that in such a modern, high-tech company, the largest conference room had two large, carved solid wood doors. Who could resist that?

The serious expression she had maintained the entire way cracked slightly.

The human brain is often rebellious. The more you try to suppress laughter in a serious setting, the more your brain automatically plays a full collection of jokes and lowers your threshold for humor.

Chu Ci looked at the doors about to open completely, and her facial expression management was on the verge of failure.

The doors fully opened. Chu Xiong walked in first. Chu Ci couldn’t suppress the rising curve of her lips, and her expression twisted slightly as she struggled to control her face.

The enormous conference room was fully occupied. Only the two seats at the head of the table, reserved for Chu Xiong and Chu Ci, were empty.

Chu Xiong was ahead and couldn’t see Chu Ci’s expression, but the people seated clearly saw it and started whispering among themselves.

All that extensive marketing online, claiming Chu Ci’s personality had changed drastically after marriage—that she had become humble and courteous, an ideal, mature, devoted Alpha to her new wife—was all bought by Chu Ci herself, wasn’t it?

Look at Chu Ci now, in this serious setting, still behaving arrogantly, self-absorbed, and contemptuous. How is this any different from before?!

Despite their inner thoughts, no one dared to speak up in front of Chu Xiong.

Before sitting down, Chu Ci subtly bit the inside of her cheek. Taking advantage of the moment she lowered her head, she finally forced her wildly rising smile down. She looked up with a serious expression, as if nothing had happened.

Chu Xiong looked over just then.

Chu Ci understood what was expected. She stood up and introduced herself.

“Hello everyone, I am the new head of the Project Department, Chu Ci. I’m fortunate to be working with you all here. I look forward to your guidance.”

A sparse applause followed. Many people were clearly prepared and had no intention of being welcoming.

“Pardon my directness, but I recall Miss Chu only just graduated?”

An old man with white hair and beard, sitting across from Chu Ci, spoke directly, using the term “Miss Chu” to emphasize Chu Ci’s status and the fact that she was an executive parachuting in.

The challenges had begun.

Chu Xiong remained still. Chu Ci knew he wanted to see how she would handle this. From the moment she stepped into this building, the tests would be ceaseless.

“That’s correct, Mr. Xu, you have a good memory.”

Chu Ci knew that being polite and courteous to this group of hungry wolves would only tell them she was soft meat. She could not show any weakness.

“The previous Head of the Project Department graduated with honors from an Ivy League school, was fluent in eight languages, had ten years of management experience in a Fortune 500 company, and generated ten billion in revenue for the company in one year. May I ask, Miss Chu, what makes you qualified to hold this position?”

A middle-aged man sitting next to the old man spoke even more bluntly.

Everyone present knew Chu Ci was a reckless, uneducated playboy. Although she attended a good school, her embarrassing grades meant she wouldn’t have even graduated without her “Miss Chu” status. Not to mention that for the past year since graduation, she had only indulged in pleasure, with no achievements beyond scandalous news.

Chu Ci scanned the room, intending to project an imposing aura, but her eyes inadvertently caught a man with a shiny bald head and two lonely strands of hair dancing on his smooth scalp. The smile she had just suppressed escaped.

Chu Ci held the table, laughing openly, while everyone exchanged confused glances at her bizarre reaction.

There was no turning back now. Chu Ci laughed heartily for a couple of seconds, then slowly straightened up. The smile vanished completely, chilling the attendees.

Having established the necessary presence, Chu Ci tilted her head back slightly in disdain and spoke loudly and clearly.

“Then I dare ask you all, why is he the previous Head of the Project Department?”

After glancing around, she sneered.

“No one’s speaking? Then I’ll tell you. It’s because he betrayed the Chu Corporation, handing over a billion-dollar project to another group and causing immense loss to the Chu family. I ask you all, why should such a person be used to compare against me?”

When you have the foundation, never follow the opponent’s line of thinking or fall into their trap.

Chu Ci understood clearly. Even if she claimed she also graduated from a prestigious school and was fluent in ten languages, what good would that do? They would still attack her based on her work experience, life experience, age, and so on.

So, the best move was to not defend herself but to attack from a different angle.

As for Chu Ci’s foundation, wasn’t the fact that she was the Chu family heir enough?

Her words were arrogant and self-important, but they were also irrefutable. After all, the entire corporation belonged to the Chu family. Chu Ci would never give away her own family’s assets, making betrayal virtually impossible for her.

“But Miss Chu, we are discussing work capability. You still haven’t answered directly.”

Everyone here was sharp. Chu Ci didn’t follow their script, but they weren’t easy to deal with.

“Can work capability be proven merely by talking?”

Chu Ci countered again.

Seeing her opponents fall silent, she pressed her advantage.

“Everyone, let the results speak for themselves.”

Since the matter was settled, and everyone knew they couldn’t stop Chu Ci’s appointment, they backed off. Although they thought Chu Ci was all talk, they knew how to exercise restraint in front of Chu Xiong.

As for whether Chu Ci truly had the ability, they would just have to wait and see.

They weren’t panicking. Even though Chu Ci managed to bluff her way through the posturing, when it came to real-world application, her true skills would quickly become apparent.

The meeting concluded smoothly. Afterward, Chu Xiong patted Chu Ci’s shoulder and asked his special assistant to take her on a tour. He had other business to attend to and left.

She had passed the first hurdle. Chu Ci was to tour the key departments and then head directly to the Project Department.

Chu Xiong’s special assistant, Cheng Feng, clearly understood Chu Xiong’s intention to groom Chu Ci. He was exceptionally diligent with the young mistress, and Chu Ci gained a deeper understanding of the Chu Corporation.

The group owned countless subsidiaries, all running well, managed by dedicated departments. The main focus of the headquarters was currently on high-tech research and development. Honestly, Chu Xiong was bold. This sector had been in a state of loss for years, only recently starting to show potential, remaining a vast difference from their established money-making industries.

Of course, besides trying to be on the cutting edge, this was also a subtle way to marginalize the company’s veterans.

As she toured and contemplated, Chu Ci suddenly stopped and looked at the computer of an employee who was slacking off. The screen was displaying a photo of her.

She subtly motioned for Special Assistant Cheng not to speak and quietly stood behind a green wall to listen to their conversation.

“Did you see the Young Mistress in person? She’s way better looking than in the news!”

“I know! I saw the trending topic yesterday and then saw her today! I’m so excited! She and her wife are total eye candy, and they wear couple outfits! Real couples are the best!”

“Don’t even mention that. I was crushing on them yesterday, but today I found out I was crushing on a scumbag. Jian Sui doesn’t deserve the Young Mistress at all, okay?”

“What’s wrong? Is it just her background? The Chairman hasn’t said anything, so what’s your problem?”

“It’s not her background. Look at this. I just saw this. Jian Sui’s company, Bamboo Dream Original Design, copied Tiss, releasing the plagiarized design before Tiss did. The key is that it seems Jian Sui herself did the copying! She went to visit Tiss, and then Tiss’s design draft was leaked!”

“What? No way! Let me see!”

Special Assistant Cheng glanced hesitantly at Chu Ci, who had gone completely silent, her face utterly grim.