Chapter 41: I Don't Like Her

As Duan Yubai’s secretary, Mo Xiaoxue was naturally very busy.

She gave Su Nuo a brief explanation before turning to leave. Just before she went, however, she did not forget to add a reminder.

“You can’t use the executive elevator anymore. Have you got that?”

“Y-yes, I’ve got it.” Su Nuo nodded repeatedly.

Seeing her timid appearance, Mo Xiaoxue smiled smugly.

Sun Changting, however, was somewhat stunned.

This was not her first time dealing with Su Nuo. She knew the young lady’s temperament better than anyone. On several occasions, Su Nuo had turned the Human Resources Department upside down.

Had she suddenly become a different person?

The other employees nearby also began whispering among themselves.

“I heard she didn’t even have any clothes when she came back.”

“Could she really have been abused? She looks like something’s wrong with her.”

Someone pointed at their own head.

Su Nuo had always been arrogant and overbearing. Seeing her suddenly so meek and submissive, anyone could tell that something was off.

Su Nuo quietly raised her head and looked at Sun Changting.

“Minister Sun, which department am I going to now?”

The Duan Group had more than one marketing department, and the department was also the busiest and most demanding division in the entire company.

She knew that Mo Xiaoxue had assigned her there precisely to make things difficult for her.

But whenever Su Nuo thought of being homeless and penniless, she compromised.

At present, she had only one wish: to reclaim her mother’s belongings, then leave this place forever and never appear here again.

She wanted to get away from the Duan family, away from Duan Yubai, and sever herself completely from everything connected to them.

Sun Changting scrutinized her carefully, muttering inwardly.

Could this young lady be plotting some new trick to torment people again?

Many people in the company had been bullied and ordered around by Su Nuo in the past.

Remembering Su Nuo’s identity, she still said, “Miss... Su Nuo, I’ll take you there.”

Since President Duan had asked her to come to the company and the Duan family had agreed, perhaps they intended for her to take charge of some projects.

Sun Changting had risen to become head of Human Resources because she was skilled at reading people’s expressions. Naturally, she would not offend Su Nuo.

She personally escorted Su Nuo into the elevator, attracting curious glances from quite a few employees.

Su Nuo remained tucked away in a corner, her shoulders drawn inward as though she wished she could fold herself into a ball.

Sun Changting frowned, feeling that something was wrong.

Even if someone was pretending, surely they needed professional training to act so convincingly?

Could Su Nuo have spent the past few months attending an acting academy?

As her thoughts raced, the two of them arrived at the entrance to Marketing Department One.

The department manager, Zhao Zhecheng, hurried over in trepidation.

“Minister Sun, what’s going on?”

When he received the notice from Human Resources, he had nearly gone numb.

Why had this troublesome young lady been sent to his department?

Was she not going to turn Marketing upside down?

Sun Changting gave him an awkward look. “President Duan’s orders. The young lady—no, Su Nuo—is to start from the bottom and spend some time as an intern.”

She had put it tactfully, but Zhao Zhecheng was a shrewd man and understood immediately.

He hurriedly nodded. “Yes, yes. Every leader has to start from the bottom. President Duan himself trained in Marketing back in the day, didn’t he?”

The Duan family had only two children.

Although Su Nuo was not their biological daughter, she had once been the eldest daughter of the Su family. With that background, she would inevitably inherit the family business someday.

Besides, Mr. and Mrs. Duan had always indulged her, allowing her to do whatever she pleased.

Everyone knew how much the Duan family doted on her, so naturally no one dared neglect her.

After delivering Su Nuo to the department and offering a few more instructions, Sun Changting left.

Zhao Zhecheng gave Su Nuo the brightest spot near the window.

“Miss, you can sit here from now on. This is your workstation.”

He was exceedingly attentive, even having someone wipe the desk clean for her.

Su Nuo, however, looked somewhat flustered.

“No, no, that’s not necessary. I’m only an intern. I can sit at the interns’ desks.”

She knew that this was the workstation of a team leader, or at least a key performer. She absolutely could not sit there.

Zhao Zhecheng waved his hand grandly. “It’s our honor to have you intern here. Just sit here and make yourself comfortable.”

“If there’s anything you want to learn, Miss, I’ll find someone to teach you immediately. If you don’t want to learn anything, you can look over the reports for now. That’s fine too.”

Everyone knew that the young lady had come down to experience life among ordinary employees. It was merely a formality.

She would familiarize herself with the grassroots level, then move straight into management.

That was exactly how Duan Yubai had done it.

Although Su Nuo had never been particularly serious about her pursuits, she was still a genuine heiress. Inheriting the throne was inevitable.

If they did not curry favor with her now, they might never get another chance.

Zhao Zhecheng still regretted not having arranged for Duan Yubai to come to his department and experience life among ordinary employees. He had missed such a wonderful opportunity for promotion and a raise.

The manager of Marketing Department Three had already been promoted twice in succession.

When he looked at Su Nuo again, his expression became even more eager.

“Miss, is there anything else you need?”

“No, nothing.” Sitting in the chair, Su Nuo felt as though she were perched on a bed of needles. “Manager Zhao, just call me Su Nuo from now on. I’m only an intern.”

“All right. Su Nuo sounds friendlier. We’ll all use your name from now on.”

Zhao Zhecheng turned to his team members. “Everyone, make sure to take good care of Su Nuo. No bullying the newcomer, understood?”

“Yes~”

A few people answered lazily.

Most of them continued staring at Su Nuo curiously.

All morning, Su Nuo sat before the computer, hardly daring to breathe.

She remained there quietly, constantly feeling that she ought to be doing something.

But whenever she got up to offer her help, everyone else avoided her like the plague.

Who would dare make the young lady work? Did they no longer want their jobs?

Yet by noon, everyone had begun to notice that something was wrong.

Especially when it was time for lunch: everyone got up, but Su Nuo remained sitting blankly at her desk.

Her stomach had been growling nonstop, but she knew she could not go eat.

The employee cafeteria was free, but she did not want to meet the others.

Everyone would stare at her, and someone might even say something unpleasant.

After thinking it over, she finally went to the break room.

There were snacks in the break room. She could not eat much at the moment, but they should be enough to fill her stomach.

She was somewhat grateful that Duan Yubai had forced her to eat that morning. Otherwise, she would have embarrassed herself before noon.

The break room on this floor was fairly spacious, and it was stocked mostly with desserts.

After making sure no one was there, Su Nuo saw that the egg tarts and small cakes were just the right size to eat in a single bite.

As she ate, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, accompanied by the gossiping voices of several female colleagues.

“Xiaoxiao, the young lady has really graced your department with her presence. What do you think of her?”

“She looks like a decorative vase. She’s been sitting there the whole time. Who knows what kind of mischief she’s plotting?”

“She looks so thin. Does she even weigh eighty pounds? Could she really have been abused?”

“Who would dare abuse someone from the Duan family? Do they have a death wish? Besides, wouldn’t it be because of President Duan?”

“I also remember President Duan saying that he doesn’t like little girls like her. He likes women instead—someone like you, perhaps!”

Su Nuo silently set down the chocolate cake in her hand and looked at her own emaciated figure.

She gave a self-deprecating laugh.

He had said long ago that he did not like her. She simply had not been willing to listen.