Chapter 13: Smoke Chestnut

Chu Susu’s company had recently landed a major overseas client who wanted to break into the domestic market. They were tasked with handling all sorts of bids across the mainland.

It was a huge deal, with the client offering very favorable terms and leaving everything in their hands as a hands-off principal. The company placed great importance on this big client, specially forming multiple project teams and even transferring a new director over from the Magic City branch.

Chu Susu got along well with her colleagues, so she’d caught wind of it a few days earlier.

The new boss was named Rebecca, around thirty-five years old, with a rigorous and meticulous work style. She was known as the “female demon” back in Magic City.

The company decided to transfer Rebecca over precisely because she’d handled clients in related industries before, with plenty of experience. All four project teams in the Imperial Capital office were placed under her coordination.

The team leader for Chu Susu’s project group was Jack, who held the same rank as her but had conveniently been appointed leader this time.

The two had clashed a bit at work before and hadn’t given each other a good look since, only keeping up appearances in front of everyone.

At Wednesday morning’s meeting, Jack took subtle jabs at her, all smiles on the surface but really showing off that leadership had picked him as team leader instead of her.

Chu Susu lazily rolled her eyes and said nothing.

The awkward standoff left the new intern baffled. After the meeting, she quietly asked the others, “Do they have beef?”

The intern was just a temp college student working for a couple months before leaving, uninvolved in office politics, so the colleagues freely gossiped: “Not really, but team leaders can be swapped anytime based on the boss’s needs. Jack’s afraid Susu will steal his spot.”

They’d joined around the same time and were at the same level, making them obvious rivals for promotion.

Chu Susu’s salary was even a bit higher than his, which put immense pressure on Jack. He guarded against her like a thief, terrified she’d steal the spotlight.

That day, the client sent over a bunch of materials, and everyone got some work assigned—except Chu Susu, who had the lightest load.

Because Jack had dumped several new college grad resumes on her for interviews.

“Aren’t you pissed?” a teammate asked in surprise. “He’s clearly trying to suppress you.”

This kind of task was usually for the lowest seniority, while others had more important work.

Jack had a heavy “dad vibe,” and plenty of people grumbled about him, but saved face and didn’t show it.

Chu Susu was totally unfazed: “No big deal.”

She’d figured Jack might try to trip her up, but with the tight timeline and heavy workload, fewer hands meant more pressure on everyone.

She knew Jack’s capabilities—he couldn’t shoulder it alone. Plus, he’d apparently forgotten his role as team leader: any slip-ups, and the boss would hold the leader accountable.

Grown-ass adults acting so childish. Well, people pay for their stupidity, and there’d be plenty of times he’d come begging for her help later.

The intern interviews were online, and since they were just for summer temps, the process was simple.

While others were too swamped for anything but takeout lunch, Chu Susu even had time to head downstairs for a drink and reply to Li Le’er’s WeChat.

They chatted idly back and forth until Li Le’er suddenly said, “Oh yeah, do you know what’s up with Xu Jiao?”

Chu Susu instinctively thought Zhou Xiaoying had told her, but then realized she hadn’t spilled the full story, and Zhou Xiaoying didn’t know what happened. So she asked back, “What?”

Li Le’er: “Didn’t you see her Moments?”

Chu Susu: “Nope.”

Li Le’er sent over a screenshot. As described, it was a dead simple post—no caption, just a big red image that looked creepy even in broad daylight.

It said four words—

【Evil Spirits, Begone】.

What the hell? Chu Susu replied with a question mark.

Li Le’er: “It’s nothing, just asking. Saw it at midnight yesterday, freaked me out.”

Chu Susu: “She blocked me.”

Li Le’er: “Huh? Why? Didn’t she like you a lot?”

Chu Susu sent a clueless emoji, then switched tabs to check Xu Jiao’s Moments.

Three days visible: nothing.

Chu Susu: “No idea.”

She thought it over and decided to tell Li Le’er about last weekend, but skipped Han Xuan’s account, just describing how over-the-top and terrified Xu Jiao had been.

Li Le’er fired back a string of question marks, clearly skeptical: “Whoa, you pulling my leg? Real talk?”

“No joke.”

“That pic of hers—is it about your little sheep?”

“Looks like it, for now.”

“Damn, it’s like a horror flick.”

Li Le’er’s mind jumped all over, rambling without conclusion and only muddling Chu Susu’s thoughts more.

The next intern interview was coming up, so Chu Susu took the elevator back up.

When she returned to the office, her colleagues shot her knowing looks, then sat up straight, signaling someone was there.

Chu Susu followed their gaze and spotted an unfamiliar figure by another desk, holding some documents and discussing the materials with Jack.

She was a woman of medium build with big wavy long hair, dressed in a sharp suit. Chu Susu had never seen her before.

Her identity was obvious: the new director, Rebecca.

Moments later, a phone on the desk beside Chu Susu rang.

The instant the ringtone started, Rebecca turned her head and patted her pocket—she’d accidentally left her phone on the other side.

Chu Susu picked it up and handed it over.

Now she got a good look at Rebecca’s face: about 35, a mature woman with sharp eyes. Not stunning, but full of poise and charm.

Still, a far cry from “female demon.”

Rebecca nodded at her, glanced at the screen, and hung up quickly: “Sorry, spam call.”

She smiled at her: “Thanks. You’re…?”

Before Chu Susu could speak, Jack jumped in, afraid to give her a chance to shine: “Becca sis, this is Susu.”

Rebecca wasn’t talking to him, but he butted in anyway. She gave Jack a half-smile that inexplicably made him panic, and he looked away.

Chu Susu was used to it and smiled: “Hello, I’m Chu Susu.”

Rebecca had gotten the project team list beforehand, so she recognized the name: “Hi. How come I didn’t see you in the office earlier?”

“I was interviewing interns.”

A veteran of the workplace like Rebecca was sharp as a tack; in just a couple sentences, she pieced it together: “Come to my office with Jack. Let’s have a quick meeting.”

Chu Susu smiled: “Sure.”

Jack’s face fell instantly, but with Rebecca there, he couldn’t object and forced a smile: “Okay, Becca sis.”

Her office was upstairs, much roomier than downstairs. On the elevator ride up, Rebecca got another call.

This time, Chu Susu caught the ringtone clearly—the unique instrument intro jogged a fuzzy memory, and she ventured, “S.mile?”

“You know it?”

Rebecca hung up again, this time muting it, and looked at Chu Susu in surprise: “Such an old song. Thought only someone my age would listen.”

Chu Susu said candidly, “I don’t know much about the singer, just heard this one. But I kinda like the style.”

The second part was a white lie, but anyone with sense would say it.

When someone appreciates your music taste, it always lifts the mood—and Rebecca was no exception. They chatted easily, warming up the awkwardness.

Jack wanted to impress the new boss but couldn’t get a word in, reduced to awkwardly looking away as they bantered.

The meeting was dead serious, and Chu Susu saw why Rebecca earned the “female demon” rep.

At work, she was a different person from casual chat—keenly spotting every flaw, putting heavy pressure on subordinates. Even quick-on-her-feet Chu Susu felt the strain, like defending a thesis.

But luckily, she’d prepped well and handled it smoothly overall. The new boss seemed satisfied.

Afterward, Rebecca called out to Chu Susu: “Hold on, let’s add each other on WeChat.”

Nearby, Jack was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. He had tried to cozy up to her before, even asking for her contact info, but she said to just use the company email for anything.

“Okay.” Chu Susu readily agreed.

While packing up the documents, Rebecca said, “I’ve liked the singer of S.mile for many years. She has a few other pretty good songs too. I’ll recommend them to you later, provided you’re interested.”

“Of course.”

When Chu Susu returned to her office, Pipi happily bounded over and jumped into her arms.

She had only been away for a bit and should have given it a good rub, but right now she had other things on her mind. So while stroking Pipi’s back, she opened her phone.

The Weibo app was still on the post she’d been browsing before bed last night.

[@BetaUrsaeMajoris: Gemini Rising babies, give this song a listen. It helps calm the mind and dispel the anxiety from Mercury retrograde.]

Chu Susu stared at those words, frowning, unable to tear her gaze away for a long time.

The link below jumped to the music player.

“Now playing for you—《S.mile》.”

It was exactly Rebecca’s phone ringtone.

And the very song she’d fallen asleep to last night.