I was forced to start the second round because I was raised in poverty

Chapter 323 Who sent someone out and brought bodyguards?
The two talked a lot during the meal, including some interesting things that happened to them when they were in school.

However, the topic eventually circled back to the family of origin.

Jiang Shuyue revealed to Su Cheng her experiences when she was in elementary school, when she basically had no friends.

"Huh? That shouldn't be the case?"

Su Cheng was surprised. Jiang Shuyue's family was quite well-off; both her parents were civil servants in Yuezhou.

There is a significant difference in salaries between the Southern and Northern systems, especially in terms of performance-based pay and bonuses, where the former is much higher. Regular benefits and retirement pensions also differ.

Therefore, Jiang Shuyue has access to the best educational resources available to her in the area.

She is good-looking, has a good personality, and comes from a good family.

Does someone like that have no friends?

"No, it's not just me. All my classmates are familiar strangers. After school, we don't look at our phones, chat, or go out to play."

"So how did you all get your education?"

"Everyone has to go to tutoring classes! There's no free time. My classmate and I can only chat for ten minutes when my mom goes downstairs to buy groceries."

Jiang Shuyue felt helpless whenever this was mentioned.

She doesn't even recognize all her elementary school classmates, let alone keep in touch with them.

Hearing this, Su Cheng roughly understood.

Jiang Shuyue's parents were the type to push their children too hard, and most of her classmates had similar experiences, so they lacked normal friendships and camaraderie.

So you became particularly friendly to people after you started working?
"Hmm... I didn't think so at first, but now that you mention it, I think the root of the problem might be here?"

Jiang Shuyue only started making friends after she went to university, but even so, her mother still kept an eye on her relationships.

"Huh? Is it that suffocating?" Su Cheng then realized something was wrong. "Wait, how are we going to monitor you once you're in college?"

"I went to university right near my home, otherwise do you think my QS ranking would only be around 300?"

Eh?
It seems true.

Jiang Shuyue's qualifications include at least an overseas master's degree, and she would generally support her children to study abroad. She is at least in the top 50 of QS rankings.

However, there are advantages to Jiang Shuyue not studying abroad.

A certain faction advocating prohibition became alcoholics after studying abroad.

Children like Jiang Shuyue, who were raised with excessive parenting pressure, completely let loose and became unsupervised after going abroad.

It's easy to pick up bad habits from classmates, and you might even follow others into smoking opium or using handkerchiefs.

She might have been a well-behaved girl at first, but once she went overseas, she broke free of her inhibitions and tried everything she had never experienced before.

Besides piano lessons, Jiang Shuyue also attends other tutoring classes, such as English, math, and brain teasers. She is on the verge of a breakdown every day.

Do you know what my mom once said to me?

"what?"

“My mom told me that going to school is taking up too much of my studies.”

Su Cheng: ???
What a brilliant line!

"My mom said the things at school are ridiculously simple."

Jiang Shuyue explained that most of the teachers at her school were graduates of top-tier universities, with a few from 211 or 985 universities, but the teachers at the tutoring centers outside the school were almost all graduates of top universities like Tsinghua, Peking, Fudan, and Shanghai Jiao Tong, as well as Oxford, Cambridge, and Ivy League schools, with QS rankings in the top 30.

"Then you must have spent a lot of money on tutoring classes this month."

"Yes, my mom did the math for me and said my tutoring fees alone would cost more than 10,000 yuan a month."

Did your mother say anything about you having to pay her back later?

“No, not at all…” Jiang Shuyue frowned.

in!
Su Cheng had to give Jiang Shuyue's mother a thumbs up.

No matter how much you control her or compress her time, as long as she doesn't say that last sentence, she's a good mother relatively speaking.

Jiang Shuyue thought the statement "going to school interferes with studies" was already outrageous enough, but she never expected there would be someone more skilled at it?!

If the maximum score is ten, Su Cheng would give Jiang Shuyue's mother an eight.

"This is only an 8 out of 10?"

"It must be eight points!"

Jiang Shuyue then became curious.

What is Su Cheng's family like?

"Su Cheng, what about you? What was it like at home when you were a child?"

"Me..." Su Cheng almost blurted out, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course!"

"Don't tell anyone?"

"Don't tell anyone."

Su Cheng hesitated for a few seconds, but finally gave up.

First, their relationship hasn't reached that stage yet.

Secondly, even if I told you, Jiang Shuyue wouldn't believe it; she couldn't understand it without experiencing it herself.

You could tell from Su Cheng's question just now.

He, Ye Li, and Chen Suna—they are the same kind of people.

Jiang Shuyue is the only child of Yuezhou. While she is known for her strict parenting style, she has also invested time, money, and other resources in her upbringing.

It's much better than the impoverished upbringing and morally coercive education that Su Cheng experienced.

Su Cheng thought Jiang Shuyue might get along well with Qin Fen.

His good brother was also raised by the "tiger parenting" method, but he was probably much gentler. Moreover, Qin Fen was a bit silly and had no idea that he had been raised by the "tiger parenting" method.

She confided in Qin Fen about her experience with "tiger parenting," and Qin Fen also shared his thoughts with her; the two had a lot in common.

Seeing that Su Cheng had something difficult to say, Jiang Shuyue didn't press him further.

She and Su Cheng weren't even friends before tonight, so it's impossible for them to become close friends just from having a meal together.

Moreover.

Su Cheng is her boss.

It's normal for subordinates to vent to their superiors.

But the reverse is hard to say.

A superior needs to maintain a sense of authority; it feels strange for them to vent to their subordinates.

understand.

Jiang Shuyue didn't have anyone else to help her, unlike Su Cheng who was thinking of supporting Zhang Yangwen.

She needs to take the initiative and fight for it herself.

After dinner, Jiang Shuyue suggested going for a walk in the park.

This time, Su Cheng didn't refuse and went along.

Even Ma Shuning probably didn't expect that the developments she had anticipated were unfolding during Su Cheng and Jiang Shuyue's 'date'.

Horse riding and sea fishing, in a way, benefited Jiang Shuyue.

On a summer evening in Australia, the heatwave gradually subsides, but the air still carries the moist, salty scent of the sea breeze.

The two walked side by side into White Dove Nest Park, a hidden oasis in the cracks of the city, far from the hustle and bustle of the entertainment center.

The two strolled around casually for a while before sitting down on a bench in a quiet corner.

"My mom messaged me, asking what time I'm coming home."

Su Cheng noticed a blind spot: "Wait, is your mother also in Australia?"

"correct."

"Aren't you from Guangdong?"

"I'm from Guangdong, but my parents moved to Macau."

"You bought a campervan in Australia?"

"I bought the car, but I rented the house. The rent from the house in my hometown just covers the rent."

Su Cheng didn't understand.

What are you doing?

Accompanying my daughter to work?

"They weren't very confident in me. I was against it at the time, but it was no use. Less than a month after I started working, my parents moved in."

So, do you think it's good or bad?

Jiang Shuyue had indeed thought about this question. There must be downsides, after all. She was already in her twenties and working, yet she still had access restrictions, which was really similar to when she was a child.

In the past two years, through her efforts, she has been able to give herself some social time. Occasionally, she can use work as an excuse to go out with her colleagues, saying she's working overtime or something.

They argue at home too, but their mental well-being remains at a passable level.

The advantage is that you don't have to cook, do laundry, or do housework, and you don't even have to pay rent, which saves you a lot of money every month.

"I don't know how to describe it. It's like something that's tasteless to eat but a pity to throw away."

“I really hope they can move back to live there, but I’m also a little reluctant to see them leave. But if they really leave, I probably won’t react that much.”

This internal conflict is precisely Jiang Shuyue's true psychological state.

She was a little reluctant to talk about her family, as it brought back some unpleasant memories, so she changed the subject and asked about Ma Shuning.

"Su Cheng, have you noticed that President Ma seems to be paying extra attention to you?"

Su Cheng: ? ?

I told you you were just acting against me!

When it comes to emotional issues, they all become like detectives, their eyes gleaming with uncanny sharpness.

do not care.

Su Cheng started to play dumb: "Which Mr. Ma are you talking about?"

Jiang Shuyue glanced at Su Cheng hesitantly.

Is he genuinely ignorant or just pretending?
It's definitely Ma Shuning!
Who else could it be?

Ma Ru?

Although he's considered a "loli" in the gay community, his sexual orientation is fine, so Su Cheng's sexual orientation is definitely fine too.

In other words, Su Cheng cannot hear Jiang Shuyue's inner thoughts.

If Su Cheng could hear her, she would argue that Ma Ru was definitely not a little girl, and that Tong Xin, who was fair-skinned, delicate, and frail, was the real little girl in the circle.

Finally, Su Cheng couldn't keep up the act any longer and had to admit that there seemed to be some kind of relationship between them.

"It's not that I'm narcissistic, but I do seem to have some inclination towards that kind of thing, though I just don't like her."

Jiang Shuyue was quite happy to hear this, but she was still a little worried.

Su Cheng may not like Ma Shuning as a person, but what about the power and resources of the Ma family? Does he like them?
However, Jiang Shuyue didn't ask that question. Instead, she blurted out, "Huh? Why don't you like her? I think she's great. She's beautiful, has a good figure, and is highly educated."

Omg!

Jiang Shuyue regretted it as soon as she finished speaking.

How could she say something so lacking in emotional intelligence!
From a third-person perspective, her words sound a bit teasing.

Moreover, this statement clearly puts Su Cheng in a "demand" to use his brain and provide an explanation.

Its destructive power may be no less than that of a stupid question like, "If I turned into a cockroach, would you still love me?"

really.

True love can make you stupid.

Faced with this question, Su Cheng gave a straightforward and effortless answer: "If you don't like it, you just don't like it. There's no need for so many whys."

He also explained, "I'm helping Zhang Yangwen pursue her now, so maybe we'll run into them in the park later."

"Don't tell anyone, okay?"

Jiang Shuyue nodded seriously.

Although she was quite surprised that Zhang Yangwen was going on a date with Ma Shuning tonight, she didn't think that Zhang Yangwen and Ma Shuning would develop to the point of going to the park so quickly.

Maybe it's just a simple meal?

Unless she uses work as an excuse, which is actually quite easy to see through, it depends on whether Ma Shuning is interested in Zhang Yangwen.

If someone isn't interested, they might just finish their meal and leave out of politeness.

"Huh? You even guessed who he used work as an excuse to meet up with? You're pretty smart." Su Cheng praised Jiang Shuyue.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Because Zhang Yangwen didn't have the ability to get Ma Shuning to come out.

In terms of social status, the two are not equal.

Even in work, although the Ma family is Zhang Yangwen's client, it's still not an equal partnership, because Zhang Yangwen's position is neither president nor vice president, not even team leader, but just an assistant.

Su Cheng asked, "So, do you think he has a chance?"

"Hmm...it's hard to say. Most likely, it's hopeless? What do you think?"

"I can't tell."

Suddenly, Jiang Shuyue's phone rang again; it was a video call from her mother.

Jiang Shuyue hesitated for a moment before answering the call, but did not turn on her own camera.

The conversation was roughly about where she was and urging her to go home. Jiang Shuyue gave a perfunctory reply, saying that she had just finished having dinner with her colleagues and would be back soon, before hanging up the phone.

As Su Cheng listened, he suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu, like he had secretly dated a girl in his class during his high school years.
"Su Cheng, how about we call it a day? I'll take you home."

"it is good."

……

……

Jingzhou.

A detached villa.

Successor Program Headquarters.

Bai Zihua, Long Ruoli, and representatives from various teams were present, giving Su Tianyan a progress report.

Bai Zihua praised Su Cheng's leadership skills in front of Su Tianyan, saying she was an excellent vice president.

He elaborated on some of the measures Su Cheng has taken since taking office, and actively rectified the problems of laxity, laziness, and low work enthusiasm in the RK branch.

But Su Tianyan seemed unmoved.

With a stern face, he coldly stated, "You hired a few new people and divided them into two groups. Does that count as leadership?"

"If anyone refuses, just fire them, right?"

"They're putting on all this fancy stuff, they really think they're some kind of shrewd leader."

"Hiring people and forming groups? Isn't that just pointless?"

Su Tianyan's meaning was quite clear.

Su Cheng's recent performance has been mediocre, nothing worth mentioning.

Bai Zihua, however, was praising him to the skies.

Su Tianyan was not only dissatisfied with Su Cheng, but also slightly dissatisfied with Bai Zihua.

This is clearly biased and not objective enough.

Su Tianyan didn't care much about the "leadership" issue at all, but instead inquired about the security measures Bai Zihua had implemented in Macau.

"Did you transfer the Special Duties Unit (SDU) from Hong Kong Island? And people from the group's security department?"

Bai Zihua did not hide anything and truthfully reported his security design.

Why did you bring so many people?

"is this necessary?"

"I already said it's exile. Have you ever seen anyone being exiled with so many bodyguards?"

Upon hearing this, everyone began to explain for Bai Zihua:
"President Su, President Bai is also thinking of the young master."

"President Su, please don't be angry. It's true that the island of Macau is not a peaceful place, unlike our mainland."

"President Su, President Bai meant well."

Su Tianyan stretched out his five fingers, interrupting their clamor.

"I have contacted Hong Kong Island and asked them to withdraw the Flying Tigers."

"I've also withdrawn from the security department."

"Just leave two groups to keep an eye on things."

Bai Zihua was utterly astonished upon hearing this.

Have you withdrawn the Flying Tigers and the group's security personnel?
This……

Bai Zihua was surprised that he hadn't received any prior notice of such a big event.

He was also very surprised that President Su really didn't care about the young master's safety at all.

If something really bad happens, then no one will be able to explain it!
Even President Su himself couldn't face his deceased sister-in-law.

(End of this chapter)