He stole his best friend's photos and fell for a tycoon's heir through online dating.

The meeting room was dimly lit, and two glasses of freshly poured warm water were placed on the table, with fine water droplets still clinging to the sides of the glasses.

Zhang Nan sat opposite Xia Ruo, holding the thin resume with almost no content in her hand, her smile already starting to stiffen.

She has been in the industry for fifteen years, interviewed thousands of people, and seen all kinds of applicants—

Some were so nervous they couldn't speak, some boasted without thinking, some immediately asked to be the vice president, and some brought their whole family along.

But this person today has changed her perception.

"So... have you had any experience with the new media operations role before?" Zhang Nan asked tentatively.

"No," Xia Ruo answered crisply, even with a hint of self-assurance that said, "Is that even a question?"

Zhang Nan's lips twitched, and she turned to the next page:

"What about copywriting? Or basic data analysis?"

"None of them."

"..."

Zhang Nan took a deep breath and decided to change direction: "So, what are your salary expectations?"

Xia Ruo leaned back in her chair, her posture as relaxed as if she were drinking tea in her own living room.

She blinked her captivating eyes and, in a tone that seemed to say, "Don't be scared," lightly uttered a few words:

"A monthly salary of over 100,000 is possible, with no upper limit; the more the better."

As she said this, she even slightly raised her chin, her expression as arrogant as a female CEO worth hundreds of millions.

Or rather, like a fool deliberately looking for trouble.

Zhang Nan fell silent.

She stared at Xia Ruo's excessively bright face, trying to find a trace of a joke.

But Xia Ruo's eyes were clear and serious, as if a "monthly salary of 100,000" was a perfectly reasonable demand, as natural as adding pearls to a cup of milk tea.

Zhang Nan screamed inwardly:

Do you know how much the monthly salary is for a regular intern at our company?

Five thousand! Five thousand! That's considered good pay in the industry!

You're a third-year student whose major is unrelated to the field, who lacks all skills, and who probably can't even open an Excel file, yet you're asking for 100,000 yuan???

But her mouth was honest; she didn't say anything.

Because the newly arrived General Manager Huo specifically instructed this morning that all the conditions of these two people should be agreed to.

But...of all the conditions.

Does that include a monthly salary of 100,000?

Her monthly salary is only 20,000!

Zhang Nan felt that this new CEO Huo was either out of his mind or had ulterior motives.

"Please wait a moment," Zhang Nan forced a professional smile, "I need to consult with my superiors."

Asking for instructions? Xia Ruo almost rolled her eyes.

She dared to ask for a monthly salary of 100,000 yuan, just so that the other party would throw her into the "not to be considered" group.

Instead of firing her, the HR lady asked her to "consult her superiors"?

Xia Ruo screamed inwardly: Don't ask my sister for permission, just pass on me! Please!

But she could only maintain that "cool girl" expression on her face, and lazily nodded:

"Okay, no rush."

Zhang Nan went to another office to interview Lin Wanzhi, thinking that this one should be more normal, right?

Then she became naive.

"Your name is Lin Wanzhi? A third-year dance student?"

"Yes." Lin Wanzhi nodded obediently, her voice soft.

"Then I'd like to ask, do you have any knowledge of new media operations?"

Lin Wanzhi turned to look at Xia Ruo, then answered seriously:

"If Ruoruo can do it, then I can do it too."

Zhang Nan was stunned for a moment:

"So... what can you do?"

"If Ruoruo knows it, I know it too."

This answer completely baffled Zhang Nan.

Undeterred, she pressed on, "So, what salary are you expecting?"

Lin Wanzhi then looked at Xia Ruo, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Whatever Ruo Ruo hopes for, that's what I hope for too."

Zhang Nan took a deep breath and crumpled the blank interview record sheet in her hand.

She decided to ask one last question: "Are you... here to look for a job?"

Lin Wanzhi looked at Xia Ruo for the third time, this time adding a sweet smile: "If it's Ruo, then of course it is too~"

Zhang Nan silently stamped Lin Wanzhi's name in her mind:

Confirmed: Best friend slave.

The severe kind.

She led Lin Wanzhi to the conference room where Xia Ruo was!

"Please wait a moment, both of you," Zhang Nan said, trying to maintain a professional smile.

"I'll go upstairs and ask my supervisor for instructions. I'll be right back."

She poured two glasses of warm water, placed them on the table, and turned to leave the meeting room.

The moment the door closed, she leaned against the corridor wall, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and felt as if she had just experienced the most magical twenty minutes of her career.

Inside the meeting room.

Lin Wanzhi rolled her eyes, looking around at the exquisitely decorated yet understated conference room.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows is the CBD skyline, the latest projection equipment sits on the table, and even the disposable paper cups are printed with the company logo in gold foil.

"Ruo Ruo," Lin Wanzhi lowered her voice, "I feel like something's off."

"Hmm?" Xia Ruo was absentmindedly turning the paper cup.

"Look, this is such a big company, how come there are only the two of us being interviewed?"

Lin Wanzhi counted on her fingers,

"When we came in, there was no one in the entire waiting area. And the questions the HR lady asked me were really strange."

I told her I didn't know anything, but she didn't just let us leave; she said she needed to consult her supervisor.

Lin Wanzhi felt more and more uneasy as she spoke:

"We're just interviewing an intern, not applying for a CEO position. Why do we need to ask our boss for permission? That's so strange!"

Xia Ruo stopped holding the paper cup.

She thought about it carefully—yes. This is very abnormal.

The conditions she proposed would have prompted HR to immediately shred her resume and have security escort her out of any normal company.

As a result, this Ms. Zhang Nan not only tolerated it, but also politely said, "I will ask my superiors for instructions."

When did HR become so good-tempered?

A thought flashed through Xia Ruo's mind, like a bucket of ice water poured over her head.

A fine layer of cold sweat instantly spread across her back.

"Could it be... a scam company?"

Lin Wanzhi uttered the word that Xia Ruo dared not even think of; her voice grew softer and softer, and the panic in her eyes deepened.

"It's that kind of thing... you trick people into going there and then..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was already quite clear.

Xia Ruo turned her head sharply, her peach blossom eyes wide open, filled with a mixture of fear and panic.

The possibility of a fraudulent company quickly took hold in my mind—

In her previous life, she joined the rice group through a legitimate campus recruitment program and had no experience with these kinds of things.

But I've seen plenty of news reports about "recruitment scams," "girls disappearing after job interviews," and "pyramid schemes using recruitment as a pretext"...

Every title was flashing wildly through her mind.

If they aren't scammers, what makes them so capable that an HR professional would tolerate such an outrageous demand as a "monthly salary of 100,000"?

Unless the other party has ulterior motives.

What are you after? The people? Their money?

No matter which one it is, it's not too late to run now!

Xia Ruo grabbed her bag, pulled Lin Wanzhi's wrist with her other hand, and said in a low, urgent voice:

"Let's run! Let's go!"