Chapter 061: Don’t Compare Yourself to Li Ruobing

Chapter 061: Don’t Compare Yourself to Li Ruobing

“Boss, it’s Tao Manying… she says she has an appointment with you…” The receptionist said it again, her voice pitched low, almost muffled, as if she’d turned away from the visitor and cupped the phone to whisper.

“Are you sure?” Even Li Ruobing didn’t know why she still found it hard to believe.

“I’m sure, boss.”

“I’ll come down right now. Ask her to wait a moment.” Li Ruobing hung up, drew a breath, and pushed down the excitement rising in her chest. She swept one last glance across the conference room. “Meeting’s over.”

Every executive in the room froze, still seated, staring at her.

What? The meeting was over? Just like that?

Li Ruobing said nothing more. She walked straight out, and naturally her secretary and assistants fell in behind her.

Worth noting—Li Ruobing kept only one female secretary, but assistants she had plenty of. Even Wu Chen was nominally one of her assistants, though his was a position that existed on paper alone. He rarely came to the office.

He found her? How did he find her? How could he possibly track her down? In one day? He actually got her here in one day? How did he do it? What did he even do? Wasn’t he playing games all yesterday morning? Didn’t he go transfer that house with Atai in the afternoon? He…

Out of the conference room, Li Ruobing led the way toward the stairwell, thoughts running in an unbroken mutter the whole time.

She already knew about the house—Li Ruotai handing Wu Chen the villa in Donghai Huafu yesterday. Li Ruotai had told her himself, calling right after the transfer went through.

Right now she was on her way to see Tao Manying.

Tao Manying, who genuinely mattered enormously to Huancai.

And yet Li Ruobing’s head was full of nothing but Wu Chen.

She wanted to call him directly and demand an explanation.

But Tao Manying was waiting downstairs, and the company needed a spokesperson too badly. As a businesswoman, Li Ruobing still knew how to sort what mattered most.

Downstairs.

She led her people to the thirty-first floor. From a distance she spotted Tao Manying, glasses and mask already tucked away, surrounded by a knot of young staff—employees who had only gotten to work not long before—clamoring for autographs.

“The boss is here.”

“Quick, back to your desks, back to your desks.”

“Go, go, go.”

No one could say who shouted first, but the whole crowd of young men and women abandoned their autographs on the spot, heads down, scattering like mice at the sight of a cat. Within seconds the space around the front desk stood empty.

Tao Manying turned to look at Li Ruobing, who was already closing the distance.

The two women lifted their hands almost in the same instant.

“Miss Tao, hello. My apologies for the poor welcome—these past few days have had me so buried in work I forgot to brief the front desk.” Li Ruobing offered her most professional smile and shook Tao Manying’s hand.

She still had no idea why Wu Chen hadn’t told her, but one thing was certain: Tao Manying was here because of him. She couldn’t afford to look rattled in front of an outsider, so she’d have to smooth this over as she went.

“President Li, you’re too kind. Wow, President Li, you’re so beautiful—your skin is incredible. I never imagined the president of a major company, working herself to the bone day and night, could still have skin like this. I’m envious. What’s your secret?” Tao Manying started laying on the flattery the instant she opened her mouth.

Not only because Lei Cheng had told her to.

But because Li Ruobing had genuinely taken her by surprise.

Looks-wise, the two of them were both beautiful, but Tao Manying felt Li Ruobing’s skin really was better than her own—small differences that, in her eyes, loomed large.

On screen Tao Manying was breathtaking, but in person she was too thin. Cameras added visual weight, so to look properly slender on film, she had to be even thinner in reality.

There was also the matter of her…