Face-Blind, I Mistook My Boss for My Makeout Buddy - Chapter 1

I had been severely face-blind since childhood.

After six years of elementary school, I still hadn’t learned all my classmates’ faces.

On graduation day, a boy clung to my arm and sobbed his eyes out, saying he didn’t want us to part.

I asked gloomily who he was.

He said he was my classmate—the one who had sat beside me for all six years.

And that wasn’t the worst of it.

Whenever my mother got a perm or changed her usual style of dress, I had to stand around on the street until she called my name.

I also had a rich history of chasing unfamiliar men and calling them Dad, only to receive a mixed-doubles beating from both my parents afterward.

As a result, I became an expert at identifying people by their clothing and characteristic habits.

Unfortunately, people’s clothing styles weren’t set in stone.

And the trick wasn’t much use with people I didn’t know well.

Case in point: right now.

I sat on pins and needles in the interview room of a rising foreign-funded unicorn, staring at the two men in front of me.

One was a young interviewer. He smiled politely and introduced himself as the HR manager.

The other occupied the main seat. Black suit, white shirt, cool, distant eyes.

He had been watching me ever since I entered.

He hadn’t said a word.

He was strikingly good-looking, his face blessed with textbook three-sections, five-eye-width proportions—the sort of man who stood out at a glance in any crowd.

He was so handsome, it was as if Nüwa had splurged on a premium membership just for him when she molded mankind.

But I had no room in my heart to admire him.

Because I had no idea who he was.

Damn it. I’d done my homework on their website only yesterday.

The organizational structure, the list of senior executives—I had tried my hardest to memorize them all.

I’d even dug up an interview video with the boss and watched it three times.

Yet now that he was sitting before me in the flesh, he still looked completely unfamiliar.

Like a fresh new face I had never seen in my life.

At first, the younger interviewer asked me a few standard questions.

I answered all of them smoothly.

From what I could tell, he was fairly pleased with me.

Then came the moment that made sweat pour down my back.

The handsome man sitting silently beside him suddenly spoke. “You don’t recognize me?”

His voice was low and cool, a perfect match for his intimidating presence.

My heart lurched. Oh no. We’d reached a blind spot in my knowledge.

Of course I didn’t recognize him. Everyone looked like a first-time encounter to me.

But this was an interview. I could hardly tell him the truth: *That’s right. And you are?*

Then I remembered HR warning me that the big boss, Mr. Shang, might interview me personally.

I couldn’t remember Shang Shi’s face from the videos, but I did remember he was handsome.

In a flash of inspiration, I beamed at him. “Hello, Mr. Shang.”

The corner of his mouth seemed to twitch ever so slightly, as though he had smiled.

I got it right!

Of course. Who else but the boss could have an aura like that?

I pressed my advantage. “I’ve watched your interviews before, and I strongly identify with your entrepreneurial philosophy. When you were overseas, you…”

Like beans spilling from a sack, I poured out the encyclopedia entry I had crammed overnight and laid the flattery on thick.

Shang Shi watched me without speaking.

I fancied my wording elegant, my compliments persuasive, and every claim well supported.

Yet the faint smile on his face vanished the longer I talked. His expression grew darker and darker.

I shut up at once, suddenly nervous.

Was he not the type who liked this sort of thing?

The look Shang Shi gave me had shifted from distant to complicated.

As if he meant to stare a hole straight through my face.

Convinced I must have said something wrong, I didn’t dare utter another word.

The interviewer stole a glance at Shang Shi’s expression and fell silent too.

The interview room became terrifyingly quiet.

I lowered my eyes to my portfolio and started wondering whether claiming I’d just been possessed by a body-snatching spirit would sound too dramatic.

A long while later, Shang Shi finally moved.

He said nothing. He merely leaned back in his chair and let out a heavy sigh.

It was very soft.

Yet somehow it sounded a little lonely.

And a little disappointed.

For the next twenty minutes, Shang Shi didn’t say another word.

He only kept watching me.

The stare made my back prickle.

The younger interviewer, at least, remained professional. He asked me several more technical questions.

At last, he closed my portfolio and smiled.

“That will be all for today. We’ll let you know our decision within three business days.”

I thanked them, stood, and turned to leave.

My hand had just touched the door handle when Shang Shi’s voice came from behind me.

“Tang Zhizhi.”

My steps halted.

His voice was very, very low, as though he were suppressing some emotion.

For some reason, my heart gave a sudden, heavy thump.

I looked back.

He remained seated, his expression still mild and unreadable.

“Do you really not remember me?”

Bewildered, I asked, “Aren’t you Mr. Shang?”

Shang Shi said nothing more.

He was silent for a few seconds. Then he lowered his eyes and said flatly,

“I understand. You may go.”

I trudged out of the building, my heart sinking lower with every step.

Judging by Shang Shi’s foul expression just now, that job offer was definitely dead.

Resigned to my fate, I opened BOSS and started browsing other vacancies.

The next second, a notification popped up: Hello, Ms. Tang Zhizhi. Congratulations on passing our interview. Welcome to the company!

My eyes flew wide. I whipped around to stare at the office tower behind me.

Wait.

That still counted as passing?