Chapter 7 — Mermaid Rising Waves

I looked straight into his eyes, "The last time you were electrocuted underwater, I stood on the shore and couldn't do anything. That feeling was more uncomfortable than being electrocuted." His expression softened, the corner of his lips slightly raised: "You don't know how uncomfortable it is to be electrocuted."

“Can't I sympathize?”

“No, the expression empathy is not used like this.”

“Lam Triet, you want to be beaten, right?”

He laughed, then his eyes turned red.

“Don't cry!”

I had a conditioned reflex and immediately pushed the box of pearls over, "Your body is weak now, the quality of the pearls produced must be very poor, you can't sell them for a good price!"

“Jiang Tieu Ngu, do you have a conscience!”

“Yes!

But conscience cannot be eaten! Pearls are fine!” He really cried when I teased him, a few light blue pearls rolled from the corner of his eyes and fell into the box with a clinking sound. I picked one up to take a look. The color was not as normal as usual, the surface was a bit cloudy, as if covered with a layer of fog.

“There, see,” I sighed, “I told you not to cry, selling this pearl would only cause you to lose face.”

“Giang!

Little! Ngu!” The case of infiltrating the Tham Lam Group sounds like a big deal, but it was much easier to execute than I imagined, and it's also so ridiculous that it's unbelievable. My mother didn't know where to find a complete set of fake identification papers, her name was "Khuong Tieu Ngu", twenty-two years old, a recent graduate majoring in Marine Environmental Science. The internship experience section is extremely well documented, and even includes a letter of recommendation from a famous professor from a reputable university. I looked at the signature on the recommendation letter and took a breath of cold air: "Mom, is this a genuine professor?"

“Authentic goods.”

“He's really going to introduce you?”

“He didn't know he introduced me.”

“What do you mean?”

My mother glanced at me with an expressionless expression: "I told you, never ask about the source's identity." I decided to keep my mouth shut. After sending my CV, I thought it would take at least two or three weeks to get a response. After all, Tham Lam Group is also a large corporation in the top 50 nationwide, the human resources department must filter thousands of applications every day. Who knows, the next day there was a phone call.

"May I ask, are you Khuong Tieu Ngu?"

On the other end of the line was a sweet, professional female voice, "We are calling from the Human Resources Department of Tham Lam Group. Your CV has passed the preliminary round, we invite you to come for an interview at nine o'clock the morning of the day after tomorrow." After hanging up, I stood still for half a day.

“Is this too fast?”

I turned to Lam Triet and said, "It feels like a scam." Lam Triet leaned back on the sofa, holding a bag of seaweed snacks - these days he's especially addicted to human snacks, especially the taste of seaweed. I once teased: "Isn't this your relative? Don't you feel excited about eating it?" He replied calmly: "Seaweed and mermaids are not related, just like you are not related to monkeys." At that time, I almost kicked him off the sofa.

“That's really unusually fast.”

Lam Triet chewed a piece of seaweed, frowned slightly, "So what did your mother say?"

“Mom said it's normal, the Dark Group has been busy lately expansion, lack of ‘cheap labor’.”

“Does your mother always speak so bluntly?”

“My mother has always been as straightforward as a horse's gut.”

The day of the interview, I wore a suit borrowed from my mother's closet and my grandmother did my makeup for me.

“Don't stress.”

My grandmother told me while applying eyeliner, "Remember, you are an insider, not an employee. Your goal is not to do a good job, but to sabotage."

“Madam, are you talking so bluntly?”

“What if you make a big deal of it?

Or would you like me to recite a poem for you?

“No, I mean could you stop using the word 'vandalism', it sounds like a kindergarten kid.”

“In my eyes, you are an 18 year old kid, no different from a newly born fry.”

“I'm not a fry!”

“I'm a hybrid fry.”

“Madam!!”

“Okay, okay, sit still, your eyeliner is askew.”

Finally, I dragged my high heels that hurt my feet and entered the headquarters building of Tham Lam Group in Tan Hai city. The building is extremely majestic. The main hall is paved with marble, in the middle is a giant LED screen that replays Tham Lam's promotional video over and over again: Deep blue sea water, flocks of dolphins jumping around, scientists wearing white blouses toiling in the laboratory. Accompanied by the narrator's deep baritone voice: "Tham Lam Group, accompanying the ocean, creating the future." I rolled my eyes contemptuously in my heart. Accompanying the ocean? So when you poured poison into the sea, why didn't you discuss it with the dolphins? The receptionist gave me the guest card and told me to press the elevator to the 21st floor. As the elevator door closed, I took a deep breath and adjusted my collar in front of the mirror. The silhouette in the mirror looks okay. The hybrid beauty does have its advantages, inheriting the deep facial features of the mermaid father and the delicate features of the mother, long dark blue hair flowing over the shoulders——Wait, dark blue?

“Fuck.”

I cursed softly. This morning I forgot to dye my hair. My father's genes are so strong, my hair shines a distinct dark blue under natural light. Although it's not as sparkling as a purebred mermaid, it's definitely not the hair color a normal person should have. Normally when I go to school, I always use temporary hair dye spray to cover it up, but today I was shaking so much I forgot about it. The elevator stops on the 21st floor. The door opens. A woman wearing a navy blue business suit stood at the elevator door, holding a document clip in her hand, smiling a standard industrial smile.

“Miss Khuong Tieu Ngu?”

“Yes, it's me.”

I try to make my voice sound as natural as possible.

“Please follow me, the interviewer is waiting.”

I followed her down a long hallway, both sides of the walls were covered with certificates of merit, environmental protection trophies, and pictures taken with leaders at all levels of Tham Lam Group. There is a photo that caught my attention: A middle-aged man stands on the deck of a ship, with the endless ocean behind him, holding up a bronze sign that reads "Enterprise with outstanding contributions to protecting the ocean environment". This man's face was round, his eyes were smiling, he looked exactly like a gentle neighbor uncle. The name engraved on the plaque is: Tien Duc Vuong - Chairman and CEO of Tham Lam Group. Tien Duc Vuong.