Chapter 603 - 602: Lifting a Rock to Smash One’s Own Foot (Part 3)

Li Anna stood frozen, staring intently at Su Li, who was chatting and making introductions up ahead. Her eyes were filled with nothing but disbelief.

Li Anna was a smart girl. When she kept hearing Su Li’s name and began to dislike her, she didn’t rush off to mindlessly pick a fight or throw a tantrum.

At first, she was just lukewarm, and no one could tell anything was amiss.

Only after she had learned about her junior, Su Li—including her family background and even the fact that she was divorced—did Li Anna make a move.

She never went into a battle unprepared. Although Su Li had always been an excellent performer, those achievements weren’t irreplaceable.

Only her own talent was irreplaceable. Someone from Su Li’s background was destined never to have her advantages or resources. So, in Li Anna’s eyes, even if Su Li was clever and ambitious, even if she joined the foreign language club, it was all just a futile struggle.

Mastering a foreign language—becoming fluent in reading, writing, listening, and speaking—was no easy feat. She herself had poured immense effort and energy into acquiring her current skills.

Someone like Su Li, who just joined a club, would at most learn a few daily phrases. It was this conviction that made Li Anna so brazenly confident.

But she never, ever imagined that such a "what if" could actually happen.

Su Li wasn’t just capable; she was incredibly fluent, turning the impossible into the possible.

It didn’t matter *why* Su Li was so skilled. The fact that she was skilled was all that mattered.

Without even looking around, Li Anna could imagine how her colleagues were looking at her, and what kind of gaze the editor-in-chief was giving her.

Her body began to tremble slightly. She wanted to tell herself this was just a nightmare, but she couldn’t.

This was reality—the day she made the biggest fool of herself in her entire life.

She was always the one to humiliate others, but today, she had managed to spectacularly humiliate herself.

Su Li’s pleasant, fluent conversation grated on Li Anna’s ears, unnerving her completely. In just a short while, her eyes began to turn red.

"Anna, aren’t you busy? You said before that you were overwhelmed. Now that Su Li is here to share some of the load, you don’t need to worry about this anymore. Go on, get back to your work."

The editor-in-chief’s words, which sounded concerned but were actually detached, rang in Li Anna’s ears.

Li Anna snapped to her senses, looking at the editor-in-chief in disbelief.

"Editor-in-Chief, you’re really letting Su Li interview them? Isn’t that too risky? She hasn’t even graduated yet, she’s just an intern. We don’t know if she can handle it."

Li Anna struggled to remain calm. "Besides, even though I’m busy, I’m used to it. I’ve already done most of the prep work. I’m perfectly capable of handling this. It’s not good to keep switching the interviewer..."

The editor-in-chief cut her off coolly. "It’s fine. The problems you mentioned don’t exist. You don’t need to worry."

The editor-in-chief pulled his gaze away from Su Li. He turned to Li Anna with a smile on his lips, but his eyes were cold.

"You’re one of our station’s top talents now. We can’t just let you take on so much responsibility without a thought just because you’re capable. What would we do if you wore yourself out?"

The editor-in-chief’s firm but gentle words blocked whatever else Li Anna was about to say.

The editor-in-chief had always admired Li Anna. He had given her important assignments before, and that continued after she returned.

His impression of her had always been positive—until what he witnessed today.

The editor-in-chief didn’t mind if exceptional people were a bit ostentatious; it was harmless. But being too arrogant was another matter. Li Anna had been stirring up trouble lately, and he could turn a blind eye to that. However, mixing personal grudges with professional matters to target someone was going too far.

What kind of person was the editor-in-chief? He saw right through Li Anna’s supposedly clever little tricks at a single glance. Seeing her actions, there was no way he could let it slide.

’She’s gotten too full of herself. This idea that she’s the best in the world is unacceptable.’

The editor-in-chief’s gaze was calm, yet it sent a chill down Li Anna’s spine. The words on the tip of her tongue died in her throat.

Her eyes grew redder, but she desperately held back her tears.

"Thank you for your concern, Editor-in-Chief. I’ll follow your arrangements. If you need my help with anything, you can call on me anytime."

Li Anna swallowed the mouthful of blood she felt rising in her throat.

"Mm, go on and get busy," the editor-in-chief nodded coolly. His gaze remained fixed on Su Li, and without even looking up to watch Li Anna leave, he immediately beckoned someone over.

"You all heard that? Su Li is now in charge of the interview segment. Go and get things ready."

"Yes, Editor-in-Chief."

Hearing this, Li Anna almost coughed up another mouthful of blood.

She was absolutely furious. The opportunity had been in the palm of her hand, a sure victory, but because of a sudden whim to teach Su Li a lesson, she had ended up handing it right over to her.

She had shot herself in the foot.

The saying came to Li Anna’s mind. She never thought she would be the one to do something so self-destructive.

After one last look at Su Li’s radiant smile and easy conversation, Li Anna turned and left, her face alternating between pale and livid.

She also recalled the way Su Li had looked at her earlier, as if wanting to say something but holding back. At the time, she thought Su Li was just shy. Only now did she realize it was because Su Li had understood every word she’d said!

All her petty schemes and intentions had been laid bare right in front of Su Li.

’It’s utterly humiliating! I didn’t just lose the opportunity, I lost face!’

Li Anna didn’t know how she left or how she got back to her office. She just felt that everyone was looking at her funny, as if they were all laughing at her expense.

For the first time, Li Anna understood what it felt like for a day to drag on like a year. She just wanted to clock out and leave immediately. Because of what had happened, she couldn’t focus all day and kept making mistakes.

It wasn’t until she finally got off work and went home that Li Anna calmed down.

’I can’t lose this opportunity, and I certainly can’t let Su Li continue to be so smug!’

She already had the phone numbers of the four experts, so she contacted them one by one.

The two experts from Huaguo coolly stated that they were busy, and then added that they were quite looking forward to working with Su Li.

As for the two foreign experts, they were much more enthusiastic toward Li Anna, but small talk was just small talk. When it came to official business, they didn’t change their minds.

Furious, Li Anna slammed her phone down. She immediately began to suspect that someone was backing Su Li.

’Could it be that fiancé of hers?’

Li Anna knew Su Li had a fiancé. He was probably a decent guy, but she hadn’t paid him much mind. Now, he suddenly came to her thoughts.

Li Anna wanted to see if Su Li’s fiancé was the one pulling strings for her, but investigating this would take time—time she didn’t have before the next event.

Because the test recording for the interview was scheduled to start the very next day.

In the end, Li Anna could only pin her hopes on Su Li getting nervous in front of the camera and performing poorly.

Unfortunately, the result was far beyond her expectations.

Su Li’s performance was simply perfect. Moreover, in the middle of it all, she cleverly showcased her skill in yet another foreign language.

Bilingual versus trilingual—naturally, being trilingual was far more impressive.

With her flawless performance and ability, Su Li completely crushed Li Anna. What was supposed to be a test recording turned out to be good enough to be used directly. After just one episode, the decision was made: Su Li would be in charge of this segment from now on.

At the same time, all the opportunities that had previously been funneled to Li Anna were now redirected into Su Li’s hands.

Li Anna was so angry she could have died.

She had not only lost her own opportunity but had personally delivered it into Su Li’s hands. Trying to get it back was now completely impossible. How could she not be furious?