I must be the most tragic “rich second generation” of the new century, bar none.
Working at my own family’s company, yet I don’t receive the respect I deserve; my colleagues all follow my future wife’s lead blindly.
And they try to force me to resign at the drop of a hat.
If my looks didn’t somewhat resemble my dad’s, and if I hadn’t been personally brought into the company by the Old Man himself, I would almost suspect I was a bonus gift from a mobile top-up promotion.
Being too shocked, I couldn’t help but ask directly:
“Are you trying to force me out?”
“You violated the company’s relevant regulations regarding confidentiality. This isn’t me forcing you out; it’s you having to take responsibility for your own actions.”
After saying this, Hao Lili who is habitually stern and never smiles in front of others—walked away on her thin stilettos.
I stood there dazed for a long time, still holding the pose of pointing a finger at my chin in interrogation.
I couldn’t help but slap my own face.
Alright, it’s not a dream. I really was set up.
Who would have thought that those files left lying around randomly were important documents involving trade secrets? It was mainly my lack of workplace security awareness.
Suddenly being saddled with this “crime” made me realize the severity of the situation.
Hao Lili’s words certainly represented the intentions of my future wife.
To him, I’m not even as good as an ordinary colleague. Perhaps when others report work to him, if the results are satisfactory, they might get a smile in return.
But whenever I go, that face is strictly frost-covered, and his gaze is like flying daggers—it’s short of him writing the word “Beat it” on his forehead.
Joke’s on them; if I gave up that easily, I wouldn’t be called You Quan.
I didn’t go straight to the Legal Department to report the situation. This was clearly a trap set by that little heartless Mo An and his “fan girl” (Hao Lili); I definitely couldn’t just walk into it blindly.
When I rushed to the HR department, intending to have a nice tea and a chat with Guo Feng to openly find some sense of existence as the authentic heir of the You Group I realized I was too naive.
This Guo Feng not only lacks skill in flattery, but his ability to “shirk responsibilities” is also quite impressive.
As I walked into the HR department, I was blocked head-on by a man dressed in a proper suit.
Though his tone was polite, his words weren’t exactly respectful or easy-going.
His smile didn’t even reach his eyes: “Young Master You, you’ve come over?”
Toward Mo An, that’s my future wife. Toward Mo An’s subordinates, those are my future wife’s people; so I naturally have immense tolerance and magnanimity.
But toward outsiders, I’m not so polite especially in a situation where I’m being blocked out of the blue like this.
“Aren’t you talking nonsense? I’m already standing right in front of you, you tell me if I’ve ‘come over’ or not?”
The man gave a light laugh, and without getting annoyed, continued: “Manager Guo just gave instructions. Since he had a reception recently, he will be out of the office for these two days. He figured you might come here to look for him, so he told me to be sure to host you well and not be negligent in any way.”
What else is there to say? This is the definition of “closing the door to guests.”
I didn’t expect Mo An’s moves to be so fast. Looking at this, the HR department and the Sales department had already reached some kind of agreement in advance or at least Guo Feng in HR was in the loop.
Otherwise, how would he know I’d come looking for him?
I looked this man up and down and checked his ID badge: Liang Bin.
Using a tremendous amount of self-control, I swallowed back the classic TV drama line that always appears when someone is offended: “Very well, I remember you.”
Even though I didn’t say it out loud, as I turned to leave, I repeated it in my mind.
Very well, Liang Bin, I remember you.
I had barely finished that thought when I heard Liang Bin’s voice, carrying a polite smile.
“Young Master You, are you leaving just like that?”
I turned to look at this Liang Bin and repeated it once more.
Good, very good, exceptionally good. Liang Bin, I have completely remembered you.
This time, my turn-around was so fast; I was afraid if I were any slower, I’d stay behind and get into a fight with this suited guy named Liang Bin.
“Might makes right” from a certain perspective, there’s some truth to that.
Walking to the entrance, I didn’t give up and tried dialing Guo Feng’s number.
It wasn’t until the cold mechanical female voice said, “Hello, the number you have dialed is busy, you have been forwarded to the voicemail,” that I had to face the facts.
Well done. Little classmate Guo Feng, the former “lickspittle,” is now a department manager and is trying to make himself “unattainable” to me.
Don’t you know who the truly unattainable one is?
You’re a department manager, but I’m the boss’s son!
I pulled up my father’s number in the phone contacts but hesitated for a long time without dialing.
Over the years, I’ve grown accustomed to being rebellious and going against the Old Man.
Now that I’ve just entered the workplace, I’ve been slapped with a big label of “suspected leak.” Calling him under these circumstances feels like going back to the old days—running to the Old Man for help whenever I got bullied.
Most importantly, didn’t I decide a long time ago not to look for him easily?
Ever since I wanted attention but he just kept throwing money at me… since then, didn’t I make that decision?
With a light sigh, I stuffed the phone back into my pocket and went to the Legal Department with a face full of resentment to understand the situation.
When the Legal Department specialist informed me of the company and industry regulations, I realized I had accidentally made such a huge mistake.
Even though as the heir I have no motive to do so, my actions last night constituted a factual violation.
This matter could be large or small; involving trade secrets could potentially constitute a criminal offense.
Considering my special status and the fact that I hadn’t received relevant prior training, no specific handling opinion has been issued yet.
All I can do now is obediently report to Human Resources and see how I will be dealt with.
Tsk tsk tsk. You don’t know until you find out, and once you find out, it’s a shock.
My future wife is truly ruthless. What did I do wrong?
Didn’t I just not listen to him and refuse to accept other people?
Didn’t I just want to be a bit closer to him?
Didn’t I just want to pursue him properly?
Is it necessary to treat me like this?
This is no time for me to be pretentious. Once the formal decision is down, it’ll be too late.
For Mo An, what does “face” matter?
Who told me that I really can’t do without him?
Who told me that even though he treats me like this, I still think he’s wonderful in a thousand ways?
Even though I had completed my mental preparation to call Old Comrade You Qian and act a bit spoiled…
When I actually had to make the call, I still chose an empty meeting room and closed the door.
Subconsciously, I still felt this behavior was embarrassing and didn’t want to be watched by others.
As the phone started ringing, my heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
After all, having not acted spoiled for so many years, suddenly doing it made me feel quite awkward.
On the third ring, it was picked up.
Before I could get the word “Dad” out, a voice that did not belong to Old Comrade You Qian sounded from the other side.
“Xiao Quan.” The voice carried a hint of hesitation and a desire to please.
Fine. It was my stepmother. Even though many years have passed, I am still not used to interacting with a woman roughly my age in a “benevolent mother and filial son” manner.
I’m really not used to it, and I really don’t like it in my heart.
But there was a reason today, so I couldn’t just lose my temper at will.
If a scene broke out, the purpose of my call would be completely unachievable.
I cleared my throat slightly before speaking.
Actually, at that moment, I desperately wanted to hang up, but I forced myself to endure it.
“Help me find my dad.”
How awkward looking for my own dad and needing someone else’s help.
Later I thought about it and, as if by some divine stroke of idiocy, added a “Thank you,” even if the voice was extremely low.
There was a pause on the other end, and then the reply came back. I could even hear the joy in my stepmother’s voice.
“Xiao Quan, wait a moment. Your father is bathing Shishi; I’ll call him immediately.”
Shishi is my half-brother. The woman on the other end is the wife my dad married as a second wife.
The attention I used to try every possible way to get is now being easily obtained by someone else without a thought.
They are the family over there. Where is there any room for me, You Quan?
When a person is going through hard times, it’s very easy to get stuck in a rut.
At that moment, what I was actually thinking was: No wonder I have zero presence in the company; no wonder any random manager dares to treat me like this.
This humble act of trying to force a request for help made me feel immense humiliation at that moment.
I hung up the phone immediately.
Staring at the black screen of the phone, I was dazed for a long time.
Once upon a time, I also had parents who doted on me and loved me.
My father would also bathe me and find time to play with me.
Especially during the period right after my mom passed away, it was basically just us two, father and son, depending on each other.
Back then, bathing together, eating together, and sleeping together were what I considered the happiest times.
Heaven knows how much I missed those old days after my dad became successful.
It’s just that I’ve never expressed any of this to anyone.
I thought those who understood would naturally understand me, but the truth is, no one is a mind-reader; no one will know what you’re thinking or even what you want if you don’t open your mouth.
When my Old Man You Qian’s call flashed on the screen, my first reaction wasn’t to pick up, but to hang up.
I had a feeling it was my Old Comrade You Qian calling back, but I no longer had any desire to speak.
No one can be someone’s crutch for a lifetime, no matter who they are to you.
When the phone rang for the third time, I turned the phone off.
Then I turned around and walked out of the company.
What they call “misfortunes never come singly” or “when it rains, it pours.”
If it weren’t for the fact that today’s leak incident coincided with Guo Feng’s avoidance, even if I had encountered this scene when calling at any other time, I wouldn’t have been sensitive to this extent.
Everything seemed to happen so coincidentally, so perfectly timed, all occurring at once.
And then they pieced together my current mood: sad, speechless, wanting to resist and retaliate but feeling the frustration of having nowhere to start.
At the company entrance, just as I was about to drive off and find a place to drown my sorrows in booze, a bright red sports car stopped right beside me.
“Hey, handsome…”