Su An originally wanted to look up the plot details of that bizarre web drama, but on second thought, he decided not to torture his eyes. His brain and eyes quickly reached a consensus. He tinkered with his phone for a bit, sent a message to Yu Feng, and then fell into the bed’s embrace with a satisfied smile.
When Yu Feng received the message, Zhou Ran was standing beside him, reporting on the afternoon’s work schedule. Yu Feng picked up the phone from his desk and tapped directly into the chat.
It was a selfie two buttons of the collar were undone, exposing snow-white, delicate skin that was faintly tinged with a soft pink hue. The fragile neck and the partially visible Adam’s apple exuded an indescribable air of seduction in every detail.
Yu Feng slammed the phone face-down on the desk and shot a fierce look at Zhou Ran. Zhou Ran’s voice faltered, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. He asked cautiously, “President Yu, is there something wrong?”
“What did you just see?” Yu Feng looked at him suspiciously.
Zhou Ran: ??? Was I supposed to see something?
However, Zhou Ran only dared to think this in his head. He held his documents and answered honestly, “President Yu, I was just looking at the schedule.”
Yu Feng nodded, but his mind was entirely filled with that photo. He gritted his teeth. So good at teasing… he’s really itching for a lesson. He’ll only behave after a good “scolding.”
Since Yu Feng didn’t speak, Zhou Ran didn’t dare to either, and silence instantly blanketed the office. Unsure of what to do, Zhou Ran finally spoke up hesitantly. “President Yu, should I go ahead and arrange the schedule then?”
Yu Feng gave an inscrutable “Mnh.” Zhou Ran felt as if he’d been granted a pardon and turned to leave with his documents.
“Wait.”
Zhou Ran’s heart jumped into his throat again. Yu Feng tapped his finger on the desk, pondering for a long moment before saying, “Call Zhang Zhiming over.”
“Yes, President Yu.”
Though Zhou Ran didn’t know if Zhang Zhiming had done something wrong again—given how high his “interview” frequency had been lately he believed that President Yu must have his reasons.
Once Zhou Ran was gone, Yu Feng sat back with his legs crossed, looking at the recent financial reports for Fanjing. The Yu Corporation had too many industries, and Fanjing’s jewelry focus wasn’t their primary target. Generally, if these subsidiaries didn’t have major losses, Yu Feng wouldn’t interfere with their operations. But if Su An was entering the jewelry field, he needed to pay much more attention to Fanjing.
At this time, Zhang Zhiming completely unaware of what was about to happen—was sitting in his office looking at the finished brooch Su An had designed. He was humming a tune and swaying his hips, feeling absolutely wonderful.
He recalled Su An’s plan: to launch this brooch, Rhythm of the Sea, the day before Fan Nian released their major new product of the month. It would not only steal the other party’s thunder and hype, but Zhang Zhiming was confident it would set a new sales record.
Back when he first saw that message, Zhang Zhiming was in the middle of a meeting. He had almost stood up to cheer for the plan, but luckily his assistant’s cough reminded him to stay put. He had sat back down and pretended he just had a “cramped leg” to avoid becoming the headline of the company’s monthly gossip rag.
Zhang Zhiming secretly held the brooch up to himself, feeling a bit of regret that it didn’t quite suit him. But he quickly rationalized: It’s definitely my own problem!
He walked back to his desk with a spring in his step, picked up his stainless steel mug, blew on the steam, watched for the right moment to take a sip, and finished with his signature move—spitting out a tea leaf. He leaned back happily, legs crossed, scrolling through the expensive teaser ads Fan Nian Jewelry had bought on his phone.
His assistant knocked and entered. “Manager Zhang, President Yu wants to speak with you again.”
Zhang Zhiming recoiled in shock, clumsily falling out of his chair. Ignoring the pain, he scrambled back up. “Xiao Sun, have I done anything lately?”
Under Zhang Zhiming’s pleading gaze, Assistant Sun thought for a moment and shook his head. Zhang Zhiming’s world went dark.
“Did President Yu say when?” Zhang Zhiming paced the room before grabbing his mug for a drink.
“President Yu said… now…” Assistant Sun answered truthfully.
“Pfft!”
A mouthful of tea sprayed out. Assistant Sun silently stepped aside. Zhang Zhiming wiped the water away, put down the mug, and frantically straightened his crooked tie. “Do I look okay?”
“Perfect, Manager Zhang,” Assistant Sun lied slightly, giving him a thumbs-up.
“Let’s go, let’s go.” Zhang Zhiming marched out.
Along the way, many employees greeted him. To maintain his “good boss” image, Zhang Zhiming smiled back, though it looked quite strained. This led to a rumor quickly spreading that “Manager Zhang is about to run away with the company money,” but he had no time for gossip now.
At the Yu Corporation building, Zhang Zhiming straightened his appearance again, taking deep breaths for mental preparation before entering the lion’s den. He ran into an old acquaintance, Manager Liu. Rumors had already spread through their manager group chat, and Liu looked quite smug.
“Old Zhang, how many times is this now?”
Zhang Zhiming shot him a look, straightened his spine, and used his two-centimeter height advantage to smile down at him. “Old Liu, what do you know? President Yu values me. Just you wait for my performance to skyrocket this month.”
Fanjing’s performance had never been particularly high neither good nor bad so Liu just treated it as a joke. He patted Zhang Zhiming’s shoulder. “I’ll be watching.”
Knock—Knock—
“Enter.”
“President Yu, why have you called for me this time?” Zhang Zhiming asked with a fawning smile.
Yu Feng looked up slightly. “Sit.”
As Zhang Zhiming sat on the sofa, Yu Feng asked with standard concern, “How is Fanjing’s financial situation right now?”
Zhang Zhiming thought: It’s over.
He desperately scrambled for words. “Ever since we cut ties with the Su family, Fanjing hasn’t released any new products, so the… the recent financial situation is not… very good.”
By the time he finished, Zhang Zhiming had reached a state of self-abandonment. So I’ll get scolded, so what? I’ve survived everything else; there’s always a new hurdle. He closed his eyes, preparing for the storm.
Unexpectedly, Yu Feng said something unprecedented: “Quite good.”
Zhang Zhiming: ???
He opened his eyes, staring in shock at Yu Feng, who was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window.
“Should I transfer some funds over to Fanjing?” Yu Feng asked tonelessly.
Zhang Zhiming closed his eyes again: I don’t dare open them. I hope this is a hallucination…