A colleague about Lin Fan’s age drained his glass in one gulp, then sighed and said, “Lin Fan, you know the company’s situation. The performance is getting worse day by day.”
The speaker was Chen Lei, one of the company’s key staff members. Like Lin Fan, he was already married.
Unlike Lin Fan, however, Chen Lei had just had his second child this year, so his financial pressure was quite heavy. The company’s current situation made him deeply worried, afraid that one day it might collapse and he would lose his source of income.
Another colleague picked up the conversation and said, “Isn’t that the truth? I heard from someone in the finance department last time that the company has been losing money every month.”
Lin Fan nodded. As a mid-level manager, he naturally knew more about these matters than his subordinates.
In recent years, the international situation had been unfavorable, and the company’s business volume had been shrinking year by year. Everyone could clearly feel it.
Lin Fan even knew that several senior executives had already started internal conflicts due to the company’s declining performance. Many of them were worried about the company’s future and wanted to withdraw their shares.
However, the company had been operating at a loss for years, and there was almost no money left on the books. All this time, the chairman had been using his personal savings to barely keep the company afloat.
If those executives withdrew their investments as well, the company would basically be unable to continue.
Of course, these internal matters among the executives were not something ordinary employees like them would normally know.
But Lin Fan had been reborn, so he knew exactly what would happen to the company in the coming months.
If it were in the past, he would have felt powerless in the face of such a situation and could only leave it to fate.
But now things were different. Having been reborn and knowing what lay ahead, Lin Fan had already thought of ways to respond.
Moreover, he had genuine feelings for the company and his colleagues.
Especially the chairman, who had recognized his potential and given him opportunities. Naturally, Lin Fan didn’t want the company to collapse just like that.
“Don’t worry, everyone,” Lin Fan said with a smile. “The situation isn’t as bad as you think. Things will get better.”
Fu Ming gave a bitter smile and said, “Fan-ge, you don’t have to comfort us. We’ve already prepared for the worst.”
At that moment, Chen Lei stood up and said with a smile, “Today Lin Fan is treating us, so let’s not talk about these unpleasant things. Come on, let’s all have a drink together.”
“Brother Lei is right, let’s drink. We’ll deal with the future when it comes,” Fu Ming echoed.
Hearing his colleagues’ words, Lin Fan felt a little heavy inside. He silently vowed to do everything in his power to save the company…
After eating and drinking to their fill, everyone said their goodbyes to Lin Fan one by one.
After seeing off the last colleague, Lin Fan prepared to leave as well.
The distance to his home wasn’t far, so he decided to walk back slowly and sober up along the way.
He hadn’t gone far when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw a slender woman in a white dress running toward him in panic.
The woman spotted Lin Fan and immediately rushed up to him like she had found a lifeline, her face full of pleading as she said, “Sir, there are two men chasing me from behind. Can you help me?”
Lin Fan turned his head and saw two men approaching with ill intent. The woman in the white dress hurriedly hid behind him, trembling with fear.
Seeing this, Lin Fan sobered up instantly. Although this was a busy area, it was already past 9 p.m., and with the cold weather, there was no one on the street.
Looking at the pitiful woman beside him, a surge of courage rose within him. He pointed at the two men and shouted, “I’m warning you, don’t do anything reckless! The police patrol this area frequently!”
Perhaps the word “police” had an effect. The two men exchanged a glance, glared fiercely at Lin Fan, and then turned and left.
Once they were far away, Lin Fan turned back and said reassuringly, “Miss, those two have been driven off. You should head home quickly. It’s not safe for a girl to be out alone this late at night.”
As he spoke, Lin Fan couldn’t help but take a closer look at her. She looked to be about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with delicate features and light makeup on her face. Her slender, graceful figure was accentuated by the white dress, highlighting her curves.
She had both beauty and figure… no wonder she had attracted trouble.
Hearing Lin Fan’s words, the woman cautiously peeked out from behind him. After confirming that the two men were truly gone, she patted her chest and let out a long breath, “That really scared me.”
Then she looked at Lin Fan and said gratefully, “Thank you so much for today.”
Lin Fan waved his hand casually, indicating it was nothing.
Out of courtesy, Lin Fan also reached out and shook her hand lightly.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Su. My name is Lin Fan.”
The moment their hands touched, Lin Fan felt that her hand was extremely cold.
It was early autumn, and the temperature at night was already quite low.
Lin Fan noticed that Su Mei was only wearing a white dress, her fair arms completely exposed.
After hesitating for a moment, he took off his jacket and handed it to her, saying, “Miss Su, it’s cold at night. You should wear this for now.”
His action clearly surprised Su Mei. After a brief pause, she declined, “It’s alright, Mr. Lin. The car I called will be here soon.”
Though she said that, she subconsciously rubbed her arms and sneezed twice in succession.
Seeing this, Lin Fan placed the jacket firmly into her hands and said, “You should put it on. Don’t catch a cold.”
With that, he turned to leave.
But after only a few steps, Su Mei called out to him, “Mr. Lin, how should I return this jacket to you later?”
Lin Fan turned back, waved his hand, and said, “It’s fine. The jacket isn’t worth much anyway. If you don’t want it later, you can just throw it away.”
After saying that, Lin Fan left.
Su Mei watched his departing figure, a glimmer flashing in her eyes, as if she was thinking about something. Then she got into a car parked by the roadside and drove away.
…
After both of them had left, two figures emerged from behind the nearby bushes… it was Chen Chong and Chen Yuanyuan.