Qu He took the elevator down to the HR department and walked straight to the manager’s office.
“Manager Guo.” Qu He knocked twice on the door and pushed it open.
Manager Guo of HR was organizing documents. The moment he looked up and saw Qu He, he drew in a sharp breath, and the papers in his hands slapped down onto the desk.
“Qu… Secretary Qu?”
Was this really the same Qu He who always wore black, white, and gray professional suits year-round?
Manager Guo’s gaze swept over her several times. Afraid he might have mistaken her for someone else, he even adjusted his glasses again. “You… this…”
Qu He pushed the folder in her hand toward him. “Please process this for me as soon as possible, Manager Guo.”
“You’re too polite, Secretary Qu. If you needed anything, you could have just called and had us come up. No need to—”
He trailed off as he opened the folder. The moment he saw the four large characters at the top—RESIGNATION REPORT—his hand trembled.
“Resignation…?!”
Manager Guo’s voice involuntarily rose several octaves, drawing curious glances from several employees outside who craned their necks to look. Manager Guo quickly walked over and pulled down the blinds.
He let out a dry laugh. “Secretary Qu, you must be joking, right? I can’t make a decision on your resignation application.”
The HR department handled onboarding and offboarding procedures for all company employees, and he was considered a veteran who had been with the company since Qian Zhaoye’s early entrepreneurial days. But in truth, Qu He’s onboarding procedures five years ago hadn’t been processed by him.
They had been handled personally by Qian Zhaoye.
He still remembered the scene of Qu He’s sudden arrival five years ago—that fresh graduate in an ill-fitting cheap suit with her hair pinned up, pointed at and whispered about by all the employees as someone who’d gotten in through connections.
At the time, everyone thought she was the type to coast along and take shortcuts through certain means. But a year later, she had slapped every doubter in the face with her near-flawless work performance.
Over the past five years, he had watched Qu He grow step by step into Qian Zhaoye’s right hand.
Why would she suddenly want to resign?
Manager Guo’s voice tightened as he probed cautiously: “Does… does President Qian know about this?”
Qu He leaned one hand on the edge of the desk, calmly looking at him. “The process is complete, all signatures are in place. The resignation report and the OA approval form are both here. Manager Guo, all you need to do is process it according to company regulations.”
As she spoke, she flipped open the folder and tapped twice, firmly, on Qian Zhaoye’s signature in the bottom right corner of the resignation report.
“Or does Manager Guo not recognize President Qian’s signature?”
“Of course… of course I do.” Cold sweat broke out on Manager Guo’s forehead. Of course he recognized Qian Zhaoye’s signature.
He just hadn’t expected that he would actually agree to Qu He’s resignation.
Qu He leaned slightly forward and glanced in his direction. “Good. I was worried the HR department had grown bold enough to disregard the president’s handwritten signature.”
“Absolutely not, absolutely not!”
“Good.” Qu He’s voice was soft but brooked no argument. “Then please—process—this—according—to—procedure!”
An invisible pressure bore down instantly, and a layer of cold sweat soaked through Manager Guo’s back.
He suddenly realized that something was quietly changing. It was as if he had never truly known who Qu He really was.
“Alright, alright. Please wait a moment—I’ll process the paperwork for you right now.”
Manager Guo nodded and bowed, scrambling to grab the documents. “Secretary Qu, per company procedure, you’ll also need to fill out a company property return checklist. I’ll go get it for you.”
Qu He nodded.
Manager Guo walked out of the office and had a subordinate fetch the form, but he himself headed toward the small conference room nearby.
He looked at the resignation report in his hands several times, as if trying to find something hidden in it.
The signature on it was indeed Qian Zhaoye’s own handwriting. Still, he felt that Qu He’s resignation was somewhat suspicious.
Although there had been rumors floating around the company recently that Qu He’s fiancé was a nouveau riche with a beer belly and a Mediterranean hairline, he didn’t quite buy it.
Five years ago, during the company’s early days, he and Qian Zhaoye had attended a business dinner. When it ended, the two of them were dead drunk.
But Qian Zhaoye, completely wasted and unconscious, had tightly gripped Qu He’s hand, mumbling incoherently, “A He… let’s go home… go home…”
At the time, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. After all, over these years, the way the two interacted at the company was clearly that of superior and subordinate.
But at this moment, the memory from that night five years ago resurfaced with startling clarity.
Had his eyes really been playing tricks on him?
“No, I need to get to the bottom of this. I can’t take the fall for this.”
Manager Guo took out his phone and dialed Qian Zhaoye’s number. After several rings, the call was finally picked up.
“President Qian, this is—”
He barely got the words out before he was cut off.
The person who answered wasn’t Qian Zhaoye, but Anda—a top-level executive at the same rank as Qu He, and Qian Zhaoye’s special assistant.
Anda’s tone was flat. “What is it?”
Manager Guo felt this was something he needed to discuss with Qian Zhaoye directly. “Assistant An, I’d like to confirm something with President Qian.”
“President Qian is resting.” Anda’s voice was icy. “Tell me whatever it is.”
Manager Guo swallowed hard, glanced at the time, and lowered his voice, “It’s Secretary Qu—she’s resigning…”
He had barely started speaking when he heard a commotion on the other end of the line. After some rustling sounds, Anda’s voice came through, utterly flat, “Mr. Qian said everything is to be handled according to company policy.”
His tone carried a hint of impatience. “Mr. Qian’s personal signature is what counts.”
“But…”
The call was rudely cut off.
Meanwhile, inside the CEO’s office, Qian Zhaoye irritably undid the top button of his shirt, leaning half-reclined against the sofa as he massaged his brow.
Qiao Mian had just been dismissed by him, and a faint trace of perfume still lingered in the air.
The commotion she had caused moments ago had nearly exposed their relationship to the company. He let out a breath—Qiao Mian’s unreasonable temperament was no match for Qu He’s steady composure.
He rubbed his temples, glanced at Anda who had just walked in, and asked casually, “Who was on the phone?”
Anda placed his phone on the coffee table. “Manager Guo from HR.”
Qiao Mian had made quite a scene when she left, so Anda hadn’t caught what Manager Guo had said, but nine times out of ten it was someone trying to pull strings for a relative.
Anda’s expression turned slightly disdainful. He hated these people who relied on connections.
Qian Zhaoye: “What did he want?”
Anda: “Just something about basic personnel arrangements. I’ve already passed down your instructions—everything is to be handled according to company policy, with your personal signature as the standard.”
Qian Zhaoye nodded absently. “Just handle these minor matters yourself.”
He raised his hand to check the time on his watch.
Nearly half an hour had passed since Qu He said she’d make him congee, and his stomach was beginning to ache dully again.
Thinking of Qu He’s unusually different outfit today, the corners of Qian Zhaoye’s mouth curled up involuntarily.
“Let’s go to the meeting.” Qian Zhaoye rose, smoothing the hem of his suit jacket.
“Understood.” Anda followed closely behind. “Secretary Qu hasn’t arrived yet. Should I call to notify her?”
Qian Zhaoye waved a hand. “She has things to do. You’ll sit in on the entire meeting today.”
The smile at the corner of Anda’s mouth was harder to suppress than an AK’s trigger. “Yes, Mr. Qian!”
The two entered the conference room one after the other.
Qu He finished her paperwork and came up just as they were leaving, missing them by a moment.
A notification popped up from the food delivery app—the dried scallop and seafood congee she had ordered had arrived.