In a private tea room.
Yan Zhenzhen, adorably dressed with delicate makeup, wore her hair in low twin tails. Her lip gloss sparkled like sweet candy. She had her arm linked with Qin Chuan’s, chattering away in whispers. Qin Chuan appeared patient and tender, but in truth, he was growing increasingly perfunctory toward her.
Across from them sat Qin Chuan’s father — the head of Qin’s Pharmaceuticals — and Yan Cheng, the city mayor, who wore an executive jacket and was smoking a cigarette. The two were speaking in low voices.
“Old Sang is gone. I’ve been feeling uneasy lately.” Yan Cheng took a drag from his cigarette. His voice was severely hoarse from years of smoking.
“What’s the story with that man called Gong Ze?” he asked.
Qin Chuan’s father smiled and asked Qin Chuan to take Yan Zhenzhen out to play. Once the two had left, his smile faded as he looked at Yan Cheng. “I’ve had the same suspicions as you. I looked into it. It doesn’t seem to be the case.”
“Back then… the Wen family was completely wiped out. The few remaining relatives fled abroad. What happened to Old Sang should just be an accident.”
“Besides, not only does this Gong Ze treat Old Sang as his benefactor, but after Old Sang and his wife went missing, I thought he would get rid of Sang You and take the Sang family’s fortune for himself. But instead, he recently brought Sang You out into the open, carefully arranged things for him, and is personally guiding him.”
“If this Gong Ze really were that child from the Wen family, he wouldn’t be so loyal to the Sang family.”
After Qin’s father finished speaking, Yan Cheng grunted in acknowledgment. He smoked his cigarette in silence, his expression unreadable.
A long time passed — so long that Qin’s father thought the matter had been dropped — when Yan Cheng spoke again, his voice hoarse and calm: “A holiday is coming up in a couple of days. Send them an invitation. Say that we uncles want to meet the Sang boy.”
Qin’s father frowned. Knowing how vicious and suspicious Yan Cheng could be, he didn’t object and readily agreed.
“Send Qin Chuan.”
Qin Chuan returned with the blushing Yan Zhenzhen, listening to her young lady’s prattle and feeling utterly bored.
But when he learned that his father wanted him to go to the Sang Corporation, his face immediately lit up with delight!
Although the invitation was addressed to Sang You, all Qin Chuan could think about was Gong Ze.
“I’ll go right now!”
Qin Chuan couldn’t contain himself and said this at once.
Qin’s father had meant to tell him not to rush, but his son had already run off. He could only smile helplessly.
Seeing Qin Chuan leave without paying her any attention, Yan Zhenzhen stamped her foot in anger. “Qin Chuan! Wait for me —”
She immediately chased after him.
·
On the other side.
As the days passed and the novelty wore off, Sang You completely lost interest in going to work. His bright, beautiful little face no longer looked happy.
According to Gong Ze’s script, Sang You did indeed get along well with the fresh graduates and interns.
Under the formidable social skills of university students, the young master quickly forgot that he himself was the company’s boss. He even took a few new employees under his wing and clashed several times with the company’s old-timers who liked to bully newcomers.
Now, the interns looked to Sang You as their leader. Of course, the situation the system had worried about also occurred from time to time.
A few interns, seeing that Sang You had money and was naive, often took advantage of him. They made Sang You spend money for them and used him as a shield when they were dissatisfied with the company’s arrangements.
At first, Sang You didn’t notice.
Later, when he didn’t react, these people grew bolder. They even started asking Sang You for gifts under the pretext of birthdays or gatherings.
Sang You had never encountered this kind of situation before, nor had he ever been taken advantage of. For a while, he didn’t know how to handle it.
He didn’t realize that if he simply put on his noble status, the tables would turn and these people would be the ones trying to ingratiate themselves with him.
He felt that complaining over such small amounts of money would make him look petty and lose face, so he kept it bottled up inside and didn’t tell Gong Ze.
Later, even some long-time employees followed suit. A bunch of them would gather together, outwardly flattering Sang You while actually elevating the young master to a high place where he couldn’t easily come down.
The few underlings who supported him were furious and argued with them.
But as newcomers, they couldn’t out-talk the old-timers. They could only be silenced or reduced to tears. Sang You didn’t want them to suffer, so he resolved things by spending money.
Gong Ze let this go on for half a month. When he saw that Sang You still hadn’t spoken up or shown any sign of breaking, and that the young master had lost his former vitality and sparkle, Gong Ze’s heart softened in the end.
His tenderness won out over his desire to let the young master learn his lesson through hardship.
The next day, Gong Ze brought HR and his secretary and, in front of everyone, called out name by name — summoning those interns and long-time employees who had cheated Sang You out of his money.
Not only did he fire them, but he also demanded they return the money they had cheated out of Sang You. Otherwise, he would report the matter to the police directly.
Furthermore, the reason for their dismissal would be clearly stated in writing on their termination papers. When they applied to their next company, and that company called for a background check — upon hearing that they had bullied colleagues and committed extortion — who would want them?
“As for the interns who participated in workplace bullying, the company will call each of your schools individually and explain why we are unable to provide you with your internship completion certificates. What Sang Corporation needs are hardworking, dedicated employees — not the dregs of society!”
Gong Ze swept his gaze over those pale-faced, terrified individuals who had lost their wits. “Sang Corporation has zero tolerance for workplace bullying. From now on, I will open a reporting mailbox, which will be managed directly by me.”
“Let this serve as a warning to everyone.”
After he finished speaking, a wave of applause broke out across the office area.
Gong Ze had his secretary stay behind to deal with those undesirables. His gaze passed over the crowd and landed on Sang You. “Sang You, come to my office.”
The few interns who had rallied around Sang You applauded the loudest.
Their recent gloom and frustration vanished, replaced by radiant faces. They pushed Sang You forward, urging him to go.
The moment Sang You entered the office, he couldn’t hold back the pent-up stress and grievance of the past days. He threw himself into Gong Ze’s arms, his eyes reddening as silent tears fell.
Gong Ze shot a glare at the employees outside, who were smiling with amused goodwill. With one arm holding the young master, he closed the door that Sang You had forgotten to shut, then bent down and carefully soothed his wife.
·
After this incident, Sang You seemed much more mature and steady.
He also developed a sharper edge when handling interpersonal relationships.
But what Gong Ze hadn’t anticipated was that the relationship between Sang You and Director Gao not only failed to improve as Gong Ze had planned — it actually worsened.
This wasn’t right.
When Gong Ze had assigned Director Gao to mentor Sang You, it was precisely because Director Gao was a loyal member of the ‘Crown Prince Faction.’
Seeing Director Gao’s ashen face and his unwillingness to speak, Gong Ze called Sang You into the office. Only after asking carefully did he learn the truth.
Director Gao had indeed been doing his best for Sang You.
But he had also spoken ill of Gong Ze — which was why Sang You was angry and refused to have anything to do with this pitiful old loyalist.
“He said you have ulterior motives! He said I need to grow up as fast as possible and take back control of the company — that you’re an outsider!”
Sang You was furious.
“He’s not wrong,” Gong Ze said as he poured the young master a glass of water. He didn’t seem to mind. “I really am an outsider.”
“You are not!” Sang You grew even angrier. He tugged at Gong Ze. “Say that again, and tomorrow we’ll go get our marriage license — just to spite that old man!”
Gong Ze put down the water glass, saw that Sang You was truly about to explode, called him over, sat him on his lap, and soothed him.
As he opened the documents Sang You had been working on, Gong Ze subtly praised him — causing Sang You’s angry face to soften and the corners of his mouth to shoot upward uncontrollably.
“These are all small matters.”
The young master’s anger turned to joy, and he even started being modest.
Gong Ze “oh”ed, put away the documents, and said, “Fine then. Since the young master puts it that way, I suppose we can skip the reward.”
Hearing this, Sang You no longer dared to be smug. He quickly wrapped his arms around Gong Ze’s neck. “You wouldn’t dare!”
Gong Ze couldn’t help but laugh. “So you mean —”
Sang You hurriedly began advocating for his little followers: “The holidays are coming up soon. Nobody wants to do team-building activities. Can you cancel them?”
“Besides, team-building is boring. With that money, it’d be better to hand out red envelopes and holiday gifts.”
“I don’t think we need to give much extra — just 500 per person and some small presents would be fine.”
Sang You’s eyes darted around; his little expression clearly showed he was recalling a script.
“Oh, and don’t shift the days off to make a long weekend. This holiday falls exactly on Monday through Wednesday. Director Gao wants us to work on Saturday and Sunday, but doesn’t that just mean we’re only getting one day off?”
“Hmph.”
Sang You had clearly learned this from someone else. He grumbled, “You heartless capitalist!”
Gong Ze couldn’t suppress his amusement. Little ancestor, do you even realize that you are that capitalist?
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