Cao Cheng Yi touched his hair. “Manager Cui, you’re only a manager too. Being older doesn’t make you superior to everyone else.” With that, he left the Public Relations Department. Manager Cui clenched his teeth. “What are you looking at? What’s there to look at? This is all because you couldn’t finish the proposal according to my requirements, and now I’m the one who has to take the blame for you?” He strode into his office and slammed the door hard behind him.
A little over twenty minutes later, the landline in his office rang shrilly. He snatched up the receiver, his tone hostile. “Who is this?”
“Me.”
Manager Cui immediately changed his tone. “President Wang, did you need something from me?”
“You’ve been in Public Relations long enough, Old Cui. If the preliminary publicity proposal isn’t ready, the other departments can’t move forward with their work either. There isn’t much time left before the product launch, and the heads of the other departments are already coming after me about it. Are you deliberately trying to make me look bad?” President Wang’s heavy nasal voice from his cold took some of the authority out of his words, but it was still more than enough to make Manager Cui deferential.
“You know me. I won’t allow even the slightest carelessness, and I’m doing this for Public Relations too. I’ll have it finished within a week.”
“It had better be.”
“Of course, I…” Before he could finish speaking, President Wang had already hung up. Manager Cui slammed the receiver down, but that did not seem satisfying enough, so he shoved the phone hard and sent it crashing to the floor. Everyone was pressuring him. What the hell was this supposed to mean?
[Just a little bit and I can be free of the pain and get what I want. Just a little bit. That bitch deserves it. People commit crimes every day, so why should I be an idiot who follows every rule and lives honestly just so other people can bully me? Don’t you agree?] The man’s words flashed through Manager Cui’s mind. Without thinking, he reached into his pocket and gripped the bottle tightly. He did not know why he had brought it with him, but…
Manager Cui suddenly released the bottle and rushed out of his office. An Zi Yan happened to be on his way to get breakfast. Mai Ding had not eaten, so naturally An Zi Yan had not eaten either. With the cook gone, the young master certainly was not going to make anything himself. Manager Cui strode forward and grabbed An Zi Yan by the collar. “You’re the one driving a wedge between President Wang and me, aren’t you? What kind of man hides behind the scenes pulling strings? If you’ve got the guts, come at me directly! You think I’m going to be threatened by a wet-behind-the-ears brat like you?” Manager Cui’s behavior shocked everyone in Public Relations. Mai Ding and Guo Ping stood up, but An Zi Yan raised a hand, signaling for them to stay out of it.
“I’m not quite sure what you mean, Manager Cui.”
“Stop playing dumb. Don’t let me find evidence.”
“Is that so?” The corner of An Zi Yan’s mouth lifted. He glanced down at the hand clutching his collar, then placed his left hand on Manager Cui’s shoulder. It looked like nothing more than a gentle push, yet Manager Cui stumbled backward a step and nearly fell. An Zi Yan straightened his collar, his voice calm. “I’ll wait for you to find your evidence. But until then, shouldn’t you be focusing on your work, Manager Cui? Or would you like me to take over for you?”
“No need. So that’s what you’re after, isn’t it? Not a chance. That door isn’t open to you!”
“I think you’ve misunderstood, Manager Cui. If I want to do something, I don’t need a door.” He turned away. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.” Manager Cui took two steps after him, trying to use the same trick again to destroy An Zi Yan’s composure. “I’m not finished talking. Are you trying to run away? Are you afraid of what else I might say, like something about that short-lived grandfather of yours?” The others could not make out Manager Cui’s lowered voice, but Mai Ding, who was standing closest to them, heard every word. He could not believe such cold-blooded words could come out of someone’s mouth. Rage and grief churned through his blood.
An Zi Yan stopped with his back to Manager Cui. Manager Cui sneered. “Aren’t you supposed to be so capable? So impressive? How come you couldn’t even save your grandfather? Did you make him die? Was it because of you that he died…”
“Shut up! Shut up!” Mai Ding’s voice was almost a scream. He grabbed a folder from the desk and hurled it at Manager Cui. Just as the hard corner was about to strike Manager Cui’s face, An Zi Yan caught it. Holding the folder, he walked over to Mai Ding. “Haven’t I told you plenty of times not to throw things around? You could accidentally hit Manager Cui.” An Zi Yan put the folder neatly back on the desk.
Mai Ding regained some of his reason and realized everyone was staring at him in astonishment. He lowered his head and muttered, “Sorry.” An Zi Yan turned slightly, his expression unchanged from before. “Are you finished?” Manager Cui moved closer as if he still wanted to say something. An Zi Yan suddenly leaned toward his ear, though he did not get too close. His voice was barely audible, yet utterly cold. “That’s right. You guessed correctly. Everything happening to you right now was arranged by me. I’m going to destroy you.” He gave Manager Cui no chance to respond before walking away.
Manager Cui ground his teeth until they creaked. His hand slipped back into his pocket and touched the smooth little bottle. He swept his gaze across the office. Everyone had lowered their heads and gone back to work. This time Manager Cui said nothing and returned to his office. Guo Ping came over and draped an arm around Mai Ding’s shoulders. “You’d better repay him properly someday. You only kept your job because of Yan.” Seeing Mai Ding’s confused expression, Feng Fei Meng explained, “The last time Yan laid a hand on Manager Cui, he only managed to stay in the company because Ji Meng vouched for him. Yan is at least a manager. You’re just a regular little employee. If you, as a subordinate, attacked Manager Cui, nobody could save you. This is still a company. There are rules. Violence can’t solve everything. Be more careful next time.”
Mai Ding nodded. Guo Ping, whose arm was still around Mai Ding’s shoulders, gave him a couple of hard pats on the back. “Still, well done. I’m looking at you in a whole new light.”
“Yeah. As a reward, you can have the last steamed bun I didn’t finish earlier.”
Who would have thought the first time his coworkers acknowledged him would be because of something like this? Mai Ding looked at the steamed bun sitting on the desk, then toward the direction An Zi Yan had gone.
An Zi Yan would be fine. Because he was An Zi Yan.