Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

When they heard the door opening, Bao Sanli and Hou Zhenhan looked up and saw Yang Ming and Jing Xiaolu coming in. They quickly stood up and said, “Brother Yang, you are here.”

“How is the preparation?” asked Yang Ming.

Bao Sanli glanced at Hou Zhenhan, indicating that he should speak. After all, Hou Zhenhan was better than him.

Hou Zhenhan also did not decline. “This meeting mainly emphasizes company discipline, and announces the appointment of Jing Xiaolu.”

“How do you plan to deal with Wang Xiaoran’s matters?” Yang Ming had a bit of a headache now because of this. Yesterday, when he heard Jing Xiaolu mentioned the relationship between Yu Chi and Wang Xiaoran, he didn’t care at that time. However, today, when he saw them, he noticed that the relationship between the two was already extraordinary.

Yang Ming didn’t like this Fifth Cousin, Yu Chi, but it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t recognize him as a relative even though he didn’t like him. Relative relationships had been a headache for people since ancient times.

This was a double-edged sword. With good relatives and unity, the family would become stronger, but Yu Chi, who was in front of him, didn’t have a promising future. He couldn’t be appointed to heavy responsibilities; he was just trash that sits around waiting to die. But even then, if Yang Ming fired him, who knows what would happen over on his family’s side? Would they say that his family was rich but immoral?

This was a complicated matter. This didn’t involve Yu Chi, but it involved Wang Xiaoran, the girlfriend of Yu Chi. If he fired her, and if Yu Chi went back and spoke something after that, Yang Ming was not afraid of anything. His mother cared about reputation, so she was always the peacemaker. Even if his uncle and Yang Ming’s family had a bad relationship, his parents wouldn’t say much.

Therefore, after firing Wang Xiaoran, the problem that Yang Ming was afraid of was whether Yu Chi would go over and complain or not. Yang Ming did not fear that Yu Chi would do anything, but he was worried that his parents would be in an awkward position.

“According to the company’s regulations, we’ll dismiss her. Why? Does Brother Yang have a new decision?” Hou Zhenhan now learned to discern what someone thought from his body language. When Yang Ming asked this, he knew that there should be other plans in Yang Ming’s heart.

“Demote her to be a waitress at a hotel; forget about firing her.” Yang Ming waved his hand. “Give her some face and talk to her after the meeting.”

Although he didn’t know why Yang Ming changed his decision, Hou Zhenhan naturally wouldn’t ask so much. He nodded. “Okay, I will talk to her after the meeting.”

Jing Xiaolu had some doubts, but she did not ask Yang Ming in front of Hou Zhenhan. She knew that Yang Ming must have his reason for putting her in this position.

Sure enough, Yang Ming explained to her, “I’ll go back and talk to you about this matter. It is rather complicated.”

“Okay.” Jing Xiaolu was very happy that Yang Ming was willing to take the initiative to explain this to her. In her opinion, Yang Ming was a very overbearing person; he didn’t need to explain anything to her, especially since their relationship had not reached that point yet.

“It’s almost time. Let’s start the meeting; I’ll just find a place to listen.” Yang Ming looked at the time, and it was almost nine o’clock. It was time for the scheduled meeting.

“Brother Yang, your seat… I arranged it on the podium, next to my seat…” Hou Zhenhan said quickly.

“The podium?” Yang Ming was helpless after hearing it. “Well, then let it be the podium. It doesn’t matter.”

Jing Xiaolu was somewhat envious of Yang Ming. Most people want to sit on the rostrum, but he was unwilling to sit on it. Wouldn’t it be great if it were me? I also don’t know when I can sit on the podium. Even if I have to sit on the far side, I’m okay with it.

Following Yang Ming, Bao Sanli, and Hou Zhenhan, they entered the conference room directly from the small door of the lounge. Jing Xiaolu was somewhat vane. After all, company leaders came out from here every time, and she was also following these people. It virtually raised her social status a lot.

Yang Ming glanced at the name tag on the podium. Sure enough, his name was next to Hou Zhenhan. It was in the center of the chairman’s table. On the other side of Hou Zhenhan was the name of Bao Sanli. If he didn’t come, Bao Sanli should also be sitting in the middle seat.

On the right side of Bao Sanli, it was a name that Yang Ming had heard of, but he was not familiar with. He must be one of the company’s vice presidents. And on my left… En?

Yang Ming didn’t expect Jing Xiaolu’s position to be on his left, but then he thought that Jing Xiaolu would soon be appointed as the company’s executive vice president, so this was no surprise.

Jing Xiaolu’s ability may be superior, and Yang Ming as a factor also accounted for the vast majority of it. The most important thing was because of the defection of Qu Daming and Liu Chan, so two positions were vacated.

Otherwise, a standardized company couldn’t set the position of the vice president unrestrictedly; each person has his own place. If the position wasn’t vacant, Jing Xiaolu couldn’t be promoted so easily.

Jing Xiaolu didn’t see the name tag on the podium. She wouldn’t think that her name tag would appear on it. Therefore, when Jing Xiaolu got out of the lounge, she began to look for a seat among the employees and see if she could sit with someone that she was familiar with.

“Xiaolu, over here.” Seeing Jing Xiaolu going toward the employee seats, Yang Ming quickly called out to her.

” Ah ?” Jing Xiaolu was stunned as she turned her head, but she saw Yang Ming pointed toward the podium. Jing Xiaolu looked over puzzled and found an incredible fact!

My own name is appearing on the podium; it’s right next to Yang Ming’s name . But at this moment, Jing Xiaolu didn’t realize anything. She just thought that because of Yang Ming’s sake, Bao Sanli and Hou Zhenhan arranged her position here.

But even if it were only once, Jing Xiaolu could show her face in the company. Those who talked about her behind her back would also close their mouths at the moment. The rumors from before that her boyfriend knew the company’s top management would become a reality, and the unrealistic online rumors yesterday would be discredited.

Under the gaze of the employees throughout the company, Jing Xiaolu walked up to the podium with Yang Ming. Looking at Jing Xiaolu’s appearance, Yang Ming smiled slightly.

Jing Xiaolu was just doubted and misunderstood by her colleagues yesterday, so it was normal for her to be proud today. At least, no one would even link Jing Xiaolu to that funny online post after she sat here on the podium.

In the beginning, Jing Xiaolu still had some fear and trepidation. Sitting on the podium, she felt very uncomfortable. Whether she felt such prestige or dazzle, she was a bit shackled. Jing Xiaolu was somewhat restrained while facing so many company employees below the podium.

Yang Ming also saw this and smiled. “It’s okay. Just treat them as flowers and grass. We are just sitting here to enjoy the scenery.”

Yang Ming naturally didn’t have stage fright. He had already passed the age to have stage fright. When he was in school competing with Ren Jianren of the Taekwondo Club, he had already forgotten what stage fright was.

When these people like Yang Ming went on stage, the employees below began to whisper. Most of the topics revolved around Jing Xiaolu. It couldn’t be helped; they didn’t know Yang Ming. Therefore, it was naturally inappropriate to guess Yang Ming’s identity, but Jing Xiaolu was different. She was originally the company’s employee. It was inevitable for speculation when she suddenly sat on the podium.

However, while waiting for everyone to sit down on the podium, the people below also kept quiet because the meeting seemed to be starting. Of course, the first to speak was Hou Zhenhan.

There was already a demeanor of superiority from Hou Zhenhan; he was no longer the confused retired veteran from before. Hou Zhenhan’s words were simple and concise. He briefly introduced the company’s discipline and briefly described the key points of the rumors from the past two days.

“Malicious postings and slandering colleagues, this kind of behavior is strictly prohibited. Everyone is clear who did it, and we also investigated this matter thoroughly.” Hou Zhenhan said word by word, ” If there’s a conflict, you can find us to mediate, but using this method to frame others already constitutes a crime. This is defamation! We are a formal company, a group with a positive outlook. I will never allow such people with low morality to mix in the company!”

Wang Xiaoran didn’t expect this meeting to focus on this matter. Although she saw Jing Xiaolu’s name appear on the rostrum, she guessed that the meeting must have something to do with Jing Xiaolu, but Wang Xiaoran didn’t expect Hou Zhenhan to stick up for Jing Xiaolu like this. It seemed that Yu Chi’s cousin was really not an ordinary person.

However, when Hou Zhenhan said that he had already investigated who did it, Wang Xiaoran’s heart tightened. Is it true? I published the post very secretly after my colleagues went home. No one should have seen it.

Even if the post was found out to be done through the company’s IP, there was no reason to place suspicion on her. Wang Xiaoran still had a little knowledge of computers. When using the company’s intranet to post, the post could only show the company’s external network IP. There were so many employees in the company that shared an external network IP. How could this be checked?

Moreover, the ID that was used to post was just registered; it was a new sockpuppet1, which was harder to check. So thinking of this, Wang Xiaoran felt that Hou Zhenhan was only making some alarmist talk; he did not find out who did it. The only thing that he could be sure of was that the person who posted it was someone from inside the company.

As Wang Xiaoran thought of this, Wang Xiaoran’s heart settled down, and she exhibited an unconcerned attitude as though it was none of her business while she listened to the meeting.

However, when other people heard that the post was made from inside the company, they all showed a surprised expression. However, because they did not do it, they were just surprised and did not show any unusual reaction.

Wang Xiaoran’s horrified expression naturally fell into the eyes of Yang Ming and Hou Zhenhan. They were paying attention to this person. Hou Zhenhan saw that Wang Xiaoran made an unconcerned look, and he continued to say faintly. “This is the first time, so we will not hold this person accountable, but if there is a second time, we will not tolerate it. We will fire the person on the spot!”

When Wang Xiaoran heard that they would not pursue, she was more comfortable and relieved. However, after hearing Hou Zhenhan’s next sentence, her heart tightened again.

“But I hope that this person could take the initiative to find President Bao or me after the meeting to admit their mistakes. Then we will let bygones be bygones. If you still don’t admit your mistake, then don’t blame us for not being polite.” Hou Zhenhan said, “There is only one opportunity. I hope this person will not miss it.”

After that, Hou Zhenhan paused and waited for the employees’ reactions from below.

Wang Xiaoran’s heart was a mess. After she heard Hou Zhenhan’s words, she somewhat didn’t know what to do. Should I admit it or not? According to Hou Zhenhan’s meaning, as long as I admit it, then bygones will be bygones. If I don’t admit it, I will be punished.

However, does he really know who did this thing? Wang Xiaoran didn’t believe it! She did it so secretly that no one could’ve possibly seen it. She thought that Hou Zhenhan intentionally said this to frightened others.

Although if she admitted it, perhaps Hou Zhenhan could fulfill his promise and not dismiss her. It was difficult to guarantee that he would have a bad impression of her. It was unlikely that she would be promoted even with Yu Chi’s relationship in the future.

Therefore, if she remained silent and pretended that it had nothing to do with her, she should be relatively safe. However, did Hou Zhenhan really know who did it?

Hou Zhenhan waited for the others below to recollect themselves and continued, “Alright, now for the second part of the meeting, I’ll invite President Bao to read the company’s latest rules and regulations.”

The previous rules and regulations were based on the staff rules from the Nightless Club, so many areas were not complete. There were a lot of loopholes, so it was not suitable for a big company. However, because of the time constraints, and it did not affect the overall situation, it was not revised.

But because of the company’s successive incidents recently where two vice presidents fled, and the employees were undisciplined, Bao Sanli and Hou Zhenhan didn’t sleep the whole night, and consulted several experts through the night to create such a set of new company regulations.

The company’s discipline was more specific this time, so the people below listened very carefully. Yang Ming also secretly nodded, but Jing Xiaolu did not know why she was called on the podium.

Jing Xiaolu was very smart, but sometimes the onlooker sees more of the game. While everyone guessed that Jing Xiaolu was going to be promoted, she was in the dark instead.

After Hou Zhenhan waited for Bao Sanli to read the company’s rules, he continued, “Alright, the company’s rules will be printed in a while and given to everyone. It will be implemented from the first of next month, giving everyone half a month to adapt.”

The employees below were relieved, and they felt that President Hou was still very humane. At least, they had time to adapt to the new company’s guidelines. They wouldn’t inexplicably violate a rule even before they got the chance to remember the company’s regulations.

After half a month, they would basically be familiar with and adapted to the new disciplines. Everyone nodded and expressed their agreement.

“Next, I will announce a few of the latest appointments in the company.” Hou Zhenhan’s voice was very dull, but the conference room suddenly calmed down. This was a big deal for the company, so everyone couldn’t be sloppy.

Although few people were promoted, most also had to listen carefully about who was promoted, whether these people had resentments with themselves, and how to deal with them in the future.

“Nominated by the management of the company and approved by the board of directors, the former assistant manager, Jing Xiaolu, will serve as the company’s executive vice president. She is mainly responsible for the finance department, the personnel department, and the marketing department.” Hou Zhenhan paused as he spoke here. He turned his head and addressed Jing Xiaolu, “Vice President Jing, congratulations.”

Then, there was warm applause. In fact, from the moment Jing Xiaolu sat on the podium, the employees below had already guessed that Jing Xiaolu would be promoted, and it must not be a low position. Since she could sit on the podium, her position would be, at the very least, the level of a vice president.

It’s just that everyone didn’t expect that Jing Xiaolu would be promoted to the executive vice president. This was much more powerful than the general vice president. Moreover, what others didn’t even consider was that Jing Xiaolu was actually responsible for the three most important departments in the company. She was in charge of the company’s financial and personnel power!

These were previously under the responsibility of Qu Daming and Liu Chan. They were also responsible for the purchasing department. Both of them were in charge of the four departments. Compared to Jing Xiaolu, who was responsible for the three departments, there was no need to see who had more power.

If Jing Xiaolu was directly responsible for the four departments, it was somewhat eye-catching and unrealistic. It was already at her limit to be accountable for the three departments.

Everyone cast their envious eyes. Jing Xiaolu would be a rising star in the company. No matter what her age now, and she was even just a student, it was undeniable that she had become an authoritative person in the company, second only to Hou Zhenhan and Bao Sanli.

However, in the applause, Jing Xiaolu was the most incomprehensible. Jing Xiaolu was dumbfounded after Hou Zhenhan announced her appointment! I… became the executive vice president?

So fast? She really did not believe the facts at hand. Is this a dream? Happiness came too quickly that she was drowned by the applause before she could distinguish between what was true and false…

Yang Ming looked at Jing Xiaolu’s dumbfounded look, and he couldn’t help but smile. “Xiaolu, congratulations!”

When she heard Yang Ming, Jing Xiaolu knew that all this was true; it was not a dream. I was really promoted to the executive vice president. Then, she didn’t listen clearly to Hou Zhenhan’s following appointments. Her head was messed up; it was completely blank.

However, the next few appointments were irrelevant. They were the department managers of some of the departments. They were not qualified to sit on the podium.

The applause sounded, apparently congratulating each of the promoted employees.

Of course, the most uncomfortable one was Wang Xiaoran. It was beyond her expectation that Jing Xiaolu became the executive vice president. Yesterday, she was an ordinary assistant manager; she wasn’t even the manager. Today, she became the company’s third-in-command. It was really unacceptable for her in regards to the speed of this change.

She was a little annoyed. Yu Chi’s cousin is truly something. So many people in the company were promoted, so why wasn’t Yu Chi part of it? Wang Xiaoran was disappointed in the end after she heard all of the appointments.

Jing Xiaolu is already the executive vice president, and she was just a woman. Wasn’t Yu Chi the real relative?

1 Sockpuppet: an online identity used for the purpose of deception.