Shen Group, security office.
With an hour nearly up, Captain Zhou, who had been sitting in the air conditioning drinking herbal tea all this time, started to grow restless.
Logically speaking, a fired employee should finish going through the resignation procedures quite quickly; an hour was more than enough. How come this punk Chen Xuan still hadn't come down?
He decided to take two of his subordinate security guards upstairs to see what was going on.
Arriving at the Marketing Department on the fifty-fifth floor, Zhou Tao scanned the area and found that neither Chen Xuan nor Liu Bin was in the office.
"Where did Manager Liu go?" Zhou Tao asked with a put-on air.
No one answered him.
The entire Marketing Department knew that Zhou Tao was only so arrogant because he relied on Liu Bin's connections. Now that Liu Bin had been fired, they had long since despised Zhou Tao, so why would anyone bother giving him the time of day?
Yet Zhou Tao seemed oblivious to anything being wrong, and asked again, "Is that punk Chen Xuan not around either?"
At this, everyone cast a strange look at him, making Zhou Tao feel a bit uneasy.
What was wrong with these people today, giving him such looks?
At that moment, Bai Chun stood up and said, "Captain Zhou, Chen Xuan has gone to the Personnel Department."
Zhou Tao wore a look of sudden realization. It seemed Chen Xuan must be up in the Personnel Department finishing his departure formalities.
With this news, Zhou Tao broke into a smug smile and hurried off toward the Personnel Department with his men.
The moment he stepped into the Personnel Department office, Zhou Tao caught sight of Chen Xuan talking with Zhang Yun, while Liu Bin stood off to the side.
He strode quickly up to Chen Xuan and said with a sarcastic sneer, "Chen Xuan, how's your resignation coming along?"
"You'd better ask Liu Bin about that." Chen Xuan wore a wicked smile at the corner of his mouth, looking at Zhou Tao as if looking at a fool.
Zhang Yun also cast an annoyed glare in his direction.
Clueless, Zhou Tao looked over at Liu Bin, only to notice that Liu Bin's expression was uglier than he had ever seen it before.
With a sinking feeling in his chest, Zhou Tao asked cautiously, "Manager Liu, did you already fire this punk Chen Xuan and bring him here to do his paperwork?"
"Do your fucking paperwork!" Liu Bin couldn't help cursing out loud. Experiencing extreme frustration with nowhere to vent it, he could only unleash his anger on this bootlicker.
Zhou Tao was startled, not understanding why Liu Bin was in such a furious temper. Could he have been riled up by Chen Xuan?
He immediately turned on Chen Xuan and rebuked him angrily, "Chen Xuan, you're about to be kicked out of the Shen Group, yet you still managed to tick Manager Liu off like this! Hmph, today I'm going to teach you a proper lesson on his behalf!"
With that, he beckoned his two security guards, preparing to grab Chen Xuan.
Zhou Tao intended to drag Chen Xuan back to his own turf in the security office and teach him a good lesson.
"Pfft!"
Chen Xuan finally burst out laughing. Up until now, Zhou Tao still couldn't read the situation. With a brain as close to an idiot's as this, how had he even survived this long?
Even the two security guards under him sensed something was wrong and did not immediately obey Zhou Tao's orders to lay hands on Chen Xuan.
"Zhou Tao, you are too brazen! How dare you speak to Mr. Chen like that!" Zhang Yun spoke up, having finally had enough of this pig-headed moron.
"Manager Zhang, what did you say?" Zhou Tao's breath hitched, his brain failing to process the situation for a split second.
He couldn't fathom how a proper, high-ranking group executive like a department manager could act so deferentially toward a mere intern like Chen Xuan.
Zhang Yun put on a stern face and said, "Zhou Tao, President Shen has hired Mr. Chen with an annual salary of one million to be our company's chief physician. Mr. Chen is a bigwig in the Group now—how dare you show him such disrespect?"
Zhou Tao's jaw dropped wide enough to fit an apple. Zhang Yun's words shocked him beyond measure.
An uproar broke out among the employees in the Personnel Department office. They had previously wondered why the manager was treating Chen Xuan with such respect; it turned out Chen Xuan had been hired by President Shen at a high salary—something completely unexpected.
"By the way, Liu Bin has already been fired by President Shen. I don't think you're fit to stay here either. The two of you can leave together today," Zhang Yun said coldly, delivering another massive blow to Zhou Tao's dull-witted brain.
In truth, Zhang Yun had long wanted to fire Zhou Tao, this parasite on the company, but had been constrained by Liu Bin's backing and couldn't make a move until now.
Hearing this, Zhou Tao's face drained of color and cold sweat broke out all over him. Only then did he understand why Liu Bin had such a deadpan look—it turned out the one getting the axe today was his own powerful backer!
And now he was caught in the crossfire; even he was getting fired. How was he supposed to accept this?
The world went black before Zhou Tao's eyes, and he nearly passed out on the spot.
"Captain Zhou, do you remember our bet?" Chen Xuan asked with a beaming smile.
A bitter taste filled Zhou Tao's mouth. He had originally wanted to find Chen Xuan to enforce the bet, never imagining that he was walking right into the firing line.
His face flushed red. To call Chen Xuan grandpa in front of so many people—where would he hide his face?
What's more, he had acted all high and mighty toward Chen Xuan earlier; now, not only had he lost his job because of him, but he was also being humiliated in return. The dramatic ups and downs of life were truly too thrilling.
Yet Zhou Tao didn't doubt for a second that if he refused to shout it, Chen Xuan would have Zhang Yun dock every last cent of his wages before kicking him out."Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa!" Zhou Tao cried out to Chen Xuan in an ugly, whimpering voice.
"Pfft!" The others hadn't expected their wager to end this way, and they nearly spat out their saliva.
Chen Xuan waved a hand and said in an annoyed tone, "I don't have a grandson like you. Get lost."
"Hahahaha!"
Seeing Chen Xuan play the once-tyrannical Captain Zhou like a monkey, everyone burst into laughter.
Chen Xuan handed the backup contract to Zhang Yun and returned to the Marketing Department, not even bothering to spare Liu Bin and the others another glance.
Back in his own office, he played on the computer, and the day quickly slipped away.
When it was time to get off work, Chen Xuan hopped onto his electric scooter, preparing to return to the school dormitory.
Seeing this, many people who already knew that Chen Xuan had become the Chief Physician and Marketing Manager of the Shen Group wore rather peculiar expressions.
After all, among the Shen Group's management, every manager wore a suit and tie and drove luxury cars to work—only this newly appointed top boss dressed like a student and rode a tiny electric scooter. It was far too eye-catching.
Yet no one dared to laugh at Chen Xuan, seeing as he was the rising star favored by President Shen herself.
The other managers didn't even have time to envy Chen Xuan, as President Shen had never treated any of them so well.
Quite a few car owners even enthusiastically asked Chen Xuan if he wanted a ride, but Chen Xuan smiled and declined them one by one.
Riding his little electric scooter, he soon returned to Tianhai University. Before he knew it, Chen Xuan found himself back at the small square where he had agreed to meet Xu Jing yesterday.
A cryptic smile crossed the corners of his mouth. Who knew why he had ended up back in this place of heartbreak?
Perhaps so much had happened over the past two days that he simply wanted to come to this small square to clear his head.
At that moment, in a quieter, less crowded corner of the square, Tianhai campus belle Qin Feixue was sitting and catching the breeze. Seeing Chen Xuan appear, her eyes instantly lit up.
Remembering how Chen Xuan had bravely stepped forward that morning to help her out of a tight spot, a trace of warmth swept through Qin Feixue's heart.
She was just about to walk over and greet Chen Xuan when she saw another man and woman start talking to him.
Noticing that the man among them was a notoriously spoiled and vicious scoundrel in the school, Qin Feixue knitted her delicate brows and stopped in her tracks.
"Why is Chen Xuan getting involved with a guy like that?" Qin Feixue decided against greeting Chen Xuan for the moment and waited to see how the situation unfolded.
As it turned out, just as Chen Xuan parked his electric scooter and looked for a spot to sit and catch the breeze, two people he would rather not have seen came into view.It was none other than his ex-girlfriend, Xu Jing, and that wealthy second-generation heir, Ou Yunfeng. Just as they had been yesterday, the two were locked in a close embrace, whispering nauseating sweet nothings to each other and even indulging in constant caresses and tongue-kissing; they were practically putting on an X-rated show in public.
Many passing students shot them looks of disgust, and some even secretly recorded videos, but the pair of adulterous lovers were so consumed by their passion that they didn't care at all about the gazes of those around them.
"What a narrow road for enemies," Chen Xuan muttered, his face darkening as he prepared to leave.
Just then, as luck would have it, Ou Yunfeng spotted him.
He had a deep impression of this poor loser whose girlfriend he had snatched away. In Chen Xuan, Ou Yunfeng could indulge his sense of superiority to his heart's content.
Therefore, the moment he saw Chen Xuan, Ou Yunfeng exclaimed in an exaggerated, loud tone, "Hey, isn't that your ex-boyfriend, Chen... what's-his-name, Jingjing? Why is he coming to find you again? Is he still clinging to you like a mangy dog?"
Ou Yunfeng’s biting, sarcastic tone forced Chen Xuan to turn around.
Seeing Chen Xuan's sharp-browed, star-eyed face and his tall, striking figure, a look of complexity flashed through Xu Jing's eyes.
Compared to before, there was an indescribable, charming aura about Chen Xuan now, as if he had become a completely different person.
In truth, looking at their features alone, Chen Xuan was far better-looking than Ou Yunfeng. But could being handsome put food on the table? He was still just a broke loser. At this thought, the way Xu Jing looked at Chen Xuan was once again filled with contempt.
She had no intention of spending her life suffering and toiling with a man like that!
"Chen Xuan, why are you still coming to find me? Didn't I tell you yesterday that we are finished? There is no possibility for us anymore!" Xu Jing said coldly.
Hearing this, Chen Xuan smiled with a touch of helplessness. "Xu Jing, don't you think you're a bit too full of yourself? I'm not here to get back together with you."
After seeing two such stunning, peerless beauties as Qin Feixue and Shen Binglan today, Xu Jing looked like an ugly monster in Chen Xuan's eyes. He truly couldn't understand how he could have been so blind as to fall for such a vain, materialistic woman in the past.
"Chen Xuan, I know you've always been stubborn, but with a personality like yours, you're going to suffer greatly once you enter society," Xu Jing said, as if lecturing him.
Having been together for over three years, Xu Jing knew this man very well—he was simply too proud.
But when a person lacks ability, pride becomes something cheap, ridiculous, and even harmful to oneself and others.
Xu Jing felt, once again, that her decision to break up with Chen Xuan had been entirely correct.