Chapter 332: Everyone is Capable

Chapter 332: Chapter 223: Everyone is Capable

Yang Hui flicked Wenren Du’Er on the head. ‘Isn’t this kid just making trouble?’ he thought, quickly explaining, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Yang Bing was instantly displeased. “Why did you hit her?” she demanded.

‘Alright, so is this what she meant by fulfilling her duty to Du’Er’s mother—supervising me to make sure I don’t hit the kid?’

“I didn’t use any force…”

“That doesn’t make it okay to hit her. Besides, this kind of behavior will make her afraid to tell the truth in the future.”

‘Afraid to tell the truth? Does she think I actually did it on purpose? This teacher is so roundabout.’ He quickly finished his meal. “You guys take your time. I’m heading back to the study.”

In the dining room, Han Chao and Zhao Rui were making small talk. Han Chao was mostly describing the unique features of Qingzhou’s various KTVs, and Zhao Rui listened with a sense of longing. By getting on Zhao Rui’s good side, Han Chao could not only get help with his channel development work but also have some fun with him. On top of that, he would be showered with praise by Li Yang. It was a classic case of killing three birds with one stone.

Little did they know, the Qingjiang Region of Xinyue Group was already buzzing with gossip. HR had sent out an email that afternoon: [Notice Regarding the Termination of the Employment Relationship with Zhao Rui].

It was rare these days for an employee to be publicly announced as fired. In reality, most people who were let go were “persuaded to resign.” After a private discussion, they were given enough face-saving leeway to announce publicly that they had resigned for personal reasons. Being officially fired was just too humiliating.

Some people at San Yang Xinyue Square knew the inside story. Zhao Rui had always acted arrogantly at the company, relying on his aunt, President Zhao, for backing. The project’s President Zhang had also tolerated him a great deal, which only nurtured his domineering personality. His relationships with his colleagues were terrible, and countless people were just waiting to see him fail.

He wasn’t there, but all his office equipment had been confiscated. Security and administration had also been notified not to allow Zhao Rui back into the Xinyue Square office space. For a time, his downfall became the new hot topic of conversation over drinks within Xinyue Group’s Qingjiang Region.

Zhao Rui, however, was still blissfully waiting for his aunt to take office so he could become the revered Zhao Ya’nei. “Xiaohan, how much longer until Old Li gets here? I’m getting a little hungry.”

It seemed the “Xiaohan” nickname was here to stay. Since Han Chao needed something from him, he could only pretend not to mind. He glanced at the time; it should be soon. Just as the thought crossed his mind, Li Yang’s voice came from outside: “Xiaohan, have you ordered the food?”

“Boss, I’ve picked a few dishes, just waiting for your final confirmation.” Han Chao shot to his feet.

Li Yang walked in, greeted Zhao Rui, and set his briefcase aside before taking the menu from Han Chao. He probably didn’t even get a good look at it before he started scolding, “Xiaohan, you can’t even order food properly. What is this garbage you’ve picked?”

He picked up the tablet, made his selections, and had Han Chao give it to the waiter to start the order. Then, he walked to the head of the table and sat down. “Xiaozhao, come, have a seat.”

Han Chao went to get the bottle of Maotai and opened it. The corner of Li Yang’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. He was a bit reluctant; serving it to a lowlife like Zhao Rui was a complete waste.

The food arrived, and Han Chao filled everyone’s glass. Li Yang gave a short opening speech, welcoming Zhao Rui and expressing his anticipation for their future cooperation.

After a few glasses of wine, the conversation circled back to President Zhao. “There aren’t many days left in the week. President Zhao should be coming to Qingzhou ahead of schedule, right? Otherwise, there won’t be enough time for the handover.”

Zhao Rui was more anxious than anyone. He was currently dragging things out on sick leave, just waiting for his aunt to come and save him. In front of Li Yang, however, he put on an air of confidence. “President Li, let the bullets fly for a little while longer.”

‘A little while longer? President Tian is already out, but the bullets are still flying? Who are they supposed to hit?’ Li Yang gave a dry laugh and drained his glass.

For the rest of the time, Zhao Rui just bragged nonstop about how amazing his aunt was in the greater region, claiming that even the regional head, Zhang Chun, highly valued her opinions and rarely ever went against her.

Hearing this, an idea struck Li Yang. “I know President Zhang Chun, too,” he said, “but I haven’t heard any news about him recently.”

Zhao Rui had never even met Zhang Chun, but not wanting to lose his bluster, he pretended to be very familiar with him. “No, there’s been nothing. If there was, I’d definitely know about it.”

After fishing for information all evening and getting nothing useful, Li Yang was a little disappointed. He briefly repeated the requests he’d made that afternoon, then said to Zhao Rui, “Xiaozhao, tonight there’s a gathering of some of Qingzhou’s vendor bosses. They insisted I had to be there, but I turned them down because I had to host you.”

The moment he said that, Zhao Rui immediately felt very honored. He picked up the small decanter from the table and said, “Thank you for valuing me so much, President Li. How about this, I’ll down this whole thing, and you can just have a small cup.”

Li Yang glanced at the nearly empty bottle of Maotai and thought, ‘The whole point is that I don’t want to open a second bottle! If you drink like that, isn’t this one going to be gone in a second?’

But Zhao Rui had already downed it in one go. Left with no choice, Li Yang could only continue, “On the way over, they called and insisted I come. They’re all old buddies, so it wouldn’t be right not to go. So, I’ll have Xiaohan keep you company here while I head over there to say hello.”

“Okay, okay, President Li, you go handle your business. Xiaohan and I will hang out for a bit.”

Li Yang shook his hand. As he went to grab his briefcase, he glanced again at the remaining Maotai, his heart aching at the expense. ‘Hopefully, Han Chao will make it last,’ he thought.

As a leading figure in Qingzhou’s circle of vendors, Li Yang was highly respected at these kinds of gatherings. The moment he arrived at the nightclub, several people came up to greet him.

“President Li!” “Boss!”

Li Yang really enjoyed this feeling of being the center of attention. He hadn’t been out in a while, mainly because of the whole mess with the NLB performance results. A few times, people had called to “congratulate” him on his soaring performance, and hearing it felt worse than swallowing a fly.