Chapter 365: The More Arrogant, The More Pathetic (Part 2)

President Zhao was getting annoyed. ‘Is this kid a fucking idiot? Can’t he understand plain language?’

Fang Zheng’s face instantly turned a deep, bruised red. ‘Damn it,’ he thought, ‘Old Zhao is doing this on purpose to humiliate me. Why? You’re supposed to leave people a little dignity so you can face them again later. He’s on his way out, so why does he need to go out of his way to offend me like this?’ Fang Zheng lowered his head and went to sit in the back, silently vowing to himself, ‘Once I’m in charge, I’ll make Old Zhao pay.’

The other department heads couldn’t figure out what was going on either. Wasn’t President Zhao just humiliating Fang Zheng?

‘Sweet, so sweet,’ thought Manager Fu from HR, unable to suppress a smile. ‘What goes around, comes around.’ Fang Zheng’s current pathetic state was a perfect match for his earlier arrogance.

Just then, President Feng appeared at the office doorway. The room fell silent at once. He was the regional general manager and the group’s vice president—a god-like figure in the eyes of the branch’s department heads.

The moment he pushed the door open and stepped inside, the noisy discussions in the conference room instantly froze. The department heads’ gazes shot past his shoulder in unison, locking onto the familiar figure behind him—Yang Hui.

Why was Manager Yang, who had already resigned, attending today’s meeting? The department heads collectively failed to control their expressions. Manager Fu from HR, sitting next to Yang Hui, gave him a slight nod, her mind racing. As an HR professional, she was very perceptive, and a sudden thought struck her. ‘It can’t be, can it?’

The others were thinking the same thing. Yang Hui’s presence meant he was definitely back. But the seating arrangement—with him in the head seat—sent a tidal wave of shock through their hearts.

When Fang Zheng saw this, his heart nearly stopped. ‘Impossible. This is absolutely impossible! I’ve been the acting general manager for so long. How dare someone who already quit just waltz back in and reap the rewards?’

Stuffy air streamed from the central air-conditioning vents. The quarterly report on the projector screen seemed to twist and distort in the shifting light. One by one, the store renewal statuses all read “In Progress,” but they were far behind the deadline set by headquarters.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the moment President Feng would make his announcement. A glimmer of hope shone in Li Qing’s eyes. Her leader—that “Hu Hansan”—was back.

President Feng leaned back in his chair. He clicked through the data on the projector screen a few times with his presentation remote and said, “I’m not going to hold this business meeting. I’m here today to announce a major personnel change.”

After he spoke, he glanced around and saw that all eyes were fixed on him, unblinking. He smiled. He had them on the edge of their seats.

Fang Zheng prayed silently, over and over. ‘Yang Hui is here to be the operations manager. Yang Hui is here to be the operations manager.’

“First, I want to thank President Zhao. He has dedicated half his life to Ruijing Commerce. President Zhao’s tremendous contributions are a key reason the company is where it is today. He has now reached the age where he should be enjoying his grandchildren, and after careful consideration, the company couldn’t bear to continue placing such a heavy burden on him. Therefore, we have decided that as of today, President Zhao will officially begin his retirement process. Let’s all congratulate him on finally achieving his wish, and thank him for his dedication to the company and his mentorship of you all.”

He led the applause, and a thunderous ovation followed. For anyone else, losing the position of regional general manager would be a catastrophe. But President Zhao truly wanted to retire, so for him, this was the best possible news and genuinely worthy of congratulations.

“As for the new Regional General Manager, after careful deliberation, headquarters has decided—”

He was certainly good at building suspense, unaware that Fang Zheng was finding it difficult to even breathe. Although he suspected things were about to go south, a part of him still clung to the hope of a miracle.

“—that Yang Hui, President Yang, will be taking full responsibility for the overall operations of Ruijing Commerce’s Qingjiang Branch. Let’s offer him our congratulations and please give him your full support in his work.”

‘It’s over.’ Fang Zheng’s head nearly hit the tabletop. He couldn’t bear to face the others’ stares.

The applause was relentless. Manager Fu from HR and Li Qing from Operations were clapping the hardest. Nearly everyone shot a glance at Fang Zheng, their eyes filled with scorn.

The man had a habit of celebrating victory before the game was over. He loved putting on the airs of a general manager before the position was even his, and everyone had long since grown to resent him for it. Even Qin Hong’s expression was one of utter disgust. If Fang Zheng could have seen the look in her eyes, he would have understood its meaning perfectly: ‘Useless.’

Next, Yang Hui said a few pleasantries—the usual corporate talk about working hard together, growing together, and so on. Fang Zheng didn’t hear a word of it. He was terrified, wondering what he was going to do now. Would Yang Hui come back and settle the score with him?

Of course Yang Hui would settle the score. The main reason was that Yang Hui would be handling the contract renewal negotiations with Xinyue Group. Once that was settled, the head of the Channel Development department would naturally benefit. Since Yang Hui had decided to mentor a newcomer, he would certainly use this achievement to build up that person’s track record. Why would he let Fang Zheng get the credit?

After a few brief remarks, President Feng dismissed everyone. Calling any future meetings would be Yang Hui’s responsibility. He had taken time out of his packed schedule to be there and was planning to have lunch with Yang Hui and President Zhao before returning to the regional headquarters.

President Zhao’s belongings were already packed. There was no real need for such haste, but it was clear Yang Hui was unwilling to sit in the general manager’s chair as long as his things were still there.

“A Hui, don’t stand on ceremony,” said President Zhao. “As of today, you are the general manager of this branch. This seat is rightfully yours. I’m only staying on as a consultant. Once you’re settled in, I can go back to my hometown, tend to my flowers, do some fishing, and finally enjoy life.”