Chapter Thirty-Five: Painting and Calling Me Clumsy?

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Before long, Huang Xiaohui came rushing in.

Manager Yang’s voice stopped abruptly. She immediately replaced her stern expression with a smile and went up to greet her. “Secretary Huang, what brings you here?”

Although Huang Xiaohui was technically only a secretary, she also handled many assistant-like duties. As the chairman’s secretary, she was, in simple terms, like the eunuch at an ancient emperor’s side. It was an unflattering comparison, but it sufficiently conveyed the extent of her influence.

Huang Xiaohui answered with a smile, then hurried straight over to me. With a curious yet helpless smile on her face, she asked, “Chu... Chu Fan, what’s the matter?”

I straightened up, pointed at Manager Yang, and declared righteously, “That fat woman was showing off in front of me just now. She was practically boasting all the way up to heaven, shoulder to shoulder with the sun. Now we have to outdo her! We can’t let people laugh at us! Understand?”

The moment those words left my mouth, everyone was stunned.

Manager Yang’s expression darkened. She glared at me furiously and cursed, “What a rude, uncultured man!”

Huang Xiaohui looked utterly bewildered. “How are we supposed to outdo her?”

“It’s simple. Just tell her whether I’m more important or she is.” I fixed a cold gaze on Manager Yang.

Manager Yang gave a contemptuous laugh and muttered, “You really know how to put on an act.”

Huang Xiaohui paused, then said with an awkward smile, “Of course you’re more important.”

Everyone froze.

Qin Ruhua was just as astonished. She knew I had influence, but she had assumed it was outside the company, not within it.

Manager Yang forced a smile onto her face. “Secretary Huang, he’s just a bodyguard, isn’t he?”

Huang Xiaohui gave me a helpless look. “I’m not quite sure how to explain it. In our group, Chu Fan is above you. Much, much higher.”

It seemed she had deliberately added those final words as a warning to Manager Yang.

Manager Yang stared blankly for a moment, then smiled unnaturally. “Secretary Huang, are you sure you haven’t made a mistake?”

I interrupted them, speaking without expression. “Now tell her whether I’m richer than she is.”

Huang Xiaohui gave a helpless, bitter smile. “Chu Fan, what exactly is going on between you two?”

She knew I was usually easygoing, which was why she dared to ask.

“Don’t worry about it. Just tell her who’s richer.”

Huang Xiaohui had no choice but to answer, “You, obviously. Even everyone here combined couldn’t match your wealth.”

By then, everyone realized that something was seriously wrong. Not only did Secretary Huang’s words carry tremendous weight, but the fact that I could casually order her around was proof enough that I came from no ordinary background.

Manager Yang wore a smile more painful than tears. “Secretary Huang, you... you really haven’t made a mistake?”

Huang Xiaohui sighed. “Manager Yang, I don’t know how you offended Chu Fan, but you truly shouldn’t provoke him. Why don’t you apologize to him now? He’s actually quite easy to reason with.”

Manager Yang immediately became furious and humiliated. Her face flushed crimson as she shouted, “You want me to apologize to a mere bodyguard? Impossible! Secretary Huang, this man loves to boast and show off. Surely you haven’t been deceived by him?”

Huang Xiaohui sighed again and said nothing. She seemed to realize that further persuasion would be pointless.

I said coldly, “Whether you apologize or not no longer matters. You’ve already been fired.”

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Put simply, I fired her because I had the money and the right to indulge myself. In my eyes, her mistake was not that she had shown off, nor that she had targeted me. Her real mistake was setting her sights on Qin Ruhua. That alone was enough reason for me to fire her on a whim.

I had long since grown indifferent to money. These days, the thing I cared about most was women. I could proudly say that for the sake of a beloved woman, I was willing to throw away hundreds of millions—even everything I had. When I gave Ling Xuan two billion, I had not even blinked, nor had I asked for any shares in return. Now, for Qin Ruhua’s sake, I could just as easily fire a minor figure like Manager Yang. I refused to believe she could possibly be worth more than two billion.

To put it even more dramatically, if this company belonged to me and I had to choose between the company and a woman, I would choose the woman without the slightest hesitation.

Of course, that was already giving Manager Yang far too much importance. In a company as enormous as Dongshan Group, she was merely a mid- to lower-level manager in one of its subsidiaries. She was insignificant; replacing her with several others would be a trivial matter. Such things happened every day in any major corporation.

The moment I said it, everyone was shocked.

Manager Yang was the first to erupt. Pointing at me with a trembling finger, she roared, “What right do you have to fire me? Who do you think you are? I’m a properly contracted employee...”

Huang Xiaohui hurried over and pulled her aside. “Manager Yang, don’t make a scene. There’s nothing I can do about this. You have indeed been fired. The company will pay you every cent of your contractual compensation.”

Manager Yang froze, her voice dying in her throat. She stared blankly ahead. “What? Really... really?”

Just then, someone entered through the door. It was Zhang Shaohua.

He walked in with his head lowered, but the moment he looked up and saw me, he was so startled that he became completely flustered.

Manager Yang’s eyes lit up. She hurried over and put on a flattering smile. “Shaohua, what brings you here? You came at just the right time!”

From her expression, she seemed to regard Zhang Shaohua as an executive and her last hope of salvation.

Zhang Shaohua glanced at me hurriedly and gave a bitter smile. “Auntie, I came to say a few words to you, but forget it. I’ll leave for now and contact you later.”

I was slightly taken aback. Auntie? Was this a case of nepotism?

“Wait, don’t go!” Manager Yang hastily grabbed him. “Someone here is trying to fire me.”

Zhang Shaohua froze. He looked at me, then at Manager Yang, without showing the slightest reaction.

I turned my head and asked, “Xiaohui, have his dismissal procedures been completed?”

“They have.”

“Has the announcement been issued?”

Huang Xiaohui shook her head. “Not yet. You called me down immediately after the procedures were finished.”

“Hmm.” I nodded and said nothing.

After a pause, Zhang Shaohua gave a bitter smile. “I’ve been fired too.”

“Who? Who would dare fire you?” Manager Yang’s voice rose at once, her face filled with disbelief.

Zhang Shaohua glanced at me, then turned and walked away.

Manager Yang stood there in a daze. At last, she understood that I was the one who had fired him. Her face went deathly pale as she stared at me blankly.

I waved my hand indifferently. “Xiaohui, take her to Human Resources and have her complete the formalities.”

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“All right.”

Huang Xiaohui immediately pulled Manager Yang toward the door. Manager Yang looked at me and moved her lips, but in the end she could not bring herself to say anything. She followed Huang Xiaohui out with her head bowed, utterly dejected.

The office fell silent. Every female employee stared at me in shock and curiosity.

“Chu Fan, who are you really?”

I turned around and saw Qin Ruhua studying me with a puzzled expression. Thinking of the more than one billion in funds she had, I found the situation both amusing and interesting.

“Didn’t I tell you last time? I made some money doing business over the years, so I invested some of it in the company.”

She would find out about my status as a shareholder sooner or later, so there was no need to hide it. As for the more than one billion she possessed, there was still no way to explain it clearly. I had not mentioned it and could only let her spend it as though it were mine in the future.

“Oh! So you’re a shareholder!” Qin Ruhua nodded and smiled. Though she was still somewhat puzzled, she did not press the matter.

I smiled. “By the way, why didn’t you spend the money last time I told you to? Didn’t I say you could spend whatever you wanted under a hundred thousand? Well, I’m raising the limit now. Spend whatever you like under a million.”

Qin Ruhua gave a light laugh and rolled her eyes at me. “All right, all right. I know you’re rich, but I can earn money now, and I have enough to spend. Why should I spend yours? You’re not exactly...”

Her face flushed, and she stopped there.

“Not exactly what?” I asked with a grin.

“All right, enough. I have to work now. Hurry home.” Blushing, Qin Ruhua smiled and reached out to push me away.

I had stayed long enough. The gloom Ling Xuan had caused me had already vanished, so I rose and headed outside. Qin Ruhua followed me out to see me off.

The other employees watched us with curiosity and envy.

Once we reached the corridor, I smiled. “Ruhua, I’ve noticed that people are always trying to pursue you. I mentioned it last time—why don’t I keep pretending to be your boyfriend and help chase away those flies?”

Qin Ruhua stood before me, tall and slender, with a graceful figure and alluring curves. She was only slightly shorter than I was.

She did not answer. She merely gazed at me with a smile. After a while, she chuckled softly. “Brother Fan, I’ve realized that you’re really stupid.”

I was stunned. “How am I stupid?”

Qin Ruhua let out a soft laugh. “All right, then. You’re the smartest man in the world.”

As she spoke, she glanced left and right. Seeing that no one was in the corridor, she quickly stepped forward and gave me a light embrace. In a low voice, she laughed, “Weren’t you asking for comfort and a hug? There, you’ve got one. Now hurry home!”

Then she immediately pushed me once, turned around, lowered her head, and ran back into the office.

I smiled as I watched her figure disappear inside, then turned and left.

She called me stupid? Wasn’t that just her way of admitting that she had feelings for me too? Did she think I didn’t know? Sooner or later, I’d win her over.