Chapter 236: Chapter 236: Meeting a Former Colleague
Upon reaching the 56th floor, Xia Liang stepped out of the elevator and spoke to the property manager and security guards behind him. "You can all wait here for a moment. I’m going to see an old acquaintance."
The property manager and guards nodded respectfully.
This was before I got the System.
He was filled with emotion. This was the place where he had worked for several years, and the memories of his struggles, hard work, and sweat were unforgettable.
Unfortunately, he no longer belonged here. As he walked into the company office, many of his familiar former colleagues spotted him and exclaimed in surprise.
"Brother Xia, you’re back! What are you doing here?"
"Brother Xia, how come you’re a delivery driver now?"
"Brother Xia, we’ve missed you so much!"
Xia Liang gave them a casual, relaxed smile as he greeted them. "I just had some business nearby and thought I’d drop by. Delivering food is pretty good, actually. It’s easy, free, and comfortable."
Hearing this, his colleagues looked at him with sympathy. To them, his genuine words seemed like nothing more than a strained pretense. The most dazzling young talent in the company had quit his job to deliver food. Life truly was unpredictable, toying with people’s fates.
Xia Liang chatted casually with his colleagues, reminiscing about amusing stories from the past. He had always gotten along well with them; his good-natured personality naturally made him popular.
After a few minutes of conversation, one of his former coworkers spoke up.
"Brother Xia, President Yao is in a meeting with the management team. Do you need me to take you to her?"
"I’ll go in myself," Xia Liang said with a smile. "I have something I need to see President Yao about."
With that, he walked toward the conference room with practiced ease and knocked lightly on the door. A woman’s voice called from within.
"Come in."
Pushing the door open, he entered the conference room. A professional woman in a business suit sat at the head of the table, presiding over a group of his former colleagues.
Once, I was one of them, sitting right there.
Everyone was dumbfounded when they saw Xia Liang walk in. The company’s brilliant investment ace was now a delivery driver.
They all sighed inwardly as General Manager Yao Qing looked at Xia Liang with a complicated expression. She had spoken with this young man a few times and found him exceptionally talented. She had even been planning to promote him to a key position. To her surprise, however, the very man she valued so highly had quit without so much as a resignation notice, all to deliver food.
She had originally assumed Xia Liang had found another high-paying job elsewhere. But seeing him like this, she recalled the immense profits he had generated for the company and wondered if he was thinking of coming back.
Immediately, Yao Qing extended an invitation.
"Xia Liang, I greatly admire your talent. I’d like to offer you your job back, as the Manager of the Investment Department."
Everyone at the table looked at Xia Liang with envy. In a financial company, the Investment Department Manager was a position second only to the General Manager. The annual salary started at five hundred thousand Yuan, not to mention hefty bonuses and even the possibility of receiving company shares.
To hold such a position in his twenties was a meteoric rise.
Yao Qing wore a confident expression, certain she could bring Xia Liang back into the fold. It was clear he hadn’t formally joined another financial firm yet—he was just a delivery driver. She was sure no other company could match her offer.
Xia Liang shook his head, destined to disappoint everyone in the room.
"Sorry, but I don’t plan on coming back to work right now."
When he said this, everyone in the room, including all the senior executives, was stunned. An annual salary of five hundred thousand Yuan, high commission returns, and even company shares... he refused such generous terms?
Did another company make him a better offer? A pang of bitterness hit Yao Qing. Has someone else discovered this thoroughbred?
Determined to bring back such a talent, Yao Qing decided to go all out.
"Xia Liang, if you return, you’ll be one of us again. You’ve worked here since graduation; we all have history together. Just be blunt. Whatever another company offered you, I will definitely offer more."
Xia Liang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The beautiful general manager was offering a fortune while also playing the emotional card. It certainly proved how much she valued him. Unfortunately, Xia Liang was on a completely different level from her now. He was utterly unfazed by these conditions.
"President Yao, thank you for your kind offer. I truly appreciate it. But I don’t enjoy the investment lifestyle. I much prefer my current life, delivering food and being an Anchor, getting to experience all sorts of fascinating lives and see beautiful sights. Do you understand what I’m saying?"
Yao Qing and the assembled executives felt their heads buzz. Understand? We don’t understand a damn thing! He’s giving up a senior management position at a financial firm to deliver food and spouting nonsense about ’experiencing fascinating lives’? Forgive us, but our outlook on life is clearly too low to appreciate such noble sentiments.
The beautiful General Manager, Yao Qing, massaged her forehead in exasperation.
Whether Xia Liang had truly reached a higher plane of enlightenment or was just an idiot, she knew she had lost a uniquely talented subordinate.
Regardless, Yao Qing gave him a deep bow.
"Xia Liang, you were with this company for three years. On behalf of everyone, I thank you for your contributions."
Xia Liang accepted her bow and then simply stood there.
After a moment passed, Yao Qing grew puzzled. Why isn’t he leaving? Did he change his mind? Is he going to stay and accept the position of Investment Department Manager?
A smile touched her lips at the thought.
"Xia Liang, have you changed your mind? Are you going to stay and be our Investment Department Manager?"
Xia Liang had been feeling awkward. After all, Yao Qing used to be his top boss; how could he bring himself to demand rent from her? Her question, however, gave him the perfect opening.
"No, that’s not it," Xia Liang said, seizing the opportunity. "I’m here to collect this year’s rent."
As he spoke, he produced the property’s rent collection form and handed it to her.
"This floor is quite nice. The annual rent comes to exactly twelve million Yuan. Will you be paying by bank transfer or with cash?"
Yao Qing took the form, staring at it blankly. "Twelve million Yuan?" she asked instinctively. "That’s quite expensive... Wait, is this building yours?"
Xia Liang nodded calmly. "Yes, I own the building. The rent has always been this much. I haven’t raised it, so I’m just collecting the usual amount."
Hearing him admit ownership of the building, everyone stared at him with strange expressions.
Who could have possibly guessed? That a modest, low-key, yet brilliant employee was actually the landlord of the very building their company leased.
All that crap about delivering food to see different scenery and experience different lives... Why even say all that? You could have just said, ’I’m a mega-landlord and I don’t feel like working hard anymore,’ and that would’ve been the end of it! All this useless philosophical nonsense... He must have been bored out of his mind to go deliver food. What utter bullshit.
Yao Qing’s thoughts were a tangled mess.
The young man who was once her subordinate was now her landlord. The role reversal was so sudden that she struggled to accept it.
"Twelve million Yuan..." Yao Qing began. "That amount wouldn’t have been a problem before, but after the company had to pay out a huge sum in compensation, our cash flow is a little tight."