"Can't we not part ways?" The boss, Mr. Huang, spoke plaintively upon seeing the resignation letter.
It wasn't that he was reluctant to part with Hu Jing's beauty, but rather that Mr. Huang genuinely couldn't do without Hu Jing, his capable secretary. As a secretary, Hu Jing managed all affairs in an orderly fashion. Any matter Mr. Huang inquired about, Hu Jing could immediately provide an answer. Moreover, she had largely taken over Leng Zhiruo's translation duties. It could be said that Hu Jing was a major contributor to Mr. Huang's current comfortable life.
Furthermore, within the company, many people directly called Hu Jing "Prime Minister Hu." Hu Jing had essentially become the Prime Minister. However, the more common implication referred to the Chief Grand Secretary, signifying a role of auxiliary support.
While the Chief Grand Secretary in the Ming Dynasty and later periods was effectively the Prime Minister, this also represented Hu Jing's important position within the entire Jiangnan Group. Now, with her resignation, Mr. Huang was naturally caught off guard and unwilling.
Of course, there were other considerations. Hu Jing knew Mr. Huang's secrets, many of which could not be made public. Mr. Huang could not simply let Hu Jing leave.
"Boss, I'm already 26 years old!" Hu Jing sighed.
"What's wrong with being 26?" Mr. Huang blinked and asked.
"But I still haven't had a boyfriend. My daily work involves following you around, and I don't experience any of life's joys at all," Hu Jing said.
"But your hard work has its rewards, right? I give you more, isn't that a fact?" Mr. Huang said aggrievedly.
"That is indeed a fact, and you give me too much. It might be unbelievable if I said it out loud, but I now have over 100 million in savings. Perhaps no female celebrity in the entire entertainment industry earns as much as I do. My money is enough; I'll never run out of it in my lifetime!" Hu Jing said.
"That's more like it!" Mr. Huang nodded, but the next second he heard Hu Jing continue, "Precisely because I have enough money for the rest of my life, I have no idea what all this hard work is for. Isn't the purpose of work to earn money? I'm already earning more than enough. Isn't it better to take this money and live the rest of my life beautifully?"
"So, paying you such a high salary has backfired on me..." Mr. Huang rolled his eyes. "No, I still can't let you go. I can't do without you here!"
Hu Jing sighed again. "I actually have a detailed personal plan. I hope to get married before I'm 30 and have my own children before I'm 32. But now, following you every day, I don't even have time to date. This can't go on!"
"How about this, I'll resign first to date and have children. If you still need me in the future, I'll come back to be your secretary!"
"..." Mr. Huang imagined Hu Jing having children with someone else and then returning to work for him. A surge of anger welled up within him. "No, absolutely not, I disagree!"
"It doesn't matter if you disagree. I have the right to decide my work. You can handle it however you see fit!" With that, Hu Jing walked away directly, leaving Mr. Huang stunned in his office.
After a few minutes, Mr. Huang made a phone call. Shortly after, a young man entered, quietly closed the door, and stood there silently.
"Has Secretary Hu been acting unusually recently?" Mr. Huang asked calmly.
"Yes, our people have been observing Secretary Hu throughout. Secretary Hu has shown no abnormal behavior. However, if I had to say anything, it would be that someone is aggressively pursuing Secretary Hu!" the young man said.
"Who?" Mr. Huang's gaze was sharp.
"He's Malaysian. His family is one of the wealthiest in Malaysia, and his father holds the title of Datuk, with very high status. Their family's assets are reportedly over 2 billion US dollars!" the young man said, then handed a photo to Mr. Huang. It showed a man in his early thirties.
He looked quite ordinary. Apart from wearing branded clothing, there was no way he was handsomer or richer than Mr. Huang.
"Hu Jing would fall for someone like this?" Mr. Huang was somewhat angry. If it were Bill Gates pursuing Hu Jing, Mr. Huang wouldn't be this upset, as Bill Gates was richer than Mr. Huang. But this unremarkable person, with family assets of less than 2 billion US dollars, and moreover, assets not earned by himself but inherited from his family, naturally made Mr. Huang very unhappy.
"By the way, how is Hu Jing's relationship with this fellow? Have they been alone together?" Huang He suddenly asked, clenching his fists slightly.
"No!" the young man affirmed with certainty. "Our people monitor Secretary Hu 24 hours a day. She has absolutely not been alone with any male. Furthermore, her call records, chat logs, and other information contain no content of that nature."
"Because of this, we had always assumed this was a one-sided pursuit by this Malaysian individual, and therefore, we hadn't reported these matters to you proactively. After all, you told us not to report proactively unless it involved threats to company safety or confidential information!"
"Could it be that Hu Jing feels she should be dating because she's being pursued, and that's why she wants to resign?" Mr. Huang scratched his head. In his past life, he had no women. In this life, his sisters-in-law had their affection levels naturally maxed out. As for other women, as long as he revealed his identity, the difficulty of winning them over was practically zero, even negative. Countless women actively wanted to throw themselves at him, yet Mr. Huang still couldn't fathom women's thoughts.
This was far more difficult than making money.
"Oh, there's one more thing I need to report to you!" the young man said, hesitating slightly.
"What is it?" Mr. Huang asked dismissively.
"Hao Jianguo might be planning to engineer an accidental encounter, having a woman travel on the same flight back to the country with you, thereby allowing her to get close to you. The specific purpose is unclear, but we have reason to believe that Hao Jianguo hopes this woman can gain more internal company intelligence through her close relationship with you!" the young man said.
"This Hao Jianguo is truly dedicated! If everyone in the world were as dedicated as Hao Jianguo, that would be great!" Mr. Huang rolled his eyes. "Have you identified this woman's identity?"
"She seems to be Hao Jianguo's girlfriend," the young man said, licking his lips.
"What!" Mr. Huang was stunned. "What did you say? Hao Jianguo plans to place his girlfriend by my side? And have her establish an intimate relationship with me?"
"Yes. We've checked this woman's medical records. Two months ago, she underwent a Cnm restoration surgery, as well as a yB whitening and tightening procedure. We don't believe she would undergo such surgeries without ulterior motives!" the young man said softly, his face slightly flushed.
"This is interesting. If Hao Jianguo's sole intention was to gather intelligence, he could have simply found any obedient and beautiful woman. There would be no need to send his own girlfriend and have himself cuckolded. What exactly is this guy planning?" Mr. Huang rubbed his nose, truly unable to figure it out for the moment.
"Do you have any suggestions?" Mr. Huang suddenly asked the young man.
"Yes. Based on an analysis of Hao Jianguo's behavior, I believe Hao Jianguo intends for his girlfriend to conceive your child. And if you were to then die unexpectedly, your only blood relative would undoubtedly have inheritance rights to the company."
"Moreover, since you are not yet married, it's very likely that the entire company would fall to this child, and Hao Jianguo would surely hold leverage over this woman. He could then control the company by controlling the child!" the young man said.
"This guy... he's planning to be Lü Buwei!" Mr. Huang's mouth agape. He had never expected Hao Jianguo to have such intentions.
"By the way, could these two matters be related?" Huang He asked.
"Perhaps. Hu secretary's departure would certainly facilitate this woman's actions. However, we have no evidence to prove any connection between the two," the young man said.
"You've worked hard. By the way, you've been in the US with me for so long, do you miss home? Would you like me to grant you leave so you can go home and rest?" Mr. Huang said reassuringly.
"Boss, you don't need to thank me. After all, you saved my life! If it weren't for you back then, I would have perished in that inferno," the young man said with a smile, his face full of gratitude.
This young man was none other than the child Mr. Huang personally rescued from a fire scene. Later, this child had maintained contact with Mr. Huang. As soon as he graduated from high school, he joined Jiangnan Group and was placed by Mr. Huang to be directly in charge of the company's water dispenser department.
Yes, the so-called water dispenser department was actually a hidden intelligence department within Jiangnan Group, but it was not for external use. It was specifically for internal monitoring of Jiangnan Group's various high-level executives, important tasks, and the company's internal operations.
Mr. Huang never believed in the cliché of "not doubting those you employ, and not employing those you doubt." It was like Liu Bei, who acted his entire life, only to be led into an abyss by his brother-in-law Mi Fang at the very end.
Mr. Huang was not Zhu Yuanzhang, because he was even more cunning than Zhu Yuanzhang.