Yang Zhen's former department was on the sixteenth floor. Even though he had left more than half a year ago, he still navigated it with ease.
More than half of the employees in the department had been replaced, and now they all appeared to be new faces.
This was the sorrow of the entire industry.
Once you reached a certain age, younger blood, cheaper labor, would replace you.
Without much sentimentality, Yang Zhen walked towards the manager's office.
Without knocking, Yang Zhen pushed the door open and entered.
Inside the office, a man in a sharp suit was on the phone, leaning back in his chair.
Upon hearing footsteps, he immediately showed displeasure.
Who dared to be so bold as to barge into his office without knocking?
Just as he was about to curse, he saw Yang Zhen and was slightly taken aback.
"How is it you?"
Yang Zhen surveyed the office and then casually sat down opposite the department manager.
"Long time no see, Li Zhengye!"
Li Zhengye slicked back his gleaming hair and spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"Senior Brother, what wind brings you here today?"
It turned out that this department manager was Yang Zhen's junior from university, and they had once been good friends.
With Li Zhengye's business capabilities, he wouldn't have qualified to join this company back then.
It was Yang Zhen who spoke highly of him, and only then was he hired.
After joining, however, he rose rapidly through the ranks with his sycophantic skills, becoming Yang Zhen's superior.
Later, it was his decision that led to Yang Zhen's "graduation."
Yang Zhen looked down on such an ungrateful wretch from the bottom of his heart.
He said mockingly, "The northwest wind, Senior Brother. I'm so poor I can barely afford to eat."
Li Zhengye forced a smile.
"Yang Zhen, what do you mean by that? If you can't afford to eat, why come to me? Do you think this is a charity organization?"
Yang Zhen's smile vanished.
"Li Zhengye, don't play dumb with me. The company owes me 100,000 yuan in compensation, and it hasn't been paid yet. Who else would I come to if not you?"
Li Zhengye let out a cold snort.
"Yang Zhen, are you out of your mind for money?"
"The company gave you the opportunity to learn and grow. It's bad enough you don't show gratitude, but you still expect compensation after leaving? Do you have any conscience?"
Yang Zhen sneered.
"You're talking to me about conscience? Back when you were struggling financially and couldn't even afford food after paying tuition, who lent you their meal card?"
"When you were working part-time and neglecting your studies, who covered for your attendance and class participation multiple times?"
"And that time, when you had acute appendicitis in the middle of the night, who paid your deposit and took care of you in the hospital for half a month?"
"And who brought you into this company? What did you do to him in the end?"
Yang Zhen paused and said indignantly,
"You fired him!"
"You talk to me about conscience, are you worthy?"
Hearing Yang Zhen's words, even someone as despicable as Li Zhengye felt a pang of guilt, his face flushing and paling.
But he was, after all, a shameless scoundrel. After a moment of guilt, he changed his tune.
He took out two hundred yuan and threw it in front of Yang Zhen.
"It's been eight hundred years, and you're still bringing it up? With your mindset, you'll never amount to anything in this life!"
"That's why they say you're a failure. You brought me into the company, and yet you're not doing as well as me, and you still have the nerve to talk about it?"
"Take this two hundred yuan and get out. Don't bother me again!"
A sinister smile appeared on Yang Zhen's face. "Li Zhengye, do you really think you're doing better than me?"
Li Zhengye spread his hands.
"Isn't that obvious?"
"I'm the department manager now, with an annual salary of over a million, and a bright future ahead!"
"On the other hand, you're old, incompetent, constantly hitting dead ends when looking for a job, and now you can't even afford to eat!"
"You beggar, what right do you have to compare yourself to me?"
The more Li Zhengye provoked him, the brighter the light in Yang Zhen's eyes became.
Because he knew very well that he had at least a hundred ways to make the other party wish they were dead.
And the other party was still foolishly provoking his anger.
"Li Zhengye, I'll give you one last chance. Within ten minutes, put 100,000 yuan in front of me, or face the consequences!"
Yang Zhen's voice was low, and his aura suddenly erupted.
The invisible pressure caused the temperature in the office to drop by a few degrees.
Li Zhengye's hair stood on end.
However, he didn't attribute it to Yang Zhen, instead blaming the air conditioning for being too cold today.
He pointed at Yang Zhen's nose and angrily said, "Are you trying to be a tough guy with me? You trash like you only have this much ability left."
"Unfortunately, no matter how much you struggle, it's useless. With a single word from me, security will throw you out immediately!"
"It's right that the company fired you, you useless piece of trash with no ability and extremely low素质!"
As soon as Li Zhengye finished speaking, a clear and crisp voice came from outside the door.
"I think it's you who should be fired by the company!"
"Who dares to be so bold, damn it... Su, President Su?"
Just as Li Zhengye was about to curse, he saw a graceful young woman walk in from outside.
He was so startled that he immediately changed his tune, his expression shifting instantly. He became subservient, bowing and scraping.
"President Su, why are you here?"
At this moment, Yang Zhen was also taken aback. He looked at the graceful young woman with a confused expression. "How is it you?"
The young woman smiled and nodded. "Yes, it's me."
It turned out that this graceful young woman was the mother of the young boy Yang Zhen had just helped.
And she was also the new beautiful president of Tianyuan Group, Su Anran.
Li Zhengye was completely bewildered. What was going on?
How could this good-for-nothing Yang Zhen know Su Anran?
President Su had only been in office for less than three months, and Yang Zhen had been fired for over half a year!
After greeting Yang Zhen, Su Anran suddenly widened her beautiful eyes and glared at Li Zhengye.
"Manager Li, what is going on?"
Li Zhengye felt uneasy, but he still tried to quibble.
"President Su, this kid is just a troublemaker. You don't need to worry about it, let me handle it."
Hearing this, Su Anran let out an angry roar.
"Nonsense! Would my benefactor be a troublemaker?"
Although she was just a woman, she was worthy of being a president, exuding an extremely powerful aura of authority.
The once arrogant Li Zhengye instantly seemed to shrink in her presence.
He stared in disbelief, his face a picture of astonishment.
How had this good-for-nothing Yang Zhen become Su Anran's benefactor?
But he was already stunned by Su Anran's roar, stammering and unable to speak clearly.
"No, no, President Su, you, you listen to my explanation..."
Su Anran let out a cold snort.
"I don't want to hear your explanation. Benefactor, you tell me, what's happening, feel free to report it to me."
Yang Zhen hadn't expected things to happen so coincidentally.
Since this President Su had so much influence, it saved him the trouble of taking action against Li Zhengye.
He recounted the entire incident.
Su Anran frowned. "That's not right. The company's employee compensation had clearly been distributed to each department. Why wasn't yours paid?"
Then, as if she had thought of something, her sharp gaze pierced Li Zhengye like a knife.