CH 77

Chapter 77 – The Grass on Top of the Wall

Chen Li’s gaze was filled with vigilance as he curled up on the sofa. He looked like a lonely little beast, huddled in the corner, warning humans who wanted to harm him. He looked pitiful.

Being stared at by Chen Li made Gao Sheng extremely uncomfortable. He tugged at the corner of his mouth and said, “I came to find Director Wei. Since he’s busy at the moment, I’ll come back later.” After speaking, he exited the office, thinking to himself, ‘No wonder Director Wei is always on guard. If this happened to anyone else, they wouldn’t trust anyone either.’

Gao Sheng sighed as he left the office, and coincidentally, He Keqiang also came out from the office, and the two of them ran into each other.

He Keqiang didn’t expect to meet Gao Sheng in the marketing department. He was the only one in the empty marketing department, which made him feel embarrassed.

“Assistant Gao, why are you… here?” He Keqiang took a step out of the office but abruptly stepped back. If possible, he wanted to go back to his own office right now.

“I came to find Director Wei. I heard he’s in a meeting,” Gao Sheng said, furrowing his brow. “Isn’t everyone from the marketing department in a meeting? Why is Manager He here?”

He Keqiang definitely couldn’t say that he had skipped the meeting, so he forced a smile and said, “I came out to use the restroom. I’ll go back immediately.”

Gao Sheng nodded understandingly and said, “Then Manager He, please hurry back to the meeting. I won’t disturb you.”

“Okay, okay, okay.” He Keqiang repeated “okay” several times and then walked towards the conference room under Gao Sheng’s gaze. God knows that ever since Wei Chen joined the company, he hadn’t attended any of the meetings he chaired. Going in now would just be a slap in the face.

In the marketing department’s conference room, Wei Chen was presiding over the meeting. Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and He Keqiang walked in, hunching his body.

Wei Chen’s gaze fell on He Keqiang, and after a fleeting glance, he continued with the previous topic. The other employees in the marketing department didn’t even bother to look at He Keqiang, focusing solely on listening to Wei Chen’s speech.

He Keqiang’s face felt hot and flushed. He found a seat but felt incredibly uneasy.

He Keqiang’s entrance didn’t disrupt the meeting at all, not even a bit. He even doubted whether his presence or absence made any difference to the people in the marketing department.

The most frustrating and unsettling thing is not having your mistakes thrown in your face, being glared at in anger, or being accused, even to the point of someone stomping their feet in anger. It’s the complete and utter disregard, the disregard for your mistakes, the complete disregard for your existence.

The former, at least, makes you feel like there’s hope and that someone cares about you. But when it reaches the level of the latter, it truly means they don’t care about you.

Even if you, He Keqiang, are the manager of the marketing department, so what? You no longer have any right to speak in the marketing department. Your decisions and even your existence have become completely transparent in the marketing department.

He Keqiang himself also realized this. He slumped on the chair, looking at Wei Chen, who was confidently presiding over the meeting, filled with endless regret and jealousy.

He regretted underestimating Wei Chen’s abilities and blindly confronting him, only to end up in such a stagnant situation. But he was also jealous, jealous of Wei Chen’s young age and strong connections, jealous of Wei Chen’s background, jealous of everything about Wei Chen!

Why was it that after struggling for so many years, he couldn’t compare to a young newcomer who had just entered the workforce? Why did this young newcomer surpass him as soon as he joined the company?

What was the reason?

During the final meeting, He Keqiang couldn’t listen to anything Wei Chen said. Perhaps at the beginning, he felt a hint of regret, but as he delved deeper into his own thoughts, his jealousy grew stronger, pushing regret into a corner and leaving no room for it.

However, after struggling for so many years, He Keqiang had undoubtedly developed his own way of handling things. Although his jealousy was on the verge of overflowing, he didn’t show it on his face. Instead, he wore a look of frustration and shame, as if reflecting on his previous actions.

“This meeting is adjourned.” Wei Chen’s cold voice brought He Keqiang back to his senses. Following that were the sounds of chairs scraping against the floor and the lively discussions among the employees. He Keqiang stood up from his seat and saw Wei Chen about to leave the office, so he quickly caught up.

“Director Wei, please wait for me.” He Keqiang nodded and bowed, a complete contrast to his earlier mocking and sarcastic demeanor. Wei Chen paused upon hearing his words, glanced at He Keqiang, and asked, “Manager He, what is it?”

“Director Wei, I’ve come to apologize to you. These past few days, I truly didn’t recognize the value of a gem and ended up offending you. I’m really sorry,” He Keqiang said with a smile, trying to be flexible.

Wei Chen responded, “I accept your apology.” With those simple words, Wei Chen continued walking forward.

He Keqiang was once again left behind by Wei Chen, feeling somewhat confused. He had no idea what Wei Chen meant by accepting his apology. What should he do next?

He Keqiang wanted to catch up, but someone behind him stopped him.

“Manager He, what act are you putting on now?” a slightly mocking voice sounded in He Keqiang’s ears, making him halt and turn to face the person—the assistant manager of the marketing department.

He Keqiang had never gotten along well with this assistant manager. In the past month, he had mocked the assistant manager multiple times. Little did he expect that the tides would turn, and now it was directed at He Keqiang himself.

“Why are you trying to cozy up to him? Your behavior is so embarrassing!” He Keqiang retorted, unable to tolerate the smug look on the assistant manager’s face.

Little did he expect that when he said those words, the assistant manager didn’t get angry. Instead, he burst into laughter and said, “That’s right, Director Wei’s thigh is thick enough. Weren’t you just thinking about embracing it? But I wonder if Director Wei would mind your dirty hands that have embraced someone else’s thigh?”

The assistant manager spoke confidently, proud to have the opportunity to embrace Director Wei’s powerful thigh. Unlike some grass on top of the wall that sways with the wind, he found it pitiful and laughable.

“What do you mean by that, Lu Wei?” He Keqiang denied it with his mouth, but his face burned as if someone had grabbed his collar and slapped him repeatedly, causing a burning sensation.

“What do I mean? Don’t you know yourself?” Lu Wei, the assistant manager, curled his lips and raised an eyebrow. “You think Director Wei doesn’t know about the dirty things you’ve done? Who are you pretending to be innocent for?”

He Keqiang felt as if he could hear Lu Wei’s laughter, as well as the laughter of all the employees in the marketing department behind him. It was filled with disdain and mockery.

“Just wait! Don’t be too happy!” He Keqiang stormed off in anger, feeling somewhat ashamed.

“Yes, we’ll wait,” Lu Wei said, watching He Keqiang’s figure as he replied.

Yes, they would wait. Whatever difficulties arose afterward, they would endure and bear them together with their Director Wei. So why should they worry about He Keqiang?

The people in the marketing department were well aware of the challenges they would face in the future. Wei Chen had really offended Zhou Tongpeng this time. Everyone in Changfeng Group knew that Zhou Tongpeng was someone who would seek revenge for the slightest grievance. Although it seemed like nothing had happened for now, no one knew what Zhou Tongpeng was planning behind the scenes.

They all knew that Zhou Tongpeng wouldn’t let their Director Wei off so easily.

While the crisis seemed to have subsided, the situation had actually become more serious.

*

After coming out of the meeting room, Wei Chen saw Gao Sheng sitting bored in the marketing department’s work area.

Gao Sheng immediately approached Wei Chen and said, “Director Wei, you finally finished the meeting.”

“You didn’t have to wait long, Assistant Gao,” Wei Chen replied. He didn’t ask why Gao Sheng didn’t wait in the office; he probably knew that Chen Li was in there, so Gao Sheng came out to wait for him.

“It wasn’t long at all,” Gao Sheng said while entering the office with Wei Chen.

Chen Li turned his head to look outside when he heard the noise. Seeing that it was Wei Chen who entered, he calmly turned back and continued reading his book, a complete contrast to his previous attitude when Gao Sheng entered.

Gao Sheng was somewhat surprised by the stark difference in Chen Li’s reaction to Wei Chen’s presence. How could it change so drastically?

Gao Sheng dismissed his amazement, informed Wei Chen about Zhuge Feng’s plan to host a celebration banquet, and waited for Wei Chen’s response.

“Alright, I will inform everyone,” Wei Chen agreed. The marketing department had been busy for the past month, and now they were being rewarded. Wei Chen naturally wouldn’t refuse.

“Director Wei, the General Manager also asked me to apologize on his behalf. He admitted that he was wrong in the previous matter and hopes that Director Wei can forgive him,” Gao Sheng said. That was the real reason why he waited for Wei Chen to finish the meeting in the marketing department. Otherwise, a phone call would have sufficed to discuss the celebration banquet.

“Hmm?” Wei Chen looked up from his documents, sensing Gao Sheng’s sudden seriousness.

Gao Sheng cleared his throat and said, “The General Manager asked me to apologize on his behalf. He admitted that he was wrong in the previous matter and hopes that Director Wei can forgive him.” Zhuge Feng was apologizing for intervening in Wei Chen’s task and calculating against him.

Wei Chen was somewhat surprised and replied, “Please tell General Manager Zhuge that there was no right or wrong in this matter.”

Yes, there was no right or wrong in this matter. Anyone in Zhuge Feng’s position would have made the same choice. It wasn’t about right or wrong; it was about maximizing interests. Wei Chen didn’t expect Zhuge Feng to apologize for this matter, but he understood that the apology was not for the incident itself, but rather for Wei Chen as an individual. Zhuge Feng had recognized Wei Chen’s capabilities and had developed an appreciation for him, hence the apology, in an attempt to eliminate the gap between them.

If Wei Chen hadn’t presented such a perfect performance this time, Zhuge Feng would still benefit from the situation, but he wouldn’t choose to apologize. After all, Wei Chen wouldn’t have made him lower his head and submit.

That was the reality—ability was the ultimate criterion.