Lu Huaiyu made the call without hesitation, his eyes sharp and commanding. “Pass down the order. Headquarters is to provide the Huacheng branch with full support for the acquisition.”
“Also, notify all senior executives that there will be a meeting in the conference room one hour from now. Anyone who can’t make it to the office will attend by video conference.”
S.D. had run into trouble, and Xie Shen had even dared to use his overseas company to get a slice of the pie. How could Lu Huaiyu possibly miss out on such an opportunity?
If he didn’t take advantage of the situation to bite off a big chunk, he wouldn’t be Lu Huaiyu.
The secretaries carefully recorded all of their boss’s instructions. “Yes, boss!”
Once Lu Huaiyu had confirmed that they had finished their reports, he began rewarding his employees.
“You’ve all worked hard during this period. There’s still going to be a busy stretch ahead, so after the meeting, remember to go to the finance department and collect your bonuses.”
The bonuses for Assistant Zhao and the secretarial team were separate from those given to the company’s other employees. They had to collect theirs individually from the finance department.
After all, his assistants and secretaries had direct access to a great many important documents, and Lu Huaiyu had always understood the importance of winning people’s loyalty.
That was why the bonuses given to his assistants and secretaries came from his personal account rather than the company’s.
Naturally, they were also much more generous than the bonuses given to the other employees.
“Thank you, boss!”
Assistant Zhao and the secretarial team shouted their thanks with impressive enthusiasm. After all, what wage earner didn’t want a bigger bonus?
Lu Huaiyu smiled and waved, signaling that they could leave and continue with their work.
Now that they had received their bonuses, Assistant Zhao and the secretarial team were bursting with motivation. They hurried out to organize the meeting.
Only after the office was empty did Lu Huaiyu unlock his phone and call Huang Dong.
The two troublesome pets at home had actually dared to go to a crowded anime convention at the height of the public-opinion storm.
They were seriously bold. He didn’t even know what to say!
He had no choice but to arrange for people to protect them in secret, just in case something happened.
Although the country was generally safe, it was always better to be prepared.
There was nothing he could do about it. Who could blame him when his own pets trusted their big brother’s abilities so completely?
And in truth, Xie Tangning and Xie Changyu were not fools. They obviously knew what they should and shouldn’t do at any given time.
The occasional bit of willfulness was harmless.
…
In a private room somewhere
Xie Changyu was sprawled in his chair like an old grandpa, his face slightly pale and his expression vacant, as if he had lost his soul.
“Xie Changyu, are you serious? You got this scared from playing a haunted-house attraction?”
“You’re really a coward!”
A cool, big-sister-type girl mocked her good friend while looking through the menu without even lifting her head.
Her name was He Ya. She had been born in Huacheng, but later moved to Haicheng with her parents for work. Every now and then, a trace of a Huacheng accent slipped into her speech.
She had been Xie Changyu’s classmate in middle school. She had skipped a grade in eighth grade, and, as it happened, she and Xie Changyu were both graduating that June.
The group had just returned from their graduation trip.
Xie Changyu let out a long breath. “You don’t understand how terrifying a faceless monster can be!”
Who would have thought that haunted-house attractions these days would have NPCs like faceless monsters?
He had been walking along when one suddenly shoved its face right in front of him. He had nearly been scared out of his wits, and he still hadn’t fully recovered.
“You know exactly what he’s like. He’s a scaredy-cat who loves playing scary games! He’s terrified every time, yet he’s always the one clamoring to go to a haunted house.”
“He’s got something wrong with his brain!”
One of the boys in the group chimed in with a jab. Xie Changyu had never gone easy on them, so this was simply a matter of returning the favor.
Xie Changyu immediately perked up and glared fiercely at him. “That’s enough, Wang Chaoming!”
“I haven’t even settled accounts with you over that lousy skateboard you gave me! Thank goodness I didn’t actually take it out to use!”
“Otherwise, where would I put my dignity?!”
Wang Chaoming looked guilty. Another girl, Wang Qingran, immediately exposed him. “As if you have any dignity left! I don’t even want to talk about that show you and Ningning went on!”
“You were only on one episode, and you’d already completely disgraced yourselves. Do you know that?!”
The next boy, Zhang Motong, immediately picked up where she left off. “To be precise, it wasn’t even a full episode. It took less than half a day for the two of them to embarrass themselves in front of the entire country!”
Clearly, anyone who hung out with Xie Changyu had to have a little venom in their system or they would never fit in.
Every single one of them had a viciously sharp tongue.
Xie Changyu slapped the table in protest. “Impossible!”
“My perfect image as a gentle, doting older brother to my little sister has earned me plenty of fans. There’s no way I embarrassed myself!”
He Ya: “Heh.”
Wang Qingran: “Hmph.”
Wang Chaoming: “Tch.”
Zhang Motong: “.”
Everyone else: “…”
Xie Changyu swept his gaze over them. “What’s wrong with all of you? You came back and immediately ganged up on me!”
“So we haven’t seen each other for over a month, and now our friendship has faded, huh? No wonder none of you usually send messages, and the group chat has been dead!”
The moment he brought that up, He Ya couldn’t help but tear into him. “You’re the one with something wrong with you! Don’t you know who the group owner is?”
“Who was it that muted everyone and still hasn’t unmuted the group?”
Zhang Motong drawled sarcastically, “Why has our friendship faded? What could possibly be the reason? So hard to guess, bro~”
Xie Changyu: “Tsk…”
Oh, crap. He seemed to be the group owner himself!
Back then, that bunch of idiots had all gone traveling. Whenever they encountered anything fun, they would @ him in the group chat and shamelessly rub it in.
While they were having the time of their lives, he had been suffering at work—or rather, recording the show.
So, in a fit of anger, he had casually muted everyone.
Xie Changyu firmly refused to admit that he was at fault. He spoke with complete confidence. “You were only muted in the group!”
“Were we not friends outside the group? I didn’t see a single reply from any of you in our private chats either!”
His philosophy was simple: never waste time blaming himself. If something went wrong, it was always someone else’s fault!
Wang Chaoming looked at him as if he were insane. “Are you sure you just came back to Haicheng after recording a show, rather than spending a month or so in a psychiatric hospital and just getting out?”
Wang Qingran nodded in agreement. “Exactly! Otherwise, why would he be acting more and more like a lunatic?!”
Zhang Motong couldn’t resist joining in. “Did working fry your brain? Never mind whether you had your phone while you were on the show!”
“Let’s just talk about who was the first one to stop replying. Gee, I wonder who it could be!”
Everyone in the private room stared at him.
Xie Changyu felt guilty again, and his face gradually grew hot with embarrassment. “Sumimasen~ It was my fault~ Please, kind sirs and ladies, be generous and forgive me this once!”
“I really didn’t do it on purpose. I thought I had replied!”
Seeing that his attitude was sincere enough, this group of mutually antagonistic friends decided to reluctantly forgive him.
There was nothing they could do. Every one of them was just as bad as the others. Forgetting to reply to messages was perfectly normal for them.
Most of the time, they used the group chat to act ridiculous, while they rarely sent private messages. If something was important, they simply called.
Besides, they had spent a long time planning this graduation trip, and the whole group had gone completely wild.
Then I saw Xie Changyu being such a wild man on that travel variety show, and before I knew it, I’d forgotten to DM the bastard and ask him to lift my mute in the group chat!
But it doesn’t really matter. Even if two people who click don’t talk for a long time, they won’t drift apart.
