Volume One: High School Days Chapter 76: Finally, It's Time to Make an Appearance

After lunch, Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong walked into the office area, where all their colleagues cast strange looks their way. At that moment, Supervisor Zhu stared at them arrogantly and declared, “If you don’t finish today’s tasks, don’t even think about going home. Tomorrow brings its own workload, and if you let today’s work spill over, you’ll be in real trouble!”

Liu Sheng gazed at Supervisor Zhu’s pork-chop face and wished he could slap out those big teeth—but that would have to wait a week. Ignoring Zhu, Liu Sheng sat down, only for other colleagues to begin pestering him: “Hey, newbie, fetch me a glass of water!” “New guy, come sweep over here for me.” Although unwilling, Liu Sheng still did as they asked, and with his persuasion, Ren Xiadong joined in.

When Liu Sheng approached the workstation of the colleague who’d asked him to sweep, broom in hand, the man was munching on sunflower seeds. As soon as Liu Sheng finished sweeping, the colleague tossed more shells onto the floor. Despite such treatment, Liu Sheng swept up the shells again and again, all the while thinking, “Just wait till this week is over—I’ll make you pay!”

Watching Liu Sheng busy himself, Supervisor Zhu commented, “Liu Sheng, I admire your eagerness to help, but if you don’t finish today’s work, you still can’t go home.” Zhu deliberately incited the others against Liu Sheng, hoping to see him flustered and even brought to tears by the end of the day.

Finally, when no one else demanded his help, Liu Sheng sat down for a rest—only for Supervisor Zhu to shout, “Liu Sheng, go buy me a coffee! No sugar!” Liu Sheng felt irritated, but recalling Old Master Hu’s instruction to conduct an undercover visit to understand company policies and employees’ thoughts as a regular staff member, he suppressed his annoyance.

With no other choice, Liu Sheng got up to head to the café downstairs. Before he could leave, other colleagues chimed in, “I want one too!” “Me as well!” “Get me a cup!” Liu Sheng scanned the office—there were 82 people in the editing department. He beckoned Ren Xiadong to follow, and Wang Yi, feeling responsible for Liu Sheng’s trouble, tagged along.

As Wang Yi passed Supervisor Zhu, she glared and snorted coldly at him. At the café, Liu Sheng ordered 83 lattes, including his own, all without sugar—he wanted everyone alert, not sleepy.

While waiting, Deputy Director Zhu walked over, sneering at Liu Sheng and the others, “Is this the kind of place you paupers can afford?” He turned to Wang Yi, saying, “Why are you hanging around with this poor kid? He can’t give you anything. Think about it—if you’re willing, I’ll promote you to supervisor.”

Wang Yi answered calmly, with principle, “I’m grateful you let me work here, but I don’t think I’m hot stuff because of it. I work hard every day and want to stay based on my own effort.”

Deputy Director Zhu was clearly irritated but didn’t want to openly fall out with Wang Yi. He then asked Liu Sheng, “Do you own a house?” Liu Sheng shook his head. “Do you own a car?” Zhu pressed. Liu Sheng shook his head again. Zhu grinned smugly, grabbed Liu Sheng’s collar, and led him to the underground parking lot, stopping in front of an A6. “Look at this, you poor fool! You’ll never afford this car—it’s mine!”

Liu Sheng looked at the A6 and thought, “It’s not so ugly—maybe I’ll buy one someday.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Ren Xiadong jumped onto the hood of the A6. Deputy Director Zhu rushed forward, shouting, “Do you even know how much this car costs? You couldn’t pay for it even if you sold yourself!” Ren Xiadong grew even angrier, first kicking Zhu to the ground, then smashing the A6’s windshield with a fierce kick. The glass shattered.

Deputy Director Zhu saw his beloved new car ruined and stood up, cursing, “Damn you! Unless you cough up a hundred thousand for repairs, none of you are leaving!”

Wang Yi, seeing Zhu demand such a sum from Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong, hurriedly pleaded, “They just started working here and are new to the city—they can’t possibly have that kind of money. We’ll help pay for repairs together.”

“A hundred thousand! If you don’t have it, you’re not leaving!” Zhu repeated. Liu Sheng could hardly stand it anymore; all the trouble from his colleagues had been instigated by Zhu. Unable to endure it, Liu Sheng grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall, marched toward the A6. Zhu, seeing Liu Sheng coming with the extinguisher, spread his arms in front of the car to block him.

Ren Xiadong, seeing Liu Sheng’s true colors emerge, remarked, “Ah, finally showing your real self!” She jumped off the car, yanked Zhu out of the way, and Liu Sheng smashed all the car's windows with the extinguisher, then pointed it at Zhu, declaring, “I’m not just wrecking your car—I can’t pay you, either! What can you do to me?”

Deputy Director Zhu sat on the ground, staring at the extinguisher pointed at him, and recalling the ferocity of Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong, decided it was wiser not to suffer losses now.

Seeing Zhu silent, Liu Sheng didn’t linger—after all, 83 coffees were waiting. When Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong left, Wang Yi stayed. She bowed to Zhu, apologized, and said, “Please don’t trouble them—they’re young and don’t know any better. I’ll work hard and give you half my salary each month until your car is paid off.”

Zhu looked around, confirmed Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong had gone, then said to Wang Yi, “So you really fancy that poor kid? Think it over—if you follow me, you’ll never lack for anything. I earn five million a year! If you follow him, you’ll be lucky to make a hundred thousand and you’ll be left with nothing!”

Wang Yi stood tall and replied with dignity, “No, I’m not looking to be with Liu Sheng. Since joining this company, everyone’s been scheming and changeable—except Liu Sheng, who sincerely helped me. I want to help him in return.”

Deputy Director Zhu sneered, “Fine, I won’t trouble them for now. The repair money means nothing to me, but if you want me to leave them alone, you’ll need to show some real sincerity.”

Wang Yi asked anxiously, “What do you mean?”

“I’ll fix the car today. Tomorrow morning, come to my office—I’ll be waiting. If you don’t come, I’ll make sure those two suffer. Don’t forget, rank trumps all, and they’re just entry-level staff!” With that, Zhu stalked over, sniffed Wang Yi’s hair, smiled wickedly, and whispered, “If you don’t want to see them in trouble, make sure I see you in my office tomorrow.” Then he drove away in his glassless A6.

Wang Yi understood exactly what Zhu meant. She wanted to flee, but recalling how Liu Sheng had helped her, she gritted her teeth and thought, “One step at a time.”

In the café, the 83 coffees were ready. Not seeing Wang Yi, Liu Sheng asked Ren Xiadong, “Where’s Wang Yi?”

“No idea—she was just behind us,” Ren Xiadong replied.

Just then, Wang Yi ran over, saying, “I went to the restroom. Let me help you carry these.”

The three took the coffees into the elevator. Wang Yi said, “Big companies are full of scheming. With your talent, Liu Sheng, you could flourish anywhere. Here, there’s talent everywhere and little chance to rise. Why don’t we all resign together?”

Liu Sheng replied immediately, “Not a chance!” Secretly, he thought, “Why would I switch jobs? After this week, the whole company will be mine!”

Wang Yi couldn’t muster a smile after hearing Liu Sheng’s answer, but Liu Sheng asked, “You don’t look very old—how old are you? Any boyfriend?”

Arriving at the twenty-second floor, Wang Yi replied, “I’m twenty-two, a fresh graduate this year.”

Liu Sheng remarked, “The bloom of youth,” and entered the office. Having just smashed Zhu’s car, Liu Sheng felt especially pleased, and announced, “Coffee’s here—everyone gets a cup!”

Everyone lit up at the sight of the coffee, rushing over to take theirs. The colleague who’d made Liu Sheng sweep earlier said, “I shouldn’t have made things hard for you just now—that was my mistake.”

Liu Sheng smiled, “I’m a newbie—I need you veterans to toughen me up.”

“Looks like you’re a good guy—I like you more and more,” the colleague said, taking her coffee and returning to work. Liu Sheng shivered; hearing “I like you” from a woman over forty gave him cold sweats.

Supervisor Zhu came over, took a sip of coffee, and said sternly, “Didn’t expect you to be so flush with cash! But if you don’t finish today’s work, you’re not leaving!” Zhu was deliberately making things hard—after an afternoon of busywork, Liu Sheng surely had much left to do. Zhu laughed smugly and returned to his seat.

Unable to bear it, Ren Xiadong rolled up her sleeves, ready to confront Zhu, but Liu Sheng quickly held her back, saying, “We’ve already finished our work. Give it a few days, and you can deal with him however you like, Deputy Ren!”

“Deputy Ren? You mean…” Ren Xiadong started, but Liu Sheng interrupted, “Yes! Wherever I’m the boss, you’re my second-in-command!”

Just then, Liu Sheng’s phone rang—it was Butler Jin. He hurried to the hallway to answer. “Butler Jin, what instructions do you have?”

“Two things. First, you can’t reveal your identity before I arrive at Meyer. Old Master Hu wants you to experience the hardships of entry-level staff, so you’ll better manage in the future.”

“And the second?”

“Tonight, the top ten companies in Chong City are gathering. Among them are Meyer’s boss and the boss of Aochuang. I want you to personally dismiss both, to assert your authority. But don’t announce it publicly—wait for me at the end of the month, and I’ll formally appoint you.”

“I have three requests!”

“Three? Go ahead.”

“First, tonight I want to use Old Master Hu’s gold card—it’ll make me look more impressive. Second, I want Ren Xiadong as deputy general manager. Third… third…”

“Out with it!”

“I want to rename Meyer as Liu Yao World Film Company!”

“If tonight goes well, you can name it whatever you like!”

At six in the evening, Liu Sheng led Ren Xiadong to meet the top ten corporate bosses of Chong City. As they left, Supervisor Zhu called out, “Where are you going? Did you finish your work?”

Liu Sheng replied, “See for yourself!” and strode away.

Supervisor Zhu muttered, “If it’s not done, just wait till tomorrow!” But after checking Liu Sheng’s work, he was stunned, whispering, “What the… everything’s finished!”

Meanwhile, Wang Yi packed up thoughtfully and also left the office.