16: Stealing the house, leaving no one behind

Not long ago, Su Yue obtained the information from the Intelligence Outpost's second refresh.

It included almost everyone related to Lan Zijun, but at that time, Su Yue did not see Qian Boda's name.

In addition to the information on these Lan family relatives, the intelligence also contained over a dozen incomplete audio-visual recordings.

The one that left the deepest impression on Su Yue was the last segment.

Nothing else, it was mainly because that video segment was extremely infectious, giving people a strong sense of being there, which was one of the main reasons Su Yue could remember it.

One could only say that the videographer was clearly very professional in filming this type of video.

Before, he had thought this video segment was also filmed by a Lan family member, after all, in those dozen segments, some videographers appeared on screen, and some of the women even called out his name passionately.

Without exception, these people were all from the Lan family.

However, just now, when Qian Boda was giving a lecture, Su Yue was stunned to realize that his guess was wrong.

The protagonist of that video seemed not to be a Lan family member, but Qian Boda!

Although his voice in the video sounded relatively rough, that was only because he was exerting himself vigorously, his voice was somewhat distorted and hoarse, and at the same time, he was breathing heavily.

If these factors were excluded, the voice in the video was exactly the same as Qian Boda's.

Both were that kind of hoarse voice like someone who had indulged excessively.

It was this discovery that made Su Yue freeze on the spot, completely unaware of what was happening around him.

He was truly a bit shocked in his heart.

Everyone in the company knew that Qian Boda was already engaged to Lan Zijun!

In two months, they would hold their wedding!

And the woman in the video segment was definitely not Lan Zijun, this Su Yue was 100% sure of.

This meant that Qian Boda was actually cheating on Lan Zijun behind her back!

However, this was not the crucial point.

The real key was that at that time, while thrusting, Qian Boda said to that woman, "You will soon become the President's wife!"

Combining the situation at the time, it could be judged that Qian Boda was referring to his intention to marry that woman.

The problem was, Qian Boda was about to marry Lan Zijun, and since this was a marriage equivalent to an alliance between the Lan family and the Qian family, divorce was impossible for the two of them.

This meant there were only two possibilities.

First, Qian Boda was lying; he was deceiving that woman.

Second, Qian Boda was the murderer who was preparing to assassinate Lan Zijun!

A faint, fresh scent of raw wood attracted Su Yue's attention, and only then did he realize that Qian Boda's face had appeared in front of him, filled with anger.

The Qian family was also a large family, and Qian Boda's taste seemed quite good; at least the scent of the perfume he wore was very pleasant, not strong, and even gave the feeling that he had merely stayed in a fragrant place for a long time and had slightly picked up some scent.

However, no matter how good the taste, it was difficult to make people feel any goodwill, especially when he was wearing such an arrogant expression at the moment.

"Why hasn't this period's market research report been sent to me?"

Qian Boda spoke coldly.

"Because there are still 7 days until the scheduled submission time, company regulations state that reports must be submitted step by step and cannot bypass levels for approval, so it hasn't been submitted to you."

He hadn't expected to be suddenly called out by Qian Boda, probably because everyone else had lowered their heads just now, and only Su Yue, due to his surprise, had looked at Qian Boda a few extra times, giving him a feeling of being challenged.

Although he didn't like Qian Boda, the Qian family and the Lan family were currently negotiating mutual investment and shareholding; people in the company didn't know the specific progress, but this didn't prevent Qian Boda's identity as a company executive from being confirmed.

However, Su Yue didn't care; if Qian Boda hadn't targeted him directly, he wouldn't have minded following the crowd and keeping his head down. But since Qian Boda had taken the initiative to single him out, he no longer cared.

So what if I just quit serving you?

It was precisely because Su Yue still retained this hint of spirit in his heart that he was neither humble nor arrogant and answered fluently.

But this was extremely unaccustomed for Qian Boda.

For a long time, any employee facing Qian Boda would be timid and subservient, like the head of the sales department, not daring to look him directly in the eye.

Su Yue's composure made Qian Boda's gloomy face turn another shade darker.

"What kind of talk is that?"

"Can't you finish it early even if the scheduled submission time hasn't arrived?"

"Do you have to wait until the very last moment to submit? Don't you have any foresight?"

That's enough, isn't this just purely looking for trouble......

Su Yue sighed helplessly inwardly, while still trying to maintain a calm exterior. After a brief thought, he cautiously replied:

"Market research work has a cycle; the collection and even compilation of various data all require time."

Su Yue's eyes briefly met Qian Boda's, then he deliberately looked away and continued to explain:

"President Qian, you can look at our work logs and the current progress of the research report. We are working very hard, without any slack, and everything is traceable."

His reply was watertight; Su Yue preemptively answered all the points Qian Boda might use to refute him.

Although Qian Boda was arrogant and overbearing, he was also a person who had received higher education.

He understood that to pick a fight, he needed a pretext to launch an attack.

But Su Yue blocked all possible pretexts, leaving Qian Boda with no room to maneuver.

His face was as gloomy as the bottom of a pot. Qian Boda secretly gritted his back teeth; unable to flare up, he merely glared fiercely at Su Yue.

This junior employee was really good at defending himself and his team!

But, it didn't matter.

Today's actions were originally just a formality for Qian Boda.

He had other plans!

As for this defiant junior employee in front of him...

Heh heh, you'll know you're wrong in a bit!

...

Qian Boda left with an arrogant look, and Su Yue was immediately surrounded by people.

"Well done, Su Yue, I didn't expect you could handle that so smoothly!"

"Hahaha, Su Yue, you've got some guts!"

"That was really clever, Su Yue!"

"Su Yue, you have a notice!" A voice suddenly rang out, it was a junior clerk from Human Resources.

The junior clerk expressionlessly handed over an envelope; everyone stared intently at the envelope.

"Holy crap, a promotion?"

"Congratulations, Su Ge!"

"Standing up to Qian Boda gets you a promotion? Learned something new!"

"Congratulations, Su Ge, let's go out for a meal!"

Taking the envelope from the Human Resources clerk, watching the other person leave expressionlessly, Su Yue's gaze fell upon the envelope in his hand.

The company's Human Resources Department had a custom:

Red envelopes often contained notices of promotion and salary increase.

If it was a regular yellow envelope, it could be a notice of demotion, salary reduction, or being laid off.

The envelope in Su Yue's hand was red.

Interesting....

Su Yue picked up the envelope and looked at it with interest; the surrounding colleagues started cheering, urging him to quickly open it and see.

Under everyone's eager gaze, Su Yue tore open the envelope with a 'rip' and pulled out the folded A4 paper inside.

He unfolded it, and everyone's heads gathered around.

Before they could see the content of the notice, everyone's eyes were drawn to the large words in the heading:

Layoff Notice!

...

"Layoff Notice?!"

When the 5 large characters had just appeared before everyone's eyes, they hadn't yet fully processed it.

Their bodies swayed, and their spirits were shaken!

Looking closely again, there was no mistake, it wasn't an optical illusion, not a hallucination, it was indeed a Layoff Notice!

How could this be?

Everyone turned pale with shock, not understanding how they had ended up with such a result!

It was in a red envelope, it should have been a notice of promotion and salary increase!

Looking at Su Yue again, he was also startled by the Layoff Notice in his hand, his brows furrowed tightly.

Su Yue's gaze shifted from the heading to the main body of the text.

He first needed to ascertain exactly why he was being laid off.

The main body of the text was as follows:

"Dear Mr. Su Yue, we regret to inform you."

"Due to your low work capability, which does not meet the company's requirements."

"During your tenure, you have caused losses to the company and brought unnecessary trouble."

"Under these circumstances, after careful consideration, the company has decided to lay you off."

"Warm Tip: The website is about to be revised, which may cause reading progress to be lost. Please save your 'Bookshelf' and 'Reading History' in time (screenshot saving is recommended). We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause!"

"The contract you signed with the company will be terminated 7 days from now, after you have completed the work handover."

"At the same time, all other contracts you signed with the company during your employment will be terminated."

"In accordance with relevant provisions of our country's 'Labor Law' and 'Labor Contract Law', we will pay you three months' economic compensation and issue you a certificate of departure."

"Please return the following company office equipment and materials after 7 days, details can be found in the attachment."

"The company sincerely thanks you for your efforts and contributions to the company."

"However, we regret that you will not be able to continue on the path with the company."

"The company is very willing to issue you a letter of recommendation to help you have a smoother path in your future job search."

"Regarding the processing of five social insurances and one housing fund, please consult the Human Resources Department."

This is hereby notified, Yuantu Investment Company.

"Low work capability?"

"Does not meet company requirements?!"

The reasons given in the layoff notice made the colleagues watching feel extremely shocked and confused.

Su Yue's work capability being low, that's impossible...

The colleagues present had all worked with Su Yue; he handled things efficiently and diligently, how could his work capability be low?

It's no exaggeration to say that colleagues who worked with Su Yue all had positive reviews of him.

Saying his work capability is low, that's somewhat inconsistent with the facts!

For example:

Last time, a colleague in the company made a mistake in the proposal provided to a client.

They had to work overtime to modify it on short notice. Su Yue, who received the notification, did not complain and immediately dedicated himself to the work, completing it diligently. How could there be a problem with his work capability?

Such a good colleague being laid off because of insufficient work capability was simply too unfair.

The colleagues were all unconvinced and spoke out righteously to defend Su Yue.

"How can you say Su Ge's work capability is low? That's nonsense!"

"Isn't this slander? Isn't it!"

"I really feel wronged for Su Yue."

"Su Ge is diligent and conscientious, these bastards in Human Resources really deserve a beating!"

"Damn it, sucking up to Qian Boda to this extent!"

"What's even more outrageous is that they actually put the layoff notice in a red envelope, isn't that just completely disgusting!"

"No way, let's go find these guys in Human Resources and demand an explanation!"

"Right, let's all go together! Evil can't triumph over good, they've gone too far!"

...

The more they talked, the angrier they got, noisily, the colleagues wanted to go to Human Resources together to cause a stir and make them retract the layoff notice.

"Everyone, calm down."

Stepping in front of everyone, Su Yue extended his hand to block their path forward.

"Su Ge, we can't just let this go!"

"Yes, the Human Resources Department is bullying people too much!"

"Just because you argued with Qian Boda reasonably, you're being fired?"

"I don't want to stay in a company like this either!"

"If even an excellent employee like Su Ge is going to be laid off, aren't we in even greater danger?!"

The colleagues' genuine defense made a wave of warmth flow through Su Yue's heart.

He extended both hands and pressed them down, signaling everyone to calm down, and then continued:

"Everyone, think carefully. If the Human Resources Department wants to lay off an employee, they usually have a meeting beforehand to give them some psychological preparation, it wouldn't be this sudden."

Looking at everyone's confused expressions, Su Yue spread his hands helplessly and said:

"Just by analyzing it, you'll know. Layoffs don't bypass procedures, and the leadership wouldn't break company rules like this.... This matter is crystal clear, it must be that President Qian, disregarding company regulations, unilaterally issued the layoff order."

Ah—

After Su Yue said this, everyone suddenly understood!

Indeed, without instructions from above, how would the Human Resources Department dare to arbitrarily issue a layoff notice?

Su Yue had merely carefully stated the facts, and this Qian Boda couldn't stand it; now he actually wanted to lay off Su Yue!

This Qian Boda is truly a vicious wolf!

Thinking that this vicious wolf would marry Lan Zijun after a while and become another official Boss of the company...

All the colleagues present instantly became like deflated balloons, dispirited and resentful.

"If we stay like this, I'm afraid we'll also be laid off."

"It's really disgusting. It's not about not having a good company, but about not having a good Boss."

"Let's just not work anymore, just resign."

"Right, let's all resign collectively, save ourselves from being laid off later, how disgusting that would be!"

They weren't just saying pleasantries.

Qian Boda's ambition was clearly revealed.

If even Su Yue could be targeted, what else couldn't he do?!

Rather than sitting back and waiting to die, it was better to take action first. Everyone was discussing the details of resigning, talking over each other.

Just at this moment.

Creak—

The office door was pushed open, and the head of the Human Resources Department poked his head in and walked in cautiously.

"Oh my!"

Seeing the office full, the head of Human Resources shrunk his neck and forced a smile:

"Everyone's here, huh..."

"Uh, well, these are notices issued by Human Resources. Xiao Zhang didn't take them all just now. Please take them yourselves."

After putting down the multiple envelopes in his hand, this head of Human Resources took off and ran out of the office in a flash.

"What's going on?"

The department employees wondered, then walked over and picked up the envelopes left by the head of Human Resources.

They counted 14 envelopes; the entire department had only 20 people, so only 6 people did not receive one.

With great confusion, the colleagues opened the envelopes and were instantly dumbfounded.

"Dear Chen Ming... decided to lay you off"

"Dear Wang Qiuyu... decided to lay you off"

"Dear Xu Liang... decided to lay you off"

All 14 envelopes, without exception, were Layoff Notices!

Out of 20 people in the entire department, only 6 were left after the layoffs.

Good heavens, it was practically a clean sweep!

No wonder the head of the Human Resources Department ran away like the wind.

"Heh heh...."

The employees who had been righteously indignant and planning how to resign, their mouths twitched.

Who would have thought, who would have thought!

Here we were chattering about how to resign, and the company actually took the first step and directly laid everyone off!

Even thinking with their feet, they knew this must be Lan Zijun's fiancé—Qian Boda!

"Damn it!"

Some employees couldn't help but curse.

"Diligent and conscientious, never leaving early or being late, why am I being fired?"

"Speaking with performance, our performance is always at the top of the company, and we're still being laid off?"

"Qian Boda, that beast!"

Everyone was red-faced with anger, cursing Qian Boda one after another.

And after cursing, everyone was also helpless. If the ruler wants the minister to die, the minister must die.

Since Qian Boda was in power now, there was nothing they could do even if they were unhappy.

"Let's discuss what we should do next..."

"Sigh, we have to find new jobs."

The laid-off "victims" were all dejected, like eggplants hit by frost.

Facing his lovely colleagues who, like him, were going to be laid off in 7 days, Su Yue forced a smile, waved his hand at them, signaling them to calm down.

Then, Su Yue gave them a meaningful smile and said:

"Calm down, don't panic."

"And don't rush to find a new job."

"Who knows, maybe this layoff document will become void in a few days?"

"Warm Tip: The website is about to be revised, which may cause reading progress to be lost. Please save your 'Bookshelf' and 'Reading History' in time (screenshot saving is recommended). We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause!"