Chapter 16: The New Broom Makes His First Three Moves

Waking up, it was already the next morning.

Zheng Qian was bleary-eyed, not yet fully awake.

He subconsciously moved his leg to the left and felt a soft, delicate body.

Zheng Qian opened his eyes wide.

"Why didn't you get up today?"

"You drank alcohol, and I was afraid you might choke on your own vomit in the middle of the night and die, so I didn't dare to leave."

"I'm lying beside you, so if you need to vomit, I can wake up immediately to help you."

What a thoughtful woman.

Zheng Qian had often seen news reports, and even in films and television shows, of people dying from choking on their own vomit after getting drunk. The one that left the deepest impression in his memory was the blonde girl in Breaking Bad who died beside the second male lead in his sleep.

"I quit my job at the bar."

Zheng Qian nodded at her.

"Mm, I'll support you from now on."

He actually wanted to say, "I'll use another woman's money to support you," but he ultimately held back. Such a serious occasion wasn't appropriate for spouting nonsense.

"I actually don't quite understand what kind of relationship I have with you right now. Am I your kept mistress?" Jin Lu snuggled into Zheng Qian's embrace, looking at him with eyes as clear as an alpine lake.

Just because of an apartment, Jin Lu had stated she was his from now on.

That was definitely not a simple romantic relationship.

But Zheng Qian was very fortunate that it was him Jin Lu had met.

"I've suddenly, belatedly, fallen for you."

"Come on, I like the front."

"You… be serious." Jin Lu nudged Zheng Qian with her shoulder.

"There's nothing to talk about, I really like you." Zheng Qian stated honestly. He didn't just lust after Jin Lu's body; he truly liked her, even though they had only known each other for a mere two days.

But the system had already determined that Jin Lu was his true love, so how could that be fake?

Zheng Qian took a look at Jin Lu's current Favorability towards him, which was 85 points.

"Then what if one day you don't like me anymore?"

"That day will never come." Zheng Qian nibbled on Jin Lu's ear and said softly.

"Hmph, men's words are deceptive ghosts; I don't believe it." Jin Lu had worked at a bar before and had seen all kinds of men. She knew that wealthy men shared a common trait: they were fickle and always sought the new while discarding the old.

"I don't know what you do, but it probably isn't a legitimate business, right? Just like my dad—he didn't do legitimate business before either, but my mom still followed him wholeheartedly."

"I bought a lot of books yesterday, preparing to study for a postgraduate entrance exam to improve my own capabilities. When you encounter misfortune one day and are down on your luck, perhaps I won't be able to help you with big things, but I can still provide you with three meals a day."

Ah, this…

Why did the topic suddenly become so serious and so sad?

"Okay." Zheng Qian also nodded very seriously.

The matter of the apartment hadn't been finalized yet, so Zheng Qian felt embarrassed to do anything with Jin Lu, although they had actually already established a romantic relationship that night.

"Hubby…"

"Hm?"

"Are you getting up? It's almost eleven o'clock."

"I'm getting up, I'm getting up."

Zheng Qian ate a little something Jin Lu had made and took the opportunity to handle some messages.

On his phone, Manager Li Tao sent a message: "Little Qian, I've arranged the meeting for you. Tonight at eight o'clock, Wangyue Pavilion."

Although Zheng Qian and Manager Li Tao had a superior-subordinate relationship, their usual communication wasn't that serious, so he casually replied with a cat saluting sticker to indicate he had received it.

During this time, Qin Xueli also sent several messages to Zheng Qian in succession, apologizing and saying she hadn't acted well in some areas, and wanted to treat him to a meal that evening to give Zheng Qian a chance to hear her explanation and accept her apology.

Zheng Qian didn't know what to reply, so he didn't.

After eating, Zheng Qian went to the company to submit his resignation procedures, then returned to his workstation to pack his things.

When Qin Xueli saw Zheng Qian arrive at the company, she put down her work and ran over immediately.

"Little Qian, why didn't you reply to my messages yesterday? Why did you come in so late?"

"By the way, Brother Tao has resigned, and Ding Hongfei has been newly promoted to supervisor. Since you're so late, why don't you go talk to him and explain?" Qin Xueli asked with concern.

Others nearby saw this scene and felt a bit depressed.

Qin Xueli was the ice beauty of their company and had never smiled gently at anyone.

Now, why was she being so solicitous towards Zheng Qian? What was going on?

"No need, I'm also here to process my resignation," Zheng Qian said coldly.

"Little Qian, then let me treat you to a meal tonight. What do you want to eat?"

"I have an appointment, I'm busy." Zheng Qian's expression remained unchanged.

Everyone was confused.

What the hell was going on?

Qin Xueli wasn't acting right, and even Zheng Qian wasn't acting right.

It was as if their roles had been swapped. Shouldn't it be Zheng Qian shamelessly begging Qin Xueli to eat with him, only to be coldly rejected by Qin Xueli using the excuse "I have an appointment"?

"Then are you free at noon today? A new seafood place opened nearby…"

"I'm not hungry yet, I just ate. Let's talk about it later." This time, Zheng Qian gave a clear refusal to Qin Xueli.

"Alright then…" Qin Xueli was rebuffed and silently returned to her workstation.

"Zheng Qian!"

"You're four hours late, what's the meaning of this?"

An angry accusation rang out from behind him.

Everyone looked over in unison.

Ding Hongfei!

He was wearing a brown suit, walking with vigorous strides, holding a rolled-up stack of files, and quickly walked up to Zheng Qian.

"Don't you know what time the company rules say we start work?"

Qin Xueli saw this and thought it was over. Ding Hongfei was asking for trouble. She had originally thought Zheng Qian was a pushover, but today he was going to kick an iron plate.

As the saying goes, a new official has three new rules. Ding Hongfei had just been promoted to supervisor, so naturally, he wanted to find someone to establish his authority.

Usually honest and cowardly, plus being late for such a long time today, Zheng Qian was the perfect choice.

Ding Hongfei's qualifications were about the same as Manager Li Tao's; he had only joined the company two months later than Manager Li Tao, but his position had always been a team leader, while Manager Li Tao had occupied the supervisor position for years.

He had long resented Manager Li Tao and disliked Zheng Qian, Manager Li Tao's lackey, even more.

If it weren't for Manager Li Tao protecting him, Ding Hongfei would have used all kinds of methods to force Zheng Qian to leave long ago.

Just yesterday, Manager Li Tao resigned, and he received notice from the boss that he was promoted to supervisor, taking the position Manager Li Tao previously held.

Without Manager Li Tao's protection, this kid Zheng Qian had finally fallen into his hands.

Seeing that Zheng Qian was packing his things, Ding Hongfei sneered: "You're quite self-aware, knowing you've committed such a huge mistake, you're resigning voluntarily?"

"Working under you would be the worst luck of my life."

"Zheng Qian! What did you say? If you've got guts, say it again?!"

Ding Hongfei could not tolerate his authority being challenged.

"Also, I'll tell you straight: I was intentionally late today. I wanted to embarrass you and make you lose face in front of your colleagues. What can you do about it?"

"Fine, fine, Zheng Qian, you're good. I'm now officially notifying you that you're fired!" Ding Hongfei's face flushed with anger, and he roared.

"Who do you think you are? It's not your place to fire anyone. Why don't you ask everyone here: does a supervisor have the authority to fire an employee?"

"Also, as soon as I walked in, I submitted my resignation to HR. I'm no longer an employee of this company."

Zheng Qian looked at Ding Hongfei calmly.

If it were before, even if he had been poached by Manager Li Tao in advance, he might have apologized to Ding Hongfei in a friendly manner to let him establish his authority.

But Zheng Qian was different now.

In his eyes, Ding Hongfei was nothing.

He wasn't even fit to carry his shoes.

He hadn't spared Zheng Qian any embarrassment in the past, so today, Zheng Qian had no need to save face for Ding Hongfei.

Qin Xueli gulped nervously.

It was as if Zheng Qian had become a different person.

He really had changed.