Just hearing that voice, Zhang Ying’s legs went weak, and she almost fell to the ground.
It was exactly what she feared most; the new boss had arrived at the hotel and was eager to investigate the matter with Wei Facai.
“Zhang, what’s wrong with you?”
“Why do you look so pale?”
A female colleague by her side was worried and steadied Zhang Ying.
“It’s nothing, nothing!”
Zhang Ying forced herself to remain calm and shook her head, then took a deep breath to adjust her breathing before heading to the elevator.
While waiting for the elevator, she sent a WeChat message to Zhou Wenxiang, informing him that she had been called to the President’s office.
Zhou Wenxiang once again reminded her to stick to her previous story, not to give herself away, and above all, not to panic!
By the time Zhang Ying reached the floor of the President’s Office, Zhang Changjiang’s secretary had already been waiting for some time.
“You must tell the truth once you’re in there.”
“You’ve seen what the boss’s relation to Wei Facai is like!” the secretary advised sternly.
Her words only intensified the already nervous Zhang Ying’s tension; her legs felt as if they were filled with lead as she walked.
She entered the President’s Office, guided by the secretary.
The new boss was sitting in the executive chair.
With Zhang Changjiang and Liu Lu on either side, the atmosphere felt like a tribunal!
“Zhang, right? Please have a seat,” Mr. Yang gestured to the chair in front of the desk.
“Boss, I’ll stand,” Zhang Ying didn’t dare to sit and gently shook her head.
“No need to be nervous, we’re just looking to verify the situation,” Mr. Yang said with an amiable smile.
“Sit down.”
“Just sit down when you’re asked to!” Zhang Changjiang gave Zhang Ying a meaningful look; as the General Manager, he held considerable respect among the staff.
Zhang Ying immediately sat down, but only perched slightly on the edge of the chair.
“President Liu told me that you’ve reported Wei Facai for sexual harassment; now that Wei Facai is also here, I want you two to describe the incident separately,” Mr. Yang said.
“Wei, you first,” and with those words, Mr. Yang gave Wei Facai a cue.
The latter immediately went through the limited interactions he had with Zhang Ying.
As she listened to Wei Facai’s description, Zhang Ying silently lowered her head, because what he said was all true.
At this time, Mr. Yang had already turned on his “Listening to Heartbeats”…
Zhang Ying: Wei is a good person, I shouldn’t have listened to Zhou Wenxiang!
Zhang Ying: Framing someone will ultimately lead to retribution, and now it’s come to me.
Zhang Ying: If I had known, I would have let my brother take any job, even security; it’s Zhou Wenxiang’s fault for insisting he could become a manager!
…
Zhang Ying hadn’t even begun her statement, but Yang Hao, with the help of the “System,” already knew the whole story!
In fact, Yang Hao was inclined to believe Wei Facai; he would believe Liu Zifeng for workplace sexual harassment, but he would never believe Wei could do such a thing, even if he were beaten to death.
But belief is one thing; understanding the specifics of the matter is another. Now, at least, he knew what was going on.
The question was, who was Zhou Wenxiang?
Seems like he’s the one who just tried to throw Wei under the bus!
“Zhang, your turn,” said Mr. Yang.
Although he had a clear idea in mind, the proper procedures still had to be followed; he couldn’t exactly explain his ‘cheat’ to others.
Zhang Ying: If I tell the truth, I’ll lose my job, right?
Zhang Ying: I should listen to Zhou Wenxiang again. After all, this boss can’t possibly see through what I’m thinking. Just deny it!
Having made up her mind, Zhang Ying then repeated the prearranged excuse she had told to Liu Lu.
“Zhang, you’re talking nonsense!”
“These are all fabrications!!” Wei Facai instantly interrupted her, frantic with anger.
Zhang Ying didn’t dare meet Wei’s eyes and just said in a low voice, “Everything I said is the truth.”
“Bullshit!!” Wei Facai was so angry that he slapped the armrest of the chair hard.
“Calm down, Wei,” Mr. Yang gestured to Wei Facai to relax and then turned to look at Zhang Ying: “I’ll give you one last chance. If you tell the truth, the hotel can provide you with a letter of recommendation when you leave, so you can depart gracefully.”
“Or you can take the consequences.”
“Besides, Zhou Wenxiang is already on the layoff list, so it’s up to you!”
Ah??
Upon hearing Mr. Yang’s last remark, Zhang Ying couldn’t help but exclaim in shock.
Zhou Wenxiang was already on the layoff list, which meant the truth was out?
Or had he already thrown her under the bus?
He had just asked her to stick to the previous story when she had gone upstairs. Was he trying to push all responsibility onto her??
For a moment, Zhang Ying’s mind was in chaos.
“Zhou Wenxiang has already confessed!”
Liu Lu cooperated very well with Mr. Yang; she had been somewhat suspicious of the relationship between Zhou Wenxiang and Zhang Ying.
Considering Zhang Ying’s reaction and Zhou Wenxiang’s attitude towards Wei in the lobby earlier, it seemed likely that he was the mastermind behind the scenes.
“It wasn’t my idea!”
“It was all Zhou Wenxiang’s idea!”
As expected, Liu Lu’s final blow was effective, and the fragile alliance immediately fell apart.
Zhang Ying said with a sobbing tone, “I just wanted Zhou Wenxiang to help my brother find a job. He said my brother could take Wei’s place, but only if Wei left his position first!”
“Then he suggested that I could frame Wei for sexual harassment. He said Mr. Liu would have zero tolerance for such issues, and that’s what led to everything that followed.”
“Wei is indeed wronged!”
“I’m sorry, Wei, I don’t expect your forgiveness, but I know I was wrong!”
Zhang Ying said as she wiped away tears, she was after all new to society and felt guilty telling lies.
Now that she admitted the truth, it was a relief for her.
Seeing Zhang Ying confess to framing him, Wei Facai took a deep breath. Although Yang Hao’s presence meant he would not lose his job, if things weren’t clarified, he would be tarnished with the label of sexual harassment.
Those gossiping would not care whether it really happened or not; it was just conversation material for them.
“Take her out!”
Yang Hao waved his hand gently, having a woman crying in front of him was quite troublesome.
The secretary led Zhang Ying out of the office; she sobbed as she took the elevator down.
As soon as she exited the elevator, she saw Zhou Wenxiang anxiously waiting there.
“How did it go?”
Zhou Wenxiang took a step forward and asked.
“Didn’t you say it all? Why ask me how it went!”
Zhang Ying rolled her eyes.
“Huh?”
“Damn!!”
Zhou Wenxiang, the old slicker, understood what Zhang Ying meant; she had been tricked into telling the truth.
Indeed a team of pigs!
Zhou Wenxiang’s worst fear was that Zhang Ying would cave, and indeed she had!
“They tricked you!”
“You’re so f***ing naive, believing that crap!”
Zhou Wenxiang cursed, but it was too late; Zhang Ying had spoken, and as the man behind the scenes, he was now exposed.
Ignoring Zhang Ying, he quickly entered the elevator and went up to the president’s office floor, although Zhang Ying had already ratted him out.
But, Zhou Wenxiang was ready for the worst; in such a case, he would defend himself.
Upon learning Zhou Wenxiang voluntarily showed up, Yang Hao let him into his office.
Yang Hao was curious to see how Zhou Wenxiang would defend himself.
“Boss, about framing Wei, I was just blinded for a moment. That woman, Zhang Ying, seduced me, and I failed the test. Later, she said she went to seduce Wei and asked me to collude with her, but I didn’t do anything!”
“If you don’t believe me, ask President Liu. I was neutral when I reported it…”
Zhou Wenxiang had prepared his excuses because he had covered his bases while orchestrating the plan.
He didn’t put himself in the spotlight and just reported the situation, not showing obvious bias towards Zhang Ying in front of Liu Lu.
Actually, his plan was meticulous; if not for Yang Hao suddenly taking over Clyde Hotel and being part of the System, Zhou Wenxiang could have gotten away scot-free.
After all, he was there when the hotel opened and had built up some connections. In his assessment, the worst outcome was maintaining the status quo, which wouldn’t affect him.
But plans can’t keep up with changes!
The new boss turned out to be Wei Facai’s good brother, so he had to push as much blame as possible onto Zhang Ying.
“Got it!”
“Get out!”
Zhou Wenxiang had just entered the office when Yang Hao activated the “Listening to Heartbeats” skill, so he knew not a single truth came from his mouth, it was all to shirk responsibility.
After hearing Zhou Wenxiang’s lies, he didn’t bother to engage further with him, waving him away with impatience.
“Boss, I really was just blinded for a moment…”
Zhou Wenxiang was still not giving up.
“Alright, just go!”
“We will get to the bottom of this!”
Zhang Changjiang glared fiercely at Zhou Wenxiang; he knew him well and couldn’t stand watching such an act.
“Boss, let me handle this matter, I’ll make sure Fachai is satisfied!”
After Zhou Wenxiang left, Zhang Changjiang took the initiative, even though he was actually older than Wei Facai. Since Yang Hao had called Wei Facai “Fachai,” he did the same.
However, Wei Facai felt somewhat uncomfortable hearing this address; he used to be a high and mighty general manager!
But now he was brotherly with him.
“Okay, go take care of it!”
Yang Hao nodded, giving this general manager a chance to prove himself.
“I’ll get on it right away!”
Zhang Changjiang accepted the task and left, determined to handle the matter brilliantly and to stand out in front of the new boss.
Clearly, Zhang Changjiang was stepping on Liu Lu’s toes since she was in charge of human resources.
But Liu Lu didn’t compete at the moment; what use was seizing work if you could win people over? That was the real triumph!
Zhang, you still don’t get it!
While you are leading the charge, I’m already stealing the nexus!
Liu Lu thought to himself, then turned to Wei Facai, “Fachai, go back to your office and start the handover process with Zhou Wenxiang!”
“Huh?”
“Handover?”
Wei Facai was totally confused.
“Zhou Wenxiang will definitely have to resign, and naturally, Fachai, it will be you taking over his position…”
After speaking, Liu Lu looked at Yang Hao and even winked at the new boss, “Mr. Yang, this arrangement is okay, right?”
“Yeah, no problem!”
Yang Hao nodded, “Wei, go start the handover. Let’s have lunch together later!”
“Alright!”
Seeing that Yang Hao agreed, Wei Facai no longer hesitated, eagerly returning to the property department’s office.
After he left, only Yang Hao and Liu Lu remained in the office.
“Speak, what do you want to do?”
Yang Hao looked at the tall, high-heeled woman who stood over six feet, with a playful gleam in his eye.
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“Nothing much.”
Liu Lu smiled and shook her head, then reached out and looped her arm around Yang Hao’s neck, “I just want to be Tian Jiao’s stepmother, that’s all!”