Just as they were talking, Chen Xu, the deputy technical manager, came over to Liu Shang again.
"Liu Shang, there's still a bit of work here. Just take care of it while you're at it."
Liu Shang looked up at him and smiled. "Manager Chen, my work schedule is full today. I can't take on anything else."
"You can arrange for me to do it tomorrow."
Chen Xu patted him on the shoulder. "Heh heh, just call me Brother Chen. No need to be so formal."
"It's fine, this work isn't urgent. Just leave it with you. I'll come straight to you for the results tomorrow."
Liu Shang held nothing but contempt and disdain for this sort of office infighting trickery—one face to someone's face, another behind their back.
"Manager Chen, you see, I've only just started working in the office, so I'm unfamiliar with a lot of the business."
"If you leave it with me today and I don't get to it, I might forget the specific technical requirements by tomorrow. So why don't you come find me tomorrow instead, okay?"
To Chen Xu's surprise, Liu Shang was quite difficult to deal with. Smiling jokingly, he said:
"Haha, kid, aren't you afraid that I, the deputy technical manager, might dock your performance rating over some petty matter, leaving you unable to collect that 4,000-yuan salary of yours?"
Yet Liu Shang fired right back with almost the exact same tone, smiling as he did. "Haha, Brother Chen, you're joking with me again."
"But seriously, I'm really not afraid. First, my salary comes from the company, not you."
"Second, have you forgotten that I'm a part-timer? Performance ratings have nothing to do with me."
"Haha, but most importantly, Brother Chen, you're not that petty. You wouldn't come make things difficult for a poor student like me, would you?"
In front of so many people, in this huge office, Liu Shang had actually seized the initiative and sarcastically mocked Chen Xu several times. Naturally, Chen Xu could not save face.
Though furious inside, he could not display such a lack of grace and composure. He could only pretend to laugh, suppress his anger, and take his work back.
Xu Tiande and the other neutral people in the office found the scene astonishing, while Manager Zhong's smile deepened, wearing an assured expression that seemed to say, See? What did I tell you?
Seeing Liu Shang and Chen Xu at odds, Ma Yuan, who had been thoroughly embarrassed today, secretly reveled in it. He wished for the two sides to tear each other apart so he could seize a chance to catch his breath.
After being rebuffed by Liu Shang, Chen Xu naturally returned to his office to sulk.
At this time, Chen Xu's close associates, who also disliked Liu Shang, gathered around him one after another.
"Hmph, this damn kid is really arrogant. Does he actually think he's somebody?"
"Exactly. He's just a first-year college student, and he already came here to show off in front of Brother Chen. Does he even know his own worth?"
"Isn't he only acting like this because Xu Tiande and Manager Zhong are backing him? He takes himself way too seriously. We'll have plenty of chances to deal with him in the days ahead!"
"Heh, how does that saying go? Revenge should never wait overnight!"
"Why wait until later? I'll go teach him a lesson right now! Let's see what he's still so arrogant about!!!"
The one who said this was the company's warehouse and equipment manager, Fan Song, a distant relative of the boss, Song Guangyuan.
Though his position was not high, the area under his control was an important and profitable one.
Fan Song himself was a crude fellow with little education. At the company, he tailored his words to whoever he faced, whether person or ghost, and was extremely difficult to deal with.
Someone like him was simply perfect for handling a student like Liu Shang.
Then, with Yang Xu's tacit approval and everyone else egging him on, Fan Song casually grabbed several notebooks containing inventory records and walked over to Liu Shang. His tone was extremely rude.
"You're Liu Shang, right?"
"I need a favor. Enter all these warehouse entry and exit documents into the computer, then send them to me."
Liu Shang lowered his head and glanced at the notebooks. Looking back at him with equal hostility, he said, "Take your notebooks away. I'm busy, and I don't want to do you any favors."
Seeing Liu Shang act this way, Fan Song, who had already prepared his lines, grew even angrier. "Hey, what the hell is wrong with you, kid?"
"You're so young, yet you're already loafing around and learning to be lazy, huh?"
"Don't forget, the company isn't paying you to come here and play!"
"Believe it or not, I'll go to President Song right now and have you thrown out immediately?"
Liu Shang took a deep breath and looked at him with disgust. "I don't know when I'll be thrown out, but I do know that if you keep being unreasonable and making trouble like this, you won't be far from getting thrown out yourself."
"Hey, you little bastard, who the hell do you think you're talking to like that?"
"Believe it or not, I'll knock your teeth out?!!!"
As the atmosphere in the office grew increasingly tense and Fan Song looked ready to hit someone at any moment, the people around them hurried over to break up the fight.
Seeing everyone trying to restrain him, Fan Song became even more worked up, cursing nonstop.
But not only was Liu Shang unafraid, he even smiled at him contemptuously. "Really? You've scared me so much!"
"I'm standing right here. Come try it anytime and see whether my teeth fall out first or yours do."
After hearing Liu Shang's words, Fan Song, whom everyone was holding back tightly, lunged forward again. "You little bastard, are you looking to die?"
"Let me tell you, don't leave after work tonight. I'll call some of my brothers from the streets to come meet you."
"Don't you fucking wet your pants then..."
Before Fan Song could finish, to everyone's surprise, Liu Shang—the obedient kid and usual target of bullying in everyone's eyes—actually stepped forward on his own and grabbed Fan Song by the collar with astonishing force.
"If you dare spew one more word of shit, I'll knock out your front teeth right now. Believe me?"
Faced with Liu Shang's sudden, shocking action, his icy sharp gaze, and the force gripping his collar, Fan Song's breath caught instinctively.
Seeing him like this, before Fan Song could gather his anger again and make his next move, Liu Shang released his collar at just the right moment.
Then Liu Shang's entire demeanor changed instantly. "Heh heh, that's more like it."
"This is a society ruled by law now, brother. Do you really think you're in some Hong Kong gangster movie?"
For some reason, after hearing Liu Shang's words, several female coworkers found it hilarious and burst out laughing.
With that, the tense atmosphere that had built up throughout the office was broken. No matter what Fan Song did now, it no longer had the same effect as before.
Just then, Manager Zhong and Xu Tiande emerged from their offices one after another.
"Enough!"
"What are all of you doing?"
"This is a company! A workplace! Do you all still think you're children?"
Before you continue