Mocking a Man When He Was Down

When Zhang Jing saw Yang Qintian packing up to leave, she came over to find out what was going on. Rumors were already flying around the office.

"Mr. Yang, you're leaving?" Zhang Jing asked, unable to hide her satisfaction. She hadn't been the one who offended Yang Qintian last night, yet he had slapped her anyway.

As word of Yang Qintian's departure spread, many of his colleagues—especially his subordinates—were delighted.

Yang Qintian recognized Zhang Jing's voice. He looked up at her, furious. "Happy now?"

Zhang Jing wasn't the kind of secretary everyone assumed she was. She wouldn't deny that she was materialistic and vain, but she wasn't a woman who would offer up her body to just anyone. If Yang Qintian hadn't bullied her, she never would have given in.

She was already angry about last night. His response only made her blood boil. Yang Qintian had no authority over her now.

"Very," Zhang Jing answered honestly.

Even a lowly secretary had come to mock him. Yang Qintian was used to being flattered, and his face turned an ugly purple.

Unable to bear it, he lunged toward Zhang Jing and raised his hand.

"Go on, hit me. You're not an employee here anymore, and you're not my boss. Lay a hand on me, and I'll have security throw you out in a heartbeat." Zhang Jing lifted her chin and thrust her face toward him.

Yang Qintian froze. Things weren't as they had been before. He held himself back and lowered his hand reluctantly.

"So get out, you bastard! Goodbye! No—good riddance," Zhang Jing said.

Clutching his things, Yang Qintian slunk into the elevator.

Even a fallen man could still have people eager to curry favor with him. Just as the elevator doors were closing, a former colleague squeezed inside.

"Mr. Yang, I heard someone set you up. Secretary Zhang got the phone number that made the call. If you trace it, you can find out who it was."

The tip was important. Zhang Xuanyi had deliberately let it slip and passed the number to Yang Qintian. With both sides investigating, they would have a better chance of getting to the bottom of it.

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open. Cheng Dongxue looked up and saw Yang Qintian emerge carrying a box of his belongings. It seemed he had left the company.

"Cheng Dongxue..." Yang Qintian's mouth twitched. Yesterday, he had coveted her beauty while boasting about his wealth and status. Today, he was a beaten dog.

Cheng Dongxue knew about the phone call, but she still couldn't understand how one call and one video from Zhang Yang could have had such an effect. Yang Qintian really had been fired before the afternoon shift, exactly as Zhang Yang had said.

"Mr. Yang, found a better opportunity?" Cheng Dongxue asked, though she knew perfectly well. She wanted to needle the arrogant man.

"Just you wait, Cheng Dongxue. I'll be back sooner or later. And sooner or later, you'll be in my arms, mine to do with as I please." It was the sort of parting threat a defeated man made to save face.

"Really? I guarantee your wife Cheng Li will end up serving someone else," Zhang Yang said, appearing again. He had come specifically to see Yang Qintian brought low.

"You—"

Yang Qintian flared with anger, but security guards were everywhere. This was no place to cause trouble, so he could only storm off.

"I'll leave you here. Get back to work!" Zhang Yang smiled at Cheng Dongxue.

At Elegant Residence last night, Cheng Dongxue had seen how much respect Lin Dongqiang showed Zhang Yang. He had even stood up for him and thrown Yang Qintian out despite his platinum membership.

Cheng Dongxue had questions, but Zhang Yang had brushed them aside.

"Zhang Yang, why did Lin Dongqiang do you a favor and stand up for you last night? And how did one phone call from you get Zhang Xuanyi to fire Yang Qintian today?"

Those questions were bound to come up sooner or later, and Zhang Yang would eventually need a believable answer. Rather than tell the truth, he decided to make up a more convincing lie.

"No point hiding it anymore. I'm a multimillionaire. There, I said it." Zhang Yang grinned slyly.

Cheng Dongxue stared at him. She wouldn't believe Zhang Yang was rich if her life depended on it. She knew what he did every day. Where could he possibly have earned the money?

"Zhang Yang, you shouldn't lie," Cheng Dongxue said, a note of reproach in her voice.

"All right. The truth is, I've been doing business with the Lin Family. I come up with the ideas, and they do the work. I've made quite a bit of money. Once I had money, I had status too. Things aren't like they used to be. The Lin Family has made money with me, so they see me as their lucky charm and naturally treat me with respect. Forget Lin Dongqiang—even Lin Cheng is polite to me."

Zhang Yang went on at length, but to Cheng Dongxue, it all sounded made up. When had he picked up this habit?

It was almost time for work. Cheng Dongxue couldn't be bothered to argue and simply said, "Zhang Yang, take care of yourself."

"I always do!" Zhang Yang said, waving goodbye to his wife.

The elevator doors closed, and it slowly rose. Zhang Yang turned and left.

Zhang Yang wandered around outside. It was too early to go home, and looking for a job ought to take time. Besides, he didn't want to go home. He kept wandering until Cheng Dongxue got off work.

Zhang Yang tossed his cigarette butt into a trash can and went to meet her.

"Still have a lot of work this afternoon?" he asked.

Cheng Dongxue shook her head. "Only half as much as this morning. No pressure at all. I finished it easily."

Cheng Dongxue was capable at her job—a real workaholic.

"Tomorrow's the weekend. I'll take you to buy some clothes. It's my mother's birthday, and she's invited a lot of people. That necklace for tomorrow night is actually a present she bought herself," Cheng Dongxue said as she came over and took his arm.

"A birthday? Another birthday? And who buys herself such an expensive birthday present?" Zhang Yang was stunned. He hated these birthdays. For years, every banquet like this had felt like a trap to him.

At gatherings like these, Zhang Yang was mocked and bullied, the clown the relatives and family friends laughed at.

"That's why you need to dress properly. I'll buy the birthday present. All you have to do is give it to her." Cheng Dongxue knew he didn't like it, but they couldn't avoid it. They might as well make a decent showing.

"Can I skip it?" Zhang Yang asked with a grin. He knew he couldn't; he was only joking.

"What do you think?"

"Probably not!"

Cheng Dongxue took Zhang Yang to the mall and picked out a new outfit: a suit. Zhang Yang didn't like suits, but his wife had bought it for him. If Cheng Dongxue said it looked good, he would wear it.

At the mall, Zhang Yang's mind wasn't on the clothes. He was thinking about how to handle tomorrow's birthday banquet.

He had been to several of these celebrations. Each time, everyone else had enjoyed themselves while he had been miserable. He always became the center of attention, but never in a way he wanted.