A Blessing in Disguise

"Deng Wenji, get over here."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Deng Wenji had long since lost his nerve. At Qi Zhenxing's roar, his legs gave way and he collapsed to the floor.

Even so, he still muttered under his breath as he scrambled up and hurried over to Lin Chen.

Then he dropped to his knees and began kowtowing and begging for mercy.

"Mr... Mr. Lin, I really had no idea you were our group's largest shareholder."

"If I'd known, even if you gave me a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand guts, I wouldn't have dared to act so insolently toward you."

As he spoke, tears streamed from Deng Wenji's eyes.

It was plain to see just how terrified he was at this moment, and his heart pounded with the thought: what if the man didn't forgive him?

"Oh? So now you don't think I'm an impostor running a scam?"

Lin Chen's voice was calm and light, yet it carried an overwhelming authority that kept everyone present from daring to say a word.

"Mr. Lin, I truly know I was wrong. Please, let me off this once, I beg you."

By now, Deng Wenji couldn't even cry anymore; he could only kowtow over and over, pleading for forgiveness.

If time could truly turn back, how he wished he could return to the moment before he'd shouted at Lin Chen.

But reality told him that was nothing but a pipe dream.

Watching Deng Wenji kneel there sobbing, Lin Chen shook his head with a wry smile.

He was a bit annoyed, but only a bit—not truly angry.

After all, the man had mistaken him for a fraudster without knowing the truth.

He'd been acting for the group's sake, so it was understandable.

Still, while the capital offense could be spared, the lesser punishment could not be avoided.

After all, he was the largest shareholder of this massive group, holding a full seventy percent of its shares.

And now, in front of everyone, he'd been called a fraudster, yelled at, and nearly thrown out. That was a real blow to his dignity.

So...

Lin Chen smiled and said, "Alright, alright, stop crying and wailing. You're lucky it was me you ran into. If it had been someone else, today's matter wouldn't have ended so easily."

At these words, everyone was stunned.

They'd all been nervously waiting for the group's new largest shareholder to lay into them—after all, anyone in his shoes would be furious.

But what they never expected was that this new major shareholder would just let it slide like that?

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't have believed it.

Yet before their astonishment could settle, Lin Chen spoke again.

"But since you did publicly yell at me and threaten to throw me out, the capital offense can be spared, but the lesser punishment cannot be avoided."

When he said this, every department manager in the group silently thought, There it is.

And they began to mourn for Deng Wenji.

After all, this was the largest shareholder holding seventy percent of the group's shares. Letting him off was already immense grace, but expecting to get away without paying any price was impossible.

"Mr. Lin, as long as you spare me, I'll accept any punishment."

"Very well."

Lin Chen glanced at Deng Wenji and said with a smile, "Weren't you going to have Shang Zhiyi's monthly salary docked and strip her of all group benefits for the whole year?"

"I won't be harsh. On top of that, you'll clean the entire group's premises for a month. That's your punishment for disrespecting me today."

"Do you accept?"

When he finished, everyone except the marketing department was utterly confused.

They wondered: who is Shang Zhiyi? What punishment did Deng Wenji impose on her?

But confusion aside, every department manager—including Chairman Qi Zhenxing—simultaneously came to one conclusion.

That person named Shang Zhiyi in the marketing department was absolutely not to be crossed.

Of course, besides the managers and the chairman, the marketing department staff were equally baffled.

What they couldn't figure out was: what was the relationship between Shang Zhiyi and the group's largest shareholder?

That he would go this far to stand up for her?

Though Lin Chen hadn't said it outright, no one working in this group was a fool; on the contrary, they were exceptionally sharp.

A single hint was enough for them to grasp the stakes.

In short, from now on, the name Shang Zhiyi was a special existence within Shilin Guomao Group—someone they absolutely could not offend.

At least until they fully understood the unclear relationship between the two, they wouldn't dare treat her like an ordinary colleague anymore.

"Is Lin Chen... standing up for me?"

At this moment, Shang Zhiyi was also somewhat taken aback. She truly hadn't expected Lin Chen to come up with such a punishment.

For a moment, her heart pounded wildly beneath her left chest.

"Mr. Lin, you... you mean what you say?"

Deng Wenji was equally surprised. He never imagined that the group's largest shareholder would be so easy to deal with.

Earlier, he had braced himself for suppression by the group, but he never expected to receive only this so-called punishment.

Though the penalty wasn't light, compared to the severity of the matter, it couldn't have been any lighter.

"What? You think the punishment is too light? If that's the case, I..."

"No, no, no."

Seeing Lin Chen about to change his mind, Deng Wenji shook his head frantically like a rattle-drum.

"I accept, I accept. Thank you, Mr. Lin, thank you for your magnanimity, thank you..."

With that, Deng Wenji kowtowed to Lin Chen once more.

After this, the matter was finally put to rest.

Seeing it end, the stone hanging in Qi Zhenxing's heart finally fell.

"A blessing in disguise..."

Qi Zhenxing sighed inwardly, then stepped forward with a smile and said to Lin Chen:

"Mr. Lin, since you've decided to let this go, let me introduce you to the group's main force and show you around the operations."

"What do you think?"

"Alright, I'll trouble you."

"It's my duty, my duty."

Qi Zhenxing dared not be presumptuous. He nodded repeatedly and began introducing the department managers one by one.

After the introductions, he led Lin Chen into the group for a tour and explanation.

Once the market department was introduced and everyone had left, the employees who had been holding their breath finally let it out completely.

"Man, they're finally gone. That scared me to death."

"Yeah, the atmosphere was so tense. I didn't even dare breathe."

"Though it was tense, at least we got to know the big shareholder's temperament. He's way better than the previous ones."

"Way better? Probably a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times better. If this had happened with any other shareholder, today wouldn't have ended so simply."

"True..."