The employees in the Marketing Department had lost all desire to work and began whispering among themselves.
But before they could gossip for long, some of the female employees suddenly seemed to think of something. They hurriedly turned toward a workstation and said:
"Zhiyi, hurry up and tell us—what exactly is your relationship with this Mr. Lin?"
"Yeah, he stood up for you like that. Your relationship must be pretty extraordinary, right?"
"Exactly. If you ask me, Mr. Lin might have taken a liking to our beautiful Shang Zhiyi, which was why he stood up for her."
"Now that you mention it, that really is possible. Mr. Lin is outstanding, but our beauty Shang Zhiyi isn't bad either. With that face alone, she'd be among the best in all of Zhonghai."
Seeing her colleagues getting more and more outrageous, Shang Zhiyi quickly waved for them to stop and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? He and I are just classmates. It's not what you think."
Although she said that, she had entirely different thoughts in her heart.
Lin Chen is so outstanding... would he really like a Cinderella like me?
Grrr...
Not long after Qi Zhenxing accompanied Lin Chen on his inspection of the group, a series of growls suddenly came from his stomach, followed by unbearable cramping pain.
"Mr. Lin, I..."
Seeing Qi Zhenxing's embarrassment, Lin Chen smiled. "It's fine. Go ahead. I can manage on my own."
"Then please continue looking around, Mr. Lin. I'll be back as soon as possible."
With that, Qi Zhenxing did not delay any longer and quickly headed toward the restroom.
Lin Chen continued looking around by himself. After only a short while, he felt that a so-called group was nothing special.
The place was simply bigger, the décor more luxurious, and the personnel and equipment more advanced. Other than that, it was no different from an ordinary small company.
He looked around for a little longer, then found it uninteresting and turned back toward the Marketing Department.
He planned to say hello to Shang Zhiyi, then wrap up today's inspection of the group.
Twenty-eighth floor, Marketing Department.
"Ahem—"
Just as everyone was chatting and gossiping, an abrupt cough suddenly rang out through the Marketing Department.
Everyone instinctively turned to look. The moment they saw who had arrived, their expressions changed drastically, and they hurried back to their workstations.
Deng Wenji, who was in the manager's office, also heard the cough.
When he saw the newcomer's face, his expression immediately changed. He rose to his feet and hurried over to greet him.
But as he stepped out of the office, he subconsciously glanced at Shang Zhiyi some distance away.
"General Manager Xia, didn't you leave on a business trip yesterday? Why are you back today?"
The newcomer was a middle-aged man, bald, fat-bellied, and big-eared, with the look of someone who had put on considerable weight.
He was Xia Tiejun, the General Manager of Shilin Guomao Group.
Xia Tiejun had originally been in a fairly good mood, but upon hearing Deng Wenji's words, his face immediately darkened.
"Deng Wenji, are your bones getting harder and harder? You actually dare stick your nose into my affairs now?"
"Do I need to come to your Marketing Department and report to you every time I return to the company in the future?"
"No, no, of course not. You're the General Manager of the group. I'm only the manager of a small department. How would I dare interfere with you?"
Deng Wenji hurriedly forced a smile.
"You'd better not."
Xia Tiejun glared at him, then immediately put on a smile and headed straight for a certain workstation in the Marketing Department.
"Zhiyi, did you miss me after not seeing me for one day?"
"General Manager Xia, we only have a work relationship. Please don't say things like that again."
Shang Zhiyi frowned slightly. She had no favorable impression whatsoever of Xia Tiejun, the General Manager before her, and was even disgusted enough to want to vomit.
During her years working at the group, this bastard had flirted with her plenty of times.
She had heard lines like "Did you miss me?" so many times that calluses were practically growing on her ears.
If not for the fact that he was the General Manager of the group, Shang Zhiyi would have loved to go up and slap him twice right then.
But she knew she could not do that.
For one thing, his position was high, his family was wealthy, and he had plenty of connections outside. She could not afford to offend him.
For another, she truly needed this job. Competition in society was intense these days; people had to fight desperately even for a position at a small company, while major companies with benefits this good were even rarer.
Third, even if she took the initiative to resign, Xia Tiejun probably would not let her go so easily.
With all three factors combined, Shang Zhiyi could only swallow her anger and humiliation.
"Fine, fine. I won't say it, then."
Though Xia Tiejun was somewhat unhappy inside, he still smiled and said, "Zhiyi, are you free after work tonight? I'll treat you to dinner and a movie."
"I'm sorry, General Manager Xia. I already have plans with a friend tonight, so I can't accompany you."
"What about tomorrow? Tomorrow works too."
"I'm really sorry, but tomorrow won't work either. I already have plans with a friend."
At that, Xia Tiejun's expression was already turning unpleasant. What friend had asked her out? She was obviously making excuses to brush him off.
He suppressed the fury about to erupt in his heart and said, "Then what about the day after tomorrow? No one will have asked you out then, right?"
"I'm truly sorry, General Manager Xia. I may have to disappoint you. It's not just the day after tomorrow—someone has asked me out this week and next week as well."
Seeing Shang Zhiyi reject Xia Tiejun again and again, everyone was holding back their laughter.
If this had happened in the past, they would definitely have worried for Shang Zhiyi.
After all, being targeted by a lecherous manager like this was extremely troubling.
But things were different now. Shang Zhiyi had an unclear, ambiguous relationship with Lin Chen, the major shareholder.
With that connection backing her, a mere General Manager like Xia Tiejun could not possibly stir up much trouble.
Not only did they not need to worry, but when the Marketing Department employees saw Xia Tiejun acting like this, they even began to feel faint anticipation.
They were looking forward to Lin Chen seeing this later and teaching him a good lesson.
Bang—
Just as everyone was preparing to watch a good show, the sound of something smashing rang through the entire Marketing Department.
It was followed by an angry roar.
"Shang Zhiyi, I've been giving you face, haven't I?"
"For the past three years, how many times have I asked you out? Every time, you made excuses about having plans with friends and not being free. Do you really take me for a fool?"
"Today, I, Xia Tiejun, will make this clear: you'll accompany me tonight whether you want to or not."
If she had been an ordinary woman, Xia Tiejun would not have gone through so much trouble. He would have slept with her hundreds of times already.
It was only because Shang Zhiyi's beauty was so rare and stunning that he had patiently taken his time.
But a person's patience was ultimately limited, especially for a lecherous manager like Xia Tiejun.
The fact that he had endured until today was already remarkable enough; calling it sainthood would not be an exaggeration.
But today's Xia Tiejun seemed different from usual. It was as though he had long prepared himself mentally. Not only was his attitude unyielding, he even resorted to force.
He reached out with his right hand, grabbed Shang Zhiyi's small hand directly, and began slowly pulling her outside.
"What are you doing? Let go of me! Let go of me!"
Shang Zhiyi had only ever seen this kind of forced dragging on television. How had she ever encountered it in real life, especially when it was happening to her?
For a moment, terror filled her heart, and she began screaming loudly.
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