What did it feel like to be caught talking behind someone's back? That was exactly how You Zhi felt at that moment.
He was a hundred times more embarrassed than someone caught gossiping behind another person's back. After all, he had bad-mouthed the man right to his face.
He had even brazenly declared that he would destroy An Yubei.
This was awkwardness opening the door to welcome its own mother-awkwardness had come all the way home.
Most importantly, the person before him looked soft and adorable and even spoke in an aggrieved tone, but when he reached that last sentence, his eyes had abruptly turned dangerous.
His words had little bite, but his gaze was enough to scare anyone off.
You Zhi never cared about anything outside the world of code, so everything he knew about An Yubei came from his coworkers' gossip.
According to his coworkers, An Yubei was an arrogant, domineering rich second generation, a useless idiot who had even bought his way into university through connections.
Yet someone like that had easily solved a problem that would have taken even You Zhi time to resolve. Anyone would have felt bad about that.
When someone capable surpassed you, it sparked your competitive spirit and made you determined to surpass them.
When you learned that the person who had surpassed you was nothing but an idiot, all you felt was disdain and contempt.
You Zhi's initial declaration that he would destroy An Yubei had undoubtedly been his pride talking.
Now that he had met the real An Yubei, You Zhi felt that all the rumors were false.
How was this a useless idiot? He was clearly a big shot!
An Yubei's gaze really had frightened You Zhi. He awkwardly took a sip of milk tea, its sweetness leaving his throat sticky. "Sorry, I was only joking."
"This is a civilized society. How could I kill anyone? I haven't lived long enough yet."
Of course, You Zhi would never be stupid enough to kill someone with a knife. His plan had been to use technology to investigate An Yubei's background, then gradually infiltrate his life and lead him toward his own destruction.
That plan would no longer work. An Yubei was a big shot himself. How could he fall into his trap?
After spending more than ten minutes dealing with You Zhi, An Yubei found it rather dull.
You Zhi had a nasty temper and was hard to control. Better to let him go free.
An Yubei thought it over. He could actually upgrade Ji Group's system. The upgrade would improve its security, so there would naturally be no need to fear hacker attacks.
If hacker attacks were no longer a concern, You Zhi would not be all that useful.
He could even save Ji Shang several hundred million.
Oh yeah, I'm such a little money-saving expert.
An Yubei finished his milk tea and picked up the phone beside him. "All right, you're free. I'll tell my brother to approve your resignation."
"Off you go!"
It was time for him to leave too. He would go back and familiarize himself with the system, aiming to finish the upgrade as soon as possible.
You Zhi hurriedly stood and caught An Yubei's wrist. "Wait, that's it? I'm really free?"
An Yubei pulled his hand back and raised an eyebrow. "What else? Do you want me to throw you a farewell party?"
Previously, no matter how often You Zhi asked to resign, Ji Shang refused to let him leave.
Surely it could not go this smoothly this time either!
"Can you speak for your brother?"
An Yubei did not answer. Instead, he picked up his phone and sent a message.
Ji Shang soon replied with two words: "I approve."
An Yubei showed it to You Zhi. "See? My brother agreed. You're free."
You Zhi cheered, waving his arms and dancing around. "Oh yeah! I'm finally free! I'm free!"
"I've been sick of this lousy job for ages."
If he had not owed Ji Shang a favor back then, You Zhi would never have stayed at Ji Group for all these years.
Now that Ji Shang had agreed to let him leave, he would not be breaking his word.
He slung on his backpack and headed cheerfully outside. Just as he stepped out of the milk tea shop, You Zhi asked, "What about the next hacker attack?"
The hackers were foreigners, helpers hired by Ji Group's rivals.
Their goal was to steal Ji Group's information, destroy its credibility, and then carve up its market share.
The others at the company were no match for the hackers. If their cybersecurity had not been so good, Ji Group's data would have leaked long ago.
He had built the system single-handedly. Now that it was time to say goodbye, he really was a little reluctant to part with it.
An Yubei had bought another two cups of milk tea while he was at it and was carrying them now. He said casually, "It's fine. A system upgrade will take care of it."
"I dealt with them last time. Their technology is a little outdated, and they only have a few tricks. After upgrading the system, I'll create a reverse-tracking network link. That way, anyone who dares attack Ji Group's network will immediately have their location pinpointed by the cyber police and get arrested."
You Zhi was secretly shocked. He thought An Yubei was being rather idealistic. That level was currently out of reach.
"You seem to be taking a little too much for granted. That's very hard to do."
An Yubei said indifferently, "How will we know without trying?"
"Oh, why did I tell you so much? This already counts as company secrets. All right, off you go. I need to head back too."
Why would he stop halfway through? Finish what you're saying!
How exactly are you going to try?
You Zhi was a tech fanatic. Hearing only half of it had left him unbearably curious.
He wanted to know how An Yubei would try it and how he would bring that bold idea to life.
Ugh! I'm going crazy.
An Yubei did not care whether You Zhi went crazy. He turned and headed toward the building. Only after swiping his card and entering the elevator did he discover that You Zhi had been following him.
"Need something?"
You Zhi leaned against the elevator with his arms folded and said casually, "Can't I go back to work?"
An Yubei gave a mild "Oh," then said, "Then you might need to interview again. Your resignation paperwork is already complete. You're no longer a Ji Group employee."
You Zhi: "...!"
It had only been a few minutes, and the paperwork was already done?
Zhao Ze was a little uneasy about An Yubei going to see You Zhi alone. Given You Zhi's nasty temper, he was afraid An Yubei would suffer.
But Ji Shang was in a meeting and had forbidden interruptions. Zhao Ze did not dare barge in, so he could only fret outside.
Soon, he saw An Yubei emerge from the elevator, followed by You Zhi, who had been making such a fuss about leaving.
"...!"
He actually persuaded him to come back?
Amazing!
An Yubei had persuaded that stubborn mule, who would not budge even if eight horses pulled him, to come back. Absolutely amazing.
Zhao Ze went over and was just about to speak when An Yubei spoke first. "Assistant Zhao, this gentleman wants an interview. Arrange one for him."
Zhao Ze was bewildered. He really wanted to ask whether An Yubei had lost his memory.
"Young Master An, what do you mean? I don't understand."
An Yubei explained, "Here's the situation. You Zhi resigned, and my brother approved it. Now he wants to come back, so arrange an interview. If he's suitable, keep him. If not, pass."
Zhao Ze took a deep breath and barely managed to accept this outcome.
In other words, An Yubei had persuaded him to leave, and You Zhi had shamelessly come crawling back.
What kind of earth-shattering reversal was this?
Zhao Ze asked, "What compensation should we offer?"
Previously, Ji Shang had personally decided You Zhi's compensation: an annual salary of ten million plus year-end profit sharing.
With Ji Shang absent, Zhao Ze did not dare make that decision.
Whether it was more or less, neither was his call to make.
Since Ji Shang doted on An Yubei, An Yubei could surely make the call.
An Yubei thought for a moment. "Give him whatever a technical director gets."
Zhao Ze: "...!"
Wasn't that far too little for a big shot?
A technical director's salary was only a little over a million. Even with performance bonuses, it came to less than two million.
Compared with an annual salary of ten million, that was no small difference.
Wasn't this forcing You Zhi to leave?
Since You Zhi wanted to return, they should still offer somewhat better compensation.
Zhao Ze cleared his throat and said quietly, "Young Master An, that's far too little. We need to go higher to leave room for negotiation."
"Oh." An Yubei glanced at You Zhi and said directly, "That's the offer. If you're fine with it, sign the contract. If not, find another company."
Zhao Ze: "...!"
It's over, it's over. You Zhi is definitely going to throw a fit and quit.
Even a dog wouldn't give that offer a second glance.
Any random company out there would offer better.
Just as Zhao Ze was feeling regretful, he heard You Zhi say, "I'll do it. Let's sign the contract!"
Zhao Ze: "...!"
So you went through all that fuss about resigning just to get a pay cut?
Good grief, that turned everything I knew upside down.
He processed You Zhi's onboarding paperwork again and assigned him a workstation.
Watching You Zhi work diligently, Zhao Ze could not help marveling that An Yubei truly was a modern-day master dog trainer.
He had actually managed to tame You Zhi's nasty temper.