---

He had some blood stains on his white suit.

My first reaction was to check if he was hurt.

But before I could move, I took a heavy punch to the right cheek.

Things around me crashed down, and I stumbled several steps before barely standing firm.

This punch was both heavy and fierce, burning at the point of contact on my cheek, and my whole head became numb.

A buzzing filled my ears, as if the sounds were retreating like waves, creating a thin barrier that made it hard to hear anything clearly.

A warm, sweet, metallic taste surged up from my throat, like volcanic lava constantly pushing upward.

I was stunned by the blow, standing still as the world around me gradually faded away due to the loss of sound.

After a long time, my ears finally returned to normal.

The first words I heard were Huo Beiming pointing at my nose and saying:

“Even without her, I could never like you. Never! Absolutely!

“I won’t like you. You make me feel sick, do you know that?

“You better pray that she is safe, or I won’t let you off.”

The whispers around me almost swallowed me whole.

But those idle gossip and chatter were not enough to move me.

What truly chilled my heart was Huo Beiming.

For so many years, whether as a brother, backup, or lackey, I had been dutiful and responsible.

I thought that with all I had done, I deserved the fullest trust in the world.

But he didn’t trust me.

Not only did he not trust me, but he also publicly denied my character and questioned my morals.

In the past, I never believed that someone could go from loving to not loving because of one thing.

But at this moment, I understood.

The threshold of emotions was filled, and my anger spilled out uncontrollably.

In just an instant, it really could happen.

It turned out that so much love could indeed vanish in a moment.

---

That day, I was kicked out of the venue.

Huo Beiming made it clear that he wanted to settle this with me, vowing that if any company dared to hire me, it would be against the Huo family.

I was shooting myself in the foot.

If Huo Beiming weren’t the vice chairman of the Huo Group, he wouldn’t have the power to fully block me now.

But now, he did.

For work and to cause some trouble for Huo Beiming, I went to see Huo Mingrui.

Sure enough, just as he said.

The doors of Dreamfang were always open for me.

As soon as I walked into the company, the front desk warmly welcomed me.

I was shown to the best room and offered the best tea.

Before long, Huo Mingrui also arrived.

He extended his hand to me: “Welcome, General Manager Chen. They don’t recognize talent, but there are always those who do. General Manager Chen, can I keep you here today?”

As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Since realizing that Huo Beiming was a scoundrel, Huo Mingrui didn’t seem so bad after all.

I shook his hand: “Pleasure working together, Mr. Huo.”

He keenly sensed the change in my address and smiled broadly: “Finally rid of that ‘little’ title; this is truly a joyous occasion.”

---

On my first day at Dreamfang, I delivered a big gift to Huo Beiming.

He only knew I was capable but didn’t realize my popularity was quite good too.

On my first day, I poached the sales champion from the Huo Group.

Along with him was his wife, a core member of the company’s development team.

Though they were just two employees, it was my signal of war against Huo Beiming.

I never fight unprepared battles.

The next day, I also poached a few of Huo Group’s major clients.

I had said that on Huo Beiming’s path to power, I might not achieve great things, but I was definitely indispensable.

Huo Beiming, as a new official, lost several major clients in quick succession.

It should be hard for him to explain this to the board.

The new company was quickly getting into sync.

I felt like I hadn’t worked with colleagues who understood me in a long time.

Here, I realized that there was no need to make work so difficult for myself.

After a month, Huo Mingrui was grinning ear to ear and decisively took us to a hot spring hotel for team building.

Coincidentally, it was the same one I had booked for my birthday.

---

“Cheers!”

The vibrant atmosphere of the young people infected me.

Even though the doctor had already warned me not to drink, I still raised my glass.

Sure enough, after downing a refreshing beer, my stomach quickly reacted.

Before long, my stomach began to ache.

I rubbed my cold stomach and forced a smile as I set down my glass.

But then, my younger colleagues came over one by one to toast me.

They cheerfully claimed they wanted to welcome me, their voices bright and cheerful.

I couldn’t bear to refuse.

Maybe it was that I simply wouldn’t refuse.

The moment the glass touched my lips, someone covered the rim.

“Why is everyone drinking with General Manager Chen and not with me? Am I not your beloved boss?”

Huo Mingrui stood between us, raising his glass, casually blocking my drink.

Quietly.

He handed me a warm coconut juice from behind.

I was momentarily stunned.

In my impression, that was something only children drank.

Seeing I didn’t move, he placed the coconut juice on the table.

Once everyone left, he leaned in and whispered in my ear, “General Manager Chen, you don’t need to force a smile here.”

I paused, then turned to smile back.

Did the men of the Huo family have a charming gene from birth?

Unfortunately, while Huo Mingrui was very confident, his alcohol tolerance was average.

In less than half an hour, he was blissfully intoxicated.

He pulled a few young ones to sing on the sofa.

A few of the young red ones huddled together, singing until they were hoarse.

This atmosphere made me feel as if work wasn’t so hateful after all.

---

I helped the drunk Huo Shiri back to his room.

Coincidentally, his suite was on the same floor as the one I had booked for my birthday.

After placing him on the sofa, I turned to leave the room.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I stepped out the door, I ran into the last person I wanted to see.