Liu Ge, assigned to clean the toilets, felt incredibly unlucky. These people really couldn’t stand to see him doing well. Especially Shen Jin’s petty behavior—one day, he would definitely expose Shen’s actions. But now that he had been registered by the security office, despite all his complaints, he could only endure it for the time being.

Carrying the cleaning tools, he climbed from the lower floors. When he reached the fourth floor, he vaguely heard voices coming from outside the stairwell. It was not uncommon for people to use work hours as an excuse to slack off, and in the past, he had ignored it. But today, he was in a bad mood. Naturally, he wouldn’t leave so easily and planned to cause some trouble to adjust his mood. If he ran into a couple of easy targets, maybe they could help him with the cleaning.

He suddenly felt better at the thought of it. Just as he was about to push the door open, he heard a familiar voice—it was Shen Jin, the very person he had just been cursing under his breath. His hand froze mid-action. In the next moment, he heard Shen Jin’s cold warning, “The things you said to me just now, you’d better not let anyone else hear about it. Keep your mouth shut, understand?”

Zhou Fan, feeling wronged, responded, “But I came to report to you about the situation, why are you yelling at me?”

“Shen Ge, don’t worry. I’ll only tell you about this. We need to report him. Didn’t you see Lu Linshen looking so pleased with himself? He even falsely accused you of copying him. I clearly saw the original draft of that website two years ago right here at your place! This time, we need to—”

Before Zhou Fan could finish, Shen Jin interrupted him with another sharp rebuke, “I’ve said it already, I’ll handle this. You just keep your mouth shut.”

“Alright, I need to report to the experimental building, so I’m leaving now. Remember what I just said—mind your mouth.”

Though Zhou Fan felt wronged, he still listened to Shen Jin and nodded, “Okay, I understand.” Seeing Zhou Fan’s aggrieved expression, Shen Jin walked a few steps but then turned back and reassured him, “Right now, my focus is on the research and development of mobile phone chips. Everything else can wait. Once this is over, I’ll take care of it.”

“For now, just don’t cause any trouble.”

“Be obedient.”

Zhou Fan knew how to prioritize. After all, Shen Jin had sacrificed so much to become the project leader. Given that, he would let Lu Linshen enjoy a few more carefree days.

“Okay, Shen Ge, you can rest assured. I’ll be good and not cause you any trouble during this time.”

As Shen Jin pushed open the door, he happened to see Liu Ge coming up the stairs, holding cleaning tools, seemingly heading to clean the toilets. Shen Jin stopped in his tracks, looked at him, and asked knowingly, “Liu Ge, didn’t you get punished to clean the toilets? What are you doing here?”

Liu Ge, still confused about the conversation he had just overheard, was now half-understanding and naturally couldn’t reveal it yet. He would figure everything out later and take care of Shen Jin then. It would feel far more satisfying than just beating him up.

He glared at Shen Jin with deep resentment, “Why do I have to report to you about what I’m doing here? But you, Shen Jin, during work hours, hiding here to slack off—be careful, I might report you!”

Shen Jin noticed that Liu Ge was a bit far from him and probably didn’t hear the conversation he had with Zhou Fan.

He smiled and said, “Liu Ge, I was just getting some fresh air. If you want to report me, feel free to do so.”

“But if this matter escalates and harms everyone’s interests, Liu Ge, you might really find it difficult to stay at Feiyun Group.”

Hearing the threat, Liu Ge felt a dull pain from the bruise on his face. “You’re threatening me,” he said.

Shen Jin lightly chuckled. “I’m just stating the facts.”

As they were at a standoff, Zhou Fan heard the noise and rushed out. He had been holding in his anger and now that he ran into Liu Ge looking for trouble, it felt like a firecracker finally had a place to explode. He vented his frustration.

“If you want to talk about slacking off, all the work is left to us while you take the credit. Besides that, you use your position to take advantage of us in ways we don’t even know about…”

“When the time comes, we might just accept some punishment, but if these things get exposed, you might be fired for good.”

Liu Ge’s face turned red with anger. “You… you…”

“What about me? If it weren’t for my Shen Ge being considerate, I would have exposed your dirty deeds long ago!”

At this moment, Shen Jin once again stepped in as a mediator. His tone was calm and composed. “Liu Ge, when I started, you helped me a lot. I’ve remembered that kindness over the years. That’s why I haven’t bothered you about some things. But my patience has its limits.”

“If it comes to that, Liu Ge, don’t blame me for not remembering our past.”

Shen Jin, with the warmth of spring, walked up to the door of the mobile phone chip research lab. He had passed by here many times before but was always stopped outside. Now, he could finally open the door openly. Thinking about this, a satisfied smile appeared on his lips. He raised his hand and placed it on the door, about to push it open when the door swung open on its own. In an instant, a familiar figure appeared before him.

“Lu Linshen?”

“What are you doing here?”

Lu Linshen raised his hand and gently pushed the door, his dark and deep eyes locking onto Shen Jin’s. He calmly said, “As the person in charge, is it unreasonable for me to be here?”

“In charge? You seem to have forgotten that you left Xuyu Group. This project is now jointly managed by Xuyu and Feiyun, and has nothing to do with you anymore.”

After a pause, Shen Jin adjusted his emotions and looked at him defiantly. “Now, I’m the one in charge of this project.”

“Oh?” Lu Linshen raised an eyebrow, sneering. “Project leader? How impressive! Seems like you don’t know how you got this position.”

“What do you mean?” Shen Jin frowned, his smug expression fading.

“What I mean is, if I hadn’t left Xuyu, you probably would have never had the chance to sit in this position as project leader.”

“Besides, it’s just a title. I really don’t know what you’re so proud of.”

The tension in the air grew as their eyes locked. The previously quiet surroundings became charged with hostility.

At this moment, President Chen and Meng Suihuan arrived late. Seeing the situation, President Chen smiled at Meng Suihuan and raised his voice. “You two, standing here blocking the door, what are you doing?”

Shen Jin turned to look at President Chen and Meng Suihuan, greeted them, and then slowly said, “When I arrived, I ran into Mr. Lu coming out of the lab. Since he’s already severed ties with Xuyu, I thought it wasn’t appropriate for him to appear here. I just had a small argument with him, but he didn’t listen to reason and seemed dissatisfied with my position as project leader. He even said I only got the role because of him…”

President Chen gave an awkward smile, knowing that what had been said wasn’t entirely false. If Lu Linshen hadn’t left Xuyu, Feiyun wouldn’t have had the opportunity to take over. However, this couldn’t be said openly. Where would he put his face if it was? He cleared his throat and was about to speak when Meng Suihuan coldly interrupted, “It’s indeed because of him.”

“After all, he’s no longer with Xuyu. His continued involvement in the project as an outsider brings many risks,” Meng Suihuan didn’t hide her sarcasm. “With Feiyun joining, the project has more security.”

Her words practically implied that they were trying to protect themselves from Lu Linshen. President Chen had heard some rumors before, especially about the contract termination that had caused friction between the two. Furthermore, this young Lu fellow had left Xuyu but still wanted to participate in the project, which caused unnecessary trouble for Meng Suihuan. She didn’t hesitate to show her disdain toward him. As long as there was a chance, she wouldn’t hesitate to embarrass Lu Linshen.

However, they still had to work together for a long time on this project, and as a mediator, President Chen had to smooth things over. He chuckled lightly and said, “Hehe, what Xiao Huan meant is that this project is important, and she values it greatly. With Feiyun’s involvement, the three of us working together will have more security.”

To his surprise, Meng Suihuan didn’t appreciate this. She glanced coldly at Lu Linshen, then turned directly to President Chen, saying, “I originally wanted to discuss the progress of the project with you, but now I’m suddenly not interested. I’ll come back another time.”

And with that, she turned and left.

President Chen stammered, “Ah… this…”

He smiled awkwardly, inwardly thinking that Meng Suihuan was indeed impulsive and had no qualms about putting someone in an uncomfortable position. As he stood there unsure of what to do, he suddenly heard Meng Suihuan’s voice again, “Your name is Shen Jin, right? You seemed very composed just now. I hope you’ll put more effort into overseeing the project. Keep an eye on it and prevent any unnecessary mistakes. If anything comes up, contact me anytime.”

Shen Jin, suddenly being singled out, was momentarily stunned. He felt a little lost but, more than that, a sense of joy at being entrusted with responsibility.

“Don’t worry, Boss Meng. As the project leader, I’ll make sure the project runs smoothly and won’t let anyone sabotage it—”

He paused, his gaze turning to Lu Linshen, a smug look on his face as he continued, “I won’t let you down, Boss Meng.”

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. However, for Qin Yu, those two weeks felt longer than half a year. After just getting scolded by Shen Jin, he was now venting his frustration.

“This Shen Jin really thinks he’s in charge, using Meng Jie’s words to boss everyone around. It’s so frustrating!”

“Hey, why is no one listening to me? Am I the only one upset? Shen Jin’s a real jerk, always finding ways to provoke us. He treats us like thieves, watching our every move. You guys aren’t mad?”

Xie Zhixin replied, “If he wants to target us, let him. As long as it doesn’t affect our plans, it’s fine.”

Xu Xuanyi added, “Lao Lu doesn’t even get mad when Shen Jin targets him all the time. Compared to him, we’re just taking a little heat, what’s there to get upset about?”

Qin Yu was speechless. When comparing his suffering to Lu Ge’s, his troubles seemed trivial, like light rain compared to a downpour.

Qin Yu turned to Lu Linshen and asked, “Lu Ge, Shen Jin picks on you every day. You’re really not angry, or are you just bottling it up?”

Lu Linshen glanced at him and said, “What do you think?”

Qin Yu muttered, “I’ve known you for four or five years, and I’ve never seen you get truly angry. You’re so stable, it’s kind of scary.”

He pouted. “Lu Ge, I’m about to explode. Tell me, how do I stay calm like you and not get upset over trivial things?”

“You’ll never have the chance,” Lu Linshen said with a rare playful tone. “Maybe in your next life.”

Qin Yu was even more frustrated after hearing that. Lu Linshen, seeing this, stopped teasing him. After thinking for a moment, he gave a serious suggestion.

“You might want to try thinking from another perspective. The more Shen Jin gloats and jumps around now, the harder he’ll fall when he eventually hits rock bottom—”

“That’s when he’ll truly suffer.”