It was a little after 3 p.m. when Cen Zhiyuan drove into the underground parking lot of Cen An Building.

Before entering the elevator, he took out his phone and sent a message to his assistant, then casually stuffed the phone back into his pocket without checking.

Five minutes later, he appeared outside Cen Zhisen’s office. The attention of his female secretary was fully focused on the computer screen, and she only looked up when she heard the sound of fingers tapping on the desk. She stood up, surprised, and said, “Mr. Xiao Cen.”

“Is he in? I need to see him about something,” Cen Zhiyuan said directly.

“Wait a moment,” the female secretary dialed the internal line, spoke to Cen Zhisen on the other end, hung up, and then opened the office door for Cen Zhiyuan.

As Cen Zhiyuan entered, Cen Zhisen subtly assessed him with a glance.

Cen Zhiyuan was dressed very casually, wearing a casual suit jacket over a windbreaker. He seemed to have lost some weight, but his spirits were still good.

“Take a seat,” Cen Zhisen gestured, “Are you back to cancel your leave today?”

“No,” Cen Zhiyuan sat down, leaning back in the chair with a lazy posture, “I’m here to resign.”

“Resign?” Cen Zhisen raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Cen Zhiyuan affirmed, “Resign.”

“Any reason?” Cen Zhisen inquired.

With Cen Zhisen’s gaze fixed on him, Cen Zhiyuan remained indifferent and didn’t evade, “Don’t want to work anymore, or whatever reason you want to think of.”

Cen Zhisen disagreed, “I won’t approve your resignation like this.”

Cen Zhiyuan chuckled, his eyes mocking, “I thought you would be glad to see me leave as soon as possible.”

“Believe it or not, I investigated your background, not for this,” Cen Zhisen said.

“Maybe,” Cen Zhiyuan didn’t care to listen to these, “In any case, the result is the same.”

“Why don’t you stay?” Cen Zhisen reminded him. “Dad said he doesn’t mind your background, and you have the capability. The position of Executive Vice President at Cen An is not solely determined by blood; it’s about competence.”

“Should I thank you for acknowledging my abilities?” Cen Zhiyuan said and then felt uninterested, “Forget it. Dad doesn’t mind, but many others do. Cen An, in the end, carries the surname Cen. I’m not interested in working for you for the rest of my life.”

Cen Zhisen frowned. Cen Zhiyuan lifted his chin, “Please, President Cen, spare me and let me go.”

Every sentence he spoke had a sharp edge to it. The statement about not being interested in working for him for the rest of his life was probably sincere. Cen Zhisen could tell; Cen Zhiyuan had always been ambitious, especially when facing him.

For someone who had made up his mind to leave, forcing him to stay was meaningless.

“As a director and executive of Cen An, you cannot join a competing company for a short period after leaving Cen An. I won’t make an exception for you on this,” Cen Zhisen reminded him again.

Cen Zhiyuan shrugged, “Don’t worry, I won’t give you a chance to sue me.”

The timely ringing of the phone interrupted the subtle but tense exchange. Cen Zhisen answered, and it was a subordinate reporting urgent work while on a business trip.

Cen Zhiyuan patiently waited, casually listening to a couple of details. The work he usually handled had been temporarily assigned to someone else. Apparently, they feared making mistakes in the midst of busyness, so they reported every little detail to Cen Zhisen.

Someone like him, who didn’t take Cen Zhisen seriously and was used to acting on his own, was probably hard to find in the entire Cen An.

Thinking about these trivial matters, Cen Zhiyuan unconsciously drifted into his own thoughts. His gaze, inadvertently, fell on Cen Zhisen’s tightly clenched jaw, passed over the continuously sliding Adam’s apple when he spoke, paused for a moment, and then moved away.

Cen Zhisen’s office desk had a glass window on the side, and on the windowsill was a pot of green pothos, providing a touch of greenery to the whole office.

Unfortunately, it seemed a bit monotonous. Cen Zhiyuan suddenly thought that if he hadn’t snatched away that flower pot, placed it on the corner of Cen Zhisen’s desk, alongside the green pothos, it would have been a perfect finishing touch.

Cen Zhisen hung up the phone and looked up, catching a glimpse of a faint smile in Cen Zhiyuan’s eyes as he stared at the window. His gaze paused.

It wasn’t the indifferent smile from earlier when he was talking to him. At this moment, Cen Zhiyuan genuinely smiled, as if he had found something interesting, making him feel pleased.

Cen Zhiyuan turned his head, and the smile in his eyes had already disappeared, “Mr. Zhang is quite capable. There’s nothing between us like you might think. Now that he’s on the board, make good use of him. Also, Chen Xiangdong, my assistant, he’s quite clever. I don’t think banishing him to obscurity is necessary even after I leave. You can handle it as you see fit.”

Cen Zhisen didn’t comment. How to use people was his business; he didn’t need Cen Zhiyuan’s advice.

“If you want to leave the company, you need approval from the board of directors and the shareholders’ meeting. You better think about how to tell Dad,” Cen Zhisen reminded him.

Cen Zhiyuan got bored with the conversation, “I know.”

“What are your plans for the future?” Cen Zhisen asked.

Cen Zhiyuan was slightly surprised. Given their relationship, asking such questions seemed hypocritical. Still, since Cen Zhisen asked, he cooperated and thought seriously before answering, “Let’s see. I can’t do anything now anyway. I haven’t taken a break for a long time. I’ll rest for a while, maybe go abroad.”

“Abroad?” Cen Zhisen questioned.

“Yeah,” Cen Zhiyuan casually replied, “Maybe to Wall Street, for a change of environment.”

Cen Zhisen didn’t think it was a good time to go abroad now, but he wasn’t Cen Zhiyuan. Regardless of whether Cen Zhiyuan resigned or not, the situation was awkward for him, and he didn’t have much say.

“Cen Zhisen, your previous concerns were unnecessary,” Cen Zhiyuan said, looking into Cen Zhisen’s eyes. “I won’t go to another company, even if someone offers me a sky-high annual salary and promises countless benefits. I won’t help outsiders go against Cen An. Although I may not be a good person, at least my conscience is intact. I won’t assist others in harming Cen An.”

Locked in a gaze, Cen Zhisen sensed a subtle emotion. Just like when he saw Cen Zhiyuan smiling at the green plant on the windowsill, he felt a similar emotion in that moment.

Perhaps, Cen Zhiyuan’s accidental revelation of another side of him was different from what he had assumed.

“Forget it. Why am I telling you all this?” Cen Zhiyuan stood up. “I’m leaving.”

Cen Zhisen nodded, not saying more.

Cen Zhiyuan glanced at him regretfully one last time. The goal he had been chasing for over twenty years had finally come to an end.

As he left, Cen Zhisen watched his departing figure. Just like when he arrived, Cen Zhiyuan’s posture was upright, and his steps were neither fast nor slow. In front of people, he always maintained an elegant demeanor, even in times of adversity.

Coming back to his senses, Cen Zhisen realized that the signing pen in his hand had fallen onto the paper, unintentionally leaving a long trace. He sighed lightly, picked up the phone to inform his secretary to print another copy.

Cen Zhiyuan went back to his office to pack his things. It would still be some time before his formal departure, but someone had taken over his work, and he hadn’t canceled his leave yet, so there was no need to stay any longer.

When his assistant entered with something to say, Cen Zhiyuan interrupted him, “I told Cen Zhisen that I resigned. I will submit a formal written report to the board of directors later, and I won’t be coming back.”

The assistant was dumbfounded, “Mr. Xiao Cen, you’re resigning?”

“I already told Cen Zhisen,” Cen Zhiyuan reminded him. “If you feel like you can’t stay at Cen An anymore in the future, you can contact me. I’ll ask a friend to help you find another job.”

The assistant, seeing that Cen Zhiyuan had started packing, suppressed his shock, “Are you really leaving?”

“Otherwise, should I stay here forever and be suppressed by Cen Zhisen?” Cen Zhiyuan said indifferently.

The assistant hesitated to speak but finally said, “That, regarding your background, it’s already become a hot topic outside. I’m not gossiping, but…”

“It’s true,” Cen Zhiyuan admitted directly. “When I was born, there was a mix-up at the hospital. The real Young Master Cen is a Ph.D student, and he’ll probably join Cen An in the future. Not many people outside probably know about this.”

“Is this kind of thing actually true?” the assistant exclaimed. “I thought it only happened in TV dramas.”

“TV dramas are not all made up,” Cen Zhiyuan said in a relaxed tone, as if discussing someone else’s affairs. “So, tell me, what are people saying about me outside?”

“Anyway, not many good things,” the assistant said. “You better not listen.”

“Such as?” Cen Zhiyuan insisted.

He insisted on hearing, and the assistant had to say, “Well, not many kind words. Some say this matter is bizarre, like a story. For those who already had opinions about you, they say nasty things privately. They claim you took advantage, invaded another’s nest, and that your ambitions were too big, leading to a fall from grace.”

“Invading another’s nest,” Cen Zhiyuan repeated the phrase. The uncles and aunts at Cen’s house had been using the same term when he was there. It was the same phrase.

The assistant quickly said, “Just ignore them.”

Cen Zhiyuan lifted his lips, “Quite interesting.”

He didn’t continue with this topic. He quickly packed up his things, taking only his personal belongings, and before leaving, his gaze fell on the flower on the office desk.

During the month he was away, his assistant and secretary took good care of the flower. The Faihua Yu jade was in full bloom, even in November.

“This flower,” Cen Zhiyuan’s voice paused, signaling to the assistant, “return it to Cen Zhisen.”

The assistant tried to persuade him, “It’s just a pot of flowers. President Cen probably doesn’t remember it by now. Mr. Xiao Cen, if you like it, take it with you, or I can take care of it.”

“For Cen Zhisen,” Cen Zhiyuan insisted, “return things to their rightful owner.”

When the secretary came in with the flower, Cen Zhisen looked up, slightly puzzled.

“This pot was sent by Mr Xiao Cen’s office, saying it’s returning to its rightful owner,” the secretary explained.

Cen Zhisen’s gaze flickered, “Just leave it there.”

The secretary put down the flower and left. Cen Zhisen stared at it for a moment. Suddenly, a memory of Cen Zhiyuan sitting in his chair, looking at the flower, and smiling floated into his mind.

He stood up, changed the position of the flowerpot, and placed it on the corner of the desk under the window.

Circling around to the front of the desk, he sat down in the same position where Cen Zhiyuan had sat just now and looked at it from the same angle.

The green pothos were lush, vines hung over the windowsill, and sparse sunlight spilled through the gaps in the leaves, casting on the white-pink petals below.

Leaning back in his chair, Cen Zhisen quietly watched for a long time before suddenly smiling.