"A Hui, go ahead."
"After careful consideration, I've decided to resign."
The smile on President Zhao's face froze. He paused for twenty seconds before speaking.
"I just can't wrap my head around it. A regional general manager at twenty-four... that's a dream job countless young people would kill for."
"Being a regional general manager at twenty-four means your career path is wide open, with enormous potential for advancement."
"Don't think that just because you're young, you have all the time in the world. You have to understand, the golden years of your career are before you're thirty-five, or even before thirty."
"The heights you reach during this period will determine the peak of your entire career. So, even though you're young, you can't afford to waste time. An opportunity like regional general manager is a once-in-a-lifetime chance."
"If I weren't about to retire, a position like this would hardly ever open up in a mature, stable company like ours."
President Zhao went on at length, pleading earnestly like an elder trying to reason with a junior.
He had a lot of respect for President Zhao.
"President Zhao, I've considered all of this. But I've still decided to resign. You know my personality. Once I make a decision, I don't look back."
President Zhao sighed. It was precisely because he knew Yang Hui's personality that he found this so regrettable.
Just as Yang Hui had said, he was the kind of person who couldn't be swayed by a team of wild horses once his mind was made up. President Zhao knew his persuasion was likely useless, but he had to try.
"A Hui, why don't you think it over some more? Postpone the resignation for a bit?"
He shook his head. 'The system only gave me seven days, and today is already the second. If I can't get this settled within seven days, my resignation will be meaningless. I'll not only lose the system, but I'll also lose the regional general manager job.'
"President Zhao, my mind is made up. And what I'd like to ask for your help with is arranging my departure as soon as possible."
'So urgent?' President Zhao looked up at him.
He seemed to understand and sighed. "You're right. Your position as the new regional general manager is a very sensitive one. If you've decided to leave, it's better to do it quickly. Otherwise, things will get pretty awkward with your colleagues."
"A Hui, I'll call the CEO in a bit. I need to report this to him specifically."
"Besides that, I know what you're capable of. I'm confident you'll be successful no matter where you go."
"Thank you."
On the way back to his office, everyone looked at him differently.
Some looked afraid—these were the ones who had mocked him before.
Some looked reverent, though he knew they revered the general manager's position, not him.
And others looked envious. To sit on the general manager's throne at twenty-four... he was the very picture of a winner in life.
"Hello, President Yang."
"President Yang, are you free? I'd like to come over and give you a work report."
He stopped and smiled at the merchandise department manager. "You should be reporting to President Zhao. But if it's something that requires coordination with the operations department, you can come to me."
Watching Yang Hui's retreating back, the merchandise department manager thought, 'Look at his magnanimity. No wonder he could become the general manager. He's nothing like that idiot Fang Zheng, who started acting all high and mighty and bossing me around before headquarters even confirmed anything, just assuming he was the only candidate for the job.'
"President Yang, do you have a moment?"
Qin Hong approached, leaning forward slightly. The V-neck of her blouse revealed two mounds of snowy white, with a ravine that seemed bottomless.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
'I already told her yesterday I'm not interested in public buses, nor do I like driving used cars. What does she want from me now? For me to give the vehicle another performance inspection?'
'Or maybe she wants me to help her wax it?'
Qin Hong forced a seductive expression. It had to be said, she did have a certain charm and a degree of... playability. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been occasionally tempted to play with her in the past, forcing himself to slam on the brakes.
"I just wanted to ask if you have any new requirements for the general affairs department?"
"No."
Her expression froze. He had given her a direct answer, which meant he had shut the door on her.
Watching his retreating back, she thought, 'Looks like I'll have to try harder. He doesn't drive used cars? That's because you don't know how cost-effective a used car can be.'
"Boss."
"Hello, Boss."
Aside from Yang Na, who was looking at him with a genuinely happy expression, the other female supervisors were all sweet as honey.
He nodded at them and entered his office.
KNOCK KNOCK—
His seat wasn't even warm yet when someone knocked on the door.
"President Yang, I was wrong! Please forgive me!"
The IT department manager came in, closed the door, and fell to his knees with a THUD.
The man, in his thirties, had tears streaming down his face. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was the one who had been grievously wronged.
Yang Hui wondered, 'How is he even managing to cry?'
He didn't know how long the man had spent in the bathroom brewing up these emotions, his mind racing.
He imagined losing his job, his girlfriend cheating on him before leaving him, his sixty-year-old mother at home needing his support, and even that forty-eight-year-old Aunt Wang from his hometown who needed him to send money for living expenses!
Thinking of all this, how could he not be overcome with sorrow and burst into tears?
'I can't stand this guy,' Yang Hui thought. 'If I weren't resigning, I would have fired him for sure. But since I'm leaving, I don't have the final say on personnel matters anymore.'
"You have time to be in here crying? I told you to go inspect the POS systems at all the stores. How long were you planning to put that off?"
"I'll go right now, right now! President Yang, you have to forgive me!"
After kowtowing, he left the office.
'Forgive my ass. What's the deal with kowtowing three times to me? Am I your ancestor you're honoring on Tomb-Sweeping Day? This kid's definitely got a screw loose.'
He sat down and waited quietly for the outcome of President Zhao's call with the CEO.
'My mind is made up. The company probably won't force me to stay. A melon plucked before it's ripe isn't sweet!'
'Besides, the company offered me such a great opportunity, and I'm the one who doesn't appreciate it. If they insisted on me taking the job, wouldn't that make the general manager position seem cheap? Like they couldn't give it away?'
KNOCK KNOCK—
He raised an eyebrow. 'It's a lot livelier than usual today.'
Fang Zheng walked in, his face a mask of sycophantic flattery.
He smiled to himself. 'All the world's a stage, and it's all about the acting.'
Fang Zheng had always been at odds with him. The channel development department was responsible for opening new stores, while the operations department was responsible for running them. The two departments often had friction.
If a newly opened store performed poorly, the operations department would naturally blame it on poor customer traffic. And poor traffic meant the store's location was bad, didn't it?
Meanwhile, the channel development department would do everything it could to prove that the problem was with the operations department's management. Otherwise, the blame for opening a bad store would fall on them, right?
Fang Zheng had bad-mouthed him to President Zhao plenty of times before. He'd even openly declared in the office, "Yang Hui is still wet behind the ears. What does he know?"
'What do I know? I know a lot more than he does.'
'For one, I know all about the girlfriend he's chasing, Qin Hong. Aside from not having... intimate knowledge of her, I've pretty much figured out everything else.'
'Of course, that was thanks to Qin Hong hedging her bets.'
"Boss! President Yang! From now on, you're my big boss!"