Chapter 285: Settling Personal Grudges, Bullying with Power

Manager Wang impatiently said: "Are you trying to teach me how to do things?"

Yu Teng quickly said: "I don't mean that, I just—"

"There's no need for more babbling!" Manager Wang cut in forcefully, "I said the two of you are fired! Can't you understand human speech? Get out now, you can still go to the finance office to collect half a day's salary. If you keep whining to me, I won't be polite with you two!"

Yu Teng was choked and couldn't speak.

Li Weiwen whispered, squeezing a few words through his teeth, "Anyway… forget it, let's leave."

Both were workplace newcomers, completely suppressed by Manager Wang, forced to swallow their words, so they endured and turned to leave.

"Huh? Wait," Zhang Haoyang suddenly spoke, "Manager Wang, letting those two get the hell out and still paying them half a day's salary, isn't that inappropriate?"

Manager Wang asked, "What do you think?"

Zhang Haoyang stared at the two, sneering, "If this gets out, people will think Shennong Pharmaceutical Group is easy to bully; then anyone will come in to cause trouble, and we won't have to take responsibility while making a profit."

Manager Wang, hearing that, frowned and nodded, "Then what do you think we should do."

Zhang Haoyang said confidently, "The two rushed into our office and beat me up; that's clearly provocation and intentional injury, right? Call the police, have them arrested and detained for a while, then sue them, go through the legal process, and see if they learn their lesson."

Yu Teng and Zhang Weiwen suddenly felt a chill down their backs.

Without thinking too much, one knows how sinister Zhang Haoyang's move is.

Large corporations all have dedicated legal departments, and a legal department of Shennong Pharmaceutical at this level is certainly top‑tier. As long as they want, they have ways to make the two background‑less guys, because of this minor clash, be unable to recover for years, possibly leaving a lifelong stain.

That is enough to deal a fatal blow to their futures.

"Zhang Haoyang! You…" Yu Teng turned in anger, shouting, "You're settling a personal grudge! You're bullying people with your power!"

Zhang Haoyang curled his mouth, "Say I'm settling a personal grudge? Do you have evidence? You two came here and beat me up; I have plenty of evidence!"

"Yeah, yeah," Si Ya echoed, "I can even be a witness."

Li Weiwen mustered courage and said, "A witness doesn't point just at you… Yu Teng, didn't you already say that there were many people who saw the whole process? Manager Wang, you're at least the head of a department; you shouldn't be so unreasonable."

Manager Wang remained silent, smoking his cigarette, inhaling clouds and exhaling vapor.

Zhang Haoyang gave a look as if at an idiot, glancing at Li Weiwen with contempt, "It's not that I look down on you; it's that your childish, still‑student‑mind thinking makes you completely unsuited for a big corporation. A witness? Ha, do you think those employees would jeopardize their relationships with colleagues and superiors, risking the high‑pay job they barely got into Shennong Pharmaceutical, just for two strangers?"

Li Weiwen and Yu Teng turned pale, frozen in place, a strong sense of helplessness welling up inside them.

Si Ya showed a condescending, mocking sympathy, laughing, "Sigh, it seems that since you graduated college half a year ago, you still haven't taken many hard knocks from society. Let this be a good lesson for you both. Remember, never force yourself to stand out in matters you shouldn't, and never provoke people you shouldn't."

"Fine, then," Manager Wang said after finishing his cigarette, "Haoyang, you file the police report; this matter is yours to handle. When we sue, we'll need to involve our legal department; I'll make the call."

Zhang Haoyang grinned so wide his mouth stretched to his ears, "Alright, Manager Wang."

Yu Teng, both angry and suppressed, clenched his fists with a creak, about to explode, and Li Weiwen hurriedly pulled him into a corner, "Brother Yu… don't act rashly; maybe we should ask Ning Jingli for help…"

Yu Teng's back teeth were about to be crushed, eyes reddened, "We got this job because she helped us enormously; now we cause trouble ourselves, and we have to bother her again??"

Li Weiwen's gaze shifted from panic to determination, "Indeed we can't trouble her again. Yu, no matter how bad the outcome, I'll shoulder this with you. But you must not act rashly, okay?"

Yu Teng took a deep breath, nodded.

"What are you muttering over there?" Zhang Haoyang shouted with a grin, "Stop negotiating; you have no chance. You two even think you can jump around in front of me? Back in college I was already a different class from you two; I'm still not, and will never be."

Yu Teng and Li Weiwen turned around, facing him calmly.

"Zhang Haoyang, do whatever you want, but understand this: we're not afraid of you; you're using external forces to oppress us, and that's not your ability."

"Right, even if we get ruined, we won't take you seriously; we still sincerely despise people like you."

Zhang Haoyang heard their words striking his heart and couldn't help but feel a nameless fury.

He wore a grim face, staring intently at the two, "Even when death is near, you still want to indulge in petty words, right? Don't think I can't see it; you two have already been scared stiff! Of course, I'm not actually a cold‑blooded, heartless person. After all, we were classmates for four years, and I'm willing to look after that camaraderie; after all, even a dog raised for four years can develop feelings."

"Pfft…" Si Ya laughed beside him, "Haoyang, you're absolutely right. Except, these two never even earned the right to be your dog."

Zhang Haoyang stood up, walked to Yu Teng and Li Weiwen, arrogantly saying, "I haven't called the police yet; I just want to give you two a chance. If you kneel before me and apologize, I can forgo legal action, and if your apology is sincere enough, perhaps I'll even graciously preserve your positions."

"Ugh!" Yu Teng spat directly onto Zhang Haoyang's face.

Zhang Haoyang's face changed dramatically, raising his fist to strike.

"Don't hit, don't hit!" Li Weiwen stepped between them at the crucial moment, his face drenched in cold sweat, "Zhang Haoyang… I'm begging you, give us a way out, okay?"

Li Weiwen's softened attitude finally eased Zhang Haoyang's mind a bit.

He wiped the spit from his face with his hand, then brushed his hand over Li Weiwen's face, and gave two pats, "If you'd behaved like this earlier, wouldn't it have been fine? But I feel Yu Teng is still quite resentful; that's fine, I'm still thinking of old classmate ties. I'll give you a few minutes to consider."

"Yes, yes, thank you," Li Weiwen nodded and bowed.

Zhang Haoyang, satisfied, returned to his seat and sat down.

Yu Teng glared at Li Weiwen and whispered, "You good‑for‑nothing."

Li Weiwen said, "Brother Yu, I'm definitely not trying to flatter Zhang Haoyang. As the saying goes, a true man can bend and stretch; ancient warrior saints endured humiliation in their youth, so what can't we endure? If we truly end up in jail, bearing an undeserved stain, that would be the most damaging to our future."

Yu Teng looked at Li Weiwen's restrained and sincere gaze, his mood gradually calming, "I… let me think…"

………

Meanwhile.

Lili saw that the person called into the conference room hadn't emerged yet, growing increasingly restless and unable to focus on work.

A nearby colleague noticed her odd behavior, leaned over and whispered, "Stop constantly looking toward the conference room; just work properly."

Lili's expression grew serious; after pondering two seconds, she seemed to decide and stood up directly.

The colleague quickly grabbed her arm, "Where are you going?"

Lili said, "Those two got into trouble with Section Chief Zhang because of me; Section Chief Zhang has such a good relationship with Manager Wang, so Wang will definitely side with him. I can't just watch the people who helped me be punished or even lose their jobs."

The colleague, agitated, "You already said Section Chief Zhang and Manager Wang have a good relationship, so why are you getting involved? What influence do you have? If you go now to speak for those two, you'll only bring trouble on yourself!"

"Let it burn; at worst I can quit this job," Lili stubbornly said, about to leave.

The colleague tried again to persuade, "Lili! Going straight to the conference room to see Manager Wang is useless! You can't help and just get yourself involved—are you stupid?!"

"Who said I'm going to see Manager Wang?" Lili broke free from the colleague's hand and hurried away.

The colleague was stunned.

When they came to their senses, Lili's figure was already gone.

"It's over…… She's going to file a report skipping levels, ah," the colleague sighed, holding their forehead, "It's a major workplace taboo, over and over……"

……

Lili also knew this was a major workplace taboo.

Leaving aside whether it's appropriate to ignore the rules, the higher-ups probably wouldn't care about a low-level staff member filing a petty report, and it's highly likely it would cause her to be unable to stay at the company in the future.

But she had no other choice; she could only take a risk and give it a try.

With a nervous feeling, she took the elevator to the floor where the CEO's office was located, then anxiously and nervously searched for it.

She had never been here before and didn't know the way at all.

"Hmm? Which department are you from, and what are you doing here?" a gentle voice sounded.

Lili jumped in surprise, quickly turned her head, and upon seeing that the other person was a young woman about her age, with a clearly gentle and kind expression, she let out a slight sigh of relief: "I... I'm from the Publicity Department, I want to find Manager Lu to report something. Sis, you... you're Manager Lu's secretary? Could you take me there? The situation is quite urgent."

Lili was so nervous she didn't even realize that, if the other person were the CEO's secretary, they should logically be wearing formal business attire, not casual clothes with disheveled hair.

The other person said: "Manager Lu just left a few minutes ago, heading to the pharmaceutical factory's lab to lead an important drug development project. Why don't you tell me about it?"

"Ah, this..." Lili's face turned pale all of a sudden.

The young woman opposite her was a head taller, slightly bent over, with a very gentle attitude, she took Lili's hand and comforted her: "Don't worry, if there's any problem, I'll tell Manager Lu."

Lili stammered, not knowing how to start speaking.

She was never good at communicating with people, and now, with her anxiety added, her words got stuck in her throat.

The young woman in front of her then said: "What happened? If you don't know how to describe it, could you just take me to see it?"

Lili quickly nodded: "Okay... I'll take you to see it!"

Afterwards, the two took the elevator downstairs, rushing to the Publicity Department office.

At this very moment.

In the meeting room of the Publicity Department office.

Zhang Haoyang was chatting and shooting the breeze with Manager Wang, while Si Ya glanced at the time and interjected: "Haoyang, about ten minutes have passed."

"Huh? Time flew by that fast?" Zhang Haoyang snapped back to attention, then casually flattered Manager Wang: "Every time I chat with Manager Wang, I lose track of time without realizing it."

What Manager Wang likes is Zhang Haoyang's constant ability to make him feel at ease; therefore, even though Zhang Haoyang's abilities have been average since joining, he always receives Wang's preferential treatment.

So for this matter, he also intends to delegate the authority to handle it to Zhang Haoyang.

Zhang Haoyang stood up and said: "Ten minutes have passed, have you two decided?"

To Zhang Haoyang, these ten minutes flew by in an instant, but for Teng and Li Weiwen, each second felt like a year.

"We've decided..." Li Weiwen began.

Zhang Haoyang gave a slight smile, then quietly told Si Ya: "These two pieces of trash will definitely cave in; later, use your phone to record it, and afterward I'll post their kneeling scene in the class group."

Si Ya's eyes lit up with excitement: "This is fun, sure, I'll definitely record it."

Manager Wang beside them joked: "Still, you youngsters are interesting."

Zhang Haoyang adjusted his suit, then arrogantly walked up to Teng and Li Weiwen.

Li Weiwen endured his intense disgust and anger, forcing out a smile: "Haoyang, we... we are willing to apologize to you..."

"Then apologize, I'm waiting!" Zhang Haoyang said, turning his head to wink at Si Ya.

Si Ya swiftly pointed her phone at them discreetly and turned on the camera.

Teng's face turned deathly pale, his whole body tensed up like a lump of iron.

Li Weiwen tugged at his arm: "Teng bro... we just said we would..."

Teng clenched his fists, his shoulders trembling from excessive muscle tension.

"Don't keep me waiting too long." Zhang Haoyang reminded lightly.

Li Weiwen lowered his head, his back teeth already biting into blood, making a motion to kneel first, but his instinctive resistance made his movement extremely difficult and slow.

Zhang Haoyang wasn't in a hurry either, after all he enjoyed not just the result of these two apologizing, but more importantly, the process itself.

Si Ya started recording the video, when suddenly a message popped up in the class group; she opened it and saw that a bunch of university classmates were chatting about a class reunion, most of them online.

And the focus of the chat, naturally, was Zhang Haoyang and Si Ya, who had been stealing the spotlight.

Si Ya had a brainwave, thinking that recording a video and sending it to others was less fun than letting everyone watch a live broadcast directly.

So she directly opened the group video chat, set her phone to mute, so that when others in the group video chat made noise, it wouldn't disturb the show here.

Then she used the document holder on the conference table to steady her phone, so she wouldn't have to hold it herself, not interfering with her watching the show.

Everything was ready in just a few seconds, and the online classmates in the group entered the group video call one after another out of curiosity.

Si Ya couldn't help feeling pleased with her own cleverness, and also excited and thrilled about the upcoming show...