Chapter 163: 163. Chapter 163: Everyone Promoted, Salaries Doubled!

163. Chapter 163: Everyone Promoted, Salaries Doubled!

The luxurious Rolls-Royce Phantom wove through the night like a ghost, finally stopping in front of the fountain at the Shen Family Villa.

This was a detached villa the Shen Family had bought in the suburbs of Jianghai City; aside from the cleaning staff, almost no one lived there on a daily basis.

The celebration banquet had gone on until this hour; it was too late.

Yang Shuqin and Shen Zhiyuan were staying at this place for the time being.

Shen Huai pushed open the car door, stepped out wearily, and tossed the keys to the butler who had been waiting on the side for a long time.

"Young Master, you have returned."

The butler respectfully took the keys, his face wearing his usual humble smile.

Shen Huai ignored him and walked straight into the villa.

As soon as he entered, he saw his mother, Yang Shuqin, sitting on the sofa in the living room, holding a glass of red wine and sipping it elegantly.

"Mom, it's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?" Shen Huai rubbed his brow, his tone carrying a hint of gravity.

Yang Shuqin set down her wine glass and looked at Shen Huai with a sharp gaze: "Why? Did you have a good time?"

"What do you mean, have a good time?"

Shen Huai walked over to the sofa, sat down, and poured himself a glass of wine. "Mom, you know exactly what this farce today was about, yet you still ask me such a question?"

Yang Shuqin chuckled: "What? Are you blaming me and your Uncle Yang for teaming up to scheme against you?"

"Isn't that what happened?" Shen Huai downed a large gulp of wine, his tone filled with a trace of anger. "Mom, how could you treat me like a tool? I am your son!"

Yang Shuqin did not speak, just watched Shen Huai quietly, her eyes deep and unfathomable.

After a long while, she finally spoke slowly: "A-Huai, have you ever thought about what you truly want deep down in your heart, if you set aside all external factors?"

Shen Huai was stunned for a moment.

He had never thought about this question.

Or rather, he had always deliberately avoided this question.

"Mom, what exactly are you trying to say?" Shen Huai was somewhat impatient.

"I am saying, Yang Lan, is she not good?"

Yang Shuqin's tone was calm. "From a business perspective, she is an extremely excellent corporate manager. If you could marry her, the alliance between the Shen Family and the Yang Family would be nothing but beneficial to the Shen Group."

"But I don't like her!" Shen Huai blurted out.

"Oh? Then who do you like?" Yang Shuqin raised an eyebrow, staring at Shen Huai with burning eyes.

Shen Huai fell silent.

Subconsciously.

Lin Yeman's clear and refined face appeared in Shen Huai's mind, along with that complex and difficult-to-fathom expression in her eyes when she looked at him.

"Why aren't you speaking? Could it be..."

Yang Shuqin deliberately drew out the end of her sentence, a meaningful smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You like the Yang Family's second daughter, Lin Yeman?"

Shen Huai suddenly looked up, staring at his mother in surprise; he had not expected his thoughts to be seen through so clearly by her.

"Mom, how did you know?"

"Heh, you are my son; do you think I wouldn't be able to see through your thoughts?"

Yang Shuqin chuckled. "However, A-Huai, you need to think clearly. Lin Yeman's status is just like yours right now; to outsiders, no one even knows the Yang Family has a second daughter."

"If you choose her, the resources the Shen Family can obtain will not be as great, and Yang Lan will not share the Yang Family's core technology."

Shen Huai was silent; he knew what his mother said was the truth.

Since he was small, he had understood that the other side of his status was a shackle.

He was destined to be unable to pursue the life he wanted freely, like a child from an ordinary family.

"A-Huai, Mom knows you are hurting inside, but this is reality."

Yang Shuqin walked to Shen Huai's side and gently patted his shoulder. "You have grown up; you must learn to weigh the pros and cons and make the choice most beneficial to yourself." Shen Huai looked up at his mother's well-maintained face, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He knew his mother said these things for his own good, but he truly could not go against his own heart to marry a woman he did not love.

"Mom, I..."

"I know what you want to say."

Yang Shuqin interrupted Shen Huai. "You don't need to rush to answer me; think about it carefully."

After saying this, Yang Shuqin turned and left the living room, leaving Shen Huai sitting alone on the sofa, lost in thought. - The next day.

A red-headed official document made the entire Xingyao company feel like a calm lake into which a giant boulder had been thrown, causing an uproar.

In the morning, the gossiping crowd was still relishing the farce at Brother Shen Huai's engagement banquet last night, when internal news spread like a virus—

Shen Huai's Creative Department was going to become an independent subsidiary! "Is it true? Is the news reliable?"

"Absolutely true! The red-headed document is already out; I just saw it when I was printing things over at the Administrative Department!"

"My god! This is too sudden, isn't it? Becoming an independent subsidiary, doesn't that mean..."

"Doesn't mean what?"

"You idiot! An independent subsidiary means Shen Huai will completely and utterly become the number one in command! One person above all others!"

"Hiss..."

The news swept through the entire company like a tornado.

Immediately following that, a second red-headed document came down!

It was a list of promotions.

Liu Shishi was promoted from Director's Assistant to Chairman's Secretary;

Su Meng was promoted from Personnel Specialist to Personnel Department Director;

Luo Xiaoya was also promoted from Legal Department Team Leader to Legal Department Director;

……

All initial employees will have their salaries doubled, be promoted two ranks, and be allocated the first batch of original equity! In an instant.

Every corner of Xingyao was filled with sounds of shock, envy, and jealousy.

"Hey, have you heard? Everyone in the Creative Department has had their salaries doubled and been promoted two ranks!"

"What?! Is that for real? That's way too exaggerated!"

"Isn't it though! That girl Liu Shishi went straight from Assistant to Chairman's Secretary! This speed of flying up to the branches to become a phoenix is just too fast!"

"And that Su Meng, I heard she was just a Personnel Specialist before, and by some stroke of luck was transferred to the Creative Department. Now, look at her, she's become the Personnel Department Director! My god!"

"Watching the people around you strike it rich is even more painful than killing me!"

Everyone wore a long face and lamented, "If I had known, I should have submitted a resume there too! If I had been chosen, I would have soared!"

"What's there to be envious of! In my opinion, they just got lucky!"

The one speaking was Ai Xiaomei.

At this moment, she was staring with a face full of resentment at the red-headed document on her phone screen, the flames of jealousy almost burning her to a crisp.

Why? Why should that bitch Liu Shishi be able to rise so smoothly?

While she had worked at Xingyao for three years and was still just a Team Leader!

The more Ai Xiaomei thought about it, the angrier she became; she slammed her phone onto the desk, her sharp voice drawing side-glances from the surrounding colleagues.

"Xiaomei, are you okay?"

"What could possibly be wrong with me!" Ai Xiaomei retorted unpleasantly, then picked up the documents on the desk and, stomping her high heels, walked aggressively toward the pantry.

She needed an iced coffee now to douse the anger in her heart, and even more, she needed to find someone to vent her frustrations to. (End of this chapter)