The head of the household slept on the floor in the bedroom for a night, woke up refreshed the next morning, and drove straight to the office.
The big boss said that if things were busy at home, Wen Dongrong could be given a couple of extra days off.
Time off?
Wouldn’t that mean missing out on the joy of showing off?
Such things need to be seized while the iron’s hot, that’s when the thrill is sweetest!
Wen Dongrong declared he didn’t need time off, insisting work always came first and personal matters wouldn’t interfere. Over the phone, the big boss spared no praise for Wen’s sense of duty.
On reflection, Wen Dongrong had always put in a lot of effort at work.
With seniority and capability, who else deserved a promotion if not someone like him?
Old Wen, like a cheerful penguin, scurried to the office, bringing along 30 copies of Teen Idol he’d managed to scrounge from Deng Shangwei.
The first book was for the boss!
The second was meant for Old Li.
After searching Old Li’s office and finding no one, he learned Old Li had taken the day off.
“Know what’s up with him, sick or something?”
Hah, after years as rivals, nobody knew Old Li better than Wen Dongrong.
Despite being several years older, Old Li was as sturdy as an ox, how else could he keep up the energy to compete with Wen all this time?
Sick? Impossible. Old Li just didn’t want to come to work!
Hiding?
No way!
Wen Dongrong gave a few books to close colleagues, sincerely urging them to show more concern for Comrade Old Li: “After work today, shall we get a fruit basket and visit Old Li?”
“!”
Are you the devil? Old Li took the day off to avoid you!
Inwardly cursing, the colleagues verbally agreed.
In a government office, secrets don’t stay hidden. Old Li had been sent by the big boss to water the pothos plants, what future did he have left?
Without Old Li, Wen Dongrong’s promotion was a sure thing. Colleagues today would be subordinates tomorrow, so those who received books started flattering their future boss early.
At first, Wen Dongrong enjoyed it.
But after a morning of endless sycophancy, Old Wen grew tired of it.
These people just recycled the same few phrases, no originality at all, not a patch on Old Li!
That afternoon, Wen Dongrong led colleagues to visit the “patient”. He personally picked the fruit basket, each piece large and beautiful, but “sick” Old Li, looking pale and slumped on the sofa, wasn’t thrilled to see Wen and the crew.
After some small talk, the colleagues left first. Wen Dongrong lagged behind, and Old Li stood up from the sofa, pointing at Wen’s nose, seething: “You’re here to gloat!”
No new shoes, no new tie, no daughter earning manuscript fees, no daughter publishing novels, none of that was Old Li’s choice!
Wen Dongrong, that dog, had it all and was getting promoted, while he was being sidelined, it was utterly unfair!
Old Li was like an angry hedgehog.
Wen Dongrong pointed at Teen Idol on the coffee table, next to the fruit basket. “Are you reading the book or not? If not, I’ll take it back. It’s hard to get hold of now, I’ve only got a few copies, they’re precious!”
This evasive reply infuriated Old Li.
Read it? Like hell!
Who’d want to read that rubbish book!
Old Li grabbed Teen Idol from the table, tempted to use the hardcover as a weapon to take Wen Dongrong down with him.
Wen Dongrong sneered, “Is that all you’ve got?”
Life, well, it has its ups and downs.
What’s wrong with watering pothos? When he was sidelined by a former boss, Wen watered the office plants for years!
Wen Dongrong didn’t try to console Old Li further and left with his hands behind his back.
Old Li stood in his living room, his face alternating between green and purple.
He didn’t want to accept defeat, but there was only one key position, and if Wen Dongrong got it, Old Li was out of the running.
For some reason, Old Li sat back on the sofa and flipped open Teen Idol.
“This is the story of a young person overcoming obstacles to chase their dreams.”
Old Li gave a bitter smile.
Young people, always full of vitality, with endless possibilities ahead because of their youth, their passion burning bright.
Middle age, now that’s tough!
Thinking of Wen Dongrong’s smug face, Old Li felt a surge of boundless anger and energy.
No, he couldn’t just give up and let Wen have all the glory!
Old Li’s fighting spirit reignited.
Wen Dongrong’s day was a gleeful parade of showing off. Besides giving books to colleagues and the boss, he also shared them with friends. Wen’s friends were prominent figures in the small city, many with higher positions than him. It’s not that their kids weren’t accomplished, but Wen Ying’s status as a bestselling author was a trump card, leaving his friends with no comeback.
No helping it, Teen Idol was the hottest thing that summer, second only to the Super Girl talent show in Greater Chengdu!
Wen Dongrong basked in a sea of showboating all day, only finding time to flaunt to colleagues and friends, leaving relatives for later.
This way, he wouldn’t be too tired, and the joy could last a few more days, stacking and doubling the happiness.
Compared to Wen Dongrong’s loud bragging, Chen Ru was much more low-key.
Even when colleagues asked why a lawyer showed up at work, Chen Ru brushed it off with a few vague words.
The first court ruling hadn’t come down yet, and without results, Chen Ru was still worried.
It wasn’t until a mutual friend called to confirm that Chen Ru learned Wen Dongrong was causing a stir back home!
“Yes, yes, Wen Ying wrote the book. We didn’t know at first.”
Chen Ru thought that heartless dog of a man didn’t even deserve to sleep on the bedroom floor, he should be banished to the balcony!
Driving back to Chengdu, Wen Dongrong let out a mighty sneeze.
Was the floor too cold, did he catch a chill?
Tonight, he’d better sweet-talk his wife, maybe he could get back to sleeping in the bed?
At the same time, the Qin siblings returned to Chengdu.
Qin Jiao grabbed her luggage to head to Beijing for her new post, but first, she needed to settle the Shrimp King share transfer with Wen Ying.
“Xie Qian called us too. You’re transferring your shares, and he wants to transfer his. Did you two plan this together?”
Qin Jiao was suspicious.
Wen Ying denied it: “No planning. I’m transferring because I can’t manage Shrimp King anymore. When I mentioned it, Xie Qian felt he hadn’t contributed much either and didn’t want to hold shares without doing the work.”
The Shrimp King share structure was about to change drastically, with all shareholders gathered.
Currently, Wen Ying held 40% of the shares, Wang Shuang 20%, Qin Jiao 15%, Xie Qian 15%, and Tang Yifeng and Geng Xiao 5% each.
Wen Ying wanted to transfer her shares and exit Shrimp King’s operations. She wasn’t the only one with this idea, Xie Qian and Wang Shuang were thinking the same.
If everyone pulled out, 75% of the shares would need new owners. How would these be split, and how would they be priced?
Last year, Li Mengjiao’s 15% stake sold for 150,000 yuan.
Times have changed, now 1% was worth far more than 10,000 yuan!
