Daddy! Come Home for Dinner!

"Zheng Xuelin is just an ordinary employee. Even causing a scandal like this has made our company feel ashamed, let alone if it were Vice President Lu," Li Xiaoyun reminded.

"So, regarding Vice President Lu’s issues, unless Changlin brings it up, remember not to mention it either," Li Xiaoyun advised.

"After all, involving Changlin would be more troublesome," Li Xiaoyun said.

Zhou Yunyun and Lin Lingli quickly nodded, "Trust us, since you’ve told us these things, we definitely won’t spread them outside."

"However, although I’ve heard before that Zheng Xuelin’s performance was always high, possibly related to some illicit dealings, at that time it was only rumors," Zhou Yunyun said, "Things that aren’t concrete are hard to believe in."

"Besides, I thought, for a man, even if he did rely on selling...," Zhou Yunyun couldn’t think of any other words more appropriate than ’selling’.

"How... how would he do it? I used to think, although our clients are both male and female, most are much older than us. As a man, Zheng Xuelin couldn’t possibly look for men. As for women... I didn’t expect him to make such sacrifices," Zhou Yunyun felt her worldview was shattered.

"I’ve heard similar rumors," Lin Lingli ate a bite of her salad, "But I think, young women don’t need to interact with Zheng Xuelin. It’s not clear who would benefit anyway. Besides, though Zheng Xuelin is considered quite good-looking, with refined features."

"But not to the point where young women would take the initiative. As for someone like Vice President Lu..." Lin Lingli shivered, "I really didn’t expect it."

"You can’t deny that Zheng Xuelin’s ambition has its own way," Lin Lingli sneered sarcastically, "After all, to achieve his performance, he’s made such great sacrifices. Such a drive to improve is beyond us."

Li Xiaoyun was amused by her comment.

Zhou Yunyun unconsciously finished her sandwich and took a sip of coffee to soothe her throat.

She rested her elbows on the table and ran her fingers through the long hair on both sides of her head.

"Ahhh, this makes it really hard for me to face Zheng Xuelin properly," Zhou Yunyun said in frustration, "Every time I see him, I think of him with Vice President Lu, I..."

Zhou Yunyun rubbed her arms, as if shivering from the cold.

"I just feel that I can’t look straight at him," Zhou Yunyun said.

Lin Lingli suddenly remembered that earlier when Zheng Xuelin and his group questioned Li Xiaoyun, Li Xiaoyun seemed to avoid looking at Zheng Xuelin for a while.

Lin Lingli couldn’t help but laugh and ask, "Xiao Yun, in the office just now, when Zheng Xuelin and the others were questioning you, you averted your eyes and didn’t look at Zheng Xuelin. Is it because you can’t face him due to this situation?"

Li Xiaoyun nodded with difficulty, "Yeah, at that moment... just seeing his face made my imagination run wild."

"You know what I mean, right? Even though I’ve never seen him and Vice President Lu together, my mind can’t help but conjure images," Li Xiaoyun rubbed her temples, "And the imagery is really vivid!"

"I know, I know," Zhou Yunyun nodded repeatedly, "Even without looking at him now, the images are strong."

"So what’s the company planning to do with Zheng Xuelin? Has President Lin or Manager Tang hinted to you?" Lin Lingli asked.

"I haven’t seen President Lin, and Manager Tang hasn’t mentioned anything to me," Li Xiaoyun said, "However, President Lin is very concerned about his reputation. Before Zheng Xuelin’s scandal was exposed, President Lin really favored him. He brought him along like grooming a successor."

"Now that Zheng Xuelin is in trouble, someone as face-conscious as President Lin must feel embarrassed. I think even if Zheng Xuelin stays at the company, it will be hard for him to have a future," Li Xiaoyun analyzed.

"So, the company may not openly discipline him, but given Zheng Xuelin’s nature, knowing there’s no future here, he’ll probably start looking for another opportunity," Li Xiaoyun said.

Zhou Yunyun sighed in relief, "Let him move on soon; I’m really fed up with him and his cronies."

Li Xiaoyun really guessed Zheng Xuelin right.

At this moment, Zheng Xuelin, Zhou Chuanwu, and Wang Honglin weren’t eating in the company cafeteria either.

The reason was the same as Li Xiaoyun and the others.

Zheng Xuelin was also one of the parties involved in this incident.

Although colleagues from other departments still didn’t know exactly what had happened, they definitely couldn’t eat peacefully in the company cafeteria at noon.

So they went out to eat instead.

Except, Zheng Xuelin didn’t have much of an appetite.

He listened to Zhou Chuanwu and Wang Honglin’s chatter, and their complaints about Li Xiaoyun.

While feeling upset, just as Li Xiaoyun predicted, he was already considering finding another place to work.

Zheng Xuelin also anticipated that there was no chance of promotion for him this time, and it’s very likely Li Xiaoyun would take over Manager Tang’s position.

But until the very last moment, Zheng Xuelin didn’t want to give up hope.

Like most people, he clung to a sliver of hope.

What if?

So for now, Zheng Xuelin planned to wait and see the outcome.

However, he had already mentally prepared in advance.

***

Rui Changhuai hurried back to the company.

Just as he passed the receptionist in the company lobby, he heard a colleague say excitedly, "Assistant Rui, you’re finally back."

"..." Rui Changhuai stopped in his tracks, "Hmm?"

Rui Changhuai looked at the receptionist, "What’s up? Anything happened?"

"The president specifically instructed me to inform him immediately upon seeing your return," the receptionist said, showing her takeout to Rui Changhuai, "See, I didn’t dare leave, so I ordered takeout to wait here."

"Alright, no more talking, I have to quickly inform the president," the receptionist said, rushing to make a call.

Rui Changhuai had never seen Zhao Dingli this anxious before.

So, without listening to what the receptionist said to Zhao Dingli, Rui Changhuai quickly strode over.

Rui Changhuai hurriedly arrived outside Zhao Dingli’s office and quickly knocked on the door.

"Come in," Zhao Dingli’s voice came from inside, calm and steady.

Whether it was Rui Changhuai’s imagination or not, having heard from the receptionist how anxious Zhao Dingli was, Rui Changhuai thought Zhao Dingli’s voice was intentionally composed.

Nonetheless, Rui Changhuai followed instructions and entered.

He saw Zhao Dingli sitting upright behind the desk, appearing busy with work.

Yet on the other side of the desk, there were two sets of takeout.

Rui Changhuai: "..."

Ha!

What a facade!

If the receptionist hadn’t tipped him off, he might have been fooled!