"Look. She came out of the meeting with the board members."
"Why is she alone? Where are the board members and the people she came with?"
"Did the meeting fall through? Could that be why she is leaving?"
"Shh. Didn't you hear? She has always been our CEO. She makes all the choices for An Qing, while Chen Li Mei is just a stand-in."
Leaving the conference room, Yue Ling received the stares of the employees as she walked past them.
However, she feigns ignorance to their whispers of curiosity.
She rode the elevator to the highest floor level and makes her way through the long corridor until she reached a pair of glass doors.
Her steps paused as she stares at the door. It was the same door she had entered when she got rid of Chen Limei. The entrance to the CEO's office.
However, unlike the cold expression she held that day, she had a look of dejection.
She slowly raises her hand and touches the door handle. With a slight push, the glass door leisurely opens like time had slowed down.
Her right foot moved first, then her left as her movements repeated until she stood in the middle of the room.
She stares ahead at the desk settled in front of the many floor-to-ceiling windows.
His head was lowered with eyes glued onto the doc.u.ment in his hand. However, like he heard her entrance, he lifts his head.
He stares straight at Yue Ling, revealing the kindness in his eyes as he smiles with his teeth.
"Ah, you're finally here."
Yue Ling stares at the man for a long time. Her lower lip trembles ever so lightly as tears began to form in her eyes. The man's smile was one she will never forget as it consistently held warmth.
She pushes the tears back and softly smiles at the man.
"Chen Yifeng… I'm finally here."
A chuckle escaped the man's lip when he heard her words. He calmly stood up from the chair as he kept a smile on his face.
"About time."
Yue Ling's lips part like she wanted to say something, but before she could say a word, the man in front of her disappears like a Mirage.
She stares at the empty chair with eyes full of sadness. Everything that had happened in this room was a figment of her imagination.
The conversation she had with Chen Yifeng was one she had with him when he was still alive and healthy.
Her bluish-green eyes remained on the desk without blinking. After what felt like an entire day had gone by, she finally looks away.
She turns her head to look out at the window. She stares at the clear blue sky and sighs with a small smile.
"I've finally gotten rid of the people who betrayed you."
*Knock knock
"Boss, I've brought Mr. Tong."
A knock sounds from the door and interrupts her, followed by Qi Li's voice.
She pushes all feelings to the back of her heart and turns around.
"Come in."
Qi Li enters the room but does not enter all the way. He gestures to the man he brought to come inside the room.
Once Tong Biao was inside, he steps out of the room to wait for further instructions.
Yue Ling stares at the man in his fifties. From the moment she saw him attend the meeting, she was able to read what was on his mind.
She turns away and walks towards the two couches in the room. She sits down on one then gestures to the one opposite of her.
"Mr. Tong, please have a seat."
Tong Biao hesitated but knowing that he cannot defy Yue Ling, who is his superior, he nods his head and sits on the couch.
He made sure his head was lowered and clasp his hands together on his l.a.p.
Yue Ling arches a brow at the sight of the man. He is clearly a man in his fifties, but why does he look like a child scared of monsters?
Brushing the question aside, Yue Ling decides not to beat around the bush.
"Mr. Tong, you are in charge of all the maintenance inside An Qing. Is that correct?"
"Yes, CEO Han."
"Are you also in charge of managing the temperature?"
"Yes, I am."
"Then are you aware of the atrocity you caused for those on the first to the twentieth floor?"
"I… I am aware."
Yue Ling asked the questions without pause, and to her slight surprise, Tong Biao answered without a lie.
She heaves a sigh and closes her eyes as if to rid of any frustration in her mind.
"What you did is a crime and a breach of your contract to An Qing. I cannot allow someone to sabotage An Qing's employees any more than you have."
As her words entered Tong Biao's ears, he felt like a mountain had been dropped on him.
Everything Yue Ling said was true, and he can never forgive himself for what he did.
"CEO Han, I understand my mistakes, and I am willing to accept any punishment. I only hope that my enormity does not affect my children's future or the employees on the first to the twentieth floor."
Yue Ling's expression remained emotionless despite seeing Tong Biao's shoulders trembling.
As the CEO and the person who created An Qing, she can only decide what is best for her company.
"Mr. Tong, I am grateful that you understand what you did wrong. For this, I will give you a raise."
Tong Biao held his hands together as he knew he was being fired. Despite his urges to reason with Yue Ling, he doesn't and nods his head.
"I understand. I will have my desk cleared by… huh?"
Before he could finish his sentence, he was perplexed and confused at what he heard. He lifts his head and blinks his eyes at Yue Ling.
"W-what… I…"
In his confused state, he could only stutter incoherently. He had admitted to his wrongdoings.
Could it be that he heard incorrectly?
A smile is seen on Yue Ling's face as she sat in a straight posture. She stares back at the man, who finally looked at her.
"You aren't being fired, Mr. Tong."
Her smile softens, and she turns her head to the window.
"I know my words have taken you by surprise and you might agree that it is best to have you remove from your position. However, I cannot do that."
She looks back at Tong Biao, and a sigh escapes her smile.
"I understand why you did what you did, but now, you won't have to anymore."
Tong Biao was struck in a Daze. The tears he had been holding back found their way, and he inhales a trembling breath before pouring his heart out.
"I didn't want to do it. Wang Zhan said if I didn't, he was going to fire them."
He choked his words with unending tears. He remembers the day Wang Zhan separated the poor employees from the wealthy ones. He told Wang Zhan it was wrong and that Chen Yifeng made it clear never to do such a thing.
However, he (Wang Zhan) just laughed and said that Chen Yifeng is dead while Chen Limei is the new CEO.
It wasn't until later that Wang Zhan came to him again. He (Wang Zhan) told him to cut the temperature for the first to the twentieth floor, stating that they were trying to decrease the power bill.
He thought it was strange since a situation like this never happened before. He told Wang Zhan he would check with Chen Limei first. However, it wasn't until a few days when he learned the man had done it without consulting him.
When he went to confront Wang Zhan, he (Wang Zhan) said if he (Tong Biao) did not go along with it, he would fire all the employees on the first to the twentieth floor.
He is only a cleaning manager. What could he possibly do to Wang Zhan, who is a board member?
"I couldn't let them lose their jobs because Wang Zhan didn't like them."
He explained the whole ordeal to Yue Ling and held his face as he sobs more.
"I, myself, understand the struggle they have to deal here. Every time they ask me what is wrong with the heater, I felt moribund and useless… All I could say was for them to wear something warm to work. I couldn't tell them that they will lose their job if I didn't do as Wang Zhan said."
Yue Ling stares at Tong Biao as his sobs echoed inside the room. He is a grown man, yet he was crying his eyes out like a child.
She understands his guilt, but if he hadn't done what he did, An Qing would have lost hundreds of talented individuals.
Wang Zhan…
The name crosses Yue Ling's mind as a dangerous light flashed across her eyes.
It seems like she will have to collect another's fate.
