Hao Ming Yu is pacing back and forth inside the toilet. He doesn't want to go out and meet Mr. Guo Shan, but the other person is an important investor. Hao Ming Yu is sitting by the sink and looking at his phone. Five minutes have passed. He wanted to stay for another ten minutes, but staying too long in the toilet seemed weird.
Another three minutes pass. Hao Ming Yu takes a deep breath and clenches his fist as he steps outside the toilet. He walks slowly and keeps staring at the floor.
"Umph!" Hao Ming Yu knocked on a hard surface and almost stumbled backward, but an arm quickly wrapped around his waist, holding him in place. Hao Ming Yu's heart almost jumped out when he saw a man in a black suit standing too close and even holding him. Before Hao Ming Yu could push the other person, the man had already loosened his grip on Hao Ming Yu's waist and put a distance between them.
"Sorr-"
"What are you doing here?" Hao Ming Yu instantly lifted his head as he recognized the familiar voice.
"Di- director..."
"Are you having lunch here?" Jin Liwei asked because it was rare for his employees never to have lunch at this high-end restaurant.
"I- I have a lunch meeting here."
"Lunch meeting? With whom?"
"Team Leader Yan and... Mr. Guo Shan."
"Mr. Guo Shan? The investor?" Jin Liwei frowns. Hao Ming Yu nods twice.
"Who asked to have lunch meeting here? Supposedly meetings between staff and clients must be done in either our company building or their company building."
Hao Ming Yu plays with his fingers. He shakes his head. "I don't know, director. Team Leader Yan suddenly asked me to come with him to meet the investor. I never knew about the rules. So- sorry, director."
Jin Liwei stands with his hands in his pockets. He squints and then he scoffs. 'It must be that old man's plan. Seems like he is targeting this guy.'
"Where is your room? I'll join the lunch meeting." Jin Liwei's words make Hao Ming Yu's eyes beam. The tightness in his chest and the anxiousness slowly fade away. Hao Ming Yu already regarded Jin Liwei as one of the men whom he could trust, but he is still on probation. He is still not used to him, but at least, with Jin Liwei around, he will feel safer than the other two men.
"This way, director." Hao Ming Yu happily leads Jin Liwei to the private room. Before entering the room, Jin Liwei asked the waiter to send his order to this room instead of the previous table.
When Hao Ming Yu entered the room, Mr. Guo Shan's lip curved again, instantly forming a thin line as he saw the man behind Hao Ming Yu.
"Director Jin," Team Leader Yan and Mr. Guo Shan rise from their seats and greet Jin Liwei. "What are you doing here? Is there any problem, director?" Team Leader Yan asked while glancing at Mr. Guo Shan.
"No. No problem. Actually, I came here with Manager Jin but he suddenly had things at home so I was left alone. Then, I bumped into Mr. Hao and he said he has a lunch meeting with Mr. Guo Shan, so I decided to join. Is that alright with you, Mr. Guo Shan?"
Mr. Guo Shan grits his teeth and forces a smile, "Of course, you may join but we have already started eating."
"Don't worry. My lunch will be delivered soon. I already ordered it earlier." As soon as he said this, a waiter entered the room and gave him his order.
The lunch meeting went straight to the point without any problem. Mr. Guo Shan didn't even have a chance to talk or look at Hao Ming Yu with Jin Liwei around. Team Leader Yan and Mr. Guo Shan held back their exasperation and proceeded with their work professionally.
Fifteen minutes before two, they ended their meeting. Jin Liwei holds out his hand toward Mr. Guo Shan, "Thank you for today and by the way Mr. Guo Shan, I'm not sure whether my employee had informed you or not," Jin Liwei side-glances at Team Leader Yan. "..actually in Jin Corporation we have a rule that any meeting between a staff and a client should be done in the company's building. Therefore, I hope our next meeting will be held inside the company."
Mr. Guo Shan stiffly smiled, "Y- yes. Of course. My bad. I just thought maybe doing business in a more chill and informal environment was a little bit better, especially for a newbie like Mr. Hao. I'll keep that in mind."
Jin Liwei turns to Team Leader Yan and Hao Ming Yu, "How did you guys come here? Did you drive, Team Leader Yan?" Team Leader Yan shakes his head and keeps stealing a glance at Mr. Guo Shan.
"Oh, Director Jin. I sent my chauffeur to pick them up at the company," Mr. Guo Shan interrupted.
Jin Liwei just hums. "Then, both of you can ride in my car to return to the company."
"It's okay, director. I have to drop by a convenience store for a while. You can go back with Mr. Hao first," he lied. He didn't need to drop by the store, but he needed to talk with Mr. Guo Shan, and he didn't dare ride in the director's car.
Jin Liwei turns around and looks at Hao Ming Yu, "You wanna come with me or..."
Hao Ming Yu immediately said, "Oh, come, come, come." He moved slightly closer to Jin Liwei and then carefully followed behind him. Only when he got into Jin Liwei's car did Hao Ming Yu heave a sigh of relief. Jin Liwei noticed it, and he huffed.
"Are you okay?" Jin Liwei asked.
"Ha? Ah, yes. I'm alright. Th—thank you, director." He mumbles the last part, but since there are only two of them in the car, Jin Liwei hears it.
"Did he do anything to you?"
"No. No. He didn't do anything. It's just... he keeps asking something personal."
Jin Liwei hums. "No need to answer. You have no obligations to answer non-related work. Make sure, next time you guys meet inside the company. If he or Team Leader Yan insists on taking you out, just inform Manager Jin or me."
Hao Ming Yu nods twice. "Thank you, director."
Jin Liwei raises his left eyebrow, "For?"
"Just now."
"Meaning? Didn't you say they didn't do anything to you? So, it means I also didn't help you with anything, right?"
Hao Ming Yu was lost for words. He keeps fiddling with his fingers. 'This man knew what they were trying to do but do I still need to say it out loud?' Hao Ming Yu stole a glance and saw the curve on Jin Liwei's lip. 'He smiles?! Did he just play with me?!'
Jin Liwei noticed that Hao Ming Yu glared at him and immediately ceased his smile. He clears his throat, "Learn how to say no. Even if the other person is your superior, if he forces you to do something that you don't like or breaks the company's policy, you have the right to report it. If you keep it to yourself, nothing will solve it."
Hao Ming Yu hangs his head low. 'Easy for you to say it because you are the boss. I'm just a lowly office worker. Compared to my words, people would believe more in someone with a higher position like a team leader.'
Jin Liwei felt like he knew what was happening in Hao Ming Yu's mind. He says, "If you are afraid that the Human Resources Department won't listen to you or feel they are in cahoots with them, you can tell me or Manager Jin directly. We will investigate the matter. I also don't need any worthless employees."
Hao Ming Yu sighs and nods twice. No matter what, work still needs to be done. This is just the beginning for Hao Ming Yu. How could he survive in the corporate world if he couldn't face this small problem?
Hao Ming Yu and Jin Liwei arrived at the company ten minutes past two, as he had gone out for a lunch meeting. Therefore, it is fine if he clocks in past the lunch hour.
Mu Shilin went to Hao Ming Yu's desk as soon as he arrived. "Sunshine, how is it?"
"Everything... okay."
Mu Shilin squinted when he saw the stiff smile. "Did anything happen? Did the client harass you?"
Hao Ming Yu's eyes widened. 'How could this guy guess correctly?! Did he have a detective instinct?'
"Why do you suddenly ask like that? What makes you think so?" Hao Ming Yu asked.
"Because nothing good will come up whenever it comes to Team Leader Yan. I asked because it already happened before but no one talked about it again because the staff who was involved had quit." Mu Shilin shrugs his shoulders.
"Wait- Someone was harassed before?! I never heard about this."
Mu Shilin moves closer to Hao Ming Yu and whispers, "It happened a few months before you started working here. Team Leader Yan brought a female staff because the client was interested in her. Well, at first that female staff was reluctant but in the end, she was kind of willing because she was tempted by the money. But, later on, her scandal was exposed and she could no longer show her face here and ended up quitting."
Hao Ming Yu was slightly shocked, but not too surprised, because money can make people do anything.
"This thing is normal in the corporate world. Do you think those geezers of the board of directors are saints? Hmph! I dare to cut my fingers if they never touch anyone other than their wives. Oh! Except for the Jin family. Be it our CEO (Jin Liwei's father) or General Manager, they are well-known for being hen-pecked husbands but I don't know about our director. He is still single and never heard any gossip about him."
Hao Ming Yu sighs. "Alright. Alright. Don't worry. Even if something like that happened before, you don't have to worry. No one would take an interest in me."
Mu Shilin knitted his eyebrows. "Dude? Did you never look at yourself in the mirror? Can't you see how pretty your face is? How sexy the mole under your eye is? And how your slender body and small waist would fit perfectly in a man's arms- Ouch!! Why did you hit me?"
"Because you are talking nonsense. Now go back to your seat and do your work. Go! Shoo!" Hao Ming Yu pushes Mu Shilin away from his cubicle.
Hao Ming Yu heaves a heavy sigh. The memories of the dark incident suddenly pass through his mind. His breathing accelerated. He looks down at his hand, which is slightly trembling. He takes a deep breath and quickly clasps both hands to stop the tremor and calm himself down.
In the next two weeks, Hao Ming Yu needs to meet with Mr. Guo Shan again, but luckily, the other person agreed to meet inside the company. Three of them are having a meeting in a small meeting room. Hao Ming Yu thought that when they were in the company's building, Mr. Guo Shan wouldn't dare approach him, but he was wrong. Once a pervert, always a pervert.
Mr. Guo Shan keeps eyeing his body from top to toe and licks his lips. Sometimes, when Hao Ming Yu showed up or put a document on the table, Mr. Guo Shan would find a chance to touch his hand. Hao Ming Yu was shocked and immediately pulled his hand.
Not enough with that, Mr. Guo Shan still asked him personal questions and invited him for dinner. Team Leader Yan also 'encourages' him to accept the invitation to expand his network.
"Mr. Hao, Mr. Guo Shan is an influential person. He knows a lot of VVIPs. He can introduce you to them and it will be very useful for you in the future. Don't you know, working in this industry, network and connection are really important? Are you going to let this chance be wasted just like that?" Team Leader Yan pretended to sound as if he was worried about his junior's future.
Hao Ming Yu clenched his pants and stated firmly, "I'm really sorry, but I don't think I could accept your invitation, Mr. Guo Shan. If you want to treat me to dinner, please invite other staff in our department, too. I'm not the only one working hard on this deal. Moreover, I'm just a staff member with a low position, so I never had a plan to get to know any VVIPs."
Hao Ming Yu picks up all the scattered documents on the table and puts them back into his file. "I think we have discussed everything for today. So if there is nothing else, I'll excuse myself. Thank you, Mr. Guo Shan." Hao Ming Yu rises and steps out of the meeting room without looking back, leaving the two men dumbfounded.
[END OF DEMO VERSION]
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