Xiang Qiufeng was actually the most unremarkable person in the sales department.
Plain-looking, wearing black-rimmed glasses, not very tall—by all appearances, he was the ultimate loser.
However, this guy had a long tenure in the sales department, was well-connected, and got by fairly well.
When I was still a driver, he often asked me to deliver customers.
Now, in the blink of an eye, I had become his boss, which made him feel rather uncomfortable.
Xiang Qiufeng stood up and said to me, "Sorry, Manager Zhao, my wife wants a divorce, and I need to go home to handle the divorce procedures."
To be honest, his excuse was quite cliché.
Before I could react, he threw a leave request in front of me.
I knew very well that he was unhappy with me as the new sales manager and was trying to assert dominance.
But I couldn't understand what I had done to offend him so much.
While I was still stunned, Xiang Qiufeng grabbed his briefcase and left the office.
For a moment, he had completely undermined the authority of me, the new sales manager.
If everyone in sales thought I was easy to bully, then I wouldn't last long in this position, let alone achieve any results.
Moreover, some salespeople might deliberately perform poorly to get rid of me.
I immediately realized things were far more complicated than I had imagined.
Because of the disruption, this meeting was going to go badly, and my mood was very bad.
When it was Liu Jing's turn to speak, she didn't say a word but directly announced the meeting was adjourned.
Her intentions were clear—she had declared war on me.
I never expected Liu Jing, who was so delicate and gentle as the general manager's secretary, to show such toughness. It was like she was a completely different person.
It seemed everyone had two sides, and only in the face of interest did their true nature show.
At that point, I had no choice but to keep quiet and return to the empty manager's office.
Damn it, my predecessor didn't even bother to hand over anything, and my subordinates refused to cooperate. How was I supposed to carry out my managerial duties?
More importantly, I had zero experience in sales and no idea how to deal with clients.
I sat idly the whole day, accomplishing nothing.
In fact, I felt as if everyone in sales was just laughing at me.
If that was true, then there was only one possibility: all this was orchestrated by Zhang Zhiyuan behind the scenes.
Zhang Zhiyuan was like an emperor in Xingchang. He did whatever he pleased.
It seemed he was polite on the surface but was actually trying to ruin me.
I had originally wanted to help him, maybe speak up for him in front of Gu Xiaofei, possibly saving Xingchang.
But now, I saw no need. I wanted everyone at Xingchang to know who the real boss of this company was—and who my true backing was!
So I resolved to take drastic action.
My first target naturally was Xiang Qiufeng. Since he disrespected me at the meeting, I certainly couldn't go easy on him.
I called in Shen Xue, the office clerk, standing by the office door.
Sales wasn't a large department, and Shen Xue was both sales admin and my secretary, so I delegated whatever work needed to her.
As soon as she entered, I said, "Shen Xue, I have something I want you to do."
"Manager, just tell me—anything, I will do it!" Her voice was very pleasant, and her smile was sweet.
"I want to fire Xiang Qiufeng. Help me with the formalities and inform him."
Shen Xue's eyes went wide. "Manager, that can't be done!"
I was already annoyed that morning; hearing this only fueled my anger more.
Still, I tried to hold it back in front of her.
"Why can't it be done?" I asked.
"Xiang Qiufeng is a senior employee with a permanent contract. To fire him without cause would require a huge severance payment."
Hearing that, my enthusiasm instantly deflated.
No wonder the bastard dared to challenge me—he had this card to play.
Given Zhang Zhiyuan's current financial situation, he probably didn't have money to compensate Xiang Qiufeng.
And Zhang wouldn't support me anyway.
I waved my hand at Shen Xue. "Okay, I got it. You can go now. I'll call you if I need anything."
Shen Xue turned and left the office.
Maybe she was cursing me silently for being clueless.
I realized I was utterly unqualified for this job.
I finally understood that every position carried pressure and responsibility; generally, the higher the position, the heavier the burden.
When I was a driver, I thought a sales manager's job would be easy—just answering some calls with a ridiculously high salary.
In fact, it wasn't like that at all.
The whole day passed in a daze, and by quitting time, my mood was quite bad.
I drove the boss's BMW X1 away from the company, looking like I was sneaking off in disgrace.
On the way, I kept scolding myself for being an idiot and accepting Gu Xiaofei's arrangement.
Someone like me, without formal university education, what ability did I have to be a sales manager?
I once had a stable job. Now, everything was ruined.
For some reason, it began to rain.
But my mood was even worse than the gloomy weather.
However, when I reached my apartment building, my spirits lifted suddenly.
I saw light shining from my unit upstairs.
Since that apartment was bought when Lu Wan and I got married, only the two of us had keys.
If there was light at home, there was only one possibility—that Lu Wan was home.
Excitement welled up in me. I sprinted to the elevator.
As soon as I stepped out, I quickly knocked on the door.
I didn't use the key because I feared it might be a hallucination and the light I'd seen only a trick of my mind.
Soon the door opened, and when Lu Wan saw me, she was momentarily stunned.
Suddenly, my heart ached, and I wanted to throw myself into her arms and weep.
Wasn't it true—no matter how tough things are outside, as long as I had a warm home, I wasn't afraid of anything.
But I controlled my emotions and didn't do it.
Lu Wan said, "Zhao Jian, don't you have a key? Why are you knocking?"
I smiled and said, "I left my key inside, so I had to knock."
Everyone knew I was lying, but she said nothing.
Once inside, Lu Wan suddenly said, "I went to the market today and bought some food. I'll cook for you."
In this situation, still enjoying my wife's gentle care made me feel very happy.
All of this was based on one thing: my deep love for Lu Wan. Marrying her was my pride.
During the time she was gone, I really felt like a drifting leaf, living like a dog.
While she cooked, I suddenly embraced her from behind and said, "Honey, please don't leave me. I know it's my fault."
She said nothing, just smiled softly, just like always.
In the past, when she cooked, I would watch TV in the living room. Today was no exception.
Because my mood had suddenly brightened.
But then my phone rang.
I picked it up, startled—it was Shen Minhong.
Because of Shen Minhong, my wife had caught me red-handed. Now she was calling again. If my wife found out, definitely no way to smooth things over.
Shen Minhong was calling with only one purpose—to ask me out for a secret meeting.
If my wife weren't home, I wouldn't hesitate.
But today, absolutely not.
I hung up and sent her a message: "My wife is home today; it's not convenient."
Shen Minhong replied by message: "Have you made up with your wife?"
I replied "Mm," as a vague confirmation.
I knew this fling was probably over. Women like Shen Minhong would just find someone else if not me.
Only one's own wife was worth cherishing, since she was the one you spent your life with.
Half an hour later, Lu Wan finished cooking.
Although the dishes were just our usual home-cooked meals, eating them now felt especially delicious.
After experiencing hardship, you can finally see the rainbow—I felt I was now seeing sunshine.
While eating, I wanted to chat with Lu Wan, but her eyes were a bit melancholy, as if she had something on her mind.
Was she still unhappy about the rift between us?
To be honest, I'm a forgiving person. As long as my wife came back, even if she had done me wrong before, I could forgive her.
Who could guarantee absolute fidelity in marriage?
But what she said next almost made me choke on my food:
"Zhao Jian, I'm two months pregnant."