Volume One, Chapter 10: A Request from a Female Colleague

“What do you mean?” Xie Hongtao was taken aback.

“That’s strange. You’re the branch manager—surely you know by now?” Zhou Yang said, “I’ve been recruited by the Group Headquarters’ Marketing Department!”

“What?” Xie Hongtao looked utterly incredulous. “Say that again?”

“I’ll report to headquarters next Monday,” Zhou Yang replied.

Xie Hongtao’s shrewd eyes blinked a few times before he suddenly grinned broadly. “Ha! Have you lost your mind?”

“Look at you! Don’t you ever check yourself in the mirror?” Xie Hongtao tossed over a resignation form. “Stop wasting time. Fill this out and leave. Honestly, I’m sick of looking at you!”

Nearby, a female subordinate’s eyes brimmed with contempt, a sneer curling at the corner of her mouth. “A toad dreaming of being a beauty!”

Zhou Yang cast a cold glance at her, then picked up the resignation form and tore it neatly in half.

“What are you doing?” Xie Hongtao exploded in anger.

“I told you I’m here to hand over my duties. If you think I’m lying, call the HR department right now and ask!” Zhou Yang snapped.

Seeing Zhou Yang was serious, Xie Hongtao’s confidence wavered.

“If you’re really going to headquarters, I should have been informed too!”

Muttering to himself, Xie Hongtao opened his computer to check his emails, noticing one from this morning still unread.

He opened it—and his expression suddenly flickered with uncertainty.

After a moment, he closed his laptop and smiled slyly, eyes crescent-shaped. “Well, well, Zhou, you really pulled one over on me.”

The email was the official transfer notice from HR confirming Zhou Yang’s reassignment.

“Manager Xie? Am I the one who’s lost my mind?” Zhou Yang asked coldly, then glanced at the female subordinate. “Am I really just a dreaming toad?”

The woman’s eyes darted nervously, and she quickly lowered her gaze.

“No, no, no, it’s not you. It’s me who’s lost my mind!” Xie Hongtao quickly backpedaled.

The next moment, he puffed out his belly, stood up, circled the desk, and approached Zhou Yang with a beaming smile. “Zhou, I was just swamped with work this morning, and so many emails—I must have missed this one. My apologies!”

Xie Hongtao’s rapid change of expression was faster than a Sichuan opera face change.

Now, his face was plastered with a forced smile, his wrinkles bunching together like a Shar-Pei dog’s.

The reason for his behavior was simple: the annual business targets for their regional branch were set by the Group Headquarters’ Marketing Department.

In other words, the department Zhou Yang was joining held the power to determine Xie Hongtao’s fate next year.

Though Zhou Yang didn’t personally decide Xie’s destiny, even a small maneuver, a subtle whisper to higher-ups—anything Zhou Yang did in Marketing—could be lethal to Xie Hongtao.

Right now, Xie Hongtao was effectively at Zhou Yang’s mercy.

“Manager Xie, may I begin the handover now?” Zhou Yang’s gaze was sharp as he looked at him.

“Of course, of course, but don’t be in such a rush!” Xie Hongtao said obsequiously. “We’ve had our misunderstandings before, but you know I’ve always had your best interests at heart. Considering age and experience, I’m the senior here. It’s not too much to ask to call you my little brother...”

Zhou Yang sneered and cut him off. “Cut the nonsense.”

Xie Hongtao nodded and bowed his head. “Yes, yes, of course!”

Then he quickly changed tack. “Little brother, since you’re heading to headquarters, as your elder brother, I should see you off. How about I book a table at the Harvest Hotel for lunch? Let’s drink a bit—I really hate to see you leave!”

Watching Xie Hongtao grovel like a lapdog, Zhou Yang felt a surge of satisfaction.

Yet he was also deeply repulsed by such shameless sycophancy.

“We’re not brothers, and there’s no need for a farewell meal today. We’ll have plenty of contact at work in the future, so there’s no need to be sentimental. Now, let’s get on with the handover!”

Zhou Yang despised men like Xie Hongtao, who changed faces as easily as flipping a book, and naturally showed no warmth.

Xie Hongtao caught the veiled threat in Zhou Yang’s words and immediately darkened.

The next second, his eyes darted, and he suddenly picked up his phone, pretending to take a call. “Hello? Yeah, yes, yes...”

He then cupped the microphone and put on an act. “Hold on a moment, it’s an important call!”

Rising, he walked out of the office. Passing the female subordinate, he shot her a secretive glance.

“Bang!”

Xie Hongtao closed the office door firmly behind him.

The woman understood his signal, took a deep breath, fixed her hair, and walked over to Zhou Yang.

She was about five foot five, with an hourglass figure—an alluring European style—but she had a baby face, smooth and fair, giving off an irresistible combination of youthful innocence and voluptuous charm.

As she approached Zhou Yang, her waist swayed, hips curved with grace, and the hem of her skirt fluttered enticingly, as if hiding endless allure beneath.

She displayed the essence of feminine seduction to perfection.

“Zhou Yang, earlier I spoke without thinking. I want to apologize,” she said, pouring him a glass of water and offering it with both hands. “Please forgive me?”

Her voice was like a nightingale in heat, sending shivers down the spine.

But before she reached Zhou Yang, it seemed her high heels caught something. She stumbled, and some water spilled from the glass—right onto Zhou Yang’s crotch.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! Sorry!”

Panicked, she knelt quickly before him, trying to wipe the wet spot.

Zhou Yang felt as if electric shocks ran through his body, limbs tingling uncontrollably.

Yet anger surged within him. “Did you do that on purpose?”

The woman looked up with pleading eyes full of innocence, a few strands of hair falling across her face, radiating endless charm. “I swear, I didn’t mean to.”

Zhou Yang spread his legs apart, staring down at her kneeling form, his expression grim.

“Get away from me!” he snapped.

But she suddenly rose and threw herself into his arms.

“Zhou Yang, don’t be angry. I was wrong, and I want to make it up to you,” she whispered. “If you forgive me, I’ll do anything you want.”

As she spoke, the buttons on her blouse were undone, revealing a patch of smooth, pale skin.

“What are you doing?” Zhou Yang panicked, surprised she was undressing in the office.

“If this isn’t convenient here, come to my place tonight—just the two of us,” she said, taking his hand and pulling him closer. “Zhou Yang, my mattress is very soft, very comfortable...”