C2 Losing His Job!

Inside the Watock Group building, in the conference room.

"Mr. Lin Han, why were you meeting privately with the hotel's lobby manager late at night?"

"Mr. Lin Han, were you discussing hotel management techniques and the comfort of an oversized waterbed?"

"Ah, yes, exactly. We were discussing hotel management experience. Please, don't get the wrong idea."

"Stop filming, please. I'm just a humble lobby manager. He's the husband of the company's general manager. When he asked me to discuss hotel management experience in his room, I couldn't refuse."

On the conference room's large screen, there was footage of Lin Han with his clothes in disarray, followed by Zhang Xuan, the hotel's lobby manager, tearfully expressing her grievances. Subsequently, Zhang Xuan detailed Lin Han's various 'misdeeds' toward female employees.

"Kid, you didn't realize how photogenic you are, did you? It's a shame you're playing around with a lobby manager. That's in poor taste," Lee Feng sneered, his voice low. "Besides, this is the headquarters. You don't belong here. Scram."

Lin Han remained seated calmly beside Lin Kexin, looking around with a vacant expression, deliberately ignoring Lee Feng. "Is that a dog barking?"

"You..."

"Cousin, let's focus on the matter at hand."

Lee Feng was about to call security but was cut off by Lin Kexin.

Lin Kexin looked considerably better than she had the night before. Her business attire accentuated her assertive demeanor, but the redness and swelling around her eyes, which foundation couldn't hide, were clear indicators of her sleepless night.

"Don't call me cousin here. This is the workplace. Address me as Vice Director Lee, or perhaps, soon enough, as Director Lee."

Lee Feng interrupted Lin Kexin with a forced smile, "Isn't that what you advised us? In the company, we should avoid nepotism. The former... Director Lee?" He elongated the word 'former,' his voice dripping with sarcasm, then turned to Lin Han, "Why haven't you left yet?"

"Shh!" Lin Han casually scratched his ear, feigning ignorance, and began to whistle nonchalantly.

"Shameless idiot, look at the mess you've created. Abusing your position as the husband of the general manager, you've been harassing Ms. Zhang Xuan, an employee of the company, for quite some time. Now the media is all over it, and the company's reputation has taken a serious hit."

Lee Feng forcefully threw the folder onto the conference table and slid it across to Lin Kexin. "Here are the signatures from several directors last night. Take a look for yourself."

A sense of foreboding rose within Lin Kexin as she opened the folder and quickly scanned the contents. Flames of fury flickered in her eyes. "Remove me from my position as General Manager? On what grounds?"

"Haha, because you married... Ah, my mistake, because you 'married' a good husband."

Lee Feng, tall and handsome, was the epitome of a dashing figure in Orifrough, especially with his custom suits and his role as Vice General Manager of the Watock Group. It was a pity, though, that his shadowy eyes gave him the look of a scheming scoundrel.

"These directors have limited shares; without Grandma's word, they can't strip me of my position."

"How can you be so sure Grandma won't speak up? If this keeps up and blows up, what do you think will matter more? A young woman like you, or the company's reputation and future?"

Lee Feng softened his previously stern demeanor and leaned in close to Lin Kexin, speaking gently, "Kexin, I know you want what's best for the company. Don't worry, once you step down, I'll pull some strings to suppress this negative press. Then, I'll sue Zhang Xuan for defamation, ensuring she won't see daylight for a decade..."

"Betraying someone once they've served their purpose? That's low. To use a woman and then discard her into prison," Lin Han interjected with a click of his tongue, "You really are... despicable."

"Hey, watch what you say. I don't associate with her. That kind of woman, who'd share a bed with a lowly bumpkin, disgusts me just to look at," Lee Feng retorted, eyeing Lin Kexin with a mocking air, his disdain for her clear as day.

"No, I must go to the old house and ask Grandma myself!"

"Why bother, Kexin? Grandma's not in the best of health. Why stress her out? Besides, if you resign now, you can leave with dignity. But if Grandma intervenes, you'll be nothing but an outcast." Lee Feng toyed with the ink jade ring on his finger, smirking mischievously.

"My wife is a stray dog? Since you're his cousin, doesn't that make you a dog too? Haha, you do have a bit of a dumb look about you." Lin Han tried to provoke Lee Feng, hoping to extract some information, but his efforts were in vain.

Just then, Lin Kexin's phone rang. "Yu Shu!"

"Hello, Miss, could you switch to speakerphone?"

The voice on the line was aged, belonging to Yu Shu, the butler who had long cared for her grandmother.

"The matriarch has decided that you should step down as General Manager, allowing Lee Feng to assume the role."

"I can't believe Grandma would entrust the company to someone like him."

Lin Kexin clung to hope. She had secured numerous contracts for Watock over the years, delivering benefits that far surpassed the combined contributions of her male cousins.

In fact, those cousins, with Lee Feng at the helm, did little more than engage in fraudulent contracts and kickbacks, proving more of a liability than an asset. She couldn't fathom her grandmother handing over control of Watock to such incompetents.

But the call had ended.

"Haha! Did you catch Grandma's command? You have one hour to pack your things and leave the headquarters. Oh, and you, the utter failure, you're fired too."

Lee Feng hadn't anticipated his grandmother acting so swiftly on the negative report he'd given her about Lin Kexin. He left the scene laughing smugly, head held high.

Lin Kexin called out to Lin Han, "You claimed there was a solution to our problem. Where is it?"

"The solution is... a secret!"

Lin Han's eerie smile widened, "All you need to do is trust me. As for Lee Feng, let him make a scene if he wishes. I'm just worried he'll end up dropping the stone on his own foot."

"Where does your confidence come from? He is the Lee family's sole heir in all of Orifrough!" Lin Kexin said with a wry smile, having fought for years to gain control of the company, only to lose it all overnight.

"Or... I could just kill him for you?" Lin Han suggested, his tone casual and expression blank.

"Hmm?" Lin Kexin was startled, a shiver running through her body. Lin Han was nothing more than a small-time troublemaker, scorned by passersby, yet why did his joke strike fear into her heart?

Her thoughts were in disarray. Lin Han was clearly jesting, but an unsettling feeling lingered within her. Could it be that if she weren't concerned about being shamed in front of her grandmother, Lin Han would actually dare to kill for her?

Kill for her? A man who spent his days playing games in the office and flirting with women, lacking any ambition or drive, probably couldn't even hold a knife steady.

"Lin Han, do you know why I agreed to a marriage of convenience with you a year ago?"

Without waiting for Lin Han to respond, Lin Kexin answered her own question: "Because I understand the pain of losing family. My father died in a car crash, and my mother and I were left to fend for ourselves. I fought hard for years to reach the position of general manager at Watock, only to end up with nothing. I'm exhausted, truly exhausted..."

"Believe me, no one will take away what's yours."

Lin Han reached out to soothe Lin Kexin, but she sidestepped his gesture, leaving him to offer an awkward smile. "Sometimes, the solution to a problem is quite simple: fight fire with fire."

Lin Han unlocked his phone and played back the conversation he had just recorded.