When Lu Chen's figure once again appeared in the familiar yet stifling, hostility-charged cubicles of Group A in Feichi Corporation's Sales Department, it was precisely 9:00 a.m. the next morning.
He didn't clock in ten minutes early as usual, nor was he tardy—he strode in exactly on time. He still wore that threadbare, slightly faded suit, but now it seemed infused with an almost mystical authority: the shabby edges looked less downtrodden, replaced by an air of inscrutable composure—and a glint of sharpness.
His buzz-cut was neatly trimmed, crisp and businesslike. His face, pale from late nights and mental strain, now glowed with an inner vitality. Most striking were his eyes: no longer the shifty, self-effacing gaze of before, but two dark wells of calm that hinted at the power to see through every deceitful heart.
From the moment he entered, Lu Chen could feel at least a dozen pairs of eyes trained on him—some blatant, others furtive, like spotlight beams with automatic tracking.
Those gazes were infinitely more complex than yesterday's: raw shock as though the impossible had happened; mocking disbelief that this underdog dared overreach; schadenfreude waiting for his humiliating downfall; and, in a few twists of expression among the department's women, an almost unacknowledged curiosity—an odd blend of fascination and secret intrigue toward this man who had seemingly been reborn overnight.
Lu Chen paid them no heed. He walked directly to his corner cubicle, set down the heavy leather satchel containing that thirty-million-dollar contract personally signed by Jiang Wanxing, and unhurriedly booted up the antiquated computer that whirred like a tractor engine.
An eerie hush fell over the entire sales floor.
Everyone froze mid-motion, staring so hard that only their eyeballs betrayed them, darting toward the monk-like young man in the corner.
They were all waiting—waiting to see how the office tyrant, Wang Hai, would tear to pieces this impudent upstart who dared challenge his authority and yet had somehow emerged unscathed from the clutches of the "Demoness" Jiang Wanxing.
"Ahem!"
At last, the door to Wang Hai's private office—his symbol of power—was flung open from within.
Like Death incarnate, the corpulent Group Leader appeared in the doorway. His puffy eyes, swollen from overindulgence, now burned with scarlet rage and jealousy. He fixed his gaze on Lu Chen, as though he'd like to devour him alive.
After Lu Chen left yesterday afternoon, Wang Hai's mind had churned with doubt. How could this worthless nobody really have secured a meeting with Jiang Wanxing, the feared "queen" of Wanxing International? It had to be a scam—perhaps a forged email to confuse everyone at the last moment.
So he'd swallowed his pride and called Jiang Wanxing's assistant for a discreet inquiry. The answer he'd received slapped him like a thunderous blow.
"Yes, Team Leader Wang, President Jiang did accord your Mr. Lu Chen ten minutes of her valuable time yesterday afternoon," the assistant had said in a formulaic yet contemptuously icy tone. "As for the details, I'm sorry, but that falls under the president's private schedule and cannot be disclosed."
Accorded him a meeting! Not "discussion," not "negotiation"—meeting! The word pierced Wang Hai's jealousy-twisted heart like a poisoned needle. To him, it wasn't merely a slight against Wang Hai himself, but a humiliation of the entire Group A sales team!
He couldn't fathom it. This dog of an underling, how had he lucked into President Jiang's favor? Did he bribe her? Or seduce her with that unremarkable face of his? The rumor that Jiang Wanxing "only accepted charming young men"—did Lu Chen really cater to her every whim last night?
The thought made Wang Hai's blood boil. All his schemes to crush Lu Chen forever were in vain: the nobody had not only survived but had clutched onto Jiang Wanxing's powerful limb for support!
How could he tolerate this?!
"Lu Chen!" Wang Hai's voice snapped with jealousy and fury, edged with hysteria. "You've really outdone yourself! You actually had the nerve to show your face here today! How did that assignment I gave you go? Did you charm that old hag Jiang Wanxing? Did you persuade her not only to drop her claim against our company but to sign that thirty-million-dollar 'Golden VIP Strategic Partnership Contract' for us?"
He spat the words "Golden VIP Strategic Partnership Contract" with dripping contempt. To him, if Lu Chen had merely escaped unscathed, it would be a miracle; a signed thirty-million-dollar contract was impossible.
As soon as those charged words echoed across the floor, the atmosphere plunged to absolute zero. Every breath was held in eager anticipation of Lu Chen's public humiliation.
Yet, to everyone's astonishment, Lu Chen raised his head slowly, his gaze as calm as a still lake. He glanced once at the self-satisfied Wang Hai before lifting a folder from his satchel.
It was the very document every top salesperson both coveted and dreaded: an official contract stamped in blood-red ink with the seal of Wanxing International and bearing Jiang Wanxing's flowing signature.
"Team Leader Wang, mission accomplished," Lu Chen said in an unruffled voice that nonetheless cut through the silence with undeniable force. "President Jiang did have some misunderstandings about our company's products and services, but after a friendly and candid discussion, those have all been dispelled."
"And as for that thirty-million-dollar deal…" He allowed a slight, enigmatic smile to curl his lips, then laid the contract on Wang Hai's desktop—directly in front of the team leader's slack-jawed, grease-smudged face. "I trust this will serve as a satisfactory answer."
Crash!
The entire Sales Department A—and even neighboring B and C groups—erupted into stunned uproar when they glimpsed the blazing seal and the elegant signature.
Wang Hai's puffy eyes bulged in disbelief; his face, already twisted by shock, turned a disgraceful shade of purple.
He… he actually did it?! He really got that old witch Jiang Wanxing to sign a thirty-million-dollar contract?! This can't be real!
Lu Chen could almost hear the seismic roar of Wang Hai's psyche—jealousy, fury, and a flicker of terror as Wang Hai's heart thudded against his ribs.
"This is fake!" Wang Hai shrieked, stigma of jealousy thick in his voice. Like a mad bull, he lunged for the contract with a nicotine-yellow paw.
But Lu Chen merely flicked his wrist and the folder slipped effortlessly from Wang Hai's grasp.
"Team Leader Wang," Lu Chen said smoothly, his voice now cool enough to freeze blood. "If there's any doubt about this contract's authenticity, our finance and legal departments will be delighted to provide professional verification. But I'm curious: if this document is genuine, shouldn't you honor the promise you made publicly yesterday and personally congratulate your subordinate for this 'outstanding achievement' before Director Shen?"
Each word landed like an ice-coated dagger in Wang Hai's already wounded soul.
Damn it! That Lu Chen is a walking curse! How could he actually have sealed the deal with that insane old woman?! There must be some trick! Or President Jiang is toying with me!
No—I can't let this upstart take all the credit. It was my brilliant leadership and selection of talent that made this happen!
But Wang Hai's bruised pride and guilty conscience gave him no victory to claim.
"Your face looks rather pale," Lu Chen continued, his lips curving into a smile as cold and merciless as a thousand-year glacier. "Did you not sleep well last night? Or are you worried that if this contract is real, you'll have trouble explaining your 'special cultivation' and 'earnest expectations' of me to Director Shen?"
The loaded phrases "special cultivation" and "earnest expectations" struck Wang Hai like barbed steel.
His face drained of color; for the first time, terror flickered in his bulging eyes. How… how does he know my deepest fears? The thought horrified him more than anything else.
"Stop talking nonsense!" Wang Hai tried to roar, but his voice quivered with panic. "Lu Chen, don't think that just because you lucked into this contract, you can run wild in my territory! Feichi Corporation isn't yours to dominate, you punk!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Lu Chen's eyes sharpened to lethal points, his presence closing the distance between them until Wang Hai felt suffocated by it. "Then tell me, Team Leader Wang, have you decided to renege on your public promise from yesterday? Or would you prefer that I report in person to Director Shen about how you 'masterminded' this operation, 'chose your talent wisely,' and 'spared no expense' in supporting me to complete this 'glorious and arduous mission'?"
His final phrase—"spared no expense"—hung in the air like the most poisonous curse, dredging up Wang Hai's worst fears: that Director Shen might learn of his behind-the-scenes abuses and overlook serious improprieties, even legal liabilities.
Lu Chen could practically hear the anguished shrieks tearing through Wang Hai's mind:
No… no way! I can't let him go to Director Shen and spin tales about me! If Director Shen finds out… I'm done for!
What sort of monster is Lu Chen? How does he seem to know everything inside my head?!
Am I really going to be crushed by this… this nobody I always took for granted?!
Wang Hai's legs buckled; he stumbled back, barely catching himself on the edge of his desk.
His face, now contorted with shock and dread, shifted through hues of green, white, and dark purple in a grotesque spectacle.
The entire office fell into an unprecedented, suffocating silence.
All eyes were fixed on the young man who still wore a slight smile—the calm, unflappable power now holding everyone's fates in his hands.
They couldn't comprehend how the pushover who had been bullied and derided only yesterday had become so terrifyingly unfathomable overnight.
Lu Chen slowly withdrew the weighty contract.
His lips curved once more into a smile that was simultaneously glacial and demonic in its perfection.
He knew that from this moment on, Wang Hai—the cunning snake who'd extravagantly exposed his own weak underbelly—would be the first and easiest prey on Lu Chen's "Heart-Hunting List."