Chapter 317 Acting According to the Circumstances

An hour ago, Qin Jinhuan presided over the meeting of high-level executives after having just presided over the board meeting. He formally announced Wen Zeyu’s resignation, instantly causing an uproar among the crowd. Lu Jinwei, the head of the human resources department, asked Qin Jinhuan emotionally at once if Wen Zeyu’s resignation had anything to do with the vicious murders and if the man was afraid of becoming the murderer’s next target.

These vicious murders had been a taboo that couldn’t be casually mentioned at the company. Typically, almost no one dared to discuss this subject at the company, so Lu Jinwei was practically asking for trouble by questioning Qin Jinhuan in such a direct manner at this moment. The latter’s face darkened in an instant, and he slammed the folder in his hand on the conference table with a loud thud. Those who had been whispering among themselves shut up immediately, but only Lu Jinwei was insensible. Heedless of the consequences, he said, “We come to Qing Tian Group to work and make money. We don’t want to die in vain.”

Qin Jinhuan immediately pointed at Lu Jinwei and made his stance clear by telling the latter to get out of Qing Tian Group, but Lu Jinwei didn’t care about his job as the head of the human resources department at all. He even said, “You’re the one who’s asking me to leave Qing Tian Group—I’m not the one who wants to resign. Since I’m not in the wrong, Qing Tian Group has no right to demand breach of contract damages from me!”

Qin Jinhuan turned pale in rage as he uttered, “Get out!” between clenched teeth. As soon as he finished his sentence, Lu Jinwei produced a letter of resignation from his pocket and presented it to him. “In that case, please sign your name on it, President Qin. Thank you.”

Chao Chenyu quickly came up and took the letter to take a closer look. After reading a few lines, he realized that Lu Jinwei had deliberately provoked Qin Jinhuan to make the latter sign the letter of resignation in fury, for it didn’t require Lu Jinwei to pay any breach of contract damages. Just as he was about to rebuke the man, Qin Jinhuan took the letter of resignation from him. “You mustn’t sign it, Boss! By signing your name on it, you’ll fall into his trap! He—” he urged. However, seeing that Qin Jinhuan had already signed his name on the letter, he could only button his lip and glare at Lu Jinwei angrily.

“Thank you for granting my wish, President Qin.” Having had his way, Lu Jinwei beamed with delight. Before he left, he said to his colleagues, “I hope we have the opportunity to be colleagues again.” The meaning behind his words was self-evident. Chao Chenyu swore at him in anger, whereas Bian Zijun, who wanted to teach him a hard lesson, swung his fist and wanted to step forward, but they were both stopped by Qin Jinhuan.

Chao Chenyu was truly beside himself with anger. “How could you let such a shameless ingrate off just like that, Boss? Isn’t he being let off rather easily right now?”

“It won’t do the company any good to force someone who no longer wants to work at the company to stay; doing so will only bring harm.”

“I didn’t say we should make him stay, though—I meant that such a person shouldn’t be let off so easily. We should let him pay compensation for the company’s loss as stated by the loyalty contract!”

“It’s just a few hundred thousand, and I don’t care about it.” Qin Jinhuan turned to look at the others and said, “If there’s anyone else who’d like to leave, say it right now. This will be the only chance I’m giving you all.”

Several high-level executives present looked at each other with panic-stricken looks on their faces. After a while, they mustered up their courage, stepped forward together, and handed the resignation letters they had prepared long ago to Qin Jinhuan.

The latter signed these letters despite Chao Chenyu’s objections. “Is there anyone else who wants to leave?” he asked the rest of the people while clutching the rollerball pen in his hand.

No one answered him. A few seconds later, someone stood up first and pledged their loyalty to Qing Tian Group, vowing to stick together with the company in weal and woe. Then, the others stood up one after another and made the same pledge.

Seeing how everyone believed that Qing Tian Group would definitely weather the crisis, Chao Chenyu felt deeply gratified, and he said some solemn words of encouragement. However, everyone’s fighting spirit had just been ignited when they were interrupted by a group of employees who barged into the meeting room despite Zhi Xiaoyin’s attempt to stop them.

As it turned out, these employees all wanted to leave Qing Tian Group, but they hadn’t dared to reveal this because they would have to pay the breach of contract damages if they were to resign on their own initiative. When they learned of Wen Zeyu’s resignation and how several high-level executives had gotten Qin Jinhuan to sign their resignation letters directly without having to pay the breach of contract damages just now, they immediately poured into the meeting room. They scrambled to hand their resignation letters to Qin Jinhuan, fearing that he wouldn’t sign them if it was too late.

As there were many people in the room, the scene was somewhat chaotic. Qin Jinhuan didn’t expect there to be so many turncoats even when the company had given its employees such handsome remuneration. In a fit of rage, he took a few resignation letters and tore them into pieces.

Thinking that Qin Jinhuan didn’t want to let them resign, these people immediately began to condemn him, saying that it was unfair to treat them differently. Since the security guards had yet to arrive, Bian Zijun was a bit worried. He protected Qin Jinhuan with Weng Yun while asking his boss to return to his office and let Chao Chenyu take over the situation here for the time being.

However, Qin Jinhuan was so enraged that he refused to go back. Since he feared that something bad would happen, Bian Zijun called Mu Yu for help. Unexpectedly, someone shoved Qin Jinhuan at this moment, causing the latter to almost fall. When Bian Zijun reached out to support his boss, he dropped his cell phone to the floor. It was stepped on by the crowd immediately, but Bian Zijun could no longer bother to pick up his cell phone as he and his companions protected Qin Jinhuan with all their might.

Amidst the chaos, a woman jumped onto the large conference table and slapped it heavily. “Don’t you all want to resign? No problem! Just talk to me!”

Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to her. Qin Jinhuan fixed his eyes on the woman and was surprised to see Yin Anran, for he didn’t expect that she hadn’t left.

Someone questioned, “You aren’t the company’s president, nor are you the vice president. What’s the point of talking to you?”

Yin Anran looked confident, though. “Don’t forget that I address your president by his first name! Do you think my words are useless even after considering my relationship with him?” Then, she signaled everyone to listen to her by clapping her hands. “Let me tell you all the truth. Apart from you guys, I have also received an invitation from that company. They asked me to work there as the vice president!”

She didn’t state explicitly which company it was, but everyone knew which company she was talking about. Upon hearing her words, they instantly fell dead silent and stared at her distrustfully. After all, she was very close to Qin Jinhuan.

Yin Anran smiled with embarrassment and said, “I did something wrong some time ago and was criticized by Jinhuan, so I felt dissatisfied and said a few words of complaint. That company thought I had fallen out with Jinhuan, so they invited me to work there.”

Qin Jinhuan was surprised by what Yin Anran had said, but he didn’t say a word, nor did he raise his eyes. He merely listened and patiently waited for her to do what Chao Chenyu was supposed to do.

Yin Anran continued, “Do you all seriously think that company’s going to give you the big salary they promised after you resign from Qing Tian Group? Have you guys ever used that clever brain of yours to think why they want to poach you all with the promise of such a high salary? Is that really because of your extraordinary capabilities? Indeed, you all are very capable, but does society lack capable people like everyone here? They’ve been trying every way possible to poach you all instead of openly inviting applications for job vacancies not because they cherished your talent, but because they wanted to use you all to deal a blow to Qing Tian Group—the former employer to whom you owe a debt of gratitude for recognizing and appreciating your talents! Not only would a company take someone’s capabilities into account, but they also place great value on character when choosing talents. No one is willing to put a treacherous person who forgets their integrity under the temptation of personal gain in an important position because such an employee might also betray them and stab the company cruelly in the back soon without ever considering the relationship between employer and employee! Would you be any different from the employees that I described just now by leaving Qing Tian and joining that company in such a manner?”

Everyone was lost for words upon hearing Yin Anran’s words.

Yin Anran then said, “This is a workplace taboo! I believe that everyone will be disposed of like rubbish in the near future after they’re done exploiting you all. I bet that after that company abandons you all, it will be extremely difficult to find another job that is as good as your job at Qing Tian Group, for you all will be labeled as disloyal! Also, apart from the high pay that they’ve promised you guys, what is it about them that attracts you and is making you choose them right now?”

Everyone remained silent as if they were lost in thought.

“Why were you all bent on working at Qing Tian Group back then? Wasn’t it because of Qing Tian Group’s human-based management? Wasn’t it because Qing Tian Group was willing to nurture young talents and provide them with the best platform for growth? All of you are still young; you guys have not shown your capabilities and demonstrated your talents. Are you sure that you can still have such a good opportunity like the one you have at Qing Tian Group after joining another company?”

Everyone continued to remain silent, but someone immediately broke the silence by saying, “Actually, the main reason we’re choosing to leave Qing Tian Group isn’t because of the high salary that the other company has tempted us with—we’re afraid of becoming the vicious murderer’s next target! What’s the point of making more money if we can’t live to spend it?”

Yin Anran immediately fixed her eyes on that person and questioned, “Have you done anything against your conscience?”

The person was embarrassed by her question, but he answered with certainty, “I have done nothing against my conscience!”

“Since you have not done anything against your conscience, why should you be afraid? Have you not heard from your colleagues what shameful deeds the four victims had done before their deaths?” Yin Anran asked. When she saw that the person was floored by her question, she turned to the rest of the crowd and spoke. “You all have probably discovered that the murderers killed those with no integrity. If you are an upright person, you’ll never be the murderer’s target, so you don’t have to be afraid at all. You can just stay at Qing Tian Group and work with peace of mind. If you have done something that gives you a guilty conscience, you’re likely to be targeted by the murderer. Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, you’ll still become the murderer’s victim.”

Upon hearing her words, the crowd burst into an uproar again.

Just then, Yin Anran added, “Of course, rest assured. If you have not done anything particularly disgusting, you’re not qualified enough to become the murderer’s victim. You all may face your conscience and think about whether you’re qualified enough.”

Her words caused everyone’s expression to ease somewhat.

“Also, if you all truly realize that your character is not much different from that of those victims and are afraid of becoming the murderer’s target, you can quietly seek the company or the police’s protection. Nothing needs to be said about the police, whereas the company will definitely do its best to ensure your personal safety. But if you leave Qing Tian Group, you’ll no longer be under our protection, so we won’t be receiving you. All right, I’ve said all that should have been said. If you all still want to resign, just hand your resignation letters to me. I’ll help you all take the letters to President Qin for him to sign them,” Yin Anran said. Then, as she was about to get off the table, she thought for a moment and added, “Before submitting your resignation letters, you should think about what kind of bad impact your behavior will have on your family and relatives.”

After finishing her speech, she jumped off the table and stretched out her hand to the crowd. When nobody handed their resignation letters to her after she stretched out her hand for a while, she was secretly delighted even though she didn’t show it.

“I’m sorry, President Qin. I had such an impulse because I got carried away for a moment. Please punish me, and I’ll accept it even if my salary or year-end bonuses are deducted.” The person who doubted Yin Anran was the first to take out his resignation letter, tear it into pieces, and sincerely apologize to Qin Jinhuan. “I swear that I will serve Qing Tian Group wholeheartedly in the future without harboring a hint of disloyalty ever again!”

“Please punish me as well. I promise that I’ll never act recklessly again in the future!” Someone else immediately agreed with the person and tore their resignation letter to pieces in a similar fashion. After that, more and more people chimed in with them and made their stance clear.

Chao Chenyu immediately turned to look at Qin Jinhuan with great surprise. When he saw that Qin Jinhuan was not saying a word, he feared that he would seriously turn these people down, so he quickly tugged at his clothes gently to remind him. After all, now was a time of emergency; they had to do their best to maintain the company’s stability so that it would be easier for the company to weather the storm.

Yin Anran also stared at Qin Jinhuan anxiously as she also feared that he would act on impulse.

“Since you all are sincere about staying in the company, everyone here should do your job well. This matter is over, but there will not be a second chance,” Qin Jinhuan said. His expression was still stony as he said so, but the employees cheered and expressed their gratitude.

On the other hand, Chao Chenyu happily gestured for everyone to leave. “It’s already time to get off work, so go back and take a rest first, everyone. Have some spirit when you come to work tomorrow! If you do your job well, your year-end bonuses will only be even more attractive!”

The employees soon dispersed. After Chao Chenyu announced that the meeting was over, the high-level executives left as well, leaving only Yin Anran, Chao Chenyu, Bian Zijun, and Qin Jinhuan in the meeting room for a moment. Meanwhile, Yin Anran stole a few glances at Qin Jinhuan. When she saw that he never set his eyes on her, she felt very disappointed. As such, she could only step out of the room as well.

Just then, Qin Jinhuan asked Yin Anran to stay. “Get out first, the both of you,” he said to Chao Chenyu and Bian Zijun.

Understanding what Qin Jinhuan meant, Chao Chenyu hurriedly left the room. Bian Zijun hesitated somewhat, but he followed Chao Chenyu out of the room as well.

As it was way past office hours, Chao Chenyu said goodbye to Bian Zijun and went home, whereas Bian Zijun and Weng Yun stood outside the meeting room and discussed what had happened just now in whispers. Just as they were talking, they suddenly saw Mu Yu running their way. Upon recalling that Qin Jinhuan and Yin Anran were the only ones in the meeting room, they immediately had a change in their countenance.