No Time

Office.

Ye Shuang sat in his chair, his gaze fixed on the awkwardly standing department head. Clearly, the man's fidgeting discomfort was worse than having swallowed a fly.

Then, Ye Shuang quietly looked over some documents, seemingly completely ignoring the person beside him.

The silent office seemed to carry immense pressure, causing beads of cold sweat to form on the department head's forehead. "President Ye... I-I didn't mean to do it on purpose."

Ye Shuang slowly looked up and merely said, "I preferred your earlier attitude, when you were looking down your nose at everyone."

"I... I..." The department head stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.

Ye Shuang continued, "Your actions violate our group's core values. According to the rules for a Category One error, you should be dismissed." As he spoke, he casually tossed the documents onto the desk. The perfectly timed sound made the department head's heart skip a beat.

After Ye Shuang finished speaking, the bald department head was on the verge of emotional collapse. "I... I really didn't mean it! I... I was wrong. You can punish me, just don't fire me!"

"Wouldn't it be nice to take the severance package and retire early?" Ye Shuang smiled. "You've worked here for several years; the compensation won't be small."

"Please, have a heart..." The department head wore an expression uglier than crying. Where else could he find such a good job? He still had millions in mortgage left to pay at home.

"However," Ye Shuang said, having dealt the heavy blow, it was about time to offer a carrot. He propped his chin on one hand. "I'm actually quite fond of giving people chances. It's not impossible to give you one opportunity."

The department head, as if clutching at a life-saving straw, said excitedly, "Please, tell me!"

"Report two other employees who have made similar mistakes to yours. If you do that, I might be able to waive the dismissal this time." Ye Shuang narrowed his eyes slightly. "But the cost is three months' performance pay and bonuses."

Th-three months of performance pay and bonuses?!

The department head was stunned for a moment, but then gritted his teeth. It was still better than being fired.

"Deal!" The department head thought to himself, how hard could it be to find a couple of employees who'd made mistakes like his?

"Excellent." Ye Shuang smiled.

Of course, deducting an employee's base salary as a fine is illegal; even five yuan would be against the law. However, nowadays, employee salary structures generally consist of a base salary plus performance pay and bonuses. The latter two are essentially rewards granted by the company and can be withheld—that's not considered a fine.

Losing three months of performance pay and bonuses is already a very severe penalty, leaving one with almost only the base salary.

But humans are creatures who prefer compromise. If you tell someone you're going to tear the roof off their house, they'll definitely refuse. But if you then say you'll only remove a window, with that comparison, things naturally become much easier to accept.

Even if your goal was the window all along.

"You may go now."

"Y-yes, sir."

After the department head left the office, he seemed to let out a sigh of relief, even feeling somewhat fortunate.

Little did he know, Ye Shuang never actually intended to fire him. Yet, he was left with a sense of having narrowly escaped disaster, even feeling a touch of joy.

Kou Kou, the assistant standing to the side, saw everything clearly and even felt that Ye Shuang's tactic of making them report on each other was utterly devious.

This President Ye was like a crafty old fox, manipulating people perfectly.

"So scary. Good thing I'm just a little assistant," Kou Kou couldn't help but think to herself.

Over the next few days, a sense of unease spread among the company's middle management, as quite a few people were reported. Their behavior spread like a virus; once one was punished, they would go looking for faults in others.

The company's atmosphere improved noticeably. Many employees could even see their usually indifferent lower-level supervisors wearing kindly smiles.

However, some thought Ye Shuang had gone mad, that this guy wasn't worried about offending anyone at all, acting like some disciplinary hall elder.

...

In an office within the group.

Xu Yitian was very frustrated. That Ye Shuang seemed to fear nothing. His assistant had tried to schedule a meeting with him several times, all unsuccessful.

"My apologies, President Ye is currently busy."

"When did he say he might be free?"

"Probably... outside of work hours."

"Then can we schedule it for outside work hours?"

"My apologies, President Ye's time after work is private. He does not accept any appointments during that time."

"What about for non-private matters?"

"My apologies, President Ye is busy."

A dead loop.

"Hmph!" The more Xu Yitian thought about it, the more annoyed he became, setting his teacdown on the desk with a clack.

"President Xu, perhaps he's avoiding you," his assistant suggested.

"Hmm..." Xu Yitian thought that was possible. After all, he discovered that secret, and the very next day, the other party stopped coming.

It seemed... he was hiding?

"Heh, true." Xu Yitian stood up, thought for a moment, then asked, "Have you finished investigating those two girls?"

"It's all clear. They are indeed living together. That girl is a fourth-year student at Yinshan Academy, named Bai Yuyou. She's also recognized as the top school beauty at Yinshan Academy," the assistant reported. "She and President Ye are definitely not related by blood."

"Heh, just as I thought."

Xu Yitian pondered for a moment, then stood up directly.

"President Xu, where are you going?"

"To find him."

Ye Shuang wasn't in his own office at the moment. Instead, he had gone to some departments to study products. After all, his job wasn't just about punishing or rewarding employees; formulating plans for the company's better development was the main task.

Besides reviewing the data submitted by his subordinates, he also preferred to see the actual situation for himself.

It was just that no matter where he went, someone would open the door for him, which seemed a bit ostentatious.

Even when getting water, two people would stand guard by the water dispenser—one to pour, one to hand him the cup. An outsider might think one person couldn't manage to pour water alone.

It just showed his subordinates were masters of social etiquette.

Although Ye Shuang didn't care for this, he didn't say much about it either. As a leader, he naturally couldn't be too chummy with the employees. Being amiable was one thing; maintaining distance was another.

"Let's head back to the office, Kou Kou."

"Yes, President Ye."

"Hmm?"

Walking down the corridor, Ye Shuang spotted three familiar-looking men approaching from a distance—Xu Yitian.

"President Ye, busy as always?" Xu Yitian smiled.

"Not too bad. Just finished up."

With that, Ye Shuang moved to walk past Xu Yitian.

This scene, in Xu Yitian's eyes, further confirmed that Ye Shuang was afraid of him.

"Hold on, President Ye... You wouldn't want President Chen to find out about Bai Yuyou, would you?" Xu Yitian said, a smile spreading across his face.

At that, Ye Shuang's steps halted. He slowly turned around. "Oh?"

"Can I take that as a threat?"

"No, no, no. We just want to have a proper talk—a collaboration, to be precise."

Ye Shuang gave him a cool glance, hands in his pockets.

"You're not worthy."