Chapter 37: Finding Fault, Resigning

Nan Jianlong stayed in the hospital for a total of seven days. During this time, Nan Li had initially offered to take leave to look after him, but Nan Jianlong refused. Although she visited every day, it was always Cai Juying who stayed behind to care for him.

Zhou Chen also paid a few visits, but because he had been busy lately and had no desire to see Cai Juying, his stays were brief. However, on the day of discharge, both Zhou Chen and Nan Li went to the hospital; they handled all the paperwork and even covered the expenses. When Nan Jianlong tried to offer them the money, Nan Li refused outright. She felt a sense of guilt, knowing that if it weren't for them, Nan Jianlong might not have been angered to the point of hospitalization.

Back home, Nan Jianlong looked at his house, which remained as pristine and tidy as ever, and felt a wave of emotion. When he thought about how his ex-wife, Zhao Na, hadn't visited him once during his hospital stay, the contrast only reinforced his belief that he had made the right choice. Cai Juying had looked after him comfortably in the hospital, and back home, the clean house and the sense of comfort were things he hadn't experienced in the previous decade of his former marriage.

That night, as they were going to sleep, Cai Juying whispered in his ear, lamenting how difficult her life was, how she worked tirelessly for the family, and yet was still branded a "homewrecker" whenever she stepped outside. She didn't know who else to share her burdens with. She claimed that if only Nan Li and her husband were willing to help with their child’s schooling, it would certainly be resolved, but they looked down on her and refused to assist.

Nan Jianlong felt uneasy hearing this. He knew his daughter looked down on his current wife and that Cai Juying was prone to exaggeration, but she wasn't entirely wrong. Regardless, even if she had no great achievements, she had certainly put in the hard work. It had been so many years; being pointed at and called a homewrecker would be difficult for anyone to bear.

"Don't worry, I will find a way. I will make sure Ziyou gets into that elite class."

Cai Juying was overjoyed. She was not a highly educated woman, and in her eyes, Nan Jianlong—who had once been a high-ranking official—was a man of great capability. Since he had made this promise, Ziyou would surely get into the elite class.

***

During this period, Zhou Chen spent his days working and writing his novel, his schedule packed and intense. After two weeks of effort, he finally completed what he considered to be the best design proposal. He planned to spend another two days refining it before taking it to Fang Yuanyang to fulfill his obligations.

He stretched his back and picked up his teacup, intending to get a coffee to refresh himself. Just as he reached the breakroom and was sipping his coffee, Director Lin of the design institute walked over with a dark expression on his face.

"Designer Xia, how do you have the leisure to drink coffee here?"

Exhausted from his work, Zhou Chen hadn't even rested for a few minutes before being confronted by Director Lin's accusatory tone, which left him feeling quite dissatisfied.

"Why shouldn't I be allowed to have some coffee?"

Zhou Chen had already planned to resign once he finished this project. If Director Lin had been polite, he would have responded in kind, but since the man had come over just to interrogate him with such an unpleasant tone while he was simply having a coffee, he had no intention of indulging him.

Seeing that Zhou Chen dared to talk back, Director Lin grew even angrier. "You said you were helping the Saima Group with their proposal. It’s been over two weeks, and you still haven't produced anything. It seems you've grown accustomed to slacking off and no longer take the company’s rules and regulations seriously, have you?"

Zhou Chen set his teacup on the table. "Slacking off? Director Lin, I don't take the company's rules seriously? You should be careful with your words. I've been incredibly busy with the Saima Group's design proposal lately. I finally stopped for one cup of coffee, and you call that slacking off?"

Director Lin sneered, "Designer Xia, drinking coffee isn't slacking off, but for the past two months, you've been in the office playing on your phone and writing a novel every single day. Do you really think no one knows? This is a company, not a place where you can do whatever you want. I’ve tolerated you more than once or twice. I had hoped you would change, but now you keep dragging your feet on the Saima Group's project. Are you worthy of the salary you’re being paid?"

Zhou Chen’s gaze turned cold. Fine, he realized now that this man had come prepared and had clearly been harboring dissatisfaction with him for a long time. Director Lin wasn't wrong about him writing his novel, but he had only done so after his work was completed, without ever compromising his professional duties. The man was simply using this as a pretext to make things difficult for him, venting his frustration over failing to secure the Saima Group's contract.

If it were the previous Xia Junshan, he might have swallowed his pride in the face of such harassment, but the current Zhou Chen would not. He hadn't intended to stay anyway, and after the events of the past few days, his perspective had shifted. Endure? Why on earth should he keep enduring?

"I see how it is. Fine. Since you think I don't deserve my salary, I won't argue with you. Listen closely: I quit."

Zhou Chen tossed his employee badge onto the table. This wasn't his first time resigning, and having secured a better path forward, he had no interest in playing nice with Director Lin.

"You—what did you say?"

Hearing Zhou Chen’s bold declaration, Director Lin was shocked. Their argument had attracted a crowd of employees.

Zhou Chen looked at Director Lin with cold eyes. "I said, I quit. Did you hear me clearly this time?"

Director Lin trembled with rage. "You quit? The company has spent years cultivating you. Do you think you can just walk away whenever you feel like it?"

Zhou Chen looked at him with disdain. "Do you think this is some critical research facility? Can you restrict my personal freedom? According to labor law, I have the right to resign. It doesn't matter what you say; even if you try to sue me, it won't work."

"You, you..."

Director Lin pointed at Zhou Chen, too angry to speak. Although he was a director, the company valued skilled designers as its backbone. If the leadership found out he had forced Zhou Chen out, he wouldn't fare well either.

But Zhou Chen had made up his mind. If he had felt any psychological burden during his first resignation, this time he felt absolutely none. While he hadn't achieved full financial independence yet, he had no desire to waste his time here. These past few days, he had even neglected his novel for the sake of this design project—missing out on over a hundred thousand words and, consequently, hundreds of thousands in earnings.

"Boss, boss, don't be impulsive!"

At this moment, three members of Zhou Chen’s team—two women and one man—rushed over. They had been with him for years: one was an architectural designer like him who served as his deputy, and the other two were junior assistant designers, Qiqi and Feifei. As members of his team, if Zhou Chen left, their team would effectively collapse. More importantly, they had a good relationship with him and didn't want him to walk out in a fit of impulse.

Zhou Chen looked at them and said, "Don't say anything more. My mind is made up. In fact, I had already considered resigning; I had originally planned to do it only after finishing this Saima Group project. But since someone has taken a dislike to me, I’ll grant him his wish."

"Don't worry about me. You all should stay and keep working hard. The work here is actually decent, and as long as you put in the effort, you will be rewarded."

"Boss..."

Zhou Chen silenced them and turned back to Director Lin, his voice cold. "I’ll say it again: I have fulfilled my professional duties. The Saima Group proposal is already finished. I had intended to refine it before taking it to Fang Yuanyang, but since you are so impatient, I won't waste any more breath on you."

"You may be heartless, but I will not be unrighteous. I won't take the Saima Group design proposal with me. I will hand it over to my team, and I will also teach them the methods I planned to use to convince Fang Yuanyang. As long as they follow my instructions, they have over an 80% chance of winning the contract. This will be my final contribution to the company."

Having said this, he turned to his three team members: "Come with me. Before I leave, I will hand everything over to you."

Without bothering to look at Director Lin’s livid, dark expression, Zhou Chen led his three team members away.