That very night, when I returned home, my mood was incredibly low.
Originally, I thought Lu Wan held a beautiful fairy tale in her heart—that was the real reason she left me.
But now it seemed that was not the case at all.
Lu Wan was actually involved with the school's disciplinary director—what on earth was going on?
Ever since Lu Wan left home, I hadn't slept in that bed for a long time, fearing that lying there would bring nightmares.
So I lay on the sofa, lost in thought.
I wondered if every woman was like Lu Wan—pretending well before marriage and changing completely after.
Time slipped by unknowingly. Soon, it was already one o'clock in the morning.
At that moment, I felt no sleepiness at all, absentmindedly playing with my phone.
Perhaps this was my only way to alleviate loneliness.
Then suddenly, Gu Xiaofei called.
Damn, she didn't return my calls when I was in trouble, but after two whole hours, she finally decided to ring me.
To be honest, at such a late hour, I didn't really want to answer her call, and I had reasons to avoid it.
But my mood was so low that talking to someone was better than nothing.
After thinking it over, I accepted the call.
"Xiaofei-jie!"
With someone like Gu Xiaofei, my first words were always polite.
"Zhao Jian, you just called me? What's up?"
"Oh, I ran into a little trouble, but it's all sorted now."
"Okay, if it's nothing else, I'll hang up then."
Just as I was about to respond, I suddenly heard a man's voice.
Though it was faint, I clearly caught it.
At this hour, the presence of a man around Gu Xiaofei said a lot.
But that voice quickly vanished as if it never existed.
I sensed Gu Xiaofei told the man to keep quiet.
So that explained why she hadn't answered before—was she with that man having a good time?
Thinking that even Lu Wan went out looking for men, wasn't it normal for unmarried Gu Xiaofei to have a fling?
At that thought, I felt calmer and said, "Xiaofei-jie, you should get some rest!"
After hanging up, my heart felt empty.
Damn it, why was I the only one so unlucky to be single? What did I do wrong?
Drowsily, I finally fell into a deep sleep.
Maybe because a new job awaited me today, I woke up at six o'clock in the morning.
I tidied myself up, freshened my face—tried to look presentable.
After all, I was now a manager. No matter what, appearances mattered.
I grabbed a quick bite at the breakfast stall near my apartment, then drove the boss's BMW X1 hurriedly to work.
I knew in my heart today was a big test. No one knew what fate awaited me.
When I arrived, I realized I was the first to come; no one else had shown up yet.
Only the guard at the gate seemed puzzled seeing me alone. He asked, "Zhao Jian, why didn't the boss come with you?"
I wanted to curse him out—didn't this idiot know I'd been promoted to sales manager?
Suddenly, I recalled a rumor.
They said this guard once 'conquered' Ren Tingting from the sales department. The two were caught by surveillance cameras 'having fun' in the office.
The incident became the company's joke but soon died down.
Thinking of the sales department gave me a headache—it was full of troublesome women.
I studied the guard. Though nearing thirty, he was fairly handsome.
I guessed Ren Tingting seduced him; otherwise, how would a guard get to hit on sales?
In short, I figured the sales department was a hotbed of complicated interpersonal chaos.
My first job would be to balance those relations.
Calming down, I said to the guard, "I'm changing jobs today—no more driver for me."
The guard was surprised.
In his mind, my old job was an easy and rare position.
But he was smart enough not to ask further in such circumstances.
As time passed and the office opened, the guard took his post at the gate.
I stood by the entrance, watching the employees arrive.
In this moment, I felt like a security guard myself.
Soon Zhang Zhiyuan's car arrived—this time, no driver. He was driving himself.
His vehicle was a silver-gray Jeep Wrangler, looking very impressive.
The car stopped before me. Zhang said, "Xiao Zhao, wait here. I'll park the car and then come arrange your work."
Though nervous, seeing Zhang's friendliness eased much of my tension.
I waited outside the office building and then went in with Zhang.
Usually, when an employee changes roles, the boss would want to talk and hear their thoughts.
After entering the general manager's office, Zhang closed the door—a sign this was serious.
I felt he had something important to tell me.
When I sat down, Zhang poured a cup of tea for me.
As a driver all these years, few times had I received such treatment; it made me feel unexpectedly honored.
"Xiao Zhao, there's a question I've wanted to ask you," he began.
Looking at him, I said, "What is it, General Manager Zhang?"
"I want to know if the sales manager position was something you asked Gu Xiaofei for, or if she assigned it to you on her own?"
I was startled, knowing his intentions.
Two answers, two outcomes—Zhang was testing my limits.
After thinking, I chose to be honest; I had no ill will toward him.
I said, "It was arranged by Gu Xiaofei. I didn't have another choice."
Seeing my truthfulness, Zhang was very pleased. "Xiao Zhao, I knew I wasn't wrong about you—you are an honorable man."
I actually admired Zhang for saying this because in my mind, he was the soulless one—at least he was unfaithful to his wife.
I couldn't help but recall Qin Jingyi's night at the club—she said she was looking for fun; but which woman truly wants that?
I smiled and said, "General Manager Zhang, you flatter me. Though I didn't seek this job, you have my word, since I'm here, I'll give it my all."
Zhang patted my shoulder and said, "Good. I'll take you to the sales department now."
When I arrived at the sales department's entrance, the previously noisy room suddenly quieted.
I knew it was because they feared Zhang Zhiyuan.
Walking into the office, Zhang glanced over everyone.
Actually, drivers often worked with the sales department since sometimes customers needed transporting; sales would assign those jobs to me.
So, I had reasonably good relations with them.
That was one reason I believed I could handle this job.
Zhang said, "Let me introduce you—starting today, Zhao Jian is the new sales manager."
Everyone's mouths dropped. They couldn't believe it was true.
Liu Jing looked particularly surprised; until recently, I was her subordinate, and suddenly I had become her superior.
She had already been unhappy about moving from general manager's secretary to deputy sales manager, but then the sales manager was suddenly transferred to be workshop director—that was suspicious.
Everyone thought Zhang was doing it to back Liu Jing.
Even Liu Jing believed that with her relationship to Zhang, the manager position should have been hers easily.
But no one expected it to be me.
Liu Jing's expression turned dark. I could feel she resented me.
I already knew her and the boss had a close relationship; if she played dirty, my work would be tough.
Add to that, I was clueless about sales and worried I might be fired soon.
But opportunity often lies in challenges, and I chose to accept it.
Next, the boss made some typical surface remarks—asking everyone to support me—but I wasn't really listening.
I knew things wouldn't be that simple.
Meanwhile, the saleswomen were delighted I came. To them, I seemed like prey.
I understood that though they appeared inactive, many major clients were under their influence.
And the ways they managed those clients varied—beauty being one notable method.
Because I was clear: sales was the most chaotic department in the company.
After all the formalities, the boss patted my shoulder again and said, "Do well."
For some reason, my heart felt heavy, as if burdened by a thousand stones.
When Zhang left, my first task was to call a meeting with all sales staff.
But judging by their expressions, no one wanted such a meeting.
My main goal was to understand each salesperson's client portfolio, gather information that would help me work better.
But reality was nowhere near what I imagined.
Ren Tingting was the first to speak. She was just past thirty, notorious for numerous affairs within the factory.
Rumor had it that five years ago, when she first joined, she was involved with a married man from a workshop, who ended up causing her to have a miscarriage.
Three years ago, she met a young man who almost jumped off a building for her.
Recently, she'd gotten involved with the guard at the gate.
Ren Tingting looked at me provocatively and said, "Manager Zhao, I have six clients under me, namely…"
She showed me respect by going into detail, even informing me of the public relations costs.
I took notes carefully.
But when it was time for the second person, Xiang Qiufeng, to present, trouble arose.