I agreed to be a kept man, but I'm still being punished by the system.

Inside a king-size bed room at a chain hotel.

Zhou Heng lay on the bed, staring blankly at the plaster moldings on the ceiling.

Just then, the old cell phone next to my pillow gave a crisp notification sound.

Ding dong.

The screen lit up, and a preview of a bank message popped up.

[...A total of RMB 2,000,000.00 will be transferred to your account ending in XXXX...]

Two million!

Zhou Heng's eyes froze instantly. He jumped out of bed, grabbed his phone, and because his fingers were trembling, he entered the wrong password several times before finally unlocking it.

it is true.

A surge of ecstatic heat rushed to his head, making him feel lightheaded.

However, before he could fully bask in the joy of having his phone back, it vibrated again.

It was a WeChat message from Su Man.

Zhou Heng, this two million is the last bit of affection we have left. From now on, we go our separate ways. Don't contact me again, and don't appear in my life again. May we both find peace.

There was no expression, no extra greetings, only a cold text.

Zhou Heng's smile froze.

He stared at the line of words, as if each word had turned into a steel needle piercing his heart.

Should we stop contacting you?

Are you all doing well?

He stood on the bed, his phone slipping from his limp fingers and landing on the blanket, but he didn't notice.

Why?

Why did you refuse Su Man's help in the first place?

A flashback to himself from a few years ago flashed through his mind—full of vigor, patting his chest and declaring that he would make a comeback on his own, refusing the bank card she offered.

He thought that was a man's dignity.

Looking back now, I realize how foolish and ridiculous I was.

As he was torn apart by endless regret, the shrill ring of his cell phone rang again.

Two words were displayed on the caller ID screen.

[Brother Long]

Zhou Heng's blood seemed to freeze in that instant. He shuddered and hurriedly answered the phone.

"Hey, Brother Long, hello...hello there." His voice was full of fawning flattery.

A rough and impatient voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Old Zhou, don't think you can hide and I won't find you."

"You have money to stay in a hotel, but you won't pay me back? Just you wait, I'll make you pay!"

"Brother Long, wait!" Zhou Heng's voice instantly changed, filled with fear. "I'll come to you right away, I...I...I'll pay you back right away!"

"Oh?" Brother Long on the other end of the phone drawled out, with a hint of mockery, "Then you'd better hurry up and get over here, or my men will come and grab you."

"Okay...okay...okay, I'll be there soon, give me...give me some time."

The call was abruptly ended, leaving only a busy tone on the receiver.

Zhou Heng jumped off the bed, trembling all over, his back soaked with cold sweat.

He hastily threw on his wrinkled clothes, almost putting his shoes on backwards, and rushed out of the hotel room like a madman, hailing a taxi.

"Go to Daqiao Village in the west of the city, quick!"

……

Office of the Director of the Hair Care Division, Enwei Group.

Su Man looked at the words "transfer successful" displayed on her phone screen, then leaned back heavily in her chair.

She exhaled a long, slow breath.

That breath seemed to carry away the pent-up frustration she had accumulated over the years, allowing her entire shoulder to relax.

ended.

But this feeling of relief didn't last long.

Her gaze refocused on the computer screen. The screen displayed Enwei Group's complex organizational chart, and her eyes eventually settled on a specific position.

Overseas Region President.

A new war is looming ahead.

Her brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed slightly again.

She thought of Lin Yang.

This war is an internal struggle within the Qin family, a strangulation by capital; she cannot drag him into it.

Once the thought arises, it can never be stopped.

Su Man stood up, straightened her suit jacket, and resumed her usual capable and decisive director demeanor.

She opened the office door and spoke to Lin Yang, who was in the assistant's work area near the entrance.

"Lin Yang, take me to the factory."

"Oh." Lin Yang immediately stood up.

He Xiaoya, who was standing next to her, immediately looked up from the document and said quickly, "President Su, here is a document that was just sent from the President's Office. Please take a look."

Before he could finish speaking, the printer in the corner of the office emitted a light buzzing sound.

A sheets of A4 paper were spat out, and He Xiaoya walked quickly over in her high heels, picked up the still warm documents, stapled them with a "snap," and then jogged over to hand them to Su Manna.

Su Man took the document and quickly glanced at it.

Her brows furrowed tightly once again.

"Li Tong, Xiao Ya, you two study this document first. I'm going to the factory now."

After giving her instructions without leaving any room for argument, she turned and headed towards the elevator.

Lin Yang followed behind her, and the two left Enwei Group one after the other.

Inside the deep blue Cayenne, Lin Yang had already fastened his seatbelt, gripped the steering wheel, and was about to start the engine.

"We don't go to the factory."

Su Man's voice suddenly broke the silence inside the car.

"Find a park nearby that isn't too crowded; I have something to tell you."

Lin Yang's heart stirred, but he remained outwardly calm.

He nodded, turned on the navigation on the central control screen, and searched for a riverside park nearby where he could park.

The car started smoothly and merged into the traffic.

A dozen minutes later, the Cayenne stopped in the park's underground parking lot.

The surroundings were empty, with only their car.

Neither of them got out of the car.

The carriage was quiet, with only the faint sound of the air conditioning system blowing air.

"Last time I went to President Qin's office, she asked me to try to get the position of president of the overseas region," Su Man said first, her voice tinged with fatigue.

She took the document from the president's office out of her bag and handed it to Lin Yang.

Lin Yang took the document; the paper was still slightly warm.

The title is in bold: "Notice on Jointly Investigating Overseas Markets and Accelerating the Deployment of Globalization Strategy".

The document essentially requires the hair care and beauty divisions to jointly organize personnel and immediately launch an in-depth investigation of the European, American, and Southeast Asian markets in preparation for the establishment of an overseas division.

"Why did President Qin ask you to take over as president of the overseas region?" Lin Yang asked doubtfully.

"Because Guo Kaiqi and I are, on the surface, the only pawns she can use." Su Man's gaze drifted to the window, her eyes somewhat vacant. "In the company, everyone else is either the chairman's man or Chairman Cai's man."

"Wait, who is Chairman Tsai?" Lin Yang asked.

"The chairperson of the employee stock ownership committee is Cai Jing," Su Man's voice lowered, "She and the chairman have two children overseas."

"The chairman established this overseas business division for the sake of his two children overseas."

Lin Yang understood everything now.

"Oh, I see." He made a sound of sudden realization, his tone carrying his unique, all-knowing mockery, "Then Cai Jing is the mistress, right?"

"Now it's the daughter of the original wife fighting against the child of the mistress."

Su Man was speechless at his blunt and crude analogy, yet she couldn't refute it.

"...This can also be used as a metaphor."

"What does the chairman think?" Lin Yang pressed.

"They will likely remain neutral until there are results. But who they will secretly support is anyone's guess."

A sudden flash of inspiration struck Lin Yang.

"Was it because the mistress was pressuring the chairman that he suddenly decided to establish an overseas division?"

"It's hard to say," Su Man shook her head. "But I heard from President Qin that the chairman doesn't have much time left."

"Going to die?" Lin Yang blurted out. "It can't be that bad, can it? He's not that old, maybe seventy at most."

"When the chairman was young, he worked hard and developed some health problems," Su Man said in a heavy tone. "Now he often needs to go to sanatoriums for recuperation and rarely doesn't participate in company management."

Silence fell over the carriage once again.

After a long while, Su Man turned her head and looked at Lin Yang seriously.

"Then why are you telling me all this?" Lin Yang asked.

"I don't want you involved in the company's internal strife." Su Man's voice was soft, but unusually firm.

Lin Yang looked at her, at the worry in her eyes and the protectiveness that seemed to want to push him away.

He smiled.

"But I've already participated."

His voice was calm yet powerful, each word striking Su Man's heart clearly.

"It started the day I slept in the same bed with you."