I am not a literary giant

Xu Shichao saw Mei Rucheng enter the office from afar and muttered, "Good heavens, what brings Director Mei here?"

"Director Mei?" Guo Ranran asked, puzzled.

"Director Mei, you don't know?" Xu Shichao glanced at her, giving her a look that said, "Little girl, you still have a lot of practice to do." But he had no desire to explain to her.

Diao Yiwen swallowed hard and walked to the office door from a distance to look inside.

She felt that things were getting more and more complicated today. She didn't know how things would develop next. Song Yinglian stood beside her, trying to give her some courage with his body, but Diao Yiwen moved away a few steps without making a sound.

"I heard everything just now," Mei Rucheng said. "You're being evaluated for excellence, right? Wang Zixu, what's wrong with you? You're resorting to insults just because you weren't given an excellent rating? Why are you so impulsive? It makes you look bad in front of outsiders!"

Director Gou's eyes lit up, and he turned from one end of his desk to the other, bowing to Director Mei to complain:

"You didn't hear that? He even tried to have sex with my mother! This guy is completely undisciplined and has no sense of organization. I was so angry just now that I said some hurtful things. I will definitely hold him accountable, but I will follow the proper procedures and methods."

Mei Rucheng glanced at him sideways and said, "What? He wants to fuck your mother too? Gou Yingbiao, how did you lead this team? You've made the comrades so resentful. I want to hear what heinous things you've done."

Director Gou hurriedly said, "Oh dear, how could I possibly incur the wrath of heaven and man! ... Director Mei, I've served under you for so long, you're my mentor! Don't you know me? How could I possibly do something that would incur the wrath of heaven and man?"

Mei Rucheng, hands behind his back, said, "Oh, I wouldn't dare call myself Director Gou's mentor. Director Gou is all talk and no action outside, a fierce tiger coming down from the mountain. Coming here is just for him to get some experience. How could I possibly dare to call myself his mentor!"

Director Gou was sweating profusely: "Master, please don't tease me. How am I so powerful? Ask around, I always consider myself your eldest disciple."

As he spoke, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and offered it to Mei Rucheng's lips as if to show respect. Mei Rucheng replied, "I don't smoke cigarettes of this quality."

Director Gou froze, standing there unsure whether to advance or retreat.

"Alright, alright, tell me, how did you manage to make such a mess of the evaluation process? I want to hear it."

Director Gou put away his cigarette and composed himself: "You should have heard of this Prince Xu. Shen Qingfeng was talking about him on TV before. He's always been a bit arrogant. I told him that we selected the awardees according to the rules, but he was still dissatisfied and wanted to make a scene."

Mei Rucheng asked, "How many years has Wang Zixu been working?"

Director Gou said, "It's been eight years, and this year is the ninth."

Mei Rucheng asked, "How many times has he received an 'Outstanding' award?"

Director Gou said, "Not even once. They've always been competent."

Mei Rucheng smiled and said, "He hasn't received an 'Outstanding' award in eight years. He should be upset. He graduated from Beijing Institute of Technology, right? A prestigious university, and he can't even get one 'Outstanding' award?"

Director Gou gave an awkward smile: "As for the evaluation of outstanding individuals, every year there happens to be someone who is just a little bit better than him. There's nothing we can do about that, right? I don't know what his former superiors thought, but as far as I'm concerned, I always conduct the evaluation process fairly, justly, and openly. You can check the meeting minutes if you don't believe me."

"I don't watch that stuff."

Mei Rucheng waved his hand and reached for the evaluation rules on the table: "Who are you planning to give the award for outstanding performance this year?"

Director Gou, embarrassed, said, "It's not like I can just give it to whomever I want; it still needs to be discussed in a meeting..."

Mei Rucheng glared at him: "Don't give me that official airs!"

Director Gou felt as if he had been glared at by a lion at close range. He broke out in a cold sweat and stammered, "Another girl in our unit... Xiao Diao."

He quickly took out the "Xihe Literature" magazine from the table, turned to the table of contents, and said:

"Director Mei, look, Xiao Diao is a very outstanding child. She has already published an article in 'Xihe Literature' at such a young age. Look here."

Mei Rucheng glanced at it only once and casually said, "Publishing articles in *Xihe Literature* isn't something you can just do by talking to their editorial department? You're using that as a performance evaluation criterion?"

"no……"

Sweat dripped from Director Gou's forehead as he bent down and put away the "Xihe Literature and Art" magazine: "Look, didn't this year's regulations say that we should evaluate young cadres with 'real achievements'? Xiao Diao published an article, and she's young. I think we should give her the opportunity."

Mei Rucheng stared at him with a half-smile: "Gou Yingbiao, you've got some nerve."

Director Gou was somewhat at a loss: "What? How could I...?"

"I have to say, you've got some nerve!" Mei Rucheng said, turning to look at Section Chief Liu. "If he does this, what will happen when the higher-ups see the list of award recipients and ask, 'Why isn't Wang Zixu on it?' Do you think he'll be able to save face?"

Section Chief Liu laughed and said, "You're just making trouble for yourself."

Director Gou was shocked: "What do you mean? Director Mei, please explain clearly, I don't understand."

Mei Rucheng looked at him in surprise: "You didn't know?"

Then, he turned to Wang Zixu with surprise: "You didn't say that?"

Director Gou was extremely anxious: "What do you know?"

Mei Rucheng took out a cigarette and gestured to Section Chief Liu: "You say it."

Section Chief Liu said succinctly, "Last time, Xiao Wang stepped in at the last minute in our research lab and wrote a speech for the big boss. Even the big boss praised him, saying it was 'fuckedly good,' and even asked him what his name was. Speaking of which, that time he wrote it beautifully, fucked beautifully."

Director Gou stood frozen in place, as if struck by a heavy hammer.

A murmur arose in the corridor, like a swarm of mosquitoes, the buzzing growing louder and louder.

Mei Rucheng turned to look at Wang Zixu, displeased, and said, "Such a big thing, and you didn't even report it to your superiors? You didn't tell anyone in the unit? You're really clueless."

The prince opened his mouth slightly, but neither refuted nor spoke.

Mei Rucheng took a drag of his cigarette, refrained from further criticism, and instead asked, "So what are your thoughts now?"

Prince Xu did not speak.

Section Chief Liu reminded her, "Director Mei asked what your thoughts are. Since you have this opportunity, why don't you speak up?"

Prince Xu had no idea. Prince Xu was somewhat dazed.

Mei Rucheng and Section Chief Liu suddenly appeared here, as if divine intervention, creating a sense of unreality. In literary and artistic works, this would be considered a deus ex machina, a common trick used by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides thousands of years ago. It was no longer used after the Renaissance, meaning it was 500 years outdated.

If Nietzsche knew, he would vehemently criticize this plot point for undermining the overall tragedy of Prince Xu, labeling it as Greek-style blind optimism. Prince Xu should burn like the sun, exploding completely in the final helium flash. He would fall like a warrior on the road to freedom, his corpse crawling with flies after death.

Unfortunately, this is only a literary depiction of reality. Reality rarely unfolds as tragically as Nietzsche envisioned. In fact, Section Chief Liu arrived at the office quite early, carrying a speech he had completed a few days earlier in the government office.

He happened to see Wang Zixu storm into Director Gou's office, his face contorted with rage. Even the air in the corridor seemed to whisper, "Something's about to happen." Unfortunately, Wang Zixu was too enraged to notice Section Chief Liu.

If he had noticed at the time, Section Chief Liu would have told him that the top leader had personally requested him to compile a press release from that day's meeting. He had already written the opening paragraph, and Wang Zixu would only need to polish the speech portion.

Given Wang Zixu's personality, when faced with a task, he would prioritize it and get it done first, thus preventing the outburst in Director Gou's office.

When Wang Zixu said "Gou Yingbiao, I'll fuck your mother," Section Chief Liu secretly slipped away, drove to pick up Director Mei, and that's how this scene came about.

Prince Xu only learned about these things later. In his current eyes, it was like divine intervention.

He hadn't figured out how to deal with this unexpected turn of events. In the moment of his outburst, he thought that at worst he could resign, then he could legitimately take over Wen'ai's shares and wouldn't have to worry about violating regulations anymore. This situation, however, was completely unexpected.

"I have no idea," Wang Zixu said. "At worst, I'll just resign."

Mei Rucheng was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then turned to Director Gou with a look of disgust and said, "Gou Yingbiao, you can make such a mess of getting an award? If Wang Zixu really resigns, you'd better go kneel down at the big boss's house! Let's see how you handle that!"