To marry into the family in place of his brother? Impossible!

Jiang Zhe didn't notice the perfunctory smile in President Chen's eyes and continued, "We at Jiang's have been in this industry for so many years, what storms haven't we weathered? To be honest, this project in Chengnan is a piece of cake for us."

Luo Qingyi listened from the side, her brows furrowing slightly, but she didn't say anything.

The waiter came in to pour the wine.

A girl in her early twenties, dressed in the hotel's uniform, walked up to Mr. Chen, carrying a wine jug, and bent down to pour him a drink.

After pouring the wine, she turned to leave, but lost her footing, and the wine pot wobbled, spilling a few drops of wine onto Mr. Chen's leather shoes.

The private room fell silent instantly.

The waiter's face turned pale instantly, and he quickly bowed and apologized: "I'm so sorry, sir, I didn't mean to, let me wipe it for you—"

Jiang Zhe's face darkened.

He put down his glass, looked at the waiter, and said in an icy voice, "What kind of work are you doing? Do you even know how much Mr. Chen's shoes cost? Would your monthly salary be enough to cover the cost?"

The waiter was trembling with fear, his voice trembling: "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"You think it's over just because it wasn't intentional?" Jiang Zhe raised his voice slightly. "Kneel down and wipe it!"

The air in the private room seemed to freeze.

Mr. Chen looked down at his leather shoes, then looked up at Jiang Zhe.

His expression remained unchanged, but his eyes changed, from politeness to scrutiny, from scrutiny to disappointment, and from disappointment to an indescribable indifference.

Luo Qingyi's fingers clenched tightly under the table. She wanted to say something, but she didn't know how.

The waitress stood there, her eyes red and her lips trembling. She didn't know whether she should kneel down; she stood there like a frightened fawn.

Mr. Chen spoke, his voice not loud, but every word was clear: "No need."

He stood up, took out a tissue, bent down, and wiped his leather shoes.

The movements were slow and unhurried, as if they were doing something perfectly ordinary.

After wiping, he threw the tissue into the trash can, picked up the documents on the table, and looked at Jiang Zhe.

"Manager Jiang, let's reconsider the contract."

Jiang Zhe was stunned: "President Chen, wasn't the contract already agreed upon? It was just a small accident—"

"It wasn't an accident," Mr. Chen interrupted him. "The foundation of cooperation is trust and respect. Respect for partners, respect for employees, respect for everyone."

He looked at Jiang Zhe, his eyes showing no anger, only a faint disappointment: "Manager Jiang, you make me feel that you are not a trustworthy person."

This statement carries significant weight, clearly pointing out that Jiang Zhe has questionable character.

After saying that, Mr. Chen turned and walked out of the private room.

His team then stood up and filed out.

The door to the private room closed with a dull thud.

Jiang Zhe stood there, his expression shifting from shock to bewilderment, and then from bewilderment to anger.

He suddenly turned to look at Luo Qingyi, as if looking for someone to blame.

Luo Qingyi didn't look at him; she stared at the closed door and remained silent for a long time.

Then she stood up, picked up her bag, and walked over to Jiang Zhe.

"Manager Jiang, I'm going back now." Her tone was frighteningly calm, devoid of any emotion.

Jiang Zhe opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when he met Luo Qingyi's cold eyes, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Luo Qingyi didn't wait for his response and turned to leave the private room.

The sound of high heels clicking on the floor echoed in the corridor, crisp and resolute.

Jiang Zhe stood alone in the empty private room, looking at the dishes that hadn't been touched much, the empty wine glasses, and the chair that President Chen had sat in.

He slammed his fist on the table, the dishes clanging loudly.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, his voice filled with resentment and anger.

The matter could not be kept secret and soon reached the Jiang Group.

The employees of Jiang's Group were dumbfounded. Even with Assistant Luo's intervention, this still happened.

Jiang Zhe isn't just rotten mud, he's even worse than rotten mud.

The shareholders of the Jiang Group were quite critical of this and very disappointed with Jiang Zhe's actions.

They simply couldn't understand how stupid a person could be to do such a thing.

Upon receiving the news, Jiang Guodong was so angry that he almost smashed his phone.

He originally intended to use this incident to promote Jiang Zhe back to general manager.

But that's impossible now. No shareholder would agree to elect such a hopeless case as general manager.

The contract signing issue was ultimately resolved by Jiang Guodong.

He personally visited General Manager Chen, explained for nearly two hours, and even voluntarily gave up two percentage points of profit before the contract was finally signed.

There's also the Song family's influence involved; the Chengnan project was given to the Jiang family by the Song family.

Mr. Chen only reluctantly agreed to continue the cooperation after taking all factors into consideration.

When Jiang Guodong returned, his face was ashen.

He called Jiang Zhe to the study, and the moment the door closed, the entire villa fell silent.

"Do you know how much face you've lost today?" Jiang Guodong's voice wasn't loud, but every word came down like a hammer blow.

Jiang Zhe lowered his head and remained silent.

Jiang Guodong paced back and forth in his study, growing angrier with each word: "I've been in business for over twenty years, and no one has ever said I'm untrustworthy or disrespectful. But you, you've ruined my reputation with just one meal."

"Dad, I didn't mean to, it was that waiter—"

"What do you mean?" Jiang Guodong stopped and stared at him. "You think the problem lies with that waiter? You think President Chen refused to sign because there was wine spilled on his shoes?"

Jiang Zhe looked up, his eyes filled with confusion.

Looking at his bewildered expression, Jiang Guodong suddenly felt very tired.

It's not physical exhaustion, it's mental exhaustion.

Jiang Guodong said wearily, "You still don't understand? President Chen didn't sign because of the wine spilled on his shoes, but because he thinks you're a bad person."

In the end, doing business is all about character. If your character is flawed, why should anyone trust you?

Jiang Guodong was reluctant to admit it; how could his son, whom he had personally raised, be so incompetent?

But that's the truth. Although he favored Jiang Zhe, he was, after all, a chairman-level person and not a fool. He could still see through some things.

Jiang Zhe opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't say anything.

"The contract is signed, but not because of you, but because of how much money I can still make from this old face." Jiang Guodong turned around and looked at him. "You will continue to be in charge of the Chengnan project, but I'm warning you, don't cause any more trouble."

Jiang Zhe lowered his head: "I understand, Dad."

Jiang Guodong waved his hand: "Get out!"

Jiang Zhe turned and walked out of the study, gently closing the door behind him.

The moment the door closed, the submissiveness and guilt on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a twisted rage.

He also knew that he had lost his position as general manager.

He won't be able to get that position anytime soon, at least not anytime soon.

Back in his room, he closed the door and punched the wall.

The pain in his knuckles brought him to his senses somewhat, but he couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.

"No, this matter can't be left like this. I still need to win over Luo Qingyi through the Nancheng project. As long as I win her over, the position of general manager and the entire Jiang Group will be back in my hands."