Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 569: Shifting Winds and Clouds

Starting tomorrow, Chen Wan would officially take over the Cultural Media Company's task of organizing girls for part-time work. She originally intended to drop by for a quick look beforehand, but who would have thought that right upon arriving, she would overhear Minmin gossiping about her.Minmin was indeed startled when she saw Chen Wan, but she quickly rationalized that she was a year ahead of Chen Wan at the school. Furthermore, in terms of status, she was no worse off than her. 'Others might not know you, but do you think I do not? There is nothing actually going on between you and Zhou Yuwen.'

Thinking of this, Minmin, who initially looked guilty, forced herself to sit up straight. While the others were thinking about how to curry favor with Chen Wan, Minmin spoke up first, "Oh, isn't this President Chen? Why are you in such a rush? Coming over for an inspection before you even officially take office?"

Actually, Chen Wan also had an impression of this Minmin. When she originally came here, she had intended to find two assistants to help her manage things. This Minmin was Tao Tian and Qu Jing's roommate, and also part of the management here, so Chen Wan figured she would be of some help. Who would have thought that she would be greeted right off the bat by Minmin speaking sarcastically.

With that, Chen Wan lost any good impression she had of Minmin. She simply stated, "I am just here to find two people. I will not delay your work. Han Qian, Li Lu."

The people called by Chen Wan stood up. Those who could become management under Qu Jing were basically girls who had gone out to model together in the past, so their looks went without saying. Coupled with the fact that they were all vying for beauty around here, every single one of them was wearing a short skirt and a camisole, showing off their slender, snake-like waists, each thinner than the last.

Chen Wan told the two of them, "Come with me for a moment."

The two of them were nodding and followed her.

Qu Jing had a total of three managers under her. Han Qian and Li Lu were both Qu Jing's trusted aides, while Minmin had been forcefully shoved in later by Tao Tian. Now that Chen Wan had singled out Han Qian and Li Lu without calling for Minmin, it was obvious she intended to give Minmin the cold shoulder.

The others could see this clearly. After Chen Wan left, they could not help but whisper to Minmin, "Sister Min, what you said earlier was a bit too much. It is obvious she is preparing to retaliate against you."

"Yeah, we are all just employees here. Whatever the boss says goes. How could you dare to sing a different tune from the boss?"

Just moments ago, this group of office colleagues had clearly been gossiping about Chen Wan together with Minmin. Yet, the moment Chen Wan showed up, the whole group immediately changed their tune and pointed their guns the other way.

At this time, Minmin could only remain stubborn and let out a cold sneer, saying, "You might be afraid of her, but I am not."

"She just had good luck and caught Zhou Yuwen's eye. But with her meager abilities, I reckon it will not be long before she gets dumped by Zhou Yuwen."

"Oh?"

In Minmin's perception, Chen Wan was just like herself and Qu Jing—they had all relied on someone else to rise through the ranks. Qu Jing had relied on Tao Tian, and this Chen Wan had merely relied on Su Qing.

If it had not been for Su Qing, how could Zhou Yuwen have ever given her a second glance?

Ultimately, it was just a case of loving the house and its crow—affection by association.

When it came to gossip, Minmin indeed knew a bit more inside information than her other colleagues, so she painted a vivid picture as she spoke. Only after hearing Minmin's words did everyone realize that President Zhou's romantic history was actually so rich.

Sensational news regarding Zhou Yuwen and Chen Wan quickly began to spread around the company. There were several versions, but the most widely circulated one claimed that Chen Wan had used Su Qing to climb the ladder. They said Chen Wan's looks were not exactly out of this world, merely above average, and the only reason Zhou Yuwen kept her around was because she was basically Su Qing's dowry lass.

Zhou Yuwen certainly would not bother listening to this kind of gossip news, and even if he did, he would not say anything. His private life was already quite messy, and talking about it too much would only give people more room to let their imaginations run wild.

However, while Zhou Yuwen might not mind, Chen Wan was an innocent maiden. After hearing so many rumors, she could not help but frown.

She marched directly into Zhou Yuwen's office.

Chen Wan's main business right now was planning, which meant she did a lot of field work. Because of this, she differed from workplace women like Tao Tian. Her outfits consistently consisted of a white shirt paired with jeans. She did not have that tall, slender figure; instead, her legs were quite sensual, usually giving off the feeling of being tightly wrapped by her jeans.

This time, she was clearly furious. Even the secretary, Li Shiqi, failed to stop Chen Wan.

She stormed in with an aggressive momentum.

Upon seeing that Zhou Yuwen was on a phone call, she lightened her footsteps a little.

Seeing someone suddenly barge into his office, Zhou Yuwen simply said into the phone, "Let us leave it at that for now."

"Alright, I will contact you a little later."

After saying this, Zhou Yuwen hung up the phone. Looking at Chen Wan who had just rushed in, he asked, "What is wrong? President Chen, how come you are acting so reckless right after getting a promotion?"

As he spoke, Zhou Yuwen gestured for Li Shiqi to leave.

Li Shiqi nodded and left the room.

Chen Wan, on the other hand, appeared somewhat impatient.

To be honest, this was a common flaw among capable people. Chen Wan was currently the Student Union President, with a whole crowd of people flattering her at school. Moreover, after Su Qing left, Chen Wan had taken full charge of the planning department, so she naturally believed in her own brilliance and talent.

She blurted out, "President Zhou! If the company is going to be like this every day, then I might not be able to do this job."

"Heh."

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen could not help but chuckle. His original attitude had been quite easygoing, but these words piqued his interest.

He asked, "What happened? What could make President Chen so angry?"

After saying that, Zhou Yuwen even pressed a button on his desk and said to Li Shiqi through the intercom, "Why have you not served President Chen a cup of tea?"

Chen Wan was obviously fuming right now. She proceeded to exaggerate the entire incident involving Minmin.

She declared, "President Zhou, you really need to manage the company better!"

"It is a completely toxic environment! That Jiang Minmin is going all over the company talking nonsense, claiming that the only reason I got promoted is because I am sleeping with you! How could someone be so insulting?! She even called me Su Qing's maid! She said I climbed the ranks by relying on connections!"

The more Chen Wan spoke, the more she felt she was feeling wronged.

Zhou Yuwen chuckled and said that this Minmin was indeed quite out of line to say such things.

"So, President Chen means that the company's environment is not very good, and you feel like you can no longer continue working here, is that right?"

Chen Wan tilted her head and replied, "If rumors like this keep spreading, I really do not think I can keep working here."

"Hmm, I understand."

Zhou Yuwen nodded and called Li Shiqi in.

Having been called in multiple times within just a few minutes, Li Shiqi felt somewhat puzzled.

Once Li Shiqi entered the room.

Chen Wan still wore a look of righteous indignation. She felt that everything she had achieved today was the result of her own hard work bit by bit. The other females in the company had all relied on Zhou Yuwen to rise up, which ultimately meant selling themselves. But she was different from them; she relied on her personal abilities.

For someone like her to be so heavily slandered by Minmin was truly unjustified.

Therefore, Zhou Yuwen instructed Li Shiqi, "Calculate President Chen's salary. We will consider this as President Chen voluntarily resigning."

"?"

Chen Wan froze, the color draining completely from her face. She could not comprehend Zhou Yuwen's meaning. Had she not just taken on the part-time role at the Cultural Media Company?

"No, Zhou—"

"You do not need to say anymore. Since our company does not suit you, you should just find another company."

Before Chen Wan could finish, Zhou Yuwen cut her off with absolute certainty.

There was basically no room for negotiation.

He would deal with Minmin's issue later, but Zhou Yuwen realized that Chen Wan had probably had things a bit too easy under him and had forgotten her own place.

Daring to speak to him like that?

Zhou Yuwen admitted that Chen Wan was capable and talented, but currently, Zhou Yuwen's platform was no longer short of talented people. What he lacked was obedient people.

Daring to speak to him like that would only lead to one outcome.

Chen Wan was completely stunned upon hearing this. She clearly had not expected Zhou Yuwen to say such a thing. However, having worked in Zhou Yuwen's Company for so long, it felt like Zhou Yuwen had barely done anything while she completed all the planning herself. This led Chen Wan to believe that she could do perfectly well without Zhou Yuwen, which had cultivated her immense ego.

At this moment, Chen Wan wanted to say something, but she simply could not open her mouth. That was until Zhou Yuwen asked another question, "Do you have anything else to say?"

This sentence completely sealed off any way out for Chen Wan. She felt a slight sting in her nose, but she remained stubborn and snapped, "Do not regret this!"

After dropping those words, Chen Wan turned around and left without looking back.

Li Shiqi watched this unfold with a dumbfounded expression. "This..."

"Do as I said. Also, regarding that Jiang Minmin, just find a casual excuse and fire her," Zhou Yuwen ordered, entirely unbothered.

Seeing the impatience on Zhou Yuwen's face, Li Shiqi did not dwell on the matter any further. Instead, she asked, "But right now, Chen Wan is concurrently managing planning and exhibitions, two subsidiary companies. If Chen Wan leaves, what will we do with these two companies?"

Zhou Yuwen pondered for a moment. "Call Lu Lin over."

"Lu Lin?"

Li Shiqi paused in surprise.

Lu Lin had always held a position in the Cultural Media Company, but she basically never managed anything. Bringing her in now—would that really work?

Zhou Yuwen assured her that it would work.

"I will give her a phone call."

Zhou Yuwen figured it was time to let Lu Lin and Zheng Yanyan get some practical experience. The exhibition side should be no problem for Lu Lin. The main issue was planning; since they had never done it before, they would likely have to figure it out from scratch.

As for the planning department, he would step in and temporarily manage it himself for now.

Zhou Yuwen told her to hand the exhibition side of the cultural business to Lu Lin, and then for planning, "Call all the managers under Chen Wan over. I am going to hold a meeting with them."

"Understood."

Li Shiqi jotted everything down. After a brief thought, she asked, "Regarding Jiang Minmin, should I inform Sister Sweetie?"

"Yes, go let her know."

Chen Wan had never imagined that Zhou Yuwen would actually fire her.

She really wanted to see who else besides herself could pick up the slack in the planning department. One had to realize that currently, the planning sector solely utilized people from the school. This mainly involved wedding planning, exhibition center arrangements, as well as coordinating with hosts / master of ceremonies and scheduling programs. She was single-handedly responsible for all these people, and now he had fired her.

Was this not essentially slashing the company's main artery during a layoff?

Fine then. Chen Wan just wanted to see how Zhou Yuwen would beg her to come back when the time came!

Therefore, Chen Wan chose to be arrogant when she left, keeping her chin held high as she began packing up over there.

The crowd looked at this scene in total bewilderment.

They wondered to themselves: 'Everything was perfectly fine yesterday, so how did she end up getting fired today?'

"Is it not obvious? She definitely offended our Sister Minmin!"

"Exactly! Sister Min, you are truly amazing. You usually keep a low profile, but when you make a move, you shock everyone!"

Seeing Chen Wan get fired, the crowd immediately resumed flattering Minmin.

Watching Chen Wan get fired naturally delighted Minmin as well. She gladly soaked up the excessive praise from her colleagues. With a look of disdain, she proclaimed, "I told you all long ago, Chen Wan was just a grasshopper at the end of autumn—she would not be jumping around for much longer!"

"That is right, Sister Minmin is still the best!"

"Sister Min, with her gone, her position at the Cultural Media Company is now wide open!"

"Who else would be fit for it besides Sister Min?!"

Right in the middle of their chatter, Li Shiqi, dressed in a sharp women's suit, walked over with an expressionless face. "Jiang Minmin."

"Here!"

Seeing Zhou Yuwen's personal secretary appear, the crowd felt even more convinced of their assumptions.

Even Minmin felt a surge of hope. 'Have I finally waited for the clouds to part and the moonlight to shine through?'

Overjoyed, she quickly stood up to greet her, asking Li Shiqi what she needed from her.

However, Li Shiqi plainly stated, "Go to human resources to settle your salary for last month. You do not need to come in tomorrow."

"?"

Minmin had not even passed her probation period yet, so there were not many formal procedures required.

This single sentence left Minmin completely dumbfounded.

Seeing Li Shiqi turn around to leave, Minmin could not help but shout out, "What do you mean I do not need to come in tomorrow?!"

Li Shiqi glanced back at her. "Have you already forgotten the things you said?"

"The company is not a place for you to gossip. I suggest you conduct yourself better in the future."

Actually, there was no need to make such a big public scene out of firing Minmin, but doing so served as an effective warning to the others. Sure enough, after Li Shiqi finished speaking, she cast a glance at the surrounding employees.

The employees hastily lowered their heads and got back to whatever they were supposed to be doing.

Good heavens! They initially thought Minmin possessed some heaven-defying abilities, but who would have imagined that right after Chen Wan was fired, the very next person on the chopping block would be Minmin.

It was all too real!

"I refuse to accept this!"

Not long after Li Shiqi walked away, Minmin finally could not hold it in anymore and screamed, "How could Zhou Yuwen possibly fire me?!"

Firing two of the company's major sources of entertainment in a single day instantly forced everyone else to be honest and well-behaved. It also managed to salvage a bit of Zhou Yuwen's reputation; otherwise, rumors about him sleeping with this woman or that woman would just spread endlessly every day.

As for the two who got fired, it was clear that each was certainly not an easy target. Minmin naturally went to Tao Tian to cry and complain, claiming she had been deeply wronged.

As for Chen Wan, even though she had been fired, she was still the Student Union President at the school. Her arrogance remained intact, and she firmly waited for Zhou Yuwen to come seeking her out.

The exhibition part-time sector was actually doing quite well. Although Lu Lin had never been a major decision-maker, she certainly had the capability. Coupled with the fact that she already knew Han Qian and Li Lu, the two key assistants for the exhibition part-timers, organizing everything posed no major issues.

The main problem lay within the planning department.

Zhou Yuwen had genuinely never handled this area before. It could be said that this company was entirely built from the ground up by Su Qing herself.

And Chen Wan, though referred to as Zhou Yuwen's trusted aide, was actually much more of Su Qing's trusted aide.

After Su Qing left, Zhou Yuwen simply continued using her out of convenience. He had never expected something like this to happen.

Zhou Yuwen made a video call to Su Qing and explained the entire sequence of events from beginning to end.

Su Qing remarked, "Chen Wan is a real talent. It truly is a pity for you to just give up on her like this."

"Her temper has always been like that. You should have been a bit more tolerant."

"That is unnecessary. You just spoiled her too much. Even the best talents need some grinding and polishing. It is just a shame that a perfectly well-established situation was ruined. Over at the Planning Company, I do not recognize a single person."

Zhou Yuwen did not say that he would never use Chen Wan again in the future, but he felt it was necessary to make Chen Wan taste a bit of hardship first.

On this point, Su Qing had no objections.

After pondering for a moment, she suggested, "How about this: I will make a phone call for you and speak with them. Even though I have not been in touch with them recently, I am the one who brought them up in the first place. It is impossible that they would completely disregard me just because of Chen Wan."