Chapter 33

Early September, Mingjiang University started its new semester.

The new students had arrived a few days ago, filling the campus with many unfamiliar faces.

These past two days, the freshmen began their military training. Passing by the sports field, you could hear the whistles and training shouts from far away.

Jiang Luoying said, “We need to walk faster. I can’t imagine how packed the cafeteria will be if we run into the training dismissal later.”

Encountering the sea of green-clad freshmen in the cafeteria at mealtime was a terrifying thing.

She simply couldn’t push through them!

Cheng Yan felt the same way. The two quickened their pace towards the cafeteria.

In fact, it wasn’t just them. Quite a few people, upon hearing the sounds of freshman training, were pulling their companions into a jog.

“Hurry, hurry, they’re dismissing in ten minutes.”

“How do you know so precisely?”

“Pfft, lessons learned from painful experience!”

“She happened to hit the cafeteria right at dismissal two days ago for lunch. Waited in line forever. Right after she got back, she asked for a copy of their training schedule and memorized it on the spot in the dorm. She remembers it perfectly.”

Speeding through ordering the food they wanted, just as Cheng Yan and Jiang Luoying were carrying their takeout boxes out, they ran right into the wave of camouflage uniforms rushing in.

The two carefully navigated through the sweaty crowd and successfully made it back to their dorm with their food.

Taking a bite of her noodles, Jiang Luoying suddenly looked up and asked, “Cheng Yan, did you not come back last night?”

Cheng Yan swallowed her noodles. “Yeah, I didn’t. I might do this more often in the future—occasionally not come back to sleep.”

“Ah—” Jiang Luoying wailed, “It’s supposed to be a four-person dorm! How did it end up with me living alone!”

The couple in their dorm had rented a place off campus after getting together. But they hadn’t refunded their housing fees; their stuff was still in the dorm. Occasionally, when their class schedule was tight, they’d rest in the dorm during the noon break, but most of the time, you couldn’t see them here.

Jiang Luoying at least had Cheng Yan for company, but now that Cheng Yan was saying this, she felt like her food had lost its flavor.

Cheng Yan glanced at her. “I’ll still be here most of the time.”

“Fine. But did you rent a place outside?”

Cheng Yan said, “Sort of. I have some personal matters to deal with occasionally.”

Jiang Luoying didn’t probe further. If someone said it was personal, asking more would be tactless.

She shifted the topic to academics. “I heard you’re getting credits in advance now? Why the rush?”

Just one week into the semester, and Cheng Yan was already spinning like a top, her class schedule packed solid. Jiang Luoying had accidentally glimpsed her timetable once; it was so densely packed it was intimidating.

Cheng Yan said, “I feel like I have the time and energy right now. I’m idle anyway, so I figured I might as well get them done early.”

Jiang Luoying gave her a thumbs-up. “Impressive. You call your non-stop grind from last semester ‘having time’? No wonder you’re at the top.”

Having a roommate like this made even the less self-disciplined Jiang Luoying work harder.

“So, will you go abroad later?”

Cheng Yan thought for a moment, then smiled. “That’s the plan.”

Jiang Luoying asked, “Right after undergrad?”

Cheng Yan nodded. “Yes.”

Jiang Luoying calculated. “And you’re already getting credits ahead now. At this rate, won’t you finish all your credits and graduate by the end of junior year?”

She didn’t doubt Cheng Yan’s ability at all.

“We came in together, but you’re flying solo so fast,” Jiang Luoying said.

She also planned to go abroad for a master’s after undergrad, but she knew she couldn’t grind as hard as Cheng Yan and finish credits early. So, graduating on schedule was her path.

“Maybe not that fast?” Cheng Yan said, pausing for a moment. “I might still need to stay around a bit during senior year.”

Her three-year agreement with President Jun was still there, holding her back.

But back when they signed the contract, considering her plans to study abroad, she had applied to President Jun and gotten it slightly modified. If necessary matters, like studying abroad, arose, the timeframe could be adjusted.

She had cried for quite a while before finally getting the minimum duration changed to no less than two years.

However, the final interpretation of those “necessary matters” rested with President Jun.

But since President Jun had agreed, it meant that ending the agreement early for something like studying abroad wouldn’t be much of an obstacle.

Honestly, President Jun was probably in the top tier of the most easygoing sponsors in the whole kept-person market, right?

Cheng Yan silently praised the generous, easygoing Jun Jianqing in her heart.

The best sponsor in China’s kept-person market!

—

The generous, easygoing Jun Jianqing was currently in her office, clearing out parasites.

The man in front of her desk was trembling with fear. Facing his superior’s silent fury, in the strongly air-conditioned office, he was sweating profusely despite the cold.

The air was deathly silent. The man’s legs were shaking.

Finally, unable to bear the pressure, he wiped the sweat from his face, bowed his head deeply, and pleaded in a trembling voice, “President Jun, for my father’s sake, please give me another chance. I’ll sincerely repent and reform! I’ll never make a mistake again!”

Jun Jianqing flipped through the documents on her desk. The rustling of paper scraped at tense nerves.

“Favoritism, mixing public and private interests, using your position to harass and assault subordinates.”

Jun Jianqing closed the file and sneered coldly. “Is this the work of the capable and outstanding Young Master Liang?”

“Your father’s sake? Your father has no face here with me. Even if he did, it was used up the moment he recommended you for your post.”

Liang Hui, head bowed, grimaced at these words. That damn woman must have reported things to the top, making President Jun personally investigate his affairs.

Liang Hui quickly looked up. “President Jun, I have some small faults, but I really didn’t harass her! She was the one who seduced me!”

“With so many beautiful women around me, why would I go for her? Would I be blind enough to harass her? Look at what she looks like! President Jun, I’m truly wronged! This woman must be trying to climb the social ladder and deliberately set me up!”

Jun Jianqing watched coldly as he spouted his excuses, her face impassive.

When he finished, she tilted her head slightly. The secretary beside her stepped forward and presented a document to Liang Hui.

Red-faced, Liang Hui took it. Looking down, he saw it was full of evidence of his deeds. His face instantly turned pale.

“This isn’t real.” Liang Hui clutched the papers tightly, forcing himself to say, “President Jun, they conspired together to frame me!”

He shouted loudly, but his eyes dared not look forward.

Jun Jianqing, seeing him only capable of repeating the same couple of excuses, looked disgusted and weary. “All you can do is bluster. I originally thought you had some real skill, but it turns out that was faked, too.”

He had manipulated the family members of a personal secretary, forcing them to advise and do his work for him, taking all the credit for himself to rise.

“Father and son, both equally rotten. Trash!”

Back when the old fool was still around, Liang Hui’s father had climbed the ladder using his wife, tricking her into staying home, and later even had affairs.

Unfortunately, the old fool didn’t care and continued to entrust him with important tasks.

After Jun Jianqing took over, Liang Hui’s father had kept his tail between his legs for quite some time. His ability was lacking, but his pledge of loyalty was devout. His only moment of standing out was recommending his son for a position.

But incompetent people in high positions were a mistake in themselves.

Not to mention the exposure of the shameless deeds this father-son duo had committed.

Jun Jianqing said coldly, “Pack up your things and get out.”

“When the police come to summon Liang Hui, inform the PR department to monitor public opinion. Publish the news of the Liang father and son’s dismissal from the Jun Group and the subsequent handling. Keep a close watch on public sentiment.”

After the Jun Group’s transformation and going legitimate, it had always valued its social image.

In the age of the internet, a group’s reputation was extremely important.

Chen Yuehong said, “Yes, President Jun.”

Upon hearing this, Liang Hui immediately fell to his knees and begged, “President Jun, President Jun, can’t you just let me off this once? And my father, he really didn’t know about this, it has nothing to do with him! Please let him go!”

Jun Jianqing didn’t deign to spare him another glance.

Pleading and selling misery were useless. Seeing that Jun Jianqing was truly determined to send him to the police, Liang Hui panicked completely.

Thinking of him and his father both being fired, that everything they’d swallowed over the years would surely be forced out of them by Jun Jianqing, leaving them with nothing after so many years… she was so ruthless. Snot and tears running down his face, Liang Hui shuffled forward on his knees, trying to hug her leg and wail.

The next second, before he even touched her leg, Jun Jianqing kicked him away.

Liang Hui instantly broke down.

Like his father, he looked down on women—arrogant and conceited. But ultimately, he hadn’t swallowed as much salt as his old man and hadn’t learned to hide it at his age.

Kicked by Jun Jianqing, what little remained of Liang Hui’s self-esteem instantly flared up. Face twisted, he spat out, “What are you so arrogant about? Pah! You’re just a cripple! People prop you up and flatter you, and you actually start thinking you’re something—”

“Slap—”

“Slap—”

Two slaps later, the man was instantly silenced, dragged away like a dead dog by security to be handed over to the police.

The office door closed. Jun Jianqing raised an eyebrow and said calmly, “Thank you for your hard work.”

Secretly flexing her wrist, Chen Yuehong said, “You flatter me. It was my duty.”

Jun Jianqing nodded. “Notify HR to send Zhao Lingfu her appointment letter.”

Zhao Lingfu was the one whose family had been controlled and threatened by the Liangs, forced to be Liang Hui’s hidden advisor behind the scenes.

The appointment letter was for her to take over Liang Hui’s position.

Chen Yuehong said, “Yes.”

“You have a question?” Seeing she still hadn’t left, Jun Jianqing looked up and asked.

Chen Yuehong, holding her files, hesitated, then asked, “Will she be competent?”

Jun Jianqing smiled slightly, then said coolly, “Competence earns the position. If she can’t handle it, someone else will naturally replace her.”

She was using her only because she was suitable right now.

“The same applies to you.” Jun Jianqing lowered her head back to her documents, voice flat. “Prepare yourself. In one month, I will reassign you.”

Chen Yuehong was inwardly shocked, then immediately thrilled.

A chief assistant by the CEO’s side, upon reaching a certain level, would generally be reassigned to a subsidiary under the group to wield real authority.

Chen Yuehong had wondered when her own promotion and raise would come; she hadn’t expected this day to arrive so quickly.

“I will work hard, President Jun,” Chen Yuehong declared her loyalty.

Jun Jianqing nodded.

When she was alone in the office, Jun Jianqing put down her pen.

A message popped up on her phone—

Cheng Yan: [President Jun, I’ll be coming back a bit later tonight.]

Jun Jianqing replied: [Okay.]

After replying, staring at Cheng Yan’s profile picture, Jun Jianqing bent down slightly and touched her own leg.

She wasn’t disabled. She had even once used that pretense to deceive many. Naturally, she wouldn’t take Liang Hui’s words to heart.

But certain words did leave a tiny trace in her heart.

Beneath the smooth fabric under her palm, mottled scars, carried through the years, remained there permanently.

The always confident and immensely powerful President Jun suddenly had an absurd thought flash through her mind.

If she saw them, would she find them ugly?

She coughed several times, tilting her head. Jun Jianqing pulled at her pale lips and scoffed.

A pointless thought.