Chapter 240: Aunt No. 236

"Manager, it’s not that I’m targeting anyone, but I have a problem with the way you handle things. I’m here to work, not to sell my life away. On what grounds do you deny me rest? Moreover, this is Hongyu Group; I only need to follow the company’s rules. You’re not the chairman, so why should I abide by your inhumane rules?" Ling Chen expressed his dissatisfaction. This woman was just too damn unreasonable; she was just a manager, yet she acted as if she was the emperor, expecting everyone to listen to her commands.

Jiang Ying’s face turned slightly cold. She frowned and said, "You—a new employee—dare to challenge my work and talk back to me?"

"Why wouldn’t I dare? I guess the other employees in your department are holding back their anger for the sake of their livelihoods, but I don’t have those concerns. At worst, you just fire me."

He wasn’t a pushover, and with his personality, even if he reluctantly stayed today, he would inevitably protest tomorrow. So why not leave sooner?

"Fine, you said it yourself." Jiang Ying nodded, pointing to the main door. "You can roll out of here right now."

Ling Chen had been about to leave, but when he heard the word "roll," he immediately halted. He narrowed his eyes at Jiang Ying and, enunciating each word, said, "Who are you telling to roll? As a manager, your vocabulary lacks any class. It’s a wonder how someone like you became a manager. Even the chairman of Hongyu Group must be blind to promote someone like you."

Upon hearing these words, everyone in the office was suddenly shocked and looked at Ling Chen with their mouths agape. This guy had such nerve; he even dared to insult the chairman. Didn’t he know about the relationship between the manager and the chairman?

Alas, this guy is done for! Everyone silently mourned for Ling Chen for a second.

"You dare disrespect the chairman?" Jiang Ying’s face fell, anger blazing in her eyes.

Ling Chen shrugged his shoulders. "I’m just speaking the truth."

"Good, I see you don’t want to stay in this company any longer."

"It doesn’t matter to me; I can just go back to the security department," Ling Chen said unconcernedly. Working under such people, no amount of money would be worth it to him.

"You won’t be returning to the security department either, just pack up and leave." Jiang Ying coldly threw out the sentence and turned to walk back into her office.

Ling Chen just smiled dismissively, waved his hand to his colleagues, and said, "Folks, continue to enjoy your suffering in the sea of bitterness. I’m breaking free from it first."

After leaving the Human Resources Department, Ling Chen thought about going to the security department to clear his head. However, just as he entered the elevator, he received a phone call from Nanrong Wanqing asking him to come to her office.

Tsk tsk! He’d just left, and Nanrong Wanqing already knew—Jiang Ying was quick to tattle.

Arriving at the top-floor office, Ling Chen greeted Wang Lan and then pushed the door open and walked in.

"Chairman, did you want to see me?"

Nanrong Wanqing looked at him with a displeased expression and reproached, "I warned you this morning not to cause any trouble, yet just two hours later, Manager Jiang calls the HR department demanding your dismissal."

Ling Chen spread his hands and said, "You can’t blame me for that; who asked that woman to be so unreasonable. I wanted to do my work quietly, but she kept provoking me."

"You... Manager Jiang may be a bit strict, and I’ve advised her too, but that’s just her personality, and it’s hard to change; you just have to adapt. Moreover, over the years, she’s put a lot of effort into the company. Hongyu Group’s success today is partly her achievement," Nanrong Wanqing patiently explained, "with others, a little backtalk is fine, but not with her."

"Why not?"

Nanrong Wanqing bit her lip, looking somewhat embarrassed as she said, "She’s my aunt."

"Aunt?" Ling Chen was slightly taken aback, not expecting Jiang Ying and Nanrong Wanqing to have this connection. Aunt, that would be Nanrong Wanqing’s mother’s sister.

Thinking back to the unpleasant exchange he had with Jiang Ying, his expression immediately turned sour.

This was awkward.

"Why didn’t you give me a heads-up before?" he complained.

"How was I supposed to know you’d anger her so quickly?" Nanrong Wanqing said helplessly. She had specifically arranged for Ling Chen to be in the HR department out of personal interest, because her own mother had left home when she was very young, and her aunt had taken great care of her ever since. Later, Jiang Ying told her that in the absence of her mother, she would like to vet any boyfriends she might have, which is why she transferred Ling Chen to the HR department to let them get to know each other first.

She initially wanted to observe Ling Chen’s performance and tell him about her aunt after a while, but who knew that just in two hours, he would anger her aunt, which left her not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Ling Chen grimaced and said, "Why didn’t you ever mention your aunt before?"

"At that time, you were still an outsider. Why would I tell you about my family matters?"

"So what should I do now? I’ve already made a bad impression on your aunt. Maybe… maybe you could explain it to her?"

"My aunt’s personality is a bit eccentric," Nanrong Wanqing said and couldn’t help but sigh lightly. "Actually, my aunt wasn’t like this before. It’s just that she went through too much when she was young, which caused her to become what she is today."

"What happened?" Ling Chen asked with a curious expression. "Could it be that she was abandoned by a man? Yeah, turning to hatred from love could certainly change someone’s personality. I understand."

"Don’t talk nonsense," Nanrong Wanqing glared at him, and said with annoyance, "If it weren’t for my mother, my aunt wouldn’t have ended up like this."

Hearing this, Ling Chen felt a stir in his heart, walked over to her, and said solemnly, "Actually, I’ve always had a question that I didn’t feel it was appropriate to ask. But now that we are in this kind of relationship, shouldn’t you tell me about your parents’ affairs?"

He had noticed during his last visit to the Nanrong Family that neither Nanrong Wanqing nor Nanrong Hao had any photos of their parents in their rooms, which obviously was unusual. Moreover, Nanrong Wanqing’s parents seemed to be a taboo topic in the Nanrong family, with no one daring to mention them. Therefore, he was very curious. Now that it was brought up, he wanted to take this opportunity to ask for clarity.

"My parents..." Nanrong Wanqing’s face turned somber, and a trace of sadness shimmered in her eyes. Seeing this, Ling Chen walked behind her, placed his hands on her fragile shoulders, and said softly, "If you don’t want to talk about it, then I won’t ask."

He could feel that when it came to her parents, she was greatly troubled. Considering she had lost her parents shortly after she was born and they had never returned for decades, it must have been hard for her as their child.

Nanrong Wanqing shook her head, managing a faint smile. "Actually, I also want to confide in someone. Let’s sit over there and talk."

Ling Chen agreed, pushed the wheelchair over to the sofa, and sat down next to her, listening attentively to her story.