Seeing his apprentice throw a little tantrum, Sun Dasheng smiled and didn't take it seriously.

After dinner, they started heading home. On the way, they ran into some old acquaintances—the higher-ups from his former company. Naturally, Sun Dasheng's "good" boss, Xiang Yunsheng, was among them.

He glanced over, having no intention of engaging, and prepared to walk away.

But Xiang Yunsheng stopped him.

"Da Sheng! President Sun! Please wait!"

"What is it?" Sun Dasheng had kept his promise not to seek further revenge, but that didn't mean he would give them a warm reception.

Xiang Yunsheng pretended not to notice the cold shoulder, his old face still beaming. "President Sun, if only I had known you were a true dragon destined to soar through the heavens, I would have never let you leave. The company's CEO even criticized me, saying I allowed the company to lose a key player. I've been regretting it ever since."

"Is that so, Vice President Wu?" he asked, turning to the company's deputy CEO, Wu Sanyuan, who was dressed in a sharp suit.

Wu Sanyuan nodded with a smile. "I also criticized him for his rashness and failure to value the company's talent."

Sun Dasheng laughed.

It really confirmed what the famous actor Huang Bo once said: When you're a failure, you're surrounded by villains and petty people. Once you succeed, you'll find that everyone around you is a good person, each one wearing a beaming smile and showering you with compliments.

This was a perfect example. Same place, same people. The only difference was that the Sun Dasheng of today was a completely different person from before—a success in the eyes of the world. Now, these former colleagues and leaders had all become so refined and courteous.

Heh... ptui!

Sun Dasheng had no desire to deal with them. "We've said our hellos. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."

Watching this unfold, Ouyang Jiani was inwardly ecstatic.

Wasn't what Sun Dasheng just experienced the same thing she had gone through? If she remembered correctly, these people had even made the outrageous suggestion that she entertain clients to boost her performance numbers.

Heh... ptui!

She matched her master's pace and turned to leave with him.

"Hey! Manager Xiang, Vice President Wu, look at them! What's with that attitude? They're clearly looking down on us. So what if they have money? They act so high and mighty, like they own the place."

"Exactly. He just earned a little money and now he's all puffed up. I bet his company won't last long."

"We call him President Sun to give him face. If we didn't, we could crush his company tomorrow."

The junior managers under them started chattering. Xiang Yunsheng and Wu Sanyuan's expressions grew darker. Wu Sanyuan, being more composed, merely shot a cold glare, snorted, and walked away.

"Alright, that's enough out of you," Xiang Yunsheng snapped, silencing his subordinates. "You've got plenty of guts to run your mouths here. Why didn't you say any of that to his face just now?"

He then turned and hurried after his superior.

The others were left behind and began to mutter amongst themselves.

"He's one to talk. Why didn't he say that to their faces just now?"

"Exactly. He was clearly scared off by them and couldn't compete, so he just gave up. Now he's trying to make us the scapegoats."

"Hah... this company isn't worth staying at anyway. It clearly has no future. I heard management is considering another round of pay cuts and layoffs."

"Damn it, why is it always us grunts at the bottom who get screwed?"

"If the entry-level employees heard you say that, they'd probably want to kill you. At least you're a mid-level manager making tens of thousands a month. If you lose your job, you have savings to find a new one. If they lose their salary of a few thousand a month, they'll really be scraping by."

"Sigh! Life is hard for everyone!"

...

"Master, why are you walking so fast? Wait for me!" Ouyang Jiani called out, struggling to keep up. Her master's long legs meant he took much larger strides.

Sun Dasheng stopped to wait for her. She finally caught up, panting.

"Whew! Master, you walk too fast."

"Do I? I didn't notice. I was just walking at my usual pace. Maybe you haven't been exercising lately?"

"Not at all! I've been working out at that new fitness center nearby. It's just that your legs are too long, and you walk too fast," Ouyang Jiani grumbled.

Her master always had long legs, but he used to be heavy too. Now that he was in great shape, he walked with a powerful stride. No wonder she couldn't keep up.

"Oh? You mean the one called iShang Fitness Center?" Sun Dasheng asked.

"Yes! Master, you know it too?" she asked curiously.

That's my gym, of course I know about it, Sun Dasheng thought. But he didn't say it aloud; it was better to avoid unnecessary complications.

"Yeah, that gym used to be right below our old company's office. I bought quite a few memberships there back in the day," he explained.

"Hahaha... I heard from people at the company that when their lease was up, the property management refused to renew and tried to jack up the price. But the gym owners were tough and just decided to move rather than give in. Eventually, the property management had no choice but to rent the space to another gym at a lower price. But how could a new gym possibly compete with an established name like iShang? Besides, iShang upgraded everything—it's like they went from a three-star to a five-star hotel without raising prices. The new gym stands no chance of competing now. I heard the new owner is giving the property management a hard time, saying they were never told such a strong competitor existed right here."

"Is that so? Well, it sounds like the property management got what they deserved," Sun Dasheng said with a smile.

"Absolutely, they deserved it! Just like those former leaders we ran into at dinner. Hehe... Master, you should have seen the way they were looking at me. If looks could kill, I'd be dead."

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