Chapter 15 - Trap

He Jiaqiang fell to the ground from a broken chair, and the pain in his buttocks was one thing, but the major issue was the embarrassment in front of Ye Fan and Lu Xiaoman—it would be even harder to maintain his authority as a leader now.

Not to mention the far-reaching implications, the immediate effect of his outburst at Ye Fan for being late was hugely discounted.

He clumsily struggled to his feet, his chubby face red and purpling, while the laughter of Ye Fan and Lu Xiaoman reached his ears, grating like a slap to his face.

“Shut up!

Don’t laugh!” he bellowed in fury.

However, because he screamed too high-pitched, his voice cracked on the last word, and his imposing manner drastically decreased.

Lu Xiaoman was so frightened that she quickly stopped laughing.

Ye Fan, on the other hand, didn’t care and continued laughing while innocently saying, “I don’t want to laugh, but it’s just too funny, hahaha… Laughing can’t be held back; otherwise, it could kill you.

You do not want us to laugh; are you trying to murder us?

Hahaha…”

Enraged, He Jiaqiang’s face contorted horribly.

His eyes, filled with hatred and resentment, were fixed on Ye Fan.

Were it not for Ye Fan’s tall and robust stature, being an ex-soldier, he would have pounced on him and torn him apart.

After a while, Ye Fan’s laughter eventually subsided.

“Ye Fan, you were late for work…” He Jiaqiang said through gritted teeth.

Ye Fan interrupted him, nonchalantly saying, “I know, you don’t need to tell me that.”

“You!” Stopped in his tracks, He Jiaqiang was flustered again, and it took him a while to regain his composure and bitterly said, “You have just started working and you’re already late.

I’m going to write a report to fire you!”

Ye Fan chuckled, pulled over a chair, sat down, crossed his legs in a carefree manner, and spread his hands, “Then go write that report.”

“I… Humph!” Seeing that Ye Fan was not scared, He Jiaqiang huffed loudly.

He knew in his heart that just being late once wouldn’t be enough to fire Ye Fan, especially since Ye Fan had accomplished a significant feat for the corporation yesterday, although he believed it was only due to Ye Fan’s good luck, like a blind cat finding a dead rat.

He Jiaqiang took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

He couldn’t believe he, a prominent leader, couldn’t handle a new employee.

“Ye Fan, you have been at the job for several days now and are familiar with the workflow.

Now it’s time to officially start working for the corporation.

You can’t just take your salary and do nothing,” He Jiaqiang steadied himself and put on an official air, “Now I have an important recruitment task for you, and you must handle it well!”

Lu Xiaoman panicked when she heard He Jiaqiang assigning Ye Fan a task, because in the few days since Ye Fan had joined the corporation, half of the time he was either late or left early.

He had also visited the Sky Wolf Security Company yesterday and hardly spent any time learning the workflow with her.

Especially since He Jiaqiang was giving Ye Fan a task now, it was definitely a tough one.

“Manager He, Ye Fan is still not familiar with the work processes,” she said.

“It’s my fault for being preoccupied with my own tasks and not teaching him properly.”

He Jiaqiang glared at Lu Xiaoman displeasedly and scolded, “When a leader is speaking, why are you interrupting?

He’s been in the corporation for four days now; how could he still not learn such simple work processes?

If he is that incompetent, he should just get out of the company.

We don’t entertain deadbeats here!”

“But…” Lu Xiaoman said anxiously.

At this, Ye Fan waved his hand to Lu Xiaoman, “Don’t worry, Sister Man,” then turned to He Jiaqiang, “What’s the recruitment task?”

He Jiaqiang snatched a folder from the desk and tossed it to Ye Fan, but unfortunately, his aim and strength were off, and it landed far away.

However, Ye Fan reached out and effortlessly caught the folder, then opened it to check the documents inside.

Lu Xiaoman also came over to look.

“This talent is urgently needed by our corporation for important recruitment; it relates to the future development plans of the corporation.

Our HR department has already had several deep conversations with him, and he is very willing to jump ship to our corporation, just missing the official signing of the contract,” He Jiaqiang said.

“Your task is to go and get him to sign the contract.

I have already arranged to meet with him at noon today at Kai De Coffee House on Tianyuan Road.

The corporate seal and HR department seal have already been applied on the contract, just waiting for his signature.”

“You can’t mess up such a simple errand job,” He Jiaqiang said.

“Remember, this person is extremely important.

If you screw it up, the group will definitely fire you!”

“Is it really that simple?” Ye Fan asked incredulously.

He Jiaqiang glared with his small eyes, slightly angered, “How dare you question the leader’s words?”

Ye Fan waved his hand nonchalantly and said casually, “Alright, stop putting on airs in front of me.

I’ll take the task.

Anyway, I know you’re up to no good.”

“Hmph!” He Jiaqiang huffed loudly but said no more, walking out of the office.

He indeed had ill intentions.

The recruitment task he had given Ye Fan was a vicious plan he had come up with the night before.

Ye Fan had not only talked back but had also embarrassed him and, worst of all, had interfered with his plans.

If it weren’t for Ye Fan, he might have already had his way with Lu Xiaoman, who he had long coveted, last night.

Thus, Ye Fan was a thorn in his side, one that needed to be removed promptly.

The talent He Jiaqiang had asked Ye Fan to contact was named Gao Feng, indeed an important talent urgently needed by the Emali Group.

He had previously been in touch with Gao Feng, using every trick in the book, but had never managed to seal the deal; Gao Feng didn’t even want to switch jobs.

To set a trap for Ye Fan, he had deliberately called Gao Feng last night, saying some harsh words and setting up a final negotiation.

Gao Feng, annoyed by his persistence, agreed to one last talk.

One could imagine, with negotiations already unsuccessful, and now setting up one final talk but He Jiaqiang himself failing to show up, sending a mere junior staff instead, Gao Feng would undoubtedly be furious, and talks would certainly break down.

After He Jiaqiang left, Lu Xiaoman said worriedly, “Ye Fan, the task He Jiaqiang has given you is definitely not that simple.”

She knew all too well how sinister He Jiaqiang was.

“Heh, that’s for sure.

I’ll just roll with the punches,” Ye Fan said with a relaxed expression, “After all, I’ve been working here for a few days now; it’s time to do some real work.”

Lu Xiaoman, still very concerned, said, “But He Jiaqiang is clearly looking for an excuse to fire you.

How about I go with you at noon?”

Ye Fan felt a warmth in his heart from Lu Xiaoman’s consideration.

Just as he was about to agree, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and He Jiaqiang returned.

He Jiaqiang, portly and assertive, walked into the office and directly said to Lu Xiaoman, “Lu Xiaoman, around eleven o’clock this afternoon, teachers and students from Hua Hai University will come to our group for an inspection.

You are to accompany them.

You need to start preparing immediately.

Hua Hai University is our group’s main source of talent.

If there are any slip-ups, well, you know the consequences!”

Originally, Lu Xiaoman was not supposed to receive the teachers and students from Hua Hai University, but just as He Jiaqiang was heading back to his office, he suddenly thought Lu Xiaoman might help Ye Fan.

To eliminate any chance for Ye Fan to complete his task, he immediately came back and assigned this last-minute task to Lu Xiaoman.

“I understand, I’ll prepare thoroughly,” Lu Xiaoman replied nervously.

Seeing Lu Xiaoman’s pretty face filled with nervousness and seriousness, her eyes hiding a “respect” for him, He Jiaqiang felt very satisfied inside.

His gaze unintentionally drifted down, lingering on Lu Xiaoman’s exquisite figure.

“Hey, Qiang Jiahe, what are you leering at Manman for?” Ye Fan’s lax voice rang out inappropriately.

Lu Xiaoman let out a small shriek, crossing her arms over her chest and stepping back.

He Jiaqiang withdrew his gaze and turned to glare fiercely at Ye Fan.

Ye Fan, fearless, met He Jiaqiang’s gaze with a lazy smile.

“Hmph!” He Jiaqiang huffed heavily and turned to slam the door as he left.