Chapter 45: A Complete Overhaul of the Company

Whether intentional or not, Yang Xiaoran lay on the bed, her ankles gently brushing against Jiang Yang’s trouser legs as if sending some kind of signal, yet perhaps not.

Jiang Yang’s heartbeat accelerated. Every tiny movement she made, every glance from her, raised his temperature and left him feeling unbearably hot and restless.

"Why are you still standing there in a daze? I'm getting ready to sleep," Yang Xiaoran urged in a soft, bewitching voice.

He couldn't tell whether she was urging him to leave or encouraging him to stay a bit longer in the room.

He mentally cursed himself as a "brute." Dr. Yang was his friend, after all; how could he take advantage of her simply to forget Ruolan?

His standards could be low, but he still had principles.

Suppressing the wicked fire burning within him, he said with a serious expression, "I'm heading out right now. I wonder if there's a pillow on the guest bed."

Yang Xiaoran gave a faint smile, grabbed a pillow, and tossed it toward Jiang Yang. "Take it. But since you caused my foot injury today, you're sentenced to sleep on the sofa."

Jiang Yang caught the pillow, exchanged a deep, lingering look with her, and then left the room with it in hand.

Propping her head up with her hand on the bed, watching his retreating figure disappear through the doorway, the corners of Yang Xiaoran’s lips curled upward slightly as she muttered to herself, "I'd like to see how long you can hold out."

Everything that happened today had been orchestrated by her. She was the one who had intentionally buried their shoes so neither of them would have any to wear; she was the one who had used a prepared seashell to cut her foot while Jiang Yang was catching crabs; and naturally, it was she who had faked a fall in the bathroom to lure him inside.

She loved the look of Jiang Yang when he was bewitched and stirred with desire yet stubbornly clinging to his broken principles.

However, as much as Jiang Yang could endure, she certainly couldn't. She would just have to take care of it herself in secret...

The night passed without incident. The next morning at nine o'clock.

As soon as Yang Xiaoran woke up, she called out from her bed, "Jiang Yang! Come help me up."

No one answered her.

She called out louder, but still, there was no reply.

With no other choice, she leaned against the wall and hobbled out of the bedroom into the living room. She looked around, but the living room was dead quiet; Jiang Yang was nowhere to be seen.

Her eyes immediately landed on a newly bought pair of crutches placed beside the sofa, and on the coffee table sat a bag of KFC breakfast, pinned down by a note: "I bought the crutches for you this morning at the pharmacy downstairs. Your wound doesn't look too serious, so with these, you shouldn't have any trouble moving around at home."

"I've bought your breakfast; just reheat it if it gets cold. Today is Monday, so I have to go to work. I'll come check on you later."

At the bottom was another line: "P.S.: I can't pay back that money for now. Consider it on credit."

Yang Xiaoran crumpled the note into a ball, tossed it into the trash can, and spat out, "Jerk. Sooner or later, I'm going to conquer you."

She sat down, opened the bag of KFC breakfast, and began to eat. Her gaze drifted back to the crutches on the side. Actually, she could walk without them, but what could she use them for instead? ...

After leaving Yang Xiaoran’s place, Jiang Yang headed straight back to the company.

So much had happened over the past few days that it left him with hardly any mind to be a model corporate slave, but today he really had to finish that promotional video for the client.

Upon reaching the company entrance, he thought he had walked into the wrong place when he saw the signboard.

Their company was originally named "Yujia Advertising," so why had the sign been changed to "Lanxin Advertising"?

Filled with doubt, Jiang Yang poked his head through the entrance, and a middle-aged man walked right toward him—it was his boss, Lin Yuan.

It turned out he hadn't come to the wrong place. He quickly greeted Lin Yuan, "Boss, why has the company's name changed?"

Looking in quite high spirits, Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Jiang Yang, the company's equity transfer is complete. I'm no longer your boss."

Jiang Yang said with a sudden realization, "Oh, I heard about this from Chen Hao too. They said the buyer offered a high price? Who is the new boss?"

With a puzzled expression, Lin Yuan replied, "I never expected them to offer that much money and insist on buying the company no matter what. Your new boss's last name is Chen, and she's a woman. She's quite wealthy, though she doesn't seem to have been in the advertising industry before."

"Not in the advertising industry? Then why would she spend a huge sum to buy the company?"

Jiang Yang found it even stranger. If a competitor had acquired the company, it would make sense, but for someone outside the industry to suddenly show up and make an over-market acquisition was simply baffling.

"Exactly, I found it strange too. But since they wouldn't give a reason, I didn't ask. Anyway, who argues with money?"

"Well, congratulations, President Lin. You've made a fortune. If you come across any good paths in the future, don't forget to pull your little brother along to get rich."

Lin Yuan laughed heartily and said, "I'm afraid that won't work. One of the attached conditions when she bought the company was that I'm forbidden from poaching any employees from here in the future, regardless of whether it's in the advertising industry or not."

Jiang Yang gasped. "There's such a strange condition? What kind of mindset does this new boss have?"

Lin Yuan patted Jiang Yang on the shoulder. "Xiao Jiang, don't think too much about it. Work hard under the new boss, and I'm sure she won't treat you unfairly. I've got to go. Let's keep in touch when you're free."

With that, he left the company without looking back.

Jiang Yang knew those were just polite parting words. With a new boss coming in, some employees might be laid off, and whether he himself would stay here remained to be uncertain.

Stepping into the company with a slightly anxious heart, he noticed that the "Yujia" logos everywhere had all been replaced with "Lanxin."

With the change in ownership, most of his colleagues were just as jittery as he was, gossiping about the new boss, and hardly anyone had the mind to work.

As soon as he sat down at his desk, Chen Hao leaned over and whispered, "Hey, have you heard? The new boss is coming to the company today."

"Oh? Will there be any special arrangements?"

Lowering his voice, Chen Hao said, "Actually, yes. I heard there's going to be a personnel shake-up."

Jiang Yang asked, "What kind of shake-up? Do you know?"

"Word is it's happening right here in our design department."

Jiang Yang’s heart skipped a beat. His guess had been right after all. He had taken more than ten days of leave before returning to work, and if the new boss decided to cut staff, he stood a very high chance of being on the chopping block.

Still, looking on the bright side, if this place wouldn't keep him, there were plenty of other places that would. And if worst came to worst, he could always go work as a male model at Melody Harbor; there were always ways to make money, and nobody would starve.

"Who cares about the shake-up? We just need to do our own jobs," Jiang Yang said indifferently.

Just as Chen Hao was about to say something else, Liu, the head of the human resources department, stood in the middle of the office. He cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, please put aside what you're working on for a moment."

"I believe you all already know that the company has changed hands and is now renamed 'Lanxin Advertising.' Let's welcome our new boss, Chen Wenqin, to say a few words to everyone."