After a busy day, Cheng Lele got home, took a shower, and only then had time to scroll through the chat records in the group. The day she sent that strongly-worded email, [Working Slaves Group 5 (No Leadership)] had been in an uproar, constantly praising her for fighting back well, for having spirit and such. She hadn’t paid much attention. Today was Monday, and she wanted to see if there had been any new developments in this matter.

As soon as she clicked in, it was even livelier than the previous two days—comparable to New Year’s celebrations.

A: [Cindy, this golden age is as you wished.]

B: [Holy shit, this angel investor is really an angel, right? Traveling thousands of miles to come here and deal with the evil dog!]

C: [Didn’t you all notice the way he unhurriedly removed his watch? That sense of a big boss controlling the rhythm! I’m dying! So handsome, so handsome, I really want to marry him.]

D: [Is this person an investor or part of the mob?]

C: [He must have connections in both legitimate and illegitimate circles. Otherwise, how could he beat someone up in broad daylight?]

E: [Too bad no one dared take photos, and the surveillance video was also collected by the company as confidential material. Otherwise, we could savor it repeatedly!]

A: [Today deserves two strings of firecrackers… Simply exhilarating and deeply satisfying!]

…

After scrolling through several hundred chat messages, Cheng Lele understood that Old Yellow Dog had been severely beaten by an investor.

Perhaps evil people meet their own retribution. After so many days, there was finally something to be happy about.

A few days later, in response to the email attacking Cheng Lele, the company issued a statement saying that after investigation, they discovered that Huang Tiangou, as Cheng Lele’s supervisor, had serious problems with framing subordinates. The circumstances were very serious and the impact very harmful, therefore the decision was made to dismiss Huang Tiangou.

Everyone up and down the company knew why Huang Tiangou was dismissed, but the company had borrowed Cheng Lele as a knife, giving everyone a bright and respectable reason. They had dealt with Cheng Lele while also removing an eyesore of an employee from the company, which disgusted Cheng Lele thoroughly.

The good-natured Mark from HR hurried to smooth things over, comforting Cheng Lele that after Huang Tiangou’s departure, the day she would return to the company was near, and she should endure a bit longer. His tone was more firm than before, seeming quite confident.

Cheng Lele was also thinking that when the cinema’s situation improved a bit more, or when Chen An could finally acknowledge her, another colleague could come over to take up residence.

Although she still felt the opportunity to build Xingchen was precious, it was no longer appropriate under the current circumstances.

Because she still had a few ideas about her future career, she didn’t press the company to apologize, but she had lost her illusions about Tongda. She was thinking that after transferring to Beijing, she would job-hunt while employed. After all, she was very short of money and didn’t dare resign without having another job lined up.

After this incident, Cheng Lele didn’t seek out Chen An again.

Huang Tiangou had been dismissed, but the new supervisor hadn’t taken position yet, so she no longer sent daily reports. Regarding the cinema’s daily operations, Chen An had never interfered or inquired before, and now she had to make decisions on her own even more. If there was really something that needed to be conveyed, she would ask finance for help. However, such situations almost never occurred.

From then on, the two very tacitly cut off contact, just like those long seven years.

Fortunately, the cinema’s business wasn’t half-dead anymore. The cinema chain gradually released several quality films, and the discount coupons distributed earlier, merchant collaborations, and group ticket channels also received market feedback. Cheng Lele hired two part-time employees, and when things got busy, she had to step in as an employee herself. Just being so busy, time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was mid-December, approaching the Christmas and New Year’s holiday season.

This morning when leaving for work, Cheng Lele discovered it was actually snowing outside. Crystal-clear snowflakes fell endlessly all day. By the time she got off work and returned home, a thick layer had accumulated in the courtyard, looking quite inviting to lie down in.

As if to amuse herself, she tried slowly leaning her body backward, using her core muscles to control the force so she wouldn’t fall, playing an extremely boring game with herself. Just as she felt it was rather dull and was preparing to get up, Chen An’s somber face suddenly appeared before her eyes.

She panicked for a moment, couldn’t stabilize herself, and fell straight backward.

Chen An didn’t support her or pull her up—he watched with his own eyes as she fell into the snow blanket.

Cheng Lele had just entered the house, the security door wasn’t locked, and she hadn’t had time to take off her down jacket. Falling down onto the soft snow layer, she wasn’t hurt. It was just that Chen An’s expression was too frightening—his bloodshot eyes like those of a trapped beast, his taut jawline like a sharp blade, even his hair seemed to be emanating anger. Squatting on the ground looking up at him, she almost couldn’t get up.

Under the invisible oppression and intimidating gaze, Cheng Lele struggled to stand up, brushed the snow off her body, and asked cautiously, “You’re back?”

Chen An stood there, the snow making his face appear iron-blue, his eyes especially deep and dark.

“Cheng Lele, is my godmother gone?” he asked.