A strange expression appeared on Fang Chenyi’s face when he heard what Old Wang said.

Sure enough, a moment later, his phone began to ring under the angry glares of everyone present.

That included Old Wang, who was holding his own phone to his ear. He, too, shot Fang Chenyi an annoyed look.

’I’m on the phone with the tycoon who’s buying my company, and your phone rings now? Don’t you know to take it outside?’

"Xiaofang, if it’s an important call, you should take it outside."

Seeing Fang Chenyi just staring at his phone screen with a strange expression—not answering, not hanging up, just letting the ringtone blare—Old Wang finally couldn’t hold back anymore and spoke up.

It wasn’t just Old Wang. The colleagues waiting for their boss to make the call also started angrily berating Fang Chenyi.

"Hey, Fang Chenyi, can’t you read the room? Get out, get out! Stop causing trouble."

"Just hang the hell up, will you!"

His eyes swept over the few who were shouting the loudest—the very same ones who usually slacked off the most. A slow smile spread across his lips. Ignoring everyone, he answered the call and immediately put it on speakerphone.

Seeing Fang Chenyi’s action, everyone assumed he had realized the gravity of the situation and hung up. Their gazes turned back toward Old Wang, who was still holding his phone. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Hearing the ringing stop on his end, Old Wang paused. He had no time to deal with Fang Chenyi. He quickly glanced at his screen, saw the call had connected, and spoke into the phone with a respectful, tentative voice.

"Hello, good day. May I ask if this is President Fa... Fa... Fa..."

Just as he spoke, the sound of a call on speakerphone echoed through the office at the same time.

Hearing the two voices—one from his earpiece and one from across the room—ring out almost simultaneously, President Wang was stunned. Everyone else was, too. All eyes fell on the phone in Fang Chenyi’s hand.

Fang Chenyi found the situation quite amusing. He spoke calmly into his phone.

"It’s me. What’s up, Old Wang? Is there something you can’t say to my face? Did you really have to ’call me’ in person?"

’Holy shit! What’s going on?’

’Uh... what’s happening? Wasn’t he calling the new boss? Why did he call Fang Chenyi?’

’Did he dial the wrong number? That must be it. The new boss’s last name is Fang, right? Fang Chenyi’s last name is also Fang. The boss must have slipped and tapped Fang Chenyi’s name by mistake.’

Looking at Fang Chenyi, who wore a calm expression, the crowd erupted into a flurry of discussion. Of course, no one believed their new boss could be Fang Chenyi; the thought hadn’t even crossed their minds.

After all, they had worked together for three years. Everyone had at least some idea of each other’s personal circumstances.

Unlike the others, however, when Old Wang heard Fang Chenyi’s voice through his phone, the last shred of doubt in his mind vanished completely.

’My hand slipped and I called the wrong person? Impossible. This is Fang Chenyi’s personal number. While it looked familiar, I never saved it in my contacts, so there’s no way I could have misdialed.’

Coupled with the fact that the tycoon who bought the company was indeed surnamed Fang, he was now certain. The man was, without a doubt, Fang Chenyi.

After the initial shock, a wry smile flashed across Old Wang’s face.

"Well, I’ll be. So you weren’t here these past few days because you were off buying our company. Haha, looks like I completely misjudged you. I never would have thought that Xiaofang—er, no, it should be President Fang—I never would have thought President Fang was a rich kid here to experience the simple life."

After a hearty laugh, Old Wang gestured to Fang Chenyi, hung up his phone, and continued speaking.

"Sigh, but this is for the best. President Fang has worked at the company for three years, so it’s safe to say he’s very familiar with it. I’m quite relieved to be able to hand the company over to him! At the very least, this means the company has found its best possible home! Haha, not only does this put my heart at ease, but I’m sure all of you can rest easy as well. Since President Fang is right here with us, let’s have your new boss say a few words!"

After speaking, he was the first to start clapping.

However, no one else had processed what just happened yet. Aside from Old Wang, everyone just stared blankly at a smiling Fang Chenyi. Not a single other person applauded.

Just as the moment turned awkward, Tang Ying, who was standing beside Fang Chenyi, suddenly let out a strange cry and grabbed his sleeve.

"Holy hell! Am I dreaming, Old Fang?! You’re telling me you bought our company? For fuck’s sake, do you have so much money you don’t know what to do with it?! Don’t you know what a mess this company is? Don’t you know it’s about to go under? This is just throwing money away! Damn it, if you wanted to be in this industry, the two of us could’ve just recruited a new team and started from scratch, couldn’t we?"

As soon as he said this, Old Wang’s expression soured. Although it was common knowledge—and there was no way Fang Chenyi himself didn’t know the company’s situation—hearing it stated so blatantly, right to his face, was like being slapped repeatedly.

But hearing these words, Fang Chenyi felt a sense of relief. ’Looks like Old Tang is still the same Old Tang.’

He reached out and patted his friend’s shoulder, signaling for him to calm down, before speaking again.

"Just hearing you say that is enough for me, Old Tang."

After saying this, Fang Chenyi’s gaze swept over everyone present. His expression turned serious as he began to speak.

"Heh, I said it before. As long as you’ve performed well, you don’t need to worry about being fired. After all, your ’new boss’ wants to keep the company running, doesn’t he?"

The same words, spoken at a different time by a person of a different status, have a completely different effect. When Fang Chenyi had said this just moments ago, he was met with looks of disdain.

But now, hearing those words again, some faces showed joy while others showed worry. Every one of them was reflecting on their daily performance. The ones who usually goofed off knew deep down that they were probably about to be kicked out for real.

Seeing them all thinking, the corners of Fang Chenyi’s mouth lifted slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the green-haired turtle still sitting on the floor. But contrary to his expectations, the green-haired turtle wasn’t showing any resentment about his impending doom. Instead, the guy was fiddling with his phone. Not only that, but the shifty look in his eyes made Fang Chenyi feel a little suspicious.

[To be continued...]