Chapter 36: You Want Me to Keep Being Your Dog and Risk My Life? Dream On.-Depois de renascer, recusei-me a assumir o fardo, e a família da minha esposa enlouqueceu.(Estufar-se em uma panela de ferro.)

He had long since lost the desire to stay. Working in such a cutthroat company, he would eventually be bled dry.

Zhang Zihao had originally intended to give Zhao Qiang a piece of his mind, but upon hearing that he wanted to resign, his attitude shifted. Resignation meant losing control over Zhao Qiang. He had only acquired this small company in the first place to keep Zhao Qiang under his thumb and working obediently. Every time Zhao Qiang had expressed a desire to quit, he had simply had Lin Meina give him a raise.

"I’ve heard you, and I will take it into consideration," Zhang Zihao said, forcing himself to agree just to pacify Zhao Qiang for the moment.

"No, Mr. Zhang. I’ve had enough of being treated poorly here. If this matter isn’t resolved today, I’m done! I’m submitting my resignation right now!" Zhao Qiang’s strategy was to catch him off guard; he could see perfectly well that Zhang Zihao did not want him to leave.

"Ms. Lin, go call Zhou Jie down here."

"Mr. Zhang, don’t just listen to Zhao Qiang’s side of the story..."

Before she could finish, Zhang Zihao roared at Lin Meina, "I told you to call him down! Are you deaf? Or are you the boss and I’m the employee?"

Lin Meina shivered and hurriedly called Zhou Jie, telling him to get downstairs immediately. In all the time she had known Mr. Zhang, she had never seen him fly into such a rage.

When Zhou Jie heard the boss wanted to see him, he scurried downstairs, excited and fawning. He assumed that if the boss was calling him personally, it must be for good news—it couldn’t possibly be trouble. "Mr. Zhang, you wanted to see me?"

"Starting today, you are demoted to a team leader." Zhang Zihao announced the decision without hesitation. In his view, to keep Zhao Qiang, he had to let him vent his anger and feel satisfied. Keeping Zhao Qiang in the company was also the only way to ensure his own secret trysts with Liu Ruyan remained undiscovered.

As the words fell, the expressions of Zhou Jie and Lin Meina turned ghastly. Zhao Qiang had already infuriated Zhang Zihao; why wasn't he being fired?

"Wait, Mr. Zhang, I haven't done anything wrong!" Zhou Jie’s eyes were blank with confusion, having no idea what had happened. He turned to Lin Meina in a panic, but the woman stayed far away, terrified of being dragged into the fire.

"Your abilities do not match the position of manager. Go down and settle in for a while," Zhang Zihao said, acting as if he were an all-seeing judge who had instantly pierced through the fact that Zhou Jie was nothing but a parasite waiting for his next paycheck.

Zhou Jie’s face turned deathly pale. Everything he had worked so hard to build was destroyed in an instant. Being sent back to the bottom of the company was worse than death. He had spent a great deal of effort currying favor with Lin Meina just to land that manager position, and now, all his efforts were for nothing. He blamed it all on Zhao Qiang’s loose tongue.

"Zhao Qiang, are you satisfied with how I’ve handled this?" Zhang Zihao pulled him aside, hoping he would take the olive branch.

However, Zhao Qiang didn't fall for his petty tricks. He shook his head quickly. "Mr. Zhang, forget it. I’d still rather resign. I can’t stay in this company anymore. Who knows if Ms. Lin will retaliate against me later? I’d better look elsewhere."

"Zhao Qiang, I’ve already given you plenty of face. Don't push your luck!" Zhang Zihao’s expression darkened further, shocked that Zhao Qiang still refused to play along and insisted on leaving.

"Mr. Zhang, your threats are useless. If I stay here, my life is at a dead end. As it happens, another company has been trying to poach me. Perhaps I can actually make a name for myself there." Zhao Qiang spoke smoothly, his face calm and unruffled.

"Another company?" Zhang Zihao frowned.

"The Chu Group. I know the second young lady of the Chu family, and she introduced me to the position. It’s quite good, with benefits several times better than here. I know the second young lady, but the third young master misunderstood our connection, which is how this whole mess started." Zhao Qiang went into detail to make the story sound more credible.

Zhang Zihao narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself that he couldn't let Zhao Qiang go if he actually knew people in the Chu family. "I’ve reconsidered. You’ve done a lot for this company over the years. Ms. Lin often praises your ability and your dedication. It’s time we rewarded employees who work as hard as you. As it happens, there’s a vacancy for a vice president. Why don’t you take it?"

Zhao Qiang sneered inwardly. Zhang Zihao was truly capable of bending when necessary; he could endure anything. It seemed Zhang Zihao really did want to keep him like a dog—just throw him a bone, and he would become loyal again. He remembered that in his past life, he had worked conscientiously for ten years at this company and remained a manager, while Zhou Jie had been promoted to vice president within a year or two and eventually clawed his way to the headquarters.

"Then thank you, Mr. Zhang. But you aren't just making this decision to keep me here, are you? If that’s the case, I still can’t accept it." Zhao Qiang shook his head firmly, his attitude unyielding. Zhang Zihao was being too obvious; he was practically an idiot.

If he wanted to keep him, he had to pay a real price. Just spouting empty promises and painting pictures of a future that never arrived wouldn't work. In his past life, he had been obsessed with those empty promises. *Work hard, get promoted to team leader. Work hard, get promoted to manager. Work hard, get promoted to vice president.* And then, the promises just kept on coming.

"Fine. I’ll issue the official appointment order today and revise your contract. Is that enough for you? An annual salary of one million—you should be satisfied with that!" Zhang Zihao felt like killing someone, but he decided to keep Zhao Qiang for now and find a chance to deal with him later. A million was peanuts to him; it was just a figure.

"Fine. But I have one requirement: if the company breaches the contract, I want the penalty to be one hundred times the amount. If I breach it, I’ll pay five times. After all, I’m the vulnerable party here. It’s not that I don’t trust your sincerity, Mr. Zhang, but I need to protect my own interests. If you find that difficult, then forget it."

Zhao Qiang’s lips curled into a smile. As long as Zhang Zihao signed that contract, he would dare to cause a scene at the engagement party two days later.

"Fine. Come with me to the group headquarters!" Zhang Zihao conceded, thinking that he wouldn't be the one to breach the contract anyway.

Zhao Qiang followed Zhang Zihao to the Zhang Group headquarters to sign the contract. Along the way, people greeted Zhang Zihao enthusiastically. The headquarters were grand; it was truly a major family enterprise. Zhao Qiang followed him precisely to ensure that more people would know he worked under Zhang Zihao. He even took a few photos and posted them on his social media feed. By the time the engagement party arrived, everyone would know he was on the Zhang payroll.

As soon as Zhang Zihao entered his office, a snow-white figure lunged into his arms, soft and supple.

"Mr. Zhang, you haven't been here all day! I missed you so much!" The voice was sickeningly sweet, and a pair of jade-like legs wrapped tightly around Zhang Zihao’s waist.