Having worked with him for years, Fatty Gao had never once taken Xiao Haichao seriously.
In his eyes, Xiao Haichao was nothing more than a naïve, rigid, straight-A graduate, clueless about social cues, full of laughable ideas, and destined to struggle forever in society.
Which was why stepping on him had always felt so comfortable.
But today, running into Xiao Haichao at Egret Manor, sourness rose in Gao's heart. He assumed that after resigning, Xiao must've landed a nice position at some decent company; otherwise, he wouldn't be dining in Meilan Hall.
Regardless of how much he looked down on him, Xiao Haichao's professional competence was recognized by everyone. Thinking that Xiao now had a good job and high pay made Gao feel stifled, so he decided to create trouble.
Ideally, he wanted Xiao Haichao to suffer a humiliating loss of face right in front of his new superior. Only then would Gao feel satisfied.
The key point was: he had Zhejiang TV's Director Chang backing him today. Naturally, he felt emboldened.
As soon as he barged into Meilan Hall, he spotted Xiao Haichao and Zhu Li, and a smug grin crept across his face.
'Damn', he thought, 'Little Xiao really lucked out, his wife is quite the looker.'
But when he compared her to the woman sitting beside her, the difference was stark. That breathtaking beauty looked extremely familiar…
Gao's expression suddenly froze. His rude entrance and tone inevitably drew everyone's attention.
Upon seeing who it was, Xiao Haichao's anger surged, and he immediately stood up.
Sitting at the head of the table, Tian Tian frowned and asked coldly, "Who are you?"
Her sharp reprimand snapped Gao back to reality. Instinctively, he glanced at her, and that one glance nearly made his jaw fall off.
Tian Tian!
Of course Gao recognized her, the former beauty host of Zhejiang East TV.
If she were just an ex-host, he wouldn't have cared. But he had recently heard rumors that Tian Tian came from a powerful background, definitely not someone to mess with.
Never in his wildest dreams had he expected this to be the "big tree" Xiao had climbed.
Then he noticed who the stunning beauty beside her was, Chen Fei'er. And sitting between Chen Fei'er and Tian Tian was none other than Lu Chen.
Why the hell are these two superstars in Hangzhou? Fatty Gao was completely dumbfounded.
The colleague who came in with Gao was a scheming fox; seeing the situation go south, he immediately stepped backward out of the private room, leaving Gao alone to take the fall.
What a joke, eating with Xiao Haichao were Tian Tian, Chen Fei'er, and Lu Chen. And they actually planned to "step on" Xiao? That was basically volunteering their faces to be slapped.
Tian Tian alone could clean them up effortlessly. As for Chen Fei'er and Lu Chen, Zhejiang TV practically bent over backward trying to curry favor with them. Their new drama Full House was something Zhejiang TV had fought tooth and nail to secure.
Stay there and wait to be embarrassed? Not a chance.
Zhu Li sneered. "Oh my, isn't this Director Gao? Did you drink too much and walk into the wrong room?"
She despised this former boss of her husband. One major reason she supported Xiao leaving Hangzhou TV to join Vibrance Media was precisely to disgust this man. So with Gao delivering himself to the door, she didn't hesitate, smack!, and slapped him cleanly across the face.
Standing at the doorway, Fatty Gao's face turned red-purple from humiliation. He wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
Tian Tian didn't personally know Gao, but she understood the situation instantly from Zhu Li's tone.
Without hesitation she waved him away. "Director Gao? Whatever. Out. Out.
Server!"
She scolded the server, "Please pay attention. Don't let random people barge in and disturb us."
The server felt wronged too. He opened the door and said sternly to Gao, "Sir, please leave."
Gao had never been this humiliated in his entire life. He turned and fled in utter disgrace. If he stayed even a second longer, he felt like his face would be peeled off.
Meanwhile, his colleague had already returned to their private room, wearing an expression of pure embarrassment.
A deputy station head from Hangzhou TV asked curiously, "Old Zhang, why are you back? Where's Director Gao?"
Old Zhang gave a wry smile. "Don't mention it. We went looking for Xiao Haichao, but Meilan Hall was occupied by Tian Tian, Chen Fei'er, and Lu Chen. So I came back first to report to the leaders."
Tian Tian, Chen Fei'er, and Lu Chen?
Several leaders exchanged looks. Even the always-aloof Director Chang from Zhejiang TV was visibly shaken.
"Tian Tian is accompanying those two in Meilan Hall? I need to go over."
He understood perfectly well the weight those three carried, especially Tian Tian, and he even felt a bit uneasy.
That so-called Director Gao had gone over under his banner, and might have already offended them.
Director Chang wasn't afraid Tian Tian would cause him personal trouble, he had his own backing too, but offending these people for no reason could easily put him in a disadvantage if anyone gossiped.
The Hangzhou TV deputy station head immediately said, "I'll accompany you!"
And the two leaders left the private room together. On their way through the hallway toward Meilan Hall, they bumped into Fatty Gao, who was returning with a face full of bitterness.
Director Chang treated him like thin air, not even glancing at him. The deputy station head of Hangzhou TV shot him one cold, disdainful look. The greeting Gao planned to offer stuck in his throat. Cold sweat broke out instantly.
He had originally gone to step on someone, but ended up twisting his own ankle, he wanted to die from embarrassment.
"Hello, may I ask who you're looking for?"
The two leaders were stopped at the door by the same server who had just been burned by the earlier incident.
Her eyes were filled with vigilance.
The two leaders exchanged glances, they both knew immediately this was trouble created by that idiot Gao. The Hangzhou TV deputy station head cursed Gao furiously in his heart, but maintained a courteous expression.
"Please inform her. Director Chang Yiming from Zhejiang TV would like to meet Miss Tian."
The Meilan Hall server was used to seeing leaders of all kinds. A Zhejiang TV director didn't particularly impress her, but she still went in to report to Tian Tian and ask whether they were allowed to enter.
Once permission was granted, Director Chang and the deputy station head were brought inside.
"Tian Tian, long time no see!"
Tian Tian recognized Director Chang. She stood up with a bright smile to greet him, no longer showing any trace of the temper she displayed earlier.
Her family background was extraordinary, of course, but since she now ran her own media company, she would inevitably have to work with Zhejiang TV again in the future. She needed to maintain her network from her old workplace. More friends meant more paths; more enemies meant more walls.
Director Chang and that useless Director Gao were two completely different things.
Director Chang laughed heartily. "Tian Tian is getting more beautiful each year. I heard you're running your own company now?"
Tian Tian smiled. "Just a small operation to make a living. I'll need Brother Chang to look after me in the future. Let me introduce someone, this is Lu Chen."
In truth, she didn't have to introduce him. How could Director Chang not recognize Lu Chen and Chen Fei'er? While he offered the usual polite words of admiration, he couldn't help feeling a moment of awe.
This entire table was filled with outstanding young talents, dragons among men.
He suddenly felt that he was getting old.
(End of Chapter)
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