Special Effects Pheromone - Chap 20
Things escalated in the parking lot.
This was not something Yu Zhao wanted.
After all, Yu Zhao was an upright person.
It was all Qu Jing’s fault.
“How… How did you come so quickly?” Yu Zhao opened the window and asked, panting heavily.
Qu Jing glanced at Yu Zhao and said, “Isn’t it your fault?”
Yu Zhao also gave him a cold glance. “How is it my fault?”
Although Yu Zhao coldly glanced at Qu Jing, it seemed like an affectionate look to Qu Jing. Without realizing it, Qu Jing hugged Yu Zhao and kissed him, saying, “You smell so good.”
“Pfft.” Yu Zhao pushed him away.
Immediately, Yu Zhao realized he was wrong and impolite.
But when he looked at Qu Jing, he saw that Qu Jing was still happily smiling.
He’s still so happy after being “pfft”? What kind of special hobby is this?
Yu Zhao was puzzled.
At this moment, his phone rang.
Yu Zhao quickly answered, “Xiao Qi, what’s up?”
The other side rambled on.
Seeing Yu Zhao on the phone, Qu Jing, with a mint candy in his mouth and one hand supporting his head, sat sideways, watching Yu Zhao. This was the first time Qu Jing had seen Yu Zhao working.
Yu Zhao lowered his head slightly, blinked slowly, as if calculating something, his face calm. He looked like the “serious” Yu Zhao. Yet, precisely this serious Yu Zhao had a loose tie, a few buttons undone, beads of sweat on his cheeks, and slightly messy hair, giving him a different charm.
Yu Zhao calmly responded, “It’s not a big deal.”
This sentence immediately calmed down Xiao Qi’s restlessness on the other end of the phone.
This sentence, however, stirred up Qu Jing’s emotions.
Qu Jing felt that this seemingly calm You Zhao, with sweat and loosened clothes, was exceptionally sensual.
Qu Jing approached and tried to kiss Yu Zhao’s sweaty neck. Startled, Yu Zhao quickly moved away, placing his hand on Qu Jing’s lips. Qu Jing took the opportunity to open his mouth, sucking Yu Zhao’s fingertips.
Yu Zhao’s fingertips were instantly electrified, and in a second, Qu Jing hit Yu Zhao’s heart.
“Ah…” Yu Zhao shuddered all over.
Sensing something unusual on the other end of the phone, Xiao Qi asked, “Mr Yu, what’s wrong?”
Yu Zhao’s calm voice sounded again, “It’s nothing. I’ll handle this when I get back.”
“Alright, no problem.” Xiao Qi wholeheartedly believed that Yu Zhao could handle any situation well.
In fact, this matter wasn’t that big.
The company lost a major client’s order, and Yu Yong shifted the blame, stating it was Yu Zhao’s fault. As luck would have it, Yu Zhao wasn’t in the company, so Yu Yong took the opportunity to exaggerate things in front of Yu Hai, distorting the truth. He claimed that Yu Zhao didn’t even register for the business trip this time, suggesting that Yu Zhao, relying on being a “general,” neglected his duties and ignored company discipline, making Yu Zhao appear worse than he actually was.
When Xiao Qi conveyed this situation, Yu Zhao found it amusing: Yu Yong couldn’t even ruin his reputation properly behind his back. How could Yu Hai care about such a trivial matter as Yu Zhao not registering for a business trip? If he wanted to speak ill of him, he should have focused on the lost order.
Yu Yong prattle on, saying a bunch of bad things about Yu Zhao, he almost mentioned how Yu Zhao wasted resources by adding too much sugar to his coffee. These minor matters irritated Yu Hai, who only said, “How did the ‘Lu Tian’ order go missing?”
Yu Yong cleared his throat before saying, “The Lu Tian order was signed back by Yu Zhao. If it’s lost, it’s his problem.”
However, Yu Hai countered, “But I heard that we’re renewing the contract recently, and you also sent someone to negotiate with Lu Tian? With two people from our company approaching them with different conditions, what would they think?”
Yu Yong was speechless. Fortunately, Yu Yong was accompanied by his secretary, Tang Donggu, who quickly added, “Lu Tian feels that we are sincere and values our partnership.”
“Hmph,” Yu Hai snorted.
Tang Donggu continued, “We actually had a good discussion with them. I also inquired, and Lu Tian didn’t renew the contract because they were dissatisfied with the service, and it has nothing to do with us. We can only ask the service team about it.”
“What’s wrong with the service team?” Yu Hai asked.
Tang Donggu replied, “It’s a bit tricky for us to comment on that, considering it’s under General Zhao’s jurisdiction. We mentioned it, and it seemed unfair.”
“Hmph,” Yu Hai flipped through the pages and asked a relatively neutral person nearby, “What do you say?”
That person answered, “Recently, Lu Tian’s office in Cining Mansion was burglarized. Fortunately, the building’s security noticed the thief, so Lu Tian’s company didn’t suffer financial losses. However, Lu Tian’s company inquired with us, and we found that it was a system vulnerability. According to the engineers, it was due to a lack of timely system upgrades.”
“Why wasn’t the system upgraded on time?” Yu Hai said with some annoyance.
The person also replied, “Well… this is a client signed by General Zhao, and he’s in charge of maintaining this area.”
Indeed, Lu Tian’s company was a client signed by Yu Zhao. Lu Tian had been using the security system provided by “Yu’s” for some time without any issues. However, as they were about to discuss contract renewal, a problem arose.
Xiao Qi was also very nervous, spinning around in the company like a top. It took a while before he saw Yu Zhao return.
Seeing that Yu Zhao seemed a bit tired, Xiao Qi asked with concern, “What happened, General Zhao?”
Yu Zhao cleared his throat and said, “It’s nothing.”
“You look a bit tired. Did something happen?”
“Oh… I just went to the gym for a workout,” Yu Zhao coughed and said, “What’s up?”
However, a male colleague quickly walked over, saying, “General Zhao, this is my fault. I didn’t update the system for Lu Tian in time.”
“That’s right,” Yu Zhao said indifferently, “Why didn’t you?”
The male colleague hesitated, “I…”
Xiao Qi couldn’t help but speak up, “Generally, the system updates automatically. If the automatic update is not completed, engineers will be sent to update manually. It’s quite common for there to be a gap of two or three days in between.”
“A common occurrence?” Yu Zhao said coldly, “Do you think saying this in front of my father can pass as an excuse?”
The male colleague hurriedly said, “Yes, it’s my fault! I’ll resign!”
Yu Zhao sneered, “Resigning is clean indeed. What about me? What about the department? If you resign, can our department’s KPI for this month be restored?”
The male colleague choked.
“Don’t think that by taking the blame, you become a hero,” Yu Zhao said, “Have you ever thought about whether you can handle it?”
The male colleague lowered his head in shame.
Watching the male colleague shrink back, Yu Zhao waved his hand and said, “Even if you die, you can’t admit it’s your fault. Understand?”
The male colleague was stunned, “Huh?”
“Do you understand?” Yu Zhao asked coldly.
The male colleague nodded, “I understand.”
Yu Zhao patted the male colleague on the shoulder and said, “Remember, this is not your fault. It’s the fault of the software department for not informing us of the software update on time.”
The male colleague’s mouth opened wide, “Huh?”
“That’s it,” Yu Zhao said, “You’ll get a raise later.”
“Huh?” The male colleague was already prepared to resign and leave, not expecting to get a raise.
Yu Zhao went to Yu Hai’s office and presented the excuse that the software department had not been notified about the update.
The head of the software department was forced to come and “face the music.” This manager was a technical person and didn’t understand these tactics well. He spoke up, “We’ve posted the software update on the bulletin board! He’s not blind; can’t he see it?”
So Yu Zhao said, “So, are you suggesting that such important news about software updates wasn’t specifically communicated to individuals?”
“I, I…” The head of the software department was dumbfounded.
While the head of the software department was speechless, Yu Yong looked on, also stunned, not knowing how to respond. It was only Yu Hai, a sly old fox, who could see that this was a “blame-shifting” operation.
If it were an ordinary situation, it would be fine. However, few hours ago, Xia Tao returned to the company and played a bit of “eye medicine” with Yu Hai, talking a bit of “pillow talk.” Xia Tao told Yu Hai that Yu Zhao had said resentful things about him behind his back. Yu Hai was not pleased to hear this, and now, taking advantage of the situation with Yu Zhao, he only said, “Are your colleagues blind? Didn’t they see the announcement? Do we need to personally inform each individual? Do we need to feed you at mealtime? You’re not a child anymore. You don’t appreciate the benefits given to you, and when something goes wrong, you blame others for not serving you meticulously?”
This statement had a bit of hidden meaning, and Yu Zhao couldn’t help but frown.
However, Yu Yong didn’t catch the nuance. Seeing his old man scolding Yu Zhao, he was secretly pleased.
After a moment of thought, Yu Zhao said, “The Lu Tian order is also strange. There shouldn’t be many people who know about the system’s vulnerability. If someone is exploiting the system vulnerability, it might be a leak from within. This needs to be investigated further.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Yong’s face stiffened. “Why are you still trying to shift blame?”
Yu Zhao replied, “This is about finding reasons, making improvements, not shifting blame. You know me; I always focus on the task, not the person, and rarely discuss personal feelings.”
Upon hearing these words, Yu Hai became a bit calmer and said, “You’re right. This needs to be investigated!”
Yu Zhao added, “There’s one more thing. I want to report separately to you.”
“Okay, let the others go first.” Yu Hai nodded.
After the others left, Yu Zhao stood alone in front of the spacious boss’s desk, looking at Yu Hai sitting in the boss’s chair. There was still no emotion in his eyes, not like someone looking at his father.
Yu Zhao simply couldn’t figure out how to regard Yu Hai as his father.
He couldn’t do it.
He couldn’t treat Yu Yong as a younger brother, let alone consider Duan Keyi as his father.
In terms of interpersonal relationships, he felt a headache—until he realized that he handled relationships in the workplace very comfortably. Yu Zhao learned to treat his father as “General Hai”—his boss, his superior, someone he had to obey and respect, but he didn’t have to genuinely like him. This way, the father-son relationship became surprisingly harmonious.
And now, he treated Qu Jing as a client, and things were progressing well.
Seeing that Yu Zhao wasn’t speaking, Yu Hai asked, “What’s wrong? What do you need to report separately?”
Yu Zhao said, “I’m ready to sign a contract with Gao Bohua.”
“Gao Bohua? From Fenglong Group?” Yu Hai was somewhat surprised.
“Yes.” You Zhao nodded.
Yu Hai felt somewhat happy, “Not bad, handling things quietly!”
“Well, it’s not done yet. Let’s talk about it after signing the contract. For now, let’s keep it low-key.” Yu Zhao said, “To avoid unnecessary troubles, like what happened with Lu Tian.”
Yu Hai frowned, “What do you mean by that?”
“I can’t say for sure. We can only wait for the results of the internal investigation.” Yu Zhao replied, “At least, I don’t want another representative of ‘Yu’s’ to contact my clients. It’s not good for the company.”
When Lu Tian was preparing to renew the contract, negotiations with Yu Zhao were almost settled when Yu Yong intervened halfway. Yu Yong negotiated with Lu Tian at a discounted rate, which was unethical and damaged the company’s interests. Yu Hai was not pleased when he found out, and now, hearing Yu Zhao say this, it ignited his anger, “Really…”
Yu Zhao continued, “Also, can we assign Xia Tao to another department?”
“Xia Tao?” Yu Hai was somewhat surprised. “What happened to him?”
Yu Zhao said, “I’m not sure. I’ve hardly interacted with him. Colleagues have reported that he’s been a bit lax in his work.”
“You haven’t interacted with him?” Yu Hai thought for a moment, “Didn’t you go out for lunch with him today?”
Today, Xia Tao went out for lunch with Yu Zhao, and when he came back, he tried to poison Yu Hai’s mind, saying that Yu Zhao had complained about Yu Hai during lunch. So, Yu Hai’s reaction to You Zhao earlier was influenced by Xia Tao. Yu Zhao sensed the abnormality and deliberately probed. Now, seeing the situation, it turned out that Xia Tao hadn’t escaped.
Yu Zhao casually said, “Not really. Today, I had lunch with Gao Bohua to discuss the signing of the contract. Xia Tao happened to be there and asked Gao Bohua for his SNS number. I told Gao Bohua that he’s your person, so Gao Bohua didn’t give it to him.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Hai’s face turned green.
Although Xia Tao had also reported things that happened at lunch, compared to the flamboyant young OMEGA, Yu Hai still trusted this son of his who wasn’t close but was stable and honest.
Yu Zhao didn’t say much. He always stopped at the right moment. He said, “So… I’ll go back to follow up on the order.”
“Okay.” Yu Hai nodded, and his face returned to normal. “Go ahead!”
Yu Zhao, judging from the expression on Yu Hai’s face, knew that the matter with Lu Tian’s order could be settled.
After leaving You Hai’s office, Yu Zhao quickly returned to his department. As soon as he arrived, the male colleague stood up and nodded respectfully, “General Zhao, everything okay?”
“It’s fine. Keep working.” Yu Zhao said indifferently, “Remember what I said; be more clever in the future.”
“Yes, I understand.” The male colleague nodded hastily.
Yu Zhao turned and entered his office. After sitting for a while, Xiao Qi sneaked in with a gossip-filled face, asking, “The Lu Tian order…?”
“It’s over, don’t think about it.” Yu Zhao waved his pen and signed a name on the contract. “But we’ll have other orders.”
However, Xiao Qi shook his head, saying, “Is this order really over?”
“It’s over.”
“But just now, General Hai was clearly furious!” Xiao Qi said.
“That’s a display of authority. He knows himself that there’s nothing to investigate,” Yu Zhao raised an eyebrow. “Everyone knows that this matter is related to Yu Yong.”
“Him again?” Xiao Qi widened his eyes.
“The information about the vulnerability was patched as soon as it came out. How would an ordinary thief know? Even if he knew, he should have handled it better, but he happened to get caught. How coincidental is that? I deliberately suggested an internal investigation, and Yu Yong couldn’t hide the truth with his revealing face,” Yu Zhao said casually, his tone filled with accustomed calmness. “General Hai isn’t foolish; he knows what’s going on.”
Xiao Qi was indignant, “Why does Yu Yong always scheme with underhanded tactics behind our backs? It’s so annoying!”
“Indeed. With that effort, why not sign a few more deals?” Yu Zhao sneered at Yu Yong’s “methods.”
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Qi said, “Actually, don’t we have some leverage against Yu Yong?”
“We have plenty,” Yu Zhao raised an eyebrow. “Is it useful?”
“Why wouldn’t it be useful?”
Yu Zhao said, “Because his dad is Duan Keyi.”
Both Yu Zhao and Yu Yong were sons of Yu Hai, but the treatment was like night and day. Everyone knew why—it was just the absence of a shared father.
After some thought, Yu Zhao felt it was more important to grab onto Qu Jing, a major client.
The Yu family couldn’t be relied upon.
People often said Yu Zhao was “royalty,” the “big prince” of the company, which sounded noble. But everyone also said Yu Yong was the “crown prince” of the company. The titles of “big prince” and “crown prince” were not comparable. Yu Zhao had known for a long time that he had no hope in the Yu family.
Even if he signed many deals and made a lot of effort, he couldn’t secure the inheritance. After all, there was a distinct difference between the “big prince” and the “crown prince.”
But he did all this not to gain inheritance. He just felt that since he was doing it, he should do it well. Inheritance was fake, but salary, commission, bonuses, and stock incentives were always real money.
His father couldn’t be relied upon, but money was different.
“What’s wrong?” When Hua Yao came to pick up Yu Zhao, he saw his unhappy expression. “I heard that Lu Tian’s deal fell through. Is it because of this that you are angry?”
“You heard about it too?” Yu Zhao was a bit surprised.
“Of course!” Hua Yao nodded. “I have a mobile phone!”
Yu Zhao said, “Let’s go to the bar.”
Hua Yao drove, speeding all the way, and got to the bar in no time. Yu Zhao planned to have a couple of drinks to relax. Although he seemed calm in the face of changes, he still felt unhappy when bad things happened. However, he had experienced being stabbed in the back at “Yu Corp” before; getting used to it was inevitable.
After being stolen from, slandered, and maligned, he considered it normal. Sometimes, he wanted to become softer, but if he did, he would die quickly.
He couldn’t help but think of his father—Yingnong. Yingnong was a very soft person, like an ideal OMEGA, gentle, beautiful, and understanding. But he did not end well.
Yu Zhao witnessed Yingnong’s death when he was fifteen years old. At that time, he knew that he must not be as tender and adorable as Yingnong.
After having two drinks with Hua Yao, Hua Yao went to chat up a handsome guy at another table. Yu Zhao drank a glass alone but heard someone beside him talking, “Hello! Mr. Zhao?”
Yu Zhao turned his head and saw someone. Even without seeing the face, just by looking at the clothes, he knew who it was—aside from Gao Bohua, which ALPHA had rhinestones on their shirt?
“Mr. Gao?” Yu Zhao smiled. “What a coincidence.”
Gao Bohua also smiled, sat down beside Yu Zhao, and said, “drinking at a bar alone?”
Yu Zhao shook his head. Just as he was about to point at Hua Yao, he realized he was already gone. He had to retract his finger and said, “I came with a friend.”
Gao Bohua seemed a bit skeptical but didn’t expose it, only saying, “Oh, me too. My friend disappeared.”
Yu Zhao seemed genuinely helpless and said, “Bars are crowded. It’s normal not to see your friend for a moment.”
Gao Bohua said, “It’s getting late. Let me take you home.”
Yu Zhao said, “I really came with a friend.” He sounded somewhat helpless.
Gao Bohua said, “Alright, where’s your friend?”
Yu Zhao thought for a moment, called Hua Yao, and kept it on speaker. Hua Yao answered, “What’s up?”
“Where are you? Why can’t I see you?” Yu Zhao asked.
Hua Yao replied, “Why are you asking this again? Just go back by yourself! I’ve hooked up with a handsome guy.”
“Okay, stay safe,” Yu Zhao said euphemistically, then hung up the phone and glanced at Gao Bohua, “Do you believe it?”
Gao Bohua raised his hands in surrender, “I’m not investigating you. But you’re really my in-law…”
“In-law?” Yu Zhao was extremely surprised.
Gao Bohua nodded, very seriously, “Believe it or not, but I and Qu Jing are real brothers!”
“?”
Gao Bohua nodded and clasped Yu Zhao’s hand.
