Because I Cannot Hurt You

Keung stared at them and tapped his finger on the desk.

He smiled. "I think I asked for the last quarterly report. Do you not have it, or is there any problem?"

Han Mingli glared at them. "Is this how you treat the CEO of the company?"

Some of the employees didn\'t respond while some didn\'t hide their distaste. "Apologies, but Sir Zhiyuan was handling all the matters until now. Now suddenly, Han Keung is...All the employees in the company are quite shocked with this. You cannot expect us to accept this change so quickly-"

"So?" Han Mingli cut him off. "I don\'t care. My son is your Boss now. Zhiyuan is history."

There was a visible change in the atmosphere. Even the ones who were keeping their silence couldn\'t help but voice their disappointment.

"Keung has got the major shares now. Does anybody want to challenge their decision? I can call the members of the board of directors to clarify this once again."

The senior marketing manager cleared his throat. "I am sorry Mr. Han Mingli, but it\'s difficult to approve their decision. A sudden change in the CEO himself seems…"

"What!? Are you accusing us? Why don\'t you show evidence if you think that I am lying?"

"I am not saying that they would be lying. The share papers are in front of everyone. But I cannot help but doubt the methods by which the transfer happened."

Keung said nothing while Han Mingli flared even more.

"You…"

Another executive finally spoke up too. "Well there is no reason to be so angry, right? Do you blame us for doubting you? Han Keung had a history of embezzling money before."

He stiffened.

"And Mr. Han Mingli and Mrs. Han Guang...well, you were even in prison until last week. Now, the company is being managed by criminals. How can we not worry?"

Veins popped up in Han Mingli\'s head, and he was about to shout, but Keung raised his hand. "Dad."

He smiled at everyone. "You can keep your doubts to yourself. Whatever you might feel won\'t change the fact that I am the CEO now, and I want to make Han Corps even more successful than cousin Zhiyuan did. So, it\'s better if you cooperate with me."

"Hah! It\'s impossible for you!" One of them snorted in disdain. "You cannot match Sir Zhiyuan at all! Just look at him and then at yourself. You don\'t even come close to his presence."

Keung froze. He opened and closed his fist a few times as he clenched his jaw.

His icy gaze fell on that executive and he said in a cold voice, "Go to the HR department and take your last paycheck. You don\'t need to show your face here anymore."

The executive widened his eyes. Everybody was shocked.

"You...you are firing me?"

"Do I need to spell it out for you?"

"You!" He stood up from his chair in anger. "Do you even know how long I have been working in the Han Corps? Fourteen years! I have worked with both Sir Han Huizhong and Sir Zhiyuan, and now you come out of nowhere and fire me?"

Han Mingli was quite satisfied. "This is what you get for disrespecting the CEO."

Some of the other employees chimed in. "It\'s not disrespectful. What did he say wrong?"

"Yeah. You have like the worst image that even Sir Han Huizhong had to send you abroad. You were selfish to pocket all the money from the company!"

"Whereas Sir Zhiyuan gave it all. You think you can take his place just like that?"

"Now I am certain that you got all those shares by doing something fishy!"

"Sir Zhiyuan wasn\'t as remotely as rude as you two, and now you are acting bossy already just after taking his seat."

Keung banged his fist on the desk. The growing resentments suddenly went silent.

"He is getting fired is my last decision. Now it\'s up to you if you want to join him or not."

They gasped in disbelief.

"Do you think that this company will collapse without you all? If you cannot follow me, then you don\'t need to come to the office anymore."

Silence.

He sneered. "Cousin Zhiyuan is jobless now. He won\'t be there to help you now. Are you so loyal to him that you would lose your high paying job for him? Do you understand that getting fired from the Han Corps is gonna put a huge stain on your career\'s reputation. I can guarantee you that you won\'t get jobs anywhere else once the market knows that Han Corps has thrown you out."

The employees gritted their teeth in displeasure.

Han Mingli chuckled. "You are gonna throw your jobs away for Zhiyuan? Even if he isn\'t the CEO anymore, he would still live a lavish and carefree life in the Han villa. He won\'t ever have to worry about money. He is Han Zhiyuan, after all. But do you have the liberty to have a life like that?"

It was bitter, but it was the truth. Indeed, it would be extremely difficult for them to leave this job. They didn\'t have millions like the Han family had. They were normal middle-class people earning for their families.

They were loyal to Zhiyuan, but they also had their wives and children to think about…

Keung dismissed them. "Meeting over. Next time, I want a better attitude."

As the managers left, feeling disappointed, Han Mingli, on the other hand, was extremely happy.

"Hah! I am proud of you, Keung. That\'s how you show them. They would have always bullied you like this if you hadn\'t set them straight today!" He patted his shoulders and left too, whistling a happy tune.

Keung was alone in the conference room. He stared at the empty seats. A bitter and burning sensation filled his chest. He banged his fist on the desk and threw the file away that made a loud thud.

"You....I won\'t give up, cousin Zhiyuan. I won\'t ever lose to you!"