Under One Person: The End of Technique, Company Building

As the elevator ascends, the floor numbers tick up one by one.

The door opened, and the smell of disinfectant wafted out of the hallway.

Zhang Chulan came out and ran into Xu San, who had just come out of the ward.

Xu San's eyes were still red, but he had almost composed himself and his expression had returned to its usual calm. However, the weariness in his eyes was still evident.

He was slightly taken aback when he saw Zhang Chulan walking towards him from the direction of the elevator.

"Where did you go?"

"I took a walk downstairs," Zhang Chulan said. "I chatted with Section Chief Zhuge for a bit."

Xu San's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, but quickly relaxed: "What did you talk about?"

"About the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony." Zhang Chulan didn't hide anything; he felt there was no point in hiding it now.

Xu San was silent for a few seconds, then sighed and said, "I hope you can go, but you have to go by yourself. Don't let him lead you by the nose."

Zhang Chulan nodded.

He actually felt the same way.

At this moment, the monitor in the ward had been turned off. Xu Xiang lay on the hospital bed with a peaceful expression, the last layer of redness on his face gone, like a ship that had finally reached the shore, anchored on a calm sea.

Feng Baobao was still sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Xu Xiang's hand, which had already cooled down, and she had stopped singing the old song for a while.

Her expression was calm, but it was different from her usual expressionless face. It was as if all her emotions had sunk to the bottom of the water, which looked calm on the surface but was unfathomably deep underneath.

Xu Si stood by the window, his back to the people inside, looking at the scenery in the garden downstairs, seemingly lost in thought.

After a long while, he turned around, his voice hoarse: "I'll contact the funeral home."

Zhuge Qi also timed his arrival perfectly, arriving much later than Zhang Chulan.

Xu San nodded, then his gaze fell on Zhuge Qi standing to the side.

His gaze was different from before; it lacked the politeness and distance he showed to his superiors, and instead held an undisguised scrutiny.

If he had kept his emotions in check just now because his father was present, he no longer needed to worry about anything.

"Section Chief Zhuge," Xu San said calmly, "I have something to say to you."

"Okay." Zhuge followed Xu San out of the ward and closed the door behind him.

Xu San turned around to face Zhuge Qi, with two steps between them.

The window was at the end of the corridor, and the light shone in from there, casting Xu San's shadow long.

"How did you manage to persuade my dad?" Xu San asked bluntly, his tone not exactly aggressive, but the questioning tone was clear.

Zhuge Qi leaned against the corridor wall, his relaxed posture a stark contrast to Xu San's tense demeanor: "I didn't try to persuade him; he came to me about this himself."

Xu San raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing it.

"Initially, I was indeed going to try to persuade Master Xu, but before I could do so, it was Master Xu who entrusted me with this matter first, and the result was the same."

Xu San pursed his lips into a thin line, but he didn't interrupt and continued listening.

"Feng Baobao is too special. You all know her secret, I know it too, and President Zhao knows it too. There are not many people in the company who know about this, but everyone knows it."

Zhuge Qi straightened up and looked at Xu Sanping: "Director Xu is not worried that you are not qualified. He is worried that one day someone will use Feng Baobao as a tool to influence the position of your North China branch."

Your feelings for her are too deep, so deep that if that day ever comes, you might do something irrational.

"Enough." Xu San interrupted him, the two words seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a barely suppressed anger, "Don't twist my father's words into what you want to hear."

Zhuge Qi did not argue, but simply looked at him quietly for a few seconds before saying, "There's no need to treat me as an enemy; we have no fundamental conflict."

Xu San stared at him for a long time, his eyes filled with anger, resentment, and a sense of frustration, like someone who had their things stolen but couldn't find a reason to get them back.

He knew that what Zhuge Qi said might be true, and it was precisely because it might be true that he felt even more distressed.

He would rather that Zhuge Qi had used some trickery or abuse of power, so that he would at least have a reason to hate him and a reason to fight back.

But if it was his father's decision, then he wouldn't even have a valid reason to protest.

The door opened again, and Xu Si walked out. Seeing the two people facing off in the corridor, his expression changed several times.

He walked over and stood next to Xu San, first glancing at his brother, then looking at Zhuge Qi.

"Section Chief Zhuge," Xu Si's voice was calmer than his brother's, but that calmness was deliberate; he was wearing just as much as Xu San. "My brother has a straightforward temper, and his words might not be very pleasant. But regarding the baby's custody... we reserve our opinion."

Zhuge Qi nodded and said, "Of course."

"Please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying I'm going to turn against you right now," Xu Si said very politely, so politely that it sounded rather impolite. "We'll cooperate with the necessary procedures, and we don't intend to hold you back during the handover, but there's one thing I need to say upfront—"

He took the cigarette out of his mouth, pinching the butt between his thumb and forefinger, the ember flickering in the corridor light: "Baby has been in North China for so many years, since my father's generation. We will bring her back sooner or later. This matter will not end here."

"I understand your thoughts and respect your feelings," Zhuge Qi said. "But I have my responsibilities, and there are some things I must consider in advance. If you really have your own ideas, then just follow the procedures, and I won't stop you."

He paused, then added, "Actually, the headquarters isn't far from North China. You can see her anytime you want; I can make that decision."

Xu Si chuckled upon hearing this, but his attitude didn't improve at all.

The atmosphere remained tense for a while before Zhuge Qi finally broke the silence.

"I've already had the paperwork prepared. The handover will be completed tomorrow morning, and I'll take a flight back to headquarters this afternoon," he said. "Let me give you a day to say goodbye."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the other end of the corridor, his leather shoes making a soft, steady thud on the tiled floor, like a wound-up pendulum. His figure disappeared around the corner at the end of the corridor.

Xu San stood there, looking in the direction where he had disappeared. He clenched his fists and then relaxed them, repeating this several times before he could barely calm his breathing.

"Damn it, that Zhuge Liang is definitely not a good person."