The Heiress's Game

Vice President Liu sat in his office, staring at Nan Zhenquan's resignation approval process in the OA system for a long time, hovering the mouse over the "Approve" button without clicking it.

He is in his early fifties and has been in charge of human resources at Daheng Group for almost ten years. He has seen too many people come and go, but the name Nan Zhenquan makes him feel particularly sorry.

People like Nan Zhenquan are the true backbone of Daheng; the loss of one of them is a loss indeed.

He thought for a moment, but instead of approving, he picked up his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and called Nan Zhenquan.

"Zhenquan, it's me, Lao Liu."

After the call connected, he got straight to the point, "I saw your resignation application. I need to tell you something first—don't hang up yet."

Headquarters has already approved your promotion to Executive Vice President of the Group. The transfer order will be issued next week. If you leave now, it's like throwing that order straight into the trash. You should know better than me how many people are eyeing this position.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. Nan Zhenquan's voice was very calm, so calm that it made Vice President Liu's heart skip a beat:

"President Liu, thank you for your care over the years. I will always remember your kindness and support, but there's really no need to persuade me this time."

"Why? Just because of that dog of the Third Young Master?"

Vice President Liu leaned back in his chair, his tone carrying a sense of helplessness, as if to say, "We're all adults, can't we please not be so impulsive?"

"I also think that thing is absurd, but it's not worth jeopardizing my future."

"Once the transfer order comes down, you'll be part of the group's core team, half a rank higher than me. From now on, you can ignore even if the Third Young Master wants you to go easy on his dogs."

"It's not out of spite. I've been in Daheng for fifteen years. During my busiest period, I didn't go home for half a year. I was hospitalized three times for stomach bleeding."

To be honest, I have never complained about the hardship and fatigue.

But lately, I've been feeling really weak. Every morning when I wake up, the thought of going to the office and dealing with all those trivial things that have nothing to do with the project itself makes me feel like there's a stone weighing on my heart.

I know this state best—it's not just being tired, it's that my heart is dead.

Vice President Liu opened his mouth, wanting to say a few more words of advice, but swallowed the words back.

Someone who can reach Nan Zhenquan's level wouldn't easily say they want to resign unless they've clearly calculated all the pros and cons.

"Have you decided where to go?" Vice President Liu asked.

"I've made up my mind. I'll switch industries and start all over again."

Vice President Liu remained silent for a few seconds, then sighed softly.

"Alright, I won't stop you then, but remember one thing—give me a call whenever you want to come back. Daheng's doors are always open for you."

"Thank you, Mr. Liu."

After hanging up the phone, Vice President Liu leaned back in his chair and stared blankly at the gray sky outside the window for a long time.

Then he sat up straight, opened the OA system, and clicked "Approval" on Nan Zhenquan's resignation approval.

Another capable person has left.

After several days of haggling, the HR department at Snow City Company finally pushed the resignation form in front of him and jokingly said, "Mr. Nan, it's not too late for you to back out now. I can just tear this form to shreds and pretend I didn't see it."

Nan Zhenquan smiled, picked up the pen and signed his name. His pen strokes were clean and crisp, without the slightest hesitation.

The news spread faster than he had expected.

Before he could even walk back to his parking spot from the HR office, his phone started vibrating incessantly.

The first call came from Old Zhao in the South China region, who immediately said, "Brother Nan, are you crazy? Don't you know how well Daheng is doing right now? The industry is booming, and you're leaving at this point?"

The second one was Lao Qian from Donghua. He was even more anxious and said, "You've already become the CEO of Xuecheng. If you work your way up a few more years, you can enter the core management of the group. What's wrong with you that you have to resign at this critical juncture?"

Nan Zhenquan stood on the steps outside the office building lobby, looking at the hazy sky over Snow City, replying to calls one by one with his phone to his ear. He told Lao Zhao, "It's not an impulsive decision, I've thought about it for a long time," and told Lao Qian, "I'm not counting on the core team, let the younger generation handle it."

That night, a group of his former subordinates dragged him out for drinks.

When Nan Zhenquan entered, everyone stood up and shouted "President Nan" in unison, which warmed his heart.

He waved for everyone to sit down, picked up the first glass of wine, looked around at everyone, and said, "Today I'm not some General Manager Nan anymore."

My resignation is complete; starting tomorrow, I'm unemployed. This drink is a thank you to my brothers for all the hardships they've been through with me over the years.

They tilted their heads back and drank it all. There was a few seconds of silence on the table before a cacophony of voices erupted.

Xiao Zhao from the engineering department, the youngest and most impulsive, stood up with his wine glass in hand and said, "President Nan, if I may say something I shouldn't, what happened with the Third Young Master was really too damn bullying."

But it's such a pity that you're leaving like this. You built up the whole Snow City business from scratch. Who will take over this business now that you're gone?

Xiao Lin from the marketing department nodded in agreement, saying that the real estate industry is doing so well right now, and Daheng's stock price has been rising continuously. Why would a CEO of your level want to resign at this time?

Nan Zhenquan listened to the group of young people offering their advice, and everyone they said made sense.

He put down his wine glass and looked at the faces on the table—each one of whom he had personally recruited and trained.

Over the years he led them, the turnover rate was the lowest in the entire group. It wasn't because of high salaries, but because of sincerity that earned their sincerity.

"Brothers," he began.

"The Third Young Master's dog swimming in the mineral water was, in the end, just a trigger. What really made me want to leave was exhaustion. Not physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion."

"Once you've been at Daheng for a while, you'll realize that this group, from top to bottom, is just the He family's personal ATM. Those of us who work ourselves to the bone outside are less than a bottle of water in the eyes of the He family."

"I want to switch industries. I want to go into media and entertainment, to Da Hai City."

It sounds ridiculous, right? But I want to give it a try. When I switched from a technician to a management position, weren't I also told I couldn't do it? But I learned as I went along.

Xiao Zhao was the first to frown: "Dahai City? Brother Nan, you know how high the housing prices are there. Every inch of land is precious; a single house there can be a death sentence. And you're traveling with your family—"

"They're providing accommodation," Nan Zhenquan interrupted him, a rare smile playing on his lips.

"It's a villa, not a dormitory or an apartment. It's a detached villa. The boss said so himself. You can move in on the day you start working."

There was a half-second silence on the table, then it erupted into chaos.

"A villa? A villa in Dahai City? Brother Nan, what kind of amazing boss have you run into?"

"Is this a scam? There's no way it's so easy!"

Nan Zhenquan waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "He's not a scammer. The CEO himself conducted the interview."

He picked up his glass and took another sip. "My wife will move there with the kids after I settle down there first."

The boss also promised to help resolve the household registration issue—you all know how difficult it is to get a household registration in Dahai City, but since she said she could do it, I trusted her.

Upon hearing this, even Xiao Sun, who was most anxious for him, fell silent.

Those of you here are all adults who have been working in society for many years, and you know all too well what the phrase "solving the household registration problem" means in Dahai City.

That's something money can't buy. People who can casually say they'll "help solve it" don't need any further questions about their background or sincerity.

After a moment of silence, Xiao Zhao picked up his glass, stood up, and broke the silence: "Alright, Brother Nan, no matter what you do in the future, you'll always be my mentor. When I go to Dahai City on a business trip, you have to let me stay at your villa."

Nan Zhenquan smiled and clinked glasses with him. The atmosphere finally eased a bit, and everyone took turns toasting, talking about the construction periods they had endured together over the years, the nights they had stayed up together, and the breakfasts they had eaten together at the noodle shop near the construction site.

The next morning, he stood at the entrance of the residential area with his simple luggage, waiting for a car to pick him up.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. The city of Dahai, the villa, the new industry, his wife and children's residency permits—these words swirled in his mind, finally coalescing into one thought:

There aren't many people who dare to start over at their age, but Nan Zhenquan is one of them.