“I go…” President Pei bit his lip, feeling somewhat dejected. “If I had known he would take this attitude so early on, I wouldn’t have made any guarantees for Jacob. I wanted to keep him in the vice president position just to appease Master Hong Fifth. I was worried that Master Hong Fifth would me him in the future, but now that Master Hong Fifth is toozy to care about him, why should I put myself under so much pressure to help?”
“Absolutely!” his wife replied without hesitation. “Since Master Hong Fifth has already taken a stance, you really don’t need to assist him in this matter. You have to understand that if you help him, everyone will think you’re just taking his side, and that will certainly lead to gossip. If you can remain fair and impartial, it will earn you a lot of goodwill.”
His wife continued, “Old Pei, you need to be realistic. You have to think about what happens if you don’t get promoted this time.”
“If I don’t get promoted…” President Pei sighed, “Then I can only continue working in the Calligraphy and Painting Association.”
His wife nodded and responded, “If you have to stay in the association, whether you show favoritism or impartiality will directly impact your reputation and status there. In my opinion, it’s not worth jeopardizing your image for Jacob’s sake.”<h3 style="background-color:DodgerBlue">
President Pei nodded thoughtfully but awkwardly admitted, “But I’ve already promised him…”<fn95b2> For more chapters visit find·novel</fn95b2>
His wife retorted, “What exactly did you promise? Promises can mean many things. When my sister needed to borrow money to buy a house, I promised to help her, but when she turned around and asked for two million, I had to say no. She sold her old house to buy a new one, and even though it seemed reasonable for her to ask for a million, asking for two million was overstepping. Since she was bold enough to make the request, I had to be firm in my refusal.”
President Pei asked, “So, you’re saying I shouldn’t bother protecting Jacob at all?”
His wife suggested, “Didn’t you tell him to send an email to resign? If he simply sends that email, you can take the opportunity to approve his resignation, right?”
President Pei hesitated, “But… that feels too harsh. If I make him resign, it’s like I’m forcing him out of the executive vice president role. I thought we could resolve our internal issues without making such a drastic move. If he finds out I tricked him, he’ll hate me forever.”
“What are you so afraid of?” his wife asked, a bit frustrated. “Are you really that worried about Jacob hating you? My sister hates me right now, but what can I do? I can’t lend her money!”
“If I let her hate me and gave her the two million, what would happen? She’d buy her new house without paying a dime, renovate it this year, buy a new car next year, and eventually get her child married, all while not being able to pay me back for years!”
She added, “With two million, I’d just put it in a universal ount, earning 3.5% interest, which gives me 70,000 yuan a year. After ten years, that’s 700,000 yuan in interest alone. Who will make up that loss for me? I can’t absorb that kind of hit!”
“Helping Jacob now serves no purpose. Master Hong Fifth doesn’t care about him, so why would he remember your kindness? Protecting him won’t bring you any benefits at all!”
“And if you do bail him out, you’ll risk gaining a reputation for favoritism and covering for your subordinates. In the future, if those vice presidents decide to turn against you and write a whistle-blowing letter, you’ll be in trouble.”
President Pei broke into a cold sweat, quickly realizing, “If that’s the case, then I definitely can’t protect him anymore!”
After a long sigh, he added, “At times like this, everyone tends to focus on their own front door, ignoring the frost on others’ tiles. I won’t me myself for not being righteous towards Jacob; I’ll just me him for acting thoughtlessly and creating his own troubles.”
……
Meanwhile, Jacob had finishedposing his resignation email.
He understood the importance of appearances, so he sent the email only to President Pei, without copying any other members.
Upon receiving the email, President Pei immediately opened it. Jacob stated that he had decided to resign from his position as executive vice president for personal reasons and requested President Pei’s approval.
ording to the initial n, President Pei intended to gather the other vice presidents for a meeting the next day, show them the email, and rify that Jacob was stepping down, which would allow a few others to move up. This way, the matter would be resolved amicably, and everyone would be satisfied.