NOVEMBER, 2018

　　At ten thirty on Monday morning, in the small conference room on the 15th floor of the Linghai Branch Office Building of Hedong Provincial Commercial Bank, all members of the loan approval committee were present, except for the chairman.

　　With the meeting time approaching, the main seat at the conference table remained empty. Manager Mo from the Credit Department, hurriedly dialed the phone number of Lin Haichao, the bank’s president.

　　The ringtone customized by Hedong Commercial Bank rang on the other end of the phone. More than fifty seconds passed, the call remained unanswered.

　　Manger Mo shrugged helplessly to the others. “No answer. Maybe he’s already in the elevator,” he said and laughed. “Anyway, let’s take another look at the loan documents for this meeting!”

　　Everyone had no choice but to take out the loan review materials and carefully review them again.

　　The loan review committee of the Linghai Branch consisted of nine members. The chairman was President Lin Haichao, and the vice chairman was Vice President Syueh Honghuei, who was in charge of coordinating credit business. The other members included the assistant of the president Lee Mu, as well as heads of the Credit, Business Development, Personal Finance, Corporate Business, Operations, and Risk Management departments.

　　Another ten minutes passed, and still there was no sign of the president. The vice president was starting to get impatient. Spending time here was causing discontent among everyone, because each department had a mountain of tasks to deal with as the year-end approached.

　　Except for the president, the vice president held the highest rank here. If he didn’t speak up, everyone would likely continue to linger.

　　Therefore, he leaned towards Lee Mu, the assistant of the president, and whispered, “Could you please check if President Lin is too busy to come?”

　　The assistant nodded and left the meeting room. He took the elevator to the 17th floor and arrived at the president’s office door, only to find it closed. He was puzzled. Could the chairman have gone to see Vice President Ma off?

　　Early this morning, Vice President Ma from the head office brought members of the “Crackdown on Gang Crimes” supervisory team to the Linghai Branch to supervise the branch’s cooperation with the public security organs in carrying out the campaign. And the meeting lasted until half-past nine.

　　Thinking of this, Lee Mu turned and headed towards another office. Reception duties were handled by the office, so they would surely know where the president was.

　　As soon as entering the office, he inquired.

　　“President Lin said he’s feeling a bit uncomfortable and wants to rest in the office for a while, ask us not to disturb him,” the office director stood up with a smile and replied.

　　“Never come out at all?”

　　“The door’s still closed, and I haven’t seen him come out.”

　　With Lee Mu’s question, the office director became less certain; after all, the president’s office was not opposite theirs.

　　“The Credit Department is waiting for the loan approval meeting. Manager Mo has called several times, but President Lin hasn’t answered,” Lee Mu said and was in a hurry. “Could he be sleeping too soundly?”

　　The head office leaders arrived yesterday, and last night he accompanied the president to receive them. They had quite a bit to drink.

　　“How about to take the spare key and call President Lin?” asked the office director.

　　“Everyone else is out on business, and I’m the only one here in the office right now. The Risk Management Department needs to finalize a document urgently, and it’s supposed to be reported to the regulatory agency by the end of the morning,” He quickly explained. Thinking that Lee Mu had a higher rank than department managers like them and was still a reserve cadre, he felt that what he said was inappropriate before.

　　The office was responsible for paperwork, publicity, meetings, and logistics, but there were only three staff members, the workload was indeed heavy. Despite feeling a bit unhappy about it, Lee Mu didn’t want to overreact.

　　Taking the spare key, Lee Mu opened the door of the president’s office. Sure enough, President Lin was inside. He was sitting in the office swivel chair by the window, facing outward with his back to the door, sound asleep.

　　“President Lin? It’s time for the meeting,” without going in directly, Lee Mu stood at the doorway and called softly.

　　President Lin remained motionless when Lee Mu took a stepped into the room. Before he reached the desk, he caught a whiff of a bloody smell.

　　His heart skipped a beat, then he quickly strode over to President Lin’s side. Only then did he see that President Lin’s hand resting on the chair’s armrest was stained red with blood. The wound on his wrist showed signs of coagulation but was still bleeding. There was a large pool of blood had formed on the chair and the floor beneath him.

　　Generally speaking, people like Lee Mu, who spent years working in an office environment, had never encountered such a scene before. Seeing so much blood, his legs began to weaken. He took a step back and leaned on the desk, using it to support his body. He was so panicked that he didn’t know what to do.

　　For this instant, there came a sudden ringing from the phone placed on the desk by President Lin that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

　　It took Lee Mu a moment to regain his composure. The phone continued to ring, displaying the caller ID—Sieh Singlan, President Lin’s wife. This name sent another jolt of surprise through him.

　　As President Lin’s assistant, Lee Mu often spent working hours with him and was aware that Mrs. Lin had two phone numbers. One was her actual number, but the call coming in at this moment was from the other one.

　　After hesitating for a while, Lee Mu nervously picked up the phone.

　　· · · · · · · ·

　　One month later.

　　On Wednesday morning, less than ten minutes before the start of the staff and cadres conference, Lee Mu entered the conference room with a water cup in hand.

　　The conference room was large enough to accommodate five hundred people, and at this moment, it was almost full. Only a few seats in the front row of the platform remained empty.

　　Today’s attendees were all the staff from the Linghai Branch Headquarters, as well as the heads of branches and sub-branches, and client managers. Everyone was dressed in work attire as per regulations. When viewed from the entrance, you could see a sea of suits and leather shoes.

　　Lee Mu scanned the conference room and walked over to the empty seat next to Guo Minjyuan, the manager of the HR Department.

　　One of the branch managers who was whispering with Guo Minjyuan noticed Lee Mu approaching, lightly tapped Guo’s elbow resting on the table, and glanced towards the entrance. Guo Minjyuan immediately understood and smoothly changed the topic.

　　Lee Mu sat down expressionlessly, put down his notebook, and then unscrewed the lid of the water cup to take a sip.

　　Seeing his grim expression, Guo Minjyuan refrained from chatting with her colleagues beside her, to avoid offending him and causing trouble.

　　Lin Haichao’s incident had alerted the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. When the police from the detachment arrived, they conducted on-site investigations and interviews, questioning everyone who had interacted with Lin Haichao that day.

　　The specific details of the investigation were unknown, but Guo Minyjuan only knew that after half a month, the case was finally classified as suicide.

　　It had been a month since this incident, during which time the deputy secretary of the Party Committee and Vice President, Syueh Honghuei, had been in charge of the bank’s operations.

　　Although all business operations were running normally, everyone understood the principle of “New broom sweeps clean.” Privately, they whispered and speculated, fearing they might be assigned to manage under-performing branches if they made the wrong alliances.

　　Last Thursday morning, shortly after the start of the workday, the head office’s Party Committee issued a personnel appointment and removal notice via the OA office system.

　　The contents of the notice were extremely concise—Syueh Honghuei is relieved from his position as Deputy Party Secretary of the Linghai Branch and appointed as Party Secretary of the Linghai Branch. Gao Weihua is relieved from his position as Discipline Inspection Secretary of the Linghai Branch and appointed as Deputy Party Secretary of the Linghai Branch. Ding Yi is appointed as Discipline Inspection Secretary of the Linghai Branch.

　　A few brief sentences stirred up a storm of speculation.

　　Following the Party Committee’s document, the HR Department’s personnel appointments left no room for suspense—Syueh Honghuei was appointed as Branch Manager, and Ding Yi as Deputy Branch Manager.

　　As for Gao Weihua, though he remained a Deputy Branch Manager, his administrative rank was elevated. He went from being the third-ranking official at the Linghai Branch to the second-ranking one.

　　The leadership team of the Linghai Branch now included a Party Secretary and Branch Manager, a Deputy Party Secretary and Deputy Branch Manager, a Discipline Inspection Secretary and Party Committee Member, and two Deputy Branch Managers who were also Party Committee Members.

　　It was expected that the head office would have Syueh Honghuei fully oversee the operations, and his promotion was anticipated. Gao Weihua, having served as Discipline Inspection Secretary for three years, was also logically promoted to Deputy Party Secretary. But who was this Ding Yi?

　　On the afternoon of the day she received the document, Guo Minjyuan received an electronic personnel file from the head office’s HR Department. It turned out that Ding Yi was a transferred military officer, thirty-four years old, with the rank of colonel. Before his transfer, he had been a regimental commander in the military.

　　Guo Minjyuan was puzzled about this. According to his resume, Ding Yi had joined the military right after graduating from college. At his age, he had already risen to the rank of regimental officer, indicating he was an exceptional soldier with significant potential for advancement within the military.

　　Why would he choose to transfer to a field where he couldn’t fully utilize his skills, especially given his bachelor’s degree in “Computer Science and Technology”?

　　However, everyone have their own aspirations. And it was ultimately meaningless for her to speculate about others’ decisions based on her perspective .

　　The primary purpose of today’s meeting was to announce the head office’s personnel appointments. Even though everyone had already received the documents, the head office deemed it important to send a senior leader to officially announce the changes, especially since they involved the appointment of a new top leader.

　　Reflecting on this, Guo Minjyuan glanced at Lee Mu, who was seated to her left, recalling his gaffe the previous Thursday.

　　Lee Mu’s office was right next to the HR Department. On the morning the head office sent the documents, shortly after receiving the text message, he had called someone from the IT Department to troubleshoot his computer, claiming he couldn’t open the files.

　　Just a few minutes later, Lee Mu came to their department to borrow a computer. Since everyone else was busy, Guo Minjyuan lent him hers. After confirming that his name wasn’t on the list, Lee Mu’s initial anxiety turned into disappointment and anger. Looking visibly upset, he left the HR department.

　　Not long after, she heard scolding from the next office. It was Lee Mu berating an IT staff member. And he finally sent the poor employee away after venting his frustration. Then came a loud bang as the door was slammed shut.

　　In the afternoon, Guo Minjyuan received a call from Lee Mu applying for leave. He said that his leave had been approved by the leadership, and he would handle the paperwork upon his return. Guo Minjuan didn’t press further about this.

　　Then Lee Mu disappeared for five days and did not appear at work until today. If not for the head office leaders’ visit, Guo Minjyuan guessed he might have skipped today’s meeting as well.

　　As the meeting began, the office director signaled for everyone to quiet down. The new president, Syueh Honghuei, led the head office leaders to the stage and took their seats in the middle.

　　Lee Mu seated in the center of the front row directly facing the rostrum, straightened his back and tried to appear more energetic.

　　Next, Vice President Gao Weihua came in and sat beside the president, followed by two other vice presidents. Lastly, a tall man walked in.

　　The meeting was chaired by the president. After everyone was seated, he began introducing the leaders on the stage one by one.

　　When it came to Ding Yi, he stood up, catching Lee Mu’s attention for the first time.

　　Ding Yi was tall with slightly dark skin and a crew cut. His square face featured thick eyebrows, large eyes that seemed to pierce through life’s experiences and a prominent nose. His gaze appeared gentle yet held a hidden sharpness.

　　At this moment, his lips were tightly pressed together, and there were two vertical lines creased his brow. Even in a tailored suit, he appeared rugged and stern, distinctly out of place among the attendees.

　　This guy looks tough to deal with! Lee Mu thought, realizing he’d have to tread carefully in the future.

　　The meeting proceeded smoothly and concluded in less than an hour.

　　As everyone left the conference room, Ding Yi’s phone vibrated. He excused himself from the group of leaders and stepped out to the balcony garden next to the conference room to take the call. It was his mother calling.

　　“Mom! How are you doing,” Ding Yi said. He’s usually deep, resonant voice softened several notches. “I was just in a meeting.”

　　He walked to the edge of the balcony, where he could see a cluster of palm trees in the courtyard below, and stopped there.

　　“It’s fine. There’s a dormitory at the office, and I just have to pay the rent,” He replied.

　　Hearing that he lived in a dormitory, Ding Yi’s mother worried that he was suffering and suggested finding a new place for him.

　　Ding Yi wasn’t annoyed with his mother’s nagging. Instead, he laughed and reassured her.

　　“You don’t have to do that, Mom! The accommodation here is very nice, and it’s convenient for work,” he said.

　　The Linghai Branch office building had offices up to the 17th floor. To avoid superstition, there was no 18th floor, and the 19th floor housed several suites reserved for staff like Ding Yi, who had transferred from other regions.

　　Though referred to as dormitories, the accommodations were as luxurious as five-star hotel suites. Of course, they weren’t free to live in—the rent was charged at market rates.

　　“It’s true! I promise I’m not lying. Don’t worry about me, just take care of Dad,” said Ding Yi. He hurriedly interrupted his mother’s doubts and nagging. “The senior leaders from the head office are still here, and I need to accompany them. I’ll call you tonight, okay?”

　　Saying some more reassuring words, Ding Yi finally heard his mother laugh on the other end of the line. He ended the call and headed back toward the hallway.

　　During the few minutes Ding Yi was on the phone, the meeting room had emptied out. Only a staff member from the office responsible for logistics and a lobby manager temporarily drafted from the operations department remained, tidying up.

　　The meeting room was at the end of the hallway, and Ding Yi had to pass its entrance to go downstairs. As he approached the door, he overheard the two remaining workers chatting while clearing away paper cups and discarded tea.

　　“Hey, did you see? Assistant Lee showed up for work today.”

　　“Ha, people in our operations department were betting on how long it would take him to come back!”

　　“It seems that the new Deputy Manager Ding won’t have an easy time either.”

　　Hearing the name of himself, Ding Yi paused to listen in.

　　“Why do you say so?”

　　“Just think about it. As soon as Deputy Manager Ding entered the job, his position skipped over two deputy managers and Assistant Lee. How do you think those three feel about it?”

　　At this point, Ding Yi merely smiled and moved on.

　　As he thought—where there are people, there are always the ways of the world!