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Chapter 90: Chapter 88 Quite Fateful
Pat pat pat—pat pat pat—
The training hall burst into ceaseless, enthusiastic applause.
An esteemed elder dressed in a Tang suit, with salt-and-pepper hair, was escorted into the venue, surrounded by several black-suited bodyguards.
Manager Li, along with two other high-ranking company officials, were eagerly attending to him, continuously nodding and bowing.
All employees of the club were neatly arranged in rows, like a ceremonial guard during inspections, welcoming the arrival of the chairman with the warmest of attitudes.
The elder’s face bore a smile as he waved while walking in.
It seemed he didn’t carry the air of a high-ranking personage.
Fang Cheng stood among the crowd, joining in the applause.
This seemingly ordinary wealthy man before him was the club’s mysterious big boss, the chairman who was rarely seen all year round.
According to what his colleagues revealed, his surname should be Shen, and he might be distantly related to Coach Shen Haoming.
Yet Manager Li seemed to have misspoken, always respectfully referring to him as Chairman Shen.
The elder stepped onto the red-carpeted podium, his gaze slowly sweeping across the audience.
Was it an illusion?
Fang Cheng felt as if his look lingered on him for a second longer.
Chairman Shen took the microphone offered by the eager Manager Li and got straight to the point:
"You have all worked hard; with your support, I have always been at ease with the club."
"Of course, the company will not mistreat you or ignore the hard work you have put in. I’ve already instructed Xiao Li that, starting from this March, everyone’s salary will be increased by a certain percentage..."
As soon as these words were spoken, a stir instantly arose from below the stage.
The employees, unable to maintain their composure in front of the boss, excitedly whispered to each other.
Manager Li reacted quickly, taking the lead and zealously starting the applause.
Seeing this, others followed suit.
For a moment, the sound of applause was thunderous, with cheers mixed in, resounding endlessly.
Chairman Shen was decisive and straightforward in his actions, drawing a big picture with brief final remarks:
"I hope everyone will continue to strive for excellence and achieve even more in the new year!"
As the big boss spoke sparingly, Manager Li, acting the role of the flatterer, naturally couldn’t let the atmosphere cool down.
He went along with Chairman Shen’s speech, taking the opportunity to offer ample flattery.
Thereafter he gave a lengthy and inspiring speech about his and the company’s shared vision.
If Chairman Shen hadn’t coughed, Manager Li could probably have spoken tirelessly for an hour.
After the formalities were concluded, it was time for the eagerly anticipated employee award ceremony.
Each person called by name would walk up to the stage and line up, waiting for the boss to personally hand them the red envelope.
Fang Cheng, being the third on the list, also stood in the queue, quietly waiting.
"Young man, I’ve heard about your performance; it’s very impressive."
Chairman Shen approached him, holding a red envelope in both hands, solemnly handing it over.
Fang Cheng smiled, bowed slightly, and politely received it with both hands.
It was at this moment that one of the black-suited bodyguards standing behind Chairman Shen suddenly became extremely tense, eyes firmly fixed on Fang Cheng.
This feeling was like a wild beast encountering an even fiercer one of its kind, bristling all over and instinctively displaying caution.
Fang Cheng was slightly taken aback, giving the ordinarily-looking black-suited bodyguard a glance.
From a distance, there was nothing noteworthy about him.
But up close, one could vaguely perceive a formidable and sharp aura about him.
To use Ma Jianguo’s words, this was a martial artist whose vigor reflected their inner strength.
Chairman Shen, on the other hand, seemed quite calm, patting Fang Cheng’s shoulder with some profound meaning, and encouraged:
"Keep up the good work; we might meet again in the future."
Before Fang Cheng could ponder the meaning of these words, he moved on to the next outstanding employee.
Ten minutes later, the award ceremony ended.
The chairman seemed to be very busy and hurriedly left after issuing the awards.
The club’s senior management’s preparations to welcome the boss were thus undone.
However, the employees were relaxed and cheerful, brimming with a joyous atmosphere.
Among them, those who received the excellent employee award were particularly sought after.
Fang Cheng was surrounded by a group of people, full of curiosity.
"Ah Cheng, did the chairman know you from before?"
"I don’t know him."
Fang Cheng decisively shook his head.
Clearly, Chairman Shen’s special treatment just now had caught the attention of many people.
"Don’t know him? How come I feel like his look at you was just like a grandfather gazing at his grandson?"
One of the coaches said with a mix of skepticism.
"Can you even speak? If Fang Cheng were the Chairman’s grandson, he would be driving luxury cars and sitting in the manager’s office, not working as a sparring partner."
Coach Xu came over and couldn’t help but retort.
"Well, you can never be sure, you know. Haven’t you seen in TV dramas, the rich young master starts from being a cleaner at his own company, then he meets Cinderella and wins the beauty..."
Fang Cheng shook his head speechlessly, tuning out the increasingly far-fetched speculations.
He guessed it must’ve been due to some commendatory words Shijima Gorou said to Chairman Shen before, which led to today’s special regard.
Thinking of this, he weighed the bulging red packet in his hand.
Without counting, he could feel the substantial sense of fullness that came from a thick stack of money.
Indeed, directly depositing the cash bonus into his bank account was not as tangible and luxurious as this method.
Fang Cheng carefully put away the money.
The previously thin wallet instantly became plump.
He couldn’t help but to ponder how he should spend this sum of money.
Meanwhile.
A row of expensive black sedans was emerging from the parking lot downstairs, one after another entering the highway.
Within the luxury sedan in the center, Chairman Shen was resting against the couch with his eyes closed.
"Chairman, do you think that young man is trustworthy and worth investing in?"
A black-clad bodyguard sitting beside him asked respectfully.
"I don’t see any problems."
Chairman Shen didn’t open his eyes, slowly stating, "I trust Mr. Shijima’s evaluation of him."
The bodyguard nodded in agreement:
"I have investigated his family background and life experiences. Besides his father being a suspected murderer, everything else is clean..."
As he spoke, the piercing ring of a cell phone abruptly sounded.
He immediately pressed the answer button.
"Mm, mm, I am aware."
After listening to the person on the other end, the bodyguard turned to look at the elderly man beside him, his expression somewhat hesitant:
"Chairman, Ah Liang has sent a message; another one of the small factions under us has been annexed by the Red Tiger Gang."
"Hmph."
Chairman Shen’s eyelids suddenly flipped open, revealing a pair of eyes flickering with keen light.
"The tiger lying low with its claws drawn for too long will be overlooked; it’s time for us to flex our muscles."
"But how should we deal with those mysterious experts?"
Chairman Shen frowned tightly upon hearing this, rubbing his forehead:
"Let’s discuss in more detail when we get back."
.............
Lingang District, second-hand market.
This place is close to the international port, a mix of fish and dragons.
Not only is there a lot of smuggled and knockoff electronic products for sale, but it also conceals some highly risky and profitable black industries.
Fang Cheng received a high bonus of twenty thousand yuan and spent an afternoon at the club taking two sparring lessons.
In the evening, he took a taxi here, planning to switch from a rental to a full payment to buy a second-hand mobile phone.
At this time, he had just come out of a communication store.
He was toying with a charger and other accessories given by the store as an extra.
Looking up at the road, however, the corner of his eye caught a familiar figure, burly as a bear.
"Ma Donghe?"
Fang Cheng was somewhat surprised to encounter him here and felt their meeting was quite serendipitous.
Seeing him looking around as if searching for someone,
Just as he was about to go up and greet him, Fang Cheng’s gaze suddenly condensed.
Because right then, he saw someone behind Ma Donghe, looking sneaky as if following him.
