Volume One, Chapter Nine: The Comeback of the Underdog

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Xie Feng was momentarily stunned before erupting into a furious roar, “Bastard, what are you doing in my house?”

“I was escorting Sister Mei home because she drank too much,” Zhou Yang replied calmly.

“I don’t care what you say...” Losing all reason, Xie Feng’s anger boiled over. “Get out of my house right now, or I’ll call the police.”

“Are you crazy?” Zhou Yang retorted coldly. “If nothing serious is going on, don’t come over again. Sister Mei drank too much—don’t disturb her rest. I’ve put her phone on silent.”

Zhou Yang, annoyed, hung up without another word.

Xie Feng was so furious he was about to explode; his eyes bloodshot, almost fainting.

...

The next day.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

Loud pounding on the door jolted Zhou Yang awake.

“Who is it?”

An elderly woman’s voice came from outside: “Rent is due. Time to pay.”

“Got it, I’ll come find you once I’m up!” Zhou Yang replied evasively.

“Hurry up!” The old woman shuffled downstairs, muttering, “Sleeping and sleeping, what kind of useless person sleeps this late? No wonder your girlfriend ran off with someone else.”

Zhou Yang opened his drowsy eyes and realized it was already noon.

“Oh no, I’m late for work!”

He quickly got up to dress, but then paused and laughed bitterly.

He was about to quit; what work was there to be late for?

Pulling back the curtains, the harsh sunlight flooded the room, making his hangover mind reel.

Looking around his shabby rented room and recalling the wild lights, wine, and luxury of last night, it felt like a dream from another world.

Zhou Yang checked his pockets—only five hundred yuan left, not enough for this month’s rent.

At that moment, regret crept in: why hadn’t he accepted those older women’s invitations last night? Any one of those jobs could have turned his life around.

But the next second, he slapped himself mentally.

Zhou Yang, haven’t you always had dreams? If you can’t resist such small temptations, how do you dare talk about ideals?

Don’t mind that I’m broke now. One day, I will make everyone bow before me.

After this self-motivation, Zhou Yang got up, drank a glass of water, and unlocked his phone.

He saw a post from his ex-girlfriend, Lu Wei, on social media.

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She had officially become a member of the EPS Group’s Administration Department, wearing the company ID badge, and took a cute selfie at her bright, spotless desk.

—Lu Wei, your hard work has finally paid off. You deserve this happiness. Keep working harder!

Below, a group of university classmates liked the post, with a few sycophants commenting congratulations.

“Lu Wei, you got early confirmation at EPS! Amazing!”

“Lu Wei, your desk looks so beautiful, the office environment is really nice. So jealous!”

“Old Lu, you’re already a busy person now. Do we have to queue up to get dinner with you?”

Lu Wei replied uniformly: “Thanks everyone for the congratulations and support. If we have time, let’s all get together. It’s on me!”

Her words were brimming with pride and showiness.

Zhou Yang smiled bitterly and closed the app.

Yet, he noticed an unread long message from Lu Wei.

“Zhou Yang, thank you for letting go and freeing me, which made me who I am today! I’m lucky to have succeeded. One piece of advice—don’t be so stubborn. EPS has limited positions now; you have no chance. Save your energy and choose another path. This is my final sincere advice to you. We won’t cross paths again. Goodbye!”

Her tone was condescending and disdainful.

Zhou Yang shook his head with a bitter smile and didn’t reply.

He no longer felt much.

Lu Wei was no longer the girl of his first love; those memories belonged only to the past, to the summer after graduation.

He browsed his phone further and saw many missed calls, mostly from insurance and loan salespeople, which he ignored.

But he was surprised to see one number had called three times at 10 a.m.

That probably wasn’t a sales call.

He called the number back.

“Hello, who’s calling me? This is Zhou Yang,” he said.

“Oh, hello Zhou Yang. I’m Bai Jie, HR manager at EPS Group headquarters. I’m calling to inform you that this morning you were officially hired by the Group’s Marketing Department. Please coordinate with your regional branch for work handover and report to headquarters next Monday.”

“What? I was hired at headquarters?”

Zhou Yang was stunned and momentarily speechless.

“Mr. Zhou, is there anything unclear?” Bai Jie asked kindly.

Zhou Yang was very surprised—he was still an intern and planned to resign today. How could he suddenly be hired by headquarters?

“Could there be a mistake? Is there someone with the same name?”

“You’re the only Zhou Yang among this batch of interns. No mistake!”

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“But I...” Zhou Yang was even more bewildered.

“Our HR department only handles your position transfer,” Bai Jie interrupted. “For details, you can ask the hiring department at headquarters. They will give you answers.”

“Okay, okay!” Zhou Yang was excited inside. “Thank you, thank you!”

“You’re welcome. Please report on time next Monday! Goodbye!”

The sweet voice ended, and Zhou Yang felt a thrill.

The EPS Marketing Department is the most powerful department in the group besides R&D.

EPS’s philosophy is market-oriented, and there’s a tradition that all departments must cooperate with Marketing. Marketing is the vanguard and the leader!

Zhou Yang was ecstatic.

With his current situation, becoming a member of Marketing was like a complete turnaround.

He just couldn’t understand how, when he was about to quit, he was suddenly hired by headquarters Marketing.

He shook his head and decided not to think about it for now.

He’d understand the details when he went to the group next Monday.

What he needed to do now was to go to the branch company and hand over his work.

With that thought, Zhou Yang got up, freshened up, and headed out.

At the branch, Zhou Yang went straight to the office of the branch manager, Xie Hongtao.

Too excited, he pushed the door open without knocking.

Inside, a beautiful female subordinate was sitting on Xie Hongtao’s lap, acting coquettishly, while Xie pouted and was about to kiss her.

“Damn!”

Startled by Zhou Yang’s entrance, Xie hurriedly pushed the woman away.

“Can’t you knock?” Xie scolded angrily.

Zhou Yang chuckled, “Manager Xie, I have urgent business with you!”

“There’s no such thing as urgent business!” Xie got up, straightened his collar, and barked, “Didn’t you say you were leaving yesterday? I’m still waiting for your resignation letter!”

“Leaving? I never said that!” Zhou Yang teased, glanced at the woman, then smiled slightly at Xie. “Manager Xie, I’m here today to hand over my work.”