Rebirth Begins with Rejecting my Childhood Friend - Chapter 506

At this moment, Xu Xiuwen suddenly realized he was only wearing a pair of underwear.

His shirt and pants were neatly folded and placed on the head of the bed.

Xu Xiuwen quickly put on his clothes, got out of bed, and stretched comfortably.

The enhanced body he gained after being reborn really lived up to its reputation.

Most people would feel some discomfort the next day after getting drunk, but Xu Xiuwen felt no discomfort at all.

In fact, he felt great.

Xu Xiuwen walked outside and saw Mu Zhilan coming out of the kitchen.

“Boss Xu, you’re awake,” Mu Zhilan greeted him warmly with a kind smile.

“Sorry for drinking too much last night and causing you trouble. I didn’t say anything inappropriate, did I?”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Good, that’s a relief.”

“Boss Xu, I’ve already prepared breakfast. Wash up and come eat when you’re ready.”

“Alright.”

When Xu Xiuwen entered the bathroom, he noticed a new toothbrush and cup on the sink.

The toothbrush even had toothpaste already squeezed onto it.

Mu Zhilan sure knew how to take care of people.

Xu Xiuwen didn’t hesitate and picked up the toothbrush to start washing up.

After freshening up, Xu Xiuwen walked to the living room, sat down, and prepared to eat.

“Hey, where’s Xiaogang? Is he still sleeping?”

“Yes, Boss Xu. Xiaogang likes to sleep in. Don’t worry about him; you eat first.”

“You’re not eating?”

Mu Zhilan shook her head. “Boss Xu, you go ahead.”

What Xu Xiuwen didn’t know was that Mu Zhilan, feeling a little embarrassed from sharing a room with him last night, deliberately stayed in the kitchen to avoid facing him.

Breakfast consisted of red bean porridge, pan-fried dumplings, and some side dishes.

Xu Xiuwen took a bite.

The taste was excellent.

He was quite hungry, so he began eating heartily.

Just then, a noise came from Qiao Gang’s room.

A moment later, the door opened, and Qiao Gang walked out fully dressed.

Seeing Xu Xiuwen, he immediately greeted him with a smile, “Good morning, Brother Xu.”

“Morning, Xiaogang. You’re up.”

“Brother Xu, did you sleep well last night?”

“Pretty good. Sorry for the trouble.”

“Brother Xu, don’t say that! It’s no trouble at all.”

“Haha, alright. Go wash up and come eat breakfast. Your mom’s cooking is really good.”

“Right? I’ve always thought so since I was a kid. If my mom opened a restaurant, she’d definitely make a fortune.”

Just then, the front door suddenly rattled.

A man’s voice came from outside.

“Why is the door locked? Damn it, who the hell locked the door from the inside?!”

The voice belonged to a man.

Xu Xiuwen didn’t immediately react, but Qiao Gang froze in shock.

After a moment of surprise, Qiao Gang became extremely nervous, as if there were a terrifying beast outside the door.

Of course, there wasn’t a beast outside.

But Qiao Gang recognized the voice—it was his father.

And the reason the door wouldn’t open.

It was because he had locked the door from the inside.

The reason he did this was his fear that his father might suddenly return last night.

If his father saw another man in the house, things would’ve gone south.

Although his father couldn’t come in for the moment, it was only a matter of time before he did.

Xu Xiuwen finally noticed Qiao Gang’s unusual expression.

He wasn’t slow to react and quickly deduced that the person outside the door must be Mu Zhilan’s husband.

He recalled the conversation he had with Mu Zhilan in the kitchen last night.

Mu Zhilan had mentioned her husband was a petty man who couldn’t stand her talking to other men.

Not even talking.

If he found out his wife had invited another man home and that man had stayed the night…

Xu Xiuwen could almost picture the face of a furious man ready to explode.

He couldn’t help but swallow nervously.

He didn’t even provoke a fox, yet somehow still ended up covered in trouble. This was so unfair, he thought.

Mu Zhilan had also heard the commotion and came out of the kitchen, her face written with fear and worry.

Qiao Gang knew he couldn’t let his father see Brother Xu in their home.

He hurriedly whispered, “Brother Xu, go hide in my room for now. Don’t come out until I call you. Whatever you do, don’t let my dad see you.”

“Alright,” Xu Xiuwen nodded immediately. He got up and quickly headed into Qiao Gang’s room.

Once Xu Xiuwen was in the room, Qiao Gang turned to his mother.

“Mom, don’t slip up. Go open the door.”

Mu Zhilan, trembling, went to open the door.

The moment the door opened, Qiao’s father appeared, shoving Mu Zhilan aside and yelling, “Why the hell is the door locked in broad daylight? What sneaky business are you up to?”

“I…” Mu Zhilan froze at the sight of her husband’s fierce expression, unable to come up with an explanation.

Thankfully, Qiao Gang stepped in to help her out.

“Dad, I locked the door. You weren’t coming home last night, so it was just me and Mom at home. We felt safer locking the door.”

“What, you’re not hiding someone in the house, scared I’ll catch you in the act?”

Both mother and son fell silent.

Luckily, Qiao’s father was just speaking offhand and didn’t genuinely suspect anything.

In his mind, Mu Zhilan might lie to him, but his own son wouldn’t help her cover it up.

Qiao’s father sat down at the table and barked, “I’m hungry. Serve me some porridge.”

“Oh, okay,” Mu Zhilan quickly turned and went to the kitchen to get the porridge.

Meanwhile, in Qiao Gang’s room, Xu Xiuwen had been listening carefully to the situation outside.

Not hearing any arguments, he let out a sigh of relief.

Then, he couldn’t help but chuckle wryly.

The situation was absurd.

He’d only come over for a meal to accept someone’s thanks.

How did it end up feeling like an affair, hiding from the husband like this?

As the saying goes, don’t adjust your shoes in a melon field, and don’t fix your hat under a plum tree.

Xu Xiuwen thought to himself that, to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, he’d never come to Mu Zhilan’s house again.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, Qiao Gang finally came in and opened the door.

“Brother Xu, I’m sorry for making you hide like that.”

“It’s fine. Is your dad gone?”

“He’s gone. He took the money and left. You can come out now.”

“Alright.”

Worried that Qiao’s father might suddenly return and catch him off guard, Xu Xiuwen didn’t linger.

He quickly left Mu Zhilan’s house.

When he reached his BMW, Xu Xiuwen finally let out a long breath of relief.

Then he got into the car and quickly drove away from the area.

Since it was Saturday, Xu Xiuwen didn’t need to pick up Lu Xinyao for work.

Otherwise, wearing the same clothes as yesterday to see her would make it obvious he hadn’t gone home last night.

That could easily lead to unnecessary suspicion and misunderstandings.

However, in the afternoon, Xu Xiuwen still headed to the company.

“Hello, is this Sister Yan?”

Xu Xiuwen sat in his office, looking over some freshly gathered information as he spoke.

On the other end of the line, Ji Yan was delighted to hear from him.

“Xiuwen, it’s me! You haven’t contacted me for days—I was starting to think you’d forgotten about me.”

This time, Xu Xiuwen didn’t beat around the bush.

He got straight to the point: “Sister Yan, I’ll keep it short. I want to invite you to come work at Guangming Distillery. Are you interested?”

Ji Yan was stunned, completely caught off guard by his sudden proposition.

“Xiuwen, I don’t quite understand. Are you asking me to leave my job and join your distillery?”

“Yes. Didn’t you mention that Shuanghe Distillery’s future looks grim? My distillery happens to need experienced and capable talents like you, so I’m asking if you’d be interested in working here.”

Once Ji Yan confirmed she hadn’t misunderstood, she was taken aback.

She had reached out to Xu Xiuwen because she was interested in him—not because she wanted to switch jobs to Guangming Distillery.

But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

Guangming Distillery was also an established distillery, albeit one that had fallen into decline in recent years.

However, since Xu Xiuwen took over, the distillery had been on the rise.

Anyone with insight could see that Guangming Distillery had a bright future.

Plus, working there would bring her closer to Xu Xiuwen.

That thought made Ji Yan’s heart skip a beat.

Still, she didn’t want to seem too eager, so she decided to play it cool.

“Xiuwen, let me think about it…”

“Of course. Take your time, and let me know once you’ve made up your mind.”

“Thank you, Xiuwen…”

“Sister Yan, I’ve got something else to handle, so we’ll talk later. Bye.”

“Alright.”

After hanging up, Xu Xiuwen chuckled.

He wasn’t worried at all about whether Ji Yan would jump ship.

It was practically a done deal.

This woman was ambitious.

She wouldn’t be content working at a failing distillery for long.

Even if it wasn’t Guangming Distillery, it would be somewhere else.

Xu Xiuwen was simply accelerating her decision to make the switch.

…

Ji Yan moved quickly.

In less than three days, she had completed her resignation procedures and joined Guangming Distillery.

On August 15th, Xu Xiuwen held a management meeting and announced to everyone that Ji Yan had joined the distillery as the deputy director.

The department managers were all stunned.

After the initial shock, they began speculating about Ji Yan’s background.

Who was this woman?

What kind of qualifications did she have to land such a high-ranking position right away?

Amid the murmurs, Xu Xiuwen offered no explanation.

Finally, as the meeting drew to a close, Xu Qian couldn’t hold back anymore.

She directly confronted Xu Xiuwen, asking why he had suddenly appointed a deputy director. What qualifications did Ji Yan have to be promoted to such a position right away?

In the meeting room, while the managers shared the same question, no one dared to voice it.

Seeing Xu Qian speak up, everyone thought it was quite reasonable. After all, Xu Qian was not only Xu Xiuwen’s secretary but also his girlfriend. Moreover, her father was the director of the distillery.

However, some people felt Xu Qian had acted impulsively. Even though she was Xu Xiuwen’s girlfriend, if she had any doubts, she could have asked privately. There was no need to question him so directly in front of everyone. What would this do to Xu Xiuwen’s face?

Ji Yan, surprised by Xu Qian’s sudden challenge, didn’t say anything, simply looking quietly at Xu Xiuwen, curious to see how he would respond.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Xu Xiuwen wasn’t angry. He merely glanced at Xu Qian and spoke calmly, “Xu Qian, I have my reasons for making this decision.”

Xu Qian became agitated. “The distillery isn’t just yours to control. You can’t just do whatever you want. If you want to appoint a deputy director, that’s fine, but at least explain why. If you keep acting like this, the distillery will be ruined!”

Her words caused several people to frown. That was not a thing one should say aloud.

Xu Qian was usually someone no one dared to underestimate. She was not just the boss’s secretary but also the daughter of the distillery’s director and the boss’s girlfriend. No one dared cross her.

But now, by saying such a thing, some people felt she had gone too far.

Sure enough, Xu Xiuwen’s expression instantly turned cold. He looked at Xu Qian and asked, “You say the distillery isn’t mine?”

“Yes, the distillery belongs to all of us—”

“Smack!”

Xu Xiuwen suddenly slammed his hand onto the meeting table with a loud bang, making everyone jump and stopping Xu Qian mid-sentence.

“I don’t want to hear that again. Ji Yan is my appointed deputy director. Anyone who refuses to cooperate with her can forget about my goodwill!”

Xu Xiuwen’s outburst stunned everyone. Xu Qian’s face turned pale as she instantly became aware of the gravity of the situation.

She no longer cared for Xu Xiuwen’s face and stood up to leave the meeting room.

Seeing this, the managers remained silent on the surface but felt inwardly that Xu Qian had been too inconsiderate.

Guangming Distillery was no longer the same. Now, Guangming Distillery was Xu Xiuwen’s private property. Naturally, whatever he said went.

Even though Xu Qian’s father was the director and had some power, as long as Xu Xiuwen was unhappy, he could replace him with someone else at any time.

Similarly, their own positions were also not secure.

With that thought in mind, the managers quickly expressed their warm welcome to Ji Yan, their attitude far more enthusiastic than before.

After the meeting ended, in Xu Xiuwen’s office, Ji Yan smiled and said, “President Xu, it seems like the others aren’t too thrilled about my arrival.”

Xu Xiuwen sat in his office chair. Hearing her words, he momentarily shifted his gaze from the documents in his hand to her face and said, “It’s all my fault for being too easygoing. Over time, some people have forgotten who the true owner of the distillery is.”

Before coming here, Ji Yan had, of course, done her homework on Guangming Distillery. She knew that the current director was Xu Chengde, and during the process of Xu Xiuwen buying the distillery, Xu Chengde had contributed his efforts. She also knew that Xu Qian was Xu Xiuwen’s secretary and the daughter of Xu Chengde. She had even heard a rumor that Xu Qian was actually Xu Xiuwen’s girlfriend. At first, she had doubted it, but now it seemed likely that the rumor was false.

It appeared that the relationship between Xu Xiuwen and this father-daughter duo wasn’t as close as she had thought. It seemed he was beginning to grow dissatisfied with them.

Ji Yan hid her thoughts well.

Xu Xiuwen continued, “Sister Yan, others might not understand you and think you’re just here because of connections, but I know your abilities are unquestionable.”

“Thank you for your recognition, President Xu.”

Xu Xiuwen shook his head. “Sister Yan, while I acknowledge your abilities, the factory has a complicated environment, and I don’t want to give others a chance to gossip. I hope you can prove your abilities to everyone. Is that okay?”

Ji Yan shook her head. “President Xu, I have no objections.”

“Good, then it’s settled. Your probation period is three months. During that time, you’ll primarily be responsible for business in Su Province. I expect you to achieve 50 million in sales within three months. If you succeed, after your probation period, your annual salary will be 1 million, plus 2% in bonuses.”

Ji Yan quietly calculated the salary and benefits in her mind. An annual salary of 1 million was quite generous for her. At Shuanhe Distillery, she probably wouldn’t even make that much in total in a year, let alone with a bonus. Given Guangming Distillery’s current development, even a 2% bonus wasn’t a small amount.