Ten Years of Yearning. My Love, Let Me Protect You.

Pan Er Jiu took all of her things and walked out. Nobody gave them any spare glance when the two women walked out except the man whose seat was vertically far away from Pan Er Jiu's desk; Chief Manager Tan. 

The man knitted his eyebrows when he saw Pan Er Jiu was smiling so brightly and going out with her desk mate. 

In the first place, the woman had very few things in the office so nobody had any suspicion when she went away quietly.

After the women walked out from the office building, only then they stopped. Pan Er Jiu held Keth's hands and told her.

"Keth, please don't let anybody know that I am returning to my country. If anyone asks, you will tell them I am sick and taking some days off to rest at home." Keth was puzzled when she heard it.

"Please don't ask why. Just do it, will you?" Pan Er Jiu was nervous and asked her earnestly. The woman standing opposite slowly nodded her head.

"I will do as you have said, Pan. Even if I don't know why, I believe in you." After Pan Er Jiu felt at least in this foreign land, there was someone she could call a friend. She sniffed to force the tears back in her eyes and handed her another envelope. It seemed like she had come prepared today to sort out the matters.

"Please, submit this 'Sick Leave' application yesterday." Keth nodded as she took the envelope and put it away in her jacket. 

Pan Er Jiu was just afraid that she would be faced with problems if Chief Tan knew she was going away, more like fleeing from here. She had already booked a return flight to the country of the day after tomorrow. She gave Keth a light hug and walked towards the roadside.

"Taxi!" She hailed a taxi and returned to her apartment. Keth silently saw as the taxi was becoming small and small.

*** ***

Sheng Ruming gave the information to Wang Haixiao via an email. When the man received the information, even he was dumbstruck as to how Chief Manager Tan could have done so many deeds under their supervision. 

Wang Haixiao immediately started investigating. He gave all the information to the legal department of the company. 

After a thorough investigation, it was revealed that Chief Manager Tan had many properties under him both in-country and abroad. Those were registered in other people's names. Also his wife had a large amount of money in various banks back in the country. The report showed that the woman was involved in various local businesses and gave the data that that cash were earned from those which were lies. 

It's been two days since Chief Manager Tan wasn't summoned by the CEO. At first he didn't think it was odd. Rather he focused on his work. Also now-a-days days his mood was becoming worse and worse. He had to return the money he had taken from other companies as bribes. Those people didn't outright tell anything but he knew they might hold a grudge against him from now on.

Also when his mood was bad, he wanted to vent his anger on Pan Er Jiu but that woman had taken leave for some days. He checked and It was a sick leave. So he could only endure and hang a forced smile on his face.

*** ***

It was noon.

All the staff had gone to eat their lunch from the office canteen but he stayed behind. His food would always be delivered by a very famous restaurant. 

When he took out a spoon to drink soup, the CEO finally summoned him. A message came from Sheng Ruming, telling him to go to his chamber.

Chief Manager Tan stood up from his seat and went to the office which was his until Sheng Ruming had come here.

The man gently knocked at the door.

"Come in." Sheng Ruming was busy going through various papers when Manager Tan came. After the man entered he didn't lift his head and was going through many of the business deals of this branch office. And he really found it absurd.

Under Chief Manager Tan's leadership the company benefited a lot. It was not so intolerable as it seemed to be. Sheng Ruming also didn't have any intention to fire him because of all of these matters. 

Just that the man would be fined heavily by the company and removed from his post. But he wouldn't be jailed for this as he didn't have any intention to report to the police yet. Sheng Ruming had come here for his matters and didn't want any major incident to happen which could make several eyes to start monitoring him.

After Sheng Ruming went through everything, he lifted his head and glanced at him.

"Cough! Mr. Sheng, I…" Sheng Ruming lifted his hand and signaled him to stop talking. The man stopped at once when he was told to. Sheng Ruming took a blue file from his desk and tossed it towards him.

Chief Manager Tan opened the file and became a statue when his sight fell on the first paragraph of the things written there. He turned page after page and became so scared that he just wanted to run away. His many shady deeds were stated in a very detailed manner. Some of those were already forgotten by his brain already.

"Mr. Sheng, these are lies. I am innocent. Someone must be after me, it... it must be our oppositions." Chief Manager Tan did not shout out. Rather he answered in a determined voice as if he was telling the truth. Sheng Ruming didn't pay any heed to the middle-aged man and made himself busy with his other works.

"Manager Tan, don't deny it before you read until the final page. If you don't want to be sent into jail as a criminal do as I have stated in the file. Only then you could keep your so-called dignity but you will be banned from this industry forever." Sheng Ruming told him as he took out another file and began to read it. He would occasionally circle some important factors in the papers.

Chief Manager Tan went to the last page and began to read the conditions. His eyes became round like a boiled egg as if they would pop out when he read the third condition.

"I won't agree to this, even if I die. It is a scam! Do you want to kill me?" He threw away all of his courtesy and shouted out. But there wasn't anyone present on that same floor except the two ones. He felt as if someone was tearing apart his heart. The paper showed he had to hand over 98% of his property to the company as well as the estates he had under other people's names.

"Think clearly and ponder what is good for you and what you want. But if the conditions don't get fulfilled in five days, you will, of course return to China and all your misdeeds will be publicized in our city to welcome you."

"You… don't you fear the company's reputation will be tarnished?"

"No. If you don't agree to those conditions, I will make you even miserable. Also I will make sure your wife will divorce you and run away with all your money. Doesn't this sound excellent?"

Sheng Ruming smirked as he told him. To Chief Manager Tan, it would be akin to suicide if his wife did something like that.

He shouldn't have been charged so heavily. Also the amount of money he had to give away as fine was ridiculous. But the bribe money was under his wife's name and it was tricky to touch others who weren't under his control. He knew his wife only married him because of his wealth and he married her for her father's company. It was a mutual benefit for both of them. 

 Also he had an eight-year old boy at home. If Sheng Ruming really did something like that, his family would get destroyed and he wouldn't be able to face his relatives anymore.

To Sheng Ruming the best way was to force out the cash from chief Manager Tan as much as possible for the company fund and he knew the man would agree. 

To a highly educated man, his dignity was the most precious thing and he wanted to take advantage of it by forcing him into a corner. 

Chief Manager Tan was sure he didn't leave any evidence behind to let Sheng Ruming know. He was sure unlucky to have such a secretary who kept tabs on his every crime. That was out of his expectation and the man didn't know and wouldn't know ever.

"I will… do as you have stated here Mr. Sheng. Please, don't do anything to my family and leak the informations of mine." Sheng Ruming just signaled him to go out. As the middle aged man pushed the door to walk out Sheng Ruming's voice came to him from behind.

"Remember to give your resignation letter here before you go. You are fired." 

Chief Manager Tan felt his heart shook greatly when he heard those words. Throughout his shady dealings, he was very careful not to give away. Now his goal was to find the betrayer who had done it and reported his deeds to Sheng Ruming. 

He was sure Sheng Ruming didn't know the matters which always happened in the closed room of a restaurant between two people of different companies. Only his secretary knew but as per his judgment, that man wasn't so foolish as to report him to the CEO. He had helped him many times and he had given that man quite a bit of money which was enough to satisfy a normal secretary.

Then his sight fell on the empty seat of Pan Er Jiu. But it was impossible for her to reveal those matters to Sheng Ruming and she shouldn't have known.

"Only after I interrogate her will I know…" The man immediately went to his temporary desk and only took his important things. Before walking out from the building, he gave Sheng Ruming the resignation letter.

He walked out and went straight to the apartment which the company gave him. Then he sat on his living room's sofa and called a number.

"I'm giving you a photo and an address. Kidnap this woman. No need to do anything more than abducting her. I will interrogate her. I will pay you in cash." After it was done, he called his secretary. 

"Come to my house tonight." 

"Yes. Boss." Nobody knew he had resigned so the Secretary addressed him as he had done always.

"Sheng Ruming, I won't spare you. Even if I can leave a scratch on your face I will do it gladly." The man threw his phone on the ground as hard as he could. Just thinking about giving away his property and money was making him feel like hell.