Chapter 20 — A Day as a Janitor

This agreement bears the archaic seal of the Board of Directors alongside the authentic signatures of every founding member.

The legal counsel standing directly behind Shen Zhiyuan stepped forward to inspect the document, his expression shifting noticeably. Shen Zhiyuan ground his teeth.

This can only impact the guarantee protocols, having no bearing whatsoever on the motion to dismiss the chairman.

I responded: The very pretext you are utilizing today to oust Chairman Shen is his alleged mishandling of that exact startup guarantee incident.

Within the entire chain of evidence, I remain the pivotal party involved.

As a veteran employee, I hold a core vested interest in these proceedings.

By intentionally bypassing both the essential eyewitness and the primary stakeholder to convene this assembly, your sole objective is to preemptively shift the blame onto someone else's shoulders.

Liang Zhengyi offered a subtle nod.

This alone constitutes sufficient grounds to demand the immediate suspension of the meeting's agenda.

Gu Nan moved without hesitation, contacting the Board Secretariat to order an immediate halt to the proceedings. However, the Secretariat flatly refused. The rationale was simple: the system administration privileges had been temporarily seized and assumed by Shen Zhiyuan himself. The nine o'clock meeting would proceed as scheduled. Only twenty minutes remained. Shen Zhiyuan slowly settled back into his chair.

You are entirely welcome to continue unearthing these antiquated documents.

Yet the members of the Board of Directors care only for immediate risks.

What Yuan Tai Corporation requires right now is not tears, but someone fully capable of controlling the situation.

I inquired: Exactly what preparations have you made for the members of the board? He cast a single, fleeting glance in my direction. He offered no reply. I answered for him.

A fabricated letter of resignation.

Stolen photographs.

A condensed internal announcement.

Coupled with falsified documentation claiming I forcibly breached the restricted zone of the Board Secretariat, stole confidential secrets, and attempted to extort financial compensation.

Yao Zhen sat silently in the far corner, his face drained of all color. Shen Zhiyuan remarked with an air of indifference: Should any of these documents prove false, they will naturally withstand scrutiny. I retorted: Waiting to conduct an investigation only after the Board has concluded its vote will be entirely too late. He smiled faintly.

Manager Qin, you finally grasp the fundamental importance of procedural protocol.

I fixed my gaze squarely upon Yao Zhen.

Do you have anything remaining that you have yet to surrender?

Yao Zhen jerked his head upward in a sudden movement.

I have already revealed everything.

I walked directly until I stood right before him.

The branding department has prepared far more than mere defamatory materials.

Given your habitual methods, you would certainly have prepared two distinct external press releases.

One designed to utterly crush me.

And another designed to push Chairman Shen aside.

Yao Zhen's lips trembled visibly. I continued: Should the Board of Directors approve this dismissal, those articles will be published across the internet within ten short minutes.

The headline will likely read that Yuan Tai's founder is stepping down to a secondary role due to health complications, with the chief executive officer assuming comprehensive control.

Yao Zhen's face turned completely ashen. Shen Zhiyuan snapped in a cold voice: That is quite enough. I paid him no heed.

Where is the draft manuscript?

Yao Zhen wiped the beads of cold sweat from his forehead with trembling hands.

It is stored within the shared drive of the branding department.

Gu Nan immediately dispatched personnel to retrieve it. Shen Zhiyuan rose abruptly to his feet.

Accessing departmental files without explicit authorization constitutes a severe violation.

Liang Zhengyi stepped forward, blocking his path.

Sanctioned directly by the auditing committee.

Five minutes later, the contents retrieved from the shared drive of the branding department were projected onto the massive screen at the front of the room. True to expectation, two separate news reports were contained within. The first alleged that I had maliciously demanded exorbitant compensation and severely disrupted corporate order. The second stated that Shen Zhao'an was voluntarily relinquishing his authority due to failing health. Both documents had been created by Yao Zhen. Yet the final editor listed was none other than the Board Secretariat. Embedded within the editing notes was a telling sentence: Immediately following the conclusion of the nine o'clock meeting, publish the second draft, while retaining the materials concerning Qin Yuzhen to be deployed for public relations counterattacks should the need arise. The note was signed by Shen Zhiyuan. The conference room plunged into a deathly silence. Shen Zhiyuan stared up at the vast screen, his expression turning terrifyingly dark. He no longer bothered to maintain his facade of gentle composure.

Even if I did prepare contingency plans, what precisely does that prove?

The Board of Directors will still proceed to cast their votes strictly according to established protocol.

At that exact moment, the clock struck nine. The interface on the large screen shifted automatically. The online meeting of the Board of Directors officially commenced. The avatar icons representing more than ten board members illuminated in succession. The voice of the Secretariat moderator echoed through the speakers.

Distinguished members of the board, the special session is now officially convened.

Shen Zhiyuan adjusted his tie and strode toward the camera. Just as Shen Zhao'an made a move to stand, I placed my hand firmly upon the red-bound ledger resting on the table.

Please wait a moment.

He turned his gaze toward me. I flipped the pages to the sixth entry in the directory. Qin Yuzhen. Then I turned to the very back of the supplementary agreement on the final page. Stamped across the reverse side was a line of microscopic text. Previously obscured by the heavy cover, it had gone completely unnoticed by anyone. I slid the document across the table directly in front of Liang Zhengyi. As Liang Zhengyi read the words aloud, an absolute stillness settled over both the interior and exterior of the conference room.

The designated eyewitness for the founding era is stipulated as Qin Yuzhen.

Should a major crisis confronting the Board of Directors involve disputes over commitments made during the establishment period, no vote may be cast until this individual has delivered their testimony.

The microphones belonging to the online board members activated one by one. Someone asked aloud: Who exactly is Qin Yuzhen? I raised my head, looking directly into the camera lens. I was still clad in my gray sanitation uniform, with my old employee badge pinned securely to my chest. Head of General Administration. Qin Yuzhen. I spoke clearly: I am the person who was demoted to a cleaning attendant yesterday, only to be utilized by all of you today as the very pretext to dismiss the chairman.