Chapter 2 — The Creator Cannot Be Erased

I raised my head to look at him. Over the past nine years, Trung Quang has grown from a company with only seven people into an enterprise with more than one thousand six hundred employees. I used to be in charge of product direction. Used to run everywhere looking for supplies. Directly handled customer complaints. There was also a time when the cash flow was only enough to pay twelve days' salary, calling each person to the board of directors, asking them to postpone the time of receiving salary for another month. Yet today... In the historical records before listing, my name no longer exists. In the executive chart, there is no longer my position. What they kept for me was just an office, a generous salary and the title "Senior Executive Advisor" which sounded very prestigious.

"To whom will the senior executive advisor... report?"

"Khai Minh will be responsible for coordinating strategy in the new development phase."

Chu Khai Minh spoke for his father.

"General Director Trinh, after listing, the management system must complete the generational transfer process. Your experience is very important, but experience and decision-making power are two completely different things."

His words were not harsh. It even sounds like very common management advice. I turned to look at La Man. She still bowed her head and adjusted the stack of papers that were already so neat that they couldn't be neater. Three red sticky notes are stuck next to the three signature boxes. There are only two words on each sheet.

"General Luo, when was this company history confirmation... changed?"

She paused for a moment.

"Last night at eleven forty-eight minutes, the project team received the final version from the Chairman's office."

"What about the previous version?"

"It still says 'co-founding team'."

"Who requested deletion?"

La Man did not answer immediately. Chu Dinh Son answered for her. For the first time since the beginning of the meeting, he looked me straight in the eyes.

"Thu Ninh, bringing the company to today is not easy. This is not the time to compete for personal gain. A listing opportunity behind more than a thousand employees, a divestment plan of many rounds of investors, is also the nine-year enthusiasm of all of us."

"Because it was nine years of dedication, I wanted to know... why suddenly there was only one founder left."

"Not suddenly."

Chu Khai Minh pushed a stack of presentation documents towards me.

"In the past two months, external feedback has suggested that the company lacks a clear enough leadership image. General Director Trinh is in charge of operations, the President is in charge of capital, and the technical team has its own head. This way of telling the story is too fragmented."

"So... you're that leadership figure?"

"That's not something I claim to be."

He stopped for a moment.

"Capital markets only accept new stories."

I looked at him. I must admit, Chu Khai Minh is very good at telling stories. In a discussion with investors last month, he divided Trung Quang's nine years of development into three phases. Product authentication. Scale growth. Restructuring the platform. The first two stages only take up four slides. The third phase alone lasts twenty-seven pages. And that period... Coincidentally, it started on the day he returned home.

"So what about the people who belong to the old story?"

"Not deletion."

"Just positioning again."

"Changing the founder to a hired manager... is that also called repositioning?"

Chu Khai Minh leaned back in his chair.

"General Manager Trinh, you always value results. Now the results are right before your eyes. Compared to whether a company can smoothly submit listing documents or not, a name is really not worth worrying about."

Chu Dinh Son glanced at his son, signaling him not to say more. Then, he put the pen down in front of me.

"That year, you once said that as long as the company can survive, everything else can give way. Later, she gave up her salary, gave up her shares, and even gave up her seat on the Board of Directors. Reality has proven that every time she puts the common good first, it is the right choice."

When he said these words, his voice even contained some comfort. It's like an elder is reminding me that... Trinh Thu Ninh who understands what happened the other day is the one he wants to trust. My fingertips gently pressed against the edge of the document. Nine years ago, when he made his first investment in the company, everyone said I would fail. It was he who told me to continue making products. It was he who, when the cash flow broke down for the second time, took on the responsibility of guaranteeing the bank on behalf of the company. That love was never fake. Because it's real... So for the past nine years, it's been like an invisible string, tying me tightly.

"As long as I sign... can I still continue to run the company in the future?"

"Of course."

Chu Dinh Son smiled.

"I won't mistreat you."

"What about these five percent shares?"

"Concentrating ownership will be more beneficial to the company's stability after listing."

"Why is the transferee Zhou Kaiming?"

"It will shoulder the responsibility in the future."

"What about my name?"

"Thu Ninh."

Chu Dinh Son's voice was low.

"Don't be impulsive."

The electronic clock on the wall jumped to 10:19. La Man's phone screen lit up twice in a row. The securities company's project team is urging the final signature. I rearranged the three folders. The confirmation is at the top. Share transfer agreement in the middle. The non-compete agreement is pushed to the bottom. From the name... To the money... Then to whether or not I can continue working in this industry after leaving the company... They arranged everything on my behalf very thoughtfully. I pushed the pen back.

"Chairman Chu."

"If it's really just a name..."

"So why did you make me sign a ten-year non-compete agreement?"