"Well," Liu Shuai felt very awkward, since his question was hard to answer. I thought for a moment and said, "actually, it's not about feelings. The failure rate of innovation and emerging industries indeed is high. Looking back on the projects of the past, it's true that most of them have failed. From the result, your judgements are mostly correct."
"But a judgment like this is useless." The director nodded, then shook his head, "we all know that the failure rate for innovation is very high, so it's not important to make a judge. The important thing is to learn from their experiences and try our best to succeed in the future. That's why I think Zhou Yuan's words do make sense."
"Zhou Yuan never said that. You must have realized that on you own." I silently said and looked at Liu Shuai. He ignored me. The director's tone softened. Perhaps his anger had melted away, so I didn't say the words.
"But his personality is not suitable for teamwork," the director suddenly changed his tone, "although his words seem to make sense, but that kind of expression would hurt people repeatedly. It's not good for him or for the team."
I began to worry again. Liu Shuai seemed to have thought the same as me. He could not help but say, "Lao De, Zhou Yuan was not that kind of man. He used to be friendly. You know that. No matter how other colleagues criticize his work, he was always open to their suggestions and opinions. And he never loses his temper."
"Yes. I've heard a lot of people say that. The HR director also holds the same opinion." The director nodded.
It seemed that word had spread of Zhou Yuan's good character in the company. Even the HR director stood up for him. I knew it's not easy for Zhou Yuan to get such a good reputation, but at the same time, I couldn't help but wonder why he had done such a foolish thing.
To my surprise, the director continued, "then what was the matter with him today? Could it be that he got arrogant because he made progress in work? His attitude is totally unacceptable. "
"No, no, no!" Both of us shook our heads. Liu Shuai hurriedly explained, "it's because he had lost his soul — —"
I immediately gave Liu Shuai a quick bump. How could he say something like that? Liu Shuai reacted and immediately shut his mouth.
"What do you mean he had lost his soul?" The director was curious.
"Well, no soul… I mean," Liu Shuai responded as he looked at me for help.
My mind worked quickly as I hurriedly said, "he lost his soul because of a girl!"
"A girl?" The director frowned.
"That's right," I continued, regardless of Liu Shuai's staring, "Zhou Yuan was pursuing a girl, and I heard that they were about to get married but then broke up after some quarrels. He has been in a bad mood recently and he's been working hard to improve his design skills, so—" I felt that I could no longer make things up. Then I looked at Liu Shuai for help.
"Ah — That's true! Zhou Yuan has read a lot of books about design recently. That's why he has made great progress. Everyone knows that. He spent less time accompanying his girlfriend, so she broke up with him." Suddenly, Liu Shuai had an inspiration. Now he made up a story without blinking his eyes, "he is in a bad mood while he sets high standards for himself, so sometimes he would say something regardless of other people's feelings. But he is a good man, isn't he?"
"Well —" The director covered his mouth and nodded, "yes, everyone might be arrogant when he is young, and love does affect people a lot. This brat doesn't share his feelings with people. He should have got it off his chest. "
The Director was lost in thought as if he's back in his own romantic age, "forget it. My performance at noon was not good either. Maybe I scared him. Liu Shuai, call Zhou Yuan. Let's have a talk together. We should tell him to focus on his work and not take so much pressure."
I could not help but admire the director's broad mind. Liu Shuai immediately ran out happily.
"You were not angry with him?" There were only two of us in the room, so I asked him.
"Of course, I was angry. He embarrassed me in front of so many people. I'm not a saint. " The director looked at me with a smile, "but we all used to curse and complain about our superiors when we were young, right? "
I chuckled, neither nodding or shaking my head. Just as I was about to speak, the director waved his hand.
"You don't have to answer that question. I won't be happy if you say yes, while you won't be happy if you say no." At that moment the director was like a big brother. He smiled joyfully and looked out of the window, "but when you become someone else's superior one day, you'll know that the fool you cursed back then sometimes had no choices. You could only see the tip of an iceberg. Looking at Zhou Yuan, I thought of the young man I used to be. I was so arrogant and looked down upon others. What a pity! My arrogance has gone with the years."
The director seemed to appreciate Zhou Yuan's ability, so I said, "that's right. Everyone will grow up. It's just that Zhou Yuan is not in a good mood. I'm sure he will improve his communication skills."
"I hope he could let me know his true thoughts and feelings. Of course, he must consider where he is when he speaks. We should give a young man like Zhou Yuan a second chance. " The director stood up, walked towards the window and opened it. A breeze blew in. "Back then I was in such a meeting room, arguing with my leader till my ears turned red. But he would still discuss the matter with me with a warm attitude after that. Had it not been for him—"
Just as he was speaking, Liu Shuai opened the door and entered by himself with an awkward expression.
"Where's Zhou Yuan? " The director was surprised.
"Well…" Liu Shuai's expression was very strange.
"What's wrong? Is he in the rest room? " I felt something was wrong.
Looking at Liu Shuai's reddened face, I felt that it wasn't Zhou Yuan who went to the rest room, but rather, Liu Shuai was almost unable to hold it in. "Zhou Yuan said that he was not feeling well and asked for the annual leave. He has left the company." Liu Shuai explained.
"What is Zhou Yuan doing!" I stared at Liu Shuai as he sat on the chair and said to myself, "how could he ask for a leave? Isn't it obvious that he doesn't want to settle the matter?"
The director looked at Liu Shuai with a surprised expression. He did not say a word, just turning around to set the chair he was sitting on, and then he continued to set other chairs. We wanted to help, but he waved us to stay still. So, we just sit there in a daze and watch him doing the work by himself.
When the chairs were set up, the director left the conference room and said to us before he closed the door, "let him complete exit procedure for resign after he comes back."
"Is Zhou Yuan insane?" Seeing that the director had left, Liu Shuai could not help but scold, "all we worried about is whether he would be fired. We are trying our best to help him. But this bastard just left without a word. With such an arrogant attitude, he's going to die in a couple of days, let alone to survive for forty-nine days!"
Liu Shuai felt that he had gone too much, so he calmed himself down and said, "I didn't mean he deserved to die. But I'm afraid he might lose his job."
I thought it was a mess. "Let's ask him to dinner and tell him about Avalokiteshvara's elixir. We can persuade him to come back to work tomorrow and let him apologize to the director. If he is OK with that, I would advise Yan to save Zhou Yuan as soon as possible. What do you think? "
Liu Shuai thought for a moment, then nodded, "I agree with you. But I am not sure if we can persuade Zhou Yuan. Let's confirm his attitude before you talk to Yan."