Chapter 185 Want to leave? Sure.

Ma Guofu nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to Zhang Tou'er, his tone softening: "Old Zhang, you've done a great job introducing us this time. Tell me, besides the bonus, what else do you want? Considering your hard work over the years, I'll try my best to satisfy you."

Zhang's heart skipped a beat! The longing that had been buried deep in his heart for many years, which he had almost dared not hope for, burst forth like a flood, instantly overwhelming all his reason and caution.

He suddenly knelt down, his voice trembling with sobs and utter pleading:

"Chairman! I...I don't want anything! I don't even want the bonus! I just beg you...please have mercy and let me leave the company! My son is seriously ill and needs long-term care. I'm also getting old and can't work anymore...I don't ask for great wealth or status. I just want to take my wife and children back to my hometown and live a peaceful life...please!"

He practically shouted these words, filled with a desperate and hopeful sense of all-or-nothing resolve.

The air in the office seemed to freeze instantly.

Su Xiaonuan tightened her grip on the tray slightly, her heart skipping a beat.

Boss Zhang is... playing with fire!

The smile on Ma Guofu's face vanished instantly, replaced by a gloomy expression. He subconsciously glanced at Mr. Bai on the sofa.

The man in the white suit finally abandoned his lazy demeanor.

He sat up straight, his long fingers tapping lightly on the sofa armrest, a half-smile on his face, an inscrutable expression. His gaze fell on Zhang Tou'er kneeling on the ground, as if looking at an insect caught in a spider web.

He chuckled softly, his voice still magnetic, but tinged with a chilling coldness: "Trying to leave?"

Zhang trembled under his gaze, lowered his head even further, and dared not answer.

Mr. Bai stopped tapping on the armrest, looked at Ma Guofu, nodded slightly, and said in a casual tone, as if he were deciding on a trivial matter: "Okay."

Zhang Tou'er suddenly raised his head, his eyes bursting with unbelievable ecstasy!

Mr. Bai continued, "Considering you've been relatively well-behaved all these years and haven't gotten involved with anything core, you can leave tomorrow. Now, go pack your things."

"Thank you, Mr. Bai! Thank you, Chairman! Thank you! Thank you!" Zhang was overjoyed and kowtowed repeatedly. He then practically tumbled to his feet, forgetting to say goodbye to Su Xiaonuan, and stumbled out of the office, as if afraid that if he was even a second late, the other party would change her mind.

The office door was closed.

Su Xiaonuan remained standing there, holding the plate of roast duck that was gradually losing its warmth, but her heart felt ice-cold.

Mr. Bai agreed too readily, and Ma Guofu's face darkened instantly... all of this conveyed an extremely ominous premonition.

Ma Guofu seemed to have lost interest in eating roast duck. He waved his hand and his tone returned to its usual indifference: "You can go now. Be at the canteen on time tomorrow."

"Yes, Chairman," Su Xiaonuan replied softly, bowing her head and carefully leaving the office.

Walking down the empty, quiet corridor, she could still faintly hear Ma Guofu's hushed voice asking from the office behind her: "Mr. Bai, are we just going to let him go like that? Will he...?"

She couldn't hear what was said after that, but that invisible chill clung to Su Xiaonuan's heart like a leech.

When Su Xiaonuan returned to the kitchen with the almost untouched roast duck, it was already empty.

She disposed of the roast duck and returned to dormitory 3012, feeling uneasy.

Lu Zheng had already returned and was sitting on the edge of the bed. When he saw her come in, he gave her an inquiring look.

Su Xiaonuan quickly walked to his side and, under the guise of putting something down, told Lu Zheng in a very low voice and at a very fast pace everything that had happened in the office, especially Zhang Tou'er's request to leave and Mr. Bai's unusually straightforward attitude.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng's eyes instantly sharpened. He silently shook his head and gently traced two words on the edge of the bed with his finger: [Silence].

Su Xiaonuan's heart sank. Just as she had predicted!

How could an organization like the Sacred Heart Society allow someone who knows the inside story to leave so easily? Boss Zhang... is in danger!

She looked at Bai Xiaoxiao, who was still wearing sunglasses and a mask and leaning against the bed as if isolated from the world, and a shadow fell over her heart.

Did this girl know what was going to happen?

The night deepened.

The dormitory building was unusually quiet, like the stillness before a storm.

Su Xiaonuan and Lu Zheng lay in bed, neither of them sleepy, their ears alertly listening for any movement outside.

After some time, probably close to midnight, a suppressed commotion suddenly came from downstairs! There seemed to be hurried footsteps, deep shouts, and... the sound of something heavy being dragged?

Su Xiaonuan sat up abruptly in bed, her heart pounding.

Lu Zheng also opened his eyes instantly, his gaze shining brightly in the darkness.

Bai Xiaoxiao seemed to be startled as well. She turned over and faced the wall, but Su Xiaonuan noticed that her fingers tightened around her phone.

Su Xiaonuan tiptoed to the window, a small window with iron bars that faced the entrance of the dormitory building.

She carefully lifted a corner of the curtain and looked down.

The downstairs area was dimly lit, but you could vaguely see several figures gathered together.

By the faint light of the streetlights in the distance, she could clearly see that at the feet of those figures, there was an irregularly spreading patch of deep red that looked particularly glaring in the darkness!

It's blood! Fresh blood that hasn't completely congealed!

Su Xiaonuan's heart clenched instantly, a chill running from her feet to the top of her head! Was that... Boss Zhang? They actually... made a move right downstairs in the dormitory?!

She bit her lower lip hard, forcing herself to calm down.

Do not go down! Absolutely do not go down to check! That would be walking into a trap!

She loosened the curtains, retreated to the bedside, and lay down stiffly, her back to the window, yet she could clearly feel the bloody scene imprinted in her mind.

Lu Zheng, standing beside her, reached out and gently covered her tightly clenched fist, feeling a firm yet warm strength emanating from his palm.

This night is destined to be sleepless.

The next morning, the atmosphere in the canteen kitchen was so heavy it was almost palpable.

Everyone kept their heads down, silently doing their work. No one spoke, but their eyes were filled with fear and unease.

Zhang Tou'er didn't come.

Moreover, everyone tacitly knew that he would never come again.

Several experienced chefs who usually had a decent relationship with Zhang, their eyes red, quietly approached the new "head chef," Su Xiaonuan, during a break from work. They lowered their voices and asked, their voices trembling with tears, "Chef Su... yesterday, yesterday Zhang went with you to see the chairman. Did he... did he say anything afterwards? What exactly happened?"