The hall was disarrayed and contrasted with chaos when Wang Lui stepped out of his private elevator, with his personal assistant doubling his steps to catch up with him since Wang Lui was already too tall.
People were bickering back and forth, throwing paper balls at one another, yelling at each other, screaming at the caffeine maker for taking too long. And at the far end of the hall, two men were fighting, throwing heavy blows.
This was new to Wang Lui, his employees were cordially composed and put up the best manners when he made his presence known, except this time they didn't even notice he was standing there, taking account of their madness.
Wang Lui straightened his suit jacket and cleared his throat.
Immediately, the arguments, yells and fights went to a screeching halt like a vehicle whose tires abruptly got deflated. Just by the mere acknowledgment of his presence, the office went from noisy and chaotic to silent and still.
His calm demeanor made someone's spoon even fall from his mouth and dropped to the floor, in shock. Even the fighting men were stiff like newly molded statues at the museum, still clutching onto their shirts.
They dreaded their inhumane boss.
The silence in the ambiance was so oppressive that one would think not a single soul was present when in fact the hall consisted of over fifty people.
He single-handedly put a stop to the mayhem with just one gesture which was of course powerful and composing to his employees. He was a man of authority after all and they were afraid of him.
When a man sneezed, Wang Lui's head snapped in his direction and pointed at him.
"Fire him," he ordered authoritatively.
"Yes sir!" His PA flippantly responded.
"You have less than five minutes to put yourselves intact and clean this place up, or I'll have everyone hand in their resignation letters if I'm not kind enough to deduct fifty percent of your monthly wages."
Upon hearing this, his employees composed themselves and scurried around to clean up the hall.
"Five minutes!" Wang Lui iterated as he strode to his office, with his PA, Huan Lee trailing right behind him.
"Mr. An, our stocks dropped to 35% due to the scandal of you murdering a reporter through a chokehold." Huan Lee informed Wang Lui when he shut the doors behind him.
Wang Lui's eyes welled in their sockets. It never crossed his mind that he was seen killing someone in the Club Qui Ping VIP section. It was stupid of him to rely on the club's manager's assurance that there were no hidden cameras.
He was a man of great power and influence but he was also capable of committing violent acts, which showed that he wasn't a good person.
"Who is behind this? Pay them off to debunk such false information," Wang Lui commanded authoritatively. He didn't even fake innocence, his face was as grumpy as it did before. The visual evidence of his murder just complicated everything.
"But the footage of you caught in the act has been leaked all over the internet, the public is going crazy," Huan Lee held up a tab in his face.
Wang Lui's eyes lowered into a squint as he skimmed through the tab. He was accused of being a murderer and his photo was attached to the news, including that of the young reporter whom he killed.
Enraged, he swatted the tab away from his face so that it crashed when it hit the floor.
"Triple whatever amount they were offered. I can't let them drag my name into the mud, nor will I tolerate such lies!" He barked at Huan Lee.
Huan Lee took an uncomfortable gulp as he nodded. He was present when Wang Lui killed the innocent reporter who only sneaked his way in just to ask some questions.
Someone pushed Wang Lui's door open without his permit, drawing his attention away from Huan Jin.
It was his father. A gray-haired small man who looked the opposite of Wang Lui. However, the frown on his face made it obvious that he was Wang Lui's father, Chairman Yuxuan. And his accomplice was his butler.
"What have you done?" Chairman Yuxuan growled.
"Nothing, Father," Wang Lui pushed his hands through his pockets.
"Well explain this," Chairman Yuxuan tossed the crumpled newspaper in Wang Lui's face.
Wang Lui, who was famously known for losing his temper at the slightest provocation, clenched his jaw.
"Do you know what you've done? I made you president over Weng Hu Groups and you're rubbing dirt on our name."
"It's an AI-generated video…"
"Shut up!" His father interrupted him with a hard smack across his cheek, something which turned his face to the other side, "This isn't the first time you've killed an innocent person."
"He was getting on my last nerves," Wang Lui indirectly admitted to the murder.
"I'm afraid you'll have to step down as the president in the meantime until this issue is resolved."
"What!? You cannot do this, Father."
"It'll serve as a warning."
"No," Wang Lui shook his head, disagreeing with his father.
"Yes to my decision and it's final," with this saying, Chairman Yuxuan put his hands behind him and made his way out, leaving his exasperated son.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Wang Lui raked his hair, before slamming his fist into a nearby wall.
"How could father ever do this to me, I am his only son, damnit!" He was letting out heavy breaths as he punched the wall as if it was the face of a person.
Huan Lee recoiled and stepped backward Wang Lui pushed away all the belongings that sat on his executive wooden desk. He knew better than to speak when his boss was throwing a fit. He could sustain a broken nose or a swollen eye if he tried to interfere with Wang Lui's fight with the wall.
"Leave me alone, Father!" Wang Lui yelled when he heard a knock on the door. It wasn't his father but a delivery boy.
"Yes?" Huan Lee was quick to answer the boy.
"A parcel was sent to Mr. Wang Lui," said the delivery boy.
"Who's this person, sending a parcel when they know my life's a mess?" Wang Lui growled, brewing with fury.
Huan Lee, who already knew his boss was upset, quickly grabbed the package from the boy and shut the door in his face.
"Do you want me to unwrap it for you, Mr. An?" Huan Lee asked quietly. Questioning Wang Lui when he was in such a foul mood felt like walking on eggshells.
"Do whatever you want with it, I don't care!" Wang Lui shouted dismissively.
Huan Lee proceeded to open the package and because he was taking too long with it, an upset-looking Wang Lui snatched the package from him and began unwrapping it himself. He was cursing the whole time because the package already had lots of wraps around it.
Just as Wang Lui removed the last of it, a robotic voice squealed, 'Good Bye, Wang Lui motherfucking An!'
And it all happened in a swift motion when Wang Lui blew up, leaving blood and the charred remains of his flesh splashing on his mouth-gaping P.A, and across the walls.