Chapter 63. She once accepted 600,000 yuan from our family. ...

Xia Chan knocked on the door of the store manager's office.

Before anyone inside could say "come in," she opened the door and walked in, saying, "Manager, that recording is fake! You..."

"Get out," the store manager said calmly, staring at the computer without even looking at her.

Xia Chan paused for a moment before continuing, "That recording is fake, it's been edited! The situation wasn't like that at the time, I—"

"Did you say those things?" The shop manager glanced at him and said indifferently.

Xia Chan hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Yes... but back then it was—"

"Then what else do you have to say? Get out!"

She couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she silently shut her mouth and said nothing more, but her face was still full of pride, and she stubbornly stood in front of him with her fists clenched, refusing to leave.

Although the vice president said the recording would be kept confidential before leaving today, it has already been circulating among employees of various stores, and the discussion and ridicule surrounding her have reached a peak.

She listened carefully; the recording was indeed from the day she confronted Xie Jun, but it had been cut into tiny pieces, with only the parts she spoke vaguely amplified.

She wasn't afraid of ridicule or being pointed at.

Although her salary wasn't high, in Shanghai, the majority of her expenses, along with those of Huang Mao, Si Yi, and La La Pang Hu, still came from her and Pang Hu.

Huang Mao earns his money through hard work; he's often penalized for being late or running overtime when he's in a rush.

Lala's live streams are extremely unstable and depend entirely on the weather;

In Shanghai, there are expenses for utilities, food, lodging, transportation... and Siyi's monthly checkups and medication costs are also high. If she is suspended from her job, although their lives won't collapse immediately, the pressure on them will become immense, and they probably won't be able to sustain it for long.

"Xia Chan, how many times have I reminded you! Be careful what you say!"

The store manager's anger seemed to have been suppressed for a long time. He tapped his fingertips on the table a few times and scolded in a low voice, with a kind of anxious indignation at the disappointment of his customers.

"Although half of our livelihood depends on our mouths, once someone catches us doing something wrong, we can't explain ourselves no matter how hard we try! In the service industry, we're treated like dirt! We can only endure, endure, and endure some more!"

"Regarding this matter, you say the recording is fake, and I believe you are. But who cares if it's real or fake? Once it's released, you're doomed! You might not learn from what others teach you, but you can learn from what happens. Consider this a lesson for you. Don't say anything more! Get out!"

Hu Shiwei, the store manager of Tianze Store, has been working at Yahai for over 30 years. Xia Chan at Tianze Store was someone he personally promoted, and she can be considered half his apprentice.

Xia Chan silently accepted his criticism, lowering her eyes and not uttering a single word in rebuttal.

She was usually very strong-willed and had a sharp edge. Seeing her like this, Hu Shiwei felt a little sorry for her and helpless for a moment. After a while, he softened his tone and asked, "Who is the person mentioned in the recording?"

"Guan Bohan," Xia Chan answered truthfully.

Hu Shiwei was stunned.

"The person I was talking to was Xie Mei," Xia Chan said calmly. "She's my mother."

The store manager was stunned by her thunderous news for a long time before she recovered. From her concise explanation, she roughly understood what had happened and sighed, "Alright, I'll report this to the higher-ups. You should also think carefully about who recorded this. It couldn't possibly be Xie Mei... The workplace is a battlefield. Do you really think this is a joke? How could you, Xia Chan, make such a mistake!"

Xia Chan initially thought the recording was from Xie Mei, but then she realized that wasn't the case.

As the store manager said, this matter did Xie Mei no good.

She was so worried that she would make their relationship public, so why would she take the risk willingly?

It seems she's been set up this time...

Shen Zhoudu was unaware of what was happening inside Ya Hai Tian Ze. That afternoon, Shen Jinghai once again forced him to go home, saying only one sentence: "It concerns Xia Chan."

As soon as Shen Zhoudu returned to the Shen family villa, Shen Jinghai threw two photos at him and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on here?"

The photo shows Chen Zhoudu pulling Xia Chan away from behind. Judging from the time, it's an afternoon, and the clothes indicate the day Xia Chan confronted Xie Xun and Chen Zhoudu took Xia Chan away.

Although they were quite far away and their faces were not clearly visible, people who knew them well would recognize them immediately.

Shen Zhoudu's eyes flickered slightly, somewhat taken aback. Shen Jinghai then explained in a cold voice that two days ago, this photo appeared on a social media app called "Little Red Book," without specifying the reason, only that the photo was tagged with #ShenZhoudu, and the person who posted the photo was a new account.

A few fans saw it and argued in the comments that it wasn't him. Fortunately, not many people saw it and it didn't go viral online. Shen Zhoudu's manager found out and contacted him overnight, asking him to contact Xiaohongshu to delete the photo.

However, Shen Jinghai naturally couldn't let this go so easily. He also recognized that this was the day Shen Zhoudu skipped Qu Yao's podcast and trended on social media. He coldly questioned, "This is the day you didn't go to Qu Yao's podcast and trended on social media, right? I had a guess at the time that it might be related to her again."

He sneered, "Tell me, what exactly happened that day, and what's going on between the two of you now? Chen Zhoudu, you're really giving me more and more surprises."

"What else could it be? Falling in love." Shen Zhoudu smiled faintly, then quickly regained his composure and looked at him calmly. "What's there to say?"

"Shen Zhoudu! Are you bewitched by her?!" Shen Jinghai suddenly roared in anger.

“I don’t care how you and she messed around before, as long as you don’t mess around to the point that everyone knows about it… and don’t mess around to the point that it’s on the news, I can pretend I didn’t see it.”

"But what are you doing now? You almost ruined your college entrance exam because of her, and now you're refusing to appear on a show just because she says she won't. Have you lost your mind?! You're in a relationship? You keep jeopardizing your future and career? What kind of relationship is this?! Do I have to talk to her again before you wake up?!"

"My true future lies in living according to my own will!" Chen Zhoudu seemed to suddenly become angry, slamming his fist down in a deep voice, "instead of being a puppet who does whatever you say."

Shen Jinghai seemed stunned, staring intently at him with a furious expression. The entire villa hall suddenly fell into a deathly silence, and Yang Yuan held her breath on the side, not daring to make a sound.

After a long while, Shen Jinghai covered his head as if he had a headache, sighed, and took a step back to catch his breath, saying, "In short, she... I will absolutely not agree."

He said, "You break up with her right now, or I don't care if she's an outstanding employee or not... I'll kick her out of Asia Ocean Park immediately!"

"I need your agreement or not." Shen Jinghai ignored him and turned to leave.

"Sinking Boat Crossing!" Shen Jinghai was even more furious. He could no longer hold back and slammed his hand on the marble coffee table. He stood up and walked towards Shen Jinghai's back, his face flushed with anger. He rolled up his sleeves and was almost ready to fight.

Stepmother Yang Yuan could no longer contain herself and rushed forward to stop him, her voice almost on the verge of tears, "Alright! Alright! What are you doing! One of you has high blood pressure! The other is on camera every day. If you really hit him, he'll be on the news tomorrow! You two have never had a proper conversation!"

Shen Jinghai was finally calmed down, his face flushed with anger as she gently patted his chest, causing him to breathe heavily. Shen Zhoudu also stopped and looked back at him, but did not step forward.

Yang Yuan first gave Shen Jinghai his medicine, and after his condition stabilized, she went to Shen Zhoudu and hesitated before saying, "Zhoudu, there's a reason why your father has always disagreed... It's actually because of that child, who once accepted 600,000 yuan from us."

-

When I returned to my apartment from Chenzhou Ferry that night, it was almost 11 p.m.

I'm exhausted.

This afternoon, after arguing with Shen Jinghai, he rushed to the recording studio to record a new song.

Today, however, he couldn't seem to get into the zone. He spent several hours trying to record a short half-chorus that was only a little over a minute long. Even Jiang Cheng couldn't stand it anymore and let him go home early so he could get some rest.

Standing at the door, eyes closed and silent for a long, long time, Chen Zhoudu finally reached out and opened the fingerprint lock with a click.

The door opened, but the room was not as dark as usual.

Instead, the room was brightly lit.

Half the room is lit.

A figure was standing in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, gazing at the bustling traffic and colorful neon lights outside.

She wore a light-colored tracksuit, the open hem of her jacket fluttering in the wind. Her loose, shoulder-length hair also swayed slightly in the breeze, the ends like rippling waves. She stood there alone, slender, aloof, and lonely.

Chen Zhoudu was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt that half of his fatigue seemed to vanish in an instant.

As if hearing a sound, Xia Chan also turned around.

"You..." He met her eyes, a delighted smile spreading across his face, his gaze bright and intense. "Why are you here?"

"Then I'll leave?"

She smiled and made a move to leave, but Shen Zhoudu quickly grabbed her wrist, smiling as he pulled her into his arms. The two of them then fell onto the sofa due to inertia.

Then she immediately placed a kiss on his lips, followed by another tender and lingering kiss.

After a short while, Chen Zhoudu rested his chin lightly on her shoulder and breathed softly.

When did you arrive?

"After get off work," Xia Chan said hastily.

Actually, it was already afternoon.

After being notified of her suspension in the afternoon, she immediately handed over all her work and left the hotel. She didn't go back to Taoyuan Lane because she didn't want Siyi and the others to worry.

I originally wanted to find a quiet place to calm down, but after thinking it over, I decided to come here instead.

She had only intended to have some peace and quiet before leaving, but when she woke up from her dream it was already evening. The room was dimly lit, and the whole world was so quiet that it seemed as if she had truly been abandoned.

For some inexplicable reason, she suddenly longed to see him and wait for him to return.

Chen Zhoudu chuckled inwardly, about to say something, but instead suddenly clenched his fist and coughed lightly twice.

"You have a cold?" Xia Chan immediately touched his forehead with her hand.

“No, I just went to record a song,” Chen Zhoudu took her hand down and kissed it. “I’ve been howling for hours, my voice is about to crack.”

Xia Chan immediately took out a pack of throat lozenges from her bag, squeezed one out for him, and shoved the rest into his pocket, then zipped it up. "Your throat, which Angela licked, needs to be well protected. Keep some throat lozenges with you on hand to relieve the pain. You're a grown man, don't you know how to take care of yourself?"

Like a child being scolded, Chen Zhoudu obediently agreed, his eyes shining as he hummed in agreement and ate the throat lozenge.

His eyes shone brightly as he stared at her. After she put away the throat lozenges and returned, he suddenly pulled her into his arms and between the sofa, and without saying a word, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, feeding her the throat lozenges.

The rich minty flavor quickly spread across her tongue, sending a shiver down her spine.

Xia Chan was caught off guard and glared at him reproachfully, while Chen Zhoudu just blinked and grinned mischievously.

There were a few small snack bags scattered in the trash can on the coffee table, containing emergency bread, rice crackers, and the like. He had seen them in her bag before.

Chenzhoudu asked, "Have you had dinner yet?"

Xia Chan shook her head.

"Come on." He smiled, stood up, pulled her up, and said, "I'll make it for you."

"You?" Xia Chan asked suspiciously for a moment.

She still remembered that this was a young master.

Back then, he would treat washing a few spinach leaves like a work of art, washing each one for half an hour, and his wrists would tremble with surprise at the moment the leaves were put into the oil.

"Yes, it's me." Chen Zhoudu pressed her down into a chair in the dining room and then walked into the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and smiled as if he were showing off a treasure. He then began to search for ingredients and start preparing.

He doesn't come back to this house often, and there's not much in the refrigerator. After searching for a long time, he only found some beef, potatoes, carrots, and the like.

But it's enough.

Chen Zhoudu said, "Perfect, you can test my skills now."

Xia Chan smiled and nodded, then truly became a hands-off manager and waited, watching him quickly and efficiently wash and chop the vegetables.

His earnest and aloof figure was quietly projected onto the floor.

His knife skills have become incredibly good; they are neat and beautiful. In just a few quick snips, all the ingredients are neatly chopped and sorted.

Xia Chan gazed at his back for a long time, feeling as if she could see another shadow in him.

That was her, the carefree and unrestrained girl at seventeen.

After they parted ways, he seemed to gradually live out her image.

From cooking to wood carving... those things that she had long forgotten into the past, were picked up by him one by one, allowing her to see them again in him.

Chenzhoudu prepared two home-style dishes: stir-fried shredded potatoes and beef brisket soup.

He laid out the food on the table. "Try it."

Xia Chanqi picked up her chopsticks and took a small bite. To her surprise, it tasted really good.

Home-cooked meals may not be as fancy as gourmet dishes, but they are the ones that are most memorable and unforgettable. She couldn't help but nod approvingly, "Not bad, indeed, a good singer can't be a good cook if they can't carve wood."

Chen Zhoudu couldn't help but laugh and sat down as well. "Your Majesty, may I be so bold as to ask if I am worthy of being promoted to a higher rank?"

Xia Chan playfully kicked his leg under the table, and the two chatted casually as they ate. After a moment, Chen Zhoudu hesitated and called out, "Xia Chan."

"Hmm?" Xia Chan looked at him.

"I heard something today."

His reflection was quietly mirrored in her eyes.

His eyes reflected hers quietly, and at this moment his gaze seemed to become cautious and complicated, and his voice became low and slow, "They said that you once received 600,000 from our family."