Chapter 70

Xu Wanyi had never experienced such a conflicted year.

I don’t know when it started, but the Xu family stopped spending the New Year together. Whenever they got together, they would quarrel, and the New Year was like the Qingming Festival, with each person arguing about their own thing.

So, although she doesn't remember the exact year, she has spent the last five years of Chinese New Year alone. And her way of celebrating the New Year is very simple and straightforward: she finds a city abroad to stay in, whether it's Europe, North America, Japan, or even Antarctica—basically, she's not in China.

Once you leave this environment, the frustration of not being able to reunite when you should be together will be lessened and won't be so unbearable.

This year is so different. Besides that bastard who she could only keep buried in her heart and pretend to forget in the past suddenly appearing out of nowhere and provoking her everywhere, even her mother has come all the way from overseas to join in the fun.

She actually inherited a lot from her mother, such as her social nature. She has a bunch of friends wherever she goes and is the center of attention wherever she goes. Whenever her mother comes back, the villa in their western suburbs, which usually only has two or three people looking at houses all year round, becomes lively, with people coming and going and partying every night.

Unfortunately, Xu Wanyi's personality traits had long since disappeared since Li Ye left. Now, she only felt extremely noisy and restless, and couldn't wait to get back to the office to work. Moreover, she couldn't help but think of Li Ye, and the one or two uneventful days they spent together before the New Year. A couple of times, Xu Wanyi even had the illusion that it wouldn't be bad if things continued like that.

However, she quickly dismissed the idea. For her, this was like reaching two-thirds of the way up the Himalayas. While she seemed close to the summit, the road was becoming increasingly difficult, and one wrong step could lead to failure. Perhaps what she truly wanted wasn't a peaceful life; such a life seemed precious only because she was currently experiencing hardship.

However, no matter what she thought, Li Ye's face was like a leech, impossible to shake off.

"Wanyi, tonight's guests are all prominent figures in the industry, along with their sons and daughters. Take a look around and see if there's anyone you like."

On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Xu Jing threw a big party at home, inviting all the people she knew. At this moment, she took a glass of wine, walked over to Xu Wanyi who was standing on the balcony getting some fresh air, and said in a relaxed tone.

"Mom, you don't know how many things I have to do, I don't have time for this." Xu Wanyi knew that her mother's return was never good news, and she had been looking for an opportunity to "have a good talk" with her.

"Besides, look at all these people in the hall, which one of them seems reliable? That eldest son of Chengxin Company, the news says he's a pedophile, I don't know if it's true or not, but there's no smoke without fire, right? And that other son of some group, he's already been sued in court abroad for domestic violence, as for that one..." Xu Wanyi told her mother about the backgrounds of all these people without any expression.

"Uh, really? I didn't notice. These people are all so polite and speak with such elegance and grace. Oh, late, besides these, there are many others. There are always good ones out there. You have to keep an eye out for them. You're not getting any younger." Xu Jing still didn't give up. She took out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and casually blew out a smoke ring.

"Are you happy with my dad? Apart from having affairs, he's a pretty good person. Why do you want a divorce?"

"Let's keep things separate. Just because your father and I aren't happy doesn't mean you can't find happiness. Besides, marry someone first, and if it doesn't work out, you can always get a divorce." Xu Jing was absolutely determined to make Xu Wanyi find a man.

Xu Wanyi has always believed that Xu Jing is the best person in the world to her. She has always indulged and spoiled her since she was a child, and even though she knew that Xu Jing was with Li Ye in college, she never said anything about it openly. Because of this, the number of times the mother and daughter have had a deep conversation is actually quite small, especially in recent years when she has been busy with her career and Xu Jing is far away in Australia, so they have basically never had one.

But hearing these words from Xu Jing's mouth shocked Xu Wanyi and chilled her to the bone. She forced herself to calm down, because at this moment she did not want to and could not argue with her mother.

"Mom, I'm going inside. It's cold outside. Come in after you finish this cigarette."

"Hey, I'm telling you, you're all grown up now, and you run away the moment your mother says a few words to you. A woman needs a place to call home in this life. I can't be with you every day now, so even if you're busy, you need to get these things in order. Otherwise, you'll be in big trouble." Xu Jing adopted the style of a tiger mom, using both gentle and firm approaches.

"Mom, you know what's most important to us right now, right? I just hope you won't make things difficult for me. You can do anything else." Xu Wanyi, whose heels had already crossed the glass door, suddenly turned around and said something to Xu Jing with an ambiguous look in her eyes.

Xu Jing wasn't buying it at all, and said, "That depends on your performance."

“Wanyi, you were younger before, so I didn’t talk to you about these things, but now that you’re the chairman of the group, there are some things I need to mention to you.”

Xu Wanyi remained in her position, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart. She quietly watched Xu Jing, waiting for her mother to say something.

“Li Ye is your lawyer now. You told me last time that it was just a client-lawyer relationship, and I hope you will always keep that in mind. I'm not completely unaware of what you did for her before…” Xu Jing paused and took another drag of her cigarette.

“In those years, you came home many times with red eyes. Did you have a fight with her? Do you think your mother really didn’t see anything and wasn’t worried at all? You left your comfortable home and insisted on squeezing into a crowded hotel-style apartment with her. You must never do these things again.”

"Putting everything else aside, Mom doesn't want you to suffer the same emotional pain as me in your life, and lose the business you built at the end."

Xu Wanyi was stunned. She had spoken frankly to her mother on the phone, and her mother had also seemed tolerant and magnanimous. But when they were face to face, it was clear that they couldn't completely hide their true thoughts.

However, Chairman Xu is still Chairman Xu. She immediately realized that she couldn't let her mother find any fault with her at this moment, so she replied expressionlessly, "Mom, don't worry. I said last time that I know what's more important. If I wanted to reconcile with Li Ye, I would have done so long ago. It's been a year and we still haven't reconciled. Do you think there's any possibility of reconciliation with my personality?"

Xu Jing thought about it and realized that it was indeed true. She knew her daughter very well; she wanted something and she had to get it as quickly as possible, especially with her current methods. She would never just leave it unattended.

"Okay, Mom believes you. Go inside, don't get cold."

...

Xu Wanyi didn't go to the office until the fourth day after the New Year, which was completely different from her usual practice of appearing at the company as soon as the seventh day of the New Year. This year, she spent the whole New Year holiday taking her empress dowager-like mother on a wonderful trip around Beijing, serving her the best food, drinks, and entertainment until yesterday when she was seen off on her flight back to Australia.

This year's New Year was really tiring. Xu Wanyi sat in her office chair and rubbed her temples.

Her mother, the older she gets, the more wicked, stubborn, and authoritarian she becomes, which really exhausts her. She has wanted to lose her temper countless times, especially after Xu Jing's words that night made her realize that her mother was not the "model mother" who was wholeheartedly good to her as she had imagined, but rather treated her daughter as some kind of "tool."

But considering that she was the one who had raised him with great difficulty and had fought for so many rights and property for him, he endured it countless times.

"Chairman, President Deng has arrived and is sitting in the small conference room outside."

Feng Jing has been working for several days now, and he's already got that "work smell" all over him, as if he hadn't even celebrated the New Year.

"Let him in."

Feng Jing led Deng Hui into Xu Wanyi's office.

"Chairman, Happy New Year!" Deng Hui said with a big smile.

"Happy New Year, Mr. Deng!" Xu Wanyi glanced at Deng Hui. It seemed he had a good New Year. Deng Hui had gained weight, but he looked kind and gentle. The weight gain didn't make him look greasy; instead, it gave him a kind of benevolent air. If you didn't know better, you might think that a monk had come out and put on a suit.

"Oh dear, Chairman, I went back to my hometown for the Spring Festival this year. My relatives and friends there were so hospitable. I ate and drank all Spring Festival, so I did gain a little weight." Deng Hui noticed that Xu Wanyi was looking him up and down, and knowingly touched the two rolls of fat on the back of his head, he said somewhat embarrassedly.

"It's alright. Our company doesn't consider body type when hiring or promoting employees, so please don't worry, Mr. Deng." Xu Wanyi suddenly smiled, and for some reason, the tension that Deng Hui felt when he first came in dissipated a lot.

The acquisition of Maohua Company had been stalled for the entire previous year. Deng Hui had tried everything he could, but they kept saying the inspection team was conducting an investigation, and he wouldn't listen to reason or pressure. It dragged on until the New Year. Normally, he would have been criticized at the year-end meeting for failing to meet his KPIs, a classic example of someone who "didn't complete their work," but Xu Wanyi neither criticized nor praised him.

The chairwoman summoned him on her very first day at work this year, and he was filled with apprehension. This chairwoman, though beautiful, was not someone to be trifled with, especially when she lost her temper—she could burn everyone on the first floor to death. He had been waiting since morning, and his anxiety only intensified, his fear growing ever stronger, like a balloon about to burst. Deng Hui was afraid it would explode at any moment.

Looking at Xu Wanyi's smile, he suddenly realized that he might have been overthinking things. Actually, he hadn't overthought anything. If Li Ye hadn't mentioned the current situation of Tonghua Group to Xu Wanyi before the Lunar New Year, Xu Wanyi would have really put him in a steamer.

"President Deng, let's get straight to the point. Please report on the basic situation of the Maohua acquisition, the current progress, and the follow-up plans. Keep it brief; I won't repeat what I already know."

Deng Hui received orders and told Xu Wanyi the important points. The other party's situation was indeed as Li Ye had described: "the wind was howling and the cranes were crying" and "they were as immovable as a mountain."

"I heard that the inspection team had almost finished its investigation by the end of last year, and there are still some finishing touches to be done at the beginning of this year. I think they can start doing business now. However, central and state-owned enterprises like to take a long holiday around the Spring Festival and return to work late. I plan to make an appointment with Wang Kan next week to see if we can arrange a meeting with General Manager Su as soon as possible."

"Okay, then hurry up. Let me know if you need any support. Don't wait until the last minute to make amends." Xu Wanyi had regained her icy demeanor and her tone had returned to normal. Wang Kan unconsciously sat up straight again.

"Alright, you can go out now, and close the door behind you." Xu Wanyi was indeed a little tired, and she dismissed him after saying that.

"Yes, Chairman."

After Deng Hui left, Xu Wanyi took out her phone again, opened WeChat, and scrolled down for a long time before seeing Li Ye's profile picture. Throughout the entire Spring Festival, Li Ye hadn't sent her a single message, not even a New Year's greeting.

As Xu Wanyi was looking at the profile picture, she clicked on it as if by some strange impulse. As soon as she clicked on it, she noticed that Li Ye had changed his profile picture. The narcissistic guy used his own headshot as his profile picture, but now he had changed it to a blurry silhouette. Anyone who didn't know the situation would think that it was a photo that was just downloaded randomly from the Internet.

But Xu Wanyi knew that this was her own back view; she had been looking down at the Wu Su River from Li Ye's balcony. That bastard, when did he take this picture? And he even dared to use it as his profile picture!

Xu Wanyi accidentally exited WeChat and simply swiped to close it, a thin layer of pink flush spreading across her face.