23. A feeling of admiration

Wen Xueyan's gaze fell on the pile of bouquets beside the desk, her eyes showing no emotion whatsoever. She picked up the card, tore it up, and threw it into the trash can at her feet.

The trash can under her desk definitely couldn't hold all these flowers, so she went to call the cleaning lady.

“Young lady, these flowers…” The aunt looked at the large bunch of obviously valuable flowers, her eyes showing regret, “You don’t want them all? They’re so beautiful, it’s such a waste to throw them away.”

"If you're sure you don't want them, please dispose of them, thank you." Wen Xueyan's tone was calm and firm. After receiving confirmation, the aunt quickly gathered all the bouquets and stuffed them into a large trash bag. The vibrant colors were instantly swallowed up by the dark plastic bag.

Seeing her throw away the card, her colleagues Chen Jing and Sun Hanhan exchanged glances. In the end, Sun Hanhan, whose gossip instincts were stronger, leaned over and asked in a low voice, "Xueyan, it looks like you're getting a divorce?"

Sun Hanhan had clearly read the card that morning, her eyes gleaming with a hint of scrutiny. "Your husband seems quite sincere in apologizing, he's even willing to give you the house. What are your plans?" She paused, then asked an even more intrusive question: "But since he cheated on you, aren't you worried about getting a disease?"

Wen Xueyan knew that she and Song Tiancheng hadn't shared a room for over a year, but she didn't need to report her private life to anyone. Public opinion was a powerful force; if she didn't handle the pressure from these rumors well, and ended up resigning and losing her job, she would have less confidence in divorcing him.

Wen Xueyan slowly turned her head, her gaze calmly landing on Sun Hanhan's face, and asked in return, "Engineer Sun, has your group's drawing been finalized? Also, the pressure parameter range of the feed valve that I marked yesterday was incorrect. Have you corrected it? It's needed for the meeting at 10:30 later, and major errors will result in a deduction from performance pay."

Sun Hanhan was taken aback by her question: "Valve parameters? I'll check them again right now!" With that, she hurriedly returned to her workstation.

During the two years Wen Xueyan worked at the front desk, she had become accustomed to the gossipy nature of some of her colleagues. She knew that some people were just like that, and she felt the best approach was to ignore it. So she sat down and focused entirely on the drawings in front of her computer.

The precise dimensions and process symbols on the drawings created a rigorous and traceable world, which made her feel much more at ease than the chaotic emotional world that Song Tiancheng brought her.

An hour later, Wen Xueyan went to the break room to get coffee, gazing out the window, her thoughts drifting. She felt that even without the later romantic feelings, she was grateful to Cheng Boyan. Without his guidance, her two years of experience as a receptionist would have been a significant gap in her current technical role. At over thirty, rising from a small company receptionist to a professional technical position was not only a career leap, but also a recognition and affirmation of her value.

Wen Xueyan didn't believe that Song Tiancheng's sudden repentance was entirely genuine. She felt it was more like a strategic retreat, using appeasement to lull her into a false sense of security, perhaps with other ulterior motives.

Blindly rejecting or cutting off information when the other party's true intentions are unclear is not the best strategy.

So she picked up her phone and temporarily removed Song Tiancheng from her WeChat blacklist; she needed to see what he would do next.

Sure enough, just before lunch break, a WeChat notification sounded.

It was Song Tiancheng.

"Xueyan, you've removed me from your blacklist! Does that mean you've forgiven me?"

The words conveyed an almost overflowing eagerness and anticipation.

“I know I was wrong. I admit it. It was because I had been married to you for a long time that I felt the passion had faded, and I lost my mind and went out to find some novelty. But I really only love you. Those were just flings and shouldn't be taken seriously. So, when I was with Su Yunzhu, I specifically asked her if she had a boyfriend and if she would break up my family.”

"I really miss you, Xueyan. Let's stop arguing, okay? I'll be free tomorrow, I'll take you to the real estate bureau, and we'll change the name of the new house to yours right away! I mean what I say!" He threw out what he considered the most tempting and sincere bargaining chip.

Wen Xueyan watched coldly without replying. This information was too absurd.

Then came another message: "By the way, my mom is expected to be discharged from the hospital this weekend. She's always liked you a lot. Shall we pick her up together this weekend? Tonight when you get off work, I'll pick you up downstairs at your company and take you out to dinner. I'll apologize to you in person. You can look at my phone freely tonight; the password is our wedding anniversary."

"No matter what time you get off work today, I'll be waiting for you downstairs at your company," Song Tiancheng added.

Wen Xueyan felt that using her mother-in-law's illness and emotions was a form of moral blackmail, while glorifying the affair as "a moment of confusion" was a complete attempt to downplay the seriousness of the matter.

Wen Xueyan wanted to refuse to have dinner with him, but she hadn't thought of a reason yet, especially when she heard him say that he would wait for her downstairs at the company, she felt annoyed.

"Haste makes waste," she recalled what Cheng Boyan had told her the night before. So, she put down her phone and refocused her attention on the drawings.

Just then, steady footsteps and voices drifted down the corridor. The project meeting had ended. Wen Xueyan looked up and saw President Cheng emerging from the meeting room, surrounded by a group of senior executives and important clients.

Cheng Boyan and the client's leader walked at the front, their posture upright like pine trees. He wore a well-fitting dark suit with broad shoulders and a composed and powerful gait.

Cheng Boyan tilted his head slightly to listen to a client speaking beside him. His profile was cold and clear, and he occasionally nodded. His every move and gesture exuded confidence and nobility as if he were in control of the situation.

Wen Xueyan's gaze involuntarily followed his back until they walked out of the office area.

Cheng Boyan's expression was serious, and his gaze did not fall on Wen Xueyan.

The employees in the office area were used to Mr. Cheng's aloofness. He almost never got close to the grassroots employees, especially the female employees.

In that instant, Wen Xueyan felt that the distance between them seemed very far.

She lowered her head and continued revising the drawings for a while, when her phone rang again.

It was a travel itinerary report sent to her by Cheng Boyan: "Xueyan, I'm going to Jingzhou on a business trip tonight and I expect to be back in three days."

Wen Xueyan used to reply to him simply with "okay" or an OK emoji. But now, remembering that Song Tiancheng was coming to pick her up that evening, and feeling a bit down after Cheng Boyan saw the pile of flowers that morning, she told Cheng Boyan that Song Tiancheng was coming to pick her up that night.

When Cheng Boyan received the message, he was in a meeting with a client and senior management. The client continued to raise many questions during lunch. Half an hour later, Wen Xueyan received a brief reply: "Understood."

Wen Xueyan wasn't quite sure what he meant, but knowing he was busy, she didn't say anything more. She thought to herself that if Song Tiancheng insisted on coming to the company building and forcing her to have dinner together, she would call the police.

Wen Xueyan didn't receive any other messages from Cheng Boyan all afternoon. She checked the calendar again; there were still 25 days until the divorce hearing.

Around six o'clock in the evening, Wen Xueyan's phone screen lit up with a message from Song Tiancheng.

"Xueyan, I'm sorry, I received an urgent business trip notice from the group headquarters and I can't pick you up for dinner tonight. I'll make plans with you when I get back."

When Wen Xueyan saw this message, a sense of surprise welled up in her heart.

Married for over three years, Song Tiancheng worked his way up from programmer to technical director at Keling Medical Software Company, a subsidiary of the Cheng Group. His job required him to spend most of his time in front of a computer, with very few business trips outside the city except for occasional on-site debugging at partner hospitals. Sometimes he only had one or two trips a year.

What a coincidence! While she was still worrying about how to refuse, he suddenly received a business trip assignment that required him to leave immediately.

It should be Cheng Boyan.

Almost instantly, Wen Xueyan confirmed her guess. A complex mix of emotions welled up inside her, like warm spring water, dispelling the irritation brought on by Song Tiancheng's message.

Cheng Boyan said almost nothing, but in the most direct way, he shielded her from an unpleasant entanglement.

Wen Xueyan discovered that he always did more than he said, putting his care into practice rather than just making empty promises.

Wen Xueyan recalled that last night, during their whispered conversation on the pillow, she had asked him with a hint of worry whether he would fire Song Tiancheng from the company because of her.

At that moment, Cheng Boyan had his arm around her shoulder, holding her in his arms. Hearing this, he just chuckled softly. In the darkness, his voice was steady, yet tinged with a hint of ruthlessness: "Before your divorce is finalized, he needs to be at the company so I can keep an eye on him and better protect you. I will remember the time he hit you for the rest of my life. If you want to take further revenge on him, don't do it yourself; you can tell me."

She didn't fully understand its deeper meaning at the time, but now she suddenly understands.

Keeping Song Tiancheng under their watchful eye is also a form of invisible constraint.

The strategic planning behind this made Wen Xueyan feel not only grateful but also deeply admire Cheng Boyan. He not only possessed a handsome appearance that captivated her, but also a quiet, unassuming strength.

Wen Xueyan felt a sudden surge of excitement, a feeling typically associated with adolescence.

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