Chapter 3

When the couple came to visit, Lu Xiaofan brought a Hainan Huanghuali Guanyin statue. Lu Xiaofan said the artist came from a family of woodcarvers in Putian, Fujian, and later went to Florence to learn from a Western sculpture master.

"Neither Chinese nor Western." Lou Hetai laughed at himself as he changed his shoes. "We don't have that kind of accomplishment. Let's bring it here for Chen Huan to judge. She has taste."

The Guanyin, a small figure, sat with her eyes closed on a round lotus pedestal, her mind at peace. She pressed the box into Chen Huan's hands. She smiled, tucked the Guanyin into her pocket, turned, and walked to the first-floor study, where she placed it on the table. Two tears fell onto the wooden Guanyin bottle. Chen Huan wiped them away with her fingertips, rubbed her eyes, and left the study.

As usual, Li Ting and Lou Hetai kept talking about the company's affairs, and their emotions were getting more and more excited. At first, the four of them agreed not to drink, but the atmosphere became heated, and Li Ting asked Shen Huan to go downstairs to get the bottle of Remy Martin.

He couldn't take his blood pressure medication after drinking because it would cause a drug reaction, so Shen Huan disagreed. He lowered his head to eat his fish, keeping silent. He turned to look at her and repeated his words, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. Shen Huan sighed imperceptibly and got up to go to the cellar.

Li Ting became more talkative as he drank, discussing the company's ten- and fifteen-year plans. Lou Hetai mainly nodded and listened carefully, occasionally expressing his opinions.

Out of politeness, Lou Hetai took the initiative to ask Shen Huan where he planned to travel in the summer, saying that Lu Xiaofan was preparing for a hike to Machu Picchu and was racing on the road every day.

Li Ting said that the media always focused on Xuantao Ronghui's user growth rate. "Growth rate, growth rate. The easiest thing to achieve in inclusive finance is growth rate!" He pointed at Chen Huan and said, as if calling the roll in class, "You tell me about it."

She was a little distracted, but when she came back to her senses, she replied that offering more benefits would attract new customers, but that would be burning investors' money.

"It's the investors' money that's being burned," Li Ting emphasized, "not the media's money!" Li Ting went on to say that if any investor listens to what reporters say, he's not far from living under an overpass.

He said the important thing now is to gradually increase the interest rate spread, push down the savings rate, and make loan advertising more precise. "Only by pushing one up and the other down can we create space for ourselves."

They chatted for a while, and Lou Hetai turned to ask why Chen Huan was so quiet today and didn't touch the food. Lu Xiaofan was unpacking the crabs, and she said that Chen Huan didn't like seafood, so this table was made for us.

Li Ting shook the tulip glass and said with some disappointment, "It's a pity that packaged credit assets are difficult to sell now. The money is coming back too slowly and cannot be circulated, which has stuck me."

Li Ting said that this thing has been in development for ten years and it is becoming more and more difficult to do. In the early years, he took the backend big data and risk control models too seriously. Now that the bonus period is over, he realized that he should have rolled up his sleeves and worked hard. It would be good if he could get it.

"You can't say that." Lou Hetai waved his hands. "Have you forgotten those banks that collapsed two years ago?"

Li Ting stared at the wine swaying quietly in the glass. He said, "I have raised you like my own son. The several major strategies we have integrated over the years were all set by you."

He said that when you came back from Wall Street more than ten years ago, all you could think about were American Express and Chase. The systems of these big international banks had long been rigid, and they were just adjusting the risk control models all day long without any bold moves to expand the market.

Lou Hetai nodded in agreement, "But Lao Li..."

Li Ting said that Meng Zixian was also a returnee, but unlike you, he was capable of doing anything. You see, those who do evil will eventually perish, and he got himself into trouble. We should all take this as a warning.

Lou Hetai drank tea in silence. Lu Xiaofan glanced at Shen Huan.

Lou Hetai couldn't quite put his finger on Meng Zixian. Li Ting misremembered that during Ronghui's early years, Meng Zixian had poached several risk control executives from the Eastern US, and he was also the one leading the team. Li Ting blamed Lou Hetai for all the old accusations and merits.

Li Wangnan was a worthless person. Li Ting had raised Lou Hetai and Meng Zixian over the years, both of whom he considered his own sons. Now one had turned against him, while the other remained loyally by his side. He seemed to want to erase Meng Zixian from his memory, whether out of disappointment or fear, he couldn't tell.

Finally feeling the stagnant atmosphere at the dinner table, Li Ting grinned, put down his chopsticks, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and grabbed Shen Huan's left hand holding the napkin with his right hand. Shen Huan instinctively wanted to pull his hand back.

She held back.

After dinner, Shen Huan accompanied Lu Xiaofan for a walk in the garden. The property management company regularly carried out pest control in the inner courtyard, but even with spring approaching, mosquitoes were still everywhere. Lu Xiaofan leaned over to her ear and asked, "Is the lawsuit between Lao Li and his ex-wife over?"

This circle of wives has a book club every week and is well-informed.

Lu Xiaofan guessed that Chen Huan still didn't understand the situation, so he carefully told her, "I heard that Lao Li bought back all the shares of the head office that she held, and he doesn't plan to give them to his son. This is a good thing!"

Shen Huan said nothing.

Lu Xiaofan said, "If you work harder, take up a position with real power in the company and achieve some results, you might become an executive director in a few years."

Shen Huan was finally amused. It was unclear whether Lu Xiaofan had heard these military tactics from Lou Hetai or from his wife's reading club notes.

I'd better not cause trouble for others, Shen Huan said.

Lu Xiaofan asked you why you can't be more promising. Look at his ex-wife, she is on the other side of the ocean, but she still asks you for money.

Don't say that. Chang Yueqing is also a member of the startup team. She has her own ideas about the company, not just for personal gain. Chen Huan said.

Okay, I have sharp teeth and you are understanding. Lu Xiaofan brushed the bug off his face.

It’s someone else’s ability to take it away, Shen Huan said, I can’t hide it if it falls into my hands.

She spoke calmly, but what happened with Yao Li today was like a thorn in Shen Huan's soft heart. When she married Li Ting, she signed a prenuptial agreement, asking for no money. In the past two years of marriage, she had not fought for power in the company, but today's encounter with Yao Li made her realize that she hadn't even gotten the person.

She comforted herself that she had lived a comfortable life in the past few years, but Lu Xiaofan's words were like a paddle stirring stagnant water, secretly encouraging her to fight again.

Before going to sleep, Chen Huan sat at the head of the bed, drying her hair. Drops of water dripped onto the pillow, creating a small, dark smudge. Suddenly, she felt sick to her bed. She stood up and sat on the sofa. After a moment, she stood up again.

There was no place for her to sit in the room.

Li Ting was smoking on the balcony while talking on the phone, his brows furrowed.

When he opened the glass partition and came in, Shen Huan cleared her throat and said that she had paid Yao Li this month's salary today. Li Ting said "oh", went into the bathroom, turned on the faucet and washed his face.

According to the contract, it was 10,000 yuan. Shen Huan said, how about more, the service she provided was more than that.

Li Ting was still leaning over the sink, washing his face. Shen Huan swallowed and waited for him silently. The sound of water finally stopped. Li Ting wiped his face with a towel and walked slowly to the bathroom door, anger written on his face.

It was like a father watching over his child who had done something wrong. Why are you giving me trouble now? Don't you think I don't have enough on my plate?

Shen Huan didn't know what he was angry about, angry that he was discovered, or angry that there was a hint of sarcasm in her words.

She is still looking for her own problems.

He just looked at her without saying anything. The more he kept silent, the more she became like a deflated ball, yelling at him, "Aren't you going to apologize? You cheated on me!"

Li Ting listened to her cursing silently. He threw the towel on the ground and said, "I loved you, but get out of here!"

His sudden outburst frightened her throat. She thought that although Li Ting was a man of his word in public, he was usually gentle with her and rarely acted so fiercely. She didn't know why she thought of this. Other women had slept on this bed, sofa, and floor, and she was still listing his good points.

She grabbed her phone and rushed out of the bedroom. When she reached the first floor door, she had no idea where to go. She didn't have many friends, and her usual connections were all with Li Ting. If this happened late at night, it would be embarrassing for both of them.

So what if she wants to embarrass me? I can't live like this anymore. I'll move out and slowly litigate with him, just like Chang Yueqing did, over three to five years, making him pay for his mistakes. At the very least, I won't take a penny from him. I'll just throw my youth away and redeem my dignity.

Having made this decision, even if it wasn't a concrete plan, she felt better. She didn't think there was any rush, considering it was the middle of the night. Given Li Ting's personality, he wouldn't come downstairs to see her tonight. She simply slept on the sofa.

Perhaps because she was too tired from the quarrel, or perhaps because there was no snoring next to her, she fell asleep quickly. When she opened her eyes again, the blackout curtains had been raised and sunlight shone in through the linen curtains.

Li Ting sat in the dining room, eating breakfast. He seemed to have forgotten their argument from the previous night. Seeing her wake up, he told her to wash up quickly, saying the dumplings were still warm. Chen Huan sat blankly on the sofa. She checked the time; it was already past nine. Yao Li should have arrived by now, but she wasn't there.

Li Ting walked over and sat down next to Shen Huan.

He checked his calendar on his phone and said he was planning to schedule an interim board meeting. "Let's do it in two weeks. Chang Yueqing's shares are back, and I'd like you to get more involved in the company. So, you could be a vice president at the head office, managing Ronghui."

Chen Huan sank into the sofa like a fool. She wanted to yell at the man. She wanted to say, "I won't live with you anymore. Get out of here if you want."

Li Ting continued, "I thought about it yesterday. After Ronghui, we shouldn't focus solely on capital. We should shift to consulting. We should offer our large-scale risk control models to local banks. They want stability." "Lou Hetai will help you. He's an expert in this area."

Shen Huan took a deep breath. She thought, is this a deal? He gave her a chance to do something, and she shouldn't bother him with Yao Li's matter again.

He said, "This is easy to get started with, and I'll be able to connect with a lot of people. It's a new technology project, so if it doesn't work out well, it won't matter much. It will just be a failed attempt on my part. The models and data are already available. I'll invest four million initially to run client trials, and then we'll see how it goes. Do you think it's feasible?"

Shen Huan didn't answer. She stared at the empty coffee table and cried.

When she cried like this, she agreed to his arrangement. Li Ting smiled and said, "Oh, my eyes are swollen. You can't get along with that nurse. I asked her not to come."

That evening, Li Ting had the driver take them to a buffet on a hotel rooftop. The lights of the distant city filled the floor-to-ceiling windows. It was still dark, and flames were lit in the brass candlesticks.

Li Ting gave her a dark blue velvet box with gold-embossed cursive characters on it. She opened the box, and inside, a diamond necklace gleamed faintly.

Li Ting never mentioned his extramarital affair throughout the whole process, but the matter was silently covered up under a thick carpet.

Before taking their seats, Li Ting took a hotel room card. Chen Huan knew what he meant; she had to show him that she had gotten over it. She drank quite a bit of wine at the dinner.

After entering the hotel room, Shen Huan used the excuse of going to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, looking at her smudged black eyelashes and bright red lips. Paired with the iris blue satin skirt, she looked like a parrot with its feathers shed.

She heard Li Ting pacing outside. He was not talking on the phone. Tonight was very important to him.

Shen Huan pushed the door open and stood by the French window to take off Li Ting's suit and cashmere vest, and unbutton his shirt. Without the contrast of his clothes, his shoulders looked thin, his belly was a little big, and there were a few hairs hanging around his belly button.

In the reflection of the ceiling glass, she lay on the bed like a shrunken parrot. But gradually she began to enjoy the intimacy of this night, leaning forward to kiss him, breathing loudly, and the alcohol in her system also helped her.