Chapter 40

Chen Huan used to be able to adjust her body clock within two or three days, but this time, almost a week after returning, she still couldn't adjust to the jet lag. She wondered if she'd contracted some bacterial or viral infection while traveling, which was why she couldn't eat at mealtimes and was extremely hungry in the middle of the night. She went to the hospital for blood, urine, and stool tests, and they revealed anemia. The doctor said it might be acclimatization and asked her to observe for a few weeks.

Chen Huan went to the gym to run. After two days of running, her sleep improved a lot, so she started going every day. No longer looking after Li Ting, she had a lot more time.

She hadn't seen Lu Xiaofan for several days, and she didn't run into her at the group class on Saturday. Shen Huan called Lu Xiaofan, and she said she was too busy with her child's birthday party that weekend. In the afternoon, her son was staying with his grandmother, so she asked Shen Huan to come over for dinner.

Chen Huan went to Lu Xiaofan's house and helped her clean the living room cake table, balloons, and ribbons, and wiped the crayon and paint off the furniture. Lu Xiaofan answered a call from Lou Hetai, who told Chen Huan that a few new people from the Ronghe technical position would be coming to dinner that night, and that Lou Hetai would be personally bringing them.

"Just say I'm your tennis friend," Lu Xiaofan said, "so that no one will feel uncomfortable."

Shen Huan didn't know why she made people uncomfortable, but she complied.

Half an hour later, Lou Hetai called again to say he wasn't coming back for dinner. Lu Xiaofan, too lazy to cook, decided to share two tables at the Sichuan restaurant downstairs. While ordering, Lu Xiaofan said Meng Zixian was all about making money, leaving Lou Hetai to handle the details. Lou Hetai was overwhelmed with work and pressure, so he either lived at the office or was always on the phone when he came home. He walked from one end of the living room to the other, frowning as he talked, complaining that the windows were too wide or that the clothes weren't stretched out enough to hang out. Whenever Lu Xiaofan had time, he would take the children to their grandmother's house for dinner.

There were a few new faces, two women and three men. Shen Huan probably hired them in the past two months. They were very respectful to Lu Xiaofan, calling her "Master's Wife" and holding gifts in their hands.

Several young people sat shoulder to shoulder. The red oil pot bubbled, and the air was filled with the aroma of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns. Lu Xiaofan told everyone that Chen Huan was her tennis coach, so Chen Huan sat quietly at the corner of the table. The others ordered a few beers. The food was slow to arrive, so everyone took a few sips and chatted for a while before returning to the topic of Xuan Tao's personnel restructuring.

Only then did Chen Huan understand what Lu Xiaofan had meant. Everyone was convinced that once Qingyu's acquisition of Ronghe was finalized, half the risk control staff would be gone. Chen Huan figured Lou Hetai must be a commanding figure who could keep his subordinates steady and keep doing their jobs even when the company was in turmoil.

Several people lowered their voices when they mentioned Meng Zixuan's name, as if the sound could summon the King of Hell. They said that if they met Mr. Meng at the company, the best way was to pretend not to know him. If he remembered their name, they would have to pack up and leave.

"Only Lin Jing is brave enough to serve coffee to Mr. Meng."

"Isn't this a layoff?"

Everyone laughed.

Across the steaming hot water, Lu Xiaofan glanced at Chen Huan, his chopsticks making a soft sound on the edge of the bowl. The people at the table became a little awkward and changed the subject.

Shen Huan sat for half an hour before getting up to leave. She had another run tonight. Seeing her leave early, several young people added her contact information and asked about private training. They thought Lu Xiaofan had called her here to recruit students for his fitness coach.

Chen Huan didn't know what to do for a moment. She said dryly, "I'm not accepting new clients right now." Someone said, "Let's go to the gym to play with you. Is there an internal price for members?"

Lu Xiaofan told her to leave quickly, "Her boyfriend is very strict."

On Monday, Chen Huan went to Yixiang. The following week was the semi-annual investor meeting, and General Manager Luo Dongyun was going through the financial reports and operating data internally. Chen Huan, who usually didn't handle specific matters, sat in a corner of the conference room and listened. Luo Dongyun's computer wouldn't connect to the screen, so Chen Huan gave her his.

Li Ting had rarely attended these meetings in the past few years. He didn't care about the details, just listened to Chen Huan's brief explanation afterward. Most of Yixiang's investors had other businesses with Xuantao, so no one would embarrass Yixiang if Li Ting had given his approval.

But today Chang Yueqing came, and the crocodile skin bag sat steadily next to her teacup, as straight as a shield guarding the queen.

Chang Yueqing is not pretentious in doing business. She doesn't look at the PPT, but stares at the numbers on the report and tightens Luo Dongyun like a screw.

"You can't even get past me, so how can you expect your investors to be fleeced? Chen Yue has a new investor this time, and they're cutting and withdrawing funding for the art fund. They're desperate to shut down the entire operation."

She paused, her eyes sweeping across the room. Luo Dongyun, his face flushed with anxiety, glanced toward Chen Huan. Chen Huan wasn't sure if Chang Yueqing was telling the truth. She suspected the new investor Chang Yueqing was referring to was Qingyu's resources. But she had no idea Meng Zixian or Xiao Jun were planning to shut down Yixiang. Perhaps this was Chang Yueqing's way of using her new position as a deterrent.

Chang Yueqing continued, "I slammed the table to save Yixiang. If you don't act tough, I won't tolerate it."

Chang Yueqing was the one making the final decision, and she would scrutinize details she usually turned a blind eye to, even looking at them with a magnifying glass. Luo Dongyun was driven to such extremes by her that he was left scratching his head until it was covered in dandruff.

After finally finishing the financial report, Chang Yueqing continued to taunt Luo Dongyun. "Today, for three hours, we've covered the past. Tomorrow, I want to look at the future. For next quarter's plan, lay out the key investments you're planning to exit and your projected cash flow. Don't hide anything."

Chang Yueqing gave step-by-step instructions on how to make a cash flow budget. Shen Huan listened drowsily, her long hair sliding down her shoulders, almost covering half of her face. She raised her head again, forcing her eyelids open, and saw a new incoming call pop up in the upper right corner of the projection screen, displaying "Meng Zixian".

In the conference room, Chang Yueqing's voice, rich and leisurely, like the sound of an old record, abruptly stopped. There was the sound of an office chair's wheels scraping across the carpet. The incoming call indicator on the screen remained lit, but the call remained unanswered.

It wasn't until everyone in suits and shirts at the table turned their gazes towards her that Shen Huan realized the projector was connected to her computer. With a start, she straightened up, stood up, wiped her mouth, picked up her phone, apologized, and left the meeting room.

She took the phone to the corridor and clicked the answer button. Before she could speak, there was a "click" behind her, and the door of the conference room was pushed open again. It was Chang Yueqing who walked out. Chang Yueqing looked as if it was a matter of course, glanced at her phone, and asked casually: "Lao Meng?" As she said that, she snatched the phone from Shen Huan and clicked on the hands-free mode.

Shen Huan stood aside, a little confused.

"Old Meng, I'm Chang Yueqing. So you're still using this number? I tried calling it several times but couldn't get through. I thought you had changed it a long time ago. You went to Vilnius, right? A very busy man." Chang Yueqing said with a smile, her tone familiar.

There was no response from the other side.

"Tomorrow's board meeting is just a formality. I have over 70% of the votes. Have you heard from the major shareholders?" Chang Yueqing always managed to control the situation. Chen Huan was worried about Meng Zixian.

There was still no sound from the other side.

"While the three of us are here, if you have any ideas, bring them up here. Family disgrace shouldn't be aired in public. If you make a scene at the meeting, Chen Yue's people will see it, and you'll be the one in the hot seat." Chang Yueqing said word by word, "Let's talk about it now."

There was another silence, and Meng Zixian replied calmly: "Let Li Ting do it himself."

The call ended.

In the evening, Chen Huan didn't go for a run. She sat on the bed with her legs hugged, in a daze. She hadn't expected that submitting a transfer proposal would cause such great difficulties for Meng Zixuan. Maybe she should really hide in New York and wait until this storm subsided before returning.

She called Meng Zixuan again before going to bed, but he didn't answer.