Chapter 80 Overtime Pay (Part 2)
The shock was too overwhelming! Too absurd! Yu Ling felt like a fool! She sat in her empty mansion, eating instant noodles, worried about his overtime and the pressure he endured... and so his so-called "overtime" meant casually signing a multi-billion euro acquisition in a top-tier Brussels banquet hall?!
A huge sense of absurdity and a kind of anger at being fooled, like an icy tide, instantly engulfed Yu Ling! She stared at the blurry yet extremely familiar silhouette on the screen, her fingertips digging deep into her palms from the force!
Just then—
“Click.”
There was an extremely slight sound of an electronic lock opening at the entrance.
Then came the familiar sound of footsteps, steady, powerful, and with a subtle hint of fatigue, approaching from afar.
Yu Ling suddenly raised her head!
Zhao Chen is back!
His tall figure appeared at the entrance to the living room. He was indeed wearing the same dark gray, top-notch custom-made suit from the photo, except that his tie was loosened and hung casually around his neck.
His suit jacket was draped over his arm, and the collar of his white shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a distinct Adam's apple and a patch of cold, pale skin. In his left hand, he held a greasy-looking, disposable plastic lunch box emblazoned with the "Lao Wang Home Cooking" logo.
"Lingling? Not asleep yet?" He saw Yu Ling curled up on the sofa, with a perfect, slightly tired, gentle smile on her face, as if she had just finished an ordinary overtime. "It just so happens that Lao Wang downstairs hasn't closed yet, so I brought you some of his signature shrimp wontons, which are still hot." He shook the lunch box in his hand, his tone as natural as if he was going home from get off work every day.
The warm yellow light fell on his handsome face, dusty and tired, yet still as gentle as jade. His amber eyes were clear and showed concern for his wife.
This heartwarming scene formed the most extreme and absurd contrast with the signing ceremony of the century-long merger and acquisition that shocked the world on the mobile phone screen behind him!
Yu Ling looked at him, his "ordinary husband coming home from overtime," and then at the silhouette on the screen, holding a multi-billion-euro acquisition agreement, at the center of Europe's top fame and fortune. A huge, indescribable rage, mixed with an extreme sense of absurdity, suddenly rushed over her head! The string of her rationality was instantly broken!
She suddenly stood up from the sofa, swaying slightly from the sudden movement. She grabbed her phone from the coffee table. The screen was still fixed on the shocking contract photo. Zhao Chen's silhouette and the title "Norsun Group Acquisition Agreement" were clearly visible!
She rushed to Zhao Chen in a few steps and thrust her phone screen almost in front of his eyes! Her voice was shrill and trembling with extreme anger and grievance, with a strong nasal tone:
"Zhao Chen! Tell me! What is this?! Explain!!!"
Zhao Chen was slightly startled by her sudden outburst and the phone thrust against his face. His gaze fell on the familiar photo of the signing ceremony on the screen, on his own silhouette at the edge of the photo. A fleeting, almost imperceptible flash of surprise crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by a deeper look of innocence and bewilderment.
He frowned slightly, as if he was carefully examining the photo, and then an expression of sudden realization and a bit of helplessness appeared on his face.
"Oh, you're talking about this?" He said in a relaxed tone, even with a hint of "what's the big deal?" He pointed to his silhouette in the photo and said, "The company sent me on a business trip to Brussels to deliver some important documents to a partner.
He paused, as if recalling an insignificant detail. "It seems... it was sent to a local cooperating printing shop?"
He shrugged, his expression sincere and filled with the resigned feeling of a worker with no choice. "I came out after signing, just as the signing ceremony was about to end. It was packed. I don't know who was so quick to snap it in." He shook his head, as if he found it a bit amusing. "I just used a background board. Look how nervous you are."
Print shop? A print shop in Brussels?! Delivering documents?! Using background boards?!
Yu Ling listened to his smooth, flawless "explanation," and saw the look of "I'm truly innocent" on his face. She felt her blood boiling! She was trembling with anger! This bastard! Still acting at this point?! Still using that "print shop" joke to fool her?!
"Print shop?!" She practically yelled, her voice rising with anger, thick with tears. "Zhao Chen! Tell me! What kind of printing shop can be opened in Brussels?! What documents require you to personally deliver to Europe?! And deliver it to the signing ceremony of the century merger?! And with that damn acquisition agreement?!"
She pointed at the clearly titled agreement document on her phone screen, her fingertips trembling. "What does it say?! Norsun Group Acquisition Agreement! Acquisition agreement! Final version! You told me this is a document sent to a print shop?! Do you think I'm a three-year-old?!"
A surge of anger and grievance erupted like a volcano! Tears could no longer be contained, gushing out of her eyes! She felt like a complete fool! He had played her around with his "ordinary employee" lie! She had stayed alone in her empty room, eating instant noodles for him, worried about him, and now... he was negotiating a multi-billion-euro deal in Europe!
Zhao Chen watched her tears streaming down her face and her body trembling. The relaxed expression on his face finally faded. Deep in his amber eyes, the innocent disguise receded like the tide, revealing a bottomless undertone of helplessness and deep heartache.
He didn't explain any further.
He casually tossed the greasy shrimp wonton lunch box and the suit jacket on the sideboard. There was a soft "pop" sound.
Then, he took a step forward, ignoring Yu Ling's struggles and beatings, stretched out his arms, and with irresistible strength, he hugged his tearful, emotionally out-of-control little wife tightly into his warm arms.
"Okay, okay, don't cry..." His low voice sounded above her head, with a strange soothing magic, and his arms tightened, as if he wanted to crush all her anger and grievances in his chest.
Yu Ling was held tightly in his arms, the familiar cool air mixed with the faint scent of cologne from a high-end European hotel enveloping her. Her struggles gradually faded, leaving only uncontrollable sobs.
Zhao Chen lowered his head, his warm lips gently kissing away the tears from the corners of her eyes, his movements so gentle they were almost reverent. He rested his chin on the top of her head, feeling her body tremble, and remained silent for a moment.
Then, with an extremely helpless and somewhat resigned tone of doting, he whispered something in her ear, completely shutting off all of Yu Ling's unfinished questioning and anger:
"Hmm..." He seemed to admit something, his voice low and sexy, with a barely perceptible smile, "That printing shop might be a multinational chain, right?"
He paused, tightened his arms around her, and completely encased her in his embrace, feeling her soft body. His voice was filled with an inextricable tenderness and a hint of "confession."
"As for that agreement... just treat it as..."
His lips touched her earlobe, and his warm breath brushed past her, carrying with it a fatal temptation and a kind of laziness that seemed to control everything:
"Husband's...overtime pay?"
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