Chapter 66: Should I stay here on a snowy night?
The news that Yuan Runbai owed a huge gambling debt in Macau spread like wildfire overnight.
When Yuan Qinrong heard this, she was treating Yuan Hongren's knee wound. She was stunned for a long time and tried to call her elder brother, but Yuan Siliu did not answer.
"So, was it because of Runbo that a certain city out of town couldn't deliver the house on time?" Yun Qihui asked.
"No, how could such a large group be affected by a little gambling debt?"
Yuan Qinrong was inexplicably flustered and quickly stood up, "No, I need to go back."
Yun Qihui: "I'll go with you."
After instructing the servants to take good care of Yuan Hongren, the two hurried to the Yuan family's old house.
Unexpectedly, the house was brightly lit, and all the brothers and sisters were there, asking Yuan Siliu what was going on.
Among the five brothers and sisters, Yuan Qinrong has always been the least valued, especially after she chose to marry Yun Qihui in her early twenties, she became an even more marginal figure in the family.
She gradually understood what was going on during the quarrel between her brothers and sisters.
Yuan Runbai has been gambling for four years, starting when he went to study at a university in another city.
He was winning at the beginning, but gambling is not always a good thing. He only lost a few million at first, and he paid it back without telling his family. But in less than three days, he owed tens of millions again. He couldn't come up with so much money at once, so he had to tell his parents. Yuan Siliu was so angry that he closed the door and beat him with a stick, and then paid the money for him.
It happened to be summer vacation, so they confiscated his ID card, passport and pass and ordered him not to leave Beijing.
But after the summer vacation, I have to go to Nanjing to study again.
Yuan Runbai couldn't help himself again. He told himself that he would stop after losing at most five million. But that day he was particularly lucky and won a million as soon as he sat down. He became more and more addicted to the game and when he came to his senses, he had lost eighty million.
He received countless beatings over the years, but he never changed his ways.
Yuan Runbai has always been praised for his gentle and elegant character, but his gambling addiction is like a glutton that has been nurtured to an ever-increasing appetite.
After graduating from university, Yuan Fang gave his most valued grandson funds to start a business, and personally took care of everything for him.
But I didn't expect Yuan Runbai to use the company as collateral to gamble again.
This time the loss was huge.
Yuan Siliu was so angry that he was burning with rage, but what else could he do?
At his age, his only hope was that his son could take over the entire group. With so many younger generations in the Yuan family, he couldn't let his father know about this, so he tried his best to repay the money.
Yuan Runbai has grown up and is no longer as easy to control as before. We can't just break his legs.
Even Yuan Siliu's repeated repayments made him his supporter.
He grew bolder and bolder.
This time, less than a month later, he was detained in the casino again, and the call was made to Yuan Siliu.
He went back to gambling and lost more money.
Yuan Siliu was so angry that he wanted to ignore the child, but his mother, who always doted on her children, protected Yuan Runbai tightly and said, "You have to think of a way, Siliu! If Dad really finds out, Siliu will never have a way out in this life!"
Yuan Siliu was so angry that he took a heart pill, but the next day he started thinking about how to fill the huge hole.
But this time he couldn't hide it from Yuan Fang.
The whole family was talking at once, accusing Yuan Runbai of gambling and Yuan Siliu of indulging his son to such an extent.
Yuan Fang sat there without saying a word.
Then the second son Yuan Sicheng asked about the current situation of the group.
Yuan Fang raised his eyes and said, "You care about the group now? Why didn't I see you care about it when you were eating, drinking, having fun and having fun?!"
Yuan Sicheng: "Dad, I also have shares in the group, why can't I ask? It's tens of billions now, and it will be hundreds of billions tomorrow. Do we have that much money to let this kid lose!"
The other brothers and sisters also chimed in, "That's right. The company's financial situation has been problematic in recent years, and the properties they recently built weren't delivered on time."
"Dad, we are all shareholders of the group and have the right to know the company's true financial situation!"
…
Yuan Fang suddenly became furious.
He picked up the teapot and threw it towards the center of the crowd: "Get out! Get out! Why should I explain anything to you?"
Yuan Sicheng wanted to say more, but just as he opened his mouth, Yuan Fang pointed at him and shouted angrily, "Unfilial son! If you don't get out of here, don't come here again!"
Yuan Fang used corporal punishment to educate his children since they were young. Even when they grew up, they were still driven by subconscious obedience and left one after another.
Only Yuan Qinrong.
She didn't speak a word from beginning to end.
She stood in the corner without saying a word when her brothers and sisters accused and scolded her.
Yun Qihui gently tugged at her and whispered, "Let's go home first."
Yuan Fang looked up and saw that she was still there. He was so angry that he picked up a folding fan and threw it at her. The metal fan handle hit Yuan Qinrong's forehead, and it quickly turned blue and red.
He never had a good face for this daughter who brought shame to the family: "What are you still doing standing here!"
Yuan Qinrong lowered her eyes, not even raising her hand to touch the wound on her forehead. She just spoke calmly, "Dad, when did you know that Yuan Runbai owed so much money?"
"What qualifications do you have to stand here and question me?"
Yuan Qinrong remained calm and just repeated the question.
She actually looked very strange. Yuan Fang frowned and looked at her for a while, then he could only suppress his anger and answer her: "Two months ago."
"Two months ago." Yuan Qinrong smiled suddenly.
She took two steps back while laughing, her smile cold and self-deprecating.
Yuan Fang didn't want to dwell on his little daughter's strange behavior, and simply ordered Yun Qihui to drag her out immediately—after all, he was used to bossing his cheap son-in-law around.
Yuan Qinrong let Yun Qihui pull her along, but when they reached the door, she suddenly whispered, "With such a large sum of money, hasn't my brother done anything shameful to pay off his debt?"
Yuan Fang paused, squinting at her and asking, "What did you say?"
Yuan Qinrong stood straight and looked Yuan Fang in the eye for the first time: "I said, I will check my brother's accounts."
Yuan Fang suddenly strode forward, grabbed Yuan Qinrong's collar and raised his hand high.
The first slap was blocked by Yun Qihui, and the second slap landed heavily on Yuan Qinrong's ear. Her brain buzzed - suddenly, something that happened a long time ago emerged in her mind.
She remembered that in this patriarchal family, the first thing all the brothers and sisters learned was to make their father happy.
When she was born, the group had already begun to take shape, and her father was too busy every day to have time to see her.
She gradually got used to being treated coldly. Even though she was the daughter of the Yuan family, the servants in the house were all fawning and looked down on the inferiors. They treated her and her brothers differently.
She still remembers the scene when she first saw Yun Qihui in college.
He was a gentleman, elegant, knowledgeable and talented, and she was chosen by chance to be his class representative.
Yuan Qinrong fell in love with him like she was obsessed.
For the first time, she ignored her father's reproaches and insults and was determined to marry this man who was several years older than her.
"Good job, Yuan Qinrong, you've become more capable!"
Yuan Fang grabbed her collar and said viciously, "How dare you threaten me? You are a traitor and a disgrace to our family!"
"So you still think of me as the daughter of the Yuan family."
Yuan Qinrong sneered with red eyes, "You defended Yuan Siliu and his son even when they did such a thing! Even now that it can no longer be concealed, you are still defending him! But what have I done wrong all these years! I just didn't marry the person you arranged for me, you! You guys! Why have you been mocking me for so many years!?"
"You didn't hesitate to interfere in this kind of marriage, gave birth to a fool, and now you're blaming me? Isn't this all your own fault!?"
Yuan Fang pushed her away and said, "I'm telling you, we're all in this together, and you can't escape the consequences! Just wait and see who will be willing to support that idiot for you!"
Yuan Fang has always been dictatorial. He did not regret saying this series of hurtful words at all. He also ordered the servants in the house to kick Yuan Qinrong out immediately.
…
That day was the first snow in Beijing.
Yuan Qinrong sat in the car with the window open, watching the snowflakes falling from the sky with tears in her eyes.
Yun Qihui fastened his seat belt and leaned over to check the red marks on her face, but Yuan Qinrong turned her head away.
Yun Qihui paused.
He said softly: "Dad is angry, don't be impulsive, let's wait and see."
Yuan Qinrong said "hmm".
Yun Qihui felt that she was not in a good state. He wanted to hold her hand to comfort her, but she avoided him. So he started the car silently and went home.
When they were halfway there, Yuan Qinrong suddenly bent over and cried bitterly, tears streaming out from between her fingers.
Yun Qihui patted her on the back, but before he could speak, he was completely stunned by Yuan Qinrong's next words -
"Qi Hui, maybe I have never truly loved you."
Yuan Qinrong was nearly fifty years old, and it was ridiculous for the first time that she realized that she did not love the man with whom she had lived for twenty years with so much difficulty.
Yun Qihui rested his hand on her back, still as calm as ever: "Are you too tired lately, Arong?"
The cold moonlight fell on her still charming face, making her pupils brighter.
"What I thought was loving you was actually just the care and warmth I felt from you for the first time when I was in my twenties. But that wasn't something that was too hard to come by, yet I treasured it like a treasure and couldn't live without you. In fact, at that age, no matter who I met, I would easily fall in love with him."
Yuan Qinrong knew that it was ridiculous for them to talk about love or not when they were in their fifties or sixties.
But she seemed to have been blinded by her own fictitious love for decades, and only truly woke up at this moment.
-
At the end of the annual leave, on the day Yun Tan returned to Guangdong, the news about the financial deficit of Yuan Group was officially revealed.
At the same time, Lu Wangshan sold all the shares he had invested in a few years ago. As soon as the news of the share reduction came out, the stock market fluctuated sharply again, and the news that the building was about to collapse was overwhelming.
Yuan Fang tried every possible way to plead for mercy, but Lu Wangshan ignored him.
Yuntan continued to work while preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination.
She added Zhong Xuzhi on WeChat that day, and sometimes she would ask him questions when she really didn't understand something.
Zhong Xuzhi is usually very busy with work and doesn't often reply immediately, but he will give her a unified reply before going to bed at night.
Yuntan sometimes felt bad, but Zhong Xuzhi was always patient and gentle, telling her that she could send him all the questions she didn't know, and he would answer them one by one when he was free.
Yun Tan felt that every friend around Lu Wangshan was a good person, but she didn't know why Xiang Wu hated Zhong Xuzhi so much.
That night.
While Yun Tan was reading, he received a reply from Zhong Xuzhi: "Is it convenient now?"
Yuntan: "That's convenient."
Zhong Xuzhi: "Then I'll make a voice call. Those questions are a bit complicated."
Yuntan: "Okay, okay."
She waited for the call to come and quickly picked it up.
Zhong Xuzhi is an introverted person, so she was still a little reserved and said politely, "Good evening, Teacher Zhong." She really looked like a good student greeting her teacher.
Zhong Xuzhi smiled and said, "You don't have to be so polite."
Then he explained the question to Yuntan seriously.
Lu Wangshan called midway through the conversation, but Yun Tan hung up and texted him, "Teacher Zhong is explaining a problem to me."
Lu Wangshan replied, "Teacher Zhong."
With a weird expression.
Yuntan couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Zhong Xuzhi paused: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing."
Then, a loud voice suddenly came from the other end of the phone - "Zhong is annoying!"
The female voice was aggressive, yet it also had a hint of spoiled coquettishness.
Yun Tan paused. The slightly distorted voice after passing through the electric current sounded familiar to her, but it was impossible for her to know Zhong Xuzhi's girlfriend.
However, I have never heard Lu Wangshan mention that he has a girlfriend before.
"Wait a minute." Zhong Xuzhi said, "I'm on the phone."
"Who is it? Do I know him?"
"Yuntan."
Yun Tan blinked blankly.
Unexpectedly, there was another loud and joyful voice from the other end: "Sister-in-law!"
The familiar voice resonated with an image in her mind, and she tentatively asked in surprise, "Wuwu?"
"It's me! Sister-in-law, why are you talking to this annoying guy on the phone?"
The latter part of the sentence was much softer, probably because Zhong Xuzhi had moved the phone further away. "Yun Tan is going to study for a master's degree in computer science. I'll help her with the questions."
After a pause, he couldn't help but scold Xiang Wu: "You're graduating soon. Have you finished your thesis? Everyone is busy with postgraduate entrance exams and interviews, why are you the only one running around and having fun all day?"
After his "encouragement to study", he acted more like a "brother" than Lu Wangshan.
Yuntan listened silently at the side, and became more and more confused as he listened. He thought the relationship between these two people was extremely strange.
Meanwhile, Xiang Wu was clearly accustomed to this kind of "persuasion to study." She readily raised her hands to cover her ears, waiting for him to shut up before lowering them. She shrugged and muttered, "What are you talking about?"
“…”
Xiang Wu threw the bag to him, skillfully opened the passenger door and got in.
She was going to Jin Ci's place, and the school happened to be close to Zhong Xuzhi's residence, so the eldest lady felt at ease and ordered her mortal enemy to drive over to pick her up.
Zhong Xuzhi didn't drive away immediately, but answered Yun Tan's remaining questions one by one in the car.
Xiang Wu stopped arguing and reclined in his chair, watching videos out of boredom.
During this period, the dormitory group always liked to share videos of bloggers with various male figures with their upper bodies naked to seduce fans, and they commented on which type they liked better. Xiang Wu had also watched some of them.
So much so that the system algorithm seemed to mistakenly think that she was also interested in these things, and from time to time it would insert a video that was not presentable between various jewelry and haute couture dresses.
This type of video BGM is also very unique.
So when Zhong Xuzhi looked over, he happened to see the picture on Xiang Wu's screen.
The latter just clicked a share button.
While Zhong Xuzhi was answering Yun Tan's questions, he reached out and took Xiang Wu's phone and turned off the screen.
Xiang Wu immediately glared at him: "Zhong Xuzhi, I really hate you!"
He put the phone aside and smiled lightly, "You hate me again."
Yun Tan pinched his earlobe silently, feeling as if he had figured out some secrets.
Fortunately, the last question was also explained clearly. Zhong Xuzhi asked her if she understood everything. Yun Tan hurriedly said "I understand" and hung up the phone.
This is the mortal enemy that Lu Wangshan mentioned???
——I hate you so much!
——You hate me again.
Isn't this just a couple's way of acting cute?!
Yun Tan opened the dialog box with Lu Wangshan: "Just now when I was on the phone with Zhong Xuzhi, I heard that Wuwu was with him."
Lu Wangshan didn't seem surprised at all, and simply commented, "She's everywhere."
Yun Tan: "Are they in love?"
Lu Wangshan: "Impossible."
Then came another voice message with a smile: "How did they give you such a big illusion? If Xiang Wu knew, he would make trouble for you again."
“…”
They started a long-distance relationship again.
Most of the time, it was Lu Wangshan who came to Guangdong, or who transited through Guangdong on a business trip, only to see her fly off to another place overnight.
Lu Wangshan never mentioned transferring her back to Beijing.
He understood that this project manager's resume would be beneficial to Yuntan, so he never restricted it.
Yuntan has secretly planned to switch to another company in Beijing.
She actually quite liked the work atmosphere in the LH Design Department, but firstly, the LH executives were aware of her relationship with Lu Wangshan, which would somewhat affect her work arrangements. Secondly, it was because of Ding Mian. Although Yun Tan had already made things clear with him and they had restored their friendship, he had once been a thorn in Lu Wangshan's side, and the relationship between the superiors and subordinates in the same department might still be too close. Thirdly, of course, job hopping was the fastest way to get promoted.
In January of the new year, Yuntan successfully passed the interview for a design job at another car company in Beijing, and was appointed deputy minister based on his previous experience.
She didn't tell Lu Wangshan about this, planning to give him a surprise.
She agreed with the new company to officially start work after the New Year.
She began to pack her luggage from her stay in Guangdong. After only half a year, she had a lot of luggage, so she packed it up one by one and sent it to Beijing first.
The flight back to Beijing is scheduled for January 15th.
Before boarding the plane, Yun Tan made an excuse to Lu Wangshan that he was in a meeting and then turned off his phone.
Three hours flight, landing.
Winter in Beijing is much colder than in Guangdong, so Yuntan put on a thick coat and scarf.
It is the end of the year and there are people coming and going in the Capital Airport, most of whom are migrant workers preparing to return to their hometowns for the New Year.
The cold wind blew in my face, and a cloud of white mist appeared in front of my eyes in the blink of an eye.
Yun Tan sent a message to Lu Wangshan: "Are you off work yet?"
Lu Wangshan: "Still at the company."
Lu Wangshan: "Is the meeting over?"
Yun Tan laughed in the cold wind and replied, "Yeah, you seem to be very busy lately."
Lu Wangshan: "Well, it will probably take more than an hour to finish."
Yun Tan raised his head, took a deep breath of the dry and cold air of Beijing, and said in his heart: Beijing, I am really back this time.
She hailed a taxi and told the name of the Lu Group.
At night, there were still lights on in several offices of the Lu Group.
When she really got here, Yun Tan realized that she was in trouble. The front desk had already closed. She thought about the layers of checkpoints on Lu Wangshan's floors, and this surprise was not something that could be given easily.
Just as she was hesitating whether she should tell Lu Wangshan directly that she had returned to Beijing, a man in a suit and tie suddenly walked out.
The man looked at her, and then actually walked towards her: "Is this Miss Yun?"
Yuntan nodded.
"Hello, I'm Mr. Lu's assistant. My last name is Xiao." The man said politely, "Are you here to see Mr. Lu?"
"Yes."
"Come with me."
Yun Tan hurried to catch up, but when he saw the man pick up the phone as if to report to Lu Wangshan, he quickly stopped him.
"I didn't tell him I was here." Yun Tan felt inexplicably embarrassed.
Fortunately, the man didn't show any emotion, nodded and put down his phone.
She thought that the staff around Lu Wangshan were all very considerate.
She watched the man swipe through the gates one by one. If she hadn't met Lu Wangshan's assistant today, it would have been difficult for him to enter so many checkpoints.
Yun Tan couldn't help but ask, "How do you know my last name is Yun?"
She has never been here.
The man replied with a very official smile, "I saw you on Mr. Lu's phone screensaver."
“…………”
The man swiped his card and pressed the button for the 47th floor for her, but did not enter the elevator.
After the elevator door closed, Yun Tan raised her hands to cover her face in shame - how could Lu Wangshan be so exaggerated in dating at such an old age!
The elevator opens.
The 47th floor mainly houses Lu Wangshan’s office, various conference rooms, and reception rooms. There are no department studios, so Yun Tan was able to easily find the only room with the light on.
She knocked gently on the door.
"Please come in." Lu Wangshan's deep voice.
Yuntan suppressed his smile and pushed open the door.
Lu Wangshan was looking down at the report until he saw that the visitor had not spoken for a long time.
He looked at Yuntan blankly, unable to react for a moment.
Yuntan winked at him.
Lu Wangshan then stood up and walked towards her quickly. He was truly delighted and surprised. He gave Yun Tan the most satisfying emotional response and hugged her and spun around several times.
"Why did you come back suddenly?" His eyes were bright, just like a dog.
Yun Tan held his face and kissed him: "I have some good news, do you want to hear it?"
"want."
"I changed jobs and returned to Beijing. I will start work after the New Year."
Lu Wangshan was stunned for a moment, and then hugged her with even more joy.
Of course, he understood what such a change meant to Yun Tan. Beijing was a place she had tried every possible way to escape from, but now she was willing to come back for him.
"Why haven't I heard you say that before?"
"How can it be considered a surprise if I tell you so?"
Lu Wangshan couldn't help but lower his neck and kiss her again, his hands seemed to be glued to her waist and couldn't be separated.
In the spacious, dimly lit office, Lu Wangshan was practically overwhelmed by joy. No matter how many kisses he made, it wasn't enough. He asked again, "Why didn't you ask LH to transfer you back to headquarters directly?"
Yun Tan asked Qiao in response, "Isn't it because someone is too jealous?"
She brought up the past again. "I don't know who it was last time, but he got mad at me just because I was on a business trip. He was so fierce and even asked me to choose. It was incomprehensible. Humph, so childish."
Lu Wangshan was in a very good mood and let her tease him as much as she wanted.
He just smiled softly against her lips and answered obediently, "Yes, it's me."
Yuntan thought he was very well behaved, even better than Leo.
She was wrapped in his broad chest, and his tall figure cast a shadow over her head, but she still thought he was so cute.
So I continued teasing him deliberately: "Then who are you?"
She didn't know that she was extremely cute in Lu Wangshan's eyes at this moment.
Her voice was drawn out, as if she was acting coquettishly.
Lu Wangshan coaxed her and imitated her cute tone: "It's Xiao Tan's mommy."
"No, there's no such childish mommy."
Yun Tan hugged him, leaned in his arms, raised his head with his eyes dark and bright, "You should call me mommy."
"Whatever you say."
"Then call me."
"Yeah, Mommy."
Yun Tan wanted to laugh, but he hugged her neck and kissed her again. She no longer had the obedient look she had just had, and instead was filled with overwhelming and aggressive aggression.
He held her waist tightly, holding her close, then lifted her up into the air and placed her on the spacious desk.
"Mommy."
He pecked and kissed her little by little, his hands on either side of her legs, leaning over and looking up at her: "Do you want to stay here?"
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The author has something to say: Some couples’ interests that are difficult for outsiders to understand [covering face and peeking]
Comment to get red envelope
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