Chapter 35 Scumbag: "What do you think our relationship is?"...
35
Meng Yao hesitated.
On the one hand, she was fully aware of the clear purpose behind the Lin family's hypocritical enthusiasm; on the other hand, the ambiguous scene in Fang Huaixu's lounge kept flashing through her mind.
She felt a wave of nausea and almost forgot that Fang Huaixu and Lin Tianhai were essentially the closest to the same class, so how could she think they would be different?
Perhaps in their world, playing along and getting what one wants is nothing to be surprised about, and she, as a wife in name only, has no right to get involved in these disputes.
But deep down, the feeling of being fooled still lingers.
However, she quickly made a choice. With her grandmother's illness taking precedence, she could ignore all her personal emotions. Professor Anderson's appearance was absolutely the best news for her. Compared to finding the professor, Lin Tianhai's purpose, Fang Huaixu's romantic affair, and her own insignificant flutter of the heart all seemed insignificant.
Anyway, in the beginning she only intended to use Fang Huaixu to find Professor Anderson. Now that she has found him, does it matter whether she chooses Fang Huaixu or Lin Tianhai?
With an almost resigned calm, she finally accepted Lin Yue's invitation.
The Lin family banquet was as lavish as ever. Lin Tianhai was already waiting for her when she got out of the car, his face full of an almost exaggeratedly loving smile. He kept putting food on her plate and asking about her well-being, as if all the grudges and hurts had disappeared.
"What happened before was my fault, and I apologize to you," Lin Tianhai said sincerely as he raised his glass. "We're all family, connected by blood. How can there be any grudges that last overnight? I've always been concerned about your grandmother's illness."
He put down his wine glass and made a video call. Meng Yao's gaze immediately went straight to him, and she leaned forward, staring intently at the screen. Lin Tianhai's boastful voice rang in her ears: "We used every connection we could think of and finally got in touch with Professor Anderson. Moreover, before you came today, we had already sent your grandmother's detailed medical records and examination reports to his team for review."
The video call connected immediately. Seeing the face on the screen that had appeared countless times in magazines and on the big screen, Meng Yao's heart began to race uncontrollably, and her voice trembled uncontrollably: "...Hello."
Professor Anderson greeted him very gently, with a warm smile.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Professor Anderson, upon hearing about their situation, confirmed a remote video consultation for next week. If the outcome was optimistic, they could then arrange for the patient to receive treatment abroad.
Even long after hanging up the phone, Meng Yao was so excited that she almost burst into tears on the spot. She could almost hear the sound of her blood rushing: she had actually found a solution.
Lin Tianhai tapped the table slightly before she came to her senses. Knowing that Lin Tianhai wouldn't do anything without a reason, she restrained her emotions and said calmly, "Just say it, what do you want?"
Lin Tianhai stopped beating around the bush and placed his hands on the table: "Since you're being so direct, then I'll be frank. I'd like to contribute as a partner to Tianmu Group's R&D launch event next quarter."
Meng Yao frowned: "What press conference? I don't understand what you're talking about. Besides, aren't you two working together? He wouldn't exclude you, would he?"
"Fang Huaixu is keeping the core technologies and data very tightly under wraps," Lin Tianhai continued, his eyes deep. "Perhaps it's because the previous conversations weren't very pleasant. In any case, I just hope you can say a few good words to make an exception and allow the Lin family to participate more deeply, at least on the surface, to share some of the credit for the research and development."
He paused meaningfully, then looked at her with a smile: "This concerns our future, it's very important."
Meng Yao fell silent, then said bluntly, "Aren't you overestimating my abilities? I have no right to persuade him, especially when it comes to business decisions. Why should he listen to me?"
Moreover, after today's discovery, her impression of Fang Huaixu is now extremely bad, and she doesn't even know how to face him later.
Lin Tianhai seemed completely unconcerned about these issues, chuckling lightly, "Of course I know this isn't easy, but right now, the only person I can think of closest to Fang Huaixu's decision-making is you. You're my daughter, and I believe in your abilities. Even in this situation, you'll definitely find a way, right?"
He threw the question back at Meng Yao, who felt heavy-hearted. Only then did she realize that this was not a commission at all, but clearly a transaction.
To get Professor Anderson to come, he had to follow Fang Huaixu's method, no matter what she came up with.
Meng Yao sneered inwardly, but had no other choice: "I understand."
On her way home, Meng Yao sat in the car, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
She was genuinely happy that her grandmother had finally found a glimmer of hope, but after the initial relief came a deeper unease.
Having re-established a rift with the Lin family, she also learned about another side of Fang Huaixu. Now she needs to use him to connect the Lin family with other people, but how should she face him? She felt a headache coming on and had never felt so lost: she used to think she understood him, but now she felt she hadn't seen through him at all.
The car arrived at its destination quickly. She rubbed her temples in frustration and had no choice but to get out and face the situation.
When I returned to the apartment, Fang Huaixu was already home, sitting on the sofa in the living room working on his laptop. He looked up immediately when he heard the door open, a smile clearly on his face.
"You're back?"
He closed his laptop and said gently, "There was an urgent meeting at the company today, and I couldn't get away from it. I thought you came back early. Where did you go?"
His attitude was naturally intimate. Seeing that he was still wearing the pajamas she had bought for him, Meng Yao was a little dazed. Looking around at all the traces of their shared life, she realized that they had been living together like this for more than four months.
She remained silent for a long while, looking at his handsome face, recalling the scene in the lounge, her heart felt as if it had been clenched by something, filled with an indescribable dull pain.
"I'm home." She lowered her eyelashes, her voice a little hoarse. "If you need to find me, just go back and check on me."
Fang Huaixu quickly noticed something was wrong with her. After a moment of surprise, he subconsciously stood up: "Going home? Did you go to see your grandmother? How is she?"
"I didn't go to see her," Meng Yao sighed inwardly, "I went back to the Lin family."
Fang Huaixu's gentle expression vanished instantly. After a moment of silence, his smile faded, and he asked with concern, "Did they threaten you?"
He came over to check on her, but Meng Yao subtly stepped back, avoiding his approach.
Fang Huaixu noticed her distance and looked at her with surprise and embarrassment.
Meng Yao couldn't quite describe her feelings. She hated that her heart wasn't made of stone; she hadn't been deaf to his gentleness, thoughtfulness, and care over the past four months. It was precisely because she enjoyed this warmth that she felt even more afraid.
I fear that even the worry on his face at this moment is a carefully crafted performance.
A sense of absurd irony welled up within her. She was utterly exhausted. Perhaps now was the best time to break the ice? After all, she could never keep a secret and always felt that problems were best solved when laid bare.
“No, they didn’t say anything,” she decided to play along and tried to make her voice sound calm: “They just apologized to me for what happened before. After all, we’re still family by blood… there’s no need to make things so serious that we never speak to each other again.”
Fang Huaixu certainly didn't believe it, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, but observing Meng Yao's quiet demeanor, he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.
After a long standoff, Fang Huaixu respected her choice and nodded gently, saying, "If you think it's okay, then there's no problem. If there are any problems later, be sure to tell me."
"Hmm." Meng Yao responded softly, then took the opportunity to mention Lin Tianhai's request: "By the way, Lin... my dad, he wanted me to ask him today if the Lin family could also participate in the research and development of the special drug in the next quarter? Of course, I know this is just wishful thinking on his part, I'm just asking on his behalf."
Fang Huaixu considered for a moment, a complex emotion flashing across his face, and answered seriously: "I can understand his feelings. I didn't mean to hide this from you or to guard against the Lin family. In fact, the next stage of research involves a lot of core data and some projects that are not yet fully stable. The level of confidentiality is very high. Even within Tianmu, there are only a handful of people with the authority to access them. Therefore, we have not expanded the scope of participation in advance to avoid information leakage and interference with the research and development progress."
He observed Meng Yao's reaction, and after a moment added, "But don't worry, as a partner, if you wish to know the progress sooner, I can arrange for you to participate in some stages ahead of time..."
This time it was Meng Yao's turn to be surprised; she hadn't expected Fang Huaixu to agree so readily.
In the past, she would have definitely suspected that this was yet another way for Fang Huaixu to get out of a predicament.
He always liked to do this: sometimes he was not even aware of her predicament, but whenever he realized that she was inconvenient to offer help, he would silently agree to go along with her wishes.
...every time.
It's always the same.
He never gave himself away.
She tried to calm herself down, but an angry voice inside her was complaining, complaining about why she had to go back to the lounge, why she had to know what he was really like.
She even began to doubt herself, which was unusual; maybe he was a really good person?
Perhaps she was someone he couldn't help but like, or perhaps all his kindness towards her was just polite courtesy between friends or business partners.
But why offer all that unnecessary help? Why always lend her a helping hand? Why compliment her on her beauty, to boost her self-esteem and confidence, and to make her feel more comfortable around him?
He's clearly a piece of trash.
If you have someone you like, why choose to get married? Why say those ambiguous things to her and do those ambiguous things...?
He's clearly a piece of trash.
But for some reason, she just couldn't bring herself to accept the answer that had flashed through her mind countless times.
She took a deep breath and stared wearily into his eyes, as if trying to see right through him.
It seems that it wasn't just him; she was also gradually losing sight of herself: if she didn't want this answer, then what answer did she want?
Fang Huaixu's gaze remained fixed on her. The air seemed to freeze as he broke the silence, as if he had made up his mind: "Actually, there's something I want to discuss with you."
Almost simultaneously, Meng Yao also spoke up: "I also have something to say to you."
Fang Huaixu remained quiet and gently gestured for her to speak first.
Without hesitation, Meng Yao spoke clearly, word by word: "Fang Huaixu, in your heart, what do you think our relationship is now?"
Author's Note: Ahhh, I'll try my best to update more chapters! (Give it a try, I'll definitely try my best [please])
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