Romance
When Shen Yuheng woke up, he didn't want to say a word because of the stomach pain.
A person sat on the sofa in the single-bed room, her head tilted against the backrest as she slept soundly. Sunlight streamed in through the white blinds, casting a shadow on her almost translucent face. Her gentle breathing was like the most beautiful sound in the world.
Many years ago, the same scene seemed like a lifetime ago. Back then, he was lying in a hospital bed, with someone by his side like this. But because he was too greedy for that warmth, he didn't have the heart to wake her.
Who knew that would be their last meeting.
If I had known this earlier...
"Xiaoye." He suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse, like a saw pulling through wood, "Xiaoye!"
Ye Yuanyin suddenly woke up from his sleep and took a while to rest before going to see him.
"Oh, Fourth Uncle, you're awake."
As he lingered on the brink of life and death, every breath he took was an uncontrollable turmoil. Only her flexible voice, like a rope, pulled at his infinitely falling consciousness.
"Thank you very much."
Ye Yuanyin tried to speak lightly, "Nothing, we agreed to finish the story."
"I'm sorry, I'm just so sick and tired."
The nurse outside knocked on the door and said, "Mr. Shen, there is a visitor named Chu outside who wants to see you."
Shen Yuheng was silent for a long time before he said, "Xiao Ye, please go out and ask the private doctor to come home. Also, ask the driver to pick me up. Miss nurse, please let her in."
"OK."
Ye Yuanyin went out with the nurse. There was only one ward on this floor, so Chu Jinxi was waiting in the corridor.
She wore a baseball cap, and large sunglasses covered her palm-sized face. Seeing Ye Yuanyin coming out, she was very surprised: "Why are you here?" After thinking for a moment, she said: "That's right, you are the only one in the family who is sincere and honest. Let's call each other in the evening when it's convenient. I have something to tell you."
"Okay," Ye Yuanyin nodded in response.
The elevator went down in just a few seconds. She waited for a while before another elevator came up.
As soon as the door opened, Shen Meiyue came out with her grandparents and aunt. When Shen Lianxing saw her, he raised his hand and slapped her, saying angrily: "You are just a child, how can you have such a big idea?!"
Shen Meiyue quickly stretched out her arms to hold her, it was hard to tell whether she was lighting or putting out the fire, "Oh, aunt, what are you doing? Thanks to my sister-in-law, my fourth uncle was saved."
"Didn't I tell grandpa and grandma to make the decision? But you insisted on sending her to the hospital!"
Shen Lianxing was furious. Her brows were furrowed, and her carefully groomed face was a dark red like the setting sun, swallowing up all the darkness. "Do you know how many reporters are waiting outside to report negative news about the Shen family? If the news of Fourth Uncle swallowing pills gets out, investors' confidence will plummet. Once they sell off their stocks, who will care about our lives? Do you know how much damage this will cause to the company? You idiot!"
Grandpa didn't stop him. He looked over with a heavy gaze and stared at Ye Yuanyin. The men in the Shen family were all cold and solemn, which was definitely inherited from him.
Chen Lianxing was still firing indiscriminately like a machine gun, "Big Brother, you're such a jerk! You're not a good match. Why did you let you marry Chen Dian'an? If something goes wrong, it will be too late to regret it!"
"Alright, Lian Xing." Grandma glanced at her and said slowly, "You knew Chu Jinxi was here too. As a celebrity, she's naturally watched closely by everyone. Maybe they were deliberately trying to stir up trouble. How can you put all the blame on your own people?"
"Mom, you're still protecting her!"
"I'm not protecting anyone. I'm just telling the truth. Don't let Yuheng and the Chu guy get into trouble again. Let's go and take a look."
As soon as grandma finished speaking, grandpa's dark gray pupils looked over again. They were the eyes of a true superior who had experienced the vicissitudes of life, endured ups and downs, and were full of drive and dominance.
"You, come to the company this afternoon."
Ye Yuanyin said he understood.
*
Liu Ying led Ye Yuanyin to the reception room. She was wearing an iron-gray professional suit and her high heels were clicking. She looked decisive and imposing.
"The chairman is meeting with guests. You will have fifteen minutes to talk to him."
"OK."
Willow Warbler didn't seem to want to leave, as if she had something to offer. "Has things been going poorly lately?"
She could actually laugh at this moment, "It seems like nothing has ever gone smoothly."
"Do you know what the Chairman wants to talk to you about?"
"It's probably all about difficult decisions."
"I spoke to Special Assistant Wang a few days ago and she asked about you."
"What do you want to ask?"
"Is Xiaoye still working like a slave at Shen's? Has she switched to a field she's good at?"
After saying that, they both laughed.
"Honestly, I'm...ready to quit."
This was beyond Ye Yuanyin's expectations. A luxurious banquet hosted by Liu Ying was praised by everyone. Shen Wentian valued her very much. Liu Ying had also been promoted from the President's Office to the Chairman's Office. He didn't understand why she would resign.
"Why? Is it stressful at work?"
"Which working woman isn't under pressure? People of all stripes have ulterior motives, and on top of that, we have to compete on sales, drink, and avoid workplace sexual harassment. We're not inferior to men in any way, but we're always slower to get promotions and raises. Why? Most importantly, families are urging us to get married and have children. It seems like for men, these are just trivial things to do, but for us women, they're huge, time-consuming tasks."
"But you have already proven your ability to withstand pressure with your strength."
"That's still not satisfactory. I have to read other people's faces every day, be cautious, and be on call at any time. I'm used to being a 996 slave. I'm really fed up with it."
Ye Yuanyin was puzzled. "I've been through this for so many years, and you're resigning just for this?"
"To tell you the truth, I've fallen in love with a man." Liu Ying's sparkling eyes looked over at me. Her cheeks flushed as she spoke of him, and the joy in her eyes was almost palpable. "He doesn't have a business as big as the Shen Corporation. He's just a PhD in agronomy who started his own business after graduation. A while ago, he bought a piece of land in the suburbs and invited me to go with him to the countryside to grow mushrooms."
Ye Yuanyin was infected by her emotions and couldn't help but make a few jokes, "I thought you were a female warrior who would devote your life to your work."
"What's work? Besides endless boredom, can it bring me orgasms?" Liu Ying curled her lips in disdain. "My colleagues all say I'm a feminist, but I disagree. Who wants to be labeled as insignificant and live a lonely life? I also want to be loved by a man. It's just a pity I haven't met someone who wants to make love to me 24/7."
Ye Yuanyin laughed so hard that he fell over. "It seems that you are determined to leave. But the Shen family is in such a difficult situation right now. If the chairman knew about this, he would probably think you are ungrateful."
"I'm really sorry." Liu Ying frowned and asked worriedly, "Do you think he'll become so powerful that he'll even get involved in the mushroom industry?"
Ye Yuanyin said, "As far as I know, not yet."
Liu Ying knew she wouldn't go around telling tales, so she gritted her teeth and told him the truth: "Who cares? I've never loved someone this much in my life! What if I miss out on Dr. Agronomy? When will I find the next person I'm destined to be with? I don't regret joining Dr. Agronomy's small company. I'm ungrateful, so be it."
Ye Yuan admired her willingness to verify her desires and needs through actual actions, and said, "I wish you a happy marriage."
"Thank you. Xiaoye, no, Mrs. Shen," Liu Ying said. "The eldest son of the Shen family is handsome and charming, with the demeanor of a noble bamboo. I heard he was already very famous during his student days, but because he focused on his studies, he was cold and heartless, causing the women around him to cry in vain and the birds to grieve. A man's good looks are fine, but the most rare thing is his integrity, his self-respect, and his complete freedom from the extravagance and lust of rich kids. If it were me, I would probably have some fantasies, but I would never marry him."
"Why."
“Fear of disappointment.”
"How do you say it?"
"I told you you wouldn't be angry?"
"Won't."
"Then I'll tell you. The Shen family is in trouble, and the male god has fallen from grace. It's like a hero at the end of his life and a beautiful woman in her old age, always sad. I don't want to see him, who was once so high and mighty, bowing his head and begging for help, struggling in the mud. That would be such a pity."
"It's a pity."
"Don't judge your husband in this bystander tone. That's horrible."
"Sometimes I feel terrible about myself." Ye Yuanyin smiled and asked, "Who would be so obsessed with judging others while sinking into despair? I often doubt that I love him enough. Others tell me to give up, but I'm unwilling to give up even a tiny bit of my own for him. For me, love is not about fulfillment. I will never divorce him just to help him through this crisis."
Liu Ying was a smart person and quickly distanced herself from the matter, saying, "I'm just speaking the truth."
Ye Yuanyin smiled and remained silent as usual.
*
After seeing off the guests in the chairman's office, Liu Ying invited Ye Yuanyin in, and the two heavy black walnut doors closed again.
Shen Wentian asked her to sit.
"It seems that Liu Ying failed to convince you."
"..." Ye Yuanyin was speechless, "Grandpa, it's not good to sell her off so soon, right? We had a very pleasant chat just now."
"She came to resign a few days ago. She probably saw that I had too many worries recently, so she was so smart as to try to convince you."
Ye Yuanyin said, "Ninety percent of what she said is the truth. She's going to get married, so please don't make things difficult for her."
"I've signed it, and she can leave tomorrow." Shen Wentian still admired her, "You are a lot like grandma. You always plan before you act. Others hurt you, but you can still understand their difficulties."
"Although it's an honor to resemble my grandmother, I'm not like her. I've never lived in a large family, so I can't learn to handle things in a flawless manner. I had no idea of the potential impact of Fourth Uncle's illness and medical treatment. I hope it didn't have a significant impact on the company. I'm sorry."
"Admitting one's mistakes and correcting them, being graceful and magnanimous, this is also very similar." Shen Wentian said: "Let me tell you a story."
She had an expression that said, "I'll do whatever you want."
"Decades ago, I had a good friend named Rongzi. We attended the same mission school, lived and ate together, and had a very good relationship. Rongzi was a wealthy man, and my family was poor, so whenever he had a share of tailoring, I would always have one. After graduation, I joined his company, and Rongzi helped me connect with people. Since then, I've earned a lot of money, and gradually, I've started to live a good life."
"My grandmother was originally engaged to Rongzi, but she developed a romantic relationship with me during our daily interactions. Rongzi discovered us passing letters, and I felt very sorry for him. At the time, there was a lady named Bai who was pursuing me, so I pretended to be in a relationship with her and went to Malaysia to avoid them."
"Later, my grandmother married Rongzi. She accidentally learned the truth from Miss Bai and went through great hardships to come to Malaysia to find me. After that, we were separated by mountains and rivers, and I didn't see Rongzi again for decades. After my grandmother arrived, she found out that she was pregnant. I have always been proud, but I didn't expect that I had unknowingly taken someone else's wife and child! Alas, from then on, I always felt guilty towards Huafeng, and inevitably distanced myself from him."
"By the time he came of age, my business had expanded to Hong Kong, and I arranged for him to marry the daughter of a local wealthy businessman of comparable means. She was gentle and kind. Huafeng had a good relationship with her at first, but after learning about his past, his personality changed drastically. He became depressed for a while, and wasn't as attentive to his wife as before. They weren't harmonious, and it took ten years of their marriage for them to have their son, Dian Jing'an. Not long after that, she died. Dian Jing'an grew up in this helpless family."
"Because my marriage with grandma was a bumpy one, I won't let you get divorced."
Chen Wentian said, "I called you here and told you about the past because I wanted you to know how difficult it is for someone who has always been marginalized to have the opportunity to prove himself. Now the time, place, and people are all right. If you truly love him, then you should think carefully about what you can do for him."
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