Chapter 57 [VIP]
Chapter Summary: "There's another child."
Su Wenjin specifically asked the staff for the flight number of Ni Zhenzhen's flight and also asked Xu Tianzhou if he wanted to book the same flight.
Su Wenjin and Xu Tianzhou have known each other for many years. Su Wenjin understands Xu Tianzhou’s preferences and does things that are very considerate of him.
It must be said that this is indeed a very tempting offer.
It starts with a chance encounter on a plane, followed by looking back together. Perhaps, high in the sky, past grievances can be resolved and broken relationships mended. Even if it's not as perfect as imagined, a glance from afar, without saying a word, the romantic feeling of being on the same plane is enough to make one yearn for it.
Seeing that Xu Tianzhou was keeping his eyes down and not speaking, Su Wenjin assumed that he had agreed.
Just as he was about to give the order, Xu Tianzhou suddenly sighed. He had probably gone through a mental struggle, and said in a hoarse voice, as if exhausted, "Let her have some fun."
The implication was that his appearance would inevitably spoil her mood.
Xu Tianzhou wasn't sure what she was thinking, and he didn't dare to disturb her rashly. Over the years, he had had opportunities to run into her, but he had avoided them all, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't dare.
People often say that what you think about during the day, you dream about at night.
Xu Tianzhou had met her countless times in his dreams, sometimes in a middle school classroom, sometimes on a foreign street, sometimes in a cramped rented room. In his dreams, she was always smiling, a smile as bright as the stars, a smile as radiant as a mountain spring flowing freely, a smile as beautiful as spring flowers blooming on a branch.
Everything was exactly as he knew it, except for a fleeting moment when they looked at each other. That look of disgust was enough to make his heart clench, as if he had stepped into thin air and fallen into an abyss.
He would always remember her words, “Xu Tianzhou, if you could disappear from my life completely, I would probably recover much faster.”
He would wake up from his dreams with a mix of regret and relief. He was glad it was just a dream; if it were in reality, he couldn't bear it, he really couldn't.
Su Wenjin once asked him, "Are you... just going to continue like this?"
Xu Tianzhou thought about it seriously, "At least we should wait until she pays off her debts."
"You wait here, just in case she finds someone else."
“You don’t understand her.” Xu Tianzhou argued like a child, and he said firmly, “What she fears most is dragging others down. She always puts others first and would rather swallow her pride than suffer in silence. That’s impossible.”
This is why he insisted on waiting until now.
It had nothing to do with his deception. When Ni Zhenzhen learned that her family was in huge debts, she insisted on divorcing him. She didn't want to be a burden to him, and she didn't want to feel inferior in front of him. If this matter couldn't be resolved properly, they would never be able to be together.
That's actually the worst part; it's such a large sum of money, and who knows when it will be paid back.
Su Wenjin asked with some concern, "What if we can't pay it off in a lifetime?"
Xu Tianzhou had never thought about this question, because it wasn't a question at all.
Without hesitation, he replied, "Then I'll wait a lifetime."
Fortunately, heaven has eyes, and Ni Zhenzhen paid off the debt in eight years.
Su Wenjin admired her quite a bit. If it were someone else, facing such a large debt, they would probably choose to give up and do nothing. After all, more debt is no burden. These days, the one who owes money is the boss. Who cares about the creditor's life or death? Unexpectedly, she actually gritted her teeth and paid off the debt little by little.
Since Xu Tianzhou did not agree, Su Wenjin booked a flight a week before the scheduled launch date.
As the actual controller of Cinda Group, Xu Tianzhou still had some work to do. He listened to the work report from the project leader, inspected the rocket launch site, and participated in the final rehearsal before the rocket launch.
Everything is ready, and we're just waiting for the official launch the next day.
That afternoon, a staff member reported to Su Wenjin, "The person has arrived."
Seeing that Su Wenjin was free, the man spoke a few more words, his tone carrying a hint of self-satisfaction, "Originally, it was agreed that there was only one spot, but the other party said they hoped to bring their family along, and were willing to pay extra. I thought that since they were guests specially invited by you, there was no need to worry about money, so I agreed without consulting you."
"Family?" This was something Su Wenjin hadn't expected. "Who else?"
"Two old people."
"oh."
Before he could finish speaking, the man seemed to remember something and added with a smile, "There's another child."
"A child?" Su Wenjin asked in surprise.
No way, his words actually came true, she really...
If Ni Zhenzhen could find happiness again, he would naturally be happy for her, but Xu Tianzhou…
Xu Tianzhou was unaware of the "child" situation. He had reception duties to perform and, not wanting to disturb her, he restrained his urge to see her until the rocket launch was imminent, at which point he left the control center for the outdoor viewing area.
We've waited all these years, so there's no rush.
At 12:12 PM that day, as the countdown ended, the launch vehicle, carrying two commercial satellites, two commercial ballasts, and three space memorial payloads, lifted off with a red flame. The near-3,000-degree Celsius heat vaporized the ocean below the launch tower, and the dense, cloud-covering clouds clearly resonated in everyone's soul.
At the same time, a tremendous roar seemed to tear through the sky like a sharp arrow, and within seconds, it swept over us with overwhelming force.
No one could escape this breathtaking scene. Everyone present watched intently as the rocket soared into the sky, except for Xu Tianzhou, who silently turned his head to look in the other direction.
It's not that he doesn't care about the outcome.
Since Cinda Group started its carrier rocket project, private aerospace companies have attracted a wave of capital with their compelling stories. However, as the tide receded, successive launch delays and failures gradually made it impossible to continue telling those compelling stories.
Investors, peers, media... so many people are watching this rocket launch. Some want to use it to verify their judgment that "this path is not viable," while others urgently need to use it to boost morale. Everyone is waiting for a result.
Xu Tianzhou was also waiting.
Launch vehicles were the project he championed after joining Cinda Group. Because of the large investment and long cycle, other business segments had to provide funding for the commercial aerospace project. However, several years have passed, and all the money earned from shipments and takeoffs over there has been poured into this project, but nothing has been achieved.
Aside from external skepticism, there was also considerable resentment within the company, but Xu Tianzhou suppressed it all.
He repeatedly warned them that although the road transport and air transport business segments were developing well at the moment, the rise and fall of the entire enterprise and even the entire industry could happen overnight. Xinda Group was determined to seize the initiative in the new logistics field.
In fact, it wasn't just employees in other business units who were feeling lost amidst the endless drain on their resources; even those working on the aerospace project were gradually becoming disoriented. However, no matter what, Xu Tianzhou was always there to support them, giving them unwavering confidence.
"It's okay to fail. Failure is a good thing now, at least we can discover more problems."
With his reassurance, the employees regained their confidence, but where did Xu Tianzhou's confidence come from? No one has the ability to predict the future, and the pressure he was under was unimaginable.
However, in the past few years, besides the launch vehicle project, Xu Tianzhou has another knot in his heart.
The first thing he saw was a little boy whose appearance and demeanor seemed somewhat familiar. Then he saw the woman standing behind the boy; she was short and had a round face. Xu Tianzhou recognized her immediately—it was Rong Xiaodan, Ni Zhenzhen's former colleague from when she worked as a bank teller.
Xu Tianzhou was suddenly stunned.
He had considered the possibility of the rocket launch failing, but he never imagined she wouldn't come.
Xu Tianzhou found it hard to describe his current feelings. Perhaps the shock of the rocket launch was not as strong as this moment. He felt as if he was submerged in water, his mouth wide open but unable to breathe.
Xu Tianzhou refused to believe it. He searched desperately in the crowd, but still found nothing.
He had to accept the reality that Ni Zhenzhen hadn't come.
About ten minutes later, the control center reported that the satellite had been successfully placed into its designated orbit, and the rocket launch was a complete success.
The audience erupted in applause, and some people congratulated Xu Tianzhou. He responded with a smile to each one, though others might not have noticed, only he knew how forced that smile was.
Not long ago, the media and investors successively judged that "Xu Tianzhou's gamble on commercial spaceflight has failed." Now, he has finally dealt a powerful blow to those people with a groundbreaking flame, but he does not feel any sense of triumph.
The joy of the successful rocket launch was overshadowed by the absence of one person.
Ni Zhenzhen didn't not want to come; she really wanted to see the rocket launch site. Unfortunately, she couldn't take time off, so she gave the opportunity to Rong Xiaodan, "We'll cover the airfare and hotel, and we can take the kids on a trip."
"Really? That's great!" Rong Xiaodan agreed excitedly.
As soon as she got back, she called Ni Zhenzhen to thank her for giving her the spot. "We not only watched the rocket launch, but also visited the nearby scenic spots. The whole family had a great time. Oh, and I brought you some local specialties from there."
"That's so kind of you, thank you."
"No need to thank me." Rong Xiaodan said with a laugh, then paused, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and said with some difficulty after a while, "Well... it's not easy for me to go into the city, so I asked Xu Tianzhou to bring it to you."
There was indeed a moment of silence on the phone.
Rong Xiaodan stuck out her tongue and continued, "I'm sorry, you know how it is, you're beholden to someone who takes your money."
Before going, she naively thought that Ni Zhenzhen was just lucky and had accidentally won the lottery. After arriving, she learned that the rocket launch was a project of Xinda Group. At this point, she could guess what was going on without anyone saying anything.
Rong Xiaodan felt she had received a warm welcome, so she naturally wanted to do the other party a favor.
That evening, Ni Zhenzhen received a call from Xu Tianzhou, asking her when she would get off work.
Ni Zhenzhen was arguing with the technical team about the selection of the new aircraft engine. This was a very important matter, and they had been in a meeting for half a day without reaching a conclusion.
Ni Zhenzhen was caught off guard by his call and her mind was still racing. She said in a hurried tone, "I have things to do. Just leave your things at the front desk."
"No, I'll wait for you." Xu Tianzhou said, and hung up the phone quickly without giving her a chance to object.
While her colleagues were still arguing, Ni Zhenzhen kept her eyes glued to her phone for a long time.
It seemed like she hadn't heard the words "I'll wait for you" in a long time.
Ni Zhenzhen had reservations. Rong Xiaodan had just asked her on the phone if there was any possibility for her and Xu Tianzhou to start over, and she gave a negative answer without thinking, "Impossible."
She didn't have the energy for it, and she genuinely wanted to avoid him.
Ni Zhenzhen sighed and put her phone aside. She comforted herself, thinking that it was just grabbing something, it shouldn't be a big deal.
When Ni Zhenzhen finished her work and left the company, it was already an hour later.
It was already dark, and only a few streetlights cast a dim glow in front of the building. It was difficult to make out the outline of anyone walking towards her, but she still spotted Xu Tianzhou's car at a glance.
That car was so eye-catching; its lines and shape were reminiscent of a design from the last era, and you couldn't find another one like it in the entire city. So much so that passersby would glance at it and wonder why it wasn't scrapped yet.
Ni Zhenzhen approached and noticed Xu Tianzhou slumped over the steering wheel, his head bowed low. She knocked on the window and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Xu Tianzhou shook his head.
He leaned over and handed her the two gift boxes that were placed to the side.
Ni Zhenzhen said, "Thank you for your trouble."
Without saying anything more, Ni Zhenzhen turned around and walked towards the subway station. Just as she was about to enter the station, she inexplicably looked back.
For some reason, Xu Tianzhou's car was still parked there, all alone, like a small boat unable to reach the shore on a vast ocean.
Ni Zhenzhen suddenly remembered the details she had deliberately ignored earlier: Xu Tianzhou was frowning, and his face was not good either, as if he was in great pain.
She thought he was just a little tired, but now she realizes something is wrong.
Ni Zhenzhen ran back and looked at him with some concern, "Are you alright?"
Xu Tianzhou glanced at her, and after enduring a wave of pain, he slowly spoke, his voice weak and feeble, "My head hurts a bit, I can't drive back, could you help me..."
“No problem.” Before Xu Tianzhou could finish speaking, Ni Zhenzhen immediately agreed.
However, before Xu Tianzhou could even catch his breath, Ni Zhenzhen took out her phone and said, "I'll call you a designated driver."
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