Chapter 49 [VIP]
Chapter Summary: "Why don't you say you know Su Wenjin?"
The loud slam of the door left Ni Zhenzhen stunned for a moment.
The steamed buns on the table hadn't been touched yet, and the two bowls of porridge in front of him were still steaming. Everything seemed perfectly normal, as if Xu Tianzhou had simply forgotten to bring the boiled eggs and had left temporarily.
This idea was quickly shattered by reality. Ni Zhenzhen could no longer deceive herself; Xu Tianzhou never returned.
She made him angry again.
But she wasn't too upset. A sense of relaxation she had never felt before spread through her body. Ni Zhenzhen raised the corners of her lips and gave a weak, feeble smile.
Isn't this the result she wanted? Although there was indeed a slight, undeniable pain in her heart.
Ni Zhenzhen sat blankly at the dining table; if it weren't for the birdsong, it would have seemed as if time had stood still.
Suddenly, the phone on the table rang. Ni Zhenzhen picked it up and saw that it was a message from Xu Tianzhou.
Little Fairy Boy: I have to go out for a bit, I'll be back later.
Little Fairy: Don't worry about it after you finish eating, I'll wash the dishes when I get back.
Little Fairy Boy: Sorry, I forgot to blow-dry your hair.
Little Fairy: The hairdryer is still in the same place. Blow it yourself, don't be lazy.
Ni Zhenzhen doesn't like blow-drying her hair. Every time Xu Tianzhou sees her with wet hair, he'll say a few words. Later, he simply stopped saying anything and just started blow-drying her hair.
Ni Zhenzhen protested several times, but to no avail, and gradually it became a kind of enjoyment.
This is Xu Tianzhou's philosophy of life: doing more than talking. He disdains wasting time on presenting facts and reasoning, but is accustomed to convincing you with established results.
However, Xu Tianzhou was acting out of character today. He was like a chatterbox, sending messages to Ni Zhenzhen one after another.
One message after another, all filled with instructions, turning the phone's vibration into the sound of an incoming call.
Ni Zhenzhen didn't look at the messages anymore. It was out of avoidance, out of cowardice, and also because her vision could no longer hold anything else. Countless towering waves gathered in her eyes, and Ni Zhenzhen covered her face, bursting into tears once again.
Xu Tianzhou waited for a long time but received no reply from Ni Zhenzhen, not even a single word or an expression. There was nothing at all.
Xu Tianzhou smiled wryly, tossed his phone aside, and stopped looking at it.
He really shouldn't have harbored any illusions. What happened last night was enough to make him regret it. If he had known this would happen, he would have made up his mind from the beginning. Anyway, things couldn't have gotten any worse than they are now.
The bright sunshine couldn't reach every dark corner. A thought grew wildly in Xu Tianzhou's mind: if it couldn't last forever, then let Ni Zhenzhen hate him.
Xu Tianzhou drove to his mother's place, bringing hamburgers and fries—not from the newly opened trendy restaurant, but from the one that's always around.
It was an ordinary thing, but it held a special memory for him.
It was during his sixth grade. He went to the provincial capital to participate in the math Olympiad. His mother said that the family was poor and had already spent a lot of money to send him to the competition, so she only bought a single meal. "You eat it. I'm not hungry. I ate too much steamed bun this morning."
Xu Tianzhou always remembered this incident. He still remembered how Ni Zhenzhen felt both heartache and emotion when he told her about it, and how she then shed tears, saying, "Your mother loves you very much."
Xu Tianzhou thought so too.
So whenever he had doubts, he would use Ni Zhenzhen's words to support himself.
However, when Xu's mother saw what he brought, she looked disgusted. "Why did you buy this? It's junk food. I don't know what's so good about it."
“There’s really nothing good to eat,” Xu Tianzhou said obediently. “I just remembered the first time I ate here, you said you didn’t have enough money at home and could only afford one hamburger. Now it’s great, we can eat as many as we want.”
"Hahaha..." Mother Xu laughed heartily, "You actually believe that? It's not that difficult. I'm just afraid you'll go astray. That's why I said you're easily fooled."
It goes without saying who this "other person" refers to.
Xu Tianzhou felt a sharp pain in his forehead, as if pricked by a needle. He grabbed a bag of ketchup to try and distract himself.
Xu's mother asked, "By the way, why did you hire a lawyer?"
Xu Tianzhou paused in squeezing the ketchup. Although it wasn't originally for this reason, he had no other choice now. "It's for the divorce."
Xu's mother looked at him, her surprise mixed with disbelief, "Really?"
Xu Tianzhou remained calm, even casually eating a French fry. "Yes."
"Why?" Xu's mother asked. How did he suddenly come to this realization?
Xu Tianzhou said, "Her family owes a lot of money."
Xu's mother didn't seem surprised. "What, you can't keep up the act because you didn't get the money from me?"
She said she didn't want to drag me down with her.
"What?" Mother Xu raised an eyebrow, her expression exaggerated, as if she was about to burst out laughing. "You actually believe that? It's just a self-inflicted injury ploy. Only a fool like you would fall for that."
The semblance of warmth he had painstakingly cultivated before entering the room vanished without a trace. Xu Tianzhou suddenly realized how detestable he had been. Just as his mother could never understand his pain, he could not comprehend Ni Zhenzhen's actions. Therefore, they were not suitable for each other; to be precise, he was not worthy of her.
Xu Tianzhou forced a smile and said, "Don't worry, I know what to do."
The cooperation between the financial leasing company and Cinda Group has entered the substantive negotiation stage. A few days ago, Li Xiang led a team to Cinda to hear the opinions of the law firm hired by Cinda, and today he invited Cinda's representatives to come here to discuss some transaction details. If all goes well, the financial leasing contract can be formally signed soon.
All the way there, Ni Zhenzhen was thinking about the upcoming meeting and negotiations. She rushed to the company and ran into Zhang Wang.
Zhang Wang came specifically to find her. He greeted her from afar with an extremely fawning smile on his face, "For the sake of being classmates, please help me out."
It's this again!
Ni Zhenzhen looked helpless, not knowing how to explain it to him.
Yesterday after get off work, Zhang Wang had already approached her once, also at this place. Zhang Wang stopped her, his tone both reproachful and annoyed, "Why didn't you say you knew Su Wenjin?"
"President Su?" Ni Zhenzhen wasn't sure what he meant by "knowing each other," so she answered honestly, "Our company has a partnership with Cinda, so we've met a few times. Does that count as knowing each other?"
"That's all?" Zhang Wang asked skeptically. "Then why did he stop purchasing from us? And why did he say that he would only resume operations if you agreed?"
"What?" Ni Zhenzhen exclaimed in surprise, "You must have misheard."
Zhang Wang also felt that he must have misheard. How could the president of the prestigious Xinda Group take orders from an unknown nobody?
But that's the truth, and it's information he finally got from a real insider after hitting countless walls.
The people there said with certainty that unless Ni Zhenzhen agreed, there was no room for negotiation.
Zhang Wang broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this. Fortunately, he was quick-witted enough to insist on asking around. Otherwise, he would never have realized that the key to the problem lay with Ni Zhenzhen.
Although Zhang Wang didn't quite believe that Ni Zhenzhen had the ability, at this critical juncture of life and death, he couldn't care less about that and could only try anything as a last resort.
“It was my fault before, I was foul-mouthed, I said the wrong thing. If you mind, you can just scold me back, why bother? No, no, you didn’t bother, I deserve it, it’s all my fault, please be magnanimous and don’t hold it against me…” Zhang Wang kept begging Ni Zhenzhen for forgiveness, wishing he could kneel down on the spot. He slapped himself as he spoke, “Please, please talk to President Su for me.”
“…” Ni Zhenzhen was both amused and exasperated. She explained to Zhang Wang countless times that she and Su Wenjin were not even acquaintances. She knew Su Wenjin, but Su Wenjin might not remember her. But Zhang Wang just wouldn’t believe her.
"Oh, I get it!" Zhang Wang suddenly realized, then said ingratiatingly, "Didn't you need money? With our relationship, you can pay it back if you want, or if you don't want to..." Zhang Wang forced back his heartache, "If you don't want to pay it back, then don't. How much do you need? 100,000? 200,000? 300,000?" Seeing that Ni Zhenzhen was still shaking her head, Zhang Wang gritted his teeth, almost crying, "500,000, that's the most I can do."
"I mean no," Ni Zhenzhen said helplessly. Given his current state, how could Ni Zhenzhen dare to borrow money from him? She might even be accused of illegal activities again.
Who knew that after finally getting rid of them yesterday, Zhang Wang would come looking for me again today.
"Please talk to President Su for me, I beg you."
Unable to resist Zhang Wang's persistent questioning, Ni Zhenzhen had no choice but to agree to help him inquire.
"I do have the contact information for President Su's assistant. I'll ask him." She didn't give Zhang Wang any assurances because she never thought this matter would be related to her.
Unexpectedly, Su Wenjin's assistant confirmed that it was indeed true, saying, "It was Su's instruction."
"What?"
"President Su said that as long as you forgive him, procurement can be resumed."
"..."
Those waiting on the side kept giving Ni Zhenzhen meaningful glances. She hesitated for a moment because she was too shocked, and then, with a pleading look in her eyes, like a magician who had just mastered a spell, she said, word by word, "I forgive him."
A laugh came from the other end of the phone, and the person on the other end readily replied, "Okay, I'll talk to President Su."
This is really strange. Ni Zhenzhen was about to ask a couple more questions when her assistant hung up the phone.
Ni Zhenzhen looked at her phone, then at Zhang Wang, her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment. "It seems like everything's alright now."
Zhang Wang breathed a sigh of relief and thanked her repeatedly.
Ni Zhenzhen felt unworthy of the offer and awkwardly said "No need," before rushing off to work.
After Ni Zhenzhen left, Zhang Wang thought about the matter repeatedly and gradually began to understand its meaning.
It turns out the insider was right; the key to the problem really is with Ni Zhenzhen. But if that's the case, could it be...?
Zhang Wang chuckled maliciously, and couldn't help but think of another person, wondering if Xu Tianzhou knew about this.
As he was thinking, he turned around, and just then, something unexpected happened: the person he was thinking about appeared right in front of him.
Zhang Wang quickly called out, "Xu Tianzhou?"
Isn't that a coincidence?
Zhang Wang liked to tease Xu Tianzhou when they were in school. Once, during a play rehearsal, he recommended Xu Tianzhou to play a servant, saying that this was called "playing himself," which made the classmates laugh.
He was already seething with anger and was worried about where to vent it when Xu Tianzhou actually walked right into his life. Of course, he couldn't let this opportunity pass him by.
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