Chapter 40 [VIP]
Chapter summary: "She went to the hospital, so she didn't come."
Ni Zhenzhen couldn't hold back in the end.
She told everyone about it, not to Xu Tianzhou, not to Qian Lina, but to Rong Xiaodan.
The reason is simple: if she were kept in the dark, deception would be far more unbearable than the cruel truth. Ni Zhenzhen believed that Rong Xiaodan would understand her.
Surprisingly, Rong Xiaodan wasn't surprised at all after hearing this. She had originally gone for the other party's conditions, so it wasn't surprising that the other party thought the same way.
If it wasn't because of conditions, could it be because of love?
It was acceptable when we were in school, but it's different now. So many people are like this: when they reach a certain age and the conditions are right, they get married within three to five months.
She might have had some illusions before, but after the wedding, she should have seen things clearly.
“Sometimes I’m quite envious of you,” Rong Xiaodan said, then added almost without thinking, “but only sometimes.”
Ni Zhenzhen was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud because she understood what Ni Zhenzhen meant.
Rong Xiaodan was also smiling.
Everything is understood without words.
This is probably what Ni Zhenzhen likes most about Rong Xiaodan: she says what she thinks and never hides anything, regardless of whether others are happy or not, as long as she is happy.
Now, Ni Zhenzhen no longer worries that she will suffer a loss.
On Monday, Ni Zhenzhen went to Xinda to organize the data as usual.
Su Wenjin was busy all day and only managed to find some time in the evening.
He inexplicably arrived outside the small conference room, not caring whether anyone would see him or whether it would be used as leverage by malicious people to spread rumors. He stood there at a distance, neither too close nor too far, staring motionlessly into the conference room.
The people inside were completely unaware.
Ni Zhenzhen was still wearing the same outfit as before: a white ribbon shirt and dark trousers. The difference was that, perhaps because she found her hair in the way, she had tied her long hair back with a pen, giving her a rather intellectual and capable look.
Ni Zhenzhen was enjoying the feeling. She was undisturbed all day, as if she had returned to her school days, sitting in the library all day, reading professional books and leisure books, without feeling tired at all.
Ni Zhenzhen was flipping through the documents in her hand when she accidentally came across a key point and wanted to write it down on the computer.
She held the document in one hand and reached for the mouse next to the computer with the other. When she shifted her gaze from the A4 paper to the computer screen, she realized something was wrong. The mouse seemed to be broken; it wouldn't respond no matter how she moved it.
The feel is also a bit strange.
She looked down and realized that what she was holding in her hand was not a mouse, but a power bank.
...
Ni Zhenzhen laughed at her own stupidity. She closed her eyes and shyly covered half of her face with the documents.
Oh my god, thank goodness no one saw it.
Su Wenjin seemed to hear her say those words in her heart. His already upturned lips curved into an even deeper smile. He had forgotten when he last smiled like that.
Even though her face was mostly obscured by the documents, Su Wenjin could still imagine her blushing, especially when she saw her earlobes, which looked as if they were flushed by the sunset.
At the same time, two emotions spread silently. Ni Zhenzhen was glad that no one saw it, and Su Wenjin was glad that she saw it all.
The sound of typing on a keyboard drifted from afar, like the rhythmic beat of a heartbeat, seemingly endless.
Su Wenjin had seen others act foolishly before, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and either way, it would make him feel disgusted, but not this time.
He just found it amusing and was even willing to go in and tease her a little.
For example, you could pretend to ask her if there's a meeting here, and then sit down naturally. Or you could imitate her by using a power bank as a mouse, and when you see her surprised and delighted expression, pretend you know nothing.
Su Wenjin had already made up his mind and was eager to go over, but unexpectedly, someone pushed the door open and entered before him.
The man opened the door and shouted "Flora" in a loud voice.
Su Wenjin was stunned, as if someone had ignited a spark deep within her soul.
The person inside looked up in response and gave a polite smile.
That smile was the best description of that name. Su Wenjin couldn't think of any words to describe it, because the name itself was the most beautiful word he could think of.
Su Wenjin stopped and did not go any further.
The most essential quality for an excellent hunter is patience, and she deserves his patience.
Su Wenjin wasn't in a hurry. He turned around and strolled through the corridor she had walked through, basking in the sunlight that she had also been bathed in. The setting sun outside the French windows cast a long shadow behind him.
Su Wenjin believed that she would come by herself.
The opportunity soon came when Li Xiang from Jinzu invited him to dinner.
Su Wenjin said it would be too boring with just the two of us, so why not invite people from both project teams so that everyone can get to know each other?
Li Xiang thought it was a good idea and immediately decided on it.
Upon arriving at the booked restaurant, Su Wenjin's first words upon entering the private room were, "I'm not drinking today."
Li was a little surprised; wasn't the point of coming to dinner to drink?
Actually, no one wants to drink alcohol. It's just that people hope that under the influence of alcohol, they can say things that are usually difficult to say freely. If you don't drink, what's the difference between this and sitting in a meeting room?
Li Xiang had originally hoped to take this opportunity to obtain some favorable terms regarding aircraft rental fees and maintenance reserves, but now it seems there's little chance left.
He certainly couldn't refuse Su Wenjin's request.
Li Xiang smiled ingratiatingly, "That's what I was thinking too." As he spoke, he winked at his subordinate, who quickly put the wine away.
The two chatted for a while, and when the dishes were almost all served, Li Xiang suggested that Su Wenjin try the restaurant's signature dish, "Soaring Ox." Su Wenjin, however, replied casually, "Let's wait a little longer, since one person hasn't arrived yet."
Li Xiang asked, "You also invited friends?"
"..." Su Wenjin felt a void in her heart, and after a moment she forced a smile and said, "Yes, but they're not here yet, they must have something to do. Let's eat first."
He already treated eating as a task, and now it really has become a task.
After finishing her meal, Su Wenjin left by car.
As the car started, Su Wenjin, who was sitting in the back with her eyes closed, asked, "Did you ask?"
It was a seemingly random sentence, but the assistant understood it.
"I asked," the assistant turned around, "and they said she went to the hospital, so she didn't come."
Hospital? Su Wenjin opened her eyes, her face filled with worry that even the thick darkness couldn't hide.
"Are you sick?"
Ni Zhenzhen was terrified when she received the call. She didn't care what Li Xiang thought of her and rushed over after saying "I need to go to the hospital".
Along the way, Ni Zhenzhen considered every possible possibility, and finally comforted herself that it was good to be alive.
As for Xu Tianzhou's claims of "it's nothing," "I got burned," and "it's just a minor injury," she wouldn't believe a word of it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.
But no matter how anxious she was on the way, when Ni Zhenzhen stumbled into the hospital emergency room, she subconsciously slowed down.
She was afraid of not seeing him, yet also afraid of seeing him.
Fortunately, Xu Tianzhou was sitting on the bench, conscious and still had his hands and feet. Compared to those who had been in car accidents or strokes, his condition was not serious, but it was not good either.
He must have been enduring immense pain; his face was as pale as paper, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his handsome brows were furrowed together, only relaxing for a moment when he saw her before furrowing again.
"You didn't bring an umbrella?" Xu Tianzhou asked.
Ni Zhenzhen always carries an umbrella in her bag, but she never bothers to open it. It's raining outside, and she's covered in water droplets, with strands of hair sticking to her face, looking quite disheveled.
Xu Tianzhou looked down and saw some crumbs on her black pants, wondering if she had tripped and fallen.
He closed his eyes, breathing weakly, his tone revealing helplessness, "I already said it's just a minor injury."
The few simple words seemed to have exhausted all his strength. Xu Tianzhou could no longer concentrate on fighting the sharp pain. However, he quickly gave in and kept gasping for breath in pain.
Xu Tianzhou scalded his arm with hot water, and almost a layer of skin peeled off.
Ni Zhenzhen noticed that the area where the ice pack had been pressed against him was red, and the blisters that were rushing out were like the eyes of insects, fierce and ferocious.
Ni Zhenzhen squatted down beside him, her voice trembling: "How could this happen?"
"It's all my fault." The girl who came with Xu Tianzhou was an employee of the rice noodle shop, a young woman in her early twenties who still looked very young. "I was carrying a pot of soup when someone called me and I turned around to look. I didn't notice what was in front of me at all, and then I bumped into it."
Whether it was due to the angle or not, from Ni Zhenzhen's perspective, although the girl used an apologetic tone, she kept her face tilted upwards the whole time, showing no sign of apology whatsoever.
Xu Tianzhou waved his hand, "You go back first."
"Oh." The girl disappeared in a flash.
Ni Zhenzhen didn't care about anything else. She held the ice pack for him. "Does it hurt a lot?" It wasn't that she hadn't been burned before. Even a burn the size of a coin would hurt terribly, let alone such a large area.
Xu Tianzhou was in so much pain that his vision blurred. He bit his lip tightly and after a long time, he finally managed to utter two words, "I'm alright."
Ni Zhenzhen once thought she was quite strong, but her strength crumbled when the doctor treated Xu Tianzhou's blisters.
Ni Zhenzhen couldn't hold back any longer and turned away to secretly wipe her tears.
Xu Tianzhou was already numb with pain. He was secretly relieved that he hadn't told her the truth, otherwise she would have been in so much pain.
That night, Ni Zhenzhen had a nightmare. When she woke up, she heard Xu Tianzhou's disordered and heavy breathing coming from his side, clearly still in pain.
"Aren't you asleep?" Ni Zhenzhen turned on the light and saw that he was covered in sweat from the pain. She didn't know if he had been woken up by the pain or if he hadn't slept at all. "Do you want to take some painkillers?"
"I've already eaten," Xu Tianzhou said weakly. He even suspected that the painkillers were fake, since they hadn't worked after taking them for so long.
He opened his eyes and looked at Ni Zhenzhen, a forced smile playing on his pained expression. "People say childbirth is painful, but I wonder which is more painful, this or childbirth?"
Ni Zhenzhen didn't understand why he would think of this, and teased, "Why don't you have one yourself and you'll know?"
"I wish I could give birth."
"Why?"
Xu Tianzhou didn't answer, but said with certainty, "You definitely can't bear the pain."
Ni Zhenzhen scoffed, "You look down on me?"
Xu Tianzhou rolled over, propping his forehead up with his uninjured arm, his eyes sparkling. "You want to have a baby?"
Under the dim light, Ni Zhenzhen's fair cheeks flushed noticeably. She quickly lay down and muttered softly, as if both annoyed and resentful, "You're the one who wants to have a baby."
Xu Tianzhou chuckled softly for a moment and said, "Come here."
Ni Zhenzhen was confused.
"come over."
Ni Zhenzhen leaned in, and with a soft "ah," Xu Tianzhou planted a kiss on her forehead.
"Go to sleep." Xu Tianzhou pinched her cheek. If his arm hadn't been injured and he hadn't been unable to move around easily, he wouldn't have called her over to kiss him; it would have been completely unnecessary.
Ni Zhenzhen turned off the light, and Xu Tianzhou was plunged back into darkness. Perhaps he was too tired, or perhaps the painkillers were working, he gradually became sleepy in his drowsy state.
But just then, the phone rang.
Xu Tianzhou picked up his phone, and a familiar number appeared on the screen.
He knew something must have happened, otherwise that person would never have called at this time.
Xu Tianzhou glanced at the sleeping Ni Zhenzhen, got up and went to the balcony, carefully closing the door behind him. "Hello?"
Su Wenjin didn't bother with pleasantries and went straight to the point: "I just received news that crude oil prices have fallen by more than 25%..."
Xinda Group's main business is freight transportation, and fuel costs account for a large proportion of its operating costs. In order to lock in fuel costs, the company will carry out futures hedging business and purchase crude oil futures to hedge risks.
Xu Tianzhou asked calmly, "How much did you lose?"
Su Wenjin hesitated for a moment before saying, "A conservative estimate is three hundred million."
"knew."
...
The call abruptly ended, and Su Wenjin's thoughts were still lingering on the last words, "What happened?"
It was a very gentle voice, with a soft, sleepy, and dazed quality, like a fluffy little animal constantly rubbing against his palm. Because of the distance, the voice was as ethereal as a wisp of smoke, but he still managed to catch it.
Is it her?
He gripped the phone tightly, as if gathering that voice into his palm.
This seemed to be the closest he had ever been to her, but because of the person in between, he couldn't say anything.
Su Wenjin only slowly came to her senses when the people standing beside her kept asking, "How is it? How is it?"
The man was sweating profusely with anxiety. "How did it go? What did he say?"
Su Wenjin put down her phone and repeated truthfully, "He said he understood."
"You understand?" The man frowned, as if carefully considering whether there was a deeper meaning behind those three words. "He's quite calm."
"He also said that people shouldn't call him unless it's about a dead person."
"This is a matter of death? My legs went weak when I heard the news."
Su Wenjin shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.
The man continued, "He's fine here, but what about over there?"
"Over there" refers to Xu Tianzhou's parents. After Xu's father fell ill, Xu's mother took him abroad to recuperate. Although they handed the company over to Xu Tianzhou, they did not completely ignore it.
The man said worriedly, "You probably don't know, but this couple is extremely...frugal. For a long time, they drove a Wuling Hongguang minivan, stayed in budget hotels when traveling for business, and invested all their earnings into the company. They hardly used any money for personal consumption. Apart from buying the large apartment in Pacific New City, their biggest expense was probably sending their son to study abroad. If they knew they had lost 300 million..."
The man took out a cigarette and slowly turned to look out the window. It was pitch black outside, like a building about to collapse.
He lit a cigarette, blew out a smoke ring, and sighed, "The world is about to change."
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