Chapter 58 The Chamber of Commerce Rescues a Woman Who Built Such a Large Company...
As another year draws to a close, the local chamber of commerce's annual reception has arrived as scheduled.
Shiguang Studio was naturally among those invited, though Lin Yuwei had never been interested in such occasions. The local chamber of commerce was a mixed bag, and the atmosphere often resembled a distorted arena of fame and fortune, a competition where if you did well, you would attract envy, and if you did poorly, you might be ignored or even belittled. But as a business owner, she had no choice but to attend; to be absent would be to offend the chamber of commerce and could affect her company's reputation in the local business community.
In previous years, Zhou Xubai usually attended these kinds of social events on behalf of his mother. He was very adept at social interaction and could handle the situation with ease. Recently, Zhou Xubai's mother fell ill and returned overseas to recuperate. The old lady kept saying that it was just a minor problem, but Zhou Xubai and Lin Yuwei were worried about her. So Zhou Xubai went abroad to visit her a week ago. Therefore, Lin Yuwei had to attend the party in person this time.
The cocktail party was held in the banquet hall of the most prestigious five-star hotel in Mingchuan City. Lin Yuwei did not want to stay at the party for too long, so she calculated the time and arrived almost right on time. The hall was already filled with the sounds of clinking glasses and elegant ladies.
Tonight, she chose a minimalist black velvet evening gown with clean lines that perfectly accentuated her figure. She paired it with a short blazer in the same color, which softened the gown's femininity and added a touch of professionalism and aloofness. With her exquisite makeup and cool expression, she entered the venue discreetly, yet still attracted a lot of attention.
A waiter carrying a wine tray moved through the party and came to her side. Lin Yuwei casually picked up a glass of champagne, quickly scanned the room, found a few familiar business partners, and then walked over to greet them with ease. Her demeanor was poised and generous, and her insights into the industry were unique and clear. Among the many male entrepreneurs, she stood out, and soon attracted a lot of sincere praise, as well as some complicated glances.
However, discordant notes always arrive unexpectedly.
"Tsk, I thought some female celebrity had graced us with her presence, but it's just General Manager Lin from Shiguang Studio." A voice, clearly tinged with alcohol and sarcasm, abruptly cut in. Lin Yuwei frowned slightly, glancing sideways to recognize the newcomer as Zhao Zhiwei, the boss of "Excellent Design." In the past six months, his company had lost several projects it was determined to win to Shiguang Studio during the bidding process, and he had harbored a deep-seated grudge against the studio for a long time.
Zhao Zhiwei swirled his wine glass, his gaze sweeping over Lin Yuwei from head to toe without any politeness. His tone was flippant: "President Lin is becoming more and more 'radiant.' Not only are you 'ideal' in design drawings, but you're also 'effortless' in this kind of setting. It seems this woman does have some 'unique advantages' in business, hmm?" He deliberately dragged out his words, his implication quite suggestive.
This veiled slander and blatant sexism instantly silenced a small area around the scene, drawing all sorts of gazes—curious, amused, and gloating—to the area.
Lin Yuwei's polite smile instantly turned cold, her eyes sharp as knives.
She straightened her back, meeting Zhao Zhiwei's gaze without flinching, her voice clear and cold enough for everyone around to hear: "Mr. Zhao, in business competition, everyone speaks through their strength and their work. Shiguang won the project because of the team's painstaking efforts, the plans they polished day and night, the creativity that has stood the test of the market, and the impeccable cost-effectiveness, not because of your fabricated nonsense. Please show some basic respect, which is not only respect for me, but also respect for yourself."
Her words were firm and resolute, neither humble nor arrogant, directly refuting the other party's foul language.
Zhao Zhiwei was publicly humiliated, especially by a woman he despised. Enraged and humiliated, fueled by alcohol, his voice rose even higher, almost shouting: "Respect? Where was your respect when you were using any means to snatch projects?! Everyone knows how 'flexible' your methods are! 'Polishing day and night'? You're probably 'polishing' clients day and night! A woman, building such a large company, without some 'special services,' who would believe it? Ladies and gentlemen, I'm a rough man, my words may be harsh, but they're the truth. I'm not afraid of direct competition, I'm afraid some clients just like what she does…"
The increasingly vulgar and obscene speculations elicited a few ambiguous chuckles. Lin Yuwei felt her blood rush to her head, not out of fear, but out of extreme anger and immense humiliation at being publicly shamed! She tightened her grip on the stem of the wine glass, almost crushing it, and was about to shout a rebuke.
"Mr. Zhao."
A deep, cold voice came from the side. It wasn't loud, but it was like an ice shard that instantly cleaved through the noise, bringing an invisible pressure that made the surrounding air fall silent.
Gu Qingyan appeared unnoticed, holding a glass of whiskey. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were deep and piercing. He didn't even glance at Lin Yuwei; his gaze was fixed directly on Zhao Zhiwei, whose face was flushed.
“Vice President Li from Hongsheng Group seemed to be anxiously looking for you just now,” he said calmly, as if stating a fact. “It looked like an urgent matter concerning the project in the east of the city; he looked quite unwell. Shouldn’t President Zhao go and check on it?”
Hongsheng Group is Zhao Zhiwei's biggest financial backer, and the East City project is currently his lifeline. Gu Qingyan's words, though brief, precisely struck at Zhao Zhiwei's Achilles' heel. The phrase "his expression was quite unpleasant" carried an undeniable warning beneath its understated tone.
Zhao Zhiwei was instantly jolted awake, his face flashing with surprise, embarrassment, and panic. He glanced at Gu Qingyan suspiciously, seemingly trying to determine the truth of her words, but the other woman's calm and aloof aura made him hesitant to take the risk. In the end, he glared at Lin Yuwei resentfully, gave a weak-willed snort, and turned away hastily.
Gu Qingyan then calmly raised his glass to the several embarrassed guests around him, as if he had just dealt with a small noise. He did not immediately talk to Lin Yuwei, considerately giving her space to calm down.
However, Lin Yuwei felt even more suffocated. The malicious gazes and whispers seemed to still be clinging to her. Gu Qingyan's timely and almost overwhelming rescue, while saving her from the predicament, also served as a mirror, showing her the powerlessness of women in such circumstances, making it hard for her to breathe.
Lin Yuwei whispered to her business partner beside her, "Excuse me for a moment," and then, holding the almost untouched glass of champagne, quickly walked towards the open-air balcony outside the side door of the banquet hall.
The evening breeze, carrying the chill of early winter, gently swept across the terrace.
Lin Yuwei leaned against the cold metal railing. The neon lights of the distant city resembled a shattered galaxy, dazzling yet utterly devoid of warmth. She took a deep breath, trying to suppress the surging, burning sensation in her chest, a mixture of anger and humiliation. Zhao Zhiwei's filthy words gnawed at her nerves like maggots, leaving her feeling suffocated and utterly helpless, like being adrift in a filthy mire.
With Zhou Xubai not by her side, this loneliness was magnified infinitely at this moment, piercing her sharply.
She heard steady footsteps behind her, neither hurried nor slow. At first, Lin Yuwei thought it was just a passerby and didn't pay any attention. But the footsteps stopped at just the right distance behind her, leaving her space while providing silent companionship. Her heart stirred slightly, and without turning around, she knew who it was.
He didn't speak, but just stared at the illusory lights like she did. This silence wasn't awkward; instead, it was like a huge sound-absorbing velvet cloth, instantly swallowing up all the hypocrisy and noise overflowing from the banquet hall behind them, creating a small, peaceful haven for her to breathe.
A moment later, a very faint metallic scraping sound broke the silence. Out of the corner of her eye, Lin Yuwei saw Gu Qingyan's slender fingers hand over something—a dark, matte tin box without any markings—and gently place it on the cool railing beside her.
Her gaze fell, the box lid opened, and inside were several individually wrapped, extremely simple white mints.
Her heart skipped a beat, as if it had been gently bumped by something familiar.
It was that kind of candy. Many years ago, whenever she stayed up late to finish a drawing or felt anxious and unable to calm down, she would subconsciously look for that old-fashioned mint candy. It had an extremely strong flavor, with a powerful and pure menthol coolness that could instantly pierce through all the sticky chaos, making her clear-headed from the tip of her tongue all the way to the nerve endings.
This candy has long been discontinued, along with the simple, straightforward, yet irretrievable era it represented, lost to the passage of time.
Just like the past between her and Gu Qingyan, which is gone forever.
"I saw it in the corner of the dessert section just now." His voice was calm and even. "The packaging is a bit old, it looks like the kind you used to buy."
The words “corner,” “old,” and “like” rolled in his flat tone, but when they fell into Lin Yuwei’s ears, they pieced together a completely different picture. Gu Qingyan might have stopped by the dazzling array of desserts, his gaze sweeping over the exquisite macarons and mousses, but in the end, it stopped in some inconspicuous corner, noticed this box of candy that might have been forgotten for a long time, and then… remembered her.
This thought stirred a subtle, almost imperceptible, tender feeling within her.
Just then, a repressed memory surfaced. Not long ago, she had been so bothered by his advances that she had told him sharply that his pursuit was "harassing" and "disgusting." And since then, the flowers and milk tea that appeared on time every day had completely disappeared. Like a soldier who had received a clear order, he retreated without objection and quietly withdrew from her life.
He didn't press the issue or question her; he simply respected the boundaries she had drawn in silence.
Tonight, at her most embarrassing moment, Gu Qingyan appeared. Without saying anything extra or making her feel uncomfortable, he simply handed her a box of candy that could calm her down, in a way that was almost clumsy but precisely touched the softest part of her memory.
He understood, he remembered, and he was showing her in his own way that he understood and remembered.
Lin Yuwei remained silent, then suddenly reached out and picked up the slightly cool metal box. The cool metal box seemed to still carry a trace of the warmth from Gu Qingyan's pocket.
"Thank you," Lin Yuwei said softly, her voice tinged with the exhaustion of someone who had just escaped a disaster, but her tense tone softened slightly.
"You're welcome." Gu Qingyan withdrew his hand, his tone still indifferent. He didn't look at her or say anything more, but simply turned his gaze back to the distance, as if he had only come up here to hand over this box of candy.
After standing there for a while, as if to confirm that she was alright, he left the terrace without saying anything more.
Lin Yuwei held the small tin box, listening to the soft clinking of the candies inside. She peeled one open and put it in her mouth. Instantly, the familiar yet unfamiliar, intensely refreshing minty coolness exploded, quickly dispelling the bitterness of the champagne on her tongue and strangely soothing the pent-up grievances and anger in her throat.
The sugar slowly melted in her mouth, but a more complex and indescribable emotion slowly spread in her heart. The cold, hard shell she used to defend herself against him quietly melted away a corner of it under the influence of this storm and his silent yet precise understanding and companionship.
The night breeze ruffled the stray hairs on her forehead, bringing not a chilling coldness, but a strange warmth that slightly unsettled her emotions.
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