go home
Meng Chou ignored the messages that kept coming in and walked into the communal kitchen. The communal kitchen was not big, only big enough to fit two stoves and a small refrigerator of unknown origin.
He skillfully placed the purchased vegetables on the cutting board, turned on the gas to boil water. The semi-open kitchen connected to a cold and damp corridor, which was dark and gloomy, with no light in sight. Only the incandescent light overhead emitted a faint light, illuminating a corner of the kitchen.
While the meat was stewing in the pot, Meng Chou opened the report. Seeing that the data matching items after the two names were completely consistent, Meng Chou breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled and browsed the electronic report again and again.
Dr. Liang's instructions and the report arrived together. L: [Does Yu Xi know you're doing this?]
L: [Actually, we can wait a little longer, in case we find a suitable donor heart.]
L: [Don't make an irreversible choice because of a momentary impulse.]
Dr. Liang was his childhood playmate. The Liang and Meng families were neighbors and had a good relationship. He didn't understand Meng Chou's decision. He had a vague feeling about something when he was doing the matching test for the two of them. After the results came out, he didn't expect Meng Chou to do it just as he thought.
San Sui: [Keep this a secret until it is carried out.]
San Sui: [I said I would protect her and the child. If this continues, the consequences will be beyond my control. I can't wait for someone more suitable, and Xiao Yu and the child can't wait either.]
L: [Have you thought about how she will live her life after she knows the truth?]
San Sui: [After receiving this investment, Jin Xuexiao is about to see a turning point. I will arrange everything for her and the child.]
San Sui: [As for the truth, we'll keep it a secret for as long as possible. I think she'll forgive me.]
Dr. Liang didn't reply to him again, but silently saved a screenshot of their conversation. He felt that if Yu Xi found out the truth in the future, this conversation could at least comfort her.
Meng Chou didn't mean to abandon her. He truly loved her so much that he was willing to give his life and everything for her.
—
The faint sobbing sounds in the president's office were blocked by the sound-absorbing wall panels. The floor lamp was on, casting a soft glow. Chen Miao immediately went over and pulled Yu Xi to sit on the sofa. His raised hand hovered in mid-air. Remembering his current status, he was unable to wipe away the tears from the corners of Yu Xi's eyes.
“If Mr. Meng were here, he certainly wouldn’t want to see you so upset.” He said, pulling out a tissue box from the walnut wood table and handing it to Yu Xi, who was burying her face in her hands and crying.
Yu Xi suppressed the urge to burst into tears, her breath caught in her throat, and she sobbed softly. This was at the company, where she was seen by her employees as a capable and aloof president, a strong person who never shed a tear, and even crying had become a luxury.
"Has he been in the underworld all along, without being reincarnated?"
"How can I see him except through death?"
"I can't fall down. If Zeze is the only pitiful one left in the world, how will he live?"
Yu Xi fiercely wiped away the tears on her face, took several deep breaths, and tried her best to compose herself. She had a meeting to attend before leaving get off work and couldn't let anyone suspect anything.
Chen Miao remained silent for a long time before saying, "Mr. Meng has been doing quite well in the underworld. Judging by the time, he may have saved enough money for reincarnation. Perhaps he has already returned to the human world to experience the beauty of life once again."
As he spoke, he looked down at his hands, which were cold but could still touch objects.
"Really?" Yu Xi couldn't help but laugh. "That's for the best. Don't let me stay in that place forever. I've heard that the underworld is cold and unbearable."
She turned to look at Chen Miao, her gaze fixed on his eyes as she searched for an answer.
“We ghosts are afraid of bright light, so such an environment is actually conducive to our survival.”
"As long as you remember him, even if he stays in the underworld, he will not be completely destroyed and will live a good life."
Yu Xi got up, opened her desk drawer, took out her makeup bag, and tried to use makeup to cover her swollen eyes from crying.
Chen Miao stood there, glancing at the table full of food. Yu Xi had only eaten a piece of braised pork, leaving the rest untouched. His somewhat aggrieved voice came from behind him, "Sister, is it because my cooking is bad?"
"My sister didn't try anything else."
Yu Xi picked up an ice cube from the refrigerator and applied it to the puffiness under her eyes. She turned her head and her long hair spun in a perfect arc with her movement.
"No, it's delicious. Thank you for your thoughtfulness."
Then, she said slowly, "I have a meeting in half an hour, so I need to prepare in advance."
"The company has a cafeteria that provides meals 24 hours a day, and each floor's tea room is also equipped with a microwave and free snacks, so you don't have to worry about me going hungry."
"It's nothing, you can go back now," Yu Xi said casually, as if she were mentioning something perfectly ordinary.
But a hint of joy flashed in Chen Miao's eyes, and he asked Yu Xi incredulously, "Can I go home?"
Yu Xi knew perfectly well that the 'home' he was referring to was the villa where she currently lived. She retorted, "Otherwise? Where else do you want to go?"
Chen Miao tried his best to control the upward curve of his lips, clenched his fists and waved them upwards, whispering, "YES!"
“You will return as the new manager, and I will instruct the housekeeper to prepare a room.” Yu Xi said coldly, holding the folder. “But remember, I don’t keep idle people. If there’s anything I need you to do, you must keep your promise and be available whenever I call.”
"Okay, sister, I promise I will do it."
As Chen Miao spoke, she tucked three fingers together as if making a vow, "Sister, believe me one more time, I will never leave you again."
Yu Xi took out two keys from her handbag. One had a Jerry keychain on it, and the other had a Talking Tom keychain on it. They were clearly a pair of couple keychains. The former was the one she used often, while the latter was the one Meng Chou always carried with him.
Every time they returned home, the two would put the plastic keychain into the corresponding slot on the back of the door.
Yu Xi remembers that when they bought the keychains, Meng Chou said, "Tom can never catch Jerry, just like our love for each other will never fade."
Talking Tom hasn't appeared in the game's memory card slot for a very long time. It wasn't until Yu Xi was rummaging through drawers at home looking for the study key that she brought the key back with her.
She walked over slowly and handed Chen Miao a key with Talking Tom on it. "This is the house key. It's for your convenience to come and go. Please don't lose it."
Chen Miao picked up the keychain from her hand, a smile returning to his face. He examined the Talking Tom keychain repeatedly.
"I guarantee that even if I lose it, it won't."
Seeing him fiddling with the keychain, Yu Xi said, "That was something Meng Chou and I bought before. We haven't changed it since we hung it up."
"I know..." Before he could finish the word "know," he quickly changed the subject, drawing out the words, "I just want to say, it's really beautiful."
He sang the words aloud, and Yu Xi frowned, turning her head away from him.
The awkward atmosphere ended the moment she walked out of the office.
Chen Miao watched her disappear behind the door and breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up the Talking Tom keychain and held it up to the office light. A scratch was clearly visible on the plastic keychain.
It's still the same as before, nothing has changed.
It seems like everything has changed. Time has erased everything without leaving a trace, yet it has also secretly left some marks.
There was a knock on the office door, and Chen Miao called out habitually, "Come in!"
By the time he belatedly realized what had happened, Assistant Liu had already pushed the door open and entered. Chen Miao hurriedly put away his keys and coughed lightly to cover up his actions.
Assistant Liu said, "President Yu was worried you might get lost in the company, so he asked me to follow you."
Chen Miao raised an eyebrow and said confidently, "Don't worry, I know this place well, I won't get lost."
He knew the layout of this skyscraper all too well. From the bright lobby he entered through the revolving door, to dodging people in leather shoes and high heels, to climbing up the glass walkway and taking the elevator directly to the CEO's office on the top floor, everything was so easy that even his assistant, Liu, who had come to chase after him, became suspicious.
"You're so familiar with this place, you wouldn't happen to be an undercover agent sent by Company K to gather intelligence, would you?" His scrutinizing gaze swept over Chen Miao, then he analyzed, "No wonder you've gone to such lengths to curry favor with President Yu. Tell me, what exactly is your purpose?"
"Help her!" Chen Miao picked up the packed lunchbox and brushed past him. "That's my purpose."
Assistant Liu watched him strut out of the office arrogantly and quickened her pace to catch up. "You'd be so kind?"
“A suspicious person who suddenly appears may fool President Yu, but not me. I will definitely keep an eye on you for President Yu.”
Chen Miao proudly showed off a keychain with Talking Tom on it, "Then you'd better keep an eye on me, this suspicious person, at President Yu's house."
"At President Yu's house?" Assistant Liu stood there stunned, then covered his mouth in surprise after realizing what he meant. "You actually went to this lengths for intelligence?"
Chen Miao ignored him, but Assistant Liu's exclamation drew the attention of passing employees, who glanced at him with complicated expressions.
After Meng Chou's death, Yu Xi never thought of remarrying. Over the years, she has been fighting alone in the business world. Everyone in the industry knows her temperament and would never be interested in someone who seems like a recent graduate with youthful impetuosity.
Despite the probing gazes, Chen Miao continued walking forward, unconcerned. He took the elevator to the first floor, but instead of going back directly, he took a taxi and came across a pedestrian street.
A man who hadn't experienced the warmth of human life in a long time stopped in front of a plaster doll shop, scanning the dolls one by one, searching for something.
Seeing this, the shop owner enthusiastically stepped forward and said, "Which doll do you like? I'll get it for you."
Do you have any Hello Kitty ones?
After he finished speaking, the shop owner walked from one end of the shelf to the other and started rummaging through it.
The person who always said he would bring her to paint a doll was always too busy with other things and kept putting it off until his death, never fulfilling her wish.
This is just one of Chen Miao's obsessions, one of the obsessions he wants to fulfill.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
