Chapter 2 Beautiful Woman
It was nearly six o'clock when Qin Qiao arrived home. Her three children ran over and surrounded her at the sound of her voice. She bent down, first hugging her younger sister, then Zhao Ye and Danie in turn. The children were still not satisfied and clung to her until their nanny, Sister Lan, came running over. Qin Qiao smiled slightly at Sister Lan, and only then were the children led to the living room.
Her job is not a 9-to-5 job. Whenever she gets home early, she sends a message to her mother, Yang Shuhua, who will then prepare her dinner.
There are three children in the family. Qin Qiao initially hired three nannies, but Ms. Yang gently persuaded them to leave, leaving only Lan Jie. Ms. Yang wasn't trying to save her money, but rather believed that even in retirement, she should still contribute. Having said that, Qin Qiao had no reason to stop her from continuing her work with enthusiasm.
After dinner, Qin Qiao called her three children to her room; she had something to say.
She spent six months finalizing her overseas projects, after which she would focus her work on Lanchuan. This brought the issue of the children's schooling to the forefront.
Qin Qiao sat on the sofa, with Qin Zhaoye and Qin Lexi on either side, and Danie on her lap. She gently stroked Lexi's fluffy little head and asked Qin Zhaoye, "Zhaoye, you're the older brother, can you protect your little sister?"
She has found a foreign language kindergarten she likes and contacted the principal, who agreed to make an exception and put the three children in the same class.
“Xi Xi can protect herself,” Qin Zhaoye said, pouting.
Although he's called the older brother, Zhaoye was actually born only two minutes earlier than Xixi. It's already a bit unreasonable to ask a child of the same age to take care of the other.
Perhaps it was because of her traditional thinking, but she always felt that boys should learn to take responsibility. Yet Zhaoye sometimes cried more than his sister, even seeming somewhat weak; if her tone was slightly harsh, tears would stream down his face. She could never understand why.
Her best friend, Chu Yutong, once visited her in England. Chu Yutong had a son who was always jumping around, lively and cheerful, with inexhaustible energy like a little monkey.
“Your family is dominated by women.” Chu Yutong said bluntly, “Since Zhaoye was born, he has been accompanied by either a nanny or Aunt Yang. Boys ultimately need men to raise them. Look at Zhaoye, he cries whenever things don’t go his way, and he cries when he is bullied. I’m always worried that if this continues, it will wear away all his masculinity… He really doesn’t seem like his father.”
At this point, her tone shifted: "I think the way boys and girls are raised is inherently different. Isn't there a saying, 'Raise daughters with plenty and sons with hardship'? My husband, Lao Shen, has always followed that principle. My son is terrified of his father; he's like a mouse before a cat whenever he sees Shen Yu. But Lao Shen said that if we have a daughter in the future, he will definitely spoil her like a princess. If our son feels it's unfair, he'll send him to boarding school, no questions asked."
Qin Qiao still tried to argue: "You can raise them in the same way... but Danie is much braver."
"People are different races!"
Chu Yutong always spoke her mind directly. Qin Qiao was initially somewhat resistant, but upon reflection, she realized there was some truth to what she said. Although both had grown up being pampered, Zhao Ye was indeed more spoiled than her younger sister.
"Mommy, let me protect my brother," Xixi said, patting her little chest.
Danie shifted on her lap, like a little hero: "I'll protect my little brother and sister!"
*
The torrential rain has passed, and today Lanchuan is cloudy and cool.
Chen Jiashu had just finished a video conference and returned to his desk, rubbing his temples. He had barely sat down when there was a knock on the glass door.
Secretary Tian Jiayue entered carrying a stack of documents, placed them in their usual spot on the desk, and then walked around to the front to begin her report. Chen Jiashu picked up a document, put on his glasses, and listened to the report while reviewing it, occasionally interrupting to ask questions.
"70%? How long will the delay be? Have they provided a specific recovery timeline and alternative solutions? How long can our safety stock last?"
Tian Jiayue turned to the next page: "According to the preliminary assessment in the letter, full recovery will take at least three months. The other party indicated that they would prioritize long-term strategic clients, but the specific allocation plan has not yet been determined and is still under negotiation..."
Chen Jiashu ultimately made the decision regarding securing the primary supplier and activating the alternative secondary supplier. Tian Jiayue efficiently relayed the instructions, awaiting his confirmation.
"You will chair this emergency meeting." Chen Jiashu looked up and nodded in acknowledgment.
Just as Tian Jiayue was about to put away the documents, there was another knock on the glass door. Before Chen Jiashu could say "Come in," the person outside had already pushed the door open and entered.
Upon seeing that the person who arrived was Zhu Ao, Tian Jiayue was slightly taken aback. The man looked anxious and walked straight towards her. When had this usually gentle and composed vice president ever been so anxious? What terrible thing had happened?
“Chairman Chen,” Zhu Ao stopped beside Tian Jiayue, “something happened at the Dongting factory. Two hours ago, a father and son jumped from the administration building, and now the media have blocked the factory gates.”
Chen Jiashu jumped to his feet: "Jump off the building?!"
Jumping off a building?
Manufacturing demands a large workforce, and accidents of all sizes happen frequently, such as hand injuries, leg fractures, and even amputations... But an employee jumping off a building is such a horrifying incident that it's unheard of. Tian Jiayue unconsciously clenched the documents in her hand.
Zhu Ao continued his report: "The factory has been sealed off, and all the off-duty employees have been accommodated in the dormitory area."
Chen Jiashu's face was ashen: "How is he?" He took off his glasses and threw them on the table. "Who gave you the right to seal off the factory area? Do you think this is a criminal case scene?!"
Zhu Ao was taken aback.
He then took out his phone and searched for the phone number of Mr. Ding, the person in charge of the factory area. He dialed twice, but no one answered.
At the same time, Chen Jiashu's cold and calm voice came from the left:
"Immediately notify the security department to do four things: First, invite all media to the conference room, provide tea and water and release a full statement on the incident; second, arrange for the medical team to cooperate with the hospital to do everything possible to save lives, while comforting the family members; third, all employees should remain on standby at their original posts, and send the public relations department with recording equipment to the workshop; fourth, the entire factory should resume normal get off work hours."
After saying that, Chen Jiashu picked up his white cane and walked outside, with Tian Jiayue following closely behind.
Zhu Ao remained standing there, slowly processing the instructions. He then found his secretary's number and dialed it, instructing her to immediately relay Chen Jiashu's message.
*
"At 8 PM last night, a strike of over 1,000 employees broke out at Cree Technology's Guangming factory in City B. This is the first sustained factory-wide protest in my country's manufacturing industry in nearly a decade..."
At 9:30 a.m., during the live broadcast of "Finance Frontier," anchor Qin Qiao, dressed in pearl white, sat at the anchor desk, facing the camera with a serious expression, and reported at a brisk pace.
This is the last news item. As soon as Qin Qiao said, "I am Qin Qiao, see you at the same time tomorrow for 'Finance Frontier'", the staff immediately cut off the live broadcast, turned off the power, and disassembled the pan-tilt head on the camera.
On stage, Qin Qiao closed the file, took the microphone off the lapel of her suit jacket, handed it to the staff member next to her, said a few words to the staff member, and then got up and left the stage.
The assistant brought Qin Qiao the leather notebook from her desk. Qin Qiao took it and took the elevator to the sixteenth floor, where she entered the conference room.
That evening, a black Bentley slowly pulled up in front of the Foreign Language Kindergarten. Crimson clouds floated in the sky, and orange-yellow rays shone on the car's roof, creating a dazzling display of light.
The driver's side door opened, and the man in a sharp suit ran to the back seat and opened the door.
The man who stepped out of the car had a neat and tidy hairstyle, a rugged face, and deep eyes. His tall and upright figure attracted the attention of many people around him. However, when they saw the man take out his white cane and put it on the ground, their amazed gazes turned into surprise.
It's just a fleeting moment. Parents who can afford to send their children to international kindergartens are at least middle class. In other words, their upbringing, honed through higher education, is ingrained in their very being.
Chen Jiashu stood at the end of the crowd, with Xiao Jun beside him, following the line of people picking up their children as they moved forward little by little.
“Zhang Yicheng’s godfather, the child is here.”
The speaker was Zhang Yicheng's teacher.
Including this time, Chen Jiashu has picked up Zhang Yicheng a total of three times. His features are so distinctive that it's hard for a teacher not to remember him.
Zhang Yicheng walked up to Chen Jiashu, who bent down, ruffled his hair, and asked gently, "What would you like to eat tonight, Chengcheng?"
"His grandmother called me beforehand, Mr. Chen, you can pick up Zhang Yicheng now," the teacher told him.
Chen Jiashu nodded slightly and said thank you, "Thank you, teacher." Then, he took Zhang Yicheng's hand and walked towards the car.
Once inside the car, Zhang Yicheng opened his schoolbag and took out a space drawing he had made in kindergarten to show Chen Jiashu.
"Godfather, this is the astronaut I drew."
Chen Jiashu smiled slightly and asked, "Can you tell your godfather what kind of astronauts they are?"
Zhang Yicheng knelt directly on the leather chair, placed the paper on Chen Jiashu's lap, and then took one of Chen Jiashu's fingers, guiding him to touch the raised particles on the paper.
"Let me guess?" Chen Jiashu asked, his fingertip already sliding across the surface.
This is a sand painting, clearly completed under a teacher's guidance. The sand surface is smooth with no dents. Chen Jiashu guessed, "Is this a schoolbag? An astronaut carrying a schoolbag?"
Zhang Yicheng shook his head vigorously: "No, this is an astronaut's oxygen pack."
Chen Jiashu laughed and continued to touch and guess, but he couldn't get any of the answers right. Zhang Yicheng stuffed the drawing paper back into his schoolbag: "I'll show it to Grandma when I get back."
The car was driving on the road, and Xiao Jun drove very steadily. If he didn't occasionally stop at traffic lights, it was as if the car was stationary.
Chen Jiashu gently stroked the child's head and said softly, "Chengcheng, you'll have to sleep here with me for the next few days. Grandpa and Grandma have gone on a trip." He lied to the child; in fact, Grandma was hospitalized for gallbladder surgery, and Grandpa was taking care of her at the hospital.
travel?
Zhang Yicheng's cheeks puffed out even more: "I don't like my grandparents anymore."
"Godfather will take you to eat pizza."
His grandparents never let him eat this kind of food. Zhang Yicheng grabbed Chen Jiashu's arm and shook it happily: "Okay, okay, I want to eat pizza."
Chen Jiashu couldn't keep an eye on Zhang Yicheng by himself, so he called for a helper.
Tian Jiayue was already waiting at the restaurant entrance, carrying a box of toys.
"Brother." She saw the little guy, bent down, and greeted him with a smile, "Chengcheng, we meet again!"
Xiao Jun didn't go inside. Instead, he took the escalator downstairs; he also needed to have dinner.
The Western restaurant was recommended by Zhu Ao. It was my first time here, and I didn't expect the lighting to be so dim. As soon as Chen Jia entered, he could only see a faint light and couldn't even make out the general outline of the restaurant's layout.
Tian Jiayue: "We've arrived."
Outside, even with a white cane, Chen Jiashu couldn't avoid all obstacles, and Tian Jiayue kept a close eye on him the whole way.
The waiter pulled out chairs for them. Chen Jiashu reached forward twice, gripped the back of the chair, and slowly sat down. Tian Jiayue handed the Lego toys she had brought to Zhang Yicheng, and turned around to see this scene.
As her brother's secretary, she had long witnessed the various inconveniences he encountered at work, but no matter how many times, she still felt uneasy every time she saw him fumbling around like that.
In her heart, her brother was exceptionally talented. He was the only genius in their school's history, a gold medalist in the International Mathematical Olympiad, and had built his business from scratch, starting with a small repair shop of just over ten square meters.
It also witnessed his eyesight deteriorate rapidly in the middle of last year... For more than a month, he relied entirely on his assistants to get around, but after a long period of adaptation and getting used to his assistants, now when they go out, they only need to give directions, and he can walk independently.
Before the meal service started, Tian Jiayue went to the restroom and returned with red eyes. A waiter carrying a steak passed by her and placed the steak in front of a seven or eight-year-old boy.
The little boy picked up a knife and fork, skillfully cut the steak, and put a piece in his mouth to chew.
"Please give some to Mom."
This is unbelievable! She's finally come to Lanchuan, and the first person she bumps into is him. What's that ancient poem about "unexpected encounters in life"? All she can say is, "It's a small world!"
The fork holding the steak poked Chu Yutong's lips; the thoughtful son was most filial to his mother. Chu Yutong bit into the beef, stretched her neck back, pulled the meat off the knife and fork, chewed it a couple of times, and swallowed it.
Chu Yutong also secretly took a few photos with her phone, which were naturally meant for Qin Qiao to see.
That evening, the two best friends, who hadn't seen each other for almost a year, were chatting in bed. After yawning three times, Chu Yutong finally couldn't help but bring up Chen Jiashu, and reached for her phone on the bedside table, pulling out the photo of the "family of three".
"Look how big the child is already," she said resentfully.
Qin Qiao didn't want to pay attention, but her eyes kept glancing at her phone screen out of the corner of her eye.
In the photo, Chen Jiashu is facing Chu Yutong, but his gaze is on the little boy beside him, with a gentle, even loving smile on his lips.
Looking at the boy again, he had a clean and handsome face, wore a light blue school uniform shirt, had slender arms, and looked to be about four or five years old. His height was similar to that of her son, Zhaoye.
The boy's features seemed strangely familiar; Qin Qiao felt she had seen him somewhere before, but couldn't quite place where.
“My friend’s child, I suppose.” she said instinctively.
Chu Yutong's fingers landed heavily on the pale yellow figure on the screen, whose figure was beautiful.
Qin Qiao had seen it long ago, but so what? It could be a senior executive of the company, or a business partner, but whoever it was, it had nothing to do with her.
"Let me make a guess. A child this big might not be Old Chen's, but could it be brought by a woman?"
Chu Yutong swiped her finger twice and brought up another photo.
In the photo, the woman is standing next to the boy, bending down with a tissue, affectionately wiping the stains off his collar.
The photos are exceptionally clear, showing the man's deepened smile, the child's sensible and well-behaved nature, and the woman's loving and virtuous nature... Just looking at the photos, they really do look like a family.
"It's a pity I didn't get a clear picture of the woman's face. I didn't dare to take pictures openly, but I did see what she looked like. She was very pretty, and most importantly, young, probably in her early twenties." She sighed. "Men, no matter how old they are, always like young women."
This time, Qin Qiao simply turned her head away. Pretty girls, young girls, girls with children... that's Chen Jiashu's business, it's none of her concern.
Seeing that Qin Qiao seemed unhappy, Chu Yutong turned her phone face down in her palm, leaned over and bumped her shoulder, "What's wrong? Are you upset that your ex-husband found someone younger and prettier?"
Qin Qiao was speechless at her words. She slid into the covers, pulled them up to her chin, and closed her eyes to sleep.
Chu Yutong pouted, glanced at the woman who was pretending to be asleep with her eyelids tightly closed, and swallowed back the words she wanted to say.
After a long pause, the woman's eyelids twitched, and she added in a low voice, "The higher-ups are inspecting tomorrow. Time to sleep."
*
On the third day after the accident at the Dongting factory, Chen Jiashu held a second meeting on the matter, focusing on the group's response after the father and son jumped to their deaths at the Dongting factory.
After the meeting ended, everyone else filed out, leaving only Chen Jiashu and Tian Jiayue in the meeting room.
Chen Jiashu habitually rubbed his temples, his brows slightly furrowed. He turned to Tian Jiayue and said, "Public relations department, you'll have to make a few more trips."
Tian Jiayue graduated with a master's degree in journalism. After joining the group, she worked in the public relations department for two years before being promoted to the position of board secretary.
"I understand." Tian Jiayue closed the file, looked back at Chen Jiashu, noticed his bluish eyelids again, pursed her lips, and said, "Brother, this kind of thing happens quite often in companies. As long as it is handled properly, it will not have a big impact on the group."
Chen Jiashu lowered his hand, his long, slender fingers pressing on the document: "The workers jumping off the administration building were not acting on impulse, nor were they without reason. They chose to end their lives in this way because they had no other choice..."
“Large enterprises have complex hierarchical structures, and it’s really difficult for those below to keep things from the top.” Tian Jiayue carefully chose her words before saying, “When ants are hiding in the cracks of rocks gnawing at the foundation, elephants really can’t see them.”
Chen Jiashu suddenly stood up, picked up his white cane, pulled out a chair, walked around the conference table, and went to the floor-to-ceiling window. Tian Jiayue followed him with documents in her hand and stopped behind him.
The thick, leaden clouds suddenly parted, revealing a winding gap through which golden light shone through the glass onto the man, coating him with a thin layer of pale gold.
Faint blue veins were visible on his long neck, and his slightly protruding Adam's apple resembled a rugged mountain peak. At this moment, the mountain peak undulated slightly, and a deep voice escaped from his throat, "Investigate. You immediately lead the audit team to Dongting. I need to be precise down to every single overtime pay."
Qiaoshu Group has built three factories in China. The main factory in Lanchuan has nearly 10,000 employees, and the other two factories are located in F City and Z City respectively. The report submitted last month showed that the two factories have 15,000 employees, not including more than 800 directly operated stores nationwide.
"Cough cough..."
For a couple of seconds, Tian Jiayue was distracted, but was pulled back by Chen Jiashu's restrained, low cough. She turned her head to the side.
Chen Jiashu clenched his fist and covered his mouth, coughing a few times before stopping, his face already turning somewhat pale.
She asked worriedly, "Have you caught a cold?"
"My throat is a little itchy, but it's nothing serious." The man shook his head.
*
Chu Yutong brought her son to Lanchuan this time purely to kill time out of boredom.
The lab just completed a big project, and the boss was so happy that he granted her a two-week leave. When she was at work, she wanted to rest, and when she was on leave, although she didn't want to go to work, she felt quite listless.
Her son had a hand-foot-mouth disease outbreak in his class and was given a week off, so she decided to bring him along.
However, Qin Qiao was too busy to pay attention to them, and the only time the two of them could chat was when they were warming up in bed. Chu Yutong was also a person who couldn't stay idle, so the next day she took the children, the nanny, and Aunt Yang to the amusement park.
On the third day, Qin Qiao said that he had to go on a business trip in the afternoon to a small town in F City, more than a thousand kilometers away, to conduct a follow-up interview.
It sounded like someone had jumped to their death, but she was too sleepy to understand.
In the afternoon, Chu Yutong brought her son to the airport to see Qin Qiao off.
The two said their goodbyes with reluctance. Chu Yutong, tears welling up in her eyes, choked out, "You'll come see me next time, okay?"
Qin Qiao nodded repeatedly, telling her to take good care of herself. Despite the touching scene, Chu Yihang coldly uttered two words, "So cheesy."
Outside the window, an airplane was taxiing faster and faster on the tarmac. After its nose lifted up, the entire fuselage lifted off the ground and rose higher and higher until it disappeared into the pale blue sky.
The sound of a door opening came from behind, and Qin Qiao's thoughts were abruptly pulled back by that "thump".
Immediately following was the sound of a cane tapping the ground, mixed with steady footsteps, one after another. The VIP room was already empty, so the sound seemed like the crisp sound of glass marbles suddenly ringing out in a dark, empty house, tugging at a nerve on her scalp.
In fact, there was another kind of elegant sound of women's high heels on the ground, but she overlooked it at first. Could it be the female friend with the child that Chu Yutong mentioned?
The next second her guess was overturned.
"Mr. Chen, your flight MU517 has been arranged with a separate security checkpoint. The boarding gate is expected to open at 14:20."
She is a flight attendant.
Qin Qiao did not turn around. With her arms crossed, she calmly looked out the window at the second plane that was taxiing.
The sound of the white cane stopped not far behind her. The rustling of clothes and the slight sinking of the leather chair told her that he had sat down on the sofa.
While she was still wondering if Chen Jiashu was traveling alone, his assistant came in: "Chairman Chen, I've brought all the documents." He was still catching his breath, obviously having forgotten something, so he ran back to get them and then ran back.
A notification sounded outside the door, announcing that boarding for the flight was imminent. As the announcement faded, Chen Jiashu turned on the sofa, his voice hoarse and slightly deep:
“Anchor Qin, from the moment I stepped through the door, I was thinking that the greatest distance is not between mountains and seas, but between being able to hear each other’s breathing and pretending to be strangers.”
Her tone was tinged with melancholy and sadness. It seemed like a casual remark, but it was like a red-hot needle pricking her heart, the stinging pain making her body tremble instinctively.
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