Chapter 32 "I was just trying to coax you."
Cheng Hexi stepped out of the elevator and opened the door to the general manager's office. The view suddenly became very wide, with bright sunlight streaming into a corner of the floor through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows.
She placed the documents in her hand on the table, casually tidied the table, and, remembering Tang Ying's words, leaned back in her chair, her brows slightly furrowed.
Her second aunt... she doesn't have a second aunt at all. At this point, no one in the He family wants to claim kinship with her.
Compared to her identity, Cheng Hexi cared more about the latter sentence—
Her mother's old classmate.
Her mother, Cheng Yuqing, was also from Beijing and grew up there, attending high school there. She went to France for university, and Cheng Hexi's maternal grandparents moved to Paris in the same year.
If it's Cheng Yuqing's former classmate, then it's indeed very possible.
Lost in thought, Cheng Hexi accidentally knocked over the pen holder on the table.
She is not completely immune to anything related to her mother, big or small.
A moment later, Cheng Hexi dialed the intercom and asked Tang Ying to bring her "second aunt" up.
-
Ten minutes later, Cheng Hexi met the woman in front of her in a small conference room next to the office.
She looks very young, around forty years old, and her bags and clothes are all from high-end luxury brands.
On her wrist was a jade bracelet, of high-grade icy type with floating patterns.
She was dressed in a dignified and luxurious manner, yet she seemed a little uneasy.
The moment she entered, Cheng Hexi recognized her.
On the day of Jing's baby's 100-day celebration, they met briefly by You Yue's car.
Cheng Hexi smiled, stood up, and gestured for her to sit down.
The woman pursed her lips, her gaze sweeping over her before quickly looking away. After sitting down, Cheng Hexi asked her if she wanted coffee or tea.
She shook her head and refused.
While waiting for Cheng Hexi in Xilin's reception room, she had already drunk several glasses of wine.
"Alright, let's get straight to the point." There was nothing on the table in front of Cheng Hexi, but she still had a smile on her face.
"I am A-Yue's second aunt." She then spoke, "You and A-Yue have been married for so long, but it seems we've only met once."
She finished speaking and smiled.
Cheng Hexi nodded, unsurprised.
She had already guessed it.
The 100-day celebration was just the day before yesterday.
The night before last, the couple were discussing something with You Yue by his car, but the result certainly didn't meet their expectations. And now, just over a day later, she's come looking for her.
Cheng Hexi has always been a person who is "strict with herself and lenient with others" in the company. Even the college recruits who have participated in Xilin's interview and met her have a very good impression of her.
She is a good listener.
Today, even knowing that the person on the other end needed her help, she was not impatient.
The woman struck up a conversation with her, then pulled out a stack of old photos from her bag—about forty or fifty in total—the quality and resolution of which clearly indicated their age.
The photos include group photos, graduation photos, and photos of the woman in front of me and her mother.
Cheng Hexi took the papers and flipped through them one by one. On the back of two of them, she found her mother's handwriting.
My mother when she was seventeen or eighteen.
This is very far from Cheng Hexi.
She carefully looked through the photos, glanced at the person opposite her, smiled, and asked her to speak.
The woman didn't know if she would take the emotional approach, but she had no choice but to speak.
She first went on at length praising her son's education and abilities before getting to the point.
You Lu was originally the deputy general manager of Hongsheng's development department. He devoted himself to Hongsheng and was already thirty years old this year, but he was suddenly fired by Hongsheng some time ago.
Cheng Hexi immediately understood her purpose.
She interrupted the other person first, asking, "You said you and my mother were best friends in high school... What kind of person was my mother back then?"
The woman paused, then recalled.
The two words she used most frequently were "gentle" and "kind".
“This envelope is a letter your mother wrote to herself.” She smiled, but it was hard to tell if there was any sincerity in her smile. “We were probably seventeen years old then? It was an age when we were looking forward to the future. We made a promise to write letters to our future selves decades from now and have them kept by our future selves. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye.”
She was familiar with all of Cheng Yuqing's belongings and knew that her mother also had a letter like this.
At this moment, Cheng Hexi had finished looking at the photos and smiled when she heard this.
Cheng Yuqing is indeed that kind of person—gentle and kind.
So you've truly misplaced your trust.
"First of all, if it is true that Hongsheng illegally dismissed its employees, then your son can go to court and doesn't need to come to me."
"Secondly, you've misunderstood something and overestimated me. Everything You Yue does is for Hongsheng's benefit, and my words have no effect whatsoever."
-
After the woman left, it took Cheng Hexi an unknown amount of time to come back to her senses in the quiet conference room.
She suddenly remembered that You Yue had said he would pick her up. She checked her phone and realized that it was already several minutes past the agreed time, so she quickly got up and went out.
She rarely walks in such a hurry.
As Cheng Hexi was going downstairs, she called You Yue. While waiting for the call to connect, the elevator numbers jumped from 40 to 38.
A man's lazy voice came from behind: "Hmm? What's wrong?"
"..." She paused, then asked, "Have you arrived yet?"
The number jumped to 30.
"Hmm," it sounded like a chuckle on the other end, "waiting for you."
Cheng Hexi took a deep breath: "I'm sorry."
She said, "I've lost track of time."
Cheng Hexi genuinely felt apologetic.
She has always been a very punctual person, and this was never the first time she had done something like this.
“It’s alright,” the man said generously. “I just arrived recently, and there’s no traffic at this time.”
The art museum is located in the suburbs, and the traffic was indeed relatively smooth at this time of day.
After hanging up the phone, Cheng Hexi got out of the elevator and walked out of the company gate.
The G-Class was temporarily parked in a prominent spot in the park.
Before getting on the bus, Cheng Hexi ran into a few employees and greeted them.
After getting into the car, the man in the driver's seat gave her a slight smile.
You Yue has never waited for anyone, and he doesn't find the waiting time boring at all.
"Next time you can call to remind me, otherwise you'll have to wait even longer." She fastened her seatbelt.
You Yue really didn't understand why Cheng Hexi was being so polite to him.
When they first got their marriage certificate, he liked the respectful and courteous relationship they had, but now he feels that the distance between them is too great.
You Yue raised the corner of his lips slightly, his deep gaze falling on her.
"Am I the kind of person in your heart who gets impatient waiting for his wife for five minutes?"
His peach blossom eyes seemed to look at everything with deep affection.
A moment later, Cheng Hexi also chuckled softly.
"Really?" she changed her mind. "Then... thank you, husband."
You Yue paused, then looked at her intently.
-
As the car drove away from the Xilin campus, the towering buildings were left behind.
The hottest part of the afternoon had passed, and the sky was just right. Cheng Hexi lowered the car window halfway down, feeling the slightly hot air outside.
"Did my second aunt go to see you?"
The person in the driver's seat suddenly asked.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Hexi turned her head to look at him.
You Yue remained focused on driving, his face showing little expression.
"Yes, let's talk about her son."
It's normal for You Yue to see her when she left Xilin at that time.
It's still quite a coincidence.
You Yue could guess her purpose, but couldn't understand why she did it.
He was an unshakeable figure in the You family; even You Chenghui couldn't control him, let alone anyone else. She was extremely worried about You Lu's situation, so she went to Cheng Hexi, which was a desperate measure.
How did Cheng Hexi agree to meet her?
When he asked, Cheng Hexi calmly explained the whole story without hiding anything.
Many things didn't make a deep impression at the time, but when recalled later, they evoked more anger.
Cheng Hexi suppressed her anger and asked, "What's wrong with your cousin?"
Logically speaking, Hongsheng's technical department is full of top-notch talent, and You Yue would not have done this unless something unexpected happened.
You Yue scoffed: "He cheated on his wife with different people during her pregnancy. He made three PPT presentations just for his wife. This caused quite a stir and even made it to the trending topics."
Thanks to the "corporate culture" fostered by You Chenghui at the time, Hongsheng placed great emphasis on its reputation and image, showing zero tolerance for employees with questionable private lives. After this incident, their public relations team reacted swiftly, immediately distancing themselves from the company.
Cheng Hexi's eyes widened slightly.
If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn't have even bothered to see him.
How could someone working in technology at Hongsheng, with a pregnant wife at home, still manage to find time to go out and have affairs?
She utterly despised this kind of man, closed her eyes, and didn't know how to comment.
"What did you say?" You Yue asked gently.
She simply replied, "Tell her I can't help with this."
"What about those photos and letters?"
“She took it.” Cheng Hexi curled her lips slightly, her tone ambiguous: “This is my mother’s true feelings when she was seventeen. She can do whatever she wants with it.”
After the SUV exited the overpass and turned right, You Yue turned the steering wheel, paused for a moment, and asked her, "You feel sad, don't you?"
Cheng Hexi denied it: "No."
She felt unwell, and even her breathing became labored. The summer heat was unbearable, and there was nowhere to escape it.
“My mother has given so much of her heart, she won’t miss this one more.”
You Yue pursed his lips, gripped the steering wheel harder, and for the first time felt that he couldn't say anything pleasing to the ear, and couldn't find a single word to comfort her.
She probably doesn't need his comfort.
-
A few minutes later, the off-road vehicle found a parking space and parked. Cheng Hexi then glanced at the map on the center console screen and noticed that the route had deviated slightly.
"What's wrong?" She looked at the man in the driver's seat, somewhat puzzled.
"Aunt Yao said you really like this store." You Yue unbuckled his seatbelt.
Not far away, there was a privately owned bakery on the roadside. The bread was delicious, and Cheng Hexi had even asked her driver to make a special detour to buy it.
"What would you like to eat?" he asked.
The only downside here is that you have to queue, the food sells out quickly after it comes out of the oven, and they never serve any VIP customers.
Under the scorching sun, Cheng Hexi said, "We still have to queue, and it's very hot."
You Yue hummed in agreement, not paying any attention, and simply said, "We were lucky; there weren't too many people."
"Why did you think of buying me bread?" She chuckled and said to him, "It's like you're coaxing a child."
"I was just trying to comfort you."
You Yue's gaze suddenly became deep and direct, and Cheng Hexi was almost burned by it.
She then avoided that gaze.
The man smiled, reverting to his previous lazy demeanor.
"What would you like to eat, Mr. Cheng?" he asked. "We won't have time later."
She ordered two dishes as she pleased.
The car door locks popped open, and Cheng Hexi was about to get out when You Yue said, "It's very hot. Wait for me to come back soon."
After that, he got out of the car.
His black shirt now leaves a faint background in Cheng Hexi's eyes due to visual persistence.
The car's air conditioning kept out the outdoor heat, while traffic flowed continuously on the elevated highway not far away.
Cheng Hexi saw You Yue's figure in the rearview mirror and her heart skipped a beat.
She remembered that the word he had just used was "coax" to her.
She initially thought she would no longer stand up for her mother, but then she realized she was starting to feel sad again.
But her mind was in turmoil, and she couldn't sort it out in a short time. She only knew that there were other things involved among these emotions.
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Author's Note: The one in the last chapter was a shirt clip, not a tie clip! [doge emoji with rose in mouth]
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