Chapter 43 That man in the suit and tie, isn't he...?
Jiang Shan frowned.
Why did Zhu Meng suddenly contact her? Was it because Zhao Yi told him she wanted to resign? That makes sense.
Jiang Shan subconsciously wanted to type "no," and both characters were already typed into the pinyin input method. Just as she was about to send it, her finger hovered in mid-air, swaying like a sword about to fall.
Was her decision to resign from Anson Group really just due to her personal family reasons, and had absolutely nothing to do with Zhu Meng?
That doesn't seem to be entirely true.
Is it because she has to take care of her six-year-old sister, Jiang Hai?
Chen Yuan and Jiang Tao were hit by a drunk driver and were knocked unconscious on the spot. They died in the hospital despite attempts to save them, leaving behind a six-year-old daughter, Jiang Hai.
As Jiang Hai's older sister and currently her only legal guardian, she needs to put in a lot of effort to take care of her.
However, Jiang Hai is still a child. Although he has suddenly left his hometown, he may experience some discomfort due to changes in his surroundings and friends.
But precisely because Jiang Hai is young and hasn't yet established a deep connection with the land of G City, moving to a city a thousand miles away at this time wouldn't cause her serious harm.
She is naturally lively, so it's likely that she can make friends not only in G City, but also in S City.
Is it because she doesn't have enough money to live in S City?
That's not necessarily the case.
Chen Yuan and Jiang Tao were hit and killed by a drunk driver on a zebra crossing when the light was green.
In theory, the perpetrator is fully responsible and should provide a certain amount of compensation. Jiang Shan was initially wondering if the perpetrator would flee to avoid punishment after realizing that he had caused two deaths.
According to the police, the perpetrator confessed on the spot and was willing to pay several million yuan in compensation.
Although he had the ability to compensate her, it was not a reason for him to commit a crime. However, the fact that he verbally abused and morally blackmailed Chen Yuan and Jiang Tao has now turned into a warm compensation payment, and the mental burden that had been weighing on them has also been lightened considerably.
With the passing of Chen Yuan and Jiang Tao, their estates will be divided into four parts, to be given to their parents, her, and Jiang Hai respectively.
Jiang Hai is only six years old and not yet old enough to act. The inheritance she received will be temporarily managed by Jiang Shan, her guardian. In other words, Jiang Shan will receive half of Chen Yuan and Jiang Tao's inheritance.
Although Chen Yuan and Jiang Tao are not billionaires and do not have an inheritance to rely on for the succession struggle, they have worked hard for more than forty years and still have hundreds of thousands to nearly a million in their bank accounts.
Although this amount of money might only cover the down payment for a house in S city, Jiangshan is still young and has the potential to make a name for himself in a big city.
At most, they'll suffer a bit in the rivers and seas.
However, after thinking about it carefully, she realized that she didn't want to take Jiang Hai all the way to S City to make a living, not just because she didn't want Jiang Hai to suffer.
There is another reason, which is indeed related to Zhu Meng.
Back at the familiar Ansen Group, in that cramped rented room... she really didn't know how to face Zhu Meng, who was both strange and familiar.
Zhu Meng was always direct with his subordinates, but he was relatively polite to her.
Even if his heart was in turmoil, he always maintained a calm, icy demeanor on the surface. But Jiang Shan would never forget the look of disgust in his eyes when Zhu Meng uttered the word "disgusting." It was so intense it was almost overflowing.
He is a person who is good at managing his facial expressions, but at that time, he chose not to hide them at all.
Was he deliberately making a disgusted face at her?
Or... does he really hate PEG so much that he doesn't even bother to hide it?
I can't figure out Jiang Shan, and I don't want to.
"Half of it is because of you"
She hurriedly typed those seven words, then, as if burned by the screen, quickly exited the chat app and nervously opened a food delivery app to find dinner for the day.
Zhu Meng asked her, and she replied.
As for what Zhu Meng would reply... she didn't want to care for the time being.
The laptop screen in front of Zhu Meng had gone dark, but he was completely unaware of it, his eyes glued to the chat interface with Jiang Shan. After what seemed like an eternity, the chat interface finally displayed "The other party is typing...".
The seven words, "subtle and understated," popped up. Zhu Meng selectively ignored the first three words, his gaze becoming somewhat dazed as he looked at the last four.
My stomach felt heavy, like a large rock had been thrown at me, making it hurt.
A few days ago, he had a big fight with Jiang Shan. As soon as he stepped out the door, he was in so much pain in his stomach that he could barely stand. He managed to get downstairs, but he only had time to send his location to Gao Ming before he leaned against the wall outside Jiang Shan's residential area, seeing stars.
Li Li rushed over and said that he had emotional gastritis, and that vomiting too much had triggered stomach spasms. He gave him an injection to relieve the spasms.
The needle stopped his stomach cramps, but it also ruined his good appetite, which he had maintained for 32 years.
Li Li said that his stomach was empty and he was experiencing acid reflux. He said that his condition was due to hunger and that eating something would relieve it immediately. However, Zhu Meng had no desire to eat any of the delicious food prepared by the chefs.
He was so hungry in the middle of the night that he vomited. He couldn't stand it anymore, so he ran to the kitchen and cooked a big meal.
He placed various Chinese and Western dishes on the table, but neither touched his chopsticks nor his knife and fork. He simply sat on the soft chair, quietly watching the smoke rising from the dishes gradually dissipate.
It's like waiting for someone who will never appear.
But if this person will not appear, what is the point of his waiting?
He didn't understand; he just sat there from night until day.
Li Li was afraid that his boss would starve to death, and that he himself was getting old and would lose his job and have to find a new employer. Despite Zhu Meng's cold and aloof demeanor all day long, he insisted on giving Zhu Meng nutritional injections every day.
Zhu Meng spent several days trying to clear his mind, not sleeping at all, but he wasn't idle either.
He reclined on the chaise longue and knitted the sweater he had originally planned to give to Jiangshan, stroke by stroke. The gray yarn was a color he often used.
But wouldn't it seem too old-fashioned to use it on Jiang Shan?
Although Jiang Shan doesn't like to wear pink, yellow, or purple like ordinary girls, she does have her favorite colors.
According to his observation, Jiang Shan likes the color blue.
It was a perfectly good sweater, with only a few stitches left to finish, but Zhu Meng just couldn't bring herself to do it.
He stared at the sweater for over ten minutes, frowning, wanting to unravel all the threads, but finally stopped amidst Gao Ming's exclamation.
"Although Miss Jiang doesn't wear gray clothes often, it doesn't mean she doesn't like them. Maybe it's just that women's clothing doesn't come in gray very often, and Miss Jiang wants to wear it but can't find any to buy?"
That makes sense.
The ill-fated gray sweater remained, and the blue yarn ball was once again wrapped around the crochet hook.
Staring at the words Jiang Shanfa posted, Zhu Meng not only felt nauseous, but also felt a surge of bitterness in his heart, as if he had swallowed hundreds of tons of salt in just a few minutes, so salty that he wanted to cry.
Jiang Shan is indeed bothered by their past.
But is their relationship over?
He just hasn't been able to accept PEG yet, but he has accepted Jiang Shan as a person.
Even if the deal falls through, goodwill should remain. Jiangshan shouldn't lose this job because of a conflict with him.
"Come back, I won't make things difficult for you because of that."
Heaven knows how much courage Zhu Meng mustered to type those words, but Jiang Shan on the other side of the screen had also been worn down by trivial family matters and no longer had the strength to compete with him.
"No." She closed her eyes and typed only those two words.
Zhu Meng panicked immediately.
Is Jiang Shan angry with him again?
Did he fail to express his meaning clearly, causing Jiangshan to misunderstand?
"Is it because the company is in S City and it's inconvenient for you to be in G City right now? Ansen Group has a subsidiary in G City. If it's inconvenient for you to come to S City, you can apply to be transferred there. I'll approve it for you, and the salary and benefits will be the same."
Jiang Shan admitted that he had shamelessly fallen for her.
He could live in a familiar house, take care of his younger sister, and continue pursuing his career.
Who wouldn't be tempted?
"Sure, thank you for your help."
Zhu Meng suddenly jumped up from his office chair. He hadn't eaten for too long and hadn't moved in one position for too long. Suddenly changing his position, everything went black.
But he couldn't care less about anything else and only gave instructions to Gao Ming.
"Book me a flight to G City, the fastest one."
Perhaps because he doesn't have to work, Jiang Shan's evenings pass quickly. He had only helped Jiang Hai with a few math problems and read a few texts when it was already 8:30.
"Sister, I've finished my preview and reviewed all the previous assignments. I want to play Plants vs. Zombies, is that okay?"
The little girl's bright, sparkling eyes blinked rapidly.
Jiang Shan felt a little reluctant to leave.
In this day and age, mobile phones have become an inseparable part of many people's lives, and she is one of them. She starts to feel anxious if she doesn't check her phone for a few minutes.
She had simply locked her phone and left it aside to set a good example while tutoring Jiang Hai.
Right now, not only Jiang Hai wanted to play on his phone, but she did too.
Hmm, looks like I should buy a backup phone.
"Okay, let's play. After all, I promised you."
Jiang Shan unlocked the phone with his fingerprint, set an alarm for nine o'clock, and then considerately opened the game "Plants vs. Zombies" for Jiang Hai: "You can only play two rounds. After nine o'clock, you have to brush your teeth and go to bed, understand?"
"Okay, okay."
Jiang Hai had just started a game when a message suddenly popped up at the top of the screen.
Zhu Meng: It's no trouble at all, you can rest for two more days.
"Zhu—" Jiang Hai drew out the word, because she couldn't pronounce the next word at all. She frowned and tried to figure it out for three seconds, but she really couldn't pronounce it, so she simply gave up. "Sister, what is this 'Zhu'? Who is it?"
Jiang Shan's face inexplicably felt hot.
"This character is pronounced 'meng,' second tone. He's one of your sister's colleagues... Don't worry about him, just do your thing."
"Okay, okay."
Jiang Hai is an obedient child. As soon as the alarm rang, she immediately paused the game she was playing and returned the phone to Jiang Shan without wasting a second.
Jiang Shan put down the pretentious paper book, took the phone, and only then did he feel that the missing piece of his soul had returned.
She patted Jiang Hai's fluffy head.
"Good boy, you'll get five extra minutes of playtime as a reward tomorrow."
Jiang Hai happily brushed her teeth and washed her face, then scrambled into bed. She took the terrible learning machine that Chen Yuan and Jiang Tao had bought for her, opened the app that Jiang Shan had downloaded for her, and put on a bedtime story.
"Goodnight, sister." She curled up on her side of the bed and smiled sweetly at Jiang Shan at the door.
Goodnight, Xiaohai.
Jiang Shan turned off the light in the side bedroom, gently closed the door, and retreated to the master bedroom.
She had originally intended to scroll through her phone for a while as usual, but when she thought about having to get up early the next day to take Jiang Hai to school, she gritted her teeth and didn't open the little green book. Instead, she brushed her teeth, washed up, tidied up the takeout box for dinner, and went to bed at ten o'clock.
Unlike her usual routine, Jiang Shan tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Just as her consciousness began to blur, she inexplicably remembered the glass of warm milk that Zhu Meng always made for her before bed.
...I'll heat myself a cup tomorrow; maybe that will help me fall asleep earlier.
I took Jiang Hai to school during the morning rush hour, and the roads were quite congested, but fortunately, the roads for electric bikes were relatively smoother.
In the morning, after dropping Jiang Hai off at school, Jiang Shan rushed to the market, intending to try cooking himself. He had just finished peeling and shredding the potatoes and was about to cook them when it was already noon.
After picking Jiang Hai up from school, the two had a takeout lunch. Jiang Shan was so tired that she collapsed on the sofa, completely unwilling to move. After finally getting Jiang Hai to school so he could attend his afternoon classes, she went home and immediately fell asleep.
Why is taking care of children so tiring?
It seems like I've done everything, yet it also seems like I haven't done anything at all.
How did Zhu Meng balance work and life when she used to prepare three meals a day for her?
He's such a busy person, yet he manages to keep up with everything.
After a drowsy afternoon at home, Jiangshan finally had some energy when he went to pick up Jianghai from school in the evening, and he turned the small electric scooter all the way to the bottom.
"Jiang Hai!" Jiang Shan called out to the little girl as he saw her two pigtails in the distance.
Jiang Hai's class was lining up to come out of the school gate. The children were all crowded together. Jiang Hai was surrounded by girls and boys in the center, talking to them with a smile on her face. She could even be distracted and let out a long "Hey—" to Jiang Shan.
"I'm leaving now, bye-bye!"
Jiang Hai waved to his friends and turned to leave, but his little hand was grabbed by another hand.
"Jiang Hai." Another blessing.
This was the seventh time he had held her hand today.
"What's wrong? Didn't I just say goodbye?" Jiang Hai tilted his head, gleaning the correct answer from Zhu Yuan's silence. "...Just because I didn't say goodbye to you alone? Okay then."
"Bye-bye and best wishes, see you tomorrow!" she smiled brightly.
Zhu nodded and released Jiang Hai's hand, saying, "Goodbye, Jiang Hai."
He said the tone of those four words was almost identical to the tone Jiang Hai used when he said goodbye, as if a tape recorder had perfectly mimicked every rising and falling syllable.
"Xiao Hai, what's your classmate's name?" Jiang Shan took Jiang Hai's schoolbag and placed it on the footrest of the electric scooter while handing Jiang Hai a small helmet.
She frowned, vaguely feeling that the little boy's name sounded strange: "His name... is 'Hospitalization'?"
"The 'zhu' in 'blessing' and the 'yuan' in 'wish'." Jiang Hai took the little helmet and fumbled for the chin strap to fasten it. "I feel his name is so special. His mom and dad must love him very much."
Jiang Shan frowned.
This surname sounds familiar...
However, compared to this surname, this given name...
"It sounds nice, and it is indeed special, but those two words sound a bit like 'hospitalization' in the context of 'entering the hospital'."
Jiang Hai's face suddenly turned pale.
She didn't get on the electric scooter immediately. Instead, amidst the chatter around her, she suddenly lowered her voice and brought her mouth close to Jiang Shan's ear, as if she wanted to whisper something.
"Sister, I'll tell you a secret, I feel that what you said about 'wishing' and 'hospitalization' are very similar, and you're right."
"Because I always see needles in Zhu Yuan's hands. I searched online before, and it seems to be something like an indwelling needle, which is left in the skin. Also, he has to take medicine during every break between classes. It's a very bitter medicine."
Jiang Shan was secretly surprised.
While it's true that wealthy people have more advanced techniques for preventing miscarriage, and can raise even the weakest and sickest babies, this one... is just too different from a normal child.
"Then be careful when you play with him, don't hurt him, we might not be able to afford to pay for it."
She felt a deep sense of sympathy.
Jiang Hai tilted his head.
"But didn't my sister tell me to treat him like a normal person?"
Jiang Shan coughed lightly twice: "We should treat him as an ordinary classmate, but we should still be careful in some details of our interactions."
"For example, if he might have a heart condition, you should play fewer games with him that require running, like eagle catching chicks or hide-and-seek. You can play those games with other classmates, and with him, you can play something like Gomoku."
Jiang Hai seemed to understand but not quite: "Oh, oh."
Jiang Shan's electric scooter had barely gone two meters when Jiang Hai suddenly cried out, "Oh dear! Sister, wait a minute! I forgot my Chinese homework!"
Jiang Shan wanted to say for a moment, "How could you be so careless? You even forgot to bring your homework!" But the moment she said it, she felt that the words were full of negative energy and were very harsh. In the end, she just stopped her electric bike and nodded calmly.
"Okay, go get it, I'll wait for you."
Jiang Hai skipped and hopped away, disappearing into the youthful, innocent faces of the group.
Outside the school gate, cars come and go. Jiang Shan looked around aimlessly, just casually observing the various aspects of life, when he inadvertently caught a glimpse of a somewhat familiar figure.
My heart started pounding.
Hmm? Isn't that man in the suit and tie Zhu Meng?
Wasn't Ke Zhu Meng in S City? How could he suddenly teleport to G City? And what a coincidence, he ended up at the gate of the Seventh Elementary School in G City!
Perhaps because her gaze lingered on him for too long, the man pursed his lips slightly, frowned slightly, and suddenly turned his head toward her.
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