Chapter 27 The Domineering CEO [VIP]
The private hospital has a tranquil environment, with lush green plants and flowers growing outdoors, making it almost like a sanatorium.
Hong Yue looked at the figure standing by the window and recalled the past.
“When I first started working at Changsheng, those old guys in the group took advantage of my youth and lack of connections and deliberately made things difficult for me. I was so angry that I wanted to beat them up and then slam my fist on the table and quit.”
“Every time I complain to you, you listen quietly, pour me a glass of water, and advise me not to make decisions impulsively.”
"You're the one who taught me this principle, so why can't you understand it when it comes to yourself?"
Yan Chen was always the most mature and rational person he had ever met.
The figure by the window tilted their head slightly: "Do you think my decision was impulsive?"
Hong Yue: "...Isn't that impulsive enough?"
The two options presented suggest that the person has lost their memory and has been blinded by this relationship.
At the same time, Hong Yue also understands this loss of control.
After all, during his amnesia, Zhou Qingran was the only person in Yan Chen's world who accompanied him.
But he always felt that as long as Yan Chen regained his memory and found the people and things he knew from the previous twenty years, he would never take this false feeling so seriously.
It's a sign of Yan Chen's good manners that he didn't retaliate against Zhou Qingran.
Yan Chen remained silent.
He glanced down at his phone, which hadn't received any calls or texts from the beginning, and quietly clenched his right hand.
Impulsive? Perhaps.
But he had no other choice.
Hong Yue gleaned the answer from his silence: "...I understand."
"Brother Yan Chen, today is your last treatment, I'm here to keep you company!"
Suddenly, Su Yu pushed open the door and came in, followed by a group of doctors and nurses who were preparing.
Hong Yue met the gaze of the man looking over from the window: "I'll go after you fall asleep."
Su Yu, unaware of what had just happened, walked to the bedside, propped herself up on her hands, and sat down. She looked at the two of them and asked, "What kind of riddle are you two playing?"
"General Manager Yan has given me a job," Hong Yue explained.
Su Yu immediately changed the subject, showing no interest, and said with great enthusiasm, "After this treatment, Brother Yan Chen will regain his memory, right?"
Then we'll find out that Zhou Qingran is a complete liar and teach her a lesson.
Hong Yue: "Theoretically, it is possible to recover, but it depends on the actual treatment effect."
Su Yu didn't quite understand: "If the treatment is effective, will you be able to remember immediately after the acupuncture?"
Hong Yue: "No, I'll be in a coma for about a day."
The preparations for the conversation were almost complete, and the two quietly left the ward, watching Dr. Mo, whose hair was now gray, go inside.
Hong Yue watched the entire treatment process quietly from outside the door until Yan Chen fell into a deep sleep after the treatment ended, and Su Yu received an invitation from a friend to go shopping.
He left the hospital, took out his phone, and dialed Zhou Qingran's number.
...
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
The hospital clock quietly struck midnight.
In the ward, the man sleeping peacefully on the bed twitched his fingertips and slowly opened his eyes.
The nurses on rounds discovered that the person in the VIP ward was awake and immediately notified the doctor. Soon the room lights came on, and a group of people gathered around the bed to examine Yan Chen.
Upon receiving the news, Hong Yue drove over overnight.
When he arrived, the doctors and nurses had already finished their examinations and left, leaving Yan Chen alone in the ward, leaning against the headboard, lost in thought.
Hong Yue strode into the ward: "President Yan?!" He took a breath to check if the other party had regained his memory.
On the hospital bed, Yan Chen looked up at him in response to the sound, his phoenix eyes deep and dark.
What did he choose?
Why is it that the first thing I ask after waking up is Zhou Qingran?
Hong Yue sighed inwardly upon hearing the question, unsure whether to judge Zhou Qingran as clever or foolish.
He was a little afraid to look Yan Chen in the eye, and his gaze darted away to avoid the other man's gaze: "He chose the second one."
A long, deathly silence filled the air; it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"you,"
“…Just call me by my name in private.” The man’s voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded.
Upon hearing this, Hong Yue felt much more at ease.
"You've regained your memories?!"
Yan Chen had said the same thing before, so he must have regained his memory!
In his emotional state, Hong Yue overlooked Yan Chen's unusual expression after hearing the answer.
He had so many things he wanted to tell Yan Chen, especially the small things that had happened within the group during Yan Chen's disappearance. He needed Yan Chen to decide how to handle them...
Although Yan Chen had reappeared in the group half a month ago, it was only a preliminary familiarization under the condition of amnesia.
This is completely different from the situation where, having regained his memory, he had a clear understanding of the group's affairs.
Just as he was about to speak, Yan Chen interrupted him in a hoarse voice.
"Yes, I have regained my memories."
"However, I might not be in a good state to listen to work-related matters right now. Give me some time."
Hong Yue suddenly remembered something he had overlooked earlier and was speechless for a moment.
Things didn't go as he expected, and even after Yan Chen regained his memory, he still couldn't see clearly.
"Tomorrow is the weekend, you should talk to him." It's best to see sooner rather than later that Zhou Qingran isn't a good person.
The man didn't sleep all night.
At seven o'clock in the morning, I was discharged from the hospital and drove back to the manor.
This is the second time Yan Chen has stepped into this place that holds his childhood memories since returning to Beijing.
Although he hadn't returned for half a month, he wasn't completely unaware of what had happened at the manor.
He knew that Qingran liked to enjoy the scenery on rainy days, that Qingran would lie on the lawn outdoors in the cool evening and feel the breeze, that Qingran liked to order all kinds of delicious food from the chef, and that she especially liked his study...
He knew a lot, but unfortunately, Qingran didn't tell him directly.
The butler, who had secretly passed on the message, stood by, awaiting instructions.
Yan Chen collected his thoughts.
"He's gone?"
The housekeeper, unaware of the relationship between the two, truthfully replied, "Mr. Zhou is still resting, but he has already told us that he will be moving out today."
Yan Chen felt a little relieved when he heard that Qing Ran hadn't left yet, but when he heard that she was going to move out today, a numb, dull pain rose in his heart again.
My arm was a little weak, and I could barely hold the keys.
He gestured for the butler to leave, put down the keys, and slammed himself heavily onto the sofa.
My gaze spirals upwards along the staircase, and I can't help but imagine someone passing by it every day.
After an unknown amount of time, a sudden noise startled the man, who was lost in thought.
The door to a bedroom on the second floor was open.
As Qingran stepped out of the room, her gaze suddenly met that of the man downstairs. She paused for a moment, then continued carrying her luggage downstairs.
He carried very little luggage, only a few changes of clothes. Since summer clothes are made of light fabric, even if he also packed a few gift documents, a handbag would be more than enough.
Once downstairs, the man also got up and walked to the stairwell.
Yan Chen subconsciously reached out to take the bag from his hand.
Qingran stepped aside, looked up, and only when he got closer did he notice that the dark eyes that had been staring at him were bloodshot, and the eyelids had obvious dark circles.
"How did you get yourself into such a mess?"
The seed in my heart, withered by avoidance, was about to sprout because of this sentence.
The next second, Qingran smiled and said, "But congratulations on regaining your memories, Achen."
The familiar tone was so understated.
Yan Chen felt his heart suddenly clench, blood spurting out and spreading a sour pain, making it difficult to breathe for a moment.
"Besides that, don't you have anything else to say to me?"
"What does Ah Chen want to hear me say?" Qing Ran tilted her head slightly.
Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing him in golden light. His hair and eyelashes were tinged with a warm hue, making him appear as beautiful as a god.
Yan Chen, who was just a step away, could not be enveloped by this warmth and remained in the cold shadows.
"You owe me an explanation." His hoarse voice was calm; he didn't even blame Qingran for lying to him.
"If you have your reasons—"
Qingran found it amusing: "You believe me just because I tell you my reasons?"
"How do you know I don't believe you?" the man forced out of his throat, almost desperately.
Whether it was pressure from relatives or debts incurred due to his adoptive father's illness, he believed whatever Qingran said.
But Qingran was even stingy with lying to him.
Yan Chen felt utterly helpless. This person was standing right in front of him, yet he didn't know how to keep him there.
“I have no reason to complain,” Qingran said, her smile fading as she turned away. “Thank you for your hospitality these past few days. I should be going now.”
Yan Chen grabbed him.
The skin beneath his palm was cool and warm. Perhaps due to his panic, Yan Chen couldn't feel the pulse of another body, as if he were holding a piece of emotionless jade.
He opened his mouth, but it took a long time before any sound came out.
"...You haven't had breakfast yet."
There are many breakfast shops outside.
Noticing the struggle in her palms and wrists, she gripped them even tighter.
"Ao Ran."
A man's suppressed voice came from behind.
"...After spending so much time together, haven't you ever felt even the slightest bit of attraction towards me?"
Qingran lightly broke free from her restraints and stepped forward, her voice drifting in the air.
“I received the payment; Ah Chen was very generous.”
In addition to the property in Beijing and the house they had rented in Feixian County, Yan Chen also gave him ten million yuan in cash.
How can it not be considered generous?
*
That evening, Hong Yue received a call from the bar manager.
He said Yan Chen was almost completely drunk and told him to come and pick up his friend if he didn't want him to be taken away by random people.
Hong Yue now suffers from PTSD whenever he hears the word "pick up," and he immediately hangs up the phone and leaves without delay.
Neither he nor Yan Chen particularly enjoy drinking, but sometimes when they want to relax after work, they'll choose to have a couple of drinks at a quiet bar.
When they arrived at the bar, they asked the manager, whom they knew, and learned that Yan Chen had arrived that morning. After thanking him, they sat down next to the man.
Knowing he would be driving later, Hong Yue didn't drink alcohol and asked the bartender to bring him a non-alcoholic beverage or water.
Then he sighed and asked the person next to him, "Are you still conscious?"
He knew without even asking why Yan Chen was in this state.
He just couldn't understand what kind of spell Zhou Qingran had cast on Yan Chen to make him so unable to let go.
After finishing the rest of the drink, push the glass to the bartender.
Yan Chen didn't look at Hong Yue, but said, "Thank you for your help these past few days. I'll give you an extra year's salary as a bonus at the end of the year."
This usually goes into his private account.
It's alright, I'm not completely drunk.
Hong Yue felt a little relieved: "No need, it was just my duty. If it weren't for Zhou Qingran—" none of this would have happened.
"Two years."
"Is it worth it for someone like that?"
"Three years."
"Fine, fine, I won't say," Hong Yue raised his hands in surrender. "Shouldn't I thank him?"
After a long silence, the person next to him took the wine and started drinking again.
Hong Yue also took a sip of her orange juice and calmly asked Yan Chen for his thoughts: "What do you like about him?"
What do you like about blue dyeing?
Yan Chen himself couldn't explain it clearly.
For the first twenty-six years of his life, his life was quite dull and monotonous.
Because his parents passed away early, his grandmother, at an advanced age, had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the group. Worried about having no successor, she was particularly strict with him.
During his student years, Yan Chen's world consisted of endless books and countless tutors. After graduating and entering the company, his world became filled with endless documents and meetings.
It seems there's no difference.
He was like a machine with a pre-programmed schedule, only knowing how to complete tasks day after day, and sometimes he didn't even feel that he was alive.
Aoran...
Perhaps they had never met someone as boring as him before, which is why they lingered briefly out of curiosity before leaving disappointed.
He was left trapped in that fleeting glimpse.
The laughter and jokes of the past turned out to be a prophecy.
Not wanting to trouble his friend, Yan Chen finished his drink and asked Hong Yue to take him back to the manor.
Hong Yue drove away, and Yan Chen told the housekeeper not to worry about him. He went upstairs and locked himself in the solitary confinement room.
When he was in school, whenever he was playful or failed to complete his set goals, his grandmother would send him to the solitary confinement room to reflect on his actions.
The solitary confinement cell is a small room with nothing but a door. When the door is closed and the lights are off, it's like a black hole ready to devour you.
In the past, Yan Chen only felt lonely inside, but now, he can actually draw a sense of security from this familiar loneliness.
The man sat wearily on the ground, leaning against the wall, his left leg bent, his eyes closed, his head tilted back, and a hint of moisture flashed across his eyes.
The answer I had been searching for was to shatter the illusion of happiness with my own hands.
"Oh……"
A bitter, sigh-like laugh echoed in the darkness.
Yan Chen, your life has been utterly pathetic.
A note from the author:
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