crisis
The accident came suddenly.
The company's previous partner in a major project had serious problems with its internal assets, which resulted in the inability to obtain funds for their project, and the project was in danger of a broken capital chain.
Dongyou only received this notice near noon and urgently convened a meeting of company employees to discuss solutions.
This is really tricky.
On the one hand, this project is very important to their company, and it took a long time to negotiate with this partner. Who knew that such a thing would happen?
On the other hand, time is of the essence. This part of the payment must arrive within this month, otherwise the entire project will be canceled.
This not only caused huge losses to the company, but also wasted all the efforts that everyone in the company had invested in this project.
The meeting lasted a long time. This crisis made Dongyou's heart tighten. She even forgot that someone was waiting for her in the office to have lunch together.
It was almost three in the afternoon when the meeting ended. Dong You pushed open the office door wearily and saw the lonely lunch box on the small coffee table. Only then did she realize what she had forgotten.
She immediately took out her cell phone to explain, but she saw a red dot next to the portrait of the small tree, and the time below it was 1:30 p.m.
[I have an interview with my aunt this afternoon, so I'm leaving now. Remember to eat after the meeting.]
"Gurgle."
Dongyou's stomach finally started to growl as if it had reacted.
Ah, I’m so hungry.
But work was very urgent, so Dongyou finished his meal quickly and sent a photo of his empty lunch box, trying to be as playful as possible, and it was obvious that he wanted to make people happy.
[I've finished eating. Please check, leader.]
This even seems like an attempt to take credit for something.
Chen Qi'an replied very quickly.
【good. 】
After a while, another message came:
【Is work busy today? 】
Dong You made a direct call. She was too exhausted to type, but after hearing what Chen Qi'an said, she inexplicably developed a strong desire to share.
The phone wasn't even ringing when it was picked up: "Hello?"
The sound is warm and pleasant, like the melodious sound of a cello, gently soothing the fatigue of winter travel.
Her heart couldn't help but tremble.
Dongyou complained a little about the troubles at work.
As the youngest son of a wealthy family, Chen Qi'an lacked any business skills. He was clueless and unable to offer any effective solutions. He only knew that this project required money and that this problem could be solved with money.
He blurted out without thinking too much: "Do you need my brother's help?"
He didn't really mean anything by saying this. His brother was an expert in this area, at least much better than he was, and might be able to help Dongyou solve this problem. Furthermore, he had great faith in Dongyou's abilities. If he could convince his brother to invest, Dongyou would definitely not let him lose money—this was Chen Qi'an's mysterious confidence in Dongyou.
He sees it as a win-win situation.
Unexpectedly, Dong You's tone on the other end of the phone turned cold: "What do you mean?"
Chen Qian'an was stunned. He had never heard Dong You speak to him in this tone before, and for a moment, his throat was unable to make a sound.
Someone seemed to be talking on the phone, perhaps urging Dongyou to attend a meeting. Soon he heard Dongyou's calm and cold tone warning him, "I have a meeting. Don't take the initiative to contact anyone to help me."
"I'm not s--" Chen Qian'an wanted to explain, but Dong You hung up the phone immediately after he finished speaking.
Maybe it's really busy.
Chen Qianan tried his best not to think too much and get stuck in a dead end.
But Dong You's cold tone kept penetrating his eardrums and reaching his heart, making him unable to ignore it or relax.
If it were someone else, Chen Qian'an would have just forgotten about it, but this person was someone he cared about so much.
He knew he was stupid and always messed up his relationships with someone.
But Dongyou is different from others. If possible, he hopes that he and Dongyou will never have any misunderstandings or quarrels.
Dongyou was undoubtedly angry.
But Chen Qian'an couldn't figure it out.
Why? Why is she angry?
He was always so stupid.
Chen Qi'an called Chen Qixiao to seek help.
Chen Qixiao was the perfect person for this kind of thing; he was smart, mature, and close enough to Chen Qi'an. Unlike his parents, who had an insurmountable barrier between them, he possessed the warmth of a peer and a reassuring maturity.
"What's wrong, Xiao An?"
Chen Qixiao's voice was low, which somewhat calmed Chen Qian'an's panicked mind.
Chen Qi'an recounted the entire incident, then asked, half nervously and half pleadingly, "Brother? Why is she angry?"
After listening to Chen Qi'an's words patiently, Chen Qixiao couldn't help but sigh.
As a seasoned veteran who mingled with the public, combined with a series of rumors about winter travel and the friendship they had known since their youth, Chen Qixiao quickly understood the point of winter travel.
His silly brother is too dumb when it comes to words.
"Xiao You has been secretly mocked by some people in the industry over the years," Chen Qixiao said. "Many people say that her small company is doing so well only because she relies on her father and the entire Dong Group."
Chen Qian'an opened his mouth but said nothing.
He didn't know any of this and had never heard of it.
Chen Qixiao seemed to know what he was thinking and immediately said, "This is only what a small number of people say. It's normal that you haven't heard of it. You don't often play with these people."
Although only a small number of people said this, Dong You still heard it. She was very angry, thinking that her efforts were negated because of her superior family background.
Dong You knew the size of her company and rejected many large companies that wanted to cooperate with her as a token of their support for the Dong family.
Not to mention the Chen family, which has close ties with the Dong family and ranks first among the five major chaebols.
But even though Dong You has tried hard to avoid the halo of being the "only daughter of the Dong family", there are still many negative voices.
Some things can never be given up.
She has tried her best.
In the end, she realized that she could only try her best to do her own thing and not care what those people said.
But this doesn't mean that we don't care.
Chen Qi'an's position in her heart was incomparable to those others. What he said was more difficult for her to accept than a thousand words from others.
She wasn't angry, she was just...
"Do you understand, Xiao An?" Chen Qixiao asked him.
"I understand, brother." Chen Qi'an lowered his eyes and pursed his lips. "I will apologize to her."
Chen Qixiao laughed twice, and after hearing his brother's uneasiness, he comforted him and said, "It's okay, don't be too nervous, Xiaoyou won't blame you."
Chen Qi'an frowned and replied seriously, "Yes, I understand. Thank you, brother."
Chen Qi'an sent the aunt away after the interview with a worried heart. He looked up at the electronic clock on the wall: it was already six o'clock in the afternoon.
Usually at this time, Dongyou has already gone home from get off work.
Chen Qianan lowered his head and pursed his lips, suppressing his uneasiness and going to cook.
Cooking is a dangerous job, not to mention that this person was absent-minded and accidentally cut his hand. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and it was just a small cut, nothing serious.
Chen Qi'an disinfected the wound, put on a Band-Aid, and returned to the kitchen to continue. Hot oil splashed onto his arm again. He immediately rinsed it with water, but a red mark gradually appeared, and several small blisters bulged.
The meal is ready.
He filled two bowls of rice and placed them on the dining table. He looked up at the clock again. It was half past seven.
Logically, Dongyou should be back by now. He knew that Dongyou was in trouble and needed to work overtime. However, judging by the receptionist's praise for Dongyou, Dongyou rarely worked overtime. She was considerate of her employees and never worked overtime very late, usually leaving work at 7 o'clock.
Even if there is a traffic jam, it will take half an hour to get home from the company.
Chen Qi'an stared at the silent door. At eight o'clock, he finally took out his phone and sent a message to Dong You:
【Are you still off work? 】
He sat there for a long time, his expression serious. The house suddenly became empty and quiet, and the dim light no longer had a warm feeling.
There was no movement from the phone, nor from the door.
Chen Qian'an's heart felt like it had sunk into an ice cellar.
He did something wrong again.
At half past eight, the phone finally lit up, and Chen Qi'an saw only Dong You's concise reply on the screen:
【Working overtime, going home late tonight. 】
Chen Qi'an knew that this meant he would not come back for dinner.
He picked up the bowl and ate slowly, finally finishing at nine o'clock. He did all his movements deliberately slowly, and what usually took him ten minutes took him half an hour tonight.
It was already 11 o'clock in the evening when he finished taking a shower, which was past his bedtime.
At this moment, he was very sleepy... very sleepy... but he still leaned on the sofa, half-closed his eyes, and looked at the flickering TV screen with an expressionless face.
From time to time, I would raise my eyes and turn to look at the entrance, but I was disappointed countless times.
…
When Chen Qi'an woke up, he was confused for a moment. After he came to his senses, he realized that he had slept on the sofa all night.
Although it was summer, the nights were still a bit cold. He slept on the sofa all night without a blanket and in thin pajamas. He soon realized that his throat was not feeling well and his nasal cavity seemed to be blocked by something.
Chen Qianan frowned and went to wash up.
Fortunately, it was just a cold that caused a little irritation in his body. Apart from a slight nasal sound, Chen Qian'an didn't feel any discomfort. Even the sore throat disappeared after he washed up.
I didn’t come back from my winter outing all night.
Anxiety swept over Chen Qian'an's whole body. He sat quietly on the sofa and thought for a while before coming up with a solution.
He first asked for a day off from the company, then spent half an hour dressing himself up carefully. Without even having breakfast, he went straight to the car in the yard and rushed to Dongyou's company in a hurry.
The receptionist, with hazy eyes, was sitting at the front desk. Seeing him, she was surprised and happy and said, "Mr. Chen, why are you here so early? Mr. Dong, is there anything you want to get?"
Chen Qi'an paused: "What?"
The receptionist was still talking to herself: "But you can't just enter Mr. Dong's office without his instructions. I don't have the password to his office. Oh, right, Mr. Dong should have told you. Look at my brain. I'll swipe your card now..."
"Isn't she here?" Chen Qi'an heard something wrong and said with a frown.
The receptionist was very surprised and said, "Don't you know? Dong You flew to S City on a business trip in the middle of the night. Didn't President Dong tell you?"
Finally, she muttered in a voice that Chen Qi'an couldn't hear: "This shouldn't be..."
Chen Qian'an froze, and his hands hanging by his side quietly clenched into fists.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
