Chapter 7, Chapter 7... Huang Shiyu just...
Huang Shiyu had just arrived home, lit a cigarette, and used one hand to send Lu Xiao a message saying he was home.
Then I threw my phone on the bed, got up, opened the window to let the smell of smoke drift out with the cold wind, and brought in the clothes I had washed yesterday.
Huang Shiyu's place is not like Lu Xiao's place. Her place is just a rented room without a living room. There is no special place to dry clothes. They can only be hung on the pole outside the window. If you are unlucky, embarrassing things can easily happen.
For example, her underwear is easily blown down, so to avoid this embarrassing moment, she hangs it inside the house.
At first, she did consider sharing an apartment with someone, but while searching for a place online, she came across many posts warning against sharing apartments.
Thinking about it, living alone is definitely more comfortable.
Huang Shiyu put away her clothes and was about to go into the bathroom to take a shower when the phone on her bed started playing music non-stop.
She didn't need to look at the contact to know who it was; the song was set up by Song Chaoye for her. Back then, during the honeymoon phase, who hadn't done a few impulsive things?
Huang Shiyu first turned off the personalized singing voice, and then pressed the answer button.
Before the other person could speak, she started the conversation herself: "I thought you wouldn't call me."
This wasn't a statement expressing a desire to salvage the relationship; it was a question.
Yes, it's an interrogation.
Her meaning was clear: she didn't even need to ask her partners for their opinions; she had already contacted the acquisition company herself. She acted first and asked for permission later.
"This is something I didn't consider carefully, but Shiyu, I'm also thinking about the company's future development. As you know, no one wants it to be better than me."
It was as if Song Chaoye was speaking in a different place. The originally noisy environment suddenly became quiet, and all that could be heard was Song Chaoye's rapid-fire speech.
Song Chaoye is right. He really enjoys making games. If he were left alone on a desert island and could only bring one item, he would undoubtedly choose to bring an algorithm.
"Didn't you see the acquisition price Black Tower offered?" Huang Shiyu leaned against the window, flicking the ash from his cigarette a few times, his gaze casually sweeping downstairs.
She lives on the fifth floor, and from this angle, she can see the streetlights illuminating the vendors' carts, people coming and going, and wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys.
It is a city full of life and vibrancy.
Six years ago, Huang Shiyu never imagined that Shanghai had a side that wasn't so glamorous.
It's hidden in a noisy, bustling residential area, where there's no overpowering perfume scent, only red bricks and tiles scorched red by the setting sun.
“I know that.”
"Although Speed Technology is a leader in emerging industries, its performance has been declining in stages for the past few months. That's why I agreed to the acquisition plan proposed by Black Tower. Black Tower is very optimistic about Speed Technology's game projects. If their company's technology is combined with substantial financing, wouldn't it be easy for them to go public?"
Despite Huang Shiyu's questioning, Song Chaoye's tone remained unchanged, maintaining his usual businesslike attitude as he helped Huang Shiyu sort out and analyze the current situation facing Speed Technology.
At this moment, they still seem like the best business partners, as if their previous indifference and arguments were just an illusion.
In recent years, the increasing demand for entertainment among the public, coupled with the rise of e-sports events, has led to the rapid emergence of a large number of game companies. Even the once-booming Speed Technology has inevitably been impacted by these emerging companies, resulting in a gradual decline in its profits.
Indeed, Song Chaoye is right. The arrival of a company will turn the situation around, which is undoubtedly the best medicine for Speed Technology, which is currently facing a tight cash flow.
But she couldn't understand why the acquisition offer submitted by Black Tower Group was for such a low amount, which did not meet market standards.
“I understand your concerns, but this concerns the future of Speed Technology, so we should proceed with caution. We can discuss it again after the investigation is completed over there.” Huang Shiyu’s eyes shifted slightly as he stared at the half-burnt cigarette between his fingers.
She smokes a silver hairpin cigarette, a women's cigarette with a mild strength, suitable for someone like her who isn't addicted to cigarettes but occasionally wants to smoke one to relieve her worries when she's feeling irritable.
Song Chaoye's breathing became noticeably heavier. "Shiyu, haven't you always wanted to succeed?"
"No, Song Chaoye, you don't understand me at all. I just want to live a better life. I didn't set a goal for myself to succeed. It's just that in the process, the two dividing lines will always intersect because of some things." Huang Shiyu inhaled the last bit of cigarette smoke and stubbed it out.
She didn't want to win or necessarily strive for first place; rather, the cost of losing was too high, and she couldn't afford to gamble.
She listened as Song Chaoye continued, "In my eyes, Huang Shiyu is a sharp sword. He never chooses to submit. As long as there is a direction, he always acts cleanly and decisively, without any hesitation. Hesitation is not like your personality."
Yes, she used to think she had exceptional business acumen and leadership skills, but now she was a bit baffled by Black Tower's acquisition plan.
She just needs more time to figure out what the problem is.
Huang Shiyu said, "I'll give you an answer by tomorrow at the latest."
Song Chaoye stared at the phone that had been abruptly hung up, unable to recover for a long time. This was the first time Huang Shiyu had hung up on him so directly and decisively.
Did she agree?
Song Chaoye took a sip of wine, a little annoyed, and said slowly, "It doesn't need her consent; it's just a formality."
"Then I wish us a pleasant collaboration." The lights in the private room were dim, and the red spider earring on Sam's earlobe was as red as a leaping flame. Sam glanced at him, raised his glass and clinked it lightly with his.
Lost in his own thoughts, Song Chao absentmindedly clinked glasses with Sam, his gaze fixed intently on his phone screen. The surroundings were deathly silent, unlike a music venue; if you listened carefully, you could still hear the faint sound of thunder.
The residential area dozens of kilometers away presents a completely different scene.
After finishing his phone call with Song Chaoye, Huang Shiyu remained in the same position, his mind a jumble of thoughts, clearly still immersed in the merger and acquisition deal.
A text message notification sounded on my phone.
Huang Shiyu turned her head and happened to see the text message interface that had been lingering for a few seconds.
With a flick of her finger, she clicked on the link. Below was a picture: rain was falling on an asphalt road, and a car had its headlights shining brightly in the rain. The scattered raindrops shimmered like a flock of dancing butterflies.
She stared blankly at the picture, recalling what had happened tonight after she saw Lu Xiao off.
"Throwing herself into my arms?"
His voice was low and clear, with a slightly hoarse quality from the rain. Standing behind her, Huang Shiyu felt as if she had been electrocuted and turned around unexpectedly.
The river view of Lujiazui, the lights of passing cars, couples strolling in the rain, and Li Xingzhou under the dim streetlights all resemble a still oil painting.
"What are you looking at?" Li Xingzhou turned his gaze to her, a half-smile playing on his lips.
They were very close now. Huang Shiyu was only half a head shorter than Li Xingzhou, and Huang Shiyu hardly needed to look up. Their eyes met lightly.
Huang Shiyu turned her face away, creating distance between them, and looked at the misty asphalt road, leaving only half of her face visible to Li Xingzhou.
"The butterflies are dancing," Huang Shiyu said calmly.
She didn't care whether the people behind her would show a hint of surprise upon hearing her words.
“You seem to like staring at the ground when it rains,” Li Xingzhou said calmly, taking a step forward to be level with Huang Shiyu.
The heavy rain was like a symphony, making her feel dazed, as if she had returned to more than ten years ago, when her mother got into a car and left her behind. She chased after the car desperately, and the car became smaller and smaller in front of her. She stood on the asphalt road, supporting herself with her knees, staring at the torrential rain. Cars kept honking in the rain, and the rain stared back at her, as if isolating her in a small world that others could not understand and that she could not enter.
“Because rainy days are beautiful too.” Huang Shiyu smiled briefly, “It’s just that you can’t capture the image of butterflies dancing.”
The fine rain falls gently, turning into butterflies as it touches the ground.
It felt like a long time had passed, or perhaps just a few seconds, when Li Xingzhou's voice dispelled the loneliness and the indifference in Huang Shiyu's heart.
"Fly high, don't fall."
After taking a shower, Huang Shiyu was still thinking about Li Xingzhou's words, "You must fly high, not fall." She was an abandoned child, out of place with the children around her, yet she desperately wanted to integrate into this world and was eager to move up. She wanted to play the hand that God had dealt her well, but she forgot that being too hasty could also lead to defeat.
After drying her hair, she composed herself and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Perhaps because she had been pondering Li Xingzhou's words for too long before falling asleep, in Huang Shiyu's dream, Li Xingzhou lay quietly beside her. His eyes, which were always smiling at her, now had a different look. His brows were furrowed, like a sharp blade, which looked somewhat eerie.
He had never appeared in her dreams in the past six years, and now she was more curious than anything else.
Why did Li Xingzhou look like this in her dream? She suddenly felt unhappy. She still hoped that he would always be smiling, even though she had always thought that Li Xingzhou was a strange person.
Huang Shiyu raised her hand to smooth the slight frown between his brows. Since it was a dream anyway, she reached out and gently hugged him.
Meanwhile, in a villa in Jing'an District, Li Xingzhou was filling a kettle with water.
How have you been feeling this past week since you came back?
"How can I possibly get any worse off?" Li Xingzhou turned his head and glanced at Xiang Zhinan, who was sitting on a high stool.
The water murmured softly. Li Xingzhou frowned as if he remembered something. "She actually pretended not to know me. Honestly, this is annoying."
"Anyway, from beginning to end, she only lied to me." Seeing that the water was almost empty, he reached out and turned it off.
Xiang Zhinan scrutinized Li Xingzhou's expression and caught a glimpse of his dejected look between his brows.
His tone was sarcastic: "Didn't she make it clear from the beginning that she was only after your money?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xingzhou frowned, handed the kettle in his hand to Xiang Zhinan, and said with a cold look, "Boil the water, cold water will make you choke."
"It's not like cold water is choking you. Li Xingzhou's house has a top-of-the-line water purification system. You can drink it directly without boiling it. He clearly can't stand people saying bad things about Huang Shiyu," Xiang Zhinan secretly complained to himself.
"So what do you really think of her?" Xiang Zhinan obediently went to boil water.
Li Xingzhou's eyes flickered: "I have no intention of forgiving her."
A note from the author:
----------------------
On the surface, this person doesn't forgive her, acting as if they don't want to say another word to her, but secretly they want to become her legal wife.
Xiang Zhinan: Stubborn to the end, keep pretending to be something you're not.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
