Chapter 8
It was almost eleven when we got home. The driver parked the car, got out, opened the door for Chen Huan, then walked around to the right door and helped Li Ting out. Li Ting's body was like a pile of mud, but his mind was awakened by the river breeze along the way. He excitedly shouted that there was a future for Chen Yue, a future for Wu Ruifeng, who looked down on Feitian Moutai, but had fallen into the trap of blockchain. The worst that could happen was that he would throw half a million yuan into the water to let his brother and sister-in-law know!
The driver looked at Chen Huan and asked if he should carry the man inside. Chen Huan shook her head and said no. She took Li Ting's arm from the driver, put it around her shoulder, and carried Li Ting up the stone steps step by step, unlocking the door.
She'd drunk a bit too much, and after half an hour of sitting in the cold backseat, her head ached. Li Ting was still yelling in her ear, the smell of alcohol like the fermentation and sourness of her stomach rising up. Their faces were close together, and the sour taste from his mouth mixed with the warm steam from the rain and poured into her lungs.
The combination lock clicked open, Shen Huan kicked off her high heels, and walked in with Li Ting. Jin Tuo had gone back to his room to sleep, leaving a corridor light on for them.
Chen Huan didn't know why the smell in the room became even stronger, mixed with the pungent and sticky smell of urine.
She didn't care, and instinctively carried Li Ting to the sofa and set him down. Just as she took a breath, she heard the sound of liquid slowly dripping into the thick carpet. Shen Huan froze for a few seconds, until her toes were soaked in warm urine. In the dim hallway light, she saw a large wet spot on Li Ting's crotch. Urine had flowed down his trouser legs onto the wool carpet, soaking the sofa as well.
After helping Li Ting dry and change clothes, Chen Huan cleaned the sofa and carpet barefoot. She didn't want Jin Tuo to see the traces. Jin Tuo kept his mouth shut outside, but once the door was closed, he would occasionally complain, just in case Li Ting heard.
It was almost one in the morning when she emerged from her shower. Li Ting was sound asleep on the sofa. Shen Huan stood at the bathroom door, watching him for about half a minute. She considered going upstairs to the bedroom several times, but she finally tiptoed to the sofa, bent down, and quietly placed her finger in front of his nose. Feeling his breath, she breathed a sigh of relief.
When Li Ting entered the bedroom that morning, Shen Huan woke up half asleep. He sat down beside her bed and patted her head. She rubbed her eyes, glanced at the wall clock, turned over, buried her face in the pillow, and asked him why he was up so early.
Li Ting said he had to fly back to Hai City today to meet with several other CEOs. Shen Huan turned around, opened his eyes, and looked at him carefully. Li Ting's face looked deflated, his cheekbones more prominent, and there was a dark patch under his eyelids. But his belly was also bigger, which was probably due to attending too many banquets.
Chen Huan was worried that he'd been drinking too much at social events and not taking his blood pressure medication on time, but she couldn't say it. If he didn't drink, what would happen to him in that situation? He knew he should drink less. Just telling him to take his medication on time was just enough to appease her helpless anguish.
She asked Li Ting what time his flight was. "Can I help you pack some more?" Li Ting waved his hand and said, "Go to sleep. The suitcases were unopened last night, so just take them as they are." He softened his tone, probably letting go of the previous two days' incident. But Li Ting wouldn't be fooled so easily. One day, Chen Huan would have to reveal everything. This was the unwritten rule of their marriage: he could have his past, but she couldn't.
Li Ting asked when she was leaving for the US. Chen Huan paused for a moment before connecting. He was talking about going to the East Coast to help his son, Li Wangnan, find housing for his internship. She sat up a little in her bed and replied that her flight was booked for next Friday. She'd inquired about the internship program in New York, and the investment bank had arranged a small studio apartment in a high-rise apartment on Eighth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. She would go and help.
Li Ting said "oh", stood up and patted her shoulder, saying, "You two have fun, walk around, I'll reimburse you." Chen Huan took his hand that was covering her shoulder, looked up and asked, "Do you want to come with me?"
How can I go, ancestor? Li Ting laughed out loud, as if comforting a unreasonable child, I have a lot of things to do here.
Chen Huan said that you were in the United States half a month ago, and if I wanted to go there, you would separate from me.
Li Ting sighed again and turned to look at his phone. He just smiled to show his support and didn't try to coax her.
That... Chen Huan tugged at his hand again and whispered, "The day has come." She looked up at him, her eyes watery.
Li Ting didn't hear at first, uttering a perfunctory "ah," as he pulled his hand away and replied to a message on his phone. After a moment, her words finally registered in his mind, and he quickly said, "Oh, come on then!" He sat down on the bed, and Chen Huan moved closer. He leaned over the bed, peeled off his pajamas, and pulled off his pants by the hem. His underwear was the same pair Chen Huan had put on him last night after he'd gotten drunk.
He lay down, and the rest of the work was hers. Shen Huan propped a pillow behind his head, neither too high nor too low; his neck had to be firmly padded. A few minutes later, it was over. Shen Huan's chest was heaving, and her whole body was wet. The bedroom was stuffy from a night without ventilation. She had drunk too much last night, and she felt tired when she moved. Sweat was dripping from the tip of her nose.
Getting off him, Shen Huan took a few tissues from the bedside.
Li Ting looked at the ceiling and chuckled, asking, "How's it going? Is everything okay? If I hadn't drunk too much last night, you'd be so tired today!" Shen Huan crawled back into the quilt, leaned against his arm, closed her eyes, and soon fell asleep again.
When she woke up again, Li Ting was gone. She called him again. She said, "I saw on the news that Meng Zixian has come out." Li Ting replied absentmindedly, "Hey, go ahead." It seemed like there was someone else around him.
"I..." Chen Huan stuttered, "The opening ceremony of Yixiang... I'm a little worried... Will Meng Zixian come to cause trouble?" The money he sent in was inextricably linked to Yixiang. Li Ting sneered. He said, "If you have the guts, come on, kid. Am I afraid of him?" Chen Huan swallowed hard; these words hardly reassured her. But Li Ting seemed annoyed and hung up after a few words.
Ronghe's bad debts have been accumulating more and more in the past six months. Fortunately, Wan Lin had a dinner with Wu Ruifeng two days ago, and he obtained a bridge loan of nearly 5 billion yuan from three local banks. The term is only half a year, but it has given the company a temporary relief.
Lou Hetai, however, became pessimistic. He said that within two months, if Ronghui Bank's reserves couldn't fill the hole in its bad debts, it might be forced to agree to Chenyue Group's investment. The shares in the employee stock ownership platform would be diluted, and Chenyue would receive about one-fifth of the equity.
Chen Huan didn't understand why this was a bad thing. Although everyone's shares would be diluted, the funding gap would be filled, which was better than rolling over debt. Besides, Chenyue International was a Fortune 500 company. Six months ago, it sold its shares in an Australian oil and gas group. It had a lot of cash and was worried about where to invest it. This was a win-win situation.
Lou Hetai said the terms of the bet were harsh, an unequal treaty that was essentially a debt-for-equity arrangement. Once the terms were signed, Li Ting would have to relinquish two decision-making positions, meaning Ronghui Bank would no longer be run solely by Li Ting.
Lou Hetai paused for a moment, then pretended to be relaxed and said, "I heard from Xi Yuhui that Lao Meng has come out. Maybe he can help us!" Shen Huan listened but did not answer. Lou Hetai asked her inquiringly, "What do you think?"
Shen Huan said I don’t know, I haven’t heard anything.
Lou Hetai nodded, as if anticipating this. "It all depends on how much effort he's willing to put in. If he gives it his all, this small gap won't be a problem." Lou Hetai's tone was firm. "We'll have a good chat with him then. We're old friends, and Sunac was built by him. He can't just stand by and watch, can he?"
Chen Huan lowered her head, her lips taut with tension. She didn't know how to respond. Three months ago in the hospital, Meng Zixuan had told her, "Apologize to me and let the past be over." She had no idea how long ago or what he meant by "the past." But he harbored hatred for her; she could tell. This hatred wasn't just directed at her; it was also directed at Li Ting.
She asked me why I should apologize, as I had done nothing wrong. She didn't see her face at the time, but she must have put on a solemn expression in front of him to cover up her guilty conscience.
"Do you believe it yourself, Huanhuan? Then what are you doing here today?"
Shen Huan shuddered in the sweltering heat of late May.
Had she really done anything wrong? She definitely had. After knowing Meng Zixuan for so many years, he had this ability to make her repeatedly reflect on herself, insisting that she was always making mistakes, that everything she did was unreasonable, and that her demands were always irrelevant. Perhaps knowing him was the real mistake. Having no connection with him for all these years, she no longer had to dwell on self-blame.
Lou Hetai glanced at Chen Huan and said hurriedly, "Sister-in-law, look at my mouth. I always say bad things. Don't mind it. Our technology consulting business is small, so trouble won't find us." Lou Hetai turned around and said that Lu Xiaofan had gone to his tea factory to pick a few kilograms of tea leaves and asked Chen Huan to come to his house for dinner in the evening.
At noon on Friday, Chen Huan packed his bags and prepared to leave for the airport, while Li Ting went home to take a nap. The two of them barely exchanged a word before Chen Huan left, asking Jin Tuo to remind Li Ting to get a physical tomorrow.
She entered the United States at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Fourteen hours of recirculated cabin air had left her skin tight and dry, and her thick, long hair was tied into a messy bun, with strands clinging to her neck. She slowly made her way through the serpentine customs line. Behind her were two Spanish-speaking backpackers, their voices so loud that the uniformed officer came over to warn her.
Unable to use his phone, Shen Huan could only stare blankly at the welcome video playing repeatedly on TV, the sound drowned out by the Spanish voices in the background. On the left side of the hall was the line for American citizens and permanent residents. It moved quickly, with a few scattered people waiting, only to disappear back at the entrance.
Another flight landed, and the queue gradually filled the entire arrival hall. The staff moved the three citizen windows on the left over to help, and just happened to divert the queue from Shen Huan.
At this time, she saw Meng Zixuan.
He was followed by an African-American man and a blonde woman, who hurried through the automatic doors. The three figures stood out in the crowd. They were all wearing ordinary dark jackets, but their tall figures revealed the straight, imposing figures of trained men. The man had strong shoulders and a sturdy back, and the woman had neat short hair. As they passed, people in the queue paused to whisper and glance up.
Chen Huan didn't recognize the other two, but he could tell they were also military. Having spent years at Fort Benny, he could roughly tell the difference between models or athletes and those who had enlisted. The latter had a quieter, sharper expression, a deadly coldness.
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