Yes, it's time to take care of him. Now that he's gone, can he really rely on Hanyan? He can't rest easy with the three women in his family.
※
Song Qing has been a bit confused at work lately. There's a corner in her heart that seems to be constantly peeling away and being repainted, over and over again.
Unable to figure it out, he focused even more on the project.
"Zhihan, did you make an appointment with President Dong today?" She opened her schedule and marked today with a big red star.
There was a loud, booming noise coming from the other end of the phone, and it took a while before a reply came.
"Yes. I've brought the samples and am preparing for the test. This process might take a while, and I might be away from Linchuan for some time." Xu Zhihan wiped his sweat and looked back at the researchers who were assembling the vehicle. In a few days, once the assembly is complete, the three-month test drive will begin.
"Okay, thank you for your hard work. If anything happens, let me know immediately, and I'll do my best to cooperate." She perked up; the project had reached its most critical moment, and there couldn't be any problems.
"Yes, I've left some people at the research institute. If there's anything I need, I'll contact them directly."
"Okay. By the way, Dad asked me to ask when you'd be free to come over for a casual meal?" She nodded, completely at ease with his work. Suddenly, she remembered something her father had asked her to do a few days ago, but she had been resisting and hadn't mentioned it.
He was stunned, felt a tightness in his chest, and his heart pounded.
"Hehe, is the teacher seeing me off?" He finally regained his sense of humor after a while.
"Call me when you're done, I'll come pick you up." She smiled back, pleased that he had defused the awkward situation. Perhaps, he was a like-minded partner.
※
"General Manager Song, frontline, General Manager Yan of Weisheng."
Just then, Song Qing saw the cooperation proposal handed over by Weisheng. Upon seeing the cooperation method section, he immediately said, "Bring it in!"
"Qing'er."
Song Qing frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure in her expression. "President Yan, it's working hours now."
Yan Xunan chuckled softly, "Alright, alright, President Song." His tone was full of teasing, revealing not a trace of seriousness.
She gently pressed her slightly aching stomach before saying, "Mr. Yan, if you called to inquire about the cooperation proposal, I was just about to ask what your intention is."
"You mean you're cooperating without expecting anything in return?" Yan Xunan obviously knew, and said calmly.
Song Qing took a deep breath, his tone somewhat stern, "Yes. President Yan, business is business, please consider this carefully."
"I said I would help you." After a long silence, he finally found his voice.
"You know, Fuhua doesn't need it right now. Besides, if I accept your approach, I won't be able to explain it to other companies. After all... we might soon be one family, and that would raise suspicions."
"Qing'er, this is just my opinion, it has nothing to do with anyone else."
"Mr. Yan, you know that no matter what, I will always give priority to Weisheng." She wasn't unmoved, but after years of experience in the business world, she was no longer the naive little sister of the Song family who could be easily manipulated by him.
Yan Xunan was clearly defeated; his handsome face instantly darkened, and his slender index finger tapped lightly on the edge of the table. Neither of them spoke again.
For a long time, Song Qing's resolute heart was shrouded in silence. Was this it? Like using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds, the city wall was not physically knocked down, but vaguely, it could no longer be found.
"President Yan, I think we need to discuss the cooperation in detail." She told herself that she was doing this only for the sake of work and for Ning'er. After all, Fuhua also had a part in Ning'er's hands. She did not back down; her mindset remained unchanged, just like it had been for any day in the past ten years.
"Okay, I'll have the driver pick you up tomorrow." Yan Xunan looked up, smiled, and slumped back in his chair. Sunlight streamed through the curtains, shining directly onto his face, dazzling and blinding, making it impossible to see his expression.
Song Qing hummed in response, hung up the phone as if it were burning her hand, then gently braced herself against the table leg, causing the chair to slide back several steps. She stared blankly at the phone, her heart pounding, then immediately clutched her chest and rushed into the lounge, vomiting into the toilet. Slowly, from the bathroom next door, faint, suppressed sobs could be heard.
Compared to wailing and crying, this kind of pain is so deep that it penetrates to the bone, leaving no room for further expression.
Chapter Fifteen: Going All Out
"Sister, it seems we have to have another match. Ten years ago, I won. This time, I will make you lose even more thoroughly! I want to see whether you are more important to Xu Nan, or whether his interests are more important."
-Song Ning
"Miss Song, I've tried to meet you several times but to no avail. Are you still thinking about what happened last time?"
Yi Zhengwei personally called Song Qing, and without hesitation, he casually and humorously recounted how he had made things difficult for her, effectively cutting off Song Qing's escape route.
"How could that be? I was just about to call Mr. Yi. It's thanks to your help that my project was able to get off to a full speed ahead of schedule." She smiled politely and immediately opened the schedule to find a suitable time.
"Oh? So that's why Miss Song is too busy to see me?" Yi Zhengwei smiled approvingly, accepting her excellent excuse.
Song Qing chuckled in agreement, then sincerely asked, "I wonder if President Yi is free on Wednesday?"
"It would be my honor." Yi Zhengwei snapped his fingers and responded happily.
"Okay. A few days ago, a friend and I came across a great restaurant..."
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do," he readily replied.
"Okay, see you at Bamboo Garden at 7 p.m. on Wednesday!" She hung up the phone.
Bamboo Garden? Yi Zhengwei stood up, his smile gone. He leaned against the window with one hand and put the other in his trouser pocket, gazing at the surrounding high-rises. His eyes settled on the Shibing Building to the west, behind which was the Liubin Hospital.
The Shihbing Building was built with his own investment, and coincidentally, it stands between two streets. His foresight back then was indeed correct, and the profits and glory that Shihbing has brought him are still talked about with great pride by everyone in the company.
Now, what used to be a short distance now requires a long detour. Even when you see each other, all you see are cold concrete blocks. Isn't this a case of creating your own trap?
He suddenly thought of Shen Xing's innocent and pure face, and turned back to the table.
"Xiao Meng".