Song Qing watched them busily working in the kitchen with envy. Although they were a little awkward, their tacit understanding remained. Years ago, she often wandered around the Yan family home. While waiting for her meal with Xu Nan, she would often look at them in the kitchen, her mind racing with all sorts of thoughts. Her face would flush red as she would glance at Yan Xu Nan, who was sitting with his legs crossed, looking completely indifferent, and imagine what it would be like if it were the two of them... She gently shook her head, blushing at her own fantasies.
"Fool." Yan Xunan chuckled and scolded softly on the other end of the line, his eyes clearly seeing right through her.
"Come on, Qing'er, have a taste and see if your Uncle Yan's cooking skills have declined?"
Upon hearing this, stimulated by the aroma of the food on the plate, she realized that she was indeed very hungry. She nodded and began to eat attentively.
Seeing her eating so heartily, the two elders smiled with relief. Ten years is not a long time, but it is not short either. How come there was no sense of distance or unfamiliarity when they saw her again?
Seeing her eating like a child, who would have thought that Fuhua's recent success was created single-handedly by this seemingly frail woman? Song Jingmo's judgment was indeed correct.
They were aware of the Song family's situation, but business matters were still somewhat sensitive; privately, since Xu Nan and Song Ning were not yet officially engaged, they couldn't interfere, and were now awkwardly caught in the middle.
After dinner, the three of them went to the living room for tea; it was already exactly midnight.
Song Qing straightened his clothes, cleared his throat and said, "Uncle Yan, Aunt Yan, I've come today for two reasons. First, to pay my respects to you, and second, because of Ning'er's matter."
"Yes, we visited her at the hospital today. It's just some external injuries (I mentioned them before, at the beginning of Chapter 18), it's nothing serious, don't worry." This reassurance truly put Song Qing at ease. She understood what they meant and couldn't help but smile gratefully at them.
"Because of Dad's health, Mom probably can't get away. No one could have imagined that something like this would happen. Qing'er, relying on your affection, came in Mom's place. Now, they must be very uneasy about this." She carefully stated her purpose, cautiously observing their expressions.
Xu Yayue looked at her husband, sighed, and said, "Qing'er, you two sisters are practically grown up in our eyes. Although... there are some regrets, what can we not get over after all these years? As long as Xunan is satisfied, that's all that matters. We don't take this matter to heart. The entertainment industry has everything; we'll just listen."
"Auntie, I know that with the family backgrounds of the Yan and Song families, it's definitely not good for Ning'er to continue like this. Don't worry, I've already made the decision to let her go back to work at Fuhua." Since the Yan family had taken a step back, she could only consider it reciprocating by making a decision for her father.
Yan Yaping nodded seriously, agreeing that it was feasible. If Song Ning were to marry into the Song family, this arrangement would be the most appropriate.
"You came here today just for this?"
The three of them looked up and saw Yan Xunan coming downstairs looking like he was still hungover, his face as sour as could be.
Song Qing stood up and nodded to him.
"Yes, I think it's necessary to come, so that my uncle and aunt can rest assured."
"Are you really going to make her reply to Hua?" He went straight to the refrigerator, grabbed a glass of ice water, and drank it all in one gulp.
"Yes." She frowned as she watched him harm his body like this.
He shook the empty cup nonchalantly. "Dad, Mom, you should go upstairs to sleep. It's too late."
The quiet living room was now empty except for the two of them.
Song Qing felt that the atmosphere was really not suitable to stay any longer, especially since she had to go to work the next day.
"Xunan, it's getting late, I should go too."
Yan Xunan rushed over and grabbed her, his eyes filled with anger, "Do you know what you're doing?!"
"I don't understand what you mean." She pursed her lips and looked at him unhappily.
He felt a pang of panic at her cold, innocent gaze, and released her roughly in frustration. "Are you really going to do this?"
"Xunan, this was bound to happen sooner or later. Your father had the same idea before he got sick."
"Should we send her back to China?"
"No, it's about your marriage."
"Qing'er, is it really impossible between us?" He turned his back to her, gripping the back of the chair tightly with both hands, bearing immense pressure.
"Xunan, really, it's all in the past." She spoke without hesitation, leaving neither her nor him any room for illusion.
"Have you thought about the consequences?" He remained silent for a long time before suddenly speaking.
Song Qing smiled nonchalantly. They were about to become a family. Apart from the fixed status of their relationship—from now on they would be sister and brother-in-law—what other consequences could there be?
"Qing'er, until there's a result, I'll still hope..."
"No, this won't change!" She didn't want to get entangled in this pointless conversation any longer, so she grabbed her keys and left.
She simply didn't have the extra thoughts or time to consider Yan Xunan's various unusual behaviors.
Hearing the sound of her slamming the door and leaving, Yan Xunan suddenly threw the glass in his hand hard to the ground. Instantly, silver light scattered and, under the illumination of the headlights, refracted a complex and colorful luster.
"Qing'er, you forced me to this. No matter what I do, no matter how I try to create opportunities for us, you remain stubborn, just as stubborn as you were ten years ago!"
He felt utterly powerless, as if he had made a tremendous decision after exhausting all his energy, and went upstairs, his body ashen. Those two figures, one inside and one outside, were destined to drift further and further apart.
Chapter Twenty: The Female Leader
"Dad, in fact, Fuhua's listing is an inevitable trend."
-Song Qing
Song Qing's busyness was unimaginable. She had to keep an eye on Xu Zhihan's test drive while another cooperation project was waiting for her decision. However, since that night, Yan Xunan had stopped answering the phone. Companies kept calling to inquire about the situation, as the project had been dragging on for far too long.
At today's regular meeting, Lei Ming, senior executive of the finance department, along with the marketing and planning departments, jointly recommended that the company go public.
Song Qing rubbed his forehead, his face tense. In fact, the listing proposals put forward by various departments weren't without merit. Fuhua's financial situation and business development meant it could have gone public several years ago. Proposing it now was an attempt to capitalize on the positive momentum of the new projects and achieve a successful start. Moreover, Fuhua's current media exposure had significantly increased its brand awareness; if not now, when?
Regardless, Fuhua's ultimate development trend is bound to be overseas expansion, so why not seize a good opportunity?
Like Song Jingmo, Song Qing was a cautious person. Various departments had made several suggestions to Song Jingmo before, but he always gave them up after much deliberation. Now that Song Qing had taken over, and as the saying goes, a new broom sweeps clean, these departments finally submitted a joint petition. Now was indeed the opportune time; the test drive had been underway for over a month, while preparations for the market launch had already lasted six months. Any further delay would mean missing a crucial opportunity.
She sank deeply into the large leather chair, her body appearing even thinner from days of exhaustion. At first glance, one could almost see the immense weight of her burden, and even more so, the psychological pressure. She felt she had never felt such a heavy responsibility before. It wasn't that she was afraid to make the decision, nor that she hadn't seen this excellent opportunity; she was simply afraid. She feared that even the slightest mistake would plunge her into utter ruin.
Only when the sun sets and the sky is ablaze with alternating shades of yellow and red can her busy body and mind finally find a moment of respite. Reflecting on these things, the tug-of-war between gains and losses in her mind intensifies.