"Zhengwei, go do whatever you want, I'll be fine."
He hugged her tightly, silently thanking her in his heart, though he didn't say it aloud.
"Give me some time, Qing'er," he murmured to himself. He could handle it in a little time.
*
The next morning, Yi Zhengwei was indeed gone. Yi Mantian threw a tantrum at home and called the company. Lily said that he was meeting an important client and could not be disturbed all day.
"Make him come back to see me immediately after he gets off work!" Yi Mantian said angrily, holding the phone.
Lily shrank back, looking at the schedule with difficulty, "Chairman, the general manager has plans for tonight..."
"Cancel it!"
Song Qing was still in bed, working on a small table. There was a thick stack of tissues on the large bed, and her nose was bright red.
"Director Guo, how is the factory doing right now? Are there any issues with the shipment volume of power batteries by the end of this month?"
There was a lot of static on the other end of the phone, so it seemed that Guo Sheng was currently at the Power One factory. The battery production at Power One was much more difficult than the new project, and she really wanted to go and inspect it.
"Yes, Chairman Song, I'm here right now. There are no problems. Minister Li has also come over and is inspecting each and every production line."
"Okay, report to me immediately if anything happens. Is Xiaodong here?" Song Qing was considering whether to transfer a few more people from the technical department.
"Oh, he's at the second factory. He's contacting people about shipping today."
Song Qing hung up the phone and immediately called Xia Xiaodong.
"I can't go out for the next few days, so I'm sorry to trouble you."
Xia Xiaodong hurriedly asked about her health and reassured her, "Don't worry, the shipment has been arranged, we're just waiting for the convoy to arrive tomorrow morning!"
Song Qing nodded, gave a few instructions, and then hung up the phone.
She then began reviewing the operational data from Fuhua's headquarters that Secretary Liu had sent over. After reading You Feng's financial report, she breathed a sigh of relief; Fuhua had finally weathered the most difficult period.
Aunt Zhou clicked her tongue in surprise, hurriedly moved her computer and took her phone, and nagged, "Oh dear, why didn't you wear more clothes? Spring colds are the hardest to cure, they keep coming back on and off, you have to be careful, rest is the most important thing."
Song Qing shook her head helplessly, "Sister Zhou, my period just ended not long ago, I should be fine this month. Let me take my medicine, I have too much to do, I can't stay in this drowsy state."
"How can that be? Just in case, maybe he's already pregnant. Our young master is in such good health."
Song Qing blushed and stopped talking. After drinking some brown sugar water and porridge, she fell asleep with the help of Aunt Zhou.
*
She slept until evening. Yi Mantian called her downstairs for dinner. Aunt Zhou went out to check several times, asking why Yi Zhengwei hadn't returned yet. Song Qing knew that he definitely wouldn't be coming home tonight.
Song Qing kept his head down and ate in silence, but his thoughts were no longer on the table.
After dinner, she chatted with Yi Mantian for a while. On her way upstairs, she received a call from Yin Haixin. After agreeing on a preliminary order, she started working.
She was exhausted, but for some reason, she couldn't fall asleep tonight, tossing and turning. She woke up in the middle of the night and, seeing that Yi Zhengwei was suddenly gone from beside her, felt an emptiness in her heart. He had been holding her to sleep all this time, and it had become a habit—it was truly terrifying.
She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling when the phone suddenly rang, startling her. She saw it was Guo Sheng calling and quickly answered.
"Something terrible has happened, Chairman Song!" Guo Sheng shouted breathlessly on the other end of the line, the noise deafening.
Her heart tightened. "What happened?"
"Just after midnight, the security guards discovered that the No. 2 factory had suddenly caught fire, which also caused damage to the No. 1 factory. The fire has just been extinguished. I'm calling you now because I'm expediting the investigation into the cause of the accident. Oh, the police have arrived as well. I'll talk to you about it later."
"Are there any casualties?!" she asked hurriedly, already throwing off the covers and getting up, her ears ringing from the sound of police sirens.
Guo Sheng had already hung up the phone.
She was frantic and rushed out of the room, yelling for Aunt Zhou. She almost fell down the stairs in the hallway.
"Driver Zhang, Driver Zhang, please take me to Cambridge!"
Zhou Sao got up with her hair disheveled and saw Song Qing pacing anxiously in the living room in her pajamas. Knowing something urgent must have happened, she hurriedly went upstairs to get some clothes for her to wear. Seeing Song Qing like this, looking like she had lost her soul, Yi Mantian didn't say anything, but just told Zhou Sao to go with her.
*
She tried calling Xia Xiaodong along the way, but the line was busy. The same went for Guo Sheng. Aunt Zhou reminded her to call Yi Zhengwei, but his phone was off.
She could only urge the driver to go faster, and even wished she could drive herself.
When she arrived at the factory, she saw several fire trucks and police cars crowded at the factory gate. Inside, the factory grounds were packed with workers, and the noise was deafening. Some workers were wearing coats, huddled together in twos and threes, their hair still wet. It seemed that the fire was quite large.
Factory Building No. 1 was in a particularly bad state. The lights in every aisle were blaring, and the factory walls were blackened with soot, making it look especially eerie under the stark white lights and the night sky. She stumbled towards the warehouse in Factory Building No. 1 to check the situation and ask about the shipment, but was stopped by firefighters. "Miss, you can't go in. It's still very dangerous inside. The batteries are flammable and explosive. Our professionals are cleaning up inside."
"I'm in charge, I have to get in!"
The two firefighters exchanged a glance, spoke something into their walkie-talkies, and then Guo Sheng and Xia Xiaodong rushed over. Both had black marks on their faces, especially Xia Xiaodong, whose hair was half burned and whose clothes were tattered—a truly pathetic sight. Upon seeing Song Qing, the two were filled with both sorrow and helplessness, staring at each other, unable to utter a single word. Song Qing, naturally, was terrified; her lips moved, but she couldn't utter a single syllable.
Please do not obstruct our work here.
Only after the firefighters spoke did they help Song Qing to the office building.
Seeing Song Qing's state, Aunt Zhou felt truly sorry for her. This child had poured so much effort into her, even going so far as to oppose Yi Mantian, and all that progress had been ruined. Worried, she followed Song Qing closely, constantly calling Yi Zhengwei the whole way. At this moment, she also felt a pang of resentment towards the child she had raised since childhood—how could he be nowhere to be found at such a crucial moment?
Shortly after Song Qing and his group sat down, the police arrived, saying they wanted to take their statements.
"We just investigated the workers at the accident site, but haven't found anything yet," the police said.
Song Qing pressed his head and asked Xia Xiaodong, "Were there any casualties?"