The meeting was chaired by Deputy General Manager Liao.

He introduced to the roomful of people: “This is Ms. Qian Fei, the head of our financial advisory team for this restructuring. She will now brief everyone on the project details and subsequent arrangements.”

Qian Fei turned on the microphone in front of her. Her crisp voice amplified and echoed clearly throughout the conference room.

She concisely and powerfully introduced the current situation of the group’s listed company and the preliminary restructuring plan, methodically coordinating the work schedules for other intermediary agencies to enter the site.

Sitting at the head of the table, she made decisive commands like a general directing a battlefield.

In the chairman’s office, Li Yifei stared at the large screen on the wall, his eyes never leaving it for a moment.

When had his woman grown so outstanding? So outstanding it almost took his breath away.

His eyes fixed on the screen, face full of pride, he said to Li Qiansheng beside him: “How about that? Quite impressive, isn’t she? This is the woman I chose! With her current brilliance, there’s no family background she couldn’t match!” He briefly tore his gaze from the screen to look at the face so similar to his own, saying, “Now I can tell her who my real father is, right?”

Li Qiansheng also stared at the screen. “I know you’ve always thought I meddle too much, always interfering with your choice of girlfriend. But you must understand, you’ll be responsible for an entire group in the future. You have to be accountable to every employee in the group. I must ensure that after I pass the baton to you, at least the family fortune won’t be squandered by some random woman you pick with your eyes closed.” He paused, then said, “This one, she seems quite capable.”

Though young, the girl possessed a rare aura that could command the situation. Every word she spoke was logical and orderly, and when assigning work, she was progressive and concise, making it easy for others to understand their tasks and willingly follow her arrangements.

The girl’s efficient work style was quite similar to his own.

No wonder, he’d heard she was personally trained by his son.

He couldn’t help but secretly glance at his son, who was staring at the screen unblinkingly, face full of pride.

This boy’s current feelings were probably the same as his own when he first heard his son had started a company, made money, and bought a villa.

The meeting lasted over two hours and was finally nearing its end.

Before adjourning, Qian Fei turned off her microphone and asked Deputy General Manager Liao beside her: “Is there someone very familiar with the listed company’s entire business operations? I’d like to learn more about the company’s business situation!”

Deputy General Manager Liao scanned the lower end of the conference table, found Wang Ruohai, and pointed at him, telling Qian Fei: “There, that one is the Business Department Director, called Wang Ruohai. He knows the listed company’s business situation best.”

Qian Fei was startled, following Deputy General Manager Liao’s gesture. Wang Ruohai was sitting not far from the door.

When she looked over, she found Wang Ruohai was also looking at her. Opposite her sat Liao Shiyu.

Liao Shiyu looked at Wang Ruohai, then followed his gaze to her.

She suddenly found the scene before her a bit amusing.

Liao Shiyu’s slightly melancholic and wistful expression almost made her think for a moment that she was the third wheel between her and Wang Ruohai.

This world was truly confusing; it was hard to tell who was whose third wheel.

Beside her, Deputy General Manager Liao was saying: “I’ll ask Wang Ruohai to stay after the meeting and have him cooperate with your work as much as possible. Ms. Qian, does this arrangement work for you?”

Qian Fei quickly turned her head and smiled, saying: “Yes, that’s fine!”

Deputy General Manager Liao turned on his microphone and announced the end of the meeting, adding: “Business Department Director Wang, please stay behind.”

Everyone at the conference table stood up, preparing to leave, suddenly creating a bustling atmosphere.

Qian Fei felt a stirring in her heart and took out her phone. As she was checking her messages, Wang Ruohai had already walked up beside her.

Deputy General Manager Liao introduced them.

Qian Fei put away her phone, looked up at Wang Ruohai, and extended her right hand, “Director Wang, hello. I hope we can work well together in the future!”

Wang Ruohai hesitated for a moment, then also extended his right hand, “Hello, Ms. Qian!” His voice sounded hoarse, and based on Qian Fei’s past knowledge of him, she almost thought he had encountered some sad event and was about to cry.

She released her hand and saw Liao Shiyu at the lower end of the conference table, her expression even more melancholic.

Li Yifei stared at the large screen on the wall, gritting his teeth: “Damn it! I let him attend the meeting to admire you, not to shake hands with you! What’s going on, Uncle Liao?” He turned his head, his face contorted, looking at Li Qiansheng, “I can’t control myself anymore. I’m going to tell her who my father is tonight!”

Leaving the conference room, Qian Fei and Deputy General Manager Liao walked side by side in front, with Wang Ruohai following behind as a subordinate.

As they walked, Qian Fei chatted casually with Deputy General Manager Liao: “I didn’t realize until now, that Qiansheng is a huge business! It’s truly remarkable how Chairman Li has grown the group to this scale! I hear his health hasn’t been good recently. His wife must be quite burdened as well.”

Deputy General Manager Liao smiled and said: “If he had a wife, it would be better. The worry is that there’s no one to share his burdens!”

Qian Fei made an “Oh” sound and asked: “Is Chairman Li still single?”

Deputy General Manager Liao was very talkative and chuckled, saying: “Single is a term for you young people. At our age, it should be called ‘widower’! Old Li’s wife passed away many years ago!”

Qian Fei made another “Oh” sound and nodded.

They reached the elevator, and Qian Fei said: “Then I’ll go with Director Wang to the Business Department to understand the situation. Deputy General Manager Liao, you can return to your office. If there’s anything, I’ll come find you!”

Deputy General Manager Liao took the upward elevator, while Qian Fei and Wang Ruohai took the downward one.

There was no one else in the elevator. Qian Fei saw Wang Ruohai standing straight behind her in the mirror, staring at her intently.

She turned around and asked: “It’s just the two of us now, you don’t need to stand so formally behind me, right?”

Wang Ruohai looked at her and smiled, a smile that seemed to contain indescribable bitterness: “You’ve become so outstanding now, outstandingly enough to make me feel ashamed.”

Qian Fei turned back. She didn’t know what to say.

If it weren’t for him, she might not have become who she is today.

For the rest of the time, Qian Fei stayed with Wang Ruohai in the Business Department Director’s office.

At first, Qian Fei seemed somewhat distracted. After a trip to the bathroom where she took out her phone and checked it again, she turned it off and gritted her teeth while washing her face.

Afterward, she settled down and focused on her work.

As it neared the end of the workday, Qian Fei said to Wang Ruohai: “I might need to look at some more materials. Do you mind working a bit of overtime?”

Wang Ruohai looked at her and said in a deep voice: “How could I mind? This kind of time is what I long for now, but in the future, it might be something I long for but can’t have.”

Everyone else had gradually left. The vast office area was left with just the two of them.

Qian Fei was so engrossed in reading the materials that she lost track of time. When she looked up again, she found Wang Ruohai sitting opposite her, staring at her unblinkingly.

She suddenly felt a bit of pressure in her chest.

She closed the folder and stood up, “Let’s stop here for today. There’s not much left, I’ll look at it tomorrow.”

Wang Ruohai sat across from her, reluctant to move.

Qian Fei had no choice but to call out to him: “Shall we go?”

Wang Ruohai stood up and walked in front of her, looking down at her.

“Two years ago, Yao Jingjing rushed to the company and cornered me, pointing at my nose and saying, ‘Wang Ruohai, someday you’ll realize how blind you were. Someday you’ll discover you picked up sesame seeds but lost a watermelon. Someday you’ll cry when you realize you’ve lost a treasure you can never find again in this life!'” He paused, his eyes reddening, “Yao Jingjing was right. I was indeed blind. I did pick up sesame seeds and lost a watermelon. I did lose my treasure!”

Qian Fei took a deep breath. She hadn’t expected Yao Jingjing to have done these things for her silently.

She looked at Wang Ruohai and said, word by word: “Wang Ruohai, let’s look forward. There’s no point in always thinking about what happened in the past. If we don’t look forward, I wouldn’t be who I am today!”

She finished speaking and turned to leave, no longer looking at what expression Wang Ruohai might have on his face.

In this world, there’s no time machine to turn back time, nor is there a remedy to make up for regrets. Everyone must be responsible for what they’ve done in the past.

She didn’t want to soften her heart for a man’s regrets. Because another man had done more for her, even though he had handled some things in a way that didn’t make her happy.

When Qian Fei and Wang Ruohai walked out of the building, the sky was already dim.

She took out her phone to check the time, but the screen didn’t respond when she pressed the home button. Only then did she remember she had turned it off.

She put the phone back in her pocket. After that, she seemed a bit distracted.

Suddenly, Wang Ruohai shouted “Watch out!” from behind. Before she could turn to look, she was pushed away from behind by him.

She stumbled and fell to the ground. As she turned her head, she saw Wang Ruohai had fallen where she had just been standing, rubbing his head with a pained expression. Beside him was a half-meter square sign with a freshly painted character for “school” on it.

Qian Fei quickly got up and ran to Wang Ruohai’s side, supporting him and asking: “Are you alright?”

Two people ran over from behind, apologizing nervously and repeatedly.

“We’re so sorry! We’re teachers from the English school upstairs. We were trying to dry the paint on the sign quickly by hanging it outside the window. We didn’t expect it to fall and hit someone! Are you alright? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Qian Fei, supporting Wang Ruohai, also asked: “Should we go to the hospital?”

Wang Ruohai, seeing her anxious expression, actually smiled, “I’m fine, don’t worry!”

Qian Fei took a taxi to send Wang Ruohai home.

As Wang Ruohai was about to get out of the car, he said to her: “Feifei, seeing you worry about me, I feel it would be worth it even if I were crippled or killed by that sign!”

Qian Fei calmly told him: “I would worry about anyone who took such a hit for me. And Wang Ruohai I have a boyfriend now!”

Wang Ruohai’s gaze changed from eager to sorrowful, and finally, he got out of the car with a lonely silhouette.

Qian Fei looked away and told the driver to turn around and head towards her home.

When she arrived home and opened the door, she saw Li Yifei sitting on the sofa watching TV.

They spoke almost in unison.

Li Yifei, with a hint of urgency: “Why are you back so late, and your phone was off!”

Qian Fei, in a flat tone: “When did you come? Don’t you need to go home to accompany your father?”

Then they both paused. Qian Fei said: “Oh, maybe my phone battery died.”

Li Yifei came over, pressed her shoulders to make her sit on the sofa, and then pulled up a chair to sit opposite her. Rubbing his hands, he said: “Jinjin, I want to tell you something, but after I say it, can you not get too angry? Or if you feel angry, please hit me, scold me, or abuse me, but don’t mention breaking up or anything like that, okay?”

Qian Fei smiled and said: “That depends on what it is! Go ahead, tell me what you want to say.”

Li Yifei chuckled and said: “It’s quite a simple matter. I just want to tell you what my father’s name is!”

Qian Fei smiled again, her smile so bright it made Li Yifei nervous. “Your father? I guess your father should be called Li Qiansheng. Am I right?”