At the time, Lin Yusen and I were on our way back to my dormitory after dinner when he just finished taking a phone call.
I had mentioned to Lin Yusen about Rong Rong and Sheng Xingjie being together during our last trip back to Suzhou. He hadn’t shown any reaction then, so I wondered why he was asking about it now.
“Yes, why do you suddenly ask?”
Lin Yusen pondered for a moment, then pulled the car over to the side of the road. My heart skipped a beat, sensing something wasn’t right: “What’s wrong?”
Lin Yusen asked me: “Xiguang, how well do you know this classmate?”
“Not very well. I told you before, I lived at my uncle’s house most of my college years.”
“Her father was once the deputy head of a large state-owned enterprise in Nanjing. About seven or eight years ago, he was reported for financial issues and dismissed from his position. He’s worked several private sector jobs since then.”
I was stunned: “How do you know?”
“After attending your classmate’s wedding, I asked around. I had my ambitions then,” he showed a slight embarrassment. “It’s natural to do some basic research on people around Sheng Xingjie, especially since she ran into my face.”
“So?” I asked puzzled, “What are you trying to say? Will Rong Rong’s family background affect her relationship with Sheng Xingjie? Will Uncle Sheng and Aunt Qian oppose it?”
That was certainly possible.
However, Lin Yusen shook his head: “I have no goodwill toward your classmate, but I must inform you. Xingxiu just mentioned on the phone that Sheng Xingjie has been going on arranged dates since after Spring Festival, and seems to have settled on a target he’s pursuing – not your classmate.”
“What?” I was shocked beyond words, stuttering, “You… you’re saying he’s two-timing?”
“He probably hasn’t succeeded in pursuing her yet. A few days ago, he invited someone to dinner at the old mansion, claiming they were just friends, but…” he left the rest unsaid.
I took a while to digest this, mumbling: “How dare he? This is too shameless, too much.”
“Indeed, it’s incredibly brazen, beyond my expectations. When I was at Sheng Yuan, he was quite proper and methodical.” Lin Yusen contemplated, “Perhaps he suppressed his true nature for too long, and now that he feels his position is secure, he’s acting recklessly.”
“Is his position secure?”
Lin Yusen gave a mocking smile, “A secure position is never given by others.”
His fingers lightly stroked the steering wheel, “How do you plan to handle this?”
“Of course, I’ll tell Rong Rong immediately, can’t delay,” I answered without hesitation. “I’ll call her as soon as I get back.”
Lin Yusen affirmed, “That’s the right thing to do.”
“But Xiguang, I should warn you – from my observation, this classmate of yours bears you no goodwill. If she doesn’t want others telling her the truth, how will you handle it?”
I was taken aback: “How could that be? Although she’s unlikeable, she’s always been proud.”
Lin Yusen raised his eyebrows: “You’re so sure? You don’t know her.”
This time I thought carefully before answering: “I’m sure. She wouldn’t tolerate something like this. Besides, regardless of what kind of person she is, I have to tell her once I know, otherwise, it feels like I’m complicit with Sheng Xingjie.”
A smile appeared in Lin Yusen’s eyes as he reached out to pat my head, “Sorry, I was being too suspicious.”
“Not at all, you told me about this without a moment’s delay.”
“Do you want to call her now?”
“Let’s wait until I get back,” I said after some consideration.
Back at the dormitory, I realized a problem – I didn’t have Rong Rong’s phone number.
They had all changed their numbers after going to Shanghai, and while I had everyone else’s new numbers, I didn’t have Rong Rong’s. This… should I ask Xiaofeng for it in the middle of the night?
Would Xiaofeng wonder what I was up to?
Actually, on the way back I had considered whether to relay the message through a third party. My relationship with Rong Rong wasn’t good, and if I told her directly, she’d definitely feel like she lost face, maybe even think I was laughing at her.
But if I asked any classmate, Rong Rong would surely guess the information came from me since it involved the Sheng family, so there was no point. Besides, the fewer people who knew, the less chance of distortion. Although Sheng Xingjie was the shameless one, in today’s society, women usually end up bearing the brunt of public opinion.
I started pondering how to naturally ask Xiaofeng for contact information, but couldn’t think of an appropriate reason.
Or maybe another way to contact her?
Ah…
My eyes suddenly lit up. I’m so stupid, why didn’t I think of email?
Plus, email can be anonymous! If I register a new account, Rong Rong won’t know it’s me. This way things won’t be awkward between us in the future.
Fortunately, I don’t have her number.
I patted my head, gratefully opened my computer, quickly registered a new email account, and sent a simple message to Rong Rong’s email.
“Sheng Xingjie has been pursuing another woman recently, don’t be fooled by him.”
Thank goodness the dormitory recently got internet!
Then came the wait for a reply. At work the next day, I checked three times, worried that she might not use that email anymore.
Fortunately, on the third morning, when I secretly logged in to check again, I saw the email was marked as read.
It was faster than I expected. I looked at the words “read” several times before suddenly feeling relieved.
Problem solved, I hummed quietly while getting back to work. Now I process accounts very quickly, no longer the financial novice I once was. In a short while, I had processed a large batch of documents but stopped when I saw a large payment slip for auxiliary materials.
I frowned at the amount. Strangely, when someone sent me to do inventory at the factory last year, I remembered there was a lot of this auxiliary material in stock. Why such a large purchase now?
I immediately asked Little Su from the factory office for the inventory records of this material for the past two years. Looking at the records, my memory was correct – there was still plenty in stock. So I called the purchasing department, and they responded that they’ve been purchasing at this pace for years, as the company has a long-term purchase contract with the supplier.
I found this incredible – it completely defied business logic. I wanted to see how the original contract was signed, but there was no contract copy attached to the payment slip. I had to try the back door.
I messaged Lin Yusen: “Are you and Director Dai back from the meeting?”
They had been called to a meeting at the industrial park this morning.
“Not finished yet, help me and Xiao Dai get two meals.”
The industrial park calls people for meetings but doesn’t provide lunch… Well, we’re more hospitable in Wuxi~
So at lunch, I got three meals from the cafeteria and went to Lin Yusen’s office to wait for them.
Everyone in the main office had gone to lunch, so I went into Lin Yusen’s office and first pulled the Venetian blinds.
Since we’ve been together, I rarely come to his office anymore, considering the impression it might give. But now it’s lunch break, so no one saw me. I waited for over half an hour, the food almost getting cold, before Lin Yusen and Xiao Dai finally came in.
As soon as he entered, Xiao Dai said exactly what I had thought: “The industrial park calls people for meetings but doesn’t provide lunch, they’re cutting costs.”
I found it amusing and stood up, “I brought you both lunch, come eat.”
But Lin Yusen walked over and directly handed a lunch box to Xiao Dai, “Director Dai, please eat in your own office.”
Xiao Dai slowly took the lunch box, his eyes full of heartbreak, “Eating cold food is one thing, but can’t I at least get some warmth from eating together?”
Mr. Lin said coolly: “We’re having a shareholders’ meeting.”
Xiao Dai: “…”
He gave a thumbs-up and ran off.
I: “…”
The shareholders’ meeting won that round.
While eating, I quickly explained what I had discovered. After listening for a few sentences, Lin Yusen got up and went to his computer, made a few operations, and pulled up the contract for me to see.
I sat in the general manager’s chair eating and reading, and after looking at it, I lost my appetite, “This is ridiculous. When this contract was signed, there were already signs of the global financial crisis, raw material prices were trending downward, how could they lock in prices and supply quantities for six years?”
Only then did Lin Yusen explain: “This company belongs to Big Aunt’s younger brother.”
I: “…”
Well, that explains it – connections.
I went back to eating, thinking about how to handle this.
Sheng Yuan and my father aren’t stupid either – even if they’re taking care of relatives, they wouldn’t be this extreme. There must be other benefits exchanged. They got the benefits, but now we have to deal with the consequences.
But we can’t just ignore a written contract. We can only look for contract loopholes or quality issues to have room for negotiation, and we need to understand current prices from other suppliers.
“Did you know about this before?” I asked Lin Yusen.
“I asked about the situation. There was no need to deal with it before, and there’s no rush now,” Lin Yusen said simply.
I nodded in understanding. Before, he was just an assigned vice general manager, of course, he didn’t need to offend people. Now, it wouldn’t be appropriate to try to terminate previous contracts right after receiving gifted shares.
Back at work in the afternoon, I still had to dutifully enter the payment slip. But before hitting confirm, I remembered to check the final payment date and found there was still more than a week left, so I decisively canceled the entry and tossed the slip aside.
I’ll process it three days before the deadline – one day for the section chief’s approval, and one day for the cashier’s department to make the payment…
Being in finance means being meticulous!
After work, I headed to the parking lot first, planning to wait for Lin Yusen in the car. On the way, I got a call from Auntie Huang telling me that all the furniture was finally ready, including all the kitchenware and bedding I’d requested, and asking when I’d come to Shanghai to take a look.
No time like the present – at dinner, I shared this good news with Lin Yusen and invited him to attend a small housewarming party at my new place on Saturday.
Lin Yusen’s expression was hard to describe, “You call this a surprise?”
“Isn’t it? It’s so close to your place.”
Lin Yusen succinctly characterized the situation: “This can only be called running away from home but not going far.”
Then he fell silent, seeming to ponder something while eating.
I couldn’t help asking: “What are you thinking about?”
“Oh, I’m thinking,” he said thoughtfully, “my Shanghai house has been decorated for a long time, I wonder if it’s about to start leaking.”