After reassembling the paper scraps, Fan Linlang tucked the page into a stack of documents. She then left the mail inspection office, carrying the files to the top floor.
The previous incident at the club hadn’t been exposed, so naturally, it hadn’t affected the Huishang Bank’s upper management.
Zhou Zisheng was on a business trip, while the other vice presidents were working as usual.
Fan Linlang checked the leaders’ schedules at the elevator and knocked on one of the vice presidents’ office doors.
“Vice President Tu,” she said, raising the documents in her hand.
Vice President Tu responded, “Come in.”
Fan Linlang entered, took out the page from the documents, and placed it on the desk, sliding it towards Vice President Tu.
Vice President Tu, who had also been at the club on Friday, looked at the contents of the paper and asked, “Whose handwriting is this?”
“It’s Vice President Qin’s, but I found it in Director Tang’s office,” Fan Linlang added, remembering something. “Vice President Qin and Director Tang have been going out frequently lately. I wonder if it’s because,” she pointed at the content on the paper, “they’ve become suspicious about certain aspects of Jiujiang.”
Vice President Tu remained silent.
Fan Linlang, being clever, stopped talking at this point.
In the silence, Vice President Tu looked up and studied Fan Linlang.
Fan Linlang was someone Wei Changqiu had instructed him to take care of. At the time, Wei Changqiu’s reason was that she was obedient and sensible.
Now, Vice President Tu wondered if Fan Linlang could be an informant Wei Changqiu had deliberately arranged, having anticipated that Tang Yang and Qin Yue might become suspicious of Jiujiang.
If so, did Wei Changqiu have informants in other departments as well?
After this train of thought, the vice president looked away and said coolly, “I understand. You may go now.”
Fan Linlang’s hand, hanging at her side, clenched slightly, while her face remained exceptionally respectful. “Yes, sir.”
Downstairs, another vice president’s meeting with the department heads lasted from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
After the meeting, Tang Yang walked to the balcony at the end of the corridor to get some fresh air and called Chen Qiang.
As this part of the corridor was deserted and also a blind spot for surveillance cameras, Tang Yang vaguely described the situation.
On the phone, Chen Qiang said, “Shall we discuss this in person?”
Tang Yang replied, “Then should Jiang Shiyan and I drive to B City to see you this Saturday?”
Jiang Shiyan happened to be free this weekend.
“No need, I’m coming back tomorrow. There’s something at home,” Chen Qiang said. “How about I treat you to lunch tomorrow? You shouldn’t be as busy on Thursday as you were the past few days.”
Asking Chen Qiang for help, and he still wanted to treat her to a meal?
Tang Yang chuckled, “How could I let you do that?”
Chen Qiang made an “Oh” sound and teased, “Does Mr. Jiang like pretentious women?”
Tang Yang snorted, “He likes me.”
Chen Qiang: “Does Mr. Jiang like polite women?”
Tang Yang: “He likes me.”
“You’re becoming more and more like Mr. Jiang,” Chen Qiang joked, then asked, “Does Mr. Jiang have any plans for tomorrow noon? If not, why don’t you both come?”
“He has an important meeting tomorrow morning that will probably last until after 1 p.m. Let’s just make it the two of us to discuss business,” Tang Yang said, then seriously addressed Chen Qiang’s earlier joke, “If I looked like him, I’d be willing.”
Chen Qiang burst out laughing, “I should record this and tell on you.”
Although Tang Yang had verbally agreed to let Chen Qiang treat her to lunch, she couldn’t possibly let him go to the trouble and expense.
She booked a private room at Youran Residence a day in advance. The next day, Thursday, as soon as it turned noon, Tang Yang left work early.
Tang Yang tossed her keys to the valet, just as Chen Qiang was getting out of another car. Tang Yang pushed Chen Qiang’s wheelchair into Youran Residence.
They entered through the side door, bypassing the crowd waiting for table numbers. The main hall was still packed.
A middle-aged woman carrying an empty tray spotted Tang Yang and shouted to the front desk amidst the noise, “The short girl is here, bring the menu quickly!”
Tang Yang looked back, confused, “What short girl?”
The woman exclaimed, “Oh my!” As she put the empty tray into the cart basket, she explained, “The first time you came, President Cheng told us to remember your face. He said Mr. Jiang calls you ‘shorty.'”
Jiang Shiyan calls her ‘shorty’?
Tang Yang’s face was full of confusion.
The woman, frightened, took a step back, “Are you not the short girl?”
Did she recognize the wrong person?
Tang Yang’s expression changed from surprise to calm to a smile.
“Yes, it’s me,” she nodded politely.
“I knew it,” the woman muttered as she pushed the cart away.
Left behind were Tang Yang, her chest heaving with emotion, and Chen Qiang, who was trying hard not to laugh out loud.
Tang Yang pushed Chen Qiang into the elevator and up to the second floor.
Seeing Tang Yang’s dark face, Chen Qiang really couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore.
“Are you prone to domestic violence?” he asked.
“I wasn’t before,” Tang Yang answered seriously, “but now, I’m not so sure.”
Chen Qiang burst out laughing again.
In the private room, they ordered food.
The staff’s attitude towards Mr. Jiang’s girlfriend, codenamed “Shorty,” was extremely good. They quickly served the dishes and, following Tang Yang’s instructions, turned off the surveillance cameras before closing the door as they left.
Tang Yang took out her laptop from her bag and showed Chen Qiang some of the data she and Qin Yue had collected from the welfare institute.
Chen Qiang quickly browsed through it.
Tang Yang explained beside him, “Qin Yue and I feel that there are hidden loopholes in Jiujiang’s charity sector. We want to access Jiujiang’s internal network to check the finances.” She continued, “I previously submitted a request to Zhou Zisheng, but he didn’t approve it. The special project needs to be completed by July 30th, and now it’s July 20th, Thursday. So I’m wondering if we can use forceful means to get in within these few days.” For example, asking Chen Qiang to find a hacker on the dark web to break through the firewall.
Tang Yang was a clear-headed person. If she didn’t trust Chen Qiang, she definitely wouldn’t ask for his help.
Since she had come to Chen Qiang, she wouldn’t be evasive. She wouldn’t say something like, “Help me with something, but I won’t tell you exactly what it is.”
Moreover, there was indeed a connection between Chen Qiang and Jiujiang – the person who had betrayed Chen Qiang’s father after receiving his kindness was Wei Changchun, Wei Changqiu’s elder brother and the current chairman of the entire Jiujiang Financial Group. Chen Qiang had been expelled from the university and imprisoned for intentional injury, and the person he had injured was Wei Changchun.
Chen Qiang has always had a talent for data and programming. If he was willing to physically attack Wei Changchun to avenge his father, he must have investigated some things about Jiujiang.
That’s why Tang Yang had come to Chen Qiang.
And Chen Qiang had indeed investigated.
As he flipped through more of the data, his expression became increasingly grave.
“Jiujiang’s internal network encryption is too complex,” Chen Qiang shook his head. “The people who set up their internal network have studied the Pentagon’s systems. Just the key part could drive a person bald. Moreover, their system has built-in alarm plugins. Once it detects someone trying to force entry, it will automatically lock onto the intruder’s IP and initiate a counter-trace. So we can only enter through normal channels.”
At that time, Chen Qiang thought Jiujiang’s internal network was too secure and strict to a degree, unlike an ordinary financial group.
But as more and more things happened later, he stopped trying.
Last year, he still felt that anything related to Jiujiang was his Achilles’ heel, but now he could talk about it calmly. Chen Qiang marveled at how time heals all wounds.
Tang Yang sought confirmation: “So we can only enter using an internal employee’s account and password?”
Chen Qiang affirmed: “That’s the only way.”
So Chen Qiang had no solution either.
So they needed to think of another way.
But what other way could there be?
Tang Yang let out a long sigh, her mood quite heavy as she ladled soup for Chen Qiang. “I’ll drive you back later. I came by car, and we have a lunch break anyway.”
“My driver will come to pick me up,” Chen Qiang said, and suddenly a thought flashed through his mind. “It seems…”
Tang Yang placed the soup bowl in front of him with a light “clank.”
She also became a bit tense: “It seems what…”
Chen Qiang’s features scrunched together: “It seems I have a friend who joined a team last year. That team won a prize at Pwn2Own (World Hacker Competition), and I think Jiujiang’s internal network maintenance is done by them.” With each word Chen Qiang spoke, his expression gradually relaxed. After the last word, he made a crisp clicking sound with his tongue, confirming, “It is them!” He remembered the specific chat records.
Tang Yang lost her appetite: “During maintenance, can they enter without an account?”
Chen Qiang: “My friend can give you a channel to get in, but Jiujiang’s internal network is only maintained once a year and the time is different each year. I’ll ask about this year’s time for you, but you should be prepared for the possibility that it’s already been maintained this year.” Chen Qiang looked at Tang Yang with a slightly apologetic expression.
This was already a pleasant surprise. Tang Yang asked, “Does your friend need to keep this confidential?”
“In this era, the biggest secret is that there are no secrets,” Chen Qiang said half-jokingly. He then pushed aside the cover on his wheelchair’s armrest with his chin. His amputated hand was wrapped in a pointed cloth. As he skillfully used the plastic tip to write on his phone screen, he “showed off” to Tang Yang: “I can type with one hand and write programs with the other, very efficiently.”
Tang Yang gave a thumbs up: “Impressive.”
As they spoke, Chen Qiang sent the question.
The reply came quickly.
[SHIJ]: 7.30, 8-10am.
The tone was still as cold as ever.
Chen Qiang sent another message, asking if his friend could go in to check something.
[SHIJ]: Mm.
After chatting with his friend, Chen Qiang told Tang Yang: “There’s a downside to using the maintenance personnel’s access – you can’t copy or save any content on the interface. But there’s also an advantage – their maintenance is closed, so the system runs much faster than usual. The average loading time for a page is 0.002 seconds. He can give you the time from 9:00 to 9:30,” Chen Qiang asked, “Can you finish at that time?”
Tang Yang had planned to look back ten years. She roughly estimated the smallest font size the computer could display, her reading speed, and then calculated how fast she could load pages and record with a camera if the computer displayed normal font sizes.
“Neither will work,” Tang Yang pondered, “but we can try. I just want to find out where the charity allocations marked in their accounts went. What if I happen to find it with just a quick look?”
The food had cooled down.
Tang Yang wanted to order again, but Chen Qiang stopped her, hastily eating a few bites of cold food: “Good luck. I’ve never had much luck in gambling.”
Throughout the meal, Chen Qiang moved his lips several times, wanting to say something to Tang Yang, but after his lips moved, he concealed the complex emotions in his eyes and still didn’t speak.
Tang Yang was also gambling on luck because she had no other choice. She curled her lips slightly.
Yes, she had always encountered some metaphysical problems –
Like how it would rain every time there was a sports meet at school.
She would get constipated during her middle school and high school entrance exams.
And how every time she went to eat at Youran Residence, it was either a bright day or a bright evening.
Tang Yang and Chen Qiang finished discussing quickly and ate quickly as well.
She watched Chen Qiang get into the car before driving back to Huishang Bank.
At the bank, she parked her car in the open-air parking lot and walked for two minutes under the scorching sun to enter the building. It was just after noon.
Tang Yang returned to her department, looking extremely pale.
Ao Siqie was eating instant noodles in her cubicle and was so startled that the noodles almost fell from her mouth. “Yang,” she quickly swallowed, “Sister Yang, what’s wrong?”
Tang Yang didn’t even have the energy to laugh at her, holding her forehead as she walked: “I feel a bit nauseous.”
Ao Siqie followed closely behind Tang Yang: “Let’s go to the hospital.”
Tang Yang waved her hand: “Just get me a bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi water. The sun outside was too strong, I might have gotten heatstroke.”
“No,” Ao Siqie stepped forward to block Tang Yang’s path, “We’re going to the hospital right now.”
Tang Yang patiently explained to the young girl: “I have things to do this afternoon. Qin Yue and the others have finished the small sample experiment data for Danxin Tong, we need to run the model—”
Ao Siqie pointed outside with her small hand, saying seriously: “Then I’ll go get my phone right now and call Mr. Jiang.”
Tang Yang was taken aback.
Ao Siqie put on a serious face: “Mr. Jiang instructed me last time to notify him immediately if anything happened to you,” Ao Siqie was about to leave, “Mr. Jiang bought us so much fruit, I can’t…”
Jiang Shiyan was still in a meeting.
Tang Yang quickly stopped the young girl: “I’ll go!”
Ao Siqie lowered her hand, then smiled: “That’s more like it,” she said obediently, “I forgive Sister Yang for scolding me.”
Tang Yang raised her hand to tug at the butterfly bow on the girl’s hair bun, both annoyed and amused: “You little tattletale.”
Ao Siqie originally wanted to accompany Tang Yang, but if she left, no one would watch the office. Tang Yang pressed the young girl into her chair, grabbed her car keys, and drove to the hospital alone.
There were still many patients seeing Western doctors at noon, so Tang Yang took a roundabout approach and made an appointment with a traditional Chinese medicine specialist on her phone.
Tang Yang drove for fifteen minutes to the nearest People’s Hospital.
The traditional Chinese medicine department was a row of low, flat buildings. Tang Yang parked her car in the nearest spot, opened her umbrella, and found the consultation room just in time for her appointment.
The doctor who saw her was an old man with graying hair and a pair of string-attached reading glasses perched precariously on the tip of his nose.
He took Tang Yang’s pulse and slowly pecked at the keyboard with his index finger, asking sluggishly: “Any abnormalities in eating? For example, not eating things you used to like, or eating things you didn’t like before.”
Tang Yang usually thought she spoke slowly, but it seemed there were slower speakers out there.
“My digestive system has been a bit sensitive lately,” she answered.
The old doctor asked again: “How long has it been since your last period?”
Tang Yang thought for a moment: “Almost two months,” she said with an objectivity many patients lacked, “I’ve had irregular periods before. When I went to see a doctor, they said it was a cold uterus. I drank some Chinese medicine for a while, and it seemed to regulate it,” Tang Yang said, “Could it be that my recent lifestyle and diet have been problematic, causing my overall immunity to drop…”
The old doctor’s single finger typed surprisingly quickly, making several “tap tap” sounds: “I’m referring you to the obstetrics and gynecology department,” the printer spat out a slip of paper, which he tore off, “Take this to the third floor of the outpatient building.”
“Why go to obstetrics and gynecology?” Tang Yang was still in a daze.
The old doctor waved his hand, calling out slowly towards the door: “Next.”
Then he slowly pressed the keys again.
“Please, number A03 to…”
Tang Yang walked out of the traditional Chinese medicine department accompanied by the cold mechanical female voice, went to the third floor, saw the doctor, paid the fees, entered the ultrasound room, and until she got various test results and sat in the obstetrics and gynecology consultation room, she was still in a daze.
“It’s already been 76 days, with slight signs of miscarriage,” the female doctor flipped through the films, frowning slightly, “Have you had any check-ups before?”
Tang Yang shook her head: “No.”
The doctor: “Any symptoms of morning sickness, dry heaving, or acid reflux?”
Tang Yang: “Yes, but I thought it was a stomach problem before.”
The doctor: “Have you stopped having sexual intercourse?”
Tang Yang: “No.”
The doctor was so exasperated she stopped breathing for a second. She carefully examined Tang Yang.
The patient was wearing light makeup and an expensive shirt, probably a career woman of some sort.
Seeing her absent-minded state, the doctor thought she probably didn’t want this child. The pressure on women in the workplace is very high these days, and she has seen many patients like this.
Thinking this, the doctor said briskly: “If you want to terminate this pregnancy, I can recommend our hospital’s minimally invasive painless abortion procedure, which has an international patent,” the doctor typed rapidly while speaking extremely fast, “I’ll write you a prescription, and you can go directly to the low building behind us to pay and queue. It takes half an hour, and you can go back to work afterward,” the doctor noticed something and reminded her, “But you’re already 29, so your recovery won’t be as good as younger girls. An abortion will have a significant impact on…”
“Ah, no, no, no,” Tang Yang waved her hands as if suddenly awakening, “I want this child, I want it, I do.”
Could it be that she hadn’t fully processed it until now?
Indeed, the doctor had seen many cases where women didn’t realize they were pregnant for almost three months, but she was still impressed.
She quickly deleted the abortion appointment form and said: “Then I’ll prescribe some medication for you. Don’t worry, they’re all for maintaining the pregnancy.”
Tang Yang nodded: “Okay, okay, okay.”
The doctor continued: “During pregnancy, at least for this period, you can’t drink alcohol, avoid spicy and cold foods, reduce staying up late, avoid strenuous exercise, and abstain from sexual intercourse for the first three months.”
Tang Yang nodded like a pecking chicken: “Okay, okay, okay.”
The doctor waved her hand in front of her eyes to make sure she was awake, then said: “You might not have paid attention to what I said earlier. There’s a risk of miscarriage, so I recommend resting at home for a month,” considering the practical situation, the doctor relaxed the requirement, “At least a week,” she criticized seriously, “You’ve been too careless. Work is busy, but once you decide to keep it, you should take good care of it. If you had come a few days later, it might have been a miscarriage…”
Tang Yang repeatedly agreed, with an attitude of pleasing that even Zhou Zisheng and others had never experienced.
Tang Yang came out of the consultation room, her face alternating between complexity and smiles.
She was alone, which made her particularly noticeable in the obstetrics and gynecology department.
Other women tugged at their husbands’ sleeves: “She looks so pitiful.”
Small chest, long straight legs, pretty face.
The husbands averted their gaze, showing their survival instinct by agreeing and saying: “I haven’t left you alone like that.”
The women were delighted.
Tang Yang wasn’t lost in thought; she was just distracted.
She finished everything, got her medicine, and thinking about taking leave, she went back to the old Chinese medicine doctor and managed to get an additional medical record before returning to her car.
She opened the door, sat in the driver’s seat, touched her flat belly, and still found it magical and unbelievable.
So, her abnormal behavior during that period wasn’t because of the mental stress from Danxin Tong, but because she was pregnant?
Pregnant with Jiang Dagou’s child…
Tang Yang’s hand stopped on her lower abdomen, and she couldn’t help but wonder if there might be a little Jiang puppy inside.
Thinking about it, she couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile.
Learning about her pregnancy, Tang Yang took almost an hour, but once she accepted it, her maternal thinking switched very naturally and strangely.
For example, she felt she couldn’t drive anymore.
What if the seatbelt pressed against little Jiang’s puppy? What if the steering wheel blocked little Jiang puppy’s view of the scenery? What if her pressing the gas and brake pedals made little Jiang puppy sleep uncomfortably?
The more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. Tang Yang quickly rolled out of the driver’s seat and took a taxi to the bottom of the Yixiu Building.
In the past, when she used an umbrella, she wanted to cover her face completely. Now, she kept lowering the umbrella, facing the strange looks from others, worrying if little Jiang puppy would get sunburned.
It was Tang Yang’s first time being a mother, and she was very scared when she heard “signs of miscarriage.”
She felt she wasn’t a good mother. This was her and Yan Gou’s child, and she must, must, must protect it well.
The receptionists had long been familiar with Tang Yang. Seeing her come in from the entrance, they eagerly guided her to the elevator.
Tang Yang briefly exchanged greetings with them and thanked them.
In the past, when Tang Yang came in formal attire, she always had the image of a brisk elite.
Today, she was still wearing a neat white shirt and suit skirt, but there was an indescribable warmth on her face.
One receptionist asked her colleague: “Don’t you think Director Tang seems different from before?”
The colleague agreed: “She does seem a bit different, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
When Tang Yang arrived on the top floor of Yixiu, Jiang Shiyan had just finished his meeting and was eating a boxed meal in his office.
His assistant had made a cup of lemon water outside and was about to bring it in when Tang Yang softly called to stop the assistant and took the cup from the assistant’s hand.
Jiang Shiyan was eating while looking at his phone. Hearing the slow footsteps and the sound of the door closing, he didn’t even look up.
This person’s habits were really bad.
Tang Yang forgot that she also loved playing with her phone. She inwardly complained while standing beside him, then put the water cup next to his lunch box.
After she put down the water cup, Jiang Shiyan, without even looking at her, directly pulled her white, delicate little hand and kissed her palm with his greasy mouth.
Tang Yang was greatly surprised, and Jiang Shiyan looked up at her with a smile.
“Do you usually kiss your assistant’s palm like this?!” Yang Yang’s eyes were wide open, and her shocked expression was particularly beautiful.
Jiang Shiyan pulled a tissue to wipe her palm, then put the tissue in her palm and used her hand to wipe his mouth. After wiping leisurely, he finally pulled her into his arms and explained with eyes full of tenderness: “Every time you come near me, my heart starts beating very fast. So when my heart speeds up, I know it’s you.”
Was this a statement or a confession?
This person’s words were quite sweet. Tang Yang inspected the lunch box in front of her, which only had corners left, but there was no sugar.
She nestled in his arms and yawned softly, her eyes curving.
When Tang Yang was in the mail inspection department, she was like a pink rose, her appearance was not aggressive, but her words and actions were crisp and efficient, like the protective thorns under rose petals.
But at home, or in front of Jiang Shiyan, she would habitually take off her work persona, unconsciously exposing her softest parts.
Like a little cat, called “Little Moon,” lazily licking its paws in the afternoon sunlight.
Jiang Shiyan held her, and his heart instantly melted into a puddle.
He kissed her earlobe and couldn’t help but ask flirtatiously: “Did you miss me? Hm?”
Most of their interactions involved Jiang Shiyan going to find Tang Yang at noon. The number of times Tang Yang came to find Jiang Shiyan at noon on workdays could be counted on one hand.
Tang Yang still had something on her mind. She softly “mm-ed” and asked: “Does your family have any history of genetic diseases?”
If so, she might need to do a genetic screening.
Because they hadn’t formally discussed marriage, naturally, they hadn’t done premarital check-ups.
Although Jiang Shiyan didn’t know why she was asking this question, he still thought seriously for a moment, “No.”
Tang Yang: “Does your family have a history of twins?”
This time it was one, but if there was a history, next time it might be two.
Jiang Shiyan thought for a while again: “No.”
Tang Yang asked again: “Does your family favor boys over girls?”
“My family favors girls over boys. Look at my mom, she doesn’t want sons, only two daughters.” Jiang Shiyan thought of how his mother had criticized him when she heard he had broken up with Tang Yang, and he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Tang Yang kicked off her shoes and curled her legs on Jiang Shiyan’s chair.
Jiang Shiyan held her legs to prevent her from sliding down.
“What’s wrong, darling?” he asked.
Why suddenly ask these questions?
Tang Yang paused for a few seconds, then turned to embrace his neck, carefully rotating her body to face him.
The chair was neither too big nor too small, just right for Tang Yang and him to sit face-to-face, extremely close to each other.
Tang Yang looked up at him. “I have a secret to tell you, but don’t be scared, okay?”
Tang Yang wore a serious expression, and Jiang Shiyan composed himself, nodding for her to continue.
Jiang Shiyan had prepared himself mentally. Even if she were to announce a pregnancy now, it probably wouldn’t have a shocking effect.
When she first found out, she was stunned. Now it was his turn to be surprised.
Tang Yang changed her bag every week, and Jiang Shiyan would help her with this on weekends.
Tang Yang thought, why not let him discover the test results himself when he changes her bag this week?
He would surely stammer, “You, you, Yang Yang, when did you get, get pregnant???”
At that moment, she, as a mature and composed woman, would casually glance at him and nonchalantly say, “I’m already three months along.”
Tang Yang imagined Yan-dog’s priceless expression upon hearing this and almost couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“Come on, tell me, darling,” Jiang Shiyan lovingly stroked the top of her head.
Tang Yang smiled, her eyes rippling with mirth.
She looked at him with her large, clear eyes and said, “Jiang Shiyan, you look so handsome today.”
Jiang Shiyan was stunned.
Tang Yang sweetly repeated, “The secret is that Jiang Shiyan is especially handsome today!”
With that, she raised herself slightly and left a faint lipstick mark on his cheek.
It was light and quick, like the most refreshing breeze on a hot summer day.
Jiang Shiyan felt a tingling sensation all over. He teased her, “Oh, having lipstick on makes you so bold?”
He wanted to kiss her.
Tang Yang deftly turned her face away, hugging his face and planting more kisses. “That’s right,” she said in high spirits, “so I have to leave lipstick marks all over your face.”
Her perfume, applied behind her ears, along with her warm breath, wafted towards Jiang Shiyan’s nose. At a distance of about two fists apart, Jiang Shiyan could count each of her eyelashes, see her bright eyes, her nose tip, and her slightly parted, rosy lips.
And then there was the way her legs had somehow wrapped around his waist.
Jiang Shiyan’s mind was racing, almost driving him crazy.
He knew the door wasn’t locked, but he didn’t want to change their current position even by an inch.
He held onto Yang Yang’s ankles that were crossed behind his back, pulling them slightly closer, wanting to do something intimate.
Tang Yang refused him.
Jiang Shiyan knew she had to go back to work in the afternoon, so he had taken quite a few liberties but didn’t go too far.
After cuddling for a while, Jiang Shiyan sent Tang Yang back to Hui Shang.
When Jiang Shiyan returned to Yi Xiu, it was already 2:30 PM.
His assistant came in to report on work. After finishing, the assistant hesitated for a moment before speaking up, “Mr. Jiang, you have many lipstick marks on your face.”
Although there weren’t many people moving around the company during lunch break, and almost no one had seen it, executives would be coming up to discuss matters soon. While colleagues might find Mr. Jiang’s face full of lipstick marks amusing, it concerned his professional image, and the assistant didn’t want to be negligent in his duties.
Hearing this, Jiang Shiyan merely said “Oh,” without further comment.
The assistant cleared his throat and tentatively suggested, “Would you like to… wipe them off?”
“No,” Jiang Shiyan flatly refused.
The assistant persisted, “But when Mr. Peng and Mr. Ji come up later and see…”
Jiang Shiyan inexplicably yet confidently retorted, “Why should I wipe off what my wife left?”
The assistant was at a loss for words.
Fine, fine, we get it, you have a wife, and you have lipstick marks, as an assistant, he chose to keep quiet. Silence is golden, right?
In reality, Jiang Shiyan was just being stubborn.
To maintain the image that “Tang from the department isn’t overly passionate,” Jiang Shiyan went to the restroom to clean his face after the assistant left.
A few minutes later, when the assistant re-entered the office and saw Mr. Jiang’s face, he felt even more exhausted.
Because — Jiang Shiyan hadn’t wiped everything off. He had cleaned most of it but deliberately left the biggest and most noticeable lipstick mark.
Compared to the initial face full of lipstick marks, Jiang Shiyan’s handsome and charming face now sported a subtle hint of light red on his right cheek, making it even more alluring and ambiguous.
The assistant imagined the expressions of the senior management when they came up later, gossipy but not daring to speak, while Mr. Jiang maintained an “I know you’re curious but don’t dare to ask” look on his face. The thought made the assistant’s chest tighten.
The sun shone brightly over City A, casting a pale glow.
While Jiang Shiyan’s assistant was fretting over the lipstick marks, inside the Credit Review Department.
Seeing Tang Yang return, Ao Siqie quickly approached her, “How did it go? How did it go?”
“Just heatstroke, and a bit of a stomach problem,” Tang Yang said as she walked towards her office. “Help me push next week’s important matters to Friday, that’s tomorrow, right? And later, I’ll write a leave request for you to take to the top floor’s secretarial office for approval. If Zhou Xing is back, have him review it too. I need to take leave next week.”
Ao Siqie was concerned, “Is it really that simple? Does a stomach problem require leave?”
“That’s how it is when you get old,” Tang Yang said seriously, thinking of something, “Women over 25 don’t have much collagen left, they age quickly, their bodies deteriorate, and it all depends on diligent care. Especially if you’ve been reckless before 25, when pigments and toxins accumulate, it gets worse. For example, loving junk food, fried food, the instant noodles someone had for lunch…”
Really?!
Ao Siqie was scared and shrank her neck, going out to drink some milk tea to calm down. After Tang Yang wrote the leave request, she quickly rolled up to the top floor to help the department head apply for leave.
Zhou Zisheng had returned from his business trip. He frowned as he looked at the medical record for “acute gastritis” and couldn’t help but say, “So young and already having stomach problems, what will happen in the future… She knows I’m going to nag, so she didn’t even come up to sign the leave request herself.” Zhou Zisheng looked stern, “You go down and tell her, there won’t be a next time. Next time, even if she’s clever enough to give herself a gastric ulcer, I have the power not to approve it and let her die in pain in the department head’s position.”
Ao Siqie was very afraid of Zhou Zisheng and trembled as she listened, then went downstairs.
Not long after Ao Siqie left, several vice presidents arrived at Zhou Zisheng’s office.
The four of them went to the small conference room next to the president’s office for a confidential meeting.
Deputy President Tu, whom Fan Linlang had previously sought out, pushed the restored A4 paper in front of Zhou Zisheng, then explained the solution he and the other two vice presidents had come up with after discussion – a simple, direct, and rather brutal approach.
Zhou Zisheng slammed the table and stood up, “I disagree!”
Zhou Zisheng was the most stubborn and difficult among the four.
Deputy President Tu had anticipated Zhou Zisheng’s reaction and wasn’t in a hurry. He patiently explained, “I just passed by the secretarial office, and Tang Yang has taken a week’s leave. She’s already found her reason, we’re just going along with it. We’ll just provide food and lodging to take care of the patient, then extend Tang Yang’s one-week leave until July 31st. By the time the Jiujiang special case is over, Tang Yang will recover and return to work, and everything will be back on track.”
Zhou Zisheng sneered, “Why don’t you do anything about Qin Yue?”
The reason was obvious.
Deputy President Tu said, “Vice President Qin has been minding her own business for the past few years. If it weren’t for Tang Yang, she wouldn’t have thought of investigating the Jiujiang intranet. So if Tang Yang isn’t around, Qin Yue naturally won’t investigate…”
No matter how noble the words sounded, the essence was the same.
“I disagree,” Zhou Zisheng repeated, “What’s the difference between house arrest and kidnapping? Tell me, what’s the difference? You don’t touch Qin Yue because you’re considering the Qin family, but you touch Tang Yang without considering Yi Xiu or the Jiang family?”
Deputy President Tu: “We’ll arrange a closed training program for Tang Yang as a cover.”
Zhou Zisheng: “Why don’t you arrange a training program for Qin Yue too?”
Deputy President Tu: “Because Qin Yue doesn’t participate in training programs.”
Zhou Zisheng: “I said I disagree—”
“Zhou Xing,” Deputy President Tu looked at Zhou Zisheng meaningfully, “You have less than two years left before retirement.”
There had been diligence, there had been greed, there had been regret and helplessness, and there had been moments of power and glory.
But sitting safely in their positions until retirement was their final wish.
With Deputy President Tu’s words, Zhou Zisheng fell silent.
The four of them lapsed into a tense silence.
After a long while.
Zhou Zisheng sat down, supporting himself on the table, seemingly compromising to listen to their specific arrangements.
About half an hour later, the four left the office.
Deputy President Tu followed Zhou Xing into his office and said directly, “I know your kindness towards Tang Yang is because Zhou Mo likes her, and you gave the Jiujiang case to Tang Yang for the same reason. But now, Zhou Mo and CEO Wei are in an ambiguous relationship, and Tang Yang seems to be getting along well with Mr. Jiang.”
Zhou Zisheng nodded slowly.
Deputy President Tu said, “We’ve been old partners for so many years. I won’t put you in a difficult position. I’ll take the lead on this matter and bear all the progress and consequences. You just need to be aware of it.”
Zhou Zisheng continued to nod slowly.
Deputy President Tu said a few more words and left Zhou Zisheng’s office.
Before leaving, he closed the office door for him.
Zhou Zisheng’s mouth twitched, forcing a smile.
A pain came from his waist, and Zhou Zisheng reached out to press it. He tried to grab the water cup beside the desk, and just as he was about to touch it, Zhou Zisheng’s throat tightened, and he suddenly started coughing.
He hurriedly grabbed a tissue to cover his mouth, coughing violently, his whole body curling up in pain in the chair.
After a bout of severe coughing, Zhou Zisheng’s face was an unnatural red, and the tissue was faintly stained with crimson.
He didn’t open it to look, but directly threw the tissue into the trash can. Then he opened a hidden drawer under the desk, took out a box of capsules, opened it, poured some into his palm, and swallowed them all at once, still struggling to grab the water cup to wash them down.
Yadan oil soft capsules.
The shell color was a bit darker than the blood on the paper.
Zhou Zisheng put down the water cup, his throat bobbing once, then again. He propped his elbow on the desk, covering his face with his hand, his skin crisscrossed with wrinkles.
Zhou Zisheng took a deep breath and then exhaled.
Suddenly, hot liquid slid down his face through the gaps between his fingers, gathering more and more, silently and unknowingly, tears streaming down.
He couldn’t hold on anymore.
He really couldn’t hold on much longer.
He didn’t know if Tang Yang could stand firm, if she could stand firm, if the young girl could not be afraid, not be afraid, not fall.
He didn’t know if he could make it through this autumn and winter, to wait for the coming spring…
Author’s Note: PS: Yadan oil soft capsules are an anti-cancer drug used for the adjuvant treatment of lung cancer, lung cancer brain metastases, gastrointestinal tumors, and liver cancer. (From encyclopedia)
Recommending Qin Yue’s pre-order “The Beautiful Rich Sister”, which is the second in A Hua’s column, and randomly opens with Si Ran Gou (vulgarly opening pre-orders high).
Qin Yue’s life is slacking off at work, clubbing after work, matching handbags with sports cars, and hooking up with various types of young men.
Qin Yue’s record shows that no man can’t be seduced by money, whether they’re soft and cute, sunny, or even righteous gentlemen who practice abstinence. If there is, it must be because there’s not enough money.
Later, she met a little brat who had nothing, but still acted so arrogant in front of her.