Chapter 1 The Beginning
Longguo, Fengcheng.
First People's Hospital, inpatient department.
Chen Jiuyang secretly smoked a cigarette in the restroom and returned to his hospital bed.
Then the doctor and nurses walked in and closed the ward door.
Even through the door, Chen Jiuyang's pained groans could be heard from the corridor.
...
...
Europe, Berlin.
Yao Zixuan opened her eyes:
"What's wrong with him?"
"Jiuyang vomited blood during a meeting last month. I took him to the hospital and he was diagnosed with liver cancer. Because it was discovered too late, his condition couldn't be controlled. Jiuyang has at most a few months left."
"After you left that year, Jiuyang told me he wanted to make money, a lot of money. I asked him why, but he didn't say."
"Over the years, he's worked himself to death to make money, but he never sought out women. I guessed it was for you."
"Once I went to see him, he was still working overtime. His employees ate overtime meals costing thirty or forty yuan, but he, the boss, ate a ten-yuan boxed meal in his office. I asked him why he was doing this, that he was a big boss now, no need to abuse himself like this. He told me the money he saved was for a purpose."
"After his condition was diagnosed, he told me, 'Old Hu, it seems the money I saved won't be needed anymore.'"
Hearing this, Yao Zixuan's hand trembled.
Hu Qijie said many things about Chen Jiuyang. Finally, Hu Qijie said, "Yao Zixuan, I know it's not appropriate for me to call you today, but I still asked my family for your number. You listened to your grandfather back then and didn't end up with Jiuyang. After going to Germany, you never came back. Jiuyang doesn't have much time left. I beg you, consider it my plea, come back to see him one last time!"
"I'm calling you behind his back. I think he'd really want to see you again, but he's afraid of causing you trouble."
"I'll give you his hospital address. The decision is yours."
After speaking, Hu Qijie hung up the phone.
Yao Zixuan put down her phone, turned her head to look at the passing scenery outside the car window. Perhaps it was the morning sunlight, but Yao Zixuan's eyes on the car window were red.
After finishing the call, Yao Zixuan handed her phone to her female secretary.
She arrived at the company.
"President Yao."
"President Yao."
"President Yao!"
Employees kept greeting Yao Zixuan along the way.
Most of these employees were Chinese. German students didn't need to pay tuition to study in Germany, and these students were generally very outstanding. Yao Zixuan's company had many such Chinese employees.
The conference room was filled with people, all high-level executives of the group company.
"Tap!"
"Tap!"
The crisp, familiar sound of high heels echoed. The conference room immediately fell silent. Before she arrived, her voice preceded her.
Any one of these people could be more than ten years older than Yao Zixuan, possessing strong skills and experience. Yet, facing a woman more than a decade younger than them, they sat upright like primary school students.
Yao Zixuan walked into the conference room like a primary school teacher.
"Good morning, President Yao!"
This greeting was a mix of Chinese and German.
Yao Zixuan sat in the main seat and remained silent.
The female secretary stood beside Yao Zixuan: "The meeting begins."
Everyone focused intently on the meeting, from the group company's strategic direction, resource deployment, to customer needs, and even employee salary adjustments. The conference room was as lively as a marketplace.
"Airplane!"
Yao Zixuan, who had been silent from the start, suddenly spoke from the main seat.
The conference room instantly fell silent, so quiet one could hear a pin drop. Everyone looked at Yao Zixuan.
"President Yao, did you just say airplane?" a senior executive asked cautiously.
"Arrange a flight to Longguo," Yao Zixuan's voice carried a hint of emotional fluctuation.
All the senior executives trembled slightly, not for any other reason—
Yao Zixuan's facial features showed uncontrollable emotional fluctuations.
"Immediately!"
"At once!"
"I want it now!"
It is said that meeting the right person in a vast crowd has a probability of one in thirteen million.
Many people are fortunate enough to meet them at the age of eighteen.
They appear in front of you without any psychological preparation, and then they part ways.
And then, for the rest of your life, you never interact again.
Perhaps in the dead of night, you might regret it, thinking if I had been more mature back then, I wouldn't be in this situation now.
Some people, after wasting their youthful prime, might only find someone to settle down with.
There is nothing in this world that can be bought with regret.
...
...
Fengcheng First People's Hospital.
Yao Zixuan found Chen Jiuyang's ward according to the address given by Hu Qijie.
This ward was a VIP room, and it was clear that Hu Qijie had asked his family to secure this room for Chen Jiuyang.
This level of ward had three head nurses and specialist professors on duty around the clock for constant patient care.
As Yao Zixuan approached the ward, a fat man and a girl in her early twenties walked out.
"Yao, Sister Yao?" Chen Yating asked uncertainly.
"It's me. Where is he?" Yao Zixuan's eyes seemed to be trying to catch a glimpse of the activity inside through the small window on the door.
Hu Qijie, now a greasy middle-aged fat man with a beer belly, spoke with a complex expression, "The doctor just finished the treatment. He's asleep."
Yao Zixuan opened her mouth, wanting to say she wanted to go in and see him, but couldn't bring herself to speak.
Chen Yating said with a hint of indifference, "You can see him after my brother wakes up."
The ward door was not fully closed, and Chen Jiuyang's weak voice could be heard from inside: "Old Hu, has Yating left? If she's gone, hurry up and get me a cigarette. This pain is killing me."
Chen Yating immediately walked into the ward angrily.
Hu Qijie sighed and said, "Go in."
The two followed Chen Yating's steps into the ward.
"Brother, why aren't you sleeping?" Chen Yating asked Chen Jiuyang aggressively.
Chen Jiuyang, with a pale face, sat on the hospital bed, gasping and said, "The pain is so bad I can't sleep at all. Besides, sleeping is such a waste of time."
At this moment, Hu Qijie and Yao Zixuan also walked into the ward.
After more than ten years, Chen Jiuyang recognized Yao Zixuan at a glance.
He forced a smile, "You're here."
Seeing Chen Jiuyang's condition, Yao Zixuan's eyes immediately turned red. She smiled brilliantly, "I came to see you."
Twenty years. Even a block of cold stone would have warmed through by now.
"I didn't expect you to come," Chen Jiuyang said.
Yao Zixuan, with red eyes, sat beside Chen Jiuyang, "I should have come, I really should have."
"Thank you for coming to see me," Chen Jiuyang said.
Yao Zixuan pursed her lips and remained silent, looking at Chen Jiuyang's face for about two minutes. Without saying a word, she stood up, turned her head, and rushed out of the ward.