I was forced to start the second round because I was raised in poverty

Chapter 371 The Pitiful Old Deng
"Come in."

Su Tianyan's deep and magnetic voice came from inside the room.

Bai Zihua pushed open the door and entered. A faint scent of perfume wafted towards him, mixing with the cigar scent that Su Tianyan usually wore, creating a strange and ambiguous atmosphere.

However, what made Bai Zihua pause was that the graceful Secretary Liu was leaning against the bedside, her skin gleaming like ivory under the light.

What made Bai Zihua most uncomfortable was that she was completely naked, with only a thin, silky blanket casually covering her body.

The woman's eyes were languid. When she saw Bai Zihua enter, she showed no shyness, but simply put on an extra coat that Su Tianyan usually wore.

Bai Zihua quickly looked away from the woman, feeling embarrassed and awkward.

He calmly walked to the bedside, trying his best not to look at the woman.

"President Su, there's been a situation with the young master that I need to report to you."

"You say it."

Bai Zihua's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

His gaze inevitably swept over Secretary Liu not far away again, and the meaning behind this pause was very clear.

In this matter... it is not appropriate for Secretary Liu to be present.

Bai Zihua felt a bit awkward.

Secretary Liu was sensible; she didn't say anything more, nor did she have the right to say anything.

After noticing Bai Zihua's predicament, she immediately stood up, put on the coat, and quickly left the bedroom barefoot on the soft wool carpet.

Su Tianyan got up from the bed, changed his clothes, and sat down at the desk in the bedroom.

He picked up a pen, intending to review the group's documents while listening to Bai Zihua's report.

After Secretary Liu left, Bai Zihua did not report the relevant situation directly, but instead chatted with Su Tianyan for a while about one issue.

Only after confirming that Su Tianyan was in a good mood did Bai Zihua dare to reveal that Ma Shuning was pregnant.

Bai Zihua emphasized that the Ma family used underhanded tactics, which led to the incident, and that the young master was completely unaware of what was happening.

After listening, Su Tianyan's expression turned solemn, but he remained silent.

Through careful observation, Bai Zihua sensed that something was wrong.

Su Tianyan was like a volcano about to erupt, calm on the outside but churning with magma inside.

This anger doesn't manifest as loud roars or heated arguments, but rather permeates every subtle expression and movement.

Su Tianyan's face was taut, and the wrinkles that were usually deep from the years were now twisted into a deep frown.

His lips were pressed into a cold, hard line, and the contours of his jawbone were made particularly distinct by his clenched teeth.

His gaze was no longer gentle or weary as usual, but sharp as a knife, yet unfathomable.

Su Tianyan's eyebrows were lowered so low they almost met his eyes, creating a gloomy and oppressive feeling.

His pupils contracted slightly, like two deep wells, reflecting not flames, but ice cold enough to freeze a person.

Bai Zihua avoided direct eye contact with Su Tianyan at this moment, but the cold glance from her made him shudder.

He was wondering if it was a good time to give a report.

After observing the situation, Bai Zihua believed that now was the best time to report.

He cannot delay for too long, because the longer he delays, the more likely he is to miss the best time to terminate the pregnancy.

Bai Zihua didn't tell anyone about this, including Su Sheng and Long Ruoli.

The longer the time, the more likely things are to change.

Bai Zihua believed that now was the best time to report.

Even though they chose a time when Su Tianyan was in a good mood, President Su still seemed to feel unusually angry.

Even though Bai Zihua kept insisting it wasn't Su Cheng's fault, he still couldn't stop it...

At this moment, Su Tianyan was engaged in a fierce internal struggle.

anger.

shame.

disappointment.

Powerless.

Su Cheng's actions even made him feel betrayed.

These diverse emotions intertwined to form a scorching lava.

Su Tianyan felt like a complete failure.

Years of hard work and dedication vanished in an instant.

The pen that was being held in his hand was unconsciously pierced into his palm in an instant when no one noticed.

The hard pen tip sank into the flesh, and dark red blood slowly seeped out.

But Su Tianyan felt no pain at this moment.

next second...

Something snapped off deep inside his brain.

Su Tianyan's eyes, which had been filled with fury like an abyss, suddenly lost focus.

Like a lake surface tossed with a pebble, it instantly loses its focus.

The taut, sculpted facial muscles relaxed without warning, replaced by blankness and confusion.

Su Tianyan blinked, puzzled, his gaze slowly returning to his bleeding palm.

"Wow……"

A loud cry, filled with childlike terror and grievance, burst from his throat, shattering the suffocating silence in the room.

Su Tianyan jerked his hand back as if he had been electrocuted, and the pen fell to the ground with a "thud".

He raised his injured hand high and then brought it close to his eyes, as if seeing the wound for the first time.

"Hand! My hand!"

Su Tianyan screamed in a tearful voice, her voice filled with fear of pain.

"It hurts...it hurts so much!"

Su Tianyan tried to touch the wound with her other hand, but withdrew it out of fear.

Large tears rolled down his cloudy eyes, tracing the lines of his face, which was etched with the marks of time yet also revealed a childlike helplessness.

Su Tianyan murmured repeatedly like a child, "Who stabbed me?"

"Who pricked my hand...it hurts so much...it hurts..."

He turned his head and looked at Bai Zihua with a completely unfamiliar gaze, choking back tears as he sought his help.

The man who was as strong as steel just seconds ago is no longer in this world.

All that remained was an elderly man, terrified by the sudden pain, whose mind had regressed to that of a child.

The complex emotions of anger were instantly overshadowed by 'forgetting'.

All that remains is the most primal, direct sensation of pain and bewilderment.

Bai Zihua's heart clenched, and his pupils constricted.

He froze upon seeing this scene.

Bai Zihua witnessed the most incredible sight of his life.

Su Tianyan, who had just been as majestic as a god and could intimidate everyone with his silence, was now like a child who had suffered a great injustice, holding up his bleeding hand and wailing with tears streaming down his face.

That face, which once instilled fear in countless business rivals, was now filled with the purest bewilderment, pain, and helplessness.

Bai Zihua's mind went blank; the scene before him was completely beyond his comprehension.

This was even more absurd and terrifying to him than the sudden bankruptcy of the Dihao Group.

Bai Zihua felt that a certain firm belief within him was crumbling.

He followed, revered, and even once regarded as a guiding light in his life that powerful man.

The creator of a vast business empire.

That omnipotent "god"...

Right before his eyes, it shattered without warning...

When Bai Zihua heard the words, choked with sobs, "My hand hurts...", he felt as if a cold hand had gripped his heart tightly. That cry completely shattered his last line of defense.

He took a deep breath, and the air seemed to carry shards of ice, stinging his lungs.

Bai Zihua was shocked because Su Tianyan, whom he followed, was slowly dying.

Years of composure and professionalism, after a few seconds of complete shutdown, were restarted in another way.

His first action wasn't to comfort Su Tianyan, but to turn around abruptly, rush to the door at top speed, lock the heavy solid wood door tightly from the inside, and pull down the blinds.

protection.

This was Bai Zihua's instinctive action at that moment.

He was no longer protecting that powerful business tycoon, but this fragile and helpless "child".

We absolutely cannot let anyone see Su Tianyan like this!

After doing all this, Bai Zihua turned around and quickly walked to Su Tianyan's side.

He crouched down and spoke softly in a tone he himself had never expected, almost like coaxing:
"President Su, don't be afraid, I'm here."

"Your hand is bleeding, let me bandage it for you."

At this moment, Bai Zihua was no longer the shrewd chief secretary, but a guardian who had been entrusted with a critical mission.

He faced the broken Emperor Group alone.

Bai Zihua had expected this, but he never imagined it would happen so quickly.

Based on his understanding of the condition and what he had learned from the doctor beforehand.

At this moment, Su Tianyan is in an intermediate state between normal aging and dementia.

That is, MCI.

This is the stage of mild cognitive impairment.

Su Tianyan will forget the whole incident, for example, he will not remember ever meeting or talking to someone.

Even with detailed reminders, it's possible to completely forget.
And this will happen more frequently and for longer as time goes on.

He will begin to struggle with completing complex tasks, and his cognitive abilities will continue to decline.

Bai Zihua calmly and composedly stayed by Su Tianyan's side.

His mind raced as he considered what to do.

Assuming that President Su doesn't remember reporting on this matter, it doesn't seem like a bad thing...

Bai Zihua was prepared for Su Tianyan to punish Xiao Cheng.

But to his surprise, President Su's emotions far exceeded his expectations and predictions.

Judging from Su Tianyan's change in emotion and aura just now, Xiao Cheng is about to be sentenced to death in the next second.

If President Su doesn't remember this matter, it would be tantamount to giving Bai Zihua the power to "withdraw" it.

Bai Zihua will definitely not report on this matter again.

He didn't want to see Xiaocheng being banished and blamed again.

This time it might not be Australia, but South Africa or some impoverished, war-torn, disease-ridden third-world country.

About two or three hours later.

Su Tianyan's eyes began to change.

The pupils, which were originally cloudy and unfocused, as if covered by a layer of mist, began to show a faint glimmer of light.

It's like an old camera struggling to refocus; the light slowly becomes clear and sharp from a blurry point.

A cold sense of order is regaining control of this body.

Su Tianyan slowly raised his head, looking around blankly, as if he had just woken up from a bizarre dream.

The relaxed muscles of his face, which had been showing signs of childlike helplessness, gradually tightened again, restoring its former sharp and hard lines.

Su Tianyan subconsciously straightened his hunched back, and that majestic aura of ruling the world returned to him silently, like a beast returning to its nest.

Immediately afterwards, Su Tianyan's gaze fell on his bandaged right hand.

He raised his hand to his eyes, his brows furrowing tightly.

At this moment, his eyes did not show the fear of a child over a wound, but rather a scrutiny of his own loss of control over his body, mixed with confusion and anger.

Su Tianyan tried to move his fingers, and the stinging pain in his palm made the coldness in his eyes deepen.

What happened to my hand?

When Su Tianyan's voice rang out again, it had completely returned to its usual deep and hoarse tone, and every word carried an undeniable weight.

The three hours that were morbid, childish, and fragile seemed to have never existed.

Upon hearing this question, Bai Zihua quickly stood up from the sofa and resumed his previous respectful posture.

"Mr. Su, you just accidentally cut yourself with a pen."

"Oh, what did you just say? Who's pregnant?"

Bai Zihua had already considered many possibilities.

One of them is... if President Su doesn't remember that he just reported Ma Shuning's pregnancy, then he won't bring it up again, but will remain silent.

At this moment, President Su's memory was very vague; he said he didn't remember, yet he did.

Bai Zihua decided to first test how much President Su remembered.

"President Su, I already told you, she's pregnant."

"Did you say that? I don't remember."

"Is it that girl, Xiao Li?"

"Am I about to have a grandchild?"

Bai Zihua: ? ?
President Su does indeed remember.

But I remembered it wrong; I only remembered half of it.

"I'm going to have a grandson!"

Bai Zihua: ???

His face once again showed a look of shock.

Has President Su had another episode in such a short time?
Su Tianyan's eyes flickered between sharpness and confusion.

Even Bai Zihua wasn't sure what state Su Tianyan was in right now.

Finally, Su Tianyan's expression froze in a state of "confusion".

"What... what's wrong with me?"

Without Bai Zihua needing to remind him, Su Tianyan immediately realized that he had just had a relapse.

It was as if a bomb had exploded in his mind.

Those eyes, which had just regained their coldness and majesty, shattered in an instant.

Instead, Su Tianyan experienced a bone-deep fear unlike anything he had ever felt in his life.

This is not about being wary of business rivals.

It's not a concern about a market crash.

It is not a fear of external threats.

Rather, it is a primal horror of being completely out of control.

This man, who was used to controlling everything and placing his will above everyone else, turned into a mentally challenged person who couldn't even control himself.

The color drained from Su Tianyan's face at a visible speed.

His jawline, which had just regained its firmness, was now trembling slightly from an uncontrollable shiver.

His tightly pursed lips unconsciously parted, as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out, only a barely perceptible hiss in his throat.

Su Tianyan struggled to look away from Bai Zihua's face.

For the first time, he dared not meet the eyes of his trusted confidant.

Because he knew that what Bai Zihua had just seen was no longer a majestic emperor, but a mentally challenged person whose brain was betraying itself.

(End of this chapter)