After the divorce, he took care of his child and sold fried rice; his ex-wife was filled with regret

The restaurant was so quiet that only the faint sound of the central air conditioning could be heard.

Su Qing stood there, looking at her daughter who was burying her face behind the strawberry bear and avoiding her like the plague. A feeling of irritability and frustration welled up inside her, stuck in her chest, neither rising nor falling.

She took a deep breath, pulled out the dining chair next to Tuantuan, and slowly sat down.

She didn't pick up the bowl of cold porridge again, nor did she put on her usual airs as the group's president.

"Tuantuan," Su Qing's voice softened, "Mom works hard to earn money, we live in a big house, we hire a professional chef to cook for you, and we buy you endless new clothes. Isn't that good?"

Tuantuan peeked out from behind the plush toy, her eyes red and swollen from crying.

The little girl sniffed as she looked at her mother, who was dressed elegantly but seemed like a complete stranger.

"Mom, why did you leave Dad?"

The five-year-old child's voice still carried a strong babyish tone and a sobbing quality, but the question he asked was like a blunt knife that had not been sharpened, stabbing straight into Su Qing's heart.

Su Qing was stunned.

She looked into her daughter's clear, bright eyes, her lips moved, and for a moment she didn't know how to answer.

Talking to a five-year-old about upward mobility, about financial speculation, or about differing values?

She couldn't understand.

Su Qing gathered her thoughts and tried to explain in a way that the child could understand.

"Because Mom wants to give you a better future."

Su Qing looked at her, her tone earnest, "But Dad doesn't want to. He just wants to stay in that little kitchen, making a few bowls of noodles every day. If Mom doesn't leave him, we'll only be able to live that kind of ordinary life forever. Do you understand?"

Tuantuan shook her head.

She hugged the strawberry bear tightly, her childish voice revealing a primal stubbornness.

"Dad's noodles are delicious." Tuantuan looked at Su Qing.

"My dad takes me to school every day and waits for me at the gate in the afternoon. He tells me stories when I go to bed at night."

The little girl's tears started falling again.

"You're never home. The nanny doesn't tell stories. I don't like the big house, I miss my dad..."

Su Qing sat in the chair, her fingers slightly stiff.

"Mom is working so she can earn more money for you," Su Qing subconsciously defended herself.

"I don't want money," Tuantuan cried, shaking her head and clutching the strawberry bear's ears tightly. "I want my daddy."

Upon hearing this, Su Qing leaned back in her chair, looking at her daughter whose face was covered in tears, and suddenly felt a deep sense of exhaustion.

This exhaustion didn't come from the body, but from a deep-seated self-doubt. Had she really done something wrong?

Just then, the cell phone on the coffee table in the living room suddenly rang urgently.

Su Qing snapped out of her daze, stood up, walked out of the restaurant, and picked up her phone.

The screen displayed the name of the assistant, Xiao Li.

Su Qing pressed the answer button and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room.

"What is it?"

"Mr. Su, I'm sorry to disturb your rest."

On the other end of the phone, Xiao Li's voice sounded a little hurried, "HSBC Capital's legal team just sent an urgent email."

"Regarding the underlying agreement for the 15% of original shares pledged under your name, they require that a supplementary guarantee clause be signed before the next opening of the US stock market, which is before midnight here tonight."

Su Qing frowned deeply: "Didn't we already sign everything? Why do we need to sign again?"

"The US sponsoring institution has temporarily raised its risk assessment of the Su Group's Chengnan project."

"HSBC added conditions at the last minute to mitigate risks." Xiao Li swallowed hard. "If this supplementary clause isn't signed tonight, they will freeze the 500 million in bridge funds already deposited into the corporate account tomorrow morning. This will directly cause the roadshow for the US IPO next week to fall through."

Su Qing's face darkened.

In the game of capital, there is never any spirit of contract; there is only the perpetual transfer of interests and risks.

HSBC Capital has taken advantage of her current predicament, which is being hampered by the listing process, and is adding more pressure on her at the last minute.

"These vampires," Su Qing muttered through gritted teeth, taking a deep breath to suppress her anger.

This is no longer a matter of money; it's the final hurdle that determines the life or death of the Su Group.

Those 15% original shares were her lifeline. If there was even the slightest loophole in the agreement, all her hard work over the past three years would be for nothing.

"I can't leave right now." Su Qing glanced in the direction of the restaurant. "Can't we do it later? Or can I go directly to the company's legal department to discuss it with them first thing tomorrow morning?"

"No, Mr. Su," Xiao Li said, almost crying on the phone. "They're very firm on their stance, saying this is the final deadline. Furthermore, their legal representative is already in the conference room on the top floor of our company, specifically requesting that you personally review the agreement details with our legal director, clause by clause, and confirm and sign it on the spot. No one can do this for you."

Su Qing fell silent.

Five hundred million in funding, the countdown to the IPO, and even her future net worth of tens of billions—all are staked on this supplementary clause. One wrong step, and it's all over.

She looked back at the restaurant.

In front of the large marble table, Tuantuan was still sitting in a European-style dining chair, clutching her old strawberry bear tightly in her hands, her eyes red-rimmed.

The little girl was looking at her through the crack in the restaurant door, her face full of grievance.

On one side is her biological daughter, whom she painstakingly brought back, hoping to make amends and spend time with her.

On one side was an emergency meeting concerning the life and death of her entire business empire.

Today, looking into Tuantuan's eyes, which were just like Lin Fan's and exuded stubbornness, she felt a rare sense of unease.

She wanted to stay, to prove that she could be a good mother, to prove that she could give her child far more than Lin Fan.

But the heavy pressure of reality doesn't allow her to be willful.

If the company runs into problems, how will she maintain her current social standing?

How can we provide the best life for Tuantuan? Without a material foundation, the so-called companionship is nothing more than a fig leaf for the self-pity of the lower class.

"I see……"

Su Qing closed her eyes. "Tell the general counsel to prepare all the original contract copies. Have the other party's representative wait in the conference room; I'll be there in thirty minutes."

"Tuantuan." Su Qing walked towards the dining table, trying to make her voice sound as gentle as possible.

"Mom's company has run into a very urgent situation that affects the livelihoods of hundreds of people, and Mom has to go back for a meeting right away. You stay home and behave, okay?"

Tuantuan didn't say anything, but just shrank her face behind the strawberry bear and shook her head.

"Be good. Aunt Liu will stay here with you."

Su Qing forcibly suppressed the irritation in her heart.

"After Mommy's meeting tomorrow, I'll take you to Disney Castle and the amusement park. Whatever you want, Mommy will buy it for you."

"I don't want toys," Tuantuan said in a muffled voice, trembling with tears. "I want my dad."

Su Qing patiently reached out her hand, wanting to pat her daughter's head.

But Tuantuan instinctively dodged it.

The hand that was stretched out in mid-air froze for a moment, and finally could only helplessly retract.

Su Qing looked at her daughter, who was full of resistance to her, and her tone gradually turned cold.

"You're still young, you don't understand how complicated the adult world is, nor do you understand how much your mother has sacrificed for this family."

"When you grow up, you'll understand everything your mother is doing today."

Su Qing didn't say anything more, turned around and strode out of the restaurant.