Dawn of Life

Wang Lu rolled her eyes at Lin Yue, clearly dissatisfied with her answer, and said, "Among the management departments, currently only your department and mine are directly managed by President Sheng. He's most likely from headquarters. We need to stick together and not let others bully us."

Lin Yue gave her a faint smile and ended the conversation, thinking how wise it was to refuse the administration department offer last time; now she had gained an ally. However, with a private office, she was at least a VP, not competing with Lin Yue in the same tier. Therefore, what she told Wang Lu was the truth: as long as she was easy to get along with, that was fine.

Xiao Feng has been out of contact for a week. Lin Yue isn't the type to pester him, and she absolutely doesn't believe that in this era where people are practically glued to their phones 24/7, someone could be so busy that they don't even have time to reply to a message. She certainly wouldn't unnecessarily suspect that he'd been in a car accident. If he's not replying, it simply means he doesn't want to.

But understanding and not caring at all are two different things. During the days she was out of contact, she started having stomach pains and insomnia again, and she was often lost in thought.

Su Ling cautiously observed for two days, but finally couldn't hold back any longer. While the two were eating spicy hot pot together, she asked, "Are you just going to let him get away with this? You've been to his company and his home. If I were him, I'd just storm into his company, drag him out, and demand an explanation. At the very least, I'd wait for him outside his house."

While continuing to stir her food in the large bowl of spicy hot pot, searching for quail eggs, Lin Yue casually replied, "I've already survived a divorce, what's a breakup? Besides, no reply is an answer. What kind of answer do you want? Or even if you get it, what good will it do? I won't waste my time and energy on these fruitless things, because work, life, and children are all keeping me busy enough."

Su Ling shook her head repeatedly, covering her mouth with her hand, and urgently expressed her opinion: "You started this relationship seriously, so you should end it properly. What's the point of cutting off contact? Even if you're breaking up, you should make it clear."

Su Ling paused, put down her chopsticks, blinked at Lin Yue, and tentatively said, "I've always thought Xiao Feng is a good person. His family background, career, and personality are all good, which is why I tried to match you two up. But now I still think he might have some difficulties or urgent matters to deal with. Maybe you could wait a little longer."

Su Ling genuinely felt sorry for Lin Yue. She knew that the blow Lin Yue had suffered was far more devastating than the calm she feigned on the surface. She had witnessed how Lin Yue gradually pulled herself out of the pain of her divorce, and slowly opened her heart to accept Xiao Feng.

She felt that all of this was because Lin Yue had no demands on men. She had no demands on her ex-husband, which made him take Lin Yue's sacrifices in the marriage for granted; she had no demands on Xiao Feng, which made Xiao Feng take her understanding for granted. So when her ex-husband suddenly divorced her, Xiao Feng also suddenly cut off contact.

Hearing Su Ling's final speculation, Lin Yue also felt a sliver of hope, though she desperately tried to suppress such unrealistic thoughts. She knew all too well the feeling of unfulfilled expectations—the pain and despair of being swallowed by an indescribable emptiness.

To change the subject, Lin Yue asked about Su Ling's family situation: "I heard you say last time that Auntie's condition worsened, how is she now? Why don't you go back and see her?"

Su Ling sighed and shook her head, saying, "I need to earn money, otherwise where will I get the money for medical treatment?"

Lin Yue placed her hand on the back of her hand and squeezed it, unsure of how to comfort her.

Su Ling raised her eyes, forced a bitter smile, and said, "It's okay, I've gotten used to it over the years."

So neither of them talked about those unhappy things anymore, and instead focused on enjoying the spicy hot pot in their bowls.

Xiao Feng hasn't been on a business trip these past few days, and he hasn't even left Hangzhou. Instead, he's been dealing with another woman—Jin Yingying, the female protagonist in the story he told Lin Yue in Dali.

Since Jin Yingying's divorce, Xiao Feng had been wavering between two women. That day at his house, he actually wanted to break up with Lin Yue. But even after they parted, he didn't say it.

Jin Yingying was born into a scholarly family, a typical well-bred young lady, proficient in piano and traditional Chinese painting, and grew up pampered. She was artistic and delicate, and she and Xiao Feng were kindred spirits, enjoying a harmonious relationship. Xiao Feng treated her well too; they spent two years in France, nearly two years long-distance, making it his longest relationship. Jin Yingying was also the undisputed leading lady in his later stories about his love life to other women.

Lin Yue's personality is completely different from Jin Yingying's. She is resilient and independent, and can handle everything on her own. She never relies on him, which makes him feel very at ease.

In the afternoon, Shengxing sent a message in the management group, asking everyone to go to the [Zhaixinglou] meeting in 5 minutes.

Lin Yue recalled that the last time Shengxing called all the managers to the conference room was when Xiao Feng came to Dasheng as a consultant. He had made a point of supporting Xiao Feng then, which was nine months ago. So much had happened in those nine months.

The meeting room filled up quickly. Since the meeting was announced at the last minute and had no specific topic, everyone was a little uneasy. During the few minutes of waiting, some were deep in thought, some were whispering to each other, and some were absentmindedly scrolling through their social media feeds.

Just then, a figure entered through the conference room door. Everyone looked up and focused their attention on the doorway. Soon, they saw that it was Shengxing who had entered, followed by another person.

Sheng Xing clapped his hands and announced loudly, "Let me introduce you all. This is our new COO—Xiao Feng. He's consulted for our company before, and I believe many of you have dealt with him. From now on, Mr. Xiao will be in charge of all functional departments, including Human Resources, Administration, Legal, Investment and Financing, etc. Please give him a warm welcome!"

Lin Yue felt a sudden boom in her mind, and the applause around her was completely blocked out. At this moment, all she could hear was the pounding of her heart.

It felt like a stone was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe. Lin Yue knew this was her body's stress response; whenever she encountered something unexpected and beyond her control, her body would warn her in this way.

She felt the gazes from all directions. The last time Xiao Feng publicly came to her rescue at the company was when she officially announced her divorce. Afterwards, Xiao Feng had repeatedly appeared downstairs at Dasheng Company as her boyfriend, waiting for her after get off work. So now, almost everyone in this conference room knew they were a couple.