I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

Now she really wants to know why Chen Ya didn't forgive Chen Sheng, but returned to the Lu family where her father married into the family—what exactly does he want to do?

If he wants to reconcile, why does he say he can't forgive? If he wants revenge, what form will he take?

Once this question welled up in my mind, it was like a flood that I couldn't stop.

Having finally managed to suppress her doubts, Lu Qingxuan carefully considered her words and said earnestly:

"Your mother worked very hard and was very great."

"We've arrived." Chen Ya stepped on the brakes to slow down, and the scenery outside the car window slowed down until it finally came to a complete stop.

Lu Qingxuan loosened her seatbelt with a hint of regret.

The two got out of the car and pushed open the door. A north wind carrying a chill rushed towards them, and before them lay the vast Heyang Plain, the outskirts of Beijing.

To the north lies the majestic city of Shengjing, with a wide road stretching across the entire plain; to the south, the fields are barren and yellow, with field ridges like dividing lines on a piece of paper.

Chen Ya stepped onto the ridge of the field, stomped his feet a few times on the frozen ground, exhaled a puff of white breath, and said, "Doesn't that mean we have to wait until dark?"

“That’s right.” Lu Qingxuan closed the car door and opened the trunk with her key. Inside were two large boxes of fireworks. “I’ve already asked my brother to stay at Mingyue Tower. He’ll give us real-time updates on our fireworks display. Can you come and help us out?”

Chen Ya walked over and took the box from her hands; it was rather heavy. Together, they placed the fireworks on the field.

"However, it's getting dark."

"Yes. It gets dark very quickly at this time of year."

The two were having a meaningless conversation. Lu Qingxuan looked up at the gray sky. She wanted to talk more about Chen Ya's past, but she didn't know how to start.

For example, what books did he write, what did he experience after junior high school, how did he grow into who he is now, how did he get into Jiang Lizhi's circle, and is Wallace really that good to eat...?

But Chen Ya will never tell her any of this again. Just like his brief opening up just now, it was just a casual conversation, a chance encounter where he felt like talking about the past. It was all an unrepeatable coincidence.

The past is the past, a solidified history, a meaningless crystallization that will not change no matter how it is mentioned again. He, on the other hand, is a person who lives in the present. His attitude tells her that even if she asks again, she will not get an answer.

Lu Qingxuan turned her back to Chen Ya, wrapped her down jacket tighter around herself, and secretly took out her phone from her pocket, typing a line of text into her notes:

What books did Chen Ya write when he was a child?

She felt this was crucial information, essential for dissecting the man's enigmatic past.

After this matter is settled, I will discuss it with Liu Ruying.

……

……

Lu Qingxuan was not the only one who wanted to explore Chen Ya's past; in fact, she wasn't even the one with the strongest desire to do so.

However, she couldn't bring herself to say no and didn't want Chen Ya to know that she was very curious about him.

If she had tried harder, or been less awkward and more honest, and asked Chen Ya more questions, perhaps she could have obtained more crucial information.

Now, the person with the strongest desire to explore and the greatest drive to act has made groundbreaking progress through amazing perseverance and pioneering efforts.

Chen Hai is exploring.

Since that meal at Mingcuiju, Chen Hai hasn't been able to eat for two days.

When he read "The Three-Body Problem," he was deeply moved by Chang Weisi's words: "Your life is a kind of accident. The world has so many unpredictable factors, yet your life has not changed much."

He thought that only an alien invasion could bring about a dramatic change in his life. Little did he know that his life was as fragile as a sheet of paper, and his worldview was completely overturned in the time it takes to eat a meal.

Wei Mingzhe, the prospective uncle, had always been just an ordinary code worker, but he suddenly transformed into the Beichen person he had been striving for.

Moreover, he wasn't just an ordinary Beichen employee. Judging from his words, he was actually at the same level as Xu Gongzi's father, they were equals.

They always regarded Xu Haoyu's father, Xu Xudong, as a high-ranking official in Beichen. You should know that at his level, he was already a giant in the industry, an authority, and played a pivotal role.

Who would have thought that in just the time it takes to eat a meal, her uncle would rise to a position of equal standing with others.

What's even more shocking is that Wei Mingzhe actually happens to have a business connection with his OEM factory, which means he has Wei Mingzhe by the throat.

During the latter half of that dinner, his father, Chen Sheng, kept trying to build a relationship with Wei Mingzhe, seizing every opportunity to get Chen Hai to drink with Wei Mingzhe.

For example, "Your uncle is getting married soon, so give him a toast." "Your uncle has been promoted, so give him a toast." "Your uncle's house is the same type as the one you're planning to buy, so give him a toast."

He had drunk so much that he threw up, and when he got home and lay in bed, his face was still pale.

It wasn't until that day that he realized Wei Mingzhe, who usually didn't drink much, was actually a heavy drinker.

The two men forced him to drink almost half a bottle of liquor, but he remained unfazed. Chen Sheng subtly suggested that he take better care of Chen Hai, but he actually said in a serious tone that everything should be done according to Beichen's procedures.

Chen Chi, the younger sister, sat next to him, trying so hard not to laugh that her stomach hurt. Even Chen Hai felt embarrassed and told Chen Sheng to say less.

In the past, when the family ate together, Chen Sheng and Chen Hai were always the ones who talked big and talked big. But at this dinner party, they knelt down so quickly, going from arrogant to obsequious. It's funny to think about.

When he sobered up and the shock gradually subsided, the details of the dinner party came to mind, and he realized that Wei Mingzhe's sudden rise was just the tip of the iceberg.

The real elephant in the room, the truly enormous problem that blinded everyone, the colossal obstacle that stood before everyone like a high wall—was Chen Ya.

It was Chen Ya who introduced the job to Wei Mingzhe; it was Chen Ya who called Xu Xudong; it was Chen Ya who, with a flick of his finger, made that person, who was suspected to be a high-ranking official of Beichen, follow his lead.

Since then, Xu Dashao's phone has been unreachable, and he can't find where he is; it's as if he's vanished into thin air.

Chen Hai was curious, Chen Hai was confused, Chen Hai was terrified.

After repeatedly verifying with his father and confirming that Chen Ya had indeed said he was just an employee of Hongtu, Chen Hai made a tough decision and simply called Hongtu directly.

He asked several receptionists at Hongtu whether there was an employee named Chen Ya, but they all gave him the cold shoulder—Hongtu is such a big company, who would know who one or two employees are?

But as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. In some corner of the internet, he found a blog post with the name "Chen Ya" in it. Through a private chat with that person, he finally found a project team's phone number.

He then contacted the project team through that phone number, only to learn that there was indeed a person named Chen Ya in the early days of the project team, but he was long gone, and the project team had also undergone a major reshuffle.

As for his desire to find out what Chen Ya was doing now, he needed to consult with his superiors to see if he could be told.

Chen Hai waited patiently.

In Jiangcheng, thousands of miles away, this request, which was not taken seriously, went through several twists and turns and eventually miraculously reached the office of the vice president of Hongtu.

"Someone is looking for Chen Ya?" Qin Yun Chu frowned slightly as she listened to her employee's report. "Who is looking for him?"

As Chen Ya's former boss and a member of the "Heartbroken Boys Take-In Group," Qin Yun Chu was particularly sensitive to the name of the "Heartbroken Boy" whom she hadn't seen in a long time.

The employee clearly hadn't expected the vice president to pay attention to such a trivial matter, and stammered, "It seems... it seems he's Chen Ya's younger brother."

"Chen Ya's younger brother?"

Qin Yunchu thought for a moment, then waved her hand and said, "Give me his phone number."

Chapter 278: View from below or from the side?

After Chen Hai spoke with the female employee from Hongtu, he waited for four whole hours without receiving any response.

Come to think of it, what era are we living in? It's not like parents are picking their kids up from school. If they go to a company to inquire about their older brother, how can they expect to get any attention?

Chen Hai lay on the bed, his phone tossed on the bedside table, emitting a low battery beeping sound.

The weather was gloomy today, and Beijing issued another smog warning. The news was broadcasting reports on the vigorous crackdown on straw burning. Chen Hai's mood was just like the weather, shrouded in unknown particles of some unknown substance.

Just as he was about to give up on this lead and decide to start from somewhere else, his phone suddenly rang again.

"Hey?"

He answered the phone, and a woman's voice came through:

"Hello? This is Qin Yunchu. You said you're Chen Ya's younger brother?"

He swore that it was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard in his life.

It is crisp like a silver bell, refreshing like spring rain, gentle yet firm.

Most importantly, upon hearing the name "Qin Yun Chu," Chen Hai's hand holding the phone began to tremble.

"You're Qin Yunchu?" Chen Hai felt his voice trembling. "Are you really that young CEO Qin from Hongtu?"

"Yes, it's me. What's the matter that you're asking about Chen Ya?" Qin Yun Chu's firm voice came from the other end.

"..."

He had prepared a whole speech, but unexpectedly, he was speechless for a moment.

Yeah, what do you want to do by making this call?

So, if the intention was to understand Chen Ya's situation, why would he need to inquire about information from Chen Ya's company when he was actually Chen Ya's brother?

You said you wanted to ask about the relationship between Chen Ya and Bei Chen... Then go ask Bei Chen, what does it have to do with my Hongtu?

Moreover, what kind of matter is this that even alarmed the vice president? How would the vice president know about Chen Ya's situation?

...Wait, why does the vice president know Chen Ya?

Chen Hai tentatively and politely asked, "Do you know Chen Ya?"

"Of course I know Chen Ya, otherwise why would I answer the phone?" Qin Yunchu toyed with her pen. "What happened to Chen Ya?"

"Oh, what level is Chen Ya at Hongtu?" Chen Hai asked again.

Qin Yunchu thought for a moment and said, "The matter you asked involves Chen Ya's privacy, but I can tell you that he is a fairly high-level employee at Hongtu. This is transparent and can be found on the official website. As for other things, I'm sorry I can't tell you."

Chen Hai quickly waved his hand (even though the other person couldn't see him): "No, no, I didn't mean to pry into your privacy, it's like this..."

He cleared his throat, quickly racked his brains, and put together a story:

"It's like this, I'm Chen Ya's younger brother, and Chen Ya is my older brother. However, we were separated when we were very young because of our parents, and we only recently reunited, so I don't know anything about his current situation."

Qin Yun Chu became interested; she was also very interested in Chen Ya's childhood. She asked, "Really? And then?"

"...We are all in Beijing, so naturally we hope that he can also settle down here. But he has never wanted to leave Hongtu, so we want to find out about his work situation at Hongtu."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yun Chu immediately understood.

You want to steal someone, huh? How could we possibly let you bother Chen Ya?

"As I just said, Chen Ya is doing a very good job at Hongtu. He is a very high-level cadre. Very few people of his age have climbed to this level, so it is quite rare."

Upon hearing this, Chen Hai had a general idea of ​​what was going on, and then asked further:

"But, if I may ask, he only has a junior high school education. Of course, I absolutely do not mean to question Hongtu's personnel management logic. I am simply curious—how did he manage to advance so quickly at Hongtu?"

Qin Yunchu immediately said, "Chen Ya is very capable. Hongtu has always valued ability over academic qualifications. He can bring a lot to the company, so of course we should give him treatment that matches his contributions."

Chen Hai then asked, "But, from what I understand, Hongtu's minimum hiring requirements are a bachelor's degree, with preference given to master's and doctoral degrees. A junior high school diploma... that doesn't even meet the basic requirements, right?"

This question caught Qin Yunchu off guard, and it took her a while to answer: "Chen Ya can take the adult undergraduate exam, and then pursue a part-time postgraduate degree. Our company will also recognize the postgraduate degree."

"Oh, Chen Ya studied for an adult undergraduate degree and then took the part-time exam..."

"No, I was just giving an example."

"..."

Hongtu Company will, in principle, recognize non-full-time degrees. With such a degree as a stepping stone, you will receive an exam notification.

Whether or not you will be hired is another matter entirely. Under the same conditions, companies will naturally prefer candidates who have genuinely passed the entrance exam for a full-time postgraduate program.

Qin Yun Chu changed the subject and asked in return, "You are Chen Ya's younger brother, which means you know a lot about him when he was a child, right?"

Chen Hai immediately nodded: "Yes."

In reality, he had almost forgotten about it, but of course he couldn't say he didn't know.

Qin Yun asked with great interest, "What was he like when he was a child? How did he grow up? Do you know why he dropped out of junior high school?"

This series of questions left Chen Hai somewhat bewildered.

He had initially assumed Qin Yun Chu only knew Chen Ya professionally, but judging from her rapid-fire questions, he suddenly had a strange feeling, as if...

She seemed to care about Chen Ya quite a bit?

"Uh, why are you asking these questions?"

Qin Yunchu paused for a moment, then said, "Oh, it's like this. We review employee performance every year. In order to accurately understand employee behavior and make appropriate evaluations, as Chen Ya's superior, I naturally want to know more about the employee's family background and upbringing..."

Qin Yun Chu convinced Chen Hai, who then honestly replied, "My brother has been extremely domineering since he was a child..."

Chen Hai recounted various amusing anecdotes from Chen Ya's childhood, as well as his family's impoverished circumstances, and focused particularly on how Chen Ya bullied him when he was young.

Of course, as time passed and he later went to the capital, his past memories were gradually covered up, and his recollections were given a warm glow.

This led to his description of his childhood being far more idyllic than it actually was.

Their actual childhood was much harder, but he forgot the less pleasant parts of it.

His story ends after his father takes him away from the mountain village. Of course, he doesn't mention why his father left the village, nor does he mention that he cried and begged to leave with his father.